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American Morning

Revenge Attacks: Sunni Mosques Bombed; Military Cold Case: New Evidence Lead to New Trial?

Aired June 14, 2007 - 06:58   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Trouble on the International Space Station this morning. A computer problem could mean big troubles down the road.

Plus, agony in the ER.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm in the emergency room. My wife is dying and the nurses don't want to help her out.

CHETRY: Desperate pleas go unanswered at the hospital and by 911. How could it happen? Her outraged family joins us live on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: And welcome back. Thanks so much for being with us on this Thursday, June 14th.

I'm Kiran Chetry.

ROBERTS: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.

Thanks for joining us.

(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: In Iraq, a wave of violence is sweeping the country. At least six Sunni mosques now have been blown up as revenge for an attack on a holy Shiite mosque in Samarra.

Right now we're going to show you video of what's left of this mosque, the Golden Mosque.

Thousands of Iraqi and U.S. soldiers have taken to the streets in other cities trying to enforce these curfews.

Paula Hancocks is in Baghdad live this morning.

And Paula, so, to date, right now, we're talking about six revenge attacks. Those curfews apparently not able to stop the violence.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kiran. Yes, those curfews are open-ended. The Baghdad airport is also shut, meaning no inbound or outbound flights. But certainly, we have seen six Sunni mosques being almost destroyed.

In Basra, in southern Iraq, last night we had clashes between Sunnis and Shias. That killed four people, wounded six. Although we are seeing some protests, peaceful protests on the streets today -- in Basra they're calling for unity, both sides on the streets -- we've seen thousands of people in Sadr City -- obviously, this is a stronghold of Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric -- all calling for Iraqi unity and asking for both Sunnis and Shiites to work together to rebuild this mosque -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Paula Hancocks, live for us in Baghdad.

Thank you.

Meantime, the Democratic leaders of Congress are saying that troop buildup in Iraq has failed, essentially. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote a letter to the president saying that they're planning legislation that will limit the U.S. mission in Iraq and lead to the troops coming home.

ROBERTS: A disturbing development this morning in the hunt for a missing 4-year-old British girl. Investigators say a Dutch newspaper has received an anonymous letter claiming that Madeleine McCann is dead. It also included a map that shows where she is supposedly buried in Portugal. Police are taking the letter and the map seriously because they may have come from the same person who sent another letter last year correctly identifying where two missing Belgian girls were buried.

Just a little while ago, we spoke with ITN's Kier Simmons, who is in Portugal following the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIER SIMMONS, ITN REPORTER: The letter apparently talks about scrubland off a dirt track, and that north of that road, under branches and rocks, is a place where perhaps Madeleine is buried.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Madeleine McCann disappeared, you'll remember, from her hotel room where her family was on vacation.

CHETRY: In South Carolina, the hunt is on for the suspect in a deadly shooting that happened outside of a shopping mall in Columbia. Police say a woman and her father were gunned down yesterday in the parking lot by a man who has been accused of stalking the woman in the past.

She survived, but her father was shot several times and died. Michael Young Jr. had been arrested earlier this month, charged with stalking. But he was free on bond. Police say Young was last seen driving a green Honda Accord.

ROBERTS: And in Trenton, New Jersey, police are on the hunt this morning, searching for a double murder suspect after a jail released him by accident. Officials in Mercer County are blaming what they're calling a series of clerical errors for the mistake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAN MARBREY, ASST. MERCER COUNTY PROSECUTOR: The major flub is that he was put into position where he could be released. As a citizen of Mercer County, I'm upset that this happened, because I'm in the same position as every other citizen in this county when someone of this -- this extremely dangerous propensity is out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Police say that Dontay Brannon was facing an unrelated burglary charge when a family member posted bond. He was eligible for bond for that charge even though he was being held on murder charges. Investigators say at least four people, including the parole person, did not review his file thoroughly.

Internal affairs is investigating.

CHETRY: In Montana, two escaped prison inmates are in police custody today after six days on the run. You'll remember we first told you about this case earlier in the week. One of the escapees, Kelly Frank, was in prison for plotting to kidnap David Letterman's son. Kelly was arrested near a house owned by a relative.

The other future, William Willcutt, a S.W.A.T. team arrested Willcutt several hours later.

ROBERTS: Well, a lot of concern about the International Space Station on this Thursday morning. NASA says two Russian computers that control the space station's position and its oxygen and food supplies have all failed. That's meant that the space shuttle Atlantis had to fire its thrusters every so often to help keep the space station in the position it's supposed to be in.

Atlantis could spend an extra day in space to fix the problems. They think it will take probably that long to bring the computers back on line.

No crying in court yesterday for the judge suing his dry cleaners for $54 million. Arguments in the case are over. A judge is going to rule on it next week.

Roy Pearson is saying that his pants were lost, which was a violation of the shop's satisfaction guaranteed sign. The attorney for the store's owner says Pearson took that sign just a little too literally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS MANNING, CUSTOM CLEANERS ATTORNEY: I think the court and everyone else has seen the ridiculousness of this litigation and how strong my client's case is, and how incredibly unmeritorous Mr. Pearson's case is.

LISA RICKARD, INSTITUTE FOR LEGAL REFORM: To try to extort damages and allege something like $65 million in damages is completely absurd.

MANNING: Mr. Pearson has cost the taxpayers ungodly amounts of money, and has also cost my clients an incredibly unreasonable amount of money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Coming up later on this hour we're going to be speaking with Chris Manning, the attorney for the dry cleaners in this case, to hear a little more of what he has to say.

CHETRY: If we could all sue for satisfaction guaranteed being broken, we'd all be in the court all the time.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: You might want to check your toothpaste tubes this morning. We have a warning about it topping your "Quick Hits".

Discount stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland are all pulling tubes of toothpaste that are labeled Colgate off of the shelves. This is the continuing worries about an ingredient in there, a chemical that is found in antifreeze that could be very toxic. The feds say that they're not sure if it's really Colgate or if it's actually a counterfeit toothpaste.

There's a delay in the case of Warren Jeffs. He's the polygamist on trial for arranging illegal marriages between his followers and young girls. Well, a judge now wants to learn more about the legal issues surrounding the traffic stop that ended up eventually leading to Jeffs' arrest.

Well now angry airline passengers have someone to complain to. There's an airline complaint hotline. It's called 1-877-FLYERS6.

If you're stuck on a plane and you can't get off, as we've seen happen in recent months, or if you have any other complaints, you can call. I don't know really if -- it's a complaint hotline, though. It says they'll give you advice on what to do.

You're stuck on a plane, what do you do? Keep sitting.

ROBERTS: All right.

Severe storms slam Oklahoma. At least four tornadoes touched down last night. This one in Red Mesa. Take a look at that.

Heavy rain caused power outages and road closures. Four-inch hail was also reported in the Oklahoma panhandle.

And here's something rare, speaking of hail. Check out this video of a hailstorm in northern Virginia, just outside of Washington. It was shot by a CNN I-Reporter who happens to be my son Kyle. And that happens to be my back yard. We got about three inches of hail. Look at that. It looks like a snowstorm in the middle of February.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Well, a military officer tried and then acquitted for a rape and triple murder two decades ago. Well, now he may have to face the same charges again because of new evidence that may link him to the crime.

AMERICAN MORNING'S Alina Cho is here to explain.

And, you know, we ask the question all the time, double jeopardy. How can he have to go through this all over again?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is a bit complicated, Kiran. But, you know, under normal circumstances, double jeopardy laws would apply.

Now, that means you cannot be tried twice for the same crime. But in this case, there's an important exception.

Master Sergeant Timothy Hennis was tried and ultimately acquitted in a state court. But because he's a soldier, he could face the same charges again in a military court, more than two decades after the crime.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "INNOCENT VICTIMS": Timothy Bailey Hennis...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "INNOCENT VICTIMS": Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "INNOCENT VICTIMS": I have a warrant for your arrest.

CHO (voice over): By the time the TV movie was made, it was thought the case was closed. Timothy Hennis had been tried and convicted in a civilian case of triple murder. Then while on death row he appealed, got a new trial, and was ultimately acquitted of brutally raping and killing military wife Kathryn Eastburn and slicing the throats of her two young daughters.

Twenty-two years later, the U.S. military says new tests on DNA evidence link Hennis to the crime. Now he could soon face the same charges again. This time in a military court.

EUGENE FIDELL, MILITARY LAW EXPERT: The fact that the federal government, let's say, has prosecuted a case before, or a state government has prosecuted a case before, doesn't mean the other can't prosecute in the future. And that's what happened here.

CHO: Forty-nine-year-old Hennis retired honorably from the military three years ago and had been living quietly in Washington State. In order to face a court martial, the military reactivated Hennis, so he was forced to move back to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the scene of the gruesome 1985 crime.

FRANK SPINNER, HENNIS' ATTORNEY: The real problem is recreating the facts, locating witnesses. We know that some witnesses have died. Others may have disappeared.

CHO: The psychologist who originally helped acquit Hennis by calling into question eyewitness testimony wonders whether the DNA evidence is sound.

ELIZABETH LOFTUS, UC IRVINE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROF.: One big problem with DNA evidence is the possibility of contamination. I find it rather shocking that somebody can come back two decades later and try this man again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Now, in a statement to CNN, the military said the evidence in this case substantially outweighs any other circumstances, like Hennis' outstanding military service, even the passage of 22 years. Now, no final decision has been made yet on whether Hennis will be tried again. That is up to a military commander.

And if this case moves forward, a trial won't happen right away, Kiran. It's likely at least a year away.

CHETRY: Usually you hear about the DNA evidence freeing people that were wrongly convicted.

CHO: That's right. It's the other way around.

CHETRY: In this case, is there any explanation for why the DNA -- they might have found the DNA at the crime scene?

CHO: Well, he has never said -- Timothy Hennis has never said he wasn't at the crime scene. His alibi was that he was answering a newspaper ad to buy a dog from this woman, Kathryn Eastburn. And so that's his explanation for being there at the home. Now, whether this actually links him to the crime, that's still an open question -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Alina Cho, thank you.

CHO: Sure.

ROBERTS: Seventeen minutes after the hour now. And the recall of a popular children's toy tops our "Quick Hits" now.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

ROBERTS: Here's a prediction for later on today. Lou Dobbs is going to have something to say about the fact that Barneys is being bought by the government of Dubai. Twenty-two after the hour. Ali Velshi here "Minding Your Business".

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The government of Dubai has actually been on a bit of a buying streak of things around the world. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel right here in New York, attached to this building, is owned by the investment arm of the government of Dubai. But what's happening is, Barneys, I mean, can you think of more of an American icon than Barneys on Madison Avenue, the luxury goods retailer?

We are expecting an announcement probably today that after being on sale for some time, Barneys will be bought by the investment arm of the Dubai government. Barneys went into bankruptcy in the late '90s. It was then bought by Jones Apparel Group for about $400 million back in 2004. The expected price tag of this deal, $825 million.

For those of you who know, Jones Apparel Group owns Jones of New York, Anne Klein and Nine West.

Another deal that we're looking at, the Gap has signed agreements with people in Turkey and in Saudi Arabia to run their franchises in those two countries. They're going to open 90 Gap stores and 20 Banana Republic stores in those two countries over the next five years.

They're not going to operate them themselves. They're running through a franchiser. But the Gap has been saying that the reasons for doing this is that they have got strong economies, both of those countries have very strong economies -- obviously, Saudi Arabia's economy heavily dependent on oil and does very well. Turkey has just got a roaring economy on its own.

But there's a desire in those countries for iconic American brands. And the Gap and Banana Republic are those.

So, that's why they're expanding. So there's a big, big shift east. Gap going into Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and the government of Dubai.

ROBERTS: Yes. The Emirates are buying so many things.

VELSHI: Yes.

ROBERTS: The hotel I stay in is owned by the Emirates.

VELSHI: Yes (INAUDIBLE).

ROBERTS: Yes.

VELSHI: They've got hotels. They've got one of the most -- the airline owned by the government of Dubai -- not the government, but the sheikh, Emirates Airlines, will be the biggest airline in the world inside of five years.

ROBERTS: Incredible. By the way, I think you have a little Pop-Tart...

VELSHI: Yes, I didn't quite get that.

Thanks, Kiran.

ROBERTS: We'll be right back after this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS (voice over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, tragedy in the ER. A woman left to die on the emergency room floor. Not treated by the hospital. Her boyfriend and fellow patients desperately call 911 for help.

DISPATCHER: I cannot do anything for you for the quality of the hospital there. It's not an emergency. It is not an emergency, ma'am.

ROBERTS: Dispatchers refuse to send paramedics. Now the family is outraged.

We'll hear from them next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: This shot coming to us courtesy of WWL, our affiliate in New Orleans, Louisiana. It looks a little hazy there today.

It's going to be a big day, though, because coming up in just about an hour and a half, buses are going to be departing from the Gentilly and Algiers neighborhoods to haul New Orleans residents up to the capital n Baton Rouge. They're going to be marching at the governor's mansion for rebuilding New Orleans.

It's going to be a rally taking place at 11:00 today.

ROBERTS: A picture from the south side of the Mississippi there. I saw that so many times when we were down there for Hurricane Katrina.

CHETRY: Well, welcome back. It is Thursday, June 14th.

I'm Kiran Chetry.

ROBERTS: Good morning to you. Thanks for being with us. I'm John Roberts.

(NEWSBREAK)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: It's a courtroom filled with tears from the judge there who lost his pants, lots of fireworks as well. We're going to talk with the dry cleaner's attorney just ahead about this whole thing. KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Meanwhile, we start with some breaking news in Gaza this morning. A major Fatah security installation falling to Hamas. Hamas now controls most of Gaza and the fighting between the two Palestinian groups who are supposed to work together to build a unity government has now cost dozens of lives since Saturday. It's threatening to tear the government apart. CNN's Atika Shubert is live in Jerusalem with more details for us and some of the reporting coming out this Associated Press saying that witnesses report seeing Fatah fighters being dragged from the building and executed in the streets.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We have not been able to independently confirm that report, but Hamas TV has been showing video of the Fatah installations they have taken over, flying the Hamas flag over the building, also showing pictures of Fatah loyalists being marched out on to the street at gun point and paraded around and taken prisoner. Again, we have no confirmed reports of those executions taking place. It is clear that Gaza has descended into utter chaos. There is no law or authority at the moment there. Palestinian president and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas is expected to make a statement sometime today, what his officials call a decisive announcement, but clearly it may be too late. It seems Gaza has already fallen under Hamas control Kiran.

CHETRY: And what was the point that escalated this to the point we're at now? Because there was some hope that they would be able to get together and help move this fledging unity government along.

SHUBERT: It has been simmering for some time, this power struggle between Hamas and Fatah. When this unity government was formed as part of an agreement in February, there was hope that they would be able to work together. Clearly it has not worked. And apparently the point of contention was the fact that Hamas was not willing to give up control of its own security forces and there was a dispute over who exactly would have the authority to control the troops on the street. Clearly it has now completely broken down. And Hamas seems to have the upper hand.

CHETRY: We understand that the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas who is with the Fatah party, is expected to be making a quote decisive statement later in the day. Any preview as to what you think he might be saying?

SHUBERT: We are not sure exactly what he is expected to say but there are a couple of possibilities. One of them may be that Fatah is pulling out of the unity government. Another possibility is that he orders Fatah troops no longer to be on the defensive, but to actually take offensive action against Hamas. If either of these two scenarios comes forward, then you could have a possibility of the violence spreading beyond the Gaza strip into the west bank plunging what many fear will be the Palestinian territories into full on civil war.

CHETRY: It's certainly a tense and developing situation there right now. We will continue to check in with you. Atika Shubert, thank you. ROBERTS: We have been talking about this all morning, a shocking story from a Los Angeles hospital. A woman goes to the emergency room. She is vomiting blood, lying on the floor, but still gets no help from the hospital staff. So desperate were those with her, and others in the hospital emergency room that they called 911 for an ambulance to try to get her to another hospital. Here's how 911 responded.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

911: This 911 is used for emergency purposes only.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is an emergency.

911: It's not an emergency. It's not an emergency ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have to see how they're treating her.

911: OK. Well that's not a criminal thing. You see what I'm saying. We handle...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me, if this woman all out dies, what do you mean this is not a criminal thing?

911: I can't understand what you're saying ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said may God strike you too for acting the way you just acted.

911: Negative ma'am. You're the one.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Wow, shocking stuff. Forty-three year-old Edith Elizabeth Rodriguez, Isabel Rodriguez rather died sometime after that call. Her sisters say they want justice done. Maria Patino and Marcela Sanchez join us now from our Los Angeles bureau. Ladies, thanks very much for being with us and our condolences to you on the loss of your sister. Maria, you were in shock in the days following her death. Where are your emotions running now?

MARIA PATINO, SISTER OF EDITH (sic) RODRIGUEZ: We're still in shock. We can't believe she's gone. My two sisters are, you know, we're like the closest ones. It's just shocking. The 911 call was the first I heard of it yesterday. And it -- I was outraged. I was like -- you can't even -- it goes beyond what I think -- or how I feel. It's an ugly emotion. I guess you could say shock is not even there. I'm still going through everything. It's just hard to lose someone that you are so close and care for.

ROBERTS: Marcella, what are you thinking about all of this? Your sister was on the floor in the emergency room of a hospital for 45 minutes obviously in severe distress and the hospital staff apparently did nothing.

MARCELA SANCHEZ, SISTER OF EDITH (sic) RODRIGUEZ: Yes. What I think? What I want to say I can't. But I just -- I wish they were there to help her like they're supposed to.

ROBERTS: Jose Preda (ph), her boyfriend was with her. He ran outside to a pay phone to make a call to 911. As far as we understand this is one of the first 911 calls. Let's quickly play that for you and get your reaction to it.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CALLER: My wife is dying and the nurses don't want to help her out.

OPERATOR: OK, what do you mean she's dying? What's wrong with her?

CALLER: She's vomiting blood.

OPERATOR: OK and why aren't they helping her?

CALLER: They're watching her. They're watching her. They're not doing anything. They're just watching her.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So Maria, Jose was desperately trying to get the attention of somebody because the hospital wasn't helping. Did anything happen as a result of that call?

PATINO: No. No, they mistreated her. They -- even after that call, they -- it was ugly. They had treated her like -- like garbage, like nothing, like she had no say so in this country. We were born and raised here. Our whole family was. There's a whole lot of us. She wasn't homeless. She was just -- helpless. She just -- she's a strong-hearted person.

ROBERTS: Let me ask you this question -- could 911 be expected to dispatch somebody to a hospital where your sister was?

PATINO: Yes, 911. That's what the emergency is for. If other people are calling saying she needed help, the way she was on the floor vomiting blood, they still weren't helping her. Desperate people were calling, also, they were just ignoring her. Yes, 911 could have at least made an effort of calling the police station. They were there.

ROBERTS: The hospital, Martin Luther King Harbor, we asked them for a statement. They said Martin Luther King Harbor hospital is not able to provide CNN with a statement because this is a pending investigation. Maria, there is video of this incident. What should happen with that video?

PATINO: It should be opened to the public. We have not seen the video. They're not showing it to us. I think the public has a -- we all have a right for everything. This public should be aware of what's going on with the hospital. How mistreated we are, whether we are Mexicans or anything. Her civil rights were gone to trash.

ROBERTS: Are you going sue the hospital?

PATINO: We want justice done. That's all I know. I want her to get, you know -- I want the nurses and stuff to pay for what they did. There should be something done.

ROBERTS: A county health official described this as a case of inexcusable indifference. Maria Patino and Marcela Sanchez, thanks very much for being with us. Again, our condolences to you for the loss of your sister.

PATINO: Thank you.

CHETRY: Unbelievably sad case, seems so unnecessary as well.

Another health crisis to tell you about. This one for Billy Graham's wife in quick hits now, 88-year-old Ruth Bell Graham falling into a coma yesterday. A family spokesman says that she appears to be in the final stages of her life. She and her husband the Reverend Bill Graham have known each other for 65 years.

A Catholic bishop is in some hot water over politics. Bishop Thomas Tobin (ph) opposed Rudy Giuliani's stance on abortion, but because he did it in a church newspaper, a watchdog group says it is illegal. A tax-exempt organization cannot endorse or oppose a political candidate.

A mother's anguish takes the Internet by storm, her young son critically injured by shaken baby syndrome. Now she is blogging about the experience and millions of people are taking notice. That story ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Forty one minutes the hour. Our quick hits begin on Capitol Hill this morning. The Senate Judiciary Committee set to vote on authorizing subpoenas for documents related to the Justice Department's domestic wiretapping program. The NSA program began after 9/11. It ran for more than five years without warrants or judicial oversight.

And Senator John McCain tried to stir up a youtube moment to make Mitt Romney look like a flip-flopper. The McCain campaign posted a video where Romney says he would support Massachusetts abortion laws. Romney says he is against abortion now and despite what he said as governor of Massachusetts, he always personally opposed it. Romney said the attack shows that McCain is struggling.

A blog about a shaken baby has been one of the most popular over the last several days on the Internet page myspace. Jackie Schechner here now to tell us more about the story. What's it all about?

JACKIE SCHECHNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's a woman near (INAUDIBLE), a 21-year-old woman, a mother out of Tampa, Florida and she has a myspace page. And what happened was, her son, Caleb, who was six months old, was allegedly, the sheriff's office says that he shaken by a day care worker and was put into the hospital in early May. She has been blogging about his condition and that myspace page has garnered so many hits, 150 million blogs on myspace and it's been one of the most popular over the last few days. People are checking in to see how baby Caleb is doing, to track his progress. She has tens of thousands of friends, tens of thousands of comments. People even sent her a laptop. They want to know how he's doing and what's been happening.

ROBERTS: Has it caught the attention of authorities?

SCHECHNER: Authorities, yes. The woman was arrested and charged with one count of suspicion - what is it, suspicion of child abuse and she has been released on bail. And this is all according to the sheriff's office in St. Petersburg.

ROBERTS: This is a whole new realm for the Internet and for blogs. Usually people are blogging about personal experiences or thoughts on politics or travels or whatever. For somebody to blog about this --

SCHECHNER: It's an opportunity to commiserate and what's happened is, that there's also been set up a myspace help Caleb page, so it's not only the page that she's on herself, but also people have garnered support through their own page. The other thing that they're doing is people are wondering if this is a hoax and (INAUDIBLE) an urban legends site is saying no, it's actually true so plenty of interest online. People want to know how Caleb is doing.

ROBERTS: That's really different stuff. Thanks. Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. It is about 15 minutes until the top of the hour. Reynolds Wolf is here to talk a little bit about the weather picture today, relatively calmer than what we've seen the rest of the week.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: In a few places. We've got some things that are really starting to heat up. In fact, in Hobart, Oklahoma, we've got some widespread flooding that's taking place, extreme flooding in Hobart, which is just to the southwest of Oklahoma City. In fact, a downtown intersection has about four feet of water as we speak. There are some homes being rescued - where people are being rescued from these homes by boat and by (INAUDIBLE) certainly a scary thing here. As we take a look at our radar at this time we are still seeing the heavy rainfall in parts of the plains and also some scattered showers along much of the eastern seaboard. As we make our way into Florida, not a lot of activity at this point from Orlando southward to Tampa but later on today, it could get pretty loud. We still have that stationary front that is just holding right across portions of the sunshine state.

As we make our way back up into Minnesota, just east of Grand Forks at this time, we're seeing some showers there over to Fargo as well, over to Wilsdon (ph), northwards to the U.S./Canadian border, some storms there as well and back into Oklahoma City. It is just booming at this point. A little bit of hail reported. But the big concern we have in that area is all the run-off. Think about it. You don't see much in terms of rainfall, but with all that water that we have on the ground and all the run-off, that's where you are having those huge issues this morning and the rain continues to really pound down near Ardmore at this time. And as you make your way down to the Dallas Fort Worth area, you could see some scattered showers there as well, but the big flood potential is going to be into Oklahoma. That is a quick check on your forecast. We're going to keep a very close eye on Hobart, Oklahoma, certainly, a bad situation there this morning to say the least.

CHETRY: All right. Reynolds Wolf, we'll check in with you later. Thanks.

Meantime, a surprising discovery in China has scientists scratching their heads. Quick hits now, the bones of a giant bird- like dinosaur have been found and they are so big they go against the theory that dinosaurs became smaller as they evolved into birds. Scientists are looking into it now and said it would be like finding a mouse the size of a horse.

A family in Pittsfield, Massachusetts came home to an uninvited guest the other day. It was their neighbor's cow taking a dip in their backyard pool. Can we please see this a little bigger again? The neighbors actually had to come over with a big ramp. Even the police are taking photos of - their digital camera. When you are hot and you're a cow and your neighbor's pool looks that inviting, what are you supposed to do? Are you expected to just stay there in the grass? I don't think so. Good job, Bessy. Hope you had fun. Probably going to get locked up from now on and then what do you do? You tell your wife what did you do at work today, honey? I wrestled a cow out of a pool. It's fun. We're back in a moment.

Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, the case of the $54 million pants. tears and shocking allegations in the courtroom. Why this man is suing a dry cleaner over lost pants. You won't believe his reasoning. Satisfaction guaranteed, next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Eleven minutes before the top of the hour. From mad to sad, some quick hits for you now. Actor Isaiah Washington says he is no longer angry but sad about being let go from "Grey's Anatomy." He says he did everything he could to save his job including going to rehab for anti-gay comments he made about a fellow cast member. Washington is blaming the media for blowing things out of proportion. Join the club.

People will soon be walking all over Barbara Walters. The star of "The View" will get a star on the Hollywood walk of fame later on today.

And no saggy pants. That's going to be the rule in one southern town. The mayor of Delcamma (ph), Louisiana is set to sign a bill banning pants that show underwear or body parts. Penalties include up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. Kiran? The cost of pants is just going through the roof. CHETRY: Yes, speaking of which, $54 million, huh? The case of the $54 million pants is now in the hands of a judge. Both sides presented their cases and they now wait for a judge's ruling. A Washington judge sued a dry cleaners for $54 million for losing pants that he took in for an alteration. Joining us now is Chris Manning. He is the lawyer for the Chung family, who own the dry cleaners now at the heart of this case. We do want to point out that we did reach out to the plaintiff in this case, Judge Pearson who declined to come on our show. But Chris Manning is here. Thanks for being with us.

CHRIS MANNING, ATTORNEY FOR CUSTOM CLEANERS: Thank you.

CHETRY: I'm sure no doubt you have heard the large amount of press this story has gotten, largely because people think it's pretty ludicrous. We are wondering is how did it get this far that it's being heard in DC court?

MANNING: Well, DC is admittedly a liberal jurisdiction. But any time that there's a factual issue in a case, but with no ultimate legal defect, those factual issue in a case but with no ultimate legal defect, then those factual issues have to be heard in court. The real outrageous issue here in addition to the lack of underlying merit to the claims is that he is claiming this $54 million in relation to one pair of pants and one satisfaction guaranteed sign. It's ridiculous.

CHETRY: What are your clients going through right now?

MANNING: It's been incredibly difficult for them, emotionally over the last two years, but also financially. They have had to -- they had to withstand a great deal of financial stress. They set up a fund, a customcleanersdefensefund.com in order to help alleviate that. But they are still well short of what this litigation has cost them and what Mr. Pearson's claims have cost them.

CHETRY: Eventually, I mean this case went back and forth for a very long time and through many incarnations it seems. But looking back, should they have just paid him the $1,000 I guess he was asking initially for this entire suit that he claims he had to replace?

MANNING: I guess hindsight is always 20/20, but they absolutely have his pants. They did not lose his pants. And my clients are -- have a great deal of character and they're not going to submit just because someone tries to intimidate them and that's exactly what's happened here.

CHETRY: What do you think, what do you think the outcome is going to be? Both sides were heard from yesterday and now it's up to a judge to decide what happens here.

MANNING: The trial went well for my clients. We feel supremely confident going into next week. We believe that mid to late next week, my clients are going to be completely vindicated.

CHETRY: Judge Judy would have thrown this case out. It'll remain to see what happens with them. This guy, is he going to continue to be a judge? Has any bit of his reputation tarnished by this entire situation?

MANNING: You know, I'm not going to comment on the judge. What I will say is that our legal system is tarnished to some extent based on what are just outrageous claims that have been brought by him. This isn't the normal lawyer who brings this type of claim. Mr. Pearson is outrageous and his case is patently ridiculous.

CHETRY: We will see what happens when that ruling comes down possibly even today. Chris Manning, attorney for the dry cleaners, thanks for being with us.

MANNING: Thanks a lot.

ROBERTS: The Ft. Dix six are back in court, tops our quick hits now. They will be in Federal court in New Jersey this afternoon for arraignment. They are expected to plead not guilty to charges of plotting an attack on soldiers at Ft. Dix.

The search is on now for most of Haiti's youth soccer team. Thirteen players deserted during a stopover at Kennedy airport in New York City. A few came back and turned themselves in, but the rest are still missing.

Millions of Americans shop at Wal-Mart for the discounts, but many of them are taking their own five-finger discount. You are watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is on CNN.

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CHETRY: Get those kids out of bed. That tops our quick hits now. Research shows that teenagers who stay up late at night and then sleep in on the weekend will feel jet lagged on Monday morning in school and that could hurt their academic performance.

Rental car companies racing to go green. Both Hertz and Avis say they plan to add 1,000 Prius' to their fleet this month with more coming in the future.

And here's what you can get for the woman who has everything, how about a $1.5 million handbag. There it is. It went on display today in Tokyo. The bag has a platinum surface and is coated with 2,182 of the highest quality diamonds. And you can use the strap as a necklace. See that. What a bargain. Careful where you buy it.

ROBERTS: You want a bag like that, you go on eBay.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's what a lot of people do. I'm an active eBay user. I have a little blue star, (INAUDIBLE) 59 comments, they are 100 percent perfect. I'm what a lot of people are doing on eBay, while they continue to say they are getting more members, fewer people are actually getting involved. A lower percentage are getting involved in the auctions because of the amount of fraud on eBay. It is really remarkable. Handbags top of the list. Running shoes, software. Tiffany has sued eBay saying that 70 percent of the things that are associated with Tiffany on eBay are fraud. EBay has said that it is cracking down on this. It says it has seen a massive decrease in the number of complaints about fraud in the last few months. It's banished tens of thousands of sellers who have chronically bad feedback. It's doing a bunch of other things. Sellers in China and Hong Kong which is where much of the counterfeit goods are coming from, can no longer sell luxury goods or handbags and all their new sellers have to register with Paypal which it says confirms the banking and credit card info. But I have had the experience using Paypal where I wasn't protected. You have too.

CHETRY: I had an experience where I bought a pair of Nikes. I guess now that I think about it, they were counterfeit. They came from China. I opened up the box. I wore them for a day and they fell apart. So then I just thought, I can't trust eBay.

ROBERTS: It was just a deal that was too good to pass up.

CHETRY: They had a color that I couldn't find anywhere. They were electric purple, yes exactly, you learn the hard way sometimes.

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

CHETRY: Eye for an eye, revenge attacks right now in Iraq after the bombing of a holy Shiite shrine.

Plus a new Pentagon report on the surge. Is it making things safer for U.S. troops?

A new search overnight, where is little Madelaine McCann (ph)? A disturbing new lead on this AMERICAN MORNING. And welcome back, thanks so much for being with us. It's Thursday, June 14th. I'm Kiran Chetry.

ROBERTS: Good morning to you and thanks for being with us. I'm John Roberts.

Also ahead on our radar this morning, a new chapter in America's standoff with Ian. The State Department says there is irrefutable evidence that Iran is supplying weapons not just in Iraq but to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Could it spark a new diplomatic crisis? We'll check in with the State Department.

CHETRY: Also a new housing headache to tell you about. Some trouble on Wall Street that could cause problems for anyone who wants to buy or even sell a house.

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