Return to Transcripts main page
Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
First Storm of Hurricane Season Nears; A Look at Al Zarqawi's Legacy
Aired June 11, 2006 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The first storm of the hurricane season nears. Straight ahead, team coverage of Tropical Storm Alberto bearing down on Florida's west.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't imagine that this - his death will tamper down the use of the Internet. I think it's proven to be a very valuable tool for al Qaeda.
Tracking terror on the ebb. Tonight, new warnings from al Qaeda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Didn't make a face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: ..wear everybody to speak English. I don't see anything wrong with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: English only, the heated debate cooking inside a popular restaurant.
This is CNN SUNDAY NIGHT, and I'm Carol Lin. Also in the line-up tonight -- forget engine failure. An airplane carrying 200 passengers lands without a nose cone. We have the pictures.
Plus, gruesome Gitmo. A former Army chaplain says conditions inside Guantanamo are worse than we know. Much worse.
And high-tech cheating. Making the grade getting a lot easier. You've been busy this weekend. So let's catch you up.
Boarding up and stocking up, bracing for bad weather. A 300-mile stretch of Florida's Gulf coast is under tropical storm watch while Alberto decides which track to take. The storm's strength and current positions lie with meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in about one minute.
Now squalls from the storm made a Tampa Bay water rescue difficult. Two men drowned after trying to save a woman who fell off a boat. The woman survived. Police say none were wearing life jackets and may have been drinking.
The debate about Guantanamo Bay fired up even more this weekend after this weekend's suicides. A U.S. State Department spokeswoman calls the men's deaths a public relations move, while calls grow louder from around the world to shut down the detention center. Now, this hour, my conversation with a former army chaplain who was there.
Now this hour, my conversation with the former Army chaplain, who was there.
Al Qaeda will shape the enemy and rob them of sleep. Plenty of harsh language and outright threats on a website frequented by al Qaeda. It is their first, albeit unconfirmed, response to the death of abu Musab al Zarqawi.
I'm technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg. Did you know that abu Musab al Zarqawi published a monthly webzine? The man knew the Internet and how to get authenticity and images of terror to the masses. Coming up in 10 minutes, I'll show you the cyber savvy side of al Zarqawi and those who are taking up his cause.
LIN: And here's a switch. Gasoline prices didn't jump this week. In fact, they have actually held steady for the past three weeks. Analysts credit a more balanced supply and demand. But whatever the reason, no complaints here. National average for self- serve regular is $2.93 a gallon.
Now keeping track of the World Cup is like keeping track of the United Nations. Holland beat Serbia Montenegro. Mexico beat Iran. Portugal beat Angola. And that's just today.
Cnn.com has the full scoreboard and schedule for all you football fanatics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: A real race car?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Yes, I'm a real race car. What do you think? Look at me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Move over, speed years. They're the stars of "cars," the latest animated offering from Disney Pixar. "Cars" won the weekend box office take with nearly $63 million in ticket sales. Now you also shelled out for "The Break-up," "X-Men," and the remake of "The Omen."
Well, we start tonight with a developing story. Right now, Alberto has about half of Florida's Gulf Coast under a tropical storm watch. That means people there could get really soaked really soon.
And we're expecting the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center within the hour. And that dark spot in the bottom of your screen is actually a shot of Miami and the first rains coming in. CNN is your hurricane headquarters. And we are going to bring you complete coverage.
Jacqui Jeras at the CNN Weather Center and our Rob Marciano is live in Tampa, Florida, where it's raining already. We're going to take you straight there right now.
Rob, you're already seeing some of the effects of the storm?
ROB MARCIANO: We ought to get quite a range squalls moved through earlier, Carol, earlier this evening.
Now it's actually quite nice. And winds are calm.
The center of the storm, as Jacqui will tell you, is very far away from us, even though those rain squalls have already made their way into south Florida.
All the way made their way into central and western parts of Florida earlier today, A squall, pretty heavy rain, and some gusty winds created rough seas, already two fatalities, sort of related to the storm behind me in, in Tampa Bay itself.
Two men died trying to save a woman that made her way overboard on a pleasure craft, but rescue efforts were hampered because of the squall associated with a tropical storm Alberto.
But the ring, you know, is kind of a welcome thing here in Florida. Most every part of the state is 40 to 50 percent below average. So if they get rain without a whole lot of wind, we're looking at potentially a good news scenario.
But tonight, a year ago, is when a tropical storm Arlene made landfall just up to the coast on the Alabama and Florida border as a strong tropical storm. So we are getting off to a fast start once again, this year, as our first named tropical storm occurs very early in the year. About a month earlier than average.
Typically, July 11th would be the first time that we'd see any sort of tropical storm named. And here we are, what, July 11th? Or June 11th? And we're already seeing our first one.
We'll bring you reports tonight and throughout the day tomorrow. Tampa Bay, as you know, a city vulnerable to hurricanes. Luckily, at least right now, tropical storm Alberto is just that, a tropical storm.
LIN: Rob Marciano on the scene right now. Rob's going to be back in about 25 minutes with an update.
But we're also expecting a new advisory on Alberto this hour. So let's go to Jacqui Jeras right now at the CNN Weather Center. Jacqui, what are you hearing?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Well, Carol, we could see that advisory as early as a half an hour from now. It typically doesn't come in until 11:00 Eastern time, but they have been coming in early. All day long, those advisories have been telling us that Alberto is holding winds at 45 miles per hour. And the strongest gusts are well away from the center of the storm. So the thing is really having a tough time getting itself organized.
It's fighting a couple of different things. We have some wild shear in play coming in from the southwest, which helps kind of knock down the storms a little bit. Doesn't allow it to ventilate.
And also, we have very dry air in the northern and western Gulf, trying to entrain into the system as well. But those water temperatures, which really helps to fuel a tropical system, very, very warm. 80-plus degrees. And that's what you need to sustain this. So we're just kind of fighting the elements and just kind of sitting status quo with 45-mile-per-hour wind gusts.
However, with some of those squalls that Rob was just talking about, we've had some serious gusts associated with them. Look at some of these numbers well into the tropical storm force strength.
Fort Pierce 64 miles per hour. Vero Beach 41 miles per hour as well as Ocala. And there has been a little bit of spotty damage, some trees and some power lines down from this storm.
We are under watch at this hour. Tropical Storm Watch from Steinhatchee all the way down to Bonita Beach. That means tropical storm conditions are possible within the next 36 hours.
We're seeing those heavy rains particularly across southern parts of Florida, not quite into Tampa where Rob is, but look at this heavy stuff off shore.
Rainfall amounts are going to be quite heavy. The storm expected to track towards the Big Bend area, but still quite a bit of uncertainty as to exactly where it's going to be going. Timing on this we think is likely going to be sometime on Tuesday for possible landfall, and then head on up toward the Carolinas potentially.
Rainfall amounts could be as much as five to ten inches in the path of this storm. So we've got flood watches in effect for much of west central Florida. Carol?
LIN: All right, Jacqui, we'll be checking back in with you as well.
And of course, all of you can stay tuned to CNN this week for the most up-to-date storm coverage. Starting tomorrow morning at 6:00 Eastern, Rob Marciano and Susan Candiotti will be live in Clearwater Beach, Florida. And meteorologist Chad Myers has the latest from the CNN Weather Center.
Well, we've got plenty for you tonight as well. So stay tuned. And we also want to hear from you. Tonight's "last call." are you more anxious about this year's hurricane season? Give us a call at 1- 800-807-2620.
Some of your responses later this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DANIEL SIEBERG, TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: I'm Daniel Sieberg. We've been telling you about the man known as the head of al Qaeda in Iraq. Tonight, we focus on how would al Zarqawi's lasting legacy. We'll be talking about how one disturbing online video was used by al Zarqawi to both scare his enemies and rally his supporters at the same time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: The wife of Britain's Prince Charles is mourning the death of her father. Web surfers are making this one of the most popular stories on cnn.com. A spokesman for Camilla Duchess of Cornwall says she is devastated by the loss.
And rescue crews in Maryland searching for a prominent publisher and former diplomat. The Coast Guard fears Phillip Merrill fell overboard while sailing alone yesterday in the Chesapeake Bay. His boat was found last night with its engine running.
And a big reception in the Big Apple for Jennifer Lopez and her husband Marc Antony. The couple and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg led the annual Puerto Rican Day parade.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Well, followers of the abu Musab al Zarqawi group are keeping his care network going. They are using an important weapon in al Qaeda's arsenal. The Internet. Enough of Jennifer Lopez though, guys.
All right, a new message out just today vows large scale attacks in Iraq. CNN's technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg is here with more details. Daniel?
DANIEL SIEBERG, TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol, that's right. You know, It's - the reasons that many of us rely on the Internet to easily communicate and stay in touch with each other are the same reasons that terror groups like al Qaeda rely on it and have tapped into using it. Al Zarqawi also learned how the Internet can be used to spread a singular message interpreted in two different ways.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Don't let the smiley faces and inspirational music fool you. The messages and images are disturbing and immediate. Mere minutes after news of his death, countless abu Musab al Zarqawi supporters embraced his passionate use of the Internet. In one case, a man writes he'd sacrifice his mother, his father, and himself to carry on al Zarqawi's work. He says he's envious of what al Zarqawi has now, presumably martyrdom.
NED MORAN, TERRORISM RESEARCH CENTER: I can't imagine that this -- his death will tamper down the use of the Internet. I think it's proven to be a very valuable tool for al Qaeda, the core organization, as well as its disparate vanguard outposts throughout the world.
SIEBERG: Al Zarqawi is widely acknowledged as the terrorist leader to most fully capitalize on the global and instantaneous nature of the Internet. His followers weren't far behind.
Sharing jihadist messages, vicious anti-American sentiment, macho poses symbolizing power. But video resonates the most. 26-year-old American contractor Nicolas Berg was kidnapped in Iraq two years ago. Online video of his beheading made a dramatic impact for very different reasons.
MORAN: So what we saw in the Nick Berg video was one video designed to hit multiple target audiences. On the one hand, the video struck fear within the Western world, America in particular. But on the other hand, it could also be used to rally support for his cause among potential recruits.
SIEBERG: Few doubt that it's actually al Zarqawi in the video. Regardless, the clip was downloaded millions of times after it was posted in May 2004, circumnavigating traditional media outlets.
(on camera): Zarqawi also brazenly started a monthly Internet magazine called "Zarwat al Sinam," which translates to "Tip of the Camel Hump." It's full of religious justification, al Qaeda propaganda, and fighting tips.
(voice-over): The Internet's ease of use means anyone can find or create these emotionally charged websites to inspire acts of terrorism in the real world.
MORAN: We're starting to see a convergence of the two, where individual cells are going to the Internet, getting these bomb-making recipes, getting ideological justification and religious inspiration online, and then getting operational plans as well and moving to the offline world.
SIEBERG: Consider it a borderless front of the war on terror.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIEBERG: All right. We've got a couple of sites we can show you now that have been very active in the last few days. The first one we're going to look at here is from a group called the Army of Ansar al Sunna. What we know about them is they were based in northern Iraq for a while. We're not sure where they are now.
This site they've got up here does post a lot of pictures on the side here, some of them very disturbing and gruesome. They have posted some beheadings in the past. They use this site as a recruiting tool a lot of the time. Also, like many of them, they're networked within each other, so they're linked to other things.
Now this is more of a blog site called alqalah. It has a lot of postings on here that have celebrations of al Zarqawi's death, his celebration of his martyrdom, looking at the man himself. A lot of reaction, a lot of good-bye messages from people on this site. And of course, very active in recent days.
And Carol, of course, there are so many of these sites, it's tough to keep up with them, but they're certainly everywhere around the world, and just as easy to create as they are to read and to find.
LIN: Which is why it's so hard to find the authors. Daniel, thank you.
SIEBERG: Right.
LIN: All right, the U.S. military finished an autopsy on al Zarqawi's body today. And it is set to release the results in about ten hours during a briefing tomorrow morning. CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" is going to bring it to you live.
Stories now across the nation. Going, going, gone. A boat featured in a 1966 Doris Day movie sank today off the coast of Malibu, California. And all four people on board made it out OK. They called for help after noticing a crack in the boat's glass hull.
And a more dramatic water rescue took place yesterday off Hawaii. You're looking at -- look at this. It looks -- the plane is about to sink. Two people were on board this sinking plane, had just four minutes to get out. The pilot brought the craft down after reporting engine trouble. A passing container ship picked up the survivors.
And he survived dangerous duty overseas, but a Navy officer on leave from the Middle East was killed Friday night by a carjacker. Dallas police say Cameron Pratt was attacked in his parents' driveway. He leaves behind an infant daughter. No arrest in this case so far.
Now coming up, a new skirmish in the border battle at a Philadelphia landmark. Why immigration and cheesesteak are on a collision course.
SHANON COOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And hi, I'm Shanon Cooke with world headlines. An airliner just couldn't keep its nose in the air. I'm going to sniff out this story when CNN SUNDAY NIGHT returns. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: You've seen the sign, "no shirt, no shoes, no service." Well, one restaurant owner in Philadelphia is going one step further. And it's not how you're dressed, but what you say that's his concern.
CNN's Mary Snow has this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me get three wiz with, and one without.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The biggest debate at Geno's is usually whether you'll take cheese wiz or provolone on your cheesesteak. But now a whole new kind of debate is heating up at this famous Philadelphia cheesesteak landmark after owner Joey Bento, who's run this business for 40 years, put up a sign in December requiring customers to place orders in English only.
JOEY BENTO, GENO'S OWNER: I'll be the poster child. I'll lead the charge.
SNOW: And how about in the debate on illegal immigration? Where would you take a stand there?
BENTO: Ship them all back.
SNOW: Geno's is a Philadelphia icon, serving countless famous customers including Bill Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. And because of Geno's status in the city, the debate is gaining plenty of attention.
BENTO: I'm a proud American, and I want everybody to speak English. I don't see anything wrong with that.
SNOW: But some in the community see a different meaning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a way of saying no Mexicans allowed or no Latino immigrants allowed.
SNOW: Community leaders say there are a growing number of Mexicans in the city. Some, including a city councilman, believe the English-only rule is targeting them as the nation debates illegal immigration.
Emotions run so high, a passer-by interrupted one of our interviews to weigh in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a private establishment. And he has the right to refuse service to anybody he wants. If I'm not wearing a shirt, if I'm not wearing shoes...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like 50 years ago when they had signs that said 'whites only'...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't say...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ...or no coloreds allowed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it doesn't say no Mexicans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's discriminating.
SNOW: Bento says he won't turn anyone away.
BENTO: When you come to Geno's, even though you don't speak English, it doesn't mean you're not going to get served.
SNOW: Bento says he'll actually help customers with the translation, but not everyone in the community is convinced.
HELEN GYM, ASIAN AMERICANS UNITED: Underneath the sign, it says management has the right to refuse service. And the two of them combined together, if you read it in English, send a message.
SNOW: Mary Snow, CNN, Philadelphia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Stories around the world now. Israel targeted a car filled with Hamas militants today in Gaza City, but everyone inside escaped unharmed. Meanwhile, Israel's prime minister expressed regret over a deadly explosion at a Gaza beach Friday that killed picnickers.
Now Muslims protested today outside London police headquarters. They're angry about what they call rising Islam-o-phobia. The rally comes nine days after a counterterrorism raid that ended in the arrest of two Muslim brothers. One was shot during the operation. Both were released without being charged.
And Iraq's presidency becomes the target of a protest in Germany today. It happened at the World Cup venue, where Iran played against Mexico. About 1200 people gathered to demonstrate against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust.
And there's a lot more happening in the world, including you might say some unusual events. Up first, an airplane that made a miraculous landing. CNN's Shanon Cook has been working this story. Shanon?
COOK: Hey, there, Carol, and what quite a story it is. Perhaps what was so miraculous about this particular landing was that an essential part of the airplane was actually missing. That being its nose.
Take a look at this. The plane encountered a really nasty storm in the air. Large hail stones took the nose off. And these hail stones also shattered the cockpit's front windows.
And the pilot said that he had to look out little side windows when landing the plane. So Carol, luckily no one was hurt. He managed to land the plane quite beautifully despite all this.
LIN: Remarkable. How many people were on board?
COOK: Well, it was quite packed. There were 200 people. And most of those were elementary school students who were on a school tour. So I would imagine it turned into quite the learning experience for those kids.
LIN: Poor kids. All right. At least they're safe. Hey, what was happening in the Dead Sea this past week? Did you see those pictures?
COOK: Absolutely. A little sumo wrestlers were from big sumo wrestlers decided to take a little bit of a swim. You've got to see these pictures. Even a sumo is apparently no match for the Dead Sea.
These Japanese wrestlers bobbed up and down in the super salty water this week. The water is so rich in salt and minerals, it actually keeps you afloat. And I think these pudgy guys were clearly surprised by their own buoyancy there. The dip was part of a visit the sumos made to Israel in an attempt to boost ties between Japan and Israel. Carol, I swear it looks like they're having a day at the spa. Rubbing mud all over themselves.
LIN: Getting some treatments. Aren't those minerals supposed to be really good for your skin, too?
COOK: Yes, they use some of the minerals from the Dead Sea in moisturizers and lotions. I actually have some which an Israeli friend gave to me. And it's pretty effective stuff. I'm actually 17 years old.
LIN: Oh, remarkable. All right, well, there you go. All right, some other news happening around the world. Speaking of treatments, this strange story about detox centers.
COOK: Yes, a detox center with a difference has opened up in Amsterdam. It's actually a detox center for videogamers. Opening next month, what it does is it offers in-house treatment to teens who can't put the controller down.
LIN: Oh, come on.
COOK: No, believe me, it's true. The head of the center says that videogames can be as addictive as gambling or drugs and just as hard to kick.
Here's a guy we're seeing a picture here of a guy who's actually receiving treatment. The head of the center says he's already tried out treatment on 20 people. And he says they suffer withdrawal symptoms.
LIN: Oh, gee.
COOK: After a while, they'll look at a computer screen and they'll actually start to shake and sweat.
LIN: Well, that guy wasn't blinking. I hope that was a still photo and not video.
COOK: I hope so too.
LIN: All right, thanks very much, Shanon.
COOK: Thanks, Carol.
LIN: Well, the storm is brewing out there off the coast of Florida. CNN is tracking Alberto. Up next, tropical storm Alberto, where is he and where's he going?
Plus, Guantanamo Bay. A former Army chaplain tells us it is worse than you could ever imagine.
And don't forget tonight's "last call" question. Are you more anxious about this year's hurricane season? Call us at 1-800-807- 2620. Your responses later.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And these are the headlines you're going to be watching tonight and tomorrow. Severe weather drenching Cuba and now heading for Florida. Tropical storm Alberto is west of Key West on a northward track and CNN is going to be your severe weather headquarters. We're going to be up all night watching this one, including the latest advisory, which I think we're getting any moment now. So stay tuned.
Now, 8:00 a.m. Eastern tomorrow, that is when the U.S. military is going to release the autopsy results for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The al-Qaeda leader died in a U.S. bombing last week in Iraq, and the Army ordered an autopsy after learning al-Zarqawi did not die instantly.
Now, if he needs more troops he'll ask for more troops. And if he needs fewer then that's what he'll ask for too. The top American officer in Iraq talks the troop strength with President Bush this week. General George Casey isn't saying what he's going to discuss, though, with the president.
Now, domestic spying, is it legal? That is the question before a federal judge tomorrow in Detroit. The ACLU is mounting the first challenge to the NSA's telephone monitoring program, saying government eavesdropping violates Americans' civil rights. Well, the president calls it vital in the war on terror.
Murder charges possible for Mary Winkler. Do you remember her? She's that Tennessee woman who allegedly confessed to killing her minister husband back in March. Well, tomorrow a grand jury is set to hear arguments for a possible indictment. Mary Winkler waived any preliminary hearing.
Daily Kos is a political blog. Yearly Kos is a gathering of political bloggers. Got it? Las Vegas hosted the first ever convention of dedicated Daily Kos readers. It ended today and attracted some big-shot Democrats including the Senate and House minority leaders. The gathering was organized by the readers and writers of Daily Kos, which gets about 5 million hits a week. That is a lot.
And it's Tony time on Broadway. Stars from the Broadway stage, stars from the screen, they're all out at Radio City Music Hall tonight. Check cnn.com for a full list of Tony winners and a gallery of red carpet arrivals.
High winds and drenching rain and a rough start to the hurricane season - that's what people across Florida's Gulf Coast are bracing for as Tropical Storm Alberto spins ever closer. Now, right now 300 miles of coast are under a tropical storm watch. It is a developing story we're following closely on CNN, your hurricane headquarters. Jacqui Jeras keeping an eye on the storm from our weather center, and CNN's Rob Marciano live in Tampa, Florida where it's already raining. Up first, Jacqui, we're waiting for the next Hurricane Center advisory. Have you got it yet? JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We have not gotten it yet. It should be coming any minute. And as soon as we get that information, we'll bring it to you, but the new information that we're going to get right now from the storm itself. The Hurricane Hunters have flown into the storm already once today, and now we're looking at another trip. And joining us live now on the phone is Lieutenant Richard Henning. And he is with the Air Force Weather Reconnaissance Squadron there on a Keesler Air Force Base. Good evening, Lieutenant.
LT. RICHARD HENNING, AIR FORCE WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE SQUADRON: Good evening, Jacqui.
JERAS: What's your location? Lieutenant, are you there?
HENNING: Yes, ma'am. We just exited the center of the storm about an hour ago, and we're about ready to make our third pass back into the center of Tropical Storm Alberto.
JERAS: And what - and what are you finding, Lieutenant?
HENNING: Well, as we've seen all day, the hurricane is -- or I'm sorry the tropical storm is being sheared by the strong upper-level winds and possible conditions out in the Gulf of Mexico. Right now it's having a hard time organizing, and the center of the storm is still very poorly organized. We had a pressure of 1,004 millibars, which is the same that the previous aircraft. So the storm has not been intensifying through the evening, at least not yet. Over.
JERAS: And so really not anticipating any changes with this storm for tonight?
HENNING: Well, you'd have to ask the Hurricane Center forecasters. But right now we haven't seen anything to indicate that the storm is going to intensify. Again, it's still encountering a lot of upper-level wind shear, that's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is from developing, and a lot of dry air is being trained in the system from the west. And that's again, that's also hurting its development right now, keeping it from getting any stronger. Over.
JERAS: What's the strongest wind report you've recorded so far?
HENNING: We've been recording winds a little over 40 knots. Up here at flight level, we're at about 2,500 feet above the water. So it's still a minimal tropical storm.
JERAS: OK. Well, thank you very much for joining us. That's Lieutenant Richard Henning with the Hurricane Hunters joining us live as he's in the storm. Very exciting to be able to speak with them as they're investigating it. And as soon as we get that update, by the way, Carol, at the 11:00 Eastern Time advisory, we'll bring that along to you.
LIN: You bet. Yeah. And that was really cool.
JERAS: Yeah, I know. LIN: All right. Let's go to Rob Marciano. He's in Tampa, Florida. Rob, so, it sounds like when we talk about Alberto having troubles organizing, it sounds like it's just going to be a rainmaker.
ROB MARCIANO, METEOROLOGIST: Well, that's what it looks like at this point. And typically this time of year that's what they are. There's another number of elements going against tropical storms from becoming too strong this time of year. That's why typically they don't get cranking until July and August. But it was one year ago today when Tropical Storm Arlene slammed into the Panhandle of Florida as a strong tropical storm. Our typically, the average date that we get our first named storm is July 11th.
So here we are tonight, a month ahead of schedule again. A beautiful night now but earlier there was a pretty good squall that moved through pretty much the entire state including Tampa Bay. And out in the Bay there was a situation on a pleasure boat where a woman fell overboard, two men went in to get her, and they ended up drowning, the rescue efforts hampered by the heavy squall that moved through earlier today. But like you mentioned, it looks like it's - it's going to be mostly a rainmaker.
So it's not all bad news with this storm. Certainly you can ask the firefighters over on the east side who have been battling blazes now for six weeks. If they can get a lot of rain and not a lot of wind, that would be a very good situation. How much rain and how much wind depends on how much Tropical Storm Alberto strengthens if at all over the next day or two. We are in Tampa, which is a city vulnerable to hurricanes because of its location, one of the largest cities in the U.S. vulnerable to hurricanes. Doesn't look like this one will develop into one, but you may remember Hurricane Dennis last year in July rolled up into the Panhandle of Florida and took a huge storm surge up into St. Mark's and Apalachee Bay and over ten feet of water into that area. They are prepared. Most residents went out and shopped a couple of weeks ago for tax-free shopping of hurricane supplies. They may have to use some of those, but if they don't you can be sure, Carol, that those supplies will not go to waste over the coming months. Right now beautiful night but we expect the rains to return sometime during the day tomorrow.
LIN: All right, Rob ....
MARCIANO: Carol, back to you.
LIN: ... on the story in Tampa. Thank you. Now, all of you can stay tuned to CNN this week for the most up-to-date storm coverage. Starting tomorrow morning at 6:00 Eastern Rob and Susan Candiotti are going to be live in Clearwater Beach, Florida, and meteorologist Chad Myers has the latest from the CNN weather center. All of it tomorrow morning starting at 6:00 a.m.
Now to an interview you will only see on CNN. No rights, no hope. Our next guest says that is what Guantanamo detainees are facing. So he says it is no surprise that three of them killed themselves this weekend. Now, you might remember James Yee. He was an Army Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo before he was accused of spying. He's since been cleared of all charges, but he's got a personal and painful take on life at Gitmo.
In counseling the detainees at Guantanamo, did you ever come across those who said that they wanted to kill themselves?
JAMES YEE, FMR. CHAPLAIN, GUANTANAMO: Yeah. When I was actually down in Guantanamo serving as the Muslim chaplain, suicide was a very significant issue and I was actually someone the command turned to with regard to dealing with this issue.
LIN: How many would be on suicide watch at any given time?
YEE: Oh, at any given time on any given day I'd say there was at least 10 or 20 who were actually on the specific suicide watch list. You know, I think really that the deaths that we saw this weekend really is an indication of the dire conditions that these individuals are being held under and the suffering that they're going through. And it represents the - the -- again, the turmoil that - that they're experiencing.
LIN: The three who committed suicide were in fact -- had participated in hunger strikes. What was the procedure when you were at Guantanamo to deal with detainees like that? At what point does the military intervene to try to force-feed them or get them counseling?
YEE: Right, it really became an issue when the intelligence operation realized that if a prisoner ends up dying, whether it's from suicide or from hunger striking, that would mean that this individual would no longer be an intelligence asset and they couldn't any longer interrogate this individual. So once that became a realization, the command immediately wanted to resolve these problems.
LIN: Now, so, what was your reaction yesterday when you heard that Admiral Harris, the commander down at Guantanamo Bay, insisted that the three who committed suicide were dangerous men, that what they did was an - was an organized, planned act of warfare?
YEE: It's really disturbing that - that a suicide would be - would be called an asymmetrical act of warfare. And - and I think the many thousands of families who are affected in our nation alone from the 30,000 suicide victims in our country that happen every year might be offended by - by the way suicide, which is really an act of desperation, is - is categorized like this.
LIN: What do you think the legacy of Guantanamo Bay is going to be?
YEE: I don't think the people, or the public actually realize how much of a negative impact Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is going to have on the history of the United States. For sure in present day today it has severely damaged our reputation as being a leader on human rights and as a holder of law.
LIN: Captain James Yee.
LIN: Allegations of brutality and murder. The instigators? U.S. Marines. Coming out, a sergeant finally speaks out about the Haditha massacre.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Haditha, Iraq. Something bad happened there in November, and it may be months before we know the results of an official military investigation. Now, Iraqi witnesses say U.S. Marines went on a vengeful killing spree. Well, now we're hearing for the first time the account of a Marine sergeant who was there. His story doesn't deny the tragic human loss, but he says it was all by the book. Here's our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The lawyer for the senior Marine at the scene of the killing says the Marines followed the standard rules of engagement last November and that the 24 civilians who died were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
NEAL PUCKETT, SSGT FRANK WUTERICH'S ATTY: It's - it's clear that innocent civilians died that day. But they died according to what we call the fog of war.
MCINTYRE: Neal Puckett represents then sergeant, now staff sergeant Frank Wuterich, the leader of a four-man team that killed the occupants of two houses that day. He's told his attorney several Marines witnessed hostile fire coming from inside the house.
PUCKETT: That door was - was kicked in. A fire grenade was thrown - thrown inside. And immediately following that the lead man in the stack went in firing his weapon and killed everyone inside.
MCINTYRE: Puckett, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, insists that was the standard procedure for clearing a suspected insurgent hideout and that the first Marine in, who was not Wuterich, had done it before in Fallujah.
PUCKETT: There was very little experience on the ground that day, but the one Marine who did have experience in Fallujah and who had cleared houses the very same way was that first man through the door. And that's what - what he was trained to do.
MCINTYRE: It was Sergeant Wuterich's first real combat, says Puckett and he believed he was in hot pursuit of enemy fighters.
PUCKETT: They finished with that room, and there's no one else in the house, and Sergeant Wuterich noticed that the back door's wide open. He presumes that the guys who were firing had escaped out the back. So they went back out the front door, stealthily went around the house, and the most likely house that they could possibly be in, there's a fallback position, was cleared the same way.
MCINTYRE: Puckett says Wuterich fired no shots at either house but he did fire on five men in the car after they refused orders in Arabic to lie on the ground and instead took off running. He says the Marines thought the car might have contained another bomb and didn't know the men were unarmed. The Marines say they shot others that day too. According to Puckett, in one case unarmed civilians were shot after they were spotted running from the scene of the attack. And in another a third house, where one man had an AK-47, was cleared by a different group of Marines, who shot everyone inside. But Puckett argues it was all done by the book.
PUCKETT: Sergeant Wuterich does not believe that he did anything wrong on that day. He followed the rules of engagement as had been instructed to him by professional instructors, by his chain of command, and everything he understood he was supposed to do he did. They were in houses that were suspected insurgent hiding places from which the Marines were taking fire.
MCINTYRE (on camera): And how does Sergeant Wuterich feel about what happened?
PUCKETT: He's incredibly sorry that innocent civilians were killed. But he knows that he relied on his Marine Corps training to protect his men that day.
MCINTYRE: Puckett says if anything was to blame for the deaths it was the rules of engagement that didn't provide enough protection for innocent civilians. He's hopeful his client, a 26-year-old father of two, won't be charged with anything as serious as murder once the investigation wraps up later this summer. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi out of the picture. Osama bin Laden still out there somewhere. A Website used by al-Qaeda followers promises their work will continue without al-Zarqawi and their allegiance to bin Laden is as strong as ever. So what does the death of bin Laden's man in Iraq mean in the bigger picture? Does it mean Osama himself is closer to capture or not? My next guest doesn't think so, and he's got the credentials to back it up. 20-plus-year veteran of the CIA, much of that spent working to dismantle al-Qaeda. Gary Berntsen, welcome tonight.
GARY BERNTSEN, FMR. CIA OFFICER, AUTHOR: Good evening.
LIN: Now, the analysis so far by the military of this threat on this al-Qaeda Website is that it's just full of bluster. I mean even the new defense minister in Iraq says so. Do you believe that to be true?
BERNTSEN: I agree with the statement. That is a bit of bluster. The military in the immediate aftermath of the attacks on Zarqawi, in the hours and days that followed, has - has taken down like 38 different targets. That is an enormous amount of work in a very high ops tempo. The military's making some real progress.
LIN: OK. So hypothetically, Osama bin Laden is sitting in some cave in the northwest frontier province in Pakistan or somewhere along the border and he knows this news perhaps. What's his reaction?
BERNTSEN: Well, his reaction on this is going to be one of a little fear and concern.
LIN: Do you think?
BERNTSEN: Oh, yeah. The point here is just that bin Laden never really fought, stayed and fought on the battlefield. He's very good at killing innocent civilians. He showed us nothing in Afghanistan. Zarqawi was engaging in attacking and he was putting himself in danger as he was doing his operations, and eventually he - he came up shot and got killed. Bin Laden won't be doing those sorts of things. He's got his head down right now. He's being very, very cautious. This is not a guy that takes risks himself.
LIN: Basic law enforcement. When you're looking for a criminal, you're waiting for them to make a mistake. If he's got his head down, how do you find him?
BERNTSEN: Well, it's a lot harder. In Iraq against Zarqawi we had intelligence fused to a strike capability there, Task Force 145. We don't have that in Pakistan. We don't have U.S. forces that can engage and attack targets at will in Pakistan. It's a - it's a politically charged situation.
LIN: Yeah, not even the Pakistani military can go into that territory.
BERNTSEN: It's very different.
LIN: It's all run by tribes.
BERNTSEN: Well, there is 70,000 of the Pakistani forces there inside of the northwest frontier province. Many of them are living behind the wire. When they come out, they get attacked. They hit improvised explosive devices. This is still a hard thing to do. We're not there yet. The intelligence is going to have to be superb to take bin Laden out. It's going to have to be better than what we had on Zarqawi ...
LIN: You know ...
BERNTSEN: ... because we're going to need longer lead time to do something.
LIN: You know what they need -- they need one of those tribal chiefs in that territory to turn on him.
BERNTSEN: Well, of course. But, you know, a lot of those people feel loyalty to bin Laden. He helped them in the 1980s when they were fighting the Soviet jihad.
LIN: All right, Gary, we'll see what happens. Gary Berntsen, thank you.
BERNTSEN: Pleasure seeing you, Carol.
LIN: You too. The big story for you tomorrow morning, Tropical Storm Alberto heading for the Florida coast. Jacqui Jeras keeping an eye on this storm. Have you heard anything from the Hurricane Center?
JERAS: Yeah, we just got word in, Carol. The most important thing you need to know is that this storm has started to make that northeasterly turn. It's now moving north-northeast at eight miles per hour. So, we'll watch for that gradual slide, then. It also gives us a lot more confidence in the forecast as to where it's going. This is an updated forecast track. You can see, though, it is about the same, heading toward the Big Bend area, and look at the forecasting time on this one. Looks like that's not going to happen till real late on Tuesday now. So it may slow down just a little bit. We'll keep you updated.
LIN: All right. The p.m. on Tuesday. Jacqui, thank you.
Coming up, making the grade with gadgets. Some of you old school viewers won't believe what students are doing in today's classroom. High-tech cheating, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Cheating in schools. It is going so high-tech that many universities are afraid they can't keep up. CNN's Kareen Wynter shows you the problem of textbook cheating.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some call it the best-kept secret on college campuses across the country. It's a new high-tech twist on an age old practice -- cheating.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's pretty common.
WYNTER: UCLA students Laura Gordon and Katie Nelson have seen it firsthand.
KATIE NELSON, UCLA STUDENT: It pissed me off.
WYNTER: Students sneak in portable e-mail gadgets like these popular sidekicks to ace exams, jamming class notes on a tiny screen that fits in the palm of your hand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people like to keep it in their lap.
NELSON: You can see they're - they're looking at it and like just writing what they had on the e-mail.
WYNTER: With just a few discreet clicks ...
JUSTIN SMILTH, UNLV STUDENT PROCTOR: You can actually just be sitting here with a pencil in hand looking like you're pondering on the question, and underneath the desk you can just be texting away. WYNTER: This student proctor at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada showed us some of the devices tech cheats are using. Camera cell phones, calculators, BlackBerries.
SMILTH: It's just a button click away from sending it to a friend who's maybe sitting with the textbook and can text message you the answer back.
WYNTER: With students using sidekicks, BlackBerries, and other handheld devices to cut corners in the classroom, some academic experts are wondering what's next and if they'll ever be able to keep up with technology.
Ronald Yasbin, a dean at UNLV, says they cracked down on college cheats by implementing a new proctoring policy where trained students monitor exams. That change was triggered after a student used a cell phone to copy and transmit a test question to another classmate, who text back the answer.
RONALD YASBIN, UNLV DEAN: This level of sophistication really concerns me. It's - because they're so smart.
WYNTER: Yasbin says it had more than 100 cases of academic dishonesty so far this year, many involving electronic devices. Experts say it's not just high-tech gadgets that's aiding the cheaters.
JOHN BARRIE, ACADEMIC ANALYST: You have students using the Internet like an 8 billion-page searchable cut and pastable encyclopedia. I think you have students listening to their parents who are telling them, look, do whatever it takes to get into Harvard and to get into Stanford.
YASBIN: High-tech or not, educators say the lessons for cheaters remain the same -- they'll eventually get caught. Kareen Wynter, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: The hour's headlines after a break. But first, your responses to our "Last Call" question. Are you more anxious about this year's hurricane season? Here's what you had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Debra from Texas. Yes, I'm a little more anxious this year. I guess because the hurricane came so close to us last year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. My name is Ann. I'm from New Orleans. I am not worried about the hurricanes this year. We have started rebuilding our home, and we're just praying and asking God not to let a storm come.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Jillian, and I moved from Port Charlotte, Florida, where a category four Hurricane Charley hit. We lost everything. We had to move. We still have a lot of family members in Florida. And I am more anxious about this hurricane season because of my family members.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
