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American Morning
Crisis in the Middle East; Shooting Suspect Speaks; Iraq Rape- Murder
Aired August 08, 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. It's Tuesday, August 8. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Soledad, good morning.
O'BRIEN: And good morning to you.
HARRIS: Good morning.
Hi, everyone, Tony Harris in for Miles O'Brien this week.
Here is a look at what's happening now in the news.
O'BRIEN: We begin in Baghdad where at least 19 people are dead following several roadside bombings. More than 75 others wounded. At least two bombs targeted Iraqi police patrols.
HARRIS: Voters in five states will go to the polls today. Primaries are being held in Connecticut, Colorado, Michigan and Missouri and a run-off in Georgia. The biggest race, however, is in Connecticut. The polls are now open there. Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman is trailing anti-war challenger Ned Lamont. The vote is seen by some as a referendum on the Iraq war. Some Democrats have criticized Lieberman for supporting the war.
O'BRIEN: Controversial Georgia Democrat Cynthia McKinney is also in a fight for her political life. The six-term congresswoman faces a run-off today against attorney Hank Johnson. Johnson came within 1,700 votes of McKinney in last month's Democratic Primary.
And it's happened again in Pennsylvania, thousands of patients who were treated at two veterans hospitals may be at risk for identity theft. The Department of Veterans Affairs says a subcontractor lost a computer that contained vet's personal data, including their Social Security numbers.
HARRIS: And later today in Washington, the Federal Reserve announces whether it will raise interest rates again. The Fed has pushed rates higher 17 times in the last two years but they are expected to hold steady today.
And in just a few hours, government forecasters will update their Atlantic hurricane season outlook. Last week, respected forecaster William Gray dropped his prediction -- that's always good news -- for hurricanes from nine to seven.
Chad Myers is in the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta for us this morning.
Chad, good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Tony. Good morning, Soledad.
Here are the numbers from the last update we got from them, 13 to 16 they expected. The average is 11. Number of hurricanes, they expected 8 to 10 and now the average is 6. And major hurricanes 4 to 6 and the average is just 2, actually about 2.3. We'll see what they come up with. That will be today at 11:00 a.m. for the new numbers.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Yes, the map today not as nice as yesterday's map, but thank you in a nutshell, Chad. All right, thank you, -- Chad.
MYERS: Right. Yes. You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Let's begin this morning with Israel's response to a Lebanese cease-fire plan. Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert just spoke about Lebanon's offer to move troops near the border.
Let's get right to CNN's John Vause. He is live from Jerusalem with more.
Hey, John, good morning.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
We heard from the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert a short time ago. He seemed very noncommittal about this plan being put forward by the Lebanese government for 15,000 troops to be deployed in southern Lebanon. A couple of reasons for that.
In theory, the Israelis would be very pleased if the Lebanese government could actually exercise total control over the southern part of Lebanon. So that, in theory, the Israelis are pleased with. In practice, though, there is a good deal of concern that the Lebanese Army will effectively not be able to disarm Hezbollah, will not be able to stop the continued rocket fire coming from Hezbollah positions.
Sources in Jerusalem also note that this plan was given unanimous Cabinet approval by the Lebanese government, including three Hezbollah ministers in that Cabinet. And also Hezbollah itself has approved of the deployment of these troops. There's a good deal of skepticism that this troop deployment could actually take on Hezbollah and be effective. There's also a concern about how these troops would fit in with any multinational force which would also be deployed into southern Lebanon and a sign that the Israeli government sees no real end in sight.
The prime minister at that briefing also announced that almost 20,000 residents in the north of Israel will be sent away to the center and the southern part of the country essentially for a few days R&R. Some will be sent to hotels for a few days, others will be sent on camping trips. In particular, the residents who are still left in the town of Kiryat Shemona, the northern Israeli border town, which has now become known as the Katyusha capital of Israel, and within the last few hours, more Katyushas have fallen on Kiryat Shemona, one building taking a direct hit, but no reports of injuries there -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: John, let me ask you a quick question. There has been this new videotape released by the Israeli Army. Tell me about it and what it shows.
VAUSE: Well, over the weekend the Israeli Defense Forces announced that they had in fact captured one of the Hezbollah militants responsible for taking part in the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers back on July 12, the incident which sparked this conflict to begin with.
Now, CNN could not verify this videotape which was released by the Israeli military which shows -- reportedly shows this militant confessing to his part of the kidnapping. There's no way of knowing how this confession was obtained.
But what is interesting or what is significant about this videotape is that Hassan al-Suliman (ph), the militant who was captured, says that he received extensive training in Iran. And the reason why that is significant is it's because it's part of a drumbeat by Israel pointing the finger towards Syria and Iran of their involvement in this conflict -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: John Vause in Jerusalem for us this morning.
John, thanks -- Tony.
HARRIS: Well, Soledad, despite Lebanon's offer to send troops to southern Lebanon, the violence showing no signs of letting up.
Anthony Mills joins us live from Beirut.
And, Anthony, what's different about this neighborhood that was targeted?
ANTHONY MILLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, the violence has indeed shown no signs of letting up across Lebanon and also in the capital, Beirut, where yesterday evening there was this strike on a neighborhood known as Sheair (ph). It is a neighborhood that is predominately Shia Muslim. Hezbollah, of course, is a Shia Muslim party. But it was in a part of the city that had not been hit so far.
It does nominally fall within the domains of the southern suburbs, but it was closer to the central part of Beirut than any part of the southern suburbs hit until yesterday evening. It was, therefore, still largely populated, people hadn't moved out. There were residents around at the time both in the street and in the building that was hit. The latest figures from Internal Security Forces that we have are indicating 15 people were killed in that strike and 65 people injured. So a real surprise to residents of that neighborhood -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right, Anthony, prime minister -- Israeli Prime Minister Olmert is a little skeptical as to whether or not moving of Lebanese troops in to southern Lebanon can actually be effective. But what's the view from where you are as to whether or not moving those forces into southern Lebanon will actually be effective?
MILLS: Well, I think that really the point about the movement of these troops is as much about a withdrawal -- a demanded withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon, at this stage, as it is about the actual taking on of Hezbollah.
Lebanese officials, and indeed Arab officials who attended the Arab Foreign Ministers meeting here yesterday in Beirut, have all said that the current U.N. resolution on the table is unfair because it doesn't ask for a withdrawal of Israeli troops from south Lebanon. And so the government has said we'll send 15,000 Lebanese Army troops to the south provided, and that's the key word, provided that the Israeli forces withdrawal.
So it's a conditional offer and it really, from the perspective of the Lebanese government, puts the onus on Israel to withdrawal its forces. There's no real concrete approach to an actual disarmament of Hezbollah at this stage, still more just general terms of taking control of the south -- Tony.
HARRIS: Yes. Anthony, it's about who moves first.
Anthony Mills for us in Beirut.
Anthony, thank you.
O'BRIEN: In Phoenix, Arizona, an accused serial shooter is telling reporters I didn't shoot anybody. Thirty-three-year-old Dale Hausner's jailhouse interview was cut short when his court-appointed attorney arrived at the jail.
Kim Holcomb of our affiliate KPNX has more for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIM HOLCOMB, KPNX-TV REPORTER (voice-over): Shackled and surrounded by armed guards, an accused serial killer sits before a swarm of media and very calmly presents his defense.
DALE HAUSNER, SHOOTING SUSPECT: And I guess I'm just guilty by association, even though I did not shoot anybody or kill anybody.
HOLCOMB: Dale Hausner says he's innocent but claims his roommate, Sam Dieteman, may not be.
HAUSNER: He could easily have access to my car and I'd never know about it.
HOLCOMB: Piece by piece Hausner attempts to dismantle the case against him. For every accusation, an answer. Police say he was spotted prowling the dark streets with Dieteman in his car.
HAUSNER: Many, many times at night I'd drive around because I can't sleep.
HOLCOMB: The arsenal of weapons removed from his apartment.
HAUSNER: I have a gun collection. I have lots of weapons, as does most Americans.
HOLCOMB: A map plotting the serial shooter crimes recovered from his complex dumpster.
HAUSNER: Yes, I've been keeping track of what's been going on.
HOLCOMB: Surveillance photos showing both suspects at Wal-Mart before it was torched.
HAUSNER: If Sam committed arson and I was there with him, I did not actually commit any arson.
HOLCOMB: For about 10 minutes, Hausner appears to candidly and confidently field every inquiry, at times, openly challenging police and prosecutors.
HAUSNER: I would like to see them prove it. They are going to have to prove it because I didn't do anything wrong.
HOLCOMB: But just as quickly as it started, this surprise press conference ended.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want you to stop and talk to me.
HAUSNER: OK. I'm sorry, I'm going to have to stop answering questions.
HOLCOMB: A public defender advising Hausner to stop talking. Even so, he would not ignore one final question.
QUESTION: Are you the serial shooter?
HAUSNER: I hope I -- absolutely not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That report comes from Kim Holcomb of our affiliate KPNX.
Hausner and Samuel Dieteman face 2 counts each of first degree murder, 13 counts each of attempted murder. Serial shooting cases go back to May of last year.
Oil giant BP now facing growing criticism over its pipeline problems in Alaska. The company, whose environmental record, rather, is already under scrutiny, now says that 16 miles of their Prudhoe Bay pipeline will have to be replaced due to corrosion. The whole pipeline is only 22 miles long. Company officials apologized for the shutdown which could last for weeks or even months.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB MALONE, CHMN. AND PRES. OF BP AMERICA: On behalf of the BP group, I apologize for the impact this has had on our nation and to the great state of Alaska. BP will commit the necessary human and financial resources to complete this job safely and as quickly as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The pipeline problem sent oil futures even higher overnight. The price for a barrel of oil is up 2 cents to $77 a barrel. That's just a dollar below the record that was set after Hurricane Katrina. Gas prices are likely to start jumping as well. BP facility also supplies oil to other companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron.
HARRIS: And happening in America this morning.
Doctors in Utah are doing reconstructive surgery after successfully separating conjoined 4-year-old twins. Kendra and Maliyah Herrin were born fused at the midsection. Surgeons are dividing their single liver, separating their intestines and plan to give each girl one leg. Kendra will receive the kidney and Maliyah will be put on dialysis until she's strong enough for a transplant.
Officials are trying to figure out what caused a computer glitch at Los Angeles International Airport. Thousands of travelers faced delays when a navigational system that helps guide planes onto runways went down for more than an hour.
The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis in Florida getting ready for their next mission. The six astronauts arrived at the Kennedy Space Center yesterday for four days of rehearsals. Atlantis is scheduled to blast off for the International Space Station within the next month.
Barry Manilow will soon be taking a break from his Las Vegas gig at the Hilton. His publicist says the 60-year-old singer will have surgery to repair a painful hip condition made worse by his high- energy performances. Manilow will continue his shows through August 27 and he's scheduled to return in mid-October.
New York City's heat wave is over for now, but the death toll keeps rising. The medical examiner's office has added two more deaths, raising the number to 24. Temperatures hovered around 100 degrees for three straight days last week.
And the four people who were injured when a tornado touched down in northwest Kansas are recovering this morning. All four were hotel guests, most of them hurt by flying glass and debris. One witness says sirens didn't sound until it was too late. The twister touched down following violent storms in the area.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, gruesome testimony detailing how a group of U.S. troops allegedly raped and killed an Iraqi girl and her family. We've got a live report from Baghdad this morning.
HARRIS: Then news photos of the fighting in the Middle East reedited. What you see, Soledad, isn't always what you get.
O'BRIEN: Plus, fireworks over New Orleans in the nearly year since Hurricane Katrina. We'll tell you what the city is planning and why some people say it's all wrong.
Plus, Carrie Lee has got business headlines.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good Tuesday morning.
After 17 consecutive interest rate hikes, will the Federal Reserve pause when it meets later today? We'll have an early look at that story and a look at the early stock market action coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Happening this morning.
Senator Joe Lieberman fighting for his life, politically speaking. He trails anti-war challenger Ned Lamont going into today's Democratic Primary in Connecticut.
After months of cutbacks, several airlines are planning to add more domestic flights. That's according to "USA Today." For travelers, it could mean cheaper fares.
And in Baghdad, a string of roadside bombings has killed at least 19 people. More than 75 others were wounded. Two of the bombs targeted Iraqi police patrols.
HARRIS: Also going on in Baghdad, more testimony in the U.S. military hearing about the rape of an Iraqi teenager and the killing of her and her family. The testimony has been full of graphic details of the attack.
CNN's Harris Whitbeck is covering the case and he joins us now live from Baghdad.
Harris, good morning.
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
Defense attorneys today had issues with some of the tactics criminal investigators have used in the questioning of the suspects. They talked about whether the suspects had attorneys, their own attorneys, present during the questioning. And they also questioned the fact that in one incident an investigator made one of the suspects hold an American flag while he answered questions.
Nevertheless, the testimony coming out of this Article 32 hearing has offered a chilling picture of what is alleged to have occurred in that house in Mahmoudiya one night last March.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITBECK (voice-over): Testimony on the second day of the military's Article 32 hearing provided chilling details about what happened before the ghastly alleged rape and eventual killing of a 14- year-old Iraqi girl. Three other family members were also killed.
Investigators testified that Specialist James Barker admitted he and three other defendants were drinking and playing cards that day at a military checkpoint near the victim's house. Another defendant, Sergeant Paul Cortez, told military investigators that's when the idea to commit the alleged crimes was first broached.
"While they were playing cards and drinking Iraqi whiskey, the idea came to go out to an Iraqi house, rape a woman and murder her family."
Private First Class Justin Watt, a member of the same unit but not involved in the incident, testified that he heard Private Steven Green say "I want to kill and hurt a lot of Iraqis."
Green was discharged in May and also faces rape and murder charges in federal court.
Investigators also testified that defendant Barker explained how the soldiers wore black ski masks and walked to the house and encountered the father and his daughter outside. One soldier grabbed the girl, another the father. They took them into the house. The girl, according to Barker, was held down and raped by at least two soldiers, including Green, who first took the girl's parents and younger sister to another room where he allegedly shot them. Investigators testified Barker quoted Green as saying "they're all dead. I just killed them."
Green has pleaded not guilty in federal court. The four soldiers under investigation have not entered pleas because they haven't been officially charged. That decision could come in the next few weeks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
U.S. officials have sought to assure their Iraqi counterparts that the soldiers will be punished if charged and convicted. Iraq has asked for an independent investigation -- Tony.
HARRIS: That is difficult to listen to.
Harris Whitbeck for us in Baghdad.
Harris, thank you.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, more on that oil field shutdown in Alaska. It's going to have a big impact. We'll tell you where in the country they'll be hardest hit.
Plus, the Fed meets today to discuss interest rates. Is it time for a break after 17 straight increases? Carrie Lee is going to join us with a business news update just ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: We got some information in to CNN we've been telling you about actually starting yesterday. Reuters, the news agency, has now withdrawn all 920 photographs by a freelance photographer of Lebanese descent who's Lebanese, taken them off its database. Happened on Monday after a review of his work showed that he had altered at least two images from the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Take a look at the picture on the left. That's the before picture of a bombing raid by Israel in Lebanon. And on the right, that is the after picture, meaning after it was doctored. One thing you can notice in that big black plume a little bit darker, look how the swirls repeat themselves.
HARRIS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That's just one of the -- several ways, apparently, they were able to tell that this photographer was photo shopping some of the pictures...
HARRIS: Photo shop, exactly.
O'BRIEN: ... or doing whatever...
HARRIS: Whatever, sure.
O'BRIEN: ... to doctor some of his pictures of the conflict. Anyway, Reuters says he is no longer employed as a freelance photographer for them.
HARRIS: Yes, probably the right decision to make, that's for sure.
All right, let's get another check of the forecast.
Chad Myers at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
Chad, good morning.
MYERS: Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Back to you guys.
HARRIS: All right, good, very good. All right, Chad, thank you.
MYERS: You're welcome.
HARRIS: Well the question on the minds of many watching the financial markets today will the Feds raise interest rates?
Carrie Lee is here with that, -- Carrie. LEE: That's the big question. You know we've seen so many rate hikes, 17 since mid-June of 2004, so over two year's worth of consecutive hikes. The question today will the Federal Reserve pause in that interest rate hike campaign? And after last Friday's weaker- than-expected jobs report, a lot of people on Wall Street thinking the Fed may take a breather. So we'll get a decision officially at 2:15 Eastern today. But the big question is will we see another quarter- point hike, will we not and what will the Fed say going forward about interest rates hikes?
Of course, Tony and Soledad, the big wildcard here really rising energy prices.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEE: If energy prices keep going up, could we see a pause and then more hikes later on in the year? But futures looking up ahead of this decision later this afternoon.
HARRIS: Well what are your thoughts on this? What could this mean one way or the other for the average investor?
LEE: Well you know lately in this market people are thinking about a rate hike pause and that's been good news for the markets. Any weak economic news people have rallied on that.
But one analyst for "The Wall Street Journal" compiling some data going back to 1953 and saying that in the 12 months following the end of a rate hike campaign, stocks haven't really done that well. In fact, the names that have done best when the Fed stops raising rates defensive names like consumer products and healthcare and that the markets tend to do best when the Fed stops lowering rates, so kind of buying at the bottom. So that's the thinking if you look at it over the past couple of decades.
HARRIS: OK. OK.
LEE: So, so far this morning, looking up for stocks. A quick check on yesterday's action. We did see a little bit of selling. Dow, Nasdaq, S&P down slightly across the board. Also this morning we have oil prices coming down a little bit, down 18 cents or so, after a near record settlement yesterday. Of course we talked about BP shutting down an Alaskan pipeline worth 8 percent of U.S. daily crude production due to some possible pipeline corrosion.
And then very quickly want to get to Google. They reached a deal with News Corporation paying $900 million for shared advertising revenue, becoming the exclusive search engine for News Corp. So we're continuing to see these Internet deals.
HARRIS: Google making moves here the last couple of days.
LEE: Yes, exactly, so big news for Google.
HARRIS: Yes, Carrie, thank you.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, -- Carrie.
LEE: OK. Sure.
O'BRIEN: The morning's top stories are straight ahead, including the cease-fire plan that's now on the table. Fighting, though, between Israel and Hezbollah rages on. We'll take you live on both sides of the border just ahead as we continue on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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