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American Morning
More Arrests?; CSI: HS; HD-DVD
Aired June 06, 2006 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, I'm Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Here's a look at what's happening this morning, Tuesday, June 6.
Marines may have committed premeditated murder in the death of an Iraqi civilian in Hamdaniya. A source says that some of the Marines admitted the circumstances surrounding the man's death were staged. So far, no charges have been filed yet against the seven Marines and a Navy corpsman being held at Camp Pendleton.
There will be a formal hearing on terrorism charges today for a group of suspects in Canada. They are accused of plotting to blow up several high-profile buildings in Toronto. More arrests are expected in the case.
M. O'BRIEN: In Texas, a kidnapped infant is now back with her family. Acting on a tip, police found Priscilla Maldonado strapped in a car seat in 100-degree heat. Her suspected kidnapper under arrest.
President Bush back on the border talking illegal immigration today. He'll push his reform plan at a training center in New Mexico this afternoon, then attend a briefing in Texas.
S. O'BRIEN: The Senate will debate a ban on same-sex marriage again today. They are expected to vote tomorrow on making this an amendment to the Constitution.
Verizon, BellSouth, Qwest, could all be subpoenaed to testify about their involvement in the NSA wiretapping program. The Senate Judiciary Committee will discuss and possibly vote on the subpoenas today.
M. O'BRIEN: It's primary day in eight states, including California. All eyes on this special election to fill the seat of disgraced Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Democrat Francine Busby trying to upset Republican Brian Bilbray in the heavily-Republican district.
Veterans groups will file a class action lawsuit today. They want oversight and protection of their personal information. Data on more than 26.5 million veterans was on a computer laptop stolen from the home of a Veterans Administration worker.
S. O'BRIEN: Today is the 62nd anniversary of D-Day. When allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, 2,500 allied troops were killed on June 6 back in 1944. The massive invasion, though, was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.
Time for a check of the forecast and Rob Marciano who is in for Chad again today.
Hey, Rob, good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad. Good morning, Miles.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Enjoy it, Miles, we'll see you in a little bit.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Rob, see you in just a bit.
MARCIANO: OK.
M. O'BRIEN: Fifteen suspected terrorists will be in a Canadian courtroom today while authorities look south of the border and beyond for more arrests. Police in Canada say the suspects are part of a ring inspired by al Qaeda to blow up landmark buildings in Canada using fertilizer bombs. But investigators are following leads that may take them to accomplices in six other countries, including the U.S.
CNN Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Of the 17 being held in the probe, 12 men face terror-related charges. The charges against five juveniles have not been released. Canadian authorities say the arrests capped a two-year investigation, and officials said Monday, more arrests are possible.
MIKE MCDONELL, ASST. COMMISSIONER, RCMP: We're following every investigative lead that we have right now. And anybody that was involved in aiding, facilitating or participating in this terrorist threat will be arrested.
MESERVE: Two of the men now charged with terrorism were already in custody for allegedly trying to import firearms and ammunition into Canada from the U.S. And a U.S. counterterrorism official says, two of the Canadian suspects had e-mail communications with two U.S. citizens arrested this spring on terrorism charges.
Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee had allegedly videotaped locations, including the U.S. Capitol, and a fuel tank farm. CNN was unable to reach their lawyers.
U.S. officials say some of the Canadians also had contact with British terrorism suspects arrested last fall and with Islamic militants in Bangladesh, Bosnia, Denmark, and Sweden. The arrests have further heightened concerns about local terror groups working independent of al Qaeda. Officials say they are much harder to detect and stop.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: That was CNN's Jeanne Meserve reporting.
New York is losing more government money meant to fight terrorism. This time it's more than $2 million earmarked for bioterror attacks. That's on top of more than $80 million already cut out by the Department of Homeland Security.
The mayor, Michael Bloomberg, says his city needs the money.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: You don't want to have another disaster to be able to say I told you so. Quite the contrary, the better job the NYPD does with the 1,000 police officers that they dedicate to intelligence and counterterrorism, the less likely there is for us to be able to prove that this was in fact the one place.
But it is true, when people get arrested, the maps they have in their pockets are maps of New York City and not maps of cornfields.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: The mayor spoke with Homeland Security Chief Mike Chertoff yesterday. Chertoff didn't budge -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: This fall, the Supreme Court will deal with affirmative action in public schools. Justices will hear arguments in two cases. In each one, parents content that white students are penalized by affirmative action rules. Those rules were put in place to desegregate schools following the landmark 1954 case Brown versus the Board of Education.
Tempers flared at a city council meeting in New London, Connecticut. Officials there voted to evict residents from two homes. It's been a long-running eminent domain dispute. Last year, the Supreme Court upheld New London's decision to seize the waterfront property for redevelopment. Homeowners say they're going to continue to fight the city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CRISTOFARO, FIGHTING EVICTION: Do whatever it takes to stay in that property. If we...
QUESTION: That include 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 VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: The city's next step is to ask a judge to order the residents to leave their homes.
A 6-day-old baby is back with her mom this morning. Police in Lubbock, Texas, found little Priscilla Maldonado abandoned in a car and outside it was 100 degrees. Doctors are keeping the baby at the hospital for observation. The little girl was kidnapped on Sunday when a woman the family thought was a nurse took off with her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. ROY BASSETT, LUBBOCK POLICE DEPARTMENT: Kind of fooled people on both sides of the fence. She went to the hospital dressed in scrubs, which caused the family, Erica and her family, to believe that she was an employee of the hospital.
And because she was getting along so well with the family and spending so much time in this specific room, the employees of the hospital thought that she was a friend of the family or possibly part of the family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: The alleged kidnapper and her husband are now being questioned. The suspect is Stephanie Lynn Anderson and she faces kidnapping and possible endangerment charges -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Happening now in America.
No charges against a pilot who accidentally flew a small plane into the restricted airspace around Washington. A pair of Air Force F-16s intercepted that plane last night.
A fatal gunfight in a southern California high school. It happened at Venice High School yesterday. A 17-year-old student killed. Apparently went to help his two brothers in a fight. Police looking for suspects.
And in northern California, President Bush declaring a major disaster now in 17 counties hard hit by the storms and flooding these past two months. The order clears the way for federal aid there.
The Duke men's lacrosse team will be allowed to play next season under tight supervision. This season canceled this year after three team members accused of raping an exotic dancer at a party. The school says it will watch the team closely and they'll play under a new code of conduct.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD H. BRODHEAD, DUKE PRESIDENT: As I wrestled with this issue, I decided that Duke could only resume men's lacrosse if we made a clear statement of the conduct we expect of the players going forward, if the players actively accepted responsibility for living up to these expectations and if we had a strong oversight mechanism to monitor the situation. The conditions have now been met to my satisfaction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Those three team players charged with rape have pleaded not guilty.
A deadly explosion at an oil field in Raleigh (ph), Mississippi yesterday. Three workers killed, one injured. Investigators say one of the workers was using a welding torch on a storage tank at the time of that accident.
And get this one, a Minnesota man burned himself doing laundry. He figured gasoline would get the grease off of his clothes so he poured gas instead of detergent into his washing machine. Are you surprised that it exploded? He suffered second-degree burns on his legs. And we're glad that's all that happened to him, quite frankly, given what could have happened...
S. O'BRIEN: My goodness.
M. O'BRIEN: ... putting gasoline on his clothes.
S. O'BRIEN: He didn't do laundry a lot.
M. O'BRIEN: Apparently not a big laundry guy.
S. O'BRIEN: That may have been his first time.
M. O'BRIEN: You might want to give that -- this chore to somebody else.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: As you well know -- cue the music -- today is the sixth day of the sixth month of 2006. And you know what that means, it's 6-6-06. Some people consider those numbers in fact to be the path to Armageddon, the coming of the antichrist. Well Hollywood is taking advantage of it. No surprise there. A remake of the 1976 horror classic "The Omen" opens nationwide today.
M. O'BRIEN: If this chair is empty, I'm off on the rapture (ph) somewhere. But fear of the numbers 6-6-6 is so widespread it has a name which I cannot pronounce. Let's try it, Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia.
S. O'BRIEN: Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia. That's right.
M. O'BRIEN: There it is. Fear of the sixes. Still don't buy into it? Take a look at mortgage rates today. A 30-year fixed mortgage at a 4-year high, what is it, 6.66 percent.
S. O'BRIEN: Is that true? Coincidence, I don't think so.
Still to come this morning, they were supposed to be gathering fake clues to a fake crime when some high school forensic students stumbled across an actual dead body. It's a real high school CSI. We'll tell you about this story just ahead this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: Then it turns out road rage is not so simple. There may be a medical reason for those angry outbursts.
S. O'BRIEN: Please.
M. O'BRIEN: I know, really, what an excuse.
S. O'BRIEN: And then China says it can almost guarantee it's going to be sunny and beautiful at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
M. O'BRIEN: Boy, how's that for a forecast?
S. O'BRIEN: And so long ranging.
M. O'BRIEN: Chad, could he do that?
S. O'BRIEN: We'll have to ask Rob about that.
M. O'BRIEN: Rob, can he do that? I don't know.
S. O'BRIEN: Plus, Carrie Lee has got some business headlines for us this morning.
Good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have seen another day of selling on Wall Street. The Dow down nearly 200 points yesterday on words from Ben Bernanke, the Fed Chief, citing concerns about inflation, slower economic growth. What's it going to take to get us out of this slump? We'll have that story coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning.
There may be evidence of premeditated murder against U.S. Marines. According to a CNN source, the investigation of an incident in Hamdaniya will show the death of an Iraqi civilian was staged. No charges have been filed, but seven Marines and a Navy corpsman are 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.
M. O'BRIEN: Some Florida high school students won't soon forget a forensic field trip that turned into a real-life version of "CSI."
Carol Costello now in the newsroom with more on this one. Hello, -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And you know, Miles, this happened on the day before 6-6-06. It would have been perfectly bizarre then, but it was strange enough.
Twenty-nine students acting as amateur crime scene investigators were supposed to be gathering fake clues to a fake crime when things suddenly got very real. They found a man's lifeless body.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH ROZENTAL, STUDENT WHO FOUND BODY: There aren't enough words to describe it. I was freaking out like so bad.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For a group of high school criminology students, it was a frightening lesson in forensics.
BILLY SPRITZER, STUDENT WHO FOUND BODY: It looked real, but we thought since we were here for an investigation, it wouldn't be.
COSTELLO: The summer class from St. Thomas Acquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale was on a field trip Monday conducting a mock crime scene investigation when they came across a real dead body.
ROZENTAL: We found a guy with his hand wrapped around the fence. And then we, everyone came over there, and we saw like his face. And we thought it was part of the crime scene.
COSTELLO: In fact, the students thought their teacher, Sue Messenger, was playing a trick on them.
SPRITZER: I thought she made it really look good. I thought because the hand was grabbing the fence and it was -- and I touched the hand and it felt like a real hand.
SUE MESSENGER, CRIMINOLOGY TEACHER: All of a sudden a student came running up to me and said, Ms. Messenger, did you plant a real body? Well I had actually planted these cardboard skeletons. And I was like, no.
COSTELLO: The teacher and her students notified the police who turned the area into a real crime scene.
SGT. ANDY PALLEN, FT. LAUDERDALE POLICE: Ironic set of circumstances that they were out here in a summer program for crime scene investigation when they came across the body.
COSTELLO: Police believe the victim, a man about 55 years old, died of natural causes. But the gruesome discovery was an invaluable lesson for students trying to solve a mock mystery and stumbling upon the real thing.
SPRITZER: Well that's the first time I've ever seen a dead body, so I thought that was kind of crazy. And the smell I'll never forget. But this is a great experience.
MESSENGER: You know that old expression, true life is stranger than fiction? I think this is definitely -- definitely holds true here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: I'd have to agree with her. An important lesson, perhaps, but school officials concerned about what the students witnessed have also made counseling available to anyone who may need it -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Carol, that is just a crazy story, isn't it?
COSTELLO: Really crazy.
S. O'BRIEN: Kids don't seem like they're so disturbed, though, which is, I guess, a good thing.
Thanks, Carol.
A spectacle so rare that we want to make sure you see it at least once. A rainbow cloud.
M. O'BRIEN: That is beautiful.
S. O'BRIEN: Isn't that beautiful.
M. O'BRIEN: WOW!
S. O'BRIEN: It's also known as a sun dog. I'm not sure why it's known as a sun dog.
M. O'BRIEN: We can look that up, I guess. We'll get right on it.
S. O'BRIEN: But that's what they call it.
M. O'BRIEN: That is just gorgeous.
S. O'BRIEN: This one first appeared in west Spokane in Washington State and then it crossed all the way into St. Line, Idaho.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow!
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to Rob Marciano.
Hey, Rob, why do they call this a sun dog?
MARCIANO: Actually, that looks more like a halo than a sun dog. A sun dog will sometimes be within a halo and the halo kind of goes around it.
Miles, I'm sure you've seen this when you fly.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. S. O'BRIEN: It's gorgeous.
MARCIANO: The opposite way. But you can -- it's the sun going through ice crystals.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, we call them moon kittens when we see them the other -- the opposite way. It's just different.
MARCIANO: The pilot different.
M. O'BRIEN: It's different. But it's the same in a way.
S. O'BRIEN: I believed you for about five seconds.
M. O'BRIEN: For a minute she was going there.
S. O'BRIEN: I was like, really?
MARCIANO: So much -- this is so much more fun you know the names that pilots think of as opposed to weather guys.
S. O'BRIEN: He's making it up, Rob.
M. O'BRIEN: I have a lot of spare time up there on the autopilot.
MARCIANO: Perihelia is what we call sun dogs in the meteorology community. Kind of a little bit more boring.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
MARCIANO: That's cool, though, to see. It's a beautiful color.
M. O'BRIEN: It's basically refractions through the ice crystals. Leave it at that. There you go
MARCIANO: Refractions through ice crystals which are high cirrus clouds. All right.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Miles and Soledad, back to you.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, -- Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet.
M. O'BRIEN: Now drivers who cut you off or won't let you merge into a lane, they gesture at you and tell you something about how you're number one, you know that one? Well, they may have an excuse for acting like such idiots. A University of Chicago study suggests as much as 7 percent of the population suffers from a disorder that could lead to road rage.
S. O'BRIEN: Please.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm not buying it either.
S. O'BRIEN: Please.
M. O'BRIEN: It's called intermittent explosive disorder, or IED. Of course you know IED also stands for improvised explosive device. Unfortunately, we've learned a lot about that through what has been going on in Iraq.
Now about 16 million people supposedly have IED. The illness is marked by temper outbursts that involve throwing or breaking objects and undoubtedly cutting people off in traffic, too. And those multiple outbursts are often way out of proportion to the situation.
S. O'BRIEN: When did it become a diagnosable disease and no longer is just being a big jerk?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. I don't know. And obviously there is a study for everyone.
Doctors say people with the disorder start displaying angry outbursts around the age of 14. So, watch your 14-year-old for IEDs, please.
S. O'BRIEN: Please.
M. O'BRIEN: Please. Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Pete is shaking his head, he doesn't buy this at all.
M. O'BRIEN: I have a hunch there is some federal funding on that study, too. Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: You know what,...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: ... that will be interesting to know how much money was spent on that study.
M. O'BRIEN: We'll get to the bottom of that one, too.
Remember the old - remember Beta versus VHS?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: That is dating. This is dating people. Beta versus VHS. Well, times have changed and now the battle is between hi- definition DVD players. Sony's -- is it Blu Ray? Blu Ray or Toshiba's HD DVD. Too many Ds in there maybe. I don't know. We'll compare the two and we'll let you know how that comes out.
And then Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are ready to give the world its first peak at baby Shiloh.
S. O'BRIEN: And guess how much those pictures are going for? M. O'BRIEN: Billions. Billions? Many millions. Many millions.
S. O'BRIEN: Many millions.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Many, many millions.
M. O'BRIEN: OK.
S. O'BRIEN: Many millions. Hopefully...
M. O'BRIEN: All right, we'll let you know about that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Some of the most popular stories on cnn.com right now.
China plans to change the weather for the 2008 Summer Olympics using rockets and planes and some chemicals. A meteorologist says that China is going to try to blast the clouds out of the sky so that the Olympics will be sunny and clear.
An update on a story we told you about yesterday. A baby, now 6 days old, back in her mother's arms after she was freed from being kidnapped by a fake nurse. The alleged kidnapper is now in custody.
And a major disappointment for teenager golfing phenom. Michelle Wie, the 16-year-old, failed by just a handful of strokes to qualify for next week's U.S. Open. She would have been the first woman to play in a men's major tournament.
Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie have decided to sell their rights to the most sought after photos in the world. Those photos, of course, of their infant daughter, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. Just rolls off the tongue.
On Monday, the couple agreed to a licensing deal with Getty Images that could be worth $5 to $7 million. All the money is going to be donated to charity, they say. The newest member of the Pitt- Jolie family was born on May 27 in a hospital in Africa.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm glad to hear that money is going for a good cause.
S. O'BRIEN: Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt.
M. O'BRIEN: Is already a big benefactor of good causes, yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Girl had earned her money already and she's only like a couple of days old.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, she has already.
Well listen up, kids, there was a time more than a generation ago when tape recording television shows was new and cutting edge. And in those days the fight was Betamax versus VHS. Well, as we now know, the latter one, clearing the way for a new digital battle over hi- definition DVDs.
CNN's Sibila Vargas explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Remember the old VHS versus Beta VCR battle? Another format war is beginning between two hi-definition DVD players. Both have more than twice the resolution of traditional DVD players. It's Sony's Blu Ray versus Toshiba's HD DVD. HD DVD has less features but it's cheaper.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What offers the best manufacturing, the most economical manufacturing costs for both hardware and software manufactures.
VARGAS: HD DVD players cost around $500, half as much as Blu Ray. But Blu Ray has twice as many studios behind it, which means more movies will be available on that format. Plus, it plays discs which can hold a lot more material.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to have enough room for the very best picture that we can possibly get out of today's technology, as well as enough room for all the bonus features and extra features that people expect to see on today's DVDs, only with a lot more sophistication.
VARGAS: Brian Cooley from the consumer electronics Web site CNET says wait until February 2007 before you consider making a hi-def DVD purchase.
BRIAN COOLEY, CNET: Because by then we'll have the after holiday price cuts when inventory needs to be cleared. We're going to have the kind of buzz is over with. You know consumers are spent out, they're marketed out and retailers and manufacturers know this and they start to bring prices down to reality.
VARGAS: Whoever wins this war may be short-lived.
COOLEY: Well we're rapidly going to get close in a few years to a very viable model where you can download hi-definition movies from legitimate commercial sources and studios. Watch them that way instead of having to go buy a bunch of new decks, replace all your discs.
VARGAS: So the future of hi-def DVD is anything but clear.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Now the experts tell us there are about 25 million American homes that will have hi-definition television by the end of this year. Wow! S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Inflation fears are up. The Dow is down. Carrie Lee is here to tell us why she misses Alan Greenspan ever more.
LEE: I'm trying not to look at our portfolios...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
LEE: ... these days. It's really seen - we've really seen a lot of selling on Wall Street, folks.
Yesterday, no exception. The Dow Jones industrials down nearly 200 points on words following Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech to an international monetary conference. He said that rising energy costs have slowed economic growth, but inflation is still a worry.
Of course we've seen oil, energy costs rising. Even when you take that out of the equation, though, prices in general high enough for the Fed to keep an eye on this. And they say that this could all warrant more rate hikes.
So this really shook the markets. As I said, the Dow down 1.8 percent yesterday, 199 points to the downside. The Nasdaq down 49 points. The Dow is now down 5.1 percent from its 6-year-high. Reached that about a month ago on May 10. So we really have seen selling over the last month.
Bernanke's comments also rattled international markets. You know everyone hangs on the Fed chief's words these days. Indexes in Japan, Australia and India all fell sharply today. India's Censex (ph) index really taking a hit, down 21 percent since May 10.
So stocks pointing to a higher open this morning. But I think what we're going to see from now until the end of June, any day we see a sell-off, bargain hunters come back in, it's probably going to be a kind of a back-and-forth situation until the end of June.
S. O'BRIEN: A little up and down market.
LEE: That's what we've seen so far. Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: All right.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
LEE: OK.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Carrie.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Carrie.
S. O'BRIEN: A look at the top stories straight ahead, including Duke University making a decision on its men's lacrosse team. We're going to bring you that story. And then $26,000 private jet rides. No, I'm not talking about Miles and what he charges, I'm talking about expenses in Congress. Five-hundred-a-night hotel rooms. These are gifts accepted by Washington lawmakers. A new report adds up these political freebies. Big numbers.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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