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Blackwater Investigation; Mystery at Sea; Sexual Harassment Suit

Aired October 02, 2007 - 09:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. You're in the NEWSROOM.
I'm Heidi Collins.

Watch events come in to the NEWSROOM live on Tuesday morning, the 2nd of October.

Here's what's on the rundown.

Blackwater's top executive questioned by Congress shortly. Iraq's leader accuses the private security firm of killing civilians.

Police trying to find the gunman who killed a University of Memphis student. Classes back in session this morning.

And a troubled pop princess losing custody of her two sons.

Mother of a court ruling, in the NEWSROOM.

A private security firm on duty in Iraq under fire here at home. The founder of Blackwater facing tough questions before Congress this morning.

CNN Suzanne Simons takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE SIMONS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The owner of Blackwater USA doesn't often find himself in the spotlight. Erik Prince, a former Navy SEAL, will be answering tough questions Tuesday before the House Oversight Committee. Lawmakers are turning their attention to the man at the helm of the company entrusted with more than a billion dollars in U.S. government contracts.

The committee led by Representative Henry Waxman is expected to ask about a September 16th shooting involving Blackwater contractors who were accompanying State Department personnel in Baghdad. Iraq's Interior Ministry contends Blackwater guards opened fire indiscriminately in a crowded Baghdad intersection, killing more than 20 civilians. The company has said its men were responding to hostile fire.

In light of the incident, the Iraqi government is calling for an end to contractor immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law. The U.S. government relies on private contractors to provide security for diplomats moving around in the country. A joint U.S.-Iraqi commission on the incident is expected to meet for the first time this week in Baghdad.

Prince is also expected to be pressed on details about the incident that thrust the dangers facing private contractors into the headlines more than three years ago -- an insurgent attack in Falluja in which four Blackwater contractors were shot, burned, their bodies dragged through the streets. Two of them hanged from a bridge as a group of spectators cheered.

The questions now focus on whether Blackwater properly prepared the men for the mission under the terms of their contracts. The men's families are suing Blackwater over the incident.

Suzanne Simons, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The founder of Blackwater USA says there has been a rush to judgment about the Baghdad shootings. He will get a chance to tell his side of the story less than an hour from now.

Want to go live now to Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.

Barbara, I know you've been following this very closely. Tell us how far you think Erik Prince is prepared to actually defend his company, Blackwater.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, Erik Prince, the head of Blackwater, will appear in just less than an hour now on Capitol Hill. We've had a look at his testimony, at his prepared statement for the committee, and he plans to go right to the wall defending his company, his people and their actions.

He will tell the Congress that, "Based on everything that the company knows, the Blackwater team acted appropriately during that September 16th shooting incident in Baghdad." He will go on and say, "There has been a rush to judgment based on inaccurate information, and many public reports have wrongly pronounced Blackwater's guilt for the deaths of varying numbers of civilians. Congress should not accept these allegations as truth until it has the facts."

That will all be part of his statement. But make no mistake, there is a good deal of controversy to be had here.

Blackwater says it acted appropriately. The Iraqi government says Blackwater officials fired indiscriminately into a crowd of civilians. And now, of course, the FBI has entered the investigation, taking a very close look at what might have really happened here -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Barbara Starr from the Pentagon this morning.

Barbara, thank you. Private contractors in Iraq, who are they and what exactly do they do? Blackwater USA is the largest of the State Department's three private security contractors. It has about a thousand employees in Iraq. Most are former military personnel. Blackwater's headquarters is in North Carolina.

The other two contractors in Iraq, DynCorp and Triple Canopy. Both of them based out of Washington's Virginia suburbs. The company's main mission in Iraq -- providing security for U.S. diplomats traveling and working in the country.

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Britney Spears comes up a loser. A judge is ordering her to give up her two young children effective tomorrow. Ex-husband Kevin Federline will have custody.

It's not clear what led to the judge's decision. The transcript of the proceedings is sealed. Last month, the judge ordered Spears to submit to random drug tests. In the latest court ruling, the judge ordered Spears to take parenting classes.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Susan Candiotti in Miami.

What really happened to the Joe Cool, that fishing boat that was found abandoned on its way to the Bahamas? We'll talk with the survivors coming up ahead in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Also, from panic attack to heart attack? New research on women shows a link. We're calling Dr. Sanjay Gupta to the NEWSROOM.

And crunch time for a basketball coach on trial. A sexual harassment suit against Isiah Thomas reaches the fourth quarter.

A horrific crime -- dragged to death. An African-American man killed. Two suspects facing charges. The question now, was it a hate crime?

You're watching CNN. And you are in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody.

A mystery at sea investigated as a quadruple killing today. Two men due in court next hour.

Our Susan Candiotti has been covering the case. She's in Miami for us this morning.

Susan, what is this hearing going to be about? CANDIOTTI: Well, Heidi, hopefully, ideally, we will learn something new about what really happened to the crew of the Joe Cool. That would be captain Jake Branam, his young wife, Branam's half- brother and the first mate. They have not been seen or heard from since a week ago Saturday, when two men hired their boat, the Joe Cool, for a one-way trip to the Bahamas, ostensibly to meet their girlfriends.

They were paid $4,000 in cash for the trip. But the GPS for the boat shows that it went way off course. It was found abandoned by the Coast Guard near Cuba. Inside, it was a mess.

About 10 miles away, the Coast Guard found a life raft with the only two survivors aboard, the two customers. They claim that they were attacked by hijackers and these two men were the only ones to survive. A law enforcement source tells CNN that the two men did not appear to be relieved when they were rescued.

The Coast Guard did search for the crew, but after five days finally called off the search. Jake Archer, one of those two customers, he is wanted in Arkansas for an outstanding warrant for allegedly stealing more than $90,000 from a Wal-Mart where he once worked. And he is accompanied by a 19-year-old licensed security guard from here in Miami.

The teenager is charged with lying to federal agents. Archer wanted for fleeing prosecution from Arkansas. And a source tells us, Heidi, that today, we could learn more about why Archer allegedly wanted to leave the United States. Family and friends of both say they men would not be capable of killing anyone.

We'll find out what happens and back to you as soon as that hearing is over -- Heidi.

COLLINS: OK. Very good, Susan. Thanks so much for that.

Head basketball coach accused of sexual harassment. Jurors in the Isiah Thomas trial may be close to a verdict this morning.

Our Jim Acosta takes a closer look at the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For years, Hall of Fame pro basketball player Isiah Thomas had always maintained a squeaky clean image throughout a stellar NBA career. But then came the $10 million sexual harassment lawsuit against him and the owners of the New York Knicks.

Thomas, now the Knicks head coach and president, was accused of verbally abusing and basically coming on to a subordinate female employee. His accuser, 44-year-old Anucha Browne Sanders, a former college basketball star herself, claims she was fired from her job with the Knicks after she complained about Thomas' behavior.

ANUCHA BROWNE SANDERS, ALLEGES SEXUAL HARASSMENT: No woman, regardless of the industry she works for, should have to endure the type of abuse that I've endured on this job. Everyone has the right to expect that they're not going to be sexually harassed.

ACOSTA: Thomas denied harassing Browne Sanders but did make this comment in a videotaped deposition...

ISIAH THOMAS, NEW YORK KNICKS COACH: A white male calling a black female a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is highly offensive to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you find it also offensive for a black male to call a black woman a (EXPLETIVE DELETED)?

THOMAS: Not as much.

ACOSTA: Thomas recently backed away from that comment.

THOMAS: Please don't mischaracterize the video that was shown in court today. I don't think it's right for any man to ever call a woman a (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I didn't do it and I wouldn't do it.

ACOSTA: But during closing arguments, Browne Sanders lawyer accused Thomas of subjecting her client to locker room behavior. That may be OK at Madison Square Garden, but not in the workplace. Attorneys for the Knicks organization say Browne Sanders was fired for poor job performance.

(on camera): The remaining question left unresolved by jurors deals with punitive damages, an indication that perhaps they are leaning towards a verdict against Isiah Thomas. His accuser walked out of court on Monday with a smile on her face. The jury resumes its deliberations Tuesday morning.

Jim Acosta, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The dogs that were taken from Michael Vick's property, can they be saved? Experts make their recommendation.

Campaign cash. Presidential fund-raising slowing. Who is up and who is down?

And from panic attack to heart attack? New research on women shows a link.

We're calling Dr. Gupta to the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A sudden paralyzing burst or fear of anxiety, it could actually be a panic attack. And a new study finds a panic attack may increase your risk for a heart attack.

Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here now with some new research.

Boy, this might frighten a lot of people. I mean, I've known people who have had panic attacks before.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, and this whole idea that there's a link between your emotional well-being and your psychological well-being with your physical well- being I think is intuitive. A lot of people sort of understand that.

But this idea that it could actually possibly lead to a heart attack down the line, that's hard to prove. But this new study out here looking specifically at postmenopausal women, about 3,400 of them. And the ones who had heart attacks, they tried to figure out what could have been one of the precipitating causes.

And what they found was that a woman with a single panic attack -- I'll add to that graphic there -- was three times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke down the road. Up to five years down the road.

Now, obviously, the vast majority of women who have a panic attack, or men, for that matter, are not going to have a heart attack. But this idea that it could increase your risk, the psychology, this emotional thing to a heart attack, I think is fairly remarkable.

COLLINS: Yes, and 3,400 people, that's a fairly good-sized study, correct?

GUPTA: I mean, you'd like it to be bigger, obviously, but that's not a bad-sized study. It was just postmenopausal women as well, which I found interesting, because it may speak to the mechanism of what's going on here, maybe a change in hormones or something. But it seems to be able to apply to premenopausal women and men as well.

COLLINS: Yes. So that may be the link there that they're finding very interesting.

What about, you know, if you feel a panic attack coming on? I mean, is there really anything you can do about that? Maybe to keep it from happening? I mean, we hear about the paper bag, breathe into the paper bag.

GUPTA: Right. Well, the good news is I think that there is quite a -- quite a bit you can do about it. And maybe this will even stimulate some more research given the possible physical consequences down the road.

First of all, a panic attack can seem very much like a heart attack in the first place. Just some of the symptoms -- take a look there. I mean, chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling, sweating, a sensation of choking.

COLLINS: (INAUDIBLE) the same.

GUPTA: Yes, that sounds like that could be a heart attack. And sometimes the only way to really know the difference is to actually go to the hospital and get blood work which can tell you if in fact you've had a heart attack. There's lots of things. You know, a lot of people talk about something known as interoceptive therapy, where you actually try and figure out what it is that's causing the panic attack, do this in a controlled setting, and then break that down into its digestible part so you can sort of attack each one, one at a time, if you will.

Sometimes medications are necessary. This whole idea that anti- anxiety medications may help thwart a heart attack down the road is something that, you know, physicians and patients are still getting their arms around.

COLLINS: Boy, I'd much rather take some anti-anxiety medicines than have to get CPR or something horrible like that, yes.

GUPTA: Yes. I think not letting it get out of control because it's good for your health is an important message here I think for patients and physicians alike.

COLLINS: Absolutely. All right.

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Thanks, Sanjay.

GUPTA: Good to see you, Heidi.

COLLINS: You too.

An alleged plot to blow up a U.S. embassy. Reports of a second suspect now arrested this morning. We'll tell you about that.

And Myanmar's military in control. Protest putdown. Now the question, where are the monks who led the marches?

A senator snipes at Rush Limbaugh over his phony soldiers comment. The radio host's reply?

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: His -- his -- you know, he's got to be a nut!

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COLLINS: More talk about the Iraq walk in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris is off today.

This news just now in to us here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton has released a report saying that she has raised $27 million from the time frame of July through September. That is significantly outpacing her chief rival, Barack Obama.

All but $5 million can be spent on trying to win the Democratic presidential nomination. That's what a Clinton aide is telling CNN. The aide also has said that more than 100,000 new donors contributed to the New York Democrat.

We'll have those facts and figures from many of the presidential candidates as we go on here. We will also be talking with our political analyst, Bill Schneider, in just a few minutes, more about those numbers.

The all-important fund-raising, right? We'll bring that to you in just a few minutes.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

COLLINS: Security and accountable the focus this morning in a Congressional hearing about security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Blackwater USA is facing some tough questions about a deadly shooting incident last month. The Iraqi government says as many as 20 people died. Blackwater says it regrets any loss of life, but the company says contractors were just doing their jobs protecting U.S. diplomats.

A committee report out yesterday blasted Blackwater, accusing the contractor of being out of control. Blackwater disputes the allegation.

We'll watch that story for you today, as well.

A suicide bomber targeting a police bus. At least 10 people were killed and wounded. It is reported children are among the dead. It happened this morning in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul. It was the second bus bombing there in four days. Thirty people were killed in an attack on Saturday.

And new this morning, reports of a second arrest in an alleged plot to blow up the U.S. embassy in Vienna, Austria. The Associated Press reporting now police think the suspect knows a man accused of carrying a backpack full of explosives to the embassy yesterday. Both men are Bosnians from the same small town.

Myanmar defending a military government's crackdown on demonstrators. Reports of at least 10 killed. CNN cannot independently confirm those numbers.

But here is what the country's foreign minister had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NYAN WIN, MYANMAR FOREIGN MINISTER: The situation would not have deteriorated had the initial protests of the small group of activists against the rise in fuel prices had not been exploited by political opportunists. They sought to turn the situation into a political showdown, aided and abetted by some powerful countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: He also said: "Normalcy has returned in Myanmar." But at what cost?

CNN's John Vause has our story now. But we do warn you, some of these images may be very disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These three Buddhist monks are now on the run -- among the few who have managed to cross the border into neighboring Thailand, fleeing persecution by Myanmar's military.

"When I first started protesting, I wasn't afraid," he says. "But when the problems began, I became scared and ran."

They say many monks have been arrested and beaten. There are reports that hundreds have been killed. Sources inside Myanmar have told CNN many of the monasteries in Yangdon are deserted.

And then there is this: disturbing video shot by a member of a network of dissident Myanmar journalists that shows the body of a Buddhist monk found Sunday in a stream not far from where the pro- democracy protests had taken place. This is not believed to be an isolated case.

In a country where there are nearly as many monks as there are soldiers, the men of peace in the saffron robes may be paying a heavy price in this showdown with the military rulers of Myanmar. And judging from the limited images that have made their way out of Myanmar today, the protesters are, for the most part, gone, too -- terrified now to leave their homes.

Sources we've contacted inside Myanmar say as many as 1,000 people have been arrested in the past 48 hours. The streets are now controlled now by police and soldiers. Witnesses tell CNN passersby are being stopped and searched for cameras and cell phones -- anything to keep the military government's actions from the eyes of the world.

Myanmar's military has ruled this country for more than 40 years, brutally putting down any challenge to its authority. Only this time, the rest of the world witnessed the crackdown virtually in real time, as images and video were uploaded over the Internet and sent out to the world. The authorities have tried to sever that connection and it remains sporadic, at best.

JOHN JACKSON, ACTIVIST: The anger and the determination is there. So there may be a lull. But once the troops are back in their barracks, once the Internet is up and running, I think you'll see further protests.

VAUSE: Over the weekend, a U.N. special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, met with Myanmar's most prominent human activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. (on camera): And Gambari has now met with the country's most senior ruling general to deliver the world's outrage. But Myanmar's generals have never listened before. It's not expected to be any different this time.

John Vause, CNN, Bangkok, Thailand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Jacqui Jeras is joining us now from the Severe Weather Center with more information about the midsection of the country, is looks like.

That's not snow, is it?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, fog, actually.

COLLINS: It looks white.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Senator and radio host fired up -- both taking shots over comments about soldiers opposed to the Iraq War.

CNN's Dana Bash has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Senate majority leader took the floor and took aim not across the aisle or at the president, but at a conservative radio host.

SEN. HARRY REID, (D-NV) MAJORITY LEADER: Rush Limbaugh took it upon himself to attack the courage and character of those fighting and dying for him and for all of us. Rush Limbaugh got himself a deferment from serving when he was a young man.

BASH: Harry Reid combined a budding attack on Limbaugh with a demand for an apology, for what Democrats call an insulting rant against soldiers who joined Democrats in opposing the war.

Limbaugh spoke with a caller last week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and (INAUDIBLE). But if you talk...

RUSH LIMBAUGH, HOST: The phony soldiers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The phony soldiers.

If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve.

BASH: Limbaugh insists he was only talking about...

(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: We want to get you directly to -- this is Sheriff Grady. He's talking more about that AMBER Alert we told you about for Alyssa Frank.

Let's go ahead and listen in. Bartow, Florida -- our affiliate there, Bay News 9. Let's listen.

SHERIFF GRADY JUDD, POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA: ...has been arrested 14 different times. He's currently on probation. He's a high risk sex offender. We know, from all of the investigation up to this point, that they left together. Alyssa contacted some of her friends and said that she was running away. When they asked, well, why are you running away, she told them for love.

You have a detailed description of the suspect vehicle. We don't have any idea of where they are. I've been personally in contact with the St. Johns County sheriff, Sheriff Shoar, and the Duval County sheriff, Sheriff Rutherford. I've asked for them to assist us as if this violent sexual offender had the child in their county. I think that's a possibility because certainly that's the area he knows best. We are stopping at nothing to find this man. He's dangerous and he has this child.

One would ask, well, how does a sexual offender meet a young girl from a rural area of Polk County, Florida? It was simple. We've dealt with it with our reverse operations in this county. It's MySpace. He met her on MySpace. Subsequently, he created a relationship with her and she fell in love with him -- someone she'd never seen. He lured her away and now he's got her. And we've got to have her back, safely.

We are, as I've said before, incredibly concerned. I have a message for Billy Mitch -- don't you dare hurt this young lady. Let her go. Take her to a convenience store, a bus station, but let her go.

Ladies and gentlemen, we need everyone's assistance. We know that she snuck out of her house yesterday morning at somewhere around 2:45 to 3:00 a.m. . She wasn't discovered missing and reported to us until 6:22 a.m. . At that time, we knew only that she was a missing child. She had never run away before.

Investigation through the day caused us to discover her friends who said, well, she said she was running away and, obviously, she did. The investigation has gone on around the clock. We discovered later during the day that she was more than likely with Billy Mitch.

I can tell you, when we look at his arrests, there are 14. He's violent. He's been arrested for robbery. He smuggled contraband, hacksaw blades. He's been charged with aggravated assault with a weapon and escape. He's got another charge of grand larceny and robbery. He's been charged with weapons offenses, bomb threats, placing or planning a bomb, extortion, several violations of probation. And, yet, for this event, the most disturbing is an arrest in 2002 for engaging or committing an offense or offer of lewdness and lewd and lascivious behavior. Folks, we've got to find, first, Alyssa. And then we'll worry about Billy Mitch. We have a very good description of his vehicle. We have a complete tag number. More than likely, as hard as we have local, state, law enforcement officers working on this, it won't be law enforcement officers that discover this man and this vehicle and this 15-year-old girl who was lured away. It will be you in the community -- someone writing-down the road that looks over and sees, well, there's a black Lumina and the tag matches. Please get on your cell phone and call us immediately.

Law enforcement officers throughout this state are currently in the process of looking for this vehicle and have been all through the night.

Are there any questions? Yes?

COLLINS: All right, we just want to bring you up to speed on this story in case you are just joining us.

Boy, what a press conference there, listening to Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County, Florida.

And what has happened here is the gal on the screen there, 15- year-old Alyssa Frank, according to the sheriff, said that she met the man on the right, who he refers to, very interestingly, as Billy Mitch, otherwise known as William Joe Mitchell. It tells me authorities there very, very familiar with this man.

He is a 46-year-old registered sex offender from the Jacksonville area. She met him on MySpace. The sheriff said that she fell in love with him and now saying they are incredibly concerned because she is missing.

There is an AMBER Alert out for Alyssa Frank and there's lots of information, as well. Apparently she snuck out of her home at 2:45 or 3:00 a.m. This morning. And that it was not reported that she was missing until 6:30 a.m. She had never run away before.

But here is the description. And you see the numbers on the bottom of your screen. If you happen to know anything about what may have happened to Alyssa Frank or have seen this black Lumina -- it's a Chevy Lumina, a 2000 model. And I also have the tag number for you which, is G0 -- you see it on the bottom of your screen -- G025EL. Again, it's a 2000 black Lumina that authorities are looking for.

William Joe Mitchell is the name of the 46-year-old repeat sex offender. Apparently, my understanding is, from what the sheriff said, 14 different arrests. He has been violent. He's been picked up for robbery, aggravated assault, weapons offenses, bomb threats. That was all I could write down. There were many, many more convictions that he talked about.

Again, this a young girl who met this man on MySpace. And now authorities saying they are incredibly concerned for her safety.

We will keep a very close eye on this story coming for you, coming, once again, out of Polk County, Florida.

Moving on now, crack versus powdered cocaine -- why is punishment for one more severe than the other? The Supreme Court looking at that question today.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The bulls take charge. I'm Stephanie Elam in New York. And coming up, we'll take a look at what's behind this rally that started off the fourth quarter of the year. We'll take a look at that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Stocks soar around the globe this morning, with Hong Kong closing a whopping 4 percent higher. That after the Dow soars to an all time record high on Monday and looks poised to continue its rally today.

Stephanie Elam Minding Your Business.

I'm not even going to say it -- Stephanie. We're closer, aren't we?

ELAM: Heidi, it's like every time I come to talk to you, the markets move a little bit closer to the Heidi index, right?

COLLINS: I'm telling you.

ELAM: Fifteen thousand by Christmas? Or is the end of the year? Do we have to -- Christmas or the end of the year?

COLLINS: I don't know. We'll check on Christmas. If we're not there, then we'll push it to the end of the year.

ELAM: Then we'll modify, right?

COLLINS: Yes, exactly.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

COLLINS: But something that we reported yesterday about Citigroup. Now we've got another really, really large bank, one of the biggest in the world, that is reporting these massive losses -- UBS, as well.

ELAM: Right. Well, UBS. And the reason why we...

COLLINS: I'm sorry.

ELAM: That's OK. That happens. (INAUDIBLE).

COLLINS: I'm hooked on the 15,000 by Christmas.

ELAM: Right. Exactly. Right. Well, the thing that's so interesting about this is that, also, they're planning on reporting a third quarter loss. And that is a big shift for a bank of this size. And so they're also being hit by the same thing that Citigroup is being hit by, and that is the subprime backed securities. So riding them down.

At Citigroup, they announced yesterday, it's $3 billion they're writing-down. If you look at UBS, it's a $3.4 billion write-down.

But the reason why both of these stocks were up yesterday, by 2 and 3 percent respectively, is really because of the fact that many are saying, hey, maybe this is the end of it. We're looking at them taking these big chunks, these big hits. And if we can move on from there, then we can go on.

Citigroup, for one, said hey, after this, we expect this quarter that we're in now to actually go back to a normal business operating as normal. So that's a good thing that we heard there.

The other thing that also affected us was the fact that we got some economic data from the manufacturing sector.

COLLINS: Right.

ELAM: It was weaker than expected, so you may think why did the markets rally?

Ah, interest rates.

COLLINS: Yes.

ELAM: People are hoping the Fed will come back and cut those interest rates again. So we're watching that, as well, to see what happens with that information.

Of course, this led to a huge rally across the globe yesterday.

COLLINS: Yes. It sure did. Are we going to be talk about McCappuccinos and McLattes later?

ELAM: McCappuccinos and McLattes -- we may be talking about a lot of things later.

COLLINS: OK, very good.

ELAM: Yes.

COLLINS: We'll check back with you a little bit later on.

ELAM: OK.

COLLINS: Stephanie, thank you.

ELAM: Thanks.

COLLINS: Onto this story now, dragged to his death -- an African- American man killed. Two suspects facing charges. The question now, was it a hate crime?

And the dogs found on Michael Vick's property -- can they be saved? Experts are making their recommendation. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Michael Vick's dogs -- their fate in the hands of a judge today. A panel of dog behavioral experts says most of them can be saved. They say 48 of the pit bulls could go to a family, a sanctuary or even be used for police work. The panel recommends euthanasia for only one of the animals linked to a dogfighting ring. They say it's too aggressive toward people. The court ordered the evaluation. A judge has the final say.

An African-American man dragged to death under a pickup truck. Two California men facing possible hate crime charges now.

Police describe how it went down to reporter Tom DuHain. He's with our CNN affiliate KCRA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHAWNA PAVEY, YUBA CITY, CALIFORNIA POLICE: A fist fight broke out and at the point that the suspects decided to stop beating the man, they jumped in a pickup truck and subsequently ran over him.

TOM DUHAIN, KCRA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The men drove off, dragging Roberts face down around the corner. You can see the skid marks halfway down Casita Way, where they finally stopped and ran.

MIKE KELLEY, WITNESS: It was pretty bad, yes.

DUHAIN: Mike Kelly came outside to see women running toward the truck.

KELLEY: Running down the street screaming and following the trucks. And I walked over and there was a body underneath the truck. They were trying to push it off him, but he was already deceased.

DUHAIN: Police later arrested the two men at an apartment complex about two miles away. They are Aaron Ouelette of Yuba City, a 21-year parole felony parolee, and Michael Sanudo, a 20-year-old parolee...

CARL ADAMS, SUTTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I can't imagine a much worse way to die than being drug underneath a car.

DUHAIN: The D.A. says the preliminary investigate basically finds a brutal murder not racially motivated.

ADAMS: We've got no reason at this point to believe that it's gang related. And we've got no reason at this point to believe that it's a hate crime.

DUHAIN: But residents here believe otherwise.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gang bangers are moving in over here. We've seen more and more of them around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To me, it's gang violence and it can happen anywhere. (END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Both suspects are being held on $1 million bail.

They're hired guns in Iraq -- private security contractors. But are Blackwater employees trigger happy? The company's chairman on Capitol Hill this morning.

And culture clash -- an English only move splits a Midwestern city.

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