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American Morning
Senate Votes Today; Dozier Returning to U.S.; Toronto Terror; Inside San Quentin
Aired June 07, 2006 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien.
Here's a look at what's happening this morning on Wednesday, June 7.
A Senate vote on same-sex marriage ban is slated for 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. A simple majority of the Senate is expected to endorse a constitutional amendment that prohibits same-sex marriage, but a two-thirds majority is needed to approve it.
At about the same time, the president will be pushing his immigration reform plan in Omaha, Nebraska. The president stressing the similarities between House and Senate bills.
S. O'BRIEN: Two American soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan were conducting security operations when the bomb exploded. Another U.S. soldier and an Afghan interpreter were injured in that attack.
Army Lt. Ehren Watada is refusing orders to serve in Iraq. Watada says the war is illegal and immoral. He could face a court- martial. We're expecting to hear more from him in a news conference today.
Kimberly Dozier returning back home to the U.S. today from Germany. The CBS reporter who was injured by a car bomb in Iraq had her first physical therapy session yesterday for her legs. Her family says she's going to require rods in her legs.
M. O'BRIEN: In Indonesia, more evacuations as Mount Merapi spits fresh gas and lava. Ten thousand who live near the volcano have fled. An earthquake hit the same area of Java 10 days ago, killing more than 6,000 people.
Let's get a check of the forecast now. Rob Marciano in for Chad Myers.
Good morning, -- Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Miles. Hi, Soledad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
So, Soledad, stay dry when you walk out that studio later on this afternoon.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, Rob, thanks, but it's too late, I forgot to bring my raincoat this morning.
MARCIANO: Come on.
S. O'BRIEN: I know.
MARCIANO: We told you yesterday.
S. O'BRIEN: I know you did. I know you did and I still forgot.
Thanks, -- Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet.
S. O'BRIEN: Voters in Alabama have become the latest to ban same-sex marriages. The amendment to the State Constitution passed overwhelmingly last night. The U.S. Senate is set for a similar vote today. The results, though, are expected to be very different.
CNN's Dana Bash has more for us from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): After two days of debate, senators later this morning will vote on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. The fate of this measure has never been in question, it will fail to get the two-thirds majority needed to change the Constitution.
That's why Democrats have been going to the Senate floor and criticizing Republicans for even bringing this up. They say Republicans are ignoring the issues Americans really care about. And they say that Republican leaders are simply pandering to their conservative base who are unhappy with their leadership this election year.
But Republicans say that the need for a debate on a federal level about this issue is actually growing. They point to what's happening in the states, several states where voters overwhelmingly supported a ban on same-sex marriage.
Those issues have been challenged. They are challenged in courts, as we speak. And Republicans also point to a couple of states where judges have actually overturned what they say has been the will of the people in those states.
Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: More U.S. troops are preparing to head out to Iraq. They are now packing up and moving equipment from the U.S. base in Schweinfurt, Germany and into Kuwait. Kuwait is the staging ground for U.S. forces heading into Iraq. Up to 37,000 -- excuse me, 3,700 U.S. troops expected to rotate into Iraq in the coming weeks.
Meantime, Sen. John Warner, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee in the Senate, calling for hearings as quickly as possible into that alleged massacre by Marines at Haditha. He says delays are causing faulty information to leak out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: As far as I know, the professionalism by way of investigation is quite adequate. And I have no basis at this time to say that there's any effort to cover up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Pentagon sources say it could be another month or two before the investigation is finished.
CBS reporter Kimberly Dozier heading home to the U.S. today. She was seriously hurt in a bomb blast in Baghdad May 29. Four others killed in that attack. She spent a week at the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.
That's where Chris Burns joins us right now.
Chris, what's the latest?
CHRIS BURNS, CNN BERLIN BUREAU CHIEF: Well hello, Miles.
We're on the tarmac at Ramstein U.S. Air Base, which is near Landstuhl Medical Center. And the hospital bus that is carrying Kimberly Dozier has backed up to the C-17 military transport plane. It's being loaded with some 40 wounded soldiers.
At the last minute, though, there's a whole crew of cameras here. She has declined to be photographed by anybody but her CBS cameraman. And that is going to be the scene now. There is a bus parked in the way. We're not seeing exactly what's going on. We believe she's being carried on at this very minute.
And she is going to be headed back to the States, going back to Andrews Air Force Base, taken on to Bethesda Naval Hospital where she'll be undergoing further treatment there for the time being -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Chris Burns at Ramstein Air Base, keep us posted. Thank you very much -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: A CNN "Security Watch" for you this morning.
Shocking details coming out now in the alleged terrorism plot in Canada. Prosecutors say the plans were chilling and included a threat against Canada's prime minister.
CNN's homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has more for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It sounds like a movie script. Terrorists storm Parliament and the headquarters of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in downtown Toronto, taking hostages.
When their demands to free Muslim prisoners and remove Canadian troops from Afghanistan are not met, they behead hostages, including Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
But this is not a script. These are the Canadian government's allegations against Steven Chand, one of the Canadian terror suspects, according to his attorney. The lawyer says, prove it. He has seen no evidence, only a synopsis of the charges.
GARY BATASAR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This is a two-year investigation that was going on. One would think that the two-year investigation would have brought forth a lot more evidence than eight pages and a one-page synopsis of Mr. Chand.
MESERVE: Family members at the courthouse found themselves in a scrum. Media and public interest in this case is intense. This is, for Canada, something like 9/11, a jolt, a realization that terror can hit you where you live.
In court, defense attorneys complained that security is so tight, they have been unable to meet with their clients privately, a violation, they said, of the suspects' rights.
ARIFA ZARA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Regardless of the allegations and charges, everybody is entitled to be treated equally. And I think that unequal treatment just because of these allegations is improper.
BATASAR: This is not Guantanamo. This is Toronto, Canada.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: That report comes from CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve.
Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: The Veterans Administration now admitting that stunning I.D. theft was much worse than first reported. The V.A. now says key information about 2.25 million men and women currently in uniform, not 50,000 as first reported, were on a laptop stolen from a V.A. worker's home in early May.
Now that same laptop contained crucial information on 26.5 million discharged veterans, virtually everyone who served since 1975. The data includes birth dates, Social Security numbers, addresses, even disability codes.
The V.A. has set up a hotline for more information if you're concerned about this. The toll free number, 800-FED-INFO. That's 333-4636.
A veterans group is already suing the V.A. over the security breach, a class action suit. The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for return of the missing laptop and its external drive.
The Republicans passed their first election test by holding onto the seat vacated by former California Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Within the last hour, the Republican, Brian Bilbray, declared the winner there. Bilbray defeated Democrat Francine Busby in a special election to replace Cunningham who was jailed for taking bribes.
Before his win, Bilbray said the election was about more than politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN BILBRAY (R), CALIF. CONGRESSMAN-ELECT: There was a lot of people from out of town that cared more about this race, about their party or their political power, rather than the right of the people of the 50th to be represented. And I just think that we've got to remember that parties be damned. It's about the people of the 50th having their fair share of representation in Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: In Alabama, standing Republican Governor Bob Riley easily beat his controversial opponent. He's facing former State Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. You remember that name, he made headlines for refusing to remove the 10 Commandments display from a state office building. Riley faces Democratic Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley in November's election.
In New Jersey, there will be a familiar name on the ballot in the fall. Tom Kean Jr. won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. He'll face incumbent Democrat Robert Menendez in November. Kean's father was governor of New Jersey from '82 to '90 -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Happening in America this morning, it's off to court in Indianapolis. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against 28-year-old Desmond Turner, the accused triggerman in that killing of seven family members we told you about last Thursday. He and his alleged accomplice, 30-year-old James Stewart, are due in court today for a hearing.
A few hours ago in eastern Tennessee, authorities arrested Jerry "Buck" Inman. Picture right there. He's a convicted sex offender who earlier in the day was charged with sexually assaulting and killing 21-year-old Clemson University student Tiffany Souers. Souers' body was found on May 26 in her off-campus apartment.
In Connecticut, 44-year-old James Calvin Tillman is a free man. He was released from prison on Tuesday after serving 18 years of a 45- year sentence for kidnapping and raping a woman. New DNA evidence showed that he did not commit the crime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES TILLMAN, RELEASED FROM PRISON: I was innocent all along so, you know, I just -- you know just kept my faith and just you know let science be science.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Tillman is due back in court in July when he is expected to officially be cleared of any charges.
And imagine coming home and finding this large fellow sitting in your tree in your courtyard. A 300-pound black bear shot with a tranquilizer dart, then he lost his balance and started dangling from a branch by just one claw. Take a look. Watch carefully. In a little bit you're going to see this big guy fall 45 feet. He's fine, though, just lost a tooth. That's a lucky fall. That's a lucky landing. He's going to be fine and they're going to release him back into the wild. There he is holding on by one claw and then he takes the big spill.
And people in Phoenix are cleaning up from a morning wall of dust. Did you see this picture? Look at this. A storm made driving conditions, you know, virtually impossible for some. Stopped all the flights out of Sky Harbor International Airport, at least a bunch of them. Look, that's a dust storm rolling across Phoenix.
M. O'BRIEN: Positively biblical. Where are the locusts?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Jeez.
S. O'BRIEN: Look at that, it's just massive (ph) and thick.
M. O'BRIEN: That is something. That is something. All right.
In Iraq, about 50 people snatched in a bold kidnapping effort just the other day, we told you about. They are now found. We'll have details of their abduction and return in a live report coming up.
S. O'BRIEN: Than a rare look this morning inside the walls of one of America's most notorious prisons. Hear what day-to-day life is like for some of the worst offenders at San Quentin.
M. O'BRIEN: Then later, a young solder killed in Iraq, the family devastated. But adding insult to the injury, protesters stake out the funeral, claiming he died because he was raised with evil values. This is a story that will make you angry.
S. O'BRIEN: And Carrie Lee has a look at business headlines for us this morning.
Good morning, -- Carrie.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad, thank you. A House panel blasts Fannie Mae's former Chief Franklin Raines. And the Dow finishes above 11,000, but just barely. What's in store for today? We'll have that coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning.
The same-sex marriage ban coming to a vote. The Senate to vote at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. They're expecting a majority to support it, but not the two-thirds needed to amend the Constitution.
The results are in in California. It's being called a bellwether for the midterm congressional elections. The Republicans holding on to the House seat vacated by Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Brian Bilbray defeating Democratic challenger Francis Busby.
All eyes in Indonesia on Mount Merapi, new smoke and ash spewing out of that volcano in the wake of that earthquake there. Ten thousand have evacuated -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: It is a rare look inside life inside of one of America's most notorious prisons, San Quentin.
Carol Costello joins us now. She's live in the newsroom with more on this.
Hey, Carol, good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Good morning to all of you.
It's a fascinating look. Charles Manson served time there. So did the man who assassinated Robert Kennedy, Sirhan Sirhan. Every month, San Quentin gets nearly 2,000 new inmates. Their crimes ranging from drunk driving to mass murder.
In the first of a two-part special, Larry King goes behind the prison walls to meet some of the lifers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): San Quentin, California's oldest prison, is home to some 5,500 inmates. Scott Peterson and serial killer Richard Ramirez, the so-called "Night Stalker," are among the prisoners on death row.
Larry King talked with four men now serving life terms for murder and a former inmate turned minister about life behind bars.
LONNIE MORRIS, SAN QUENTIN PRISONER: I did take a man's life and I think that I have to pay for the crime that I committed.
KEVIN HAGAN, PRISONER AT SAN QUENTIN: And I regret it every day I get up and I look in the mirror and I know back then I was in -- I didn't -- I wasn't capable of -- I didn't have the triggers -- I had the triggers, but I didn't know how to handle the triggers. I didn't have the mechanics to deal with the stress that I was under.
MICHAEL TOMLINSON, FORMER PRISONER AT SAN QUENTIN: The most dangerous thing in the world, Larry, is a child's mind in a man's body. And prison is full of child's minds in men's bodies.
COSTELLO: Jeff Elkins was married while in prison.
JEFF ELKINS, PRISONER AT SAN QUENTIN: The prison, by design, destroys families. After 6.5 years, my wife -- she used to come visit me every week. But she couldn't take it anymore. And never knowing if I'll ever get out, she decided to move on with her life. And I didn't blame her for that.
COSTELLO: For these lifers, the goal day to day is self- improvement. They are focused not on what they were but what they can be.
MORRIS: The reality for me is that I have to find a way to exist that's going to improve my life as a human being, that's going to make me a better person than I was before I came to prison.
JULIUS DOMANTAY, SAN QUENTIN PRISONER: I believe that I could be a powerful tool in a society by my experiences behind these walls.
MORRIS: But when I looked at my previous life, there wasn't much that good could be said about me. And so I had to change that dynamic so that when I die, I want people to say, hey, man, that was a guy that had to contribute something or tried to contribute something to life and make his life better.
TOMLINSON: San Quentin is a place to put people to death. It -- nowhere else in California do they do that. This is the place. And this is also a place that people are going to come to to change. I've changed. You know I have a wife and three wonderful kids. My middle son is graduating from kindergarten today. You know I mean God has changed my life. I have a blessed life, but it started here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Wow! Michael Tomlinson now runs a ministry helping ex-cons, like himself, as well as inmates still inside. And he's written about his experience in a book titled "From the Pit to the Pulpit," just in case you're interested -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: I bet it's a fascinating, fascinating look inside. I mean, really, what an interesting place and what an interesting prison. I mean, what history there.
COSTELLO: You know the weirdest thing is, is when you listen to these men, they sound just completely normal and you certainly don't think of them that way when you think what they've done.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. No, that is -- they don't put you there for any kind of -- you know it's not an easy prison to get into and certainly not to get out of.
Carol Costello for us this morning from the newsroom.
Carol, thanks.
You can see the second part of Larry's special, "LARRY KING LIVE: INSIDE SAN QUENTIN," tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's get a check of the weather forecast with Rob Marciano in for Chad Myers again.
Hello, -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Hello, Miles.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Back to you.
S. O'BRIEN: That is good news.
All right, Rob, thank you.
MARCIANO: You bet.
S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, we'll tell you how a college whiz kid actually tricked investors into pouring millions of bucks into a phony hedge fund.
And then hold on to your wheels, the surprising leader on this year's most stolen cars list.
Miles, any guesses?
M. O'BRIEN: Let me guess, the Mercedes is the most stolen car.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm going to guess the Honda Accord.
M. O'BRIEN: Because there are more Accords.
S. O'BRIEN: Maybe.
M. O'BRIEN: That would probably be the reason.
S. O'BRIEN: I don't know, we'll see.
M. O'BRIEN: More Accords. Yes, maybe.
S. O'BRIEN: We'll let you know in just a moment.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
S. O'BRIEN: Short break. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Some of the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.
A guilty plea from a former NYU student. Hakan Yalincak posed as an heir to a billionaire Turkish family, tricked investors, who apparently lost about $7 million in his fake hedge fund.
New recommendations from "Consumer Reports" magazine say that pregnant women should avoid canned tuna. The report says that mercury levels could be harmful. The FDA says up to 12 ounces of canned tuna per week is still safe.
And this is the most popular piece of videotape on the Web right now. This guy's name is Judson Laipply. It's called "Evolution of Dance." It's been watched more than 18 million times on youtube.com.
Have you seen this? It's so funny.
M. O'BRIEN: I have. It is funny. You have to sort of see the whole thing.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: But it's worth checking out.
S. O'BRIEN: He does you know music from Elvis to the Partridges. He says he's working on the second version of it. It's been so popular, although he admits he doesn't think it's going to change his life.
M. O'BRIEN: It's -- they call it viral. And looking at this, you might say, yes, that is viral, yes. No, it's very funny.
S. O'BRIEN: He says he left some genres out and he's going to work on a second version.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm sure there's a few left, yes.
S. O'BRIEN: He didn't do the electric slide, he said. There's a whole...
LEE: Really crafting it.
M. O'BRIEN: He did the funky chicken, right? Did he do that?
S. O'BRIEN: I love...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: I believe so.
M. O'BRIEN: Bankrupt Northwest Airlines and its flight attendants headed for a showdown this morning. On Tuesday, the flight attendants overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer that called for a 21 percent pay cut. The company is asking a bankruptcy judge to stop the flight attendants from striking, however, and they would like the judge to impose that latest offer. We'll keep you posted on that one.
Inflation fears grow. The Dow Jones drops. Dow 9,000.
LEE: We've seen a lot of selling this week.
M. O'BRIEN: Hi, Carrie.
LEE: A few weeks ago it was 12,000. Well we're just at 11,000 now. We finished just two points above the 11,000 mark yesterday. Inflation fears continuing to weigh on the markets.
Yesterday, the industrials lower by 46 points. Could have been worse, during the session we were down 110 points. Add that to Monday's 200-point loss and the Dow is now at a 3-month low. You can see the chart there. Futures this morning pointing to a flat open.
And a House panel blasting Fannie Mae's former ousted Chief Franklin Raines. He was the company's CEO. And they are suggesting tightening government control of the mortgage giant. Representative Richard Baker, Louisiana, said Raines probably lied to Congress when he testified about the company's problems in 2004.
This all surrounds the company's big accounting scandal. Fannie was alleged to have manipulated accounting so that executives could reach their performance incentives. Fannie was fined $400 million last month.
And finally, Pfizer has reportedly received bids worth about $14 billion for its consumer products unit. Johnson & Johnson among the companies reportedly interested. The unit includes Listerine, Sudafed, Rolaids, some other brands. They had -- that unit had $3.9 million -- billion, excuse me, billion with a B, in sales last year.
That's the latest from here, guys, back to you.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, -- Carrie.
LEE: OK.
S. O'BRIEN: Hey, listen to this list. This is a list of things people steal. A luxury SUV, in fact, tops the list of vehicles that thieves love to steal. For the fourth year in a row, it's kind of a dubious honor, it's the Cadillac Escalade. That is the most stolen set of wheels. It's a beautiful car.
M. O'BRIEN: That makes people want to buy it. I want an Escalade because people want to steal it.
S. O'BRIEN: I said -- well I said Escalade.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: It's Escalade.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, whatever you like.
S. O'BRIEN: A lot of pressure.
M. O'BRIEN: You say potato, I say potato, whatever.
S. O'BRIEN: Then, number two, you can see right there, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and the Dodge Ram 1500.
M. O'BRIEN: Who knew?
S. O'BRIEN: This all comes according to the Institute for Highway Safety, which ranks the vehicles by the insurance -- what do you call it -- claims put in after they are stolen.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: You know I would have thought the Honda for a while was leading. I know that because I had a Honda in California and people ripped it off all the time. Well, you know, another dubious honor.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. All right. Well, upgrade to the Escalade now.
S. O'BRIEN: Short break. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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