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American Morning

9/11 Confession: Master Terrorist Lists Plans; Bananas & Terrorism: Chiquita to Pay $25 Million Fine; Immigration Crackdown

Aired March 15, 2007 - 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: Full confession. Khalid sheikh Mohammed says he is responsible for 9/11 and 30 other terror attacks. There's new word from Pentagon transcripts out of Guantanamo Bay.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. Bad lim (ph) overnight in New York City. Cops killed a man armed with two guns and 100 rounds of ammo, chased through the streets of the city.

S. O'BRIEN: Cocaine and massacres and bananas. One of America's best known brands is ordered to pay up for funneling money to drug lords and terrorists.

M. O'BRIEN: And baby makes four. Angelina Jolie a mom again in Vietnam this morning.

Live all around the world this morning, Washington, Bogota, Beijing, Berlin and, of course, New York City on this AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. It is Thursday, March 15. It's the Ides of March, isn't it?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it is. Beware the Ides of March.

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us this morning.

We begin with a remarkable tale of serial terror. Al Qaeda's self-proclaimed operational planner claiming he is the master mind of 9/11 and much more. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessing in a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying he "was responsible for the 9-11 operation from a-to-z." But there's much more. Mohammed takes credit for the 1993 World Trade Center attack -- six killed, 1,000 injured there -- the Bali nightclub bombing that killed about 200, Richard Reed's attempted shoe bombing of an airliner over the Atlantic, assassination plots against two U.S. presidents and a pope and dozens of other terror plots and attacks. CNN's Bob Franken following this all for us now.

Bob, this is an amazing tale. You have to wonder if it's possible for any one man to be responsible for so much.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are some who are skeptical about that. But as far as his role in 9/11, the 9/11 Commission had already made that clear. Now, this was a tribunal that has the single purpose of determining whether he and the 14 others who are the high-profile alleged terrorists could be held as enemy combatants. And he made it clear when he said, in his broken English, "for sure I'm American enemies." That, of course, is the word from Khalid Sheikh.

He went on to talk about all the roles and all those different events that he allegedly had and said that this is the inevitability of war. The language of war, he said, is victims. But he expressed some remorse. "I don't like to kill people," he said. "I feel very sorry that they killed kids in 9/11."

Now, this is something that is going to be a preliminary event. He is going to be -- the transcript was released by the Pentagon, and, as I said, there are skeptics who are going to say that it would be almost impossible for one man to have his hands in so many different things. But he went on to say that he had also managed the cell for the production of biological weapons and the dirty bomb. So this is a person who presents himself as a major player. Nobody is doubting that.

He goes on to say, though, that he is like the American revolutionary, saying "if we were now living in the Revolutionary War and George Washington had been arrested through Britain, for sure, they would consider him an enemy combatant." That is not necessarily an analysis that would be shared by the people who are holding him.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Not necessarily.

The question is, have they determined one way or another, will he be classified as an enemy combatant?

FRANKEN: That official determination we're told has not been made. But would you like to take a bet on that one.

M. O'BRIEN: I think we know the answer.

FRANKEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken, thank you.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: The government of Sudan is being held to account for the attack of the USS Cole. A federal judge says the Sudanese government must pay the families of the 17 sailors who were killed in that attack. The ruling says al Qaeda could not have attacked the Cole, which was anchored off Yemen in October of 2000, without help from Sudan. And the judge has not yet decided just how much Sudan should pay.

Chiquita bananas is being held to account this morning too. The company agreeing to pay $25 million after admitting it paid off a para-military group to protect Chiquita farms in Columbia. The U.S. considers the united self-defense forces of Columbia a terrorist organization accused of exploiting cocaine and carrying out massacres in Columbia's civil war. Karl Penhaul is in Bogota, Columbia, for us this morning.

Good mornings to you, Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Now this right-wing death squad that Chiquita brand says it finance through its Columbian subsidiary was responsible not for tens of hundreds of deaths, but in fact for thousands of deaths. Many of those union leaders, leftist politicians and suspected communist sympathizers.

Now these allegations aren't the first time that Chiquita found itself in trouble. In 2001, according to a report by the Organization of American States, 3,000 AK-47 assault rifles and 3 million rounds of ammunition were smuggled into Columbia via one of Chiquita's water ports. And those rifles were then passed through the right-wing death squad.

Now I was talking earlier to the former mayor of the city of Apartado, the main town where these activities were alleged to have taken place, and this is what she had to say about the case given the large production of bananas in that zone, and she was calling for boycott. Let's listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLORIA CUARTAS, FMR. MAYOR OF APARTADO, COLUMBIA, (through translator): I once said that Columbia's banana crop was stained with blood and that Americans and Europeans were eating bananas that had a history of pain and bloodshed. And today I would say that by all means possible we must boycott all Columbia bananas and we must sanction Chiquita.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PENHAUL: Now she says that it's impossible to believe that Chiquita was simply paying for the protection of its employees. She says that she believes that Chiquita was paying for the extermination of leftists who were opposed to some of Chiquita's working practices in that zone.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Karl Penhaul is in Bogota, Columbia, for us this morning.

Thanks, Karl.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: More fallout today over how and why and more pressure on the attorney general this morning over that mass firing of U.S. attorneys. The Senate Judiciary Committee poised to issue subpoenas today and a Republican senator now says the attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, should be fired. CNN's Dana Bash on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Republican Senator John Sununu says he thinks the attorney general has lost all credibility with the American people and Congress and it's time for him to be fired. Now he is the first lawmaker on the Republican side to say the attorney general should go. And so far he's the only one.

But the frustration and anger among Republicans we've talked to here in Congress is certainly widespread. GOP lawmakers say they feel they've been lied to or, at the very least, mislead by the attorney general and other top officials at the Justice Department about just exactly why federal prosecutors were fired earlier this year. In fact, several top Republicans are actually working with Democrats to try to encourage senior Bush aids, including the president's top political adviser, Karl Rove, to come to Congress and tell their story about just why and how this happened.

Now this is something that is quite controversial because the president could very well claim executive privilege and say that Karl Rove and others cannot come and talk to Congress. The president's current counsel, Fred Feilding, was on Capitol Hill discussing this with top lawmakers in the House and the Senate and said that he will have a final decision on Friday whether he will allow them to come and speak to Congress voluntarily. If not, Democrats promise they'll issue subpoenas.

Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: In New York City, a wild and deadly shoot-out on the crowded narrow streets of Greenwich Village. Two auxiliary cops, a pizza parlor employee and the heavily armed gunmen who began the rampage are dead this morning. It beginning at 9:00 p.m. last night. The disguised gunman walked into the pizzeria, asked for a menu and then started shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: Two handguns were found on the scene, along with approximately 100 rounds of unspent ammunition. What this indicates is that this tragedy, as horrific as it was, could have been a lot worse. And without the actions of our brave officers, most likely would have been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Police have released now the names of the two unarmed auxiliary officers who were killed, 19-year-old Eugene Marshalik and 28-year-old Nicholas Pekearo. Armed officers who responded killed the gunmen. Also happening this morning in Miami, after little more than an hour of deliberation, a jury says John Couey should be executed. They already convicted him of kidnapping, raping and killing nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford in 2005. Jessica was buried alive. Her father calls the sentence justice.

The Army Corps of Engineers scrambling to repair some crucial and faulty pumps in New Orleans in time for hurricane season. The Corp rushed to install 34 huge pumps in drainage canals in time for last year's storm season but they vibrated excessively and never worked properly. And the Corp is having to pull them out and overhaul them. A congressional hearing today. Expect some fireworks there.

In West Virginia, a miner's union will release its own report on the Sago Mine disaster early last year. The United Mine Workers to suggest some changes to make the mines safer. Thirteen miners were trapped underground after lightning sparked an explosion at Sago. Only one of them survived.

S. O'BRIEN: A couple of important steps to tell you about.

North Korea's nuclear disarmament is happening today. The U.S. ending an investigation of an off-shore bank. That means that North Korea is going to be able to get its hands on millions of dollars in frozen assets. And negotiators to the six-party disarmament talks are arriving in Beijing today. CNN's Becky Anderson is there. She's traveling with the U.N. chief nuclear inspector Mohamed ElBaradei.

Becky, good morning to you.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you.

The mood here? Well, it's one of cautious optimism, Soledad. And if you accuse me of sounding like a diplomat, well you're absolutely right to because this is diplomacy at its most sensitive.

You're right, Chris Hill is now in town. The U.S.'s chief negotiator. And the ball very much in the U.S.'s court presence so far as North Korea is concerned. The U.S. had frozen some $24 million worth of assets in the regime leadership's Macau bank account. They now say that they are effectively allowing the Macauan bank to release those funds, although they haven't done so as of yet.

Now, as far as the North Koreans are concerned, when it comes down to it, they say they'll play ball with the six-party members if, indeed, they play ball with North Korea. So, effectively, what the North Koreans are looking for is the unfreezing of that account. Then, they say, they will begin to shut down their plutonium plants at Yongbyon and they will allow in the inspectors from the IAEA and effectively normalize relations with that agency. The agency, of course, run by Mohamed ElBaradei.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, you spent a lot of time with him certainly. You're traveling with him. Do you get the sense -- I mean you've listed a lot of steps that have to happen. Does he feel cautiously optimistic, as you do, as well, that actually the North Koreans will follow through?

ANDERSON: Yes. This is the deal. And he will say again and again and again, listen, Bec, we are the IAEA. We are not members of the six-party talks. He is simply a verification inspection unit. They go in, they secure, they survey and they contain these sites. What he says is this. He spoke to the North Korea in Pyongyang yesterday. He was there. He said they are fully committed to the agreement. They say that they will open up their facilities to his inspectors and, indeed, they will give them the sort of information they need in order to work out what is going on with their nuclear program.

I did put it to him. I asked him whether he had asked about what is effectively being dubbed the convert uranium enrichment program. Of course plutonium and uranium enrichment can be used to make nuclear weapons. That's something nobody knows anything about. He says he didn't ask about that. So at this point, he doesn't know whether there is a uranium enrichment program.

You asked me whether he thinks that things are going to push on. I would say he does at this point. But there are only 30 days left and he said that's not an awful lot of time to shut down a nuclear facility.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Becky Anderson for us this morning in Beijing.

Thanks, Becky.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: We're hearing from a mayor in Pennsylvania defending his town's crackdown on illegal immigrants. Mayor Lieu Barletta of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, is testifying in the first federal trial challenging a local immigration law. Hazleton fines landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and denies permits to companies that hire them. Mayor Barletta says his city is crumbling under the strain of illegal immigration but can't say how many illegal immigrants are in his city.

S. O'BRIEN: Happening in America this morning.

California is becoming a super place today. With a stroke of a pen, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will move the state's presidential primary from June to February 5th in 2008. That means there's going to be primary voting in 21 states on that day. And that might not be the end of it. Lawmakers in New York are thinking about joining the super Tuesday crowd, as well.

In Massachusetts, firefighters responding to an explosion in downtown Lynn, found the burned bodies of a man and a woman. Apparently it was a murder/suicide. Police say witnesses saw the man grab the woman, a receptionist in that building, and pull her into the elevator just before the explosion.

In California, a federal appeals court say no marijuana for Angel Raich. He's 41-years-old. She's the mother of two. She uses marijuana, she says, to ease her pain from an inoperable brain tumor and Scoliosis and chronic nausea. Eleven states, including California, allow use of medical marijuana with a doctor's recommendation, but federal law says it is illegal.

M. O'BRIEN: And now the story of a young man -- actually a boy -- with a wrap sheet as long as the most hardened of criminals. We're talking about a 13-year-old who is no less than a one-boy crime wave. He faces 128 felony charges -- 128. CNN's Brianna Keilar has his amazing, stunning story.

Brianna, good morning.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

And when you look at the charges facing Andrew Riley, you'd never think this is the wrap sheet of such a young person. But police in Ohio say Riley is responsible for some very serious offenses.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's shocking in a town our size.

KEILAR, (voice over): Some might say it's shocking in a town of any size. Thirteen-year-old Andrew Riley is facing 128 felony charges. Nelsonville, Ohio, police have charged the seventh grader with burglary, theft, vandalism and witness intimidation. Riley allegedly beat up a classmate on the school bus when the student threatened to testify against him. Police say Riley broke into houses of people he knew, smashed windows for fun and robbed businesses. Miki Brooks' coffee shop was hit twice.

MIKI BROOKS, COFFEE SHOP OWNER: The first time my register drawer was empty. And the second time my register was gone.

KEILAR: Police searched the boy's home and found stolen video games and baseball cards. Still, the boy's mother says she doubts her son is responsible for everything he's charged with.

ROBERTA RILEY, SUSPECT'S MOTHER: I'm not denying that he was guilty of some of it, possibly, but there's no way he was -- he did all this stuff for the last year, year and a half.

KEILAR: Even if Riley were convicted, a psychiatrist we spoke with says he could turn his life around.

DR. CAROL LIEBERMAN, PSYCHIATRIST: If a 13-year-old, even one who has so many felony charges against him, were to get intensive psychiatric treatment, which includes psychotherapy and medication, there is still hope.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KEILAR: Riley will most likely be tried as a child, and that means that even if he were convicted on all 128 counts, he'd likely be out of jail by the time he's 21.

M. O'BRIEN: So where is he now and as he goes through this whole process, will he be given back to his parents?

KEILAR: Well, at this point, he's in a juvenile detention center. He's awaiting a pre-trial hearing. And police really aren't sure if he's going to be going back to his parents. Child protective services is involved. There's a concern -- some safety issues. They found clothing on bare wires. There's a cleanliness issue. So, obviously, these are issues that need to be resolved.

M. O'BRIEN: Brianna Keilar, what an amazing story. Thank you very much.

Well, talk about a weather flip flop. One day you're wearing them, the next day you've got to bundle up. Chad Myers has that for you next.

Also, Angelina Jolie adopts again. In Vietnam this morning, to bring home a third adopted child from an overseas orphanage. How is international adoption affecting adoption here at home?

And is the fastest fast lane in the world about to get a speed limit? It's the Autobahn versus the environment coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning right here at breakneck speed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.

Former al Qaeda leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confesses to planning 9/11 and dozens of other terrorist attacks.

And firefighters in Arizona say it's going to take one more day to get control of a wildfire that is burning in the Prescott National Forest.

It's 18 minutes past the hour. It's time for Chad at the weather center, watching some bad weather rolling in.

Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: This morning in Germany, they're pondering a big change to the world famous ever so speedy Autobahn. And by the time they're done, Germans may have to go elsewhere when they have the need for the speed. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is in Berlin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The old German saying goes something like this -- liberated roads for free people. Though there are some speed restricted areas, the Autobahn is among the few highway systems in the world with no general speed limit. Something that could change with the E.U. in the driver's seat.

The European Union is asking Germany to impose a general speed limit on its highways. Now the speed limit would be 130 kilometers an hour. That's about 80 miles an hour. And the rationale behind it is simple. Cars that go slower emit less carbon dioxide. So today we've gotten ourselves a very fast car and we're going to find out how much fuel drivers can actually save by going slower.

To find out, we have to go fast. Very fast. The car's fuel consumption rises to almost 20 liters per hundred kilometers, or just over five gallons for 62 miles.

Right now we're doing 230 kilometers an hour and that's about 140 miles an hour. Now at this speed, really, any car would use a lot of fuel. So right now what we're going to do is we're going to bring the speed down and see how much fuel we can actually save.

Down to 130 kilometers, or 80 miles an hour, the proposed speed limit, the car's fuel consumption is cut almost in half within moments. We dig up Werner Reh from the Union for Environmental Protection. He says drivers could cut carbon emissions on the Autobahn considerably simply by taking their foot off the gas.

WERNER REH, UNION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: When the speed limit's cut down, the CO2 emissions by 2 percent or 3 percent. That is 3 billion tons of CO2. They have an immediate impact. They don't cost anything. And the majority -- the vast majority of people in Germany want it.

PLEITGEN: But some of the drivers we spoke to while in traffic said they were against the general speed limit.

"Sometimes I just want to drive the car as fast as it goes," this man says.

"I don't think it's a good idea. I think not having a speed limit is a culture thing in Germany," another man says.

The industry says German automakers are against the idea and politicians are divided on the issue. In the end, pressure from the European Union may force the Germans to down shift their love affair with the automobile.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: And, Miles, I know that you know a lot about airplanes that fly. I think if I would have mounted wings to that car, I probably would have taken off in a second. But really, the Germans right now are faced with a choice here and it's a choice that so many of us are having to make at this moment. It's the choice of how much are we willing to give up for the sake of the environment?

What people are telling us again and again, they think that the Autobahn is really a cultural factor in Germany. It's a cultural thing here and just go really fast. It's a factor for tourism here in Germany. There's many people who come out here just to go fast on the Autobahn. But, still, a lot of people and everybody knows that it's really bad for the environment and that they could cut their carbon emissions by a great deal just by going a little slower.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much Frederik Pleitgen. We'll call him Goggles Pizono (ph) this morning. Actually at 145 miles an hour, that's a lot faster than my plane is when it takes flight. So, yes, he would be flying, for sure.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, he would.

All right, coming up this morning, Angelina Jolie is in Vietnam adding to her family. This morning we take a closer look at overseas adoptions versus adoptions here at home.

And we'll find out what's ahead for Wall Street this morning. A check of the overseas markets. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business."

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. And we are back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: The most news in the morning right here. Happening now.

Two auxiliary police officers and a pizza shop worker dead after a shooting rampage in New York City. The gunmen eventually killed by police.

And a Republican senator calling on the president to fire the attorney general. John Sanunu of New Hampshire furious over the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: It is child number four this morning for Angelina Jolie, who is adopting her third child from overseas. Jolie picked up her three-year-old son in Vietnam this morning. Now Jolie and other celebrities have put a spotlight on international adoptions. But many more adoptions take place here at home. Alina Cho is with us with more on that.

Good morning.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

A lot of misconceptions, Soledad. You know, almost everyone has seen those photos of Angelina Jolie and her adopted children. We know they come from far flung places like Cambodia, Ethiopia and now Vietnam. So many people believe, if they want to a adopt, they have to go overseas to do it. Well, that's not the case at all. You may be surprised to hear that most American families are going no further than their own backyard.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO, (voice over): Madonna found her son in Malawi. Meg Ryan went to China. And Angelina Jolie, she's in Vietnam picking up her third adopted child. The stars make it seem easy, even glamorous. So many mistakenly believe they have to go overseas to adopt. Not true.

CYNTHIA DIMICELI, ADOPTIVE PARENT: People just don't realize that how can there be children available for adoption here in the United States?

CHO: Cynthia and Dominic Dimiceli wanted their biological son, Joseph, to have a sibling. They had trouble conceiving again, so they turned to adoption. They didn't have to go far. They found their son, four-year-old Michael, in Michigan, adopted him when he was two days old.

DIMICELI: It's our country. It's our people. Let's help, you know, families here.

CHO: Cynthia, now an adoption consultant, says there are many myths about domestic adoptions. Mostly that it costs too much and that children aren't available. The truth is, each year American families adopt more than 50,000 children domestically. Only 20,000 from overseas.

AARON BRITVAN, ADOPTION ATTORNEY: If you want to go there for philanthropic purposes to help these children, I say God bless. They need you. But if you're going over there thinking that there are no children domestically or what have you, then you're misinformed.

CHO: Aaron Britvan is a long-time adoption attorney and an adoptive father himself. He says it's actually safer to adopt domestically because the child's medical records are readily available. There's also the issue of shady practices overseas. The state department recently issued a warning about Guatemalan adoptions. Domestic adoptions are often less expensive than adoptions from overseas. And who can put a price tag on love?

DIMICELI: Michael knew nothing of me but looked at me when I held him. When I looked at him, that was it. I was his mother and he was my child and I was going to protect him for the rest of my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: it really is no different for these parents. And looking forward, it's possible domestic adoptions will become even more popular. Experts tell us many countries overseas are getting tougher about sending their children to the United States.

Now, think about it, some are developing nations. Their economic situation is improving. So they're providing incentives now to keep the children in country. Places like the Ukraine, Russia, even China. The truth is, Soledad, there are children in need everywhere, all over the world, as you well know. And everyone we spoke to said, it doesn't matter if you're going to adopt domestically or from overseas, it's always going to be a good thing.

S. O'BRIEN: I've had friends who were looking into both domestic and international adoptions who would say their fear about adopting in the United States was the issue of drugs. That a lot of the babies who were available may have, you know, drug backgrounds because of the parent. That wasn't so much of an issue in some of these other countries.

CHO: I think that's generally probably not the case. But listen, as that adoption attorney said, he believes that it's safer to adopt domestically because those medical records on the child are readily available. He said sometimes, you know, you talk about those shady practices overseas, that State Department warning we talked about earlier in the week in Guatemala. You may not get the medical records of the child, or maybe those records are forged in some cases. Of course, we hope that's the exception, not the rule, but you simply don't know.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. That's important. I hope everybody could do it would adopt a baby, whether it's overseas or here.

CHO: That's right.

S. O'BRIEN: There's certainly enough available children.

Alina, thank you. Excellent story, as always -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Soledad.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: The top stories of the morning coming up next. Pentagon transcripts say one of the world's most dangerous terrorists is confessing to 9/11 and dozens of other terror attacks. We'll have his chilling words.

And those bananas you're having for breakfast, maybe they help fund terrorism. We'll tell you about that surprising connection straight ahead.

Plus, a midnight snack, a warning about bizarre and dangerous side-effects from the most popular sleeping pills

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody, Thursday, March 15th.

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

Thanks for being with us.

(NEWSBREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: We begin this morning with Khalid Shaykh Muhammad being held now at Guantanamo Bay and apparently telling all. His own words reported in Pentagon transcripts.

He says this: "I was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z. He also claims to be the planner of other terror plots and attacks.

CNN's Nic Robertson is live in Kabul, Afghanistan, for us.

Good morning, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, one of the interesting points that emerges from what Khalid Shaykh Muhammad has admitted to is that he was planning these attacks, one such as the assassination of President Clinton in 1994, before al Qaeda really put roots down in Afghanistan. But perhaps the key issue now is to see where Khalid Shaykh Muhammad was picked up in Pakistan.

And really, the international consensus at the moment is Pakistan is not doing enough these days to crack down on al Qaeda and other militant Islamists. And that's the problem, because it's really believed that within the border area here, Pakistan, Afghanistan, that al Qaeda is getting stronger again, is regrouping, and will be able to provide the space, if you will, the intellectual space, the operational space, the planning space for other people like Khalid Shaykh Muhammad to plan other attacks, because al Qaeda is now being able to regroup itself in a way that it wasn't really able to do several years ago -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a question. Muhammad says he's totally responsible from A to Z for the 9/11 attacks and other attacks. Do you think it's possible now that other people have essentially replaced him? Somebody else who could be responsible for attacks from A to Z if there's a next wave of attacks?

ROBERTSON: Well, there is some analysis whether Khalid Shaykh Muhammad may be something of a blowhard, may be trying to make himself out to be a hero, although he says he's not maybe trying to make it appear as if he was much more responsible than he was. But undoubtedly, al Qaeda will have replaced him as an operational chief. Undoubtedly, there will be other people out there trying to mastermind, trying to plan other attacks.

The key thing here is there's much more scrutiny on al Qaeda at the moment and anyone who might be associated with them. So they won't have the kind of freedom that Khalid Shaykh Muhammad had back in the 1990s. But undoubtedly, al Qaeda will be trying to -- trying to use people like him to -- who can move around the world without being noticed, they'll perhaps be shaven, they won't have long beards. They'll blend in with the communities they move into to try and plot other attacks -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Nic Robertson is in Kabul, Afghanistan, for us this morning.

Thank you, Nic -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Chiquita Banana is admitting this morning it funneled money to a terror group in Colombia. The company agreeing to pay a $25 million fine after admitting it paid off a paramilitary group protection money for its plantations.

Karl Penhaul joins us from Bogota with more -- Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The right-wing death squad that Chiquita Brands has said it funneled $1.7 million to, Miles, was responsible for not hundreds, but thousands of killings in the period that Chiquita was associated with this group in northern Colombia. It's not the first time that Chiquita was alleged to have cooperated with this death squad, because in 2001, according to an organization in the American states report, a ship pulled into a port that was operated by Chiquita and uploaded 3,000 rifles and three million rounds of ammunition, and that they were then sent to the right-wing death squad. A Chiquita Brands official was, in fact, jailed for his part in that operation.

Now, I was talking to the former mayor of the main town in the region close to where Chiquita operated, and she was now calling, in the light of this news, for a boycott of Chiquita bananas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLORIA CUARTAS, FMR. MAYOR OF APARTADO, COLOMBIA (through translator): I once said that Colombia's banana crop was stained with blood and that Americans and Europeans were eating bananas that had a history of pain and bloodshed. And today I would say that by all means possible we must boycott all Colombian bananas and we must sanction Chiquita.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PENHAUL: She says she believes that the payoffs went much beyond just assuring the protection of its own personnel but went to (INAUDIBLE) paying for the extermination of leftist and union leaders -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Karl, there are a lot of paramilitary groups in Colombia. Could this be the tip of the iceberg?

PENHAUL: Not necessarily the tip of the iceberg. What people are, in fact, asking today, Miles, is how far does the net spread? Because the money that Chiquita says it funneled to the right-wing death squad was funneled through a legal security organization, and the people who had oversight of that security organization were military commanders, generals, and the provincial governor. He was the provincial governor at that time. It was Alvaro Uribe, the man who is now president of Colombia -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Karl Penhaul in Bogota.

Thanks -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: In New York City, investigators are on the scene still this morning after a wild and deadly shootout that happened overnight. Two auxiliary cops, a pizza parlor employee, and the heavily-armed gunman who began the rampage are all dead this morning.

The disguised gunmen apparently walked right into the pizzeria, asked for a menu, and then opened fire, started shooting. A chase led police through the crowded city streets. Now, this morning police have released the names and pictures of the two officers who were killed. They are 19-year-old Eugene Marshalik. He was a student at NYU. And 28-year-old Nicholas Pekearo.

Now, both young men were auxiliary officers and both were reportedly unarmed.

Ahead this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is in a little bit of hot water with a group she is true to woo. Where does she really stand on gay issues?

We'll take a look.

And a court says no to medical marijuana, but a California woman says she's going to keep smoking to try and stop her pain.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: About quarter of the hour right now. Chad Myers at the CNN weather center. He's watching an upcoming snowstorm in the Northeast. Weather a flip-flop, you might say.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: That contentious debate over a crackdown on illegal immigrants has made its way to federal court. At issue, some tough anti-immigrant laws in the city of Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

CNN's Bill Tucker with more on the mayor's testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The courtroom was combative. Hazleton's mayor called to testify in his own defense. The plaintiffs calling him as a hostile witness. The city's justification for passing its ordinances against illegal aliens, coming under immediate attack. The plaintiffs led by the ACLU and open border advocates had one argument. Hazleton didn't study or document the need for its ordinances. Something supporters of the city rejected as unnecessary.

KRIS KOBACH, ATTORNEY FOR HAZLETON, PA.: There is no rule under the Constitution or under federal law that a city council commission an independent scientific study every time they act. The constitutional obligation is simply that cities act reasonably, and that's what precisely what the city has done.

TUCKER: Under tough cross-examination, the Mayor Barletta was forced to admit that he does not know how many illegal aliens are in his community, or the financial impact they're having. But the mayor said plainly that while he doesn't know the answers, neither does anyone else.

The ordinances themselves came under strong questioning in the afternoon with the ACLU focusing on how they would work, questioning the city's ability to administer such laws.

WITOLD WALCZAK, ACLU ATTORNEY: This case is not a referendum on illegal immigration in this country. It's our contention that immigration policy can be, and must be, made by the federal government.

TUCKER: The only issue in this case, he added, is the constitutionality of Hazleton's ordinances.

(on camera): The North American Free Trade Agreement even made it into the courtroom, with the attorney from the ACLU asking Mayor Barletta if he consulted with the presidents of Guatemala, Mexico and the United States to make sure that his ordinances didn't interfere with any immigration obligations under free trade agreements. The mayor responded he's barely paid enough to govern Hazleton, let alone the rest of the country of the world.

Bill Tucker, CNN, Scranton, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(NEWSBREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: The FDA wants warnings on 13 different prescription sleep medications, including Ambien and Lunesta. Apparently, they can cause bizarre and potentially dangerous behaviors like sleep-driving. There's a possibility, too, of a severe allergic reaction.

Eating while sleeping is another potential side-effect. Here is one woman's story, strange story of her bizarre sleep eating binge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDIE EVANS, SLEEP EATER: I would go to sleep and I would sleep all night long. At least I thought I was sleeping all night long. But I feel like I'm gaining weight.

I said, I can't understand this, because I'm not eating anymore. I'm gaining weight. I can't understand this.

I had gotten out of bed and I was cooking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you hungry?

EVANS: I don't even like eggs. And I was cooking eggs and bacon.

The next night during the night, he heard me again, and he got up. And I was making a sandwich. And I had gotten things out of the refrigerator again.

And he caught me a couple nights later. I had turned the oven on, like 500 degrees. I don't remember a thing about it.

I would have no memory of eating this food, no memory. The only clues that I found were dishes in the sink and food missing out of the refrigerator.

My son took me to the doctor's office, and he related that he felt it was the Ambien that was causing the problem. And he took me off and put me on a different sleep medication. And I have not had any problems since.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: What a bizarre story, huh? That was sleep eater Judie Evans with her story in her own words.

We're going to have more on this when Elizabeth Cohen joins us a little bit later this morning in the 8:00 hour, talking about this very problem.

M. O'BRIEN: It's amazing. I mean sleep eating is one thing. You hear about people getting in automobiles, you know, causing risk to who knows how many people.

Anyway, coming up on the program, terror mastermind Khalid shaykh Muhammad confessing to planning 9/11 and much more.

Plus, your money. How would you like to know if your tax money was going to build more storage for peanut growers in Georgia? Just one example of the pork attached to an important bill winding its way through Congress now.

We'll tell you about it ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning right here, and nary a bit of pork.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: The Hewlett-Packard spy scandal, you remember that one. Well, we have some developments this morning on it.

About two minutes before the top of the hour. Ali Velshi with the latest.

Hello, Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been a while since we've talked about this.

M. O'BRIEN: It has been a while.

S. O'BRIEN: The story that keeps giving.

VELSHI: Yes. And in this case, the development is a little unusual. I'll tell you about it.

The charges have been dismissed at the recommendation of the California attorney general. A state judge dismissed the charges against one of the defendants, Patricia Dunn, the former chair of HP. Not because she's innocent, he says, but because she is sick.

Now, Dunn has ovarian cancer, advanced ovarian cancer which her lawyer describes as being very serious. She had been charged with wire fraud in the company's boardroom spying scandal. They were allegedly -- she had authorized spying on some board members and journalists that the board members were talking to, to try to find a leak. And you'll remember that it introduced the word "pretexting" into our vocabulary.

Now, Patricia Dunn has had breast cancer in 2000, melanoma in 2002. She got ovarian cancer in 2004 and she had extensive surgery last year after doctors discovered a malignant tumor in her liver.

So she's still battling this ovarian cancer. And the judge has said, you know what? What she doesn't need is a court case right now. She needs to get her health back.

S. O'BRIEN: That's an interesting development.

VELSHI: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. Ali, thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Ali.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the top of the hour. Chad Myers is at the CNN weather center for us.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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