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American Morning

Bush Bashing; Babies Die of Medicine Overdose; Coup in Thailand; New Orleans Nursing Home Indictments

Aired September 21, 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 Thursday, September 21. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien.

Here's a look at what is happening this morning.

In just about 20 minutes, shuttle Atlantis set to land at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Atlantis got a clean bill of health yesterday after a thorough inspection of its heat shield. NASA says the floating objects near the shuttle were not key pieces of the thermal protection system.

In Ohio, a high wire act an ultralight pilot did not bargain for. Just a few hours ago, workers rescued a man in an ultralight ensnared in some power lines since 7:30 last night. He was trying to land on his property near Cincinnati when it happened.

S. O'BRIEN: Health officials this morning are closer to finding the source of that recent E. coli outbreak. The FDA says tainted spinach has been traced to three farms, rather, farms in three California counties. One hundred and forty-six people in 23 states have gotten sick in the outbreak and one person has died.

In Missouri this morning, the suspect in the kidnapping of a newborn baby girl is set to be arraigned. Thirty-six-year-old Shannon Torrez, aka Shannon Beck, is going to be charged with kidnapping and assault. She's accused of taking baby Abigale Lynn Woods after slashing the mother's throat.

M. O'BRIEN: President Bush hits the Sunshine State this afternoon on a GOP fund-raising trip. The first stop, Tampa, raising money for congressional candidate Gus Bilirakis. Then it's on to Orlando to support gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist.

And in California today, two "San Francisco Chronicle" reporters will find out if they have to go to prison. Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada have refused to reveal who leaked secret testimony from Barry Bonds and others in the government's steroid probe.

S. O'BRIEN: Top of the hour, let's get right to Chad Myers. He's at the CNN Center with the forecast for us.

Good morning to you, -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad, cold enough for you out there? I had to turn the heater on in the car on the way to work this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Other than that, Miles, the winds at Cape Canaveral this morning, three miles per hour. Shuttle comes down this morning in about 20 minutes.

Back to you.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, there was -- I know there's some concern about ground fog, but it looks like it's going to be OK I think.

MYERS: So far so good. We're all right. The winds are a cross wind, but three miles an hour is well within the threshold.

M. O'BRIEN: No problem.

MYERS: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: We begin at the United Nations where the anti- American, anti-George Bush rhetoric has escalated. This time it was the leftist President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, who took the podium and launched a verbal attack. He called the president the devil no less than eight times and the audience applauded.

CNN's Richard Roth reports on President Chavez's tirade.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His Excellency, Mr. Hugo Chavez Frias.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is one of the most shocking, undiplomatic moments in United Nations history, the president of Venezuela telling the U.N. General Assembly that it was not President Bush who spoke from the same podium Tuesday, but Satan himself.

PRES. HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELA (through translator): The devil is right at home. The devil, the devil himself is right in the house. And the devil came here yesterday. Yesterday, the devil came here, right here, right here. And it smells of sulfur still today.

ROTH: President Hugo Chavez's criticism of the United States reached new levels as he personally attacked the leader of the U.N.'s most powerful country.

CHAVEZ (through translator): The president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the devil, came here talking as if he owned the world, truly, as the owner of the world. I think we could call a psychiatrist to analyze yesterday's statement made by the president of the United States.

ROTH: President Bush did not mention Venezuela Tuesday, even as he outlined other countries posing a threat to peace and security.

Reaction from the Bush administration:

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We're not going to address that sort of comic strip approach to international affairs.

ROTH: The U.S. has linked Venezuela to supporting terrorism movements and using its oil money to foment instability. Chavez drew applause and laughs in the hall because he serves as a prominent and easy outlet for many U.N. member countries who can't publicly vent against Bush administration policies.

CHAVEZ (through translator): I have the feeling, dear world dictator, that you are going to live the rest of your days as a nightmare, because the rest of us are standing up, all those of us who are rising up against American imperialism, who are shouting for equality, for respect, for the sovereignty of nations.

ROTH: Another president, who was not in the hall, prefers a different speaking style.

PRES. HAMID KARZAI, AFGHANISTAN: Get it together. This place is for that, for unity, not for disunity.

ROTH (on camera): A potential impact from the Chavez speech, how will it affect Venezuela's campaign to win a two-year non-permanent seat on the Security Council, an election decided by members of the General Assembly?

Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: George Bush's predecessor in the Oval Office is coming to his defense. Speaking with CNN's Larry King, former President Bill Clinton said Mr. Chavez made a mistake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think Chavez would be much more effective if he would say something that's true. Obviously I think he made a mistake to do it. I wish he hadn't done it. You know he's not hurting us, he's just hurting himself and his country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: "LARRY KING LIVE" airs every night 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Another world leader who has opposed President Bush is softening his language. Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sat down with CNN's Anderson Cooper after he made his U.N. speech earlier in the week. He says he wants peace with all countries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): Our message is a message of peace and brotherhood with all nations, with all people. And we like all nations and people. We are against oppression and injustice. And we be -- we love the American people, as we love our own. We respect everyone.

And to clarify issues, I called Mr. Bush to debate. I propose that we sit and have a debate to talk about our positions, to discuss issues and allow everyone around the world to hear the debate. This will -- it was a great suggestion, I think, because I believe that, after all, it is the public opinion, the world public opinion that must have information and decide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: You can catch "ANDERSON COOPER 360" every weeknight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

How far would the U.S. go to capture Osama bin Laden? In an exclusive interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, President Bush says he would order American troops into Pakistan to get bin Laden, despite opposition from Pakistan's government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): If you had good, actionable intelligence in Pakistan where they were, would you give the order to kill them or capture them?

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Absolutely.

BLITZER: And go into Pakistan?

BUSH: Absolutely.

BLITZER: Even though the Pakistanis say that's their sovereign territory?

BUSH: Absolutely. We would take the action necessary to bring them to justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Well speaking to reporters at the U.N. on Thursday, Pakistan's President Musharraf responded this way to President Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTAN: We would not allow that at all. We will do it ourselves. We would like to do it ourselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Afghan President Hamid Karzai is weighing in as well on Pakistan's role in the war on terror, referring to the country as a terrorist sanctuary. Presidents Bush, Musharraf, Karzai all scheduled to meet next week in Washington, D.C.

M. O'BRIEN: A third premature baby has died from an accidental overdose of blood thinner. Six babies in intensive care at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis were given an adult dose on Saturday. A technician accidentally stored the adult doses in the pediatric unit.

Roger Harvey of our affiliate station WTHR with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROGER HARVEY, WTHR-TV REPORTER (voice-over): Heather Jeffers is comforted by her mother and sister as they mourn the loss of Heather's daughter, Thursday Dawn. The premature baby died late Tuesday night after fighting to overcome an overdose of the blood thinner Heparin she received Saturday at Methodist Hospital.

Joanna Pruitt was at the hospital as her granddaughter took her last breaths.

JOANNA PRUITT, GRANDDAUGHTER DIED: They killed my grandbaby and I will never forget it. And I pray to God no one has to go through this, no one, because it's hard, you know, to sit there and watch my granddaughter die.

HARVEY: Pruitt says Thursday Dawn's health improved since her premature birth last Thursday, but the overdose of Heparin she received Saturday proved to be fatal.

PRUITT: We trusted nurses and doctors to take care of this baby. And there was nothing wrong with her, she was healthy, she was only premature, seven weeks early, that was it.

HARVEY: Thursday Dawn is the third death connected to the Heparin overdose at Methodist Hospital. Emmery Miller and D'myia Alexander died Saturday night. Three families are now preparing for funerals and wondering why this happened to their loved ones.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Roger Harvey of our affiliate stations WTHR with that.

The hospital is offering restitution and counseling to all six families. They say the other three babies are still in intensive care because they are premature, not because of the Heparin overdose.

Happening in America this morning, police in Colorado make an arrest in the dragging death of a woman, but still no word on who she was. The woman's body horribly disfigured. An autopsy shows she was alive when the dragging began. Thirty-six-year-old Jose Luis Rubi- Nava, an illegal immigrant, facing first-degree murder charge.

In Rhode Island, outrage after a plea deal for the owners of that nightclub where a hundred people died in a fire three years ago. The owners of The Station, brothers Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter. They're set to do that today. Michael Derderian will spend four years in prison. Jeffrey Derderian gets three year's probation and community service. Families of victims say the punishment is too light.

In California, police and prosecutors red faced after losing a key piece of evidence in the child pornography case against John Mark Karr, the one-time suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. The Sonoma County sheriff's office can't find the computer containing pornography they seized from Karr's home in 2001. Investigators say they have a copy of the hard drive, though. Prosecutors have offered Karr a plea deal which would place him on probation for three years and put him on a sex offender registry.

In Louisiana, the husband and wife owners of a nursing home where 35 patients died when Hurricane Katrina hit indicted. A grand jury cited Salvador and Mabel Mangano with 35 counts of negligent homicide, 64 counts of cruelty on Wednesday. They're out on bail.

In Pittsburgh, a second man charged with the shootings of five Duquesne basketball players over the weekend. Eighteen-year-old William Holmes turned himself in yesterday. Faces attempted homicide charges, among others. The shootings occurred after an argument over a co-ed. She has been suspended from the school and faces charges as well. Two of the five victims remain in the hospital this morning.

In Texas, near the Mexican border, a massive manhunt under way for six escaped prisoners. A former cop facing drug charges and five members of a violent drug gang escaped from the East Hidalgo Detention Center in La Villa. They overpowered a guard at the privately-run facility and then cut through at least four fences.

Word from the Pentagon, the Air Force will try to slash 40,000 jobs by 2009 instead of 2011. The cuts are part of a long-range plan to reshape the military into a more agile fighting force. The Air Force says personnel costs have risen 51 percent over the past decade while the headcount has remained the same.

S. O'BRIEN: And the space shuttle Atlantis is on its way home right now. We're going to show it to you live in the next few minutes right here on CNN.

Plus those massive demonstrations in Hungary, the biggest since the fall to communism, threatening to topple the government. We'll update you on the situation there.

And gas prices are down. Don't rush to fill up yet, they might go even lower.

Plus Carrie Lee has got our business headlines.

Good morning, -- Carrie.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad, thank you. Good morning, everyone.

The Federal Reserve holding interest rates steady for the second straight month and former Enron Chief Jeff Skilling facing 30 years in prison, has already spent a little time there on an unrelated charge. We'll have those stories and more coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning, shuttle Atlantis set to land at Florida's Kennedy Space Center any minute now. Atlantis got a clean bill of health yesterday after a thorough inspection of its heat shield. NASA said the objects floating near the shuttle were not the key pieces of the thermal protection system.

In Ohio, just a couple of hours ago, workers had to rescue a pilot who was in an ultralight, got caught in some power lines, been there since last night. He was trying to land on his property, which is near Cincinnati.

And the E. coli outbreak is still growing this morning. Health officials now say 146 people in 23 states have gotten sick from tainted spinach. So far one person has died.

M. O'BRIEN: Chemical attacks on Iraqi citizens. We're not talking about those that occurred during the regime of Saddam Hussein, we're talking about what's going on right now in Iraq, according to a new U.N. Report. It says victims of torture in Iraq are showing signs of chemical burns and acid-induced injuries.

CNN's Arwa Damon in Baghdad with more, -- Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Miles, it's not just chemical attacks, it's also victims with their eyes being gouged out, drill holes to their bodies, broken bones, bits of their skin missing. Most of these are the victims of sectarian violence.

If you look back to that report, it said that in July and August alone 6,600 Iraqis had been killed. But of that number, over half of those are believed to be victims of sectarian attacks whose bodies showed up at Baghdad's morgue. That's torture victims, only in Baghdad. And for many here on the ground, sectarian violence is becoming an increasing problem, and one that many are using to determine whether or not this country can move forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Success will be judged by the level of sectarian violence, murders in particular, in the areas where we're operating being less. And it certainly -- look, it's a program that involves not just putting military forces on the street, but it also requires that Iraqi and U.S. Special Forces go after the death squads. We have to target them. We have to do the intelligence work necessary to know where they are. Then we've got to go after them and take them out of action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: And, Miles, it's not just a question of taking them out of action in terms of military operations, it's also trying to control the entire Iraqi street. A lot of Iraqis here are now telling us that they fear being the victims of sectarian violence more than they fear insurgent attacks. They have all heard about these horrific torturings that are going on. And, for them, that is really their priority -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: CNN's Arwa Damon in Baghdad, thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: The Thai army general who seized power in a bloodless coup is now pledging to restore democratic rule within a year. The streets of Bangkok are now calm this morning two days after the country's prime minister was suddenly removed.

Let's get right to CNN's Dan Rivers. He's live for us in Bangkok.

Hey, Dan, what's the latest?

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well there's a worrying development this morning for us in Bangkok where news that political parties meetings are to be banned by this new military administration here and that any new political parties will not be allowed to register.

This comes from General Sonthi Boonyaratglin who is supposedly coming to try and get democracy back on course, according to him. He says that the previous Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, was corrupt, that they had to intervene, that they're going to install a new prime minister and have new elections within a year. But we're just getting word now that he is saying that no political parties are going to even be allowed to meet. So there are some worrying developments.

That is going to concern a lot of the figures here in politics, people I've been speaking to today. The universally very concerned about the motives of this military junta, as they are calling it now, and they are saying that you know we want an immediate return to democracy or they're talking about organizing protests. So this situation is beginning to move forward and there are some worrying developments with what this General Sonthi seems to want to do.

S. O'BRIEN: Dan Rivers is covering the story for us.

Dan, thank you -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: After a journey of 4.9 million miles, 187 orbits, the space shuttle Atlantis is now on its way home. You're taking a look at a picture from a camera located where Pilot Chris Ferguson is. This is the head-up display. And as you -- as they come down there, it's hard to see in the darkness, but you're going to soon see the outlines of the runway, Runway 33, there at the Kennedy Space Center, a 15,000-foot strip.

And as you look through there, you can sort of see exactly their speed and altitude as they make this steep right-hand turn around the so-called heading alignment cylinder. The mission just shy of 12 days was a big success for NASA -- there you see the outlines of the runway right there in the center part of your screen -- as the crew was able to install the solar array and truss component to the International Space Station and went through a situation yesterday where there was some concern about debris floating around the spacecraft.

NASA giving the spacecraft a clean bill of health for this re- entry, or we just went through, and the landing, which is about to occur in just a few seconds.

Daniel Sieberg is on the ground there right at the shuttle landing facility.

Daniel, how is the weather there?

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The weather is fantastic, Miles. The wind has not picked up at all. They're very happy with the conditions here. About a minute or so ago, we heard the two distinctive sonic booms as it came down through the sound barrier.

We're under a minute now, about 45 seconds away, it is coming down. They described it like a falling brick. It is essentially like a glider now. This is a one-time opportunity for Commander Brent Jett and the Pilot Chris Ferguson to bring it down here at Runway 33.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. If you look there, you see on the left side it says 313. That means they're going 313 knots. On the right side, 700 feet. About 15 seconds before landing, Pilot Chris Ferguson will drop the landing gear. There they go. That means you've got 15 seconds to go. This is an infrared shot. You'll notice the nose cone. The hottest part is the brightest because it is the hottest.

Let's listen as they land the space shuttle Atlantis on this the 116th shuttle mission.

Chutes deployed in excess of 220 miles an hour, space shuttle Atlantis with wheels touching down at the Kennedy Space Center, a successful conclusion to their mission.

Daniel, that's quite a sound when you hear those double sonic booms, isn't it?

SIEBERG: Yes, it's pretty amazing. It comes right at you. You can feel it as it comes across Florida. It's going to go continuing down now just along the runway here. It's going to come to a stop not too far away from where we are right here. And it's going to -- they're going to take some time, of course, to do some checks of the systems itself, make sure everything is intact. It will be at least 90 minutes or so, I think, before we see the crew emerge from the shuttle.

M. O'BRIEN: Well one of the things that is worth pointing out here to our viewers, let's listen as they call Houston.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We copy wheel stop. Welcome back. Congratulations on return to Assembly. We have no immediate post- landing deltas. We'll meet you on page 5-3 for post-landing.

M. O'BRIEN: The crew, which recovers the space shuttle and gets it back to the hangar and takes care of the crew,...

BRENT JEFF, ATLANTIS COMMANDER: It was a great team effort, so I think Assembly is off to a good start. We'll see you on 5-3.

M. O'BRIEN: ... they have to approach the orbiter very gingerly. For one thing, its hottest point, the hottest point of the skin inside the space shuttle is actually, right now, after landing, it takes awhile for the heat to soak in to the aluminum skin.

Also, there's just a witch's brew of toxic chemicals that are associated with the rockets which guide the space shuttle while it's in space. They want to make sure there's no leaks of things like hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, and so they'll test it for all that.

They'll attach some cooling equipment to make sure it gets cooled down. The crew will begin the process of getting out of their suits, which are rather uncomfortable. Then they'll go for a quick medical checkup, and we might see them for a news conference not long after that.

Check this out, notice what looks like -- it looks a little steam engine there, doesn't it? You see that right there? That is the exhaust from the auxiliary power units which are run on this stuff, hydrazine, and that's a very high temperature, high-tech way of running the hydraulic system as the space shuttle comes in.

As you know, the space shuttle is the most complicated glider ever made. There are no engines firing at the time so that's what keeps the control surfaces and the electrical system, all that going. So, little Atlantis, the little steam engine that could did its job this time, this mission a success.

Daniel Sieberg, thanks, from the cape.

S. O'BRIEN: What a great thing to watch. You could watch that a million times. A perfect landing.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's kind of fun, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: That -- yes.

M. O'BRIEN: You always end up on the center line if you're a shuttle commander. That's the most important thing. And I'm sure Brent Jett is right there on the center line.

We'll be back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning.

The crew of the shuttle Atlantis back home on Earth right now, still inside getting unstrapped. Atlantis landed at Florida's Kennedy Space Center just a few moments ago. You just saw it, we hope. It wrapped up an 11-day mission to the International Space Station. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez touring New York City today and a lot of folks are wondering what he'll say next. In a fiery speech at the U.N. last night, Chavez called President Bush the devil, and the U.N. worthless, and the crowd applauded.

And overnight in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, more protests and protests. The police say they are gaining control, however. The demonstrations were set off by a tape in which the prime minister admitted lying about Hungary's budget crisis.

Good morning to you, I'm Miles O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

We've got an update on a story we brought you yesterday, a suspect in a Colorado jail this morning facing charges in the dragging death of that woman in the Denver suburb. Police are still working to identify the woman.

Matt Garcia (ph) from our affiliate KWGN has our story.

(BEGHN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT GARCIA, KWGN-TV REPORTER (voice-over): Shelly Reeder of Surrey Ridge can now watch her daughter exercise her horse without worry.

SHELLY REEDER, SURREY RIDGE RESIDENT: I think it makes us all feel a lot better.

GARCIA: Since Monday, she and the rest of the neighborhood have dealt with the thought that the suspect who killed a woman by dragging her behind his vehicle down Surrey Drive for a mile may still be out there.

REEDER: Just riding down that, that reminder is just horrific in your mind.

GARCIA: Today that blood-stained reminder is gone as the road has been repaved, and this man, Jose Luis Rubi-Nava of Glendale, is in custody.

SHERIFF DAVE WEAVER, DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLO.: He has been booked in the Douglas County Sheriff's Detention Center for murder in the first degree. He also has a detainer placed on him with Immigration Custom Enforcement.

GARCIA: The 36-year-old, who was identified as the man in this photo left at the scene, was advised of his rights today in court. He wore a red jumpsuit and needed an interpreter. In today's hearing, the judge...

KATHLEEN WALSH, DOUGLAS CO. D.A. OFFICE: Agreed to seal the affidavit. The judge has not agreed to place a gag order on this case. GARCIA: What we've learned is Nava, who officials say is an illegal immigrant, may have been working construction in Surrey Ridge. He was arrested in April of this year during a traffic stop, charged with false identification, no driver's license and no proof of insurance.

As for the victim, a memorial has been erected at the scene of the crime. She has yet to be identified.

EMILY REEDER, SURREY RIDGE RESIDENT: It's a relief that he's been caught, but I don't know, something inside me just thinks how could someone do such a thing?

GARCIA: In Castle Rock, Colorado, Matt Garcia, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Happening "In America" this morning, in Indiana, a tragic mistake at an Indianapolis hospital. Six preemie babies were accidentally given adult doses of the blood thinner Heparin. It's a drug that's routinely given to preemies. Three of the babies died. The wrong dose was given after a technician accidentally put adult doses in the neonatal unit's drug cabinet.

In Florida, police say a giant marijuana growing ring is busted. Four tons of marijuana, thousands of plants seized from grow houses in Port St. Lucie. They look like normal neighborhood homes, but what's inside is actually a marijuana farm.

Take a look at that. Thirty-five people have been arrested since the investigation began in May.

In Louisville, Kentucky, remember we told you about that middle school teacher who burned an American flag as part of a civics lesson? Well, it turns out that Dan Holden (ph) is not going to have to face any criminal charges. He still might face some school board action, though. A spokeswoman for the school says they are reviewing whether Holden (ph) endangered students or acted inappropriately.

M. O'BRIEN: In New Orleans, an indictment in those mercy killing deaths at a nursing home. The owners of the home now indicted for negligent homicide. They're accused of allowing dozens of residents to die in the flood following Hurricane Katrina.

More from CNN's Susan Roesgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: Thirty-five residents died at St. Rita's Nursing Home in St. Bernard Parish. Some of the bodies were found still strapped in the beds.

Now the owners of that nursing home are charged with 35 counts of negligent homicide and 64 counts of cruelty to the infirm. The owners are Salvador and Mable Mangano. They have said that they did their best to try to protect the nursing home residents. They've said that they didn't realize the danger from the flood, and they were worried that an evacuation would be too difficult for the frail and elderly residents. However, the Louisiana attorney general says without an evacuation, most of those residents didn't stand a chance.

The Manganos were arrested just two weeks after Hurricane Katrina. They've been free on bond since, but now neither they nor prosecutors in this case are allowed to talk about it, because the judge has imposed a gag order.

I'm Susan Roesgen in New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: The president of Iran still savoring his time in the limelight. A day after his confrontational U.N. speech, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talked exclusively with CNN's Anderson Cooper. Anderson asked him about reports Iran is not complying with a U.N. demand to stop enriching uranium.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): Perhaps the report that you had and saw is incomplete. The IAEA has indicated that it has found no evidence that would show that Iran is developing nuclear energy for other purposes that are other than peaceful. But they've never -- they've always said that. So you have to show me where...

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: So you feel you've completed...

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): Have they ever said that Iran has, in fact, not abided by its commitments? With commitments to regulation within the framework of international law, nobody can ask us to do anything beyond the framework international law. We are abiding by the principles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: That was an exclusive from "ANDERSON COOPER 360". You can watch Anderson weeknights 10:00 Eastern Time.

In an exclusive CNN interview, President Bush says he would absolutely send U.S. troops into Pakistan to capture or kill Osama bin Laden if he had good intelligence on his location. Mr. Bush says he would order military action in Pakistan if that were the case. But Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, says his government is opposed to any U.S. action on its soil, telling reporters at the United Nations yesterday, "We will do it ourselves" -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: President Bush's detainee policy has cleared one House hurdle, but just barely. It took five hours -- five tries, rather, before the House Judiciary Committee cleared the plan and cleared it by a single vote. Whatever the House decides in the end might not matter if no agreement can be reached between the White House and key Senate Republicans.

CNN Congressional Correspondent Andrea Koppel explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Since negotiations began in earnest Monday night, the two sides have been focused on what one Republican senator called a potential deal breaker: how to treat suspected terrorists, and how best to put them on trial. Speaking to reporters in the hallways on Wednesday, Senator John McCain, one of the three Republicans leading efforts to block the president's bill, told reporters the two sides were making "good progress." Still, as of Wednesday evening, the two sides were still at loggerheads over the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and just how much latitude to give the CIA to conduct interrogations of suspected terrorists.

In an effort to keep up the pressure on the White House, Senator McCain's office circulated yet another letter of support. This one from retired General Hugh Shelton, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He spent much of his career in the Special Forces, and so carries a great deal of weight.

Later today, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is expected to make the rounds over on the House and the Senate. And you can bet he's going to be peppered with questions.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: And a new CBS-"New York Times" poll might not exactly be music to President Bush's ears. The poll says that Americans may not follow where the president wants to go in the war on terror.

According to the survey, 63 percent of Americans believe the U.S. should stick to international agreements like the Geneva Convention in its treatment of POWs. Only 32 percent believe the U.S. should not consider these guidelines. President Bush, as you well know, has called for aggressive interrogation tactics.

Meanwhile, the nation is split on whether the current plan is keeping America safe. Forty-seven percent of those polled said the U.S. should confront terror groups in Mideast countries. Forty-five percent say we should stay out of their countries. With a sampling of error plus or minus 3 percent, that one is pretty much even -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's get a check of the forecast now. Chad Myers at the CNN Center.

Hello, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hello, Miles.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: Back to you guys. S. O'BRIEN: That's what we like to hear. Thank you, Chad.

Still to come this morning, we're going to take a look at those growing protests in Hungary. Demonstrations there have really been bringing back the memories of the anti-Soviet revolution 50 years ago. We'll update you on what's happened there.

Venezuela's colorful -- that's one way to put it -- colorful president, Hugo Chavez, did you hear him at the U.N. yesterday? Wow, he was out of control. And people were snickering and laughing and clapping in some cases.

Is all of that bluster going to backfire? We'll take a look.

And back behind the wheel. Falling gas prices are now changing driving and buying habits kind of back to where they were.

We'll take a look at all the stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Here's a look now at stories that CNN correspondents around the world are covering today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAMON: I'm Arwa Damon in Baghdad.

The most recently released report by the United Nations mission to Iraq giving yet another chilling assessment of what is happening on the ground here. In July and August alone, at least 6,600 Iraqis were killed throughout the country. But over half of those were killed in Baghdad, due to sectarian violence. Senior officials here now saying that sectarian violence poses a greater threat to the future of this nation than the insurgency.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Rivers in Bangkok, where news that political parties' meetings are to be banned by the new military leadership here. That will be digested by people here who are already labeling this new military regime in Thailand as a junta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Nic Robertson in Budapest, where we've seen another night of demonstrations here. The protesters saying they're not allied to the opposition, but calling for the prime minister to step down. He refuses to do that.

The concern of the protesters is that the violence on the streets will reflect on what they see as their legitimate call to evict this prime minister. They say they're disappointed with his economic reforms. Necessary, they say, to bring down the deficit of this country.

But nobody likes the tough measures, and they're still meeting. They say they're going to come out again every night until the prime minister steps down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jaime FlorCruz in Beijing, where Henry Paulson is visiting China for the first time as U.S. Treasury secretary. So far, he's been getting a warm welcome. The Chinese calling him an old friend.

After all, he's been here more than 70 times, mostly as the former CEO of Morgan Stanley. This time, he's pressing the Chinese to revalue the renminbi, the Chinese currency, but in a very non- confrontational way.

U.S. senators are pressing China to revalue the renminbi, saying the renminbi is artificially undervalued, giving Chinese exporters unfair advantage. Paulson says he agrees with their goal but not with their tactics. He says he does not support protectionist legislation and will try to talk the senators out of it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: For more on these or any of our top stories you can go right to our Web site at CNN.com.

Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, more E. coli cased reported. Now investigators, though, have a clue to where the tainted spinach is coming from.

We'll tell you about that.

And a pilot flies right into some power lines. There he is just hanging there in his ultralight. We'll tell you how this tale ended just ahead.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning, the crew of the shuttle Atlantis back on Earth right now. Did you see it? It was a perfect landing at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. It happened about 25 minutes ago, wrapping up an 11-day mission to the International Space Station.

In Ohio, workers had to rescue a pilot who flew his ultralight into power lines. He was dangling there until last night. The guy was trying to land on his property near Cincinnati when it happened. And the E. coli outbreak growing this morning. Health officials now say 146 people across 23 states have gotten sick from tainted spinach. Meanwhile, the FDA has traced the source of the outbreak to farms in three California counties.

M. O'BRIEN: At the United Nations, not much sign of unity. In fact, this year's meeting of the General Assembly will no doubt go down in history for its vitriolic anti-U.S. rhetoric. Last night, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez launched into a very personal tirade aimed at George Bush, whom he called "the devil" repeatedly. And get this, the crowd laughed and applauded.

Brian Todd with more on the angry Hugo Chavez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An extraordinary show of belligerence on the General Assembly floor. Venezuela's president one-ups his Iranian counterpart, personally tearing into George W. Bush, who had spoken at the same spot less than 24 hours earlier.

PRES. HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELA (through translator): Yesterday the devil came here, right here, right here. And it smells of sulfur still today.

TODD: Hugo Chavez was just getting started.

CHAVEZ (through translator): The gentleman to who I refer to as "the devil" came here, talking as if he owned the world. Wherever he looks he sees extremists. And you, my brother, he looks at your color and he says, oh, there's an extremist.

TODD: Then came this ominous warning to President Bush.

CHAVEZ (through translator): I have the feeling, dear world dictator, that you are going to live the rest of your days as a nightmare because the rest of us are standing up.

TODD: A White House spokeswoman says this is not worthy of a comment. The U.S. ambassador chimes in.

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N: We're not going to address that sort of comic script approach to international affairs.

TODD: But Chavez does get serious, repeating claims about an attempt to overthrow him in April 2002.

CHAVEZ (through translator): The U.S. has already planned, financed and set in motion a coup in Venezuela and it continues to support who attempts in Venezuela and elsewhere.

TODD: We spoke with Roger Noriega, former assistant secretary of state for Western Hemispheric Affairs for President Bush who was involved in a State Department investigation into those charges requested by Congress. ROGER NORIEGA, FORMER ASST. SECY. OF STATE: The U.S. had nothing to do that. As a matter of fact, we warned Chavez about previous coup plotting. And his reaction was generally yes, we knew all about that, so there's no credibility behind his statements.

TODD: What's more, Chavez's verbal onslaughts could boomerang.

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Obviously, I think he made a mistake to do it. I wished he hadn't done it. You know he's not hurting us, he's just hurting himself and his country.

TODD: Hurting himself, analysts say, by undermining efforts to win Venezuela a temporary seat on the U.N. Security Council, jeopardizing oil sales to the U.S.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: President Chavez got some laughs. Also, you could hear it right there, some applause for his speech. And he's not the only speaker taking shots at the U.S. at the U.N. this week.

Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, also blasted President Bush. The White House put Bolivia on the list of major drug producers because it's cocoa crop is the plant that cocaine is made from.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. EVO MORALES, BOLIVIA (through translator): This cocoa leaf represents the Andean crops. It represents the environment and the hope of peoples. It is not possible for the cocoa leaf to be legal for Coca-Cola and to be illegal for other consumption in our country and throughout the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Two very theatrical performances in a way, but also reflecting at the U.N. some rising discontent with the U.S.

M. O'BRIEN: I should say. Was he saying that Coca-Cola has cocoa leaves in it, still? Is that what he's implying? I think that was...

S. O'BRIEN: In his speech he implied a lot of things.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, OK. Interesting. Wow. Interesting rhetoric.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it was an interesting day at the U.N. yesterday.

M. O'BRIEN: Maybe it's time to make -- that's beautiful real estate. That could be nice condos on the East River there possibly, one day.

S. O'BRIEN: It could be.

Ahead this morning, price break at the gas pump. Nice news on that. It might be having an unexpected effect on other businesses, as well.

We're going to explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Consider this your good news segment for the day. Gas prices are down, and that's very good news for millions of Americans. And there could be more good news to come this winter.

So how's everybody celebrating all the savings? CNN's Allan Chernoff has a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After trying to limit her driving over the summer because of high gas prices, school teacher Stephanie Yundi is embracing her passion for shopping.

STEPHANIE YUNDI, TEACHER: Now I can go shopping more, and it's much better. You know? I mean, the traveling, the -- you know, going from place to place, it makes you want to actually get in the car and go somewhere, rather than sit home and, you know, try to save the gas.

CHERNOFF: Saving on gas isn't as important for Americans as it was just a few weeks ago. As pain at the pump has been easing, consumers are feeling more power in the pocketbook. For Madulka Ishibashi (ph), it means her first set of golf clubs. Dana Sinisi is spending more freely on little items.

DANA SINISI, REAL ESTATE BROKER: It definitely helps. It puts a little bit extra cash in the pocket. More for coffee on the way to work. It's nice to see it go closer to the $2 mark instead of the $3 mark.

CHERNOFF: Three dollar gas seems like a bad memory, with the average price for gallon nationwide now under $2.50. Some analysts say gas prices should continue dropping as the cost of crude oil retreats. It's enough to make the owner of a gas-guzzler smile.

ELAINE MURRAY, HOUSEWIFE: Before, in June, I think it cost me about nearly $85 to fill up this tank. And today it looks like it's only about $64.

CHERNOFF (on camera): A bargain.

MURRAY: It's -- yes. I might be here tomorrow and do it all over again. It felt great.

CHERNOFF: Prices at the pump are down in part because the situation has cooled off in the Middle East. And the hurricane season has done no damage to the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico. But, of course, all of that could quickly change.

(voice over): For now, though, the good news for consumers stands to get even better, because the cost of heating oil and natural gas is dropping, meaning Americans could enjoy big savings on heating their homes this winter.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Well, Jeff Skilling of Enron infamy certainly has an excuse to have a few drinks here and there, given all he faces. Gerri Willis is in for Andy today to say he may have gone a little too far on that front, too, as well.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get a check of the forecast now. Chad's got that.

Good morning, Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Soledad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Chad.

Not much diplomacy when Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez took the floor at the U.N. He called President Bush "the devil" and many people applauded.

M. O'BRIEN: The president had plenty to say in his own behalf. An exclusive interview with Wolf Blitzer ahead.

S. O'BRIEN: A call to arms, literally, against Katrina evacuees. Is one Houston business owner going too far?

M. O'BRIEN: And welcome home, shuttle Atlantis. A perfect landing less than an hour ago.

We'll bring you up to date on that.

And how about a landing without the land? An ultralight pilot with an overnight high-wire act.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.

I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.

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