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American Morning
John Mark Karr Not Expected to Fight Extradition; Iran's Nuclear Deadline; Bush: Stay the Course in Iraq; Israeli Blame Game
Aired August 22, 2006 - 06:28 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody.
I'm Soledad O'Brien.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rick Sanchez, sitting in for Miles O'Brien.
Good to be here again with you this morning.
O'BRIEN: And it's very nice to have you.
SANCHEZ: Nice and early.
O'BRIEN: Well, it is early. I'll tell you that.
Let's begin with our top story this morning. The suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey killing, he faces an extradition hearing today.
Today's "Denver Post" is reporting that John Mark Karr is going to represent himself at the hearing and that he's not expected to fight the extradition to Boulder, Colorado.
CNN's Drew Griffin is live at the L.A. courthouse where those hearings are going to be held.
Hey, Drew. Good morning.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
A lot of confusion on whether he'll represent himself or perhaps be represented by his old attorney from a 2001 child pornography case in California. Patience Van Zandt supposedly visited John Mark Karr in his prison cell -- or jail cell, I should say -- here in Los Angeles. But, in any event, he's not expected to fight extradition, which means after a very brief moment in court here in California, the path will be cleared for John Karr to go back to Colorado to face the charges which has brought all this attention to him, the charges of killing, sexually assaulting and kidnapping JonBenet Ramsey back in 1996.
We do expect him to have a very, very short hearing in the criminal courts building right behind me here on Temple Street (ph) in Los Angeles. But as I say, it's going to be more of a formality, and perhaps we will learn if he will be represented and if that attorney will represent him then in the more serious proceedings that will take place in Colorado -- Soledad. O'BRIEN: Drew Griffin for us this morning with an update.
Thanks, Drew -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Now, this morning, Iran is going to announce whether it's going to end its uranium enrichment program. But if comments from the country's supreme leader are any indication at this point, that's not likely to happen.
CNN's Aneesh Raman is the only U.S. journalist working out of Tehran right now, joining us live to bring us the very latest from there.
What do we know, Aneesh?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, a very strong indication coming from the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamanei, yesterday, saying that Iran would pursue its program towards nuclear energy. He is the top official here, the be all, end all of decision-making. So it would be very unlikely that we would hear something different today.
Today we are expecting a "comprehensive reply." It will likely be lengthy. The headline, though, will expectedly be Iran's rejection of any deal that requires it to suspend its civilian nuclear program.
We expect it to happen around 8:30 a.m. Eastern. The chief nuclear negotiator for Iran, Dr. Ali Larijani, will hand it to some. We don't know if there will be all representatives from France, Britain, China, Russia, Germany. The U.S. has no diplomatic relations with Iran, but they will be represented by the Swiss Embassy here.
It comes as Iran has shown increasing defiance towards the West, not just diplomatically, but militarily -- the war games we've been talking about yesterday and continue to do so today. Yesterday, showcasing surface-to-air missiles. Really, Iran trying to show that it is ready in a defensive way for anything that might happen, any military strike that could take place against its nuclear facilities.
But, again 8:30 a.m. Eastern is when we expect the official reply -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Aneesh Raman following that story for us out of Tehran.
We thank you. We'll certainly be checking back.
Soledad, over to you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
Let's get to Iraq now, where it's day two of Saddam Hussein's second trial. Two co-defendants testified today that a military campaign back in the late 1980s targeted only Iranian troops and Kurdish rebels, not Kurdish civilians, as has been alleged.
The former Iraqi dictator and six others are facing charges in connection with the deaths of tens of thousands of Kurds. A verdict in Hussein's first trial is expected in October.
Another day of violence in the streets of Iraq. At least 11 people were hurt when a pair of mortar rounds exploded in a marketplace about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad.
And the latest polls show American support for the war in Iraq is at an all-time low. President Bush, though, vowing to keep U.S. troops there, at least while he's in office. And as expected, Democratic leaders are firing back.
CNN White House Correspondent Ed Henry has more for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: At his first full- fledged press conference in nearly two months, the president was blunt in acknowledging he's very concerned about civil war in Iraq. This, as a new CNN poll shows the mission in Iraq has reached its lowest level of support since the beginning of the war, with only 35 percent of Americans now favoring the war, 61 percent opposing.
In fact, the president made a startling admission, that the war is straining the psyche of America. But in the next breath, the president declared he has no plans to change directions, saying so long as he's president he will not withdraw U.S. troops quickly.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid fired back that success in Iraq is a question of strategy. And three years into the war, Reid charged, the president's strategy is failing.
Ed Henry, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Meanwhile, happening "In America," William Morva is in a Virginia jail this morning after a manhunt that police say left two people dead and shut down the campus of Virginia Tech University. Morva was found in a briar patch about 150 yards away from where he allegedly gunned down a sheriff's deputy.
Mayhem outside a Georgia courthouse again. Authorities say a chained inmate who was being transferred back to jail following a court appearance took a deputy's gun and shot him, then took control of the transport van. But they say other deputies shot and killed the inmate before he could harm anyone else.
Former President Gerald Ford is resting at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota this morning after having a pacemaker implanted. According to a statement from his office, Ford is in stable condition. Mr. Ford is expected to be under doctor's care at the Mayo Clinic for the next several days.
The hundreds of residents who live near the Casper Mountain fire in Wyoming are going home this morning. The last evacuation orders have been lifted and firefighters are being sent home. The fire is now 85 percent contained. It has burned nearly 12,000 acres since it started August 14th.
Traffic is making waves in Tempe, Arizona, after monsoonal rains. Several cars apparently became stuck in floodwaters last night. Severe flooding was reported in many areas of the Tempe-Phoenix area overnight.
Residents in Arizona won't be the only ones cleaning up today. Parts of the Texas panhandle were hit hard by severe thunderstorms as well.
In Amarillo, streets were turned into rivers and homes were flooded. Police and firefighters worked late last night rescuing motorists whose cars were stalled in the high waters.
As we look at those pictures, let's go over to Chad and find out what's going on with the forecast.
Chad, what you got?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm looking at Amarillo. Now, what I've done, Rick, is I've backed the radar up 12 hours and moved it all the way up to six hours ago, and just this train of rain, this rainstorm just stayed right over the same place, like trains going on the same track, just one storm after another. This is about 12 hours ago; that's when the first storm started to pop up, and it just rained all night with this storm right on top of Amarillo for most of the evening hours. And they picked up between four and six inches of rain, and anywhere that will make flooding.
We're watching this, the next tropical depression, tropical depression number four. It will be Tropical Storm Debby, and then actually the forecast makes it Hurricane Debby by Saturday morning in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. But still, if it makes a left, the next part is the U.S.
Watching this thing grow again overnight. See that? We watched that a couple days ago.
It was down here, then yesterday it kind of died off, but now it is back between Cancun and Havana. Really, Cancun and about Georgetown into the Cayman Islands. Cayman Islands going to get hit with some very, very heavy rain today.
Rain along the front -- the same front that made the rain yesterday in the U.S. from Raleigh, back to Atlanta, into Dallas and back into El Paso. Some places that had rain yesterday could see more flooding today. So be careful up there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: All right, Chad. Thanks.
Well, the University of Texas is number one. Ah, but if you're a school administrator there, you probably don't want to celebrate this one. "The Princeton Review" is ranking Austin as the top party school, followed by Penn State and West Virginia. And for prospective students and parents, don't write off the University of Texas. The same "Princeton Review" also called it one of the best values in higher education. The new "Princeton Review" hits shelves today.
Still to come this morning, a look inside the courtroom as a witness in the second trial of Saddam Hussein describes the horror of watching his family and friends killed by poison gas.
Plus, a volcano in Ecuador silent for now, but the troubles are far from over for those who live right there. We'll tell you about that.
SANCHEZ: Also, there may be a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, but a war of words has now erupted inside Israel. Why are they arguing amongst themselves? We will explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Here's a look now at stories that CNN correspondents around the world are covering today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: I'm Robin Oakley reporting from London, where 11 of the 23 suspects held since a plot to blow up airliners en route from Britain to the United States was revealed on August 10th will today face court hearings. Eight are charged with conspiracy to murder by smuggling bomb parts on to the planes and preparing an act of terrorism. Three more face lesser charges of having materials useful to terrorists or failing to disclose information which could have prevented an attack.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Michael Holmes in Baghdad.
The first testimony in Saddam's second trial. A witness tells of bombs falling from the sky and gas coming from those bombs. Day two of the Anfal trial.
The former Iraqi president and six codefendants in the dock. Some of them say civilians were not the target of those bombs, Iranians and Kurdish separatists were. The prosecution says 180,000 civilians died, 3,000 villages destroyed by Saddam's military.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. I'm Stan Grant in Beijing. Oil thirsty China already has deals with so-called rogue states, Iran, Syria and Sudan for its oil. Well, now add Venezuela to that list. The outspoken anti-U.S. president Hugo Chavez touches down here in Beijing for high-level talks. On the agenda, doubling Venezuela's oil output to China. And the United States watching on nervously.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: In Ecuador, thousands of victims of last week's volcanic eruption -- easy for me to say -- they're in need of food and other supplies. That's according to the Red Cross. And today, Ecuador's Geophysical Institute warned that Tungurahua volcano, which has been active since 1999, could intensify its activity in the next couple of days.
A massive fire in northern Greece to tell you about, just south of the city of Thessaloniki. Tourists have been killed. At least 50 other people hospitalized with breathing problems and burns. Fire officials say they suspect arson.
For more on any of these stories or any of our top stories, you can go right to our Web site, CNN.com.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, anger among some Israeli soldiers. There are call now -- calls now for high-level resignations in the wake of what they're calling a failed offensive in southern Lebanon.
Plus, Sylvester Stallone being sued by his fellow investors because he didn't lose money. We'll take a look at that straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Happening this morning, the suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey killing appears in an L.A. courtroom this afternoon. There are reports that John Karr will not fight extradition to face charges in Colorado.
In western Missouri, police say that they have found more bone fragments outside the home of a man who has said to have killed seven men. Thirty-three-year-old Michael Shaever (ph) apparently said he wanted to steal money and drugs from the victims.
And a possible clue on who leaked ex-CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. The AP says it has State Department calendars that show former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and reporter Bob Woodward met in June, 2003. That's when Woodward says an administration official told him about Plame.
O'BRIEN: The Bush administration is calling for the quick deployment of more peacekeepers to the Middle East. U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, says the shaky truce between Israel and Hezbollah has to be preserved.
The United Nations plans to send 13,000 more troops to the region. Meanwhile, the White House yesterday announced a $230 million package to help people in Lebanon rebuild.
In Israel there's a growing debate about what went wrong in Lebanon and just who is to blame.
Chris Lawrence is live in Jerusalem.
Good morning to you, Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
You know, in a lot of ways this is very similar to what the United States has experienced over the past few years in regards to the war in Iraq. Remember how American reservists and their families would publicly complain and sign petitions that their Humvees were not armored to the point of their active duty counterparts? And, of course, all the questions and accusations that have gone on since then regarding the plan for peace in Iraq? Here in Israel, some reservists are actively calling for both the prime minister and the defense minister to resign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice over): An uneasy truce keeps the peace between Israel and Hezbollah. But some Israeli reservists refuse to accept a cease-fire in their own war of words.
YOSSI AVIGOR, ISRAELI RESERVIST: The officers that were in charge of all of this operation should go home.
LAWRENCE: Yossi Avigor and other reservists accuse military planners and political leaders of incompetence.
AVIGOR: We don't know where we're going. We don't know what to do. Orders will change on a day-to-day basis.
LAWRENCE: Soldiers coming across the border say they were abandoned in broad daylight to snipers and took canteens off the bodies of dead Hezbollah soldiers.
AVIGOR: We got stuck for I think two days, maybe three without food and water. We had to take from the villages that we -- only for what we needed.
LAWRENCE: For the first time, a high-ranking Israeli general has admitted he failed to prepare the infantry for this war. And some critics are demanding the prime minister call an independent inquiry in which his decisions during the month-long war would be called into question.
ALUF BENN, "HAARETZ": The whole concept of reserves is a very hot political potato.
LAWRENCE: Journalist Aluf Benn says complaints from reservists have brought down previous administrations in Israel after the wars of 1973 and 1982. But Benn says over the past few years, reservists have been pressuring the government to train less and serve less time. BENN: Due to the outcry, the military and the government were trying to ease the burden, and due to the budgetary constraints, to call only those who were needed and to save on the training.
LAWRENCE: Now some soldiers say they were under-prepared. Others signed a petition that asked, "Were we called up for nothing?"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have no idea what our mission was, but I'm 100 percent sure we didn't achieve it.
LAWRENCE: It's a verbal war within Israel, with no cease-fire in sight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: Prime Minister Olmert is partially blaming his predecessors, saying they knew that Iran and Syria were arming Hezbollah and did nothing to stop it. He says despite the problems, Israel did accomplish its main objectives with far fewer casualties than in the past with much shorter wars -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Chris Lawrence for us this morning from Jerusalem.
Chris, thanks.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, Sylvester Stallone is being sued. We'll tell you why he's one of several celebrities haunted now by a bad business deal.
Carrie Lee is "Minding Your Business" ahead.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Sylvester Stallone is facing some big trouble, and we're not talking about the big screen. We're talking about real life.
Carrie Lee is "Minding Your Business".
Good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Real life.
SANCHEZ: We might hear him yell out, "Adrian!"
LEE: Yell out something.
We're talking about the hedge fund business here. And for folks who aren't familiar with how they work, these are typically investment funds that cater to very wealthy investors, and the investments themselves can be very risky.
Well, what's happening is, "Wall Street Journal" reporting one fund called Lipper Convertibles some years ago had some very high-end investors, Sylvester Stallone, actor John Cusack, as well as former New York City mayor Ed Koch. Well, they all made quite a lot of money in a rather short amount of time and they cashed out.
Well, now, lawyers want them to give the money back. The reason is, Lipper never really made all of the money they thought.
A portfolio manager had inflated profits there. Not exactly sure why the portfolio manager did that, how they got away with it. But bottom line now, these investors, including Stallone, Cusack, some others are being sued to give the money back. Basically...
SANCHEZ: So he didn't do anything wrong.
LEE: He didn't do anything wrong.
SANCHEZ: Right.
LEE: He cashed out, he thought he was doing the right thing.
For one, though, Mr. Koch -- former mayor Ed Koch says he's going to keep the money. He doesn't think he should have to give it back. But meanwhile, the fund is contending that all of the investors should lose equally.
SANCHEZ: Yes, good luck collecting.
LEE: I know. Once the money's gone it's very hard to get back.
O'BRIEN: I'm not an attorney, but I can tell you that's never going to happen.
LEE: Similar note here, also. The NFL and its union say a lawsuit filed by six current and former players. They're seeking to recoup $20 million they lost. It should be dismissed.
Basically, they followed the advice of an investment firm that the union endorsed. Well, the players saying, since the union endorsed it, they should be responsible. Well, the other side saying, nope, if you make your own investments you need to be responsible for that.
So, bottom line for hedge funds here, it's not a well-regulated industry, and maybe these cases will set some precedent for regulation.
SANCHEZ: Buyer beware.
LEE: Yes, exactly.
O'BRIEN: Interesting.
SANCHEZ: What you got coming up?
LEE: Coming up, we have a couple of other stories, and we will do a quick market check in 30 minutes.
SANCHEZ: Great.
O'BRIEN: Carrie, thank you.
LEE: Sure.
O'BRIEN: We're going to take a look at the stories we're working on for you this morning.
Murder suspect John Mark Karr, he's awaiting extradition from L.A. to Denver. We're live at the courthouse. Going to update you on that story.
And Iran expected to respond today to a United Nations demand that it ends its nuclear program.
A court appearance in London for 11 people charged in that airline terror plot.
Former president Gerald Ford recovering after he gets a pacemaker.
And being held hostage by your own family. Believe it or not, millions of elderly people fall victim to elderly abuse.
We'll take a look at that and much more coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
Let's get to Chad for an update on the weather this morning.
Hey, Chad. Good morning.
MYERS: Good morning, Soledad.
Looking at a wide picture of the Atlantic Ocean. The United States way up there yet, but the next storm coming off the African coast.
Now a tropical depression. It will be Tropical Storm Debby. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for the Cape Verde Islands, in fact. But notice what's going up to the north.
A typical storm, like a Hugo or an Andrew, a big storm if this was going to be one, would not travel so far north so right away. It would track itself into the Leeward Islands, maybe close to Puerto Rico, and then toward the U.S.
So this may be something that's very good for us that would keep a very big storm, the potential for a very big storm in the middle of the Atlantic. It is forecast to be a hurricane. The first hurricane of the year. So far, we've only had tropical storms. None of them big enough to be a hurricane.
Watch in this thing, though. This thing is getting huge. There's Cancun, there's Grand Cayman. Belize -- or down to the south, Honduras. This thing has been traveling out of the south and on up into the Caribbean here for the last couple of days. The concern, if it gets into the Gulf of Mexico, it may start to spin a little bit. But right now not doing anything. But that's a pretty big cluster of weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Chad.
John Karr, the man accused of killing JonBenet Ramsey, facing a judge in just a few hours. This morning a call for justice and patience from JonBenet father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIN WOOD, RAMSEY FAMILY ATTORNEY: He wants the person who brutally murdered his daughter to be brought to justice. He does not know whether Mr. Karr is guilty of that crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Those are the words of the attorney for John Ramsey, explaining what his client is saying about Mr. John Karr.
Will a trip to Colorado be in Karr's future? We're going to be live in L.A. at the extradition hearing.
O'BRIEN: Plus, Virginia Tech students are now breathing a big sigh of relief this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was like -- I mean, I was like, "What's going on?" He's like, "Some killer is on the loose." I was like, "All right, I'll stay in. Don't worry about it."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: School there back in session today after an alleged cop killer is tracked down just off campus.
SANCHEZ: Also, older Americans too often becoming victims at the hands of their own relatives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When she'd come down she'd get mad and she'd slap me. You know, I'm sick of this. She said, "Why don't you just die?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: We're going to tell you what's being done to break the cycle of this horrific abuse. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
