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American Morning
Same-Sex Marriage Debate; Eminent Domain Fight; Extra Arm Removed
Aired June 06, 2006 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening this morning, there may be evidence of premeditated murder against U.S. Marines. That's according to a CNN source. The investigation of an incident in Hamandiya will show the death of an Iraqi civilian was staged. No charges have been filed, but seven Marines and a Navy corpsman are now being held at Camp Pendleton.
The Senate will debate a constitutional amendment banning same- sex marriage again today, with a possible vote coming tomorrow.
A group of suspects will be in court on terrorism charges in Canada today. They're accused of an al Qaeda-inspired plot to blow up high-profile buildings.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.
In Washington, D.C., there's mounting pressure from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. The president's making his appeal, while this morning the Senate begins a second day of debate on the measure that seems, frankly, destined to fail.
Let's get right to CNN's Kyung Lah. She's live for us in Washington this morning.
Hey, Kyung. Good morning.
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
The debate does pick up here in Washington on the Senate floor mid morning or so. And as is typically the case here in Washington, this is as much, if not more, about politics as it is about this amendment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And the best way to resolve this issue is through a constitutional amendment, which I strongly support.
LAH (voice over): Call it election cycle deja vu.
BUSH: The union of a man and woman deserves an honored place in our society.
LAH: President Bush urging the Senate to approve a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. The Senate this week is considering a measure that needs two- thirds in the House and Senate to pass. Neither side expects it will, but it is getting a verbal fight.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: It is this administration's way of avoiding the tough, the real problems American citizens are confronted with each and every day.
LAH: On the upcoming midterm ballots voters in a handful of states will consider measures banning same-sex marriage. It's part of what rallied conservatives to the polls to re-elect the president.
Liberals say this is a president returning to that tactic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There isn't anyone here who is naive enough to believe that the introduction of this legislation now in two consecutive election cycles is anything but a politically motivated effort to win votes by demonizing a class of citizens.
LAH: But conservatives say with courts striking down state laws banning gay marriage, Washington must step in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make no mistake about it. Traditional marriage is under assault.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAH: Sixty-seven votes are needed to pass the measure through the Senate. The bill's principal sponsor predicts he'll get about 50. That is a little bit more than the last time the Senate voted a couple of years ago -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Kyung Lah in Washington, D.C., for us this morning.
Kyung, thanks -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Also happening "In America," in California, two women plead not guilty to an alleged insurance scam. Seventy-three- year-old Olga Rutterschmidt and 75-year-old Helen Golay, accused of insurance fraud, allegedly collecting $2.33 million in insurance after two homeless men they befriended were hit and killed by hit-and-run drivers. Now police are investigating whether the women were involved in the men's deaths.
A high speed motorcycle chase ends with a dramatic crash. Watch the pictures here. The California Highway Patrol -- ooh, wow.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, my god. Oh, my god.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow, that hurts.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, my god. M. O'BRIEN: They're trying to pursue the driver on the Golden State Freeway. He hit a car, it spins out of control, as you can see. Obviously injured.
We don't know the extent of his injuries. You can see he got up there. But boy, he tumbled there at high speed.
A 6-year-old boy in Florida in state custody after his family forgot to bring him home from his own birthday party. The boy's mother says there were 12 children celebrating at the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. Each relative thought the boy was with someone else when they left. Florida officials are likely to determine today if the boy can stay with a relative.
Angry words at a city council hearing in New London, Connecticut. Officials voted Monday night to evict residents from their homes in a hotly disputed eminent domain case. The Supreme Court has already weigh in on this one, siding with the city.
More on this story from our reporter Jon Camp, who is with our Connecticut affiliate, WFSB.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL CRISTOFARO, FIGHTING EVICTION: You, you, you, you, and you, and you, you are a disgrace to the city, the state and the nation.
JON CAMP, REPORTER, WFSB (voice over): Strong rhetoric and a strong message for New London City Council members.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Return the keys and leave us alone.
CAMP: The city has been trying to take Michael Cristofaro's home through eminent domain for the last eight years. With others, he's fought it through protests and through the courts. But last June, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the city, and finally, at this meeting, despite Governor Jodi Rell's attempts to stop it, the city council voted to remove the last two long-time property owners from their homes, upsetting most everyone in the crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The motion passes 5-2.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to listen anymore.
CAMP: So why did the city council pass it? Mayor Beth Sebilia.
MAYOR BETH SEBILIA, NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT: The citizens of New London, the 25,000 citizens, need to have an economic driver to alleviate the tax burden and to improve our schools.
CRISTOFARO: I'll do whatever it takes to stay in that property.
CAMP: Including chaining yourself?
CRISTOFARO: Chaining ourselves to the house, barricading ourselves into the house, a human chain, whatever it takes to send a message that we are not going anywhere.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: That report came from Jon Camp of WFSB out of Hartford, Connecticut.
New London officials will now ask a judge to order the residents to leave their homes. Connecticut's governor, Jodi Rell, has offered a possible solution, let the residents stay in their homes, but if they ever decide to sell, the state gets first dibs on the property.
We'll see how this one comes out -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: It's quite a long way from being resolved, certainly.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Time to get a check of the forecast this morning. Rob's in because Chad's off.
Hey, Rob. Good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Soledad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Rob. Thanks.
MARCIANO: You bet.
S. O'BRIEN: Here's a story for you. A story of a short police officer and a pretty tall suspect and a pretty big problem.
The officer, a 5'4" female, trying to subdue the suspect, nearly 7 feet tall. Take a look at these pictures.
You can see the dashboard cam capturing the suspect just walking away. Luckily, a good Samaritan stepped in and helped the officer subdue the man, who she said was acting suspiciously. The suspect is now out on bail and he is facing drug possession charges.
M. O'BRIEN: Got some height there, yes. That's not a fair...
S. O'BRIEN: Look at her. She's a...
M. O'BRIEN: ... that's not a fair match. But she is tough.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I was going to say...
M. O'BRIEN: She's right on him. You know?
S. O'BRIEN: Ooh. Wow. You go, girl.
M. O'BRIEN: That's what they teach you at police academy. She learned a lesson, huh? Still to come, we're live from the Pentagon with new developments in that murder case involving U.S. Marines in Hamandiya.
S. O'BRIEN: We're also going to take a closer look this morning at security along the Canadian border.
Other headlines making news, as well. Take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: At least two people were killed this morning in a mortar attack in central Baghdad. That tops our look at some of the stories we're looking at all around the world with our correspondents.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm John Vause reporting from Baghdad, a city in the midst of spiraling violence. So far today, mortars have killed two people at a bus stop. At another bus station, a woman was killed by a roadside bomb. And a local councilman and his two bodyguards have been found dead after a drive-by shooting.
To the north, near the city of Baquba, police have found nine severed heads inside fruit boxes. Eight severed heads were found in similar circumstances in the same area on Saturday.
All this as the Iraqi government tries to find 50 people abducted in broad daylight from downtown Baghdad on Monday. So far, no word from their kidnappers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CBS News correspondent Kimberly dozier has begun her second week here at the Landstuhl U.S. military hospital. She remains in critical but stable condition after that car bombing in Baghdad that severely injured her. But she has been stable enough since late last week to be returned to the states. What's held her up is that the U.S. military flights have sadly been filled with wounded U.S. soldiers.
In the meantime, she underwent surgery on her legs. She has undergone surgery on her head in Baghdad to remove shrapnel. And -- but she's also shown some signs of improvement. She's now off the ventilator, she's been eating solid food, she's been talking. She's been visiting with her family and boyfriend as they wait for the next flight, which could be on Wednesday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paula Hancocks in London. Could the intelligence have been wrong, or could there be a potential chemical device elsewhere in London? These are the tough questions that metropolitan police are facing at the moment following that massive police operation on a house in east London on Friday morning.
Now the meticulous search is ongoing in this house, but police as yet have found nothing. London police, though, did insist on Monday night they had no choice but to act on this specific intelligence. Now, the two bothers that they arrested during this raid are still being held in custody in the central London police station behind me. Police have until Wednesday to either charge them, release them or apply to the courts for more time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: For more on these or any of our top stories, we invite you to head to our Web site. CNN.com is the place.
S. O'BRIEN: Successful surgery overnight for a 2-month-old Chinese baby who was born with three arms. It took doctors in Shanghai several hours to remove the extra arm.
CNN's Mike Chinoy is live in Hong Kong this morning.
Hey, Mike. Good morning.
MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Well, little Jie-jie is recovering after a two-and-a-half-hour operation at the Shanghai Children's Medical Center. He had been born with three arms, two on his left side, one protruding from near his chest.
It was a complicated and delicate procedure. The doctors were concerned that that extra arm might be linked to blood vessels or nerves and that removing it might be a very dangerous procedure. But in the end, it all went very smoothly. He's resting comfortably and doctors say his prospects are looking good.
S. O'BRIEN: How long is he going to have to stay in the hospital for, Mike?
CHINOY: Well, we just spoke with the chief surgeon and he said he'll have to be there five or 10 days. But he'll have to have intensive physical therapy. They say that he's not likely to have full use of his left arm. He'll have to rely on his right arm. But otherwise, he has every chance of leading a normal and happy and healthy existence.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, that is such great news. What a cute little baby. Glad to see that went well.
Mike Chinoy for us this morning.
Thanks, Mike -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, we're focusing on border security and potential problems at our northern border.
Plus, Congress seemingly enthralled with the G-5. And we're not talking about a summit. We're talking about fancy corporate jets here, expensive trips, all on the special interest dole. We'll add it all up for you. It's a grim picture.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning, the Senate will debate an amendment to the Constitution banning same-sex marriage. A vote is expected tomorrow.
Marines may have committed premeditated murder in the death of an Iraqi civilian in Hamandiya. A source says some of the Marines admitted that the circumstances surrounding the man's death were staged.
A new report concludes members of Congress accepted $50 million in trips over the past five years. The Center for Public Integrity says members of both parties took the gifts and that while some of the trips were justified, others are questionable.
Congressman Patrick Kennedy says he is ready to get back to work. The Rhode Island Democrat just finished up a month-long stay at the Mayo Clinic. He voluntarily entered rehabilitation for prescription drug abuse after crashing his car on Capitol Hill last month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PATRICK KENNEDY (D), RHODE ISLAND: And I should not have been taking Ambien. It says on the directions, "Do not operate heavy machinery under this drug." Phenergan does -- says the same thing.
So, whether it's alcohol or drugs, any impaired driving is wrong. You know, it makes no difference to me. If you're driving while intoxicated, you're driving while intoxicated, whether it's booze or some other chemical. So, in my mind, you know, I'm ready to take the full consequences for my actions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Kennedy was issued three traffic violations. Capitol Police did not give him a sobriety test, although they thought he was intoxicated. He claims he was not drunk.
Up next, Andy, "Minding Your Business."
Good morning, Andy.
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": Good morning, Miles.
The nation's air traffic controllers in the crosshairs of the FAA again.
Plus, banned in Baltimore. We're not talking about a racy play. We're talking Styrofoam.
We'll explain that coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
M. O'BRIEN: Also ahead on the program, have you checked out the calendar? Check it out, 6-6-06.
SERWER: Whoa.
M. O'BRIEN: Some say it is the sign of the devil. Others call it the mark of the beast. What does it really mean? Anything at all?
Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: A proposal in Baltimore that the restaurant industry not so happy with.
Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."
Good morning.
SERWER: Good morning, Soledad.
We are talking about Styrofoam in the city of Baltimore. We'll get to that in one second.
First of all, I want to tell you about an ongoing story concerning the nation's air traffic controllers. The FAA is going head to head with the air traffic controllers again. This is 25 years after the battle that led to the mass firing of the air traffic controllers by Ronald Reagan in 1981.
It's a contract dispute. Basically, the FAA wants to impose its own contract. This, after two months after talks broke down.
New hires would receive 30 percent less in pay. Marion Blakey, the FAA head, says that air traffic controllers make a lot more than other public servants. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which I guess is the successor to PATCO...
M. O'BRIEN: It is.
SERWER: ... is adamant that this is not the case. And here we go all over again.
And, you know, they're public employees. They can't strike. If they do strike, they could all get fired. And 25 years reductions, I guess, is the way to look at it.
M. O'BRIEN: Ronald Reagan.
SERWER: That's right.
M. O'BRIEN: One of the first things he did as president, that firing, yes.
SERWER: That's right. And then they named the airport in Washington, D.C., after him which got a lot of...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, they did.
S. O'BRIEN: That probably was a little bit of a bitter pill for some people to swallow.
SERWER: Yes, that's right. I think that's the correct way to put it, Soledad.
Baltimore wants to ban styrene, polystyrene, Styrofoam, that is. And, you know, this is actually an interesting thing.
It's banned already in Portland, Oregon, and Berkeley, California. McDonald's and Burger King don't use it anymore either. It's harmful to the environment, some say. It takes about, oh, 500 years to break down.
S. O'BRIEN: Can't get rid of it, yes.
SERWER: Or it just kind of falls into the harbor in Baltimore and people have to go pick it. And also, making it is harmful, as well.
There's a company in Lutherville, Maryland, which is right outside of Baltimore, which makes a biodegradable Styrofoam, an equivalent which may be used. And so we have a nice little battle going on there, as well.
S. O'BRIEN: Why can't they just use paper? You know, that sort of...
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Not paper cups, but like...
SERWER: Or like they're saying, paper wrap. You know, just a paper wrap.
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: Why not use wrap?
S. O'BRIEN: It's OK.
Thanks, Andy.
SERWER: OK. You're welcome.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Here's a look at some of the stories we're working on this morning.
Investigators turn up evidence that Marines may have committed premeditated murder in Hamandiya, Iraq.
Canadian police expect to make more arrests in the Toronto terror plot investigation.
President Bush heads to New Mexico and Texas to tout his immigration plans.
An abducted newborn found in Texas, a suspect under arrest.
And our weeklong series "Paying the Price in the Heartland." Dan Lothian, in Des Moines, Iowa, this morning, to see how suburban families there are adjusting to high gas prices.
Let's get a check of the forecast. Rob Marciano in for Chad.
Good morning, Rob.
MARCIANO: Good morning, Miles.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: That's the latest from here. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Were the killings of Marines at Hamandiya premeditated murder? I'm Jamie McIntyre, at the Pentagon, and I'll have that.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jeanne Meserve in Toronto, where we may learn more about that alleged Canadian terror cell when some of the suspects appear in court this morning. I'll have that story.
S. O'BRIEN: Today is Mother's Day for one Texas woman. Her stolen baby finally found, abandoned in a car.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Lothian in Des Moines, Iowa, where we continue our weeklong series, "Paying the Price in the Heartland." This morning, I'll take a look at how high gas prices are taking their toll on rural commuters.
M. O'BRIEN: And, have you checked the date? It's a devilish one, indeed, 6-6-06, or 666. Should you be afraid, very afraid? We'll explain the so-called satanic number ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.
New developments to tell you about in a murder case involving U.S. Marines. CNN has learned that some of the Marines have admitted to staging the crime scene in Hamandiya.
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