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American Morning
Chilling Confession From John Mark Karr?; Disarming Hezbollah; Following Osama bin Laden
Aired August 23, 2006 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening this morning, the U.S. Marines ordering thousands of reservists back to active duty. It is the biggest recall since the early days of the Iraq war.
In the Ukraine, investigators have found the flight recorders in the wreckage of that Russian jetliner that crashed yesterday. Was it the severe weather or was it pilot error? All 170 people on board were killed.
And a new weapon in the war on drugs. "USA Today" reports that more states are posting the names of methamphetamine dealers on the Web. The lists are similar to those sex offender registries.
Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rick Sanchez. I'm filling in for Miles today.
O'BRIEN: Nice to have you back.
SANCHEZ: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much for helping us again.
Let's talk about the man who is suspected of killing JonBenet Ramsey. At this hour, he is awaiting transfer to Boulder, Colorado, John Mark Karr. And while he waits there, there are some new details coming out about what investigators have learned.
CNN's Ed Lavandera in Boulder for us this morning.
Hey, Ed. Good morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning, Soledad.
Well, right now, John Mark Karr still sits in Los Angeles awaiting transfer. Technically, Boulder authorities have up to 10 days to transfer him. We've had no word here from officials in Boulder. It will be the sheriff's department here that will be in charge of transferring him to Boulder, but the sheriff says here he will not say anything about his transfer until after John Mark Karr has been booked into the jail here and his mug shot has been taken.
So we'll monitor that throughout the day.
Some other details emerging in terms of the investigation. You might -- a lot of people might remember how his family was saying that they were hoping to provide photographic proof that John Mark Karr was with his family that Christmas season back in either Alabama or Georgia, back in 1996. Well, so far, the family says they've only been able to find a picture that shows John Mark Karr's three kids together that Christmas in Atlanta; however, John Mark Karr is not in the picture.
So we still await word. We have heard from his ex-wife's attorney that she has been speaking and cooperating with investigators here.
Also, a couple other tidbits. One from a Thai police investigator in Thailand, who says that he heard John Mark Karr say that he had had sex with JonBenet Ramsey. And also, from a law enforcement source in Los Angeles who overheard John Mark Karr talking while he's been in custody there, saying that John Mark Karr says he doesn't understand why people don't understand how he could have gotten into the Ramsey house on Christmas Day, saying that he had gotten into the house at 5:00 in the afternoon and had hid in the house while the Ramseys were away at the Christmas party -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Ed Lavandera is in Boulder for us this morning.
Thanks, Ed -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: When U.N. peacekeepers finally get into Lebanon, will they be allowed to use deadly force? This is a tricky question, because it poses the question about whether they'll be taking on Hezbollah, for example.
Well, this morning, we're learning more about the U.N.'s rules of engagement for the thousands of peacekeepers getting ready to deploy there. And Anthony Mills has been looking into this story. He's live now in Beirut. He's following up on this, and he's joining us now live.
Good morning, Anthony.
ANTHONY MILLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rick.
It actually appears clearer what the United Nations forces won't be doing than what they will be doing. What they won't be doing is going around disarming Hezbollah consistently. They won't be going house to house or bunker to bunker or cave to cave looking for Hezbollah weapons and forcefully disarming Hezbollah.
What they will be doing is slightly more unclear. They do have the right to forcefully disarm Hezbollah fighters if they come across them with weapons or with rockets. Under those circumstances, they do have the right to forcefully employ force to defend civilians. But what this will actually translate into is less clear, but there are also questions about the chains of command, whose authority they actually need to employ that deadly force. And crucial in all of this is the possibility that at some point down the line, since Hezbollah is not disarming and its rockets are still down there, that these international forces will find themselves facing off violently with Hezbollah.
SANCHEZ: You know what I'm wondering about as I listen to you tell that story? Is a couple of statements.
First of all, let's go to the statement by Condoleezza Rice. She said about the cease-fire, you have to have a plan, first of all, for the disarmament of the militia, and then the hope is that some people will lay down their arms voluntarily.
Well, good luck on the last part of that, but she mentions the disarmament of the militia. It doesn't appear from what you're saying that there's going to be any type of disarmament. And then, let me read you what Emile Lahoud, the pro-Syrian Lebanese president says. He said any move to disarm Hezbollah would be disgraceful.
How do you put all these together, Anthony?
MILLS: Well, good luck is the key word. I think if you're trying to disarm Hezbollah by force now, certainly from the perspective of many Lebanese politicians, even those who do want Hezbollah to disarm, there appears to be a consensus here, even among politicians who are anti-Hezbollah and want them to weigh down their weapons, that using force now is not going to achieve that.
It's very dangerous. It could even result in a civil war. Hezbollah has many supporters, and even in the army there are a lot of Shia Muslims -- the Lebanese army, that is -- a lot of Shia Muslims who support Hezbollah.
So, if they were asked to forcefully disarm the group, they might simply join arms with Hezbollah. So, no. From the perspective of the Lebanese, it's not really an option at this stage -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Despite what our secretary of state may say about that.
Thanks so much.
Anthony Mills bringing us up to date.
Soledad, over to you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
Happening "In America" this morning, Alaska's governor, Frank Murkowski, is conceding defeat in a three-way GOP primary. What role did the big oilfield shutdown play in his loss? Well, in the final days of the campaign, Murkowski's opponents criticized his close ties to oil companies. They also tried to connect him to the BP oilfield shutdown.
In Massachusetts, the grandparents home of a guy who apparently owes $12 million to AOL, well, they're now saying they're going to allow the company to search their property for gold. AOL accuses Davis Wolfgang Hawke of sending out huge amounts of Internet spam and earning hundreds of thousands of dollars, and they believe Hawke may have buried gold on his grandparents' property. AOL, of course, is CNN's corporate cousin.
President Bush expected to meet with Hurricane Katrina survivor Rockey Vaccarella.
SANCHEZ: Way to go, Rockey.
O'BRIEN: Remember we spoke to him yesterday? Yes, it didn't looking like he was going to get a chance to meet with the president. But, no, in fact they will meet.
Rockey, you'll recall, towed his FEMA trailer from Louisiana to Washington D.C. His home was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina. He says he wants to thank the president for the aid that's been provided so far and also remind him just how much more is needed.
We're going to be speaking to Rockey a little bit later in this week and find out how that meeting went.
Wildfires in Washington State threatening now dozens of homes. Fast-moving winds are fueling a cluster of fires to just about 15,000 acres. It's near the town of Dayton. So far, there have bee no injuries reported there.
And a fast-moving wildfire in Montana is threatening nearly 200 homes. The fire is in a rural subdivision outside of Billlings. The rough terrain is hurting firefighters' efforts to put those flames out.
And take a look in the scene in New Mexico. A flashflood watch remains in effect for parts of the state after heavy rainstorms took place there. Four hundred homes affected. It took place in the town of Hatch.
Let's get right to the forecast. Chad Myers at the CNN Center.
Wow, that was just a litany of bad news stories there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: We want to do a follow-up now on that story we told you about first in May. There's new research that shows that about a third of the patients who suffered those serious eye infections while they were using that Bausch & Lomb contact solution, well apparently they need corneal transplants. The company issued a global recall of the contact solution, ReNu with MoistureLoc. The product had been linked to several cases of fungal infection that can cause blindness -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: It is turning into a war of words between Paramount Pictures and Tom Cruise's production company, it appears. Paramount and Cruise have called an end to their 14-year production deal.
The chairman of the studio's parent company, Viacom, took a parting shot. Sumner Redstone said -- this is a quote -- "As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal. His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."
But Paula Wagner, the actor's longtime partner in his movie company, Cruise-Wagner Productions, called those comments offensive and undignified. And she insisted that she and Cruise had decided to leave Paramount and that it wasn't the other way around.
There you go. He says...
O'BRIEN: He says, he says.
SANCHEZ: He says, he says.
O'BRIEN: On this one. More to come on that, I'm going to imagine.
SANCHEZ: Still to come, as a matter of fact, new fears about Osama bin Laden and future al Qaeda operations. We're going to take a look at what his past was, what shaped his thinking and what shapes our future.
O'BRIEN: Also, terrifying testimony in the Saddam Hussein trial. A witness to those alleged Iraqi atrocities takes the stand. We'll tell you what he said.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Here's a look now at stories that CNN correspondents around the world are covering today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Matthew Chance in Moscow.
Russia is mourning the victims of yet another air disaster. A hundred and seventy people killed, including dozens of children, when their Russian airliner plunged from more than 30,000 feet to crash in eastern Ukraine. The plane was carrying tourists from the Black Sea resort of Anapa to St. Petersburg when it hit stormy weather conditions. The pilot sent a distress signal just minutes before the aircraft spiraled down to earth.
This morning, Russian and Ukrainian rescue workers at the scene have retrieved the black box flight recorders and are working to establish the cause of this latest air disaster.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Aneesh Raman in Tehran.
For Iranian officials, it is now a waiting game. They have delivered a written reply to the country backing an incentives deal to get Iran to stop its nuclear program. In it, they call for serious negotiations to begin as early as today but showed no signs they are willing to suspend their nuclear program, as is required by the U.N. to be done by the end of the month. It is now up to those Western and U.N. countries to see if this is enough or if Iran will face action after the deadline.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Michael Holmes in Baghdad.
Day three of testimony in the Anfal trial of Saddam Hussein and six others accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and, in the case of the former Iraqi president, genocide. Now, the testimony that continued today included a 41-year-old woman who spoke of warplanes, gas, smoke, her body burning as she ran to a cave with other people. She said that she was later put in a detention camp and never saw her brother and niece again.
The trial continuing, the testimony very emotional.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: For more on these stories or any of our top stories, you can go right to our Web site cnn.com.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, thousands of Marine reservists are being told, don't put away those combat fatigues yet. We'll update you on the story from there.
SANCHEZ: Also, the fear of another 9/11 remains high. A new poll about terrorism is out, and we're going to have the numbers to share with you.
Stay with us right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Happening this morning, more family members of John Mark Karr are coming forward, saying he couldn't have killed JonBenet Ramsey. Karr's father says his son was with the family in Georgia when JonBenet was killed in Colorado.
In the Ukraine, investigators have found the flight recorders in the wreckage of that Russian jetliner that crashed yesterday. There are some signs that the plane was struck by lightning. All 170 people on board were killed.
And the U.S. Marines are ordering thousands of reservists back to active duty. It is the biggest recall since the early days of the Iraq war.
O'BRIEN: Osama bin Laden is likely planning another major terror attack. That is what the majority of people say in a new poll that was just released. Seventy-four percent of the more than 1,000 people polled say they believe Osama bin Laden is planning the attack, 21 percent disagree. The Opinion Research Corporation conducted the poll over the weekend on behalf of CNN.
What do we really know about Osama bin Laden? Tonight you can see a special "CNN PRESENTS" investigation of the al Qaeda leader. It's hosted by CNN Senior International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour.
Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Christiane Amanpour in Peshawar, Pakistan, the birthplace of bin Laden's terrorist organization, al Qaeda.
Not far from here, just across the border in Afghanistan, he disappeared shortly after 9/11. And now, five years later, we still don't know where he is or when he will strike again.
(voice over): To know more about Osama bin Laden, to bring you his whole story, we visited his homes, his headquarters, his hideout. We journeyed in his footsteps from Saudi Arabia, to Pakistan, to Afghanistan. We searched for answers from those who actually know him.
His childhood friend...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He never talked about the American people in a nasty way.
AMANPOUR: ... his English teacher...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He understood a reasonable amount of English, but he was rather reticent at expressing himself.
AMANPOUR: We met those who revere him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): He is the one who stood up against the biggest enemy in the world, the United States. And we love him for that.
AMANPOUR: Those who have prayed with him, lived with him, and fought for him share the story of his gradual but deadly transformation.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: I think bin Laden has been successful in creating a thousand other bin Ladens which we will be dealing with for at least a generation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: You heard terrorism expert Peter Bergen there, and he's going to be joining us live in our 8:00 a.m. hour to talk about the real threat from al Qaeda. Don't miss "In the Footsteps of bin Laden," a "CNN PRESENTS" special two-hour investigation with Christiane Amanpour. That's tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Still to come this morning, Microsoft links up with a special networking site. Carrie Lee is going to have the details on that one for you.
Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Getting this just into CNN. Apparently, Dutch F-16s have escorted a Northwest Airlines outbound flight to Mumbai, India, back to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. It happened not a long time ago.
Several passengers have also been detained for questioning. That word is coming to us from an airport spokeswoman now. No further details beyond that, but apparently the plane has landed safely. The plane from Mumbai coming back -- going to Mumbai was returned back to Amsterdam and passengers escorted off the plane by Customs police.
We're going to continue to follow this story and find out what exactly has happened there this morning as we get more details -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: And as we do that, let's check on business news right now.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Chad Myers standing by now with the weather to let us know what's going on.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: More Marines are needed. Keeping Iraq safe is pushing the military into doing something they haven't done since the start of the war.
We'll take you live to the Pentagon this morning.
LAVANDERA: I'm Ed Lavandera in Boulder, Colorado.
New details emerging in the investigation against John Mark Karr. I'll have that story coming up.
SANCHEZ: Thanks, Ed.
Also ahead, who fights terror better, Republicans or Democrats?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to fight this battle. We either fight it over there, or we're going to fight in the supermarkets and the streets of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The makeup of the next Congress may be decided by that one statement.
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