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Teddy Bear Teacher Home; MySpace Suicide: A Mother Speaks; Sperm Donor Dad: Should He Pay or Child Support

Aired December 04, 2007 - 06:00   ET

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


JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news overnight. She's home. A teacher who was tossed into prison in Sudan for letting her kids name a teddy bear Muhammad is back in Britain this morning. The Sudanese government had sentenced Gillian Gibbons to 15 days in jail for insulting Islam. The only thing that saved her, a presidential pardon.
There were angry mobs of thousands that took to the streets calling for her execution, all over a decision by a group of 7-year- olds about a stuffed animal. But today, she is still thinking about those students.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GILLIAN GIBBONS, RELEASED FROM SUDANESE PRISON: I wouldn't like it to put anybody off going to Sudan. In fact, I know of a lovely school that needs a new teacher.

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ROBERTS: Our Emily Chang is live at the world update desk in London with the very latest on this. And Emily, she's in incredibly good spirits considering what she went through.

EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She is in very good spirits. She landed this morning at London's Heathrow Airport. She was greeted by her son, her daughter, and, of course, the press. She was freed after three days of heated negotiations between the president of Sudan and two British lawmakers who are also Muslim. Those lawmakers also flew on the plane with her back to the U.K.

When she landed, she looked relaxed, relieved, and, of course, a little bit overwhelmed. We're told she spoke briefly by phone to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and then she gave that short statement. Here's a bit more of what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIBBONS: I'm only a middle aged primary school teacher who went out there to have a bit more adventure and got a bit more than I bargained for. I don't think anyone could have imagined it could have snowballed like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANG: So even after all of this, Gillian Gibbons had only good things to say about the Sudan and her school. She said she'll miss her students and her colleagues terribly. She again apologized for any offense she may have caused. And as for what's next, she says she plans to spend Christmas with her family and then start looking for a job -- John?

ROBERTS: Do you know if she's planning any new adventures or might she decide to stay home this time when she looks for employment?

CHANG: Well, she said she's going to stay home for the next month and spend time with her family during the holidays. And then she emphasized that she is unemployed and does need a job, then she'll start looking for that.

ROBERTS: Well, we'll see if she goes back overseas again. Emily Chang for us this morning in London. Emily, thanks. And now let's go over to Kiran.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. We're following these deadly storms that slammed the pacific northwest. Hurricane force winds and up to 10 inches of rain fell in some parts of Oregon and Washington State. In the Seattle area, landslides, sinkholes, and deep pools of water stranded drivers. Emergency workers had to use boats to rescue them.

There were 300 National Guard soldiers called up to help in the rescue efforts. Two deaths have been linked to this storm. There are flood warnings up for seven coastal rivers in Oregon. Transportation officials say the coastal range is considered impassable right now.

To the northeast where at least 17 deaths are being blamed on a winter storm, the storm brought a slippery mix of rain, sleet, and snow. Some areas of New England got as much as 20 inches of snow, and that was certainly bad news for travelers. There were hundreds of flights into New York City that were delayed because of wind and ice.

For more on the extreme weather and what we can expect today, Rob Marciano is at our weather update desk. Are we going to get a bit of a reprieve? We have both coasts dealing with some major weather.

ROB MARCIANO, METEOROLOGIST: We do, but as these things normally do, they're both moving to the east. The problem with the one out west is that it still has the rest of the United States to get through, and we're still seeing some ramifications from that storm now in the mountains.

Let's go right to the radar scope and show you where it's still snowing across the northeast due to the storm that is spinning its wheels just off the coast now of Maine. And we could see another six to 10 inches out of this system before it heads off to sea, but you can see that rotation of the snow heading in that direction.

Now, we have some cold air behind this. You bet, if you live in the northeast, you know what I'm talking about. Temps in the 10s and 20s. So lake effect snow bands all -- trying to get all the way to New York City and spots. I wouldn't be surprised to see some flurries there. But in the usual spots, mainly across parts of upstate New York, we have lake effect snow warnings in effect, six to 10 inches across parts of that area.

And back to the pacific northwest, we have flood warnings that are posted for today for some of the smaller rivers that feed into the Willamette and the Columbia rivers, with rainfall still coming down. It probably won't end until later on this afternoon or even tonight. And we've had record rainfalls mostly in western Washington, over four inches in spots. And all that wind yesterday up and over 120 miles an hour in some spots. It's a little bit more calm.

Incidentally, some of the wind gauges on the Oregon coastline, Kiran, are not -- I'm reporting right now because I think they're broken. Back up to you.

CHETRY: You think they got broken in the storm?

MARCIANO: I think so.

CHETRY: Ironic. All right. Thanks a lot, Rob.

MARCIANO: OK.

ROBERTS: Coming up now to five minutes after the hour. Into Iran now, where officials are welcoming the findings of a new U.S. intelligence report. The National Intelligence Estimate, or NIE, says Iran ended its nuclear weapons program in the fall of 2003. The findings are a stark contrast to NIE report two years ago that said Iran was determined to push ahead with its nuclear weapons program.

CNN's Aneesh Raman is following the developments from Tehran. He joins us now live. Aneesh, do we expect this report is going to embolden Iran's leader?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. Absolutely. We heard from a government spokesman already that this report shows recent U.S. allegations that Iran was pursuing a nuclear weapon are "absolutely false" and that the U.S. will "pay the price."

Now, diplomatically, Iran may be right. The most immediate effects for the U.S. is not how Tehran responds, but how this report is read in Russia and China. Veto members on the U.N. Security Council. That is the same council where the U.S., along with England and France, have been pushing for a third round of sanctions against Iran ideally by the end of this year.

Their key argument, urgency. The time is now to stop the Iranian threat. Will that now be a harder sell to China and Russia who have strong trade ties with Iran. We know today Iran's chief nuclear negotiator is in Moscow. We know just after the report the Chinese foreign minister called Secretary Rice. So it seems the depth of those sanctions and the time frame are now in doubt, John.

ROBERTS: Really interesting about this whole thing and issues that Ahmadinejad did not become president until 2005. That's when the rhetoric on the nuclear program really ratcheted up. But yesterday Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser, said that it was pressure on Iran in 2003 that got them to to let up on their nuclear program. Do we know how much of a program they really had back in 2003?

RAMAN: Well, we know in 2003 that they had hidden facilities they hadn't revealed yet. Iran says it wasn't required to. It was sort of a legal loophole. The key issue in 2003 was the war in Iraq. Iran felt threatened. Just prior, it had been labeled in the axis of evil with Iraq. The regime clearly felt under threat.

Once those new facilities were revealed, Iran felt a lot of international pressure, and as we now understand, stopped the program. But then we saw in 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a hard liner, rise to power, tap into broader Muslim anger and really used this nuclear issue to combat the west. And that is what has added to the urgency, at least in terms of fears from Israel and the west. It consistently controversial statements of Iran's president who taps into consistently angry Muslim populaces in the Middle East, John.

ROBERTS: It's really surprising how the intelligence agencies seem to get this so wrong. Aneesh Raman for us from Tehran this morning. Aneesh, thanks.

Also new this morning, President Bush will hold a news conference and push Congress to get something done on spending taxes and the war budget. The president says Congress has nearly a year's worth of unfinished business to take care of in the next few weeks. Senate majority leader Harry Reid says it is the president who's holding things up by refusing to work with congress.

CNN will have live coverage of the president's news conference beginning at 10:00 Eastern. It will be the first time in more than a month that the president will take questions from reporters. It's also the first time I can remember that he gave this much advanced notice of a press conference.

Senator Hillary Clinton firing another salvo in the battle for the White House. In Iowa, Clinton suggested rival Barack Obama has too little experience to sit in the oval office and accused him of a rush to campaign. Obama's camp fought back saying he doesn't need lectures from "someone who followed George Bush to war in Iraq."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Which makes more sense? To entrust our country to someone who is ready on day one to make the decisions and the changes we need? Or to put America in the hands of someone with little national or international experience?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I had not been planning to run for president for however number of years some of the other candidates have been planning for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Clinton and Obama are in a dead heat in Iowa a month before the primary.

On the Republican side, John McCain stumped for votes in New Hampshire with a focus on health care. The Arizona senator says he will work to make insurance more affordable rather than requiring everyone to buy coverage, a key part of some rivals' plans. McCain has proposed a $5,000 family tax credit for health care, and he says costs would come down if doctors charged based on time spent treating a patient instead of how many tests they ordered.

The one man who is gaining some ground in the race for president is Governor Mike Huckabee. And Huckabee is soaring in the Iowa polls and now reaching beyond the Christian conservatives who first ignited his dark horse campaign. One of the biggest criticisms from Republicans, though, is that when it comes to taxes and spending, the governor and Hillary Clinton are cut from the same cloth. Last night, he addressed that with our Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is a quote from a Republican state senator in Arkansas who said that you have a preacher's mentality when it comes to spending, that you see needs and you believe it's government's responsibility to fill those needs.

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't see it that way.

COOPER: But you did raise taxes on fuel, on sales, on cigarettes, on beer.

HUCKABEE: When we raise taxes for fuel, we did it to rebuild our road program.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: He's quick to point out, though, that he may be a preacher, but he's no prude. He says he loves rock and roll. He's a bass player and all but worships Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who years ago got a ticket in Arkansas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: You pardoned Keith Richards?

HUCKABEE: I pardoned Keith Richards for a $162 misdemeanor traffic violation.

COOPER: That may come back in the general election, you know.

HUCKABEE: I hope it does. We get to talking, and Keith says, hey, man, you know I've been here before. You know the sheriff in Fort Acedona (ph)?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Good impersonation. So far Governor Huckabee has spent about $1.7 million on his campaign. To put that in context for you, that is $52 million less than Mitt Romney -- Kiran. CHETRY: Wow. Well, also new this morning. No criminal charges will be filed in the MySpace teen suicide case. A prosecutor in Missouri says that he will not seek charges against the adults accused of bullying a 13-year-old girl online because no laws were broken.

The parents of Megan Meier say their daughter killed herself last year after receiving mean messages on MySpace from someone that she thought was a boy named Josh. Police say a mother from the neighborhood and her then 18-year-old employee turned out to be Josh. They were trying to find out what Megan was saying about the woman's own daughter.

Well, Megan's mother told Anderson Cooper that she's disappointed by the decision but won't let it keep her from seeking justice for others.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I absolutely hold the mother responsible and the father. The father knew what was going on also. I don't feel this is a defeat. To me, it is one step further that we're going to go. We have to work with lawmakers, and the Internet has moved so quickly, and the laws have not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: The Meier family does not plan to file a civil lawsuit, but they do say they want the law changed so if something like this ever happens again, it will be considered a crime.

Personal apologies for priest sex abuse. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, reached a settlement with more than 150 victims. It entitles them to $37 million, and the bishop must also say he is sorry to each victim and relative if they ask for an apology.

Department of Homeland Security wants to know why $1 billion 9/11 fund that was created by Congress to cover claims of ground zero workers is fighting cases in court rather than paying out medical claims. New York City's top lawyer defends the lawsuit saying it's not a compensation fund and that the city is obligated to defend against legal claims. Some 8,000 individual claims related to 9/11 are still awaiting judgment in the federal court system.

Well, if you think flights are packed now, just wait. The nation's six biggest airlines are reportedly cutting back schedules despite the incredible demand for seats because fuel is getting too expensive. According to "USA Today," American, United, Delta, Continental, Northwest, and U.S. Airways have all booked a five percent fewer seats for January, that's compared to last year, and that includes eliminating some routes or just switching to smaller planes -- John.

ROBERTS: Coming up now, 13 minutes after the hour, and time to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new that we're following this morning. A young couple accused of being a modern day Bonnie & Clyde. Police say they ripped off neighbors' identities and lived a high life around the world.

Our Alina Cho at the national update desk. This is a really incredible story, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, incredible is exactly right, John. You know, and you're right. The amazing part of this story is that this couple allegedly funded their lavish spending sprees by preying on their very own neighbors.

Now, Philadelphia police tell our affiliate WPBI that 22-year-old Jocelyn Kirsch and her boyfriend, 25-year-old, Edward Anderton jetted off to places like Paris, London, Hawaii, even Turks and Caicos. She allegedly spent $1,700 on hair extensions, and they allegedly paid for all of it by breaking into their neighbors' apartments and stealing their identities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DETECTIVE TERRY SWEENEY, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: They were living the life, for want of a better term. They were living the life at the expense of and victimization of other people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Now, Kirsch and Anderton are out on bail now. Reports say that police caught them after one neighbor was told she had a package waiting for her at the local UPS store. Well, she didn't order anything. Authorities apparently watched the store and arrested Kirsch and Anderton on Friday when they went in to pick up the package.

Now, when police went into their apartment, they reportedly found, among other things, more than $17,000 in cash, an industrial sized I.D. making machine, and dozens of keys to their neighbors' apartments and their mailboxes. It's unclear just how they allegedly got those keys and also unclear just how many victims there are.

But, John, police reportedly also found a Rolex watch. Her closet was apparently bursting with designer clothes, bags, and shoes. And lastly, they also found a book apparently called "The Book of Cheating" -- John.

ROBERTS: "The Book of Cheating" -- you mean, they had like a handbook to do this?

CHO: Apparently so.

ROBERTS: Unbelievable. Alina Cho for us this morning with that. Alina, thanks very much.

CHO: You bet.

ROBERTS: A closer look at a promise from the government to help out homeowners in trouble. Our Ali Velshi at the business update desk. The Secretary of the Treasury warning more people are going to face foreclosure when these rates for the subprime mortgages go up next year. What's he got in mind?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a conference going on in Washington. There are conversations that have been going on between the White House, the treasury secretary, and the banks about some kind of relief. You've been hearing about this mortgage freeze plan.

Now, before anybody gets too excited that Washington is galloping up to the rescue, there are some things you should know about who won't benefit from this plan. Henry Paulson made it pretty clear yesterday who some of those groups are who won't get a mortgage freeze. And let me tell you who they are.

First of all, this plan, when it happens and if it happens will exclude borrowers who are already behind on their payments. It will exclude borrowers who are able to refinance into a fixed rate mortgage with their lender. It will also exclude borrowers who can afford a readjustment in their rate. It will also exclude borrowers who are not subprime but are facing increases in their mortgages.

But there are a lot of people this won't affect. We'll be talking about this through the course of the morning, this mortgage freeze we're expecting from Washington, John.

ROBERTS: Does it look like it's actually going to happen, Ali?

VELSHI: Yes. Henry Paulson did say yesterday to expect an announcement this week. But we understand that it is still in the works.

ROBERTS: Right. Good to have some relief for some of those folks out there hurting so badly.

VELSHI: Yes.

ROBERTS: Ali Velshi, thanks. We'll talk to you again soon -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, he signed his cards dad, but does that make a sperm donor responsible for child support nearly 18 years later? The courts may think so. Is this an isolated case, or is there a legal fallout for other sperm donors? We're going to take a look just ahead. The most news in the morning right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Nineteen minutes after the hour, and some incredible shots of the morning on our "Quick Hits" now. A stranded driver stuck on his car as flood waters fill the streets of Olympia, Washington. This was taken during yesterday morning's commute. Nearly a foot of rain fell in some spots of the northwest in just two days.

And here comes Santa cops. Police in the Philippines are patrolling the streets of Manila in Santa hats. It's all an effort to make themselves more visible during the holiday season when more crimes tend to happen in crowded places. And Kiran, it certainly does make them more visible. They accomplished that.

CHETRY: No doubt about it. But I don't know if they're being taken as seriously as they once were.

ROBERTS: That could be the problem.

CHETRY: All right. Should a sperm donor who's acted like a father to his biological son be forced to pay child support? This unnamed donor gave sperm to a friend and her female partner 18 years ago, and he says they have a verbal agreement that he wouldn't have any right to the child's upbringing. Well, he's since sent money, presents signed birthday cards dad, even signing the birth certificate. Now, the mother is suing for child support.

AMERICAN MORNING legal analyst Sunny Hostin joins us now with her take on this story. In your opinion, is this quite an isolated case because even though he was a sperm donor, he had some role in knowing the people and taking part in the child's life?

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL ANALYST: Sure. Well, absolutely. It's definitely different because sperm donors are generally anonymous until the child reaches maturity. In this case, he was never anonymous. He signed cards that said dad. And typically with these kinds of cases, what mothers want to show is paternity.

He's admitting paternity. He's signing things that say dad. And so once you admitted paternity, you have to pay child support.

CHETRY: So this is -- oh, really?

HOSTIN: Yes.

CHETRY: Because he also signed the birth certificate. Does that make any difference one way or the other?

HOSTIN: It makes a big difference because, again, it establishes paternity. This is why you see sort of the Maury Povich show. Who's the baby's daddy?

CHETRY: Yes.

HOSTIN: DNA testing. Mothers need to establish paternity. Once the paternity is established and you have a court case, child support follows very, very closely after that.

CHETRY: But in the interest of what's common sense and what's fair, they claim they had a verbal agreement years ago that he was not involved and then he doesn't pay anything for 18 years and she's OK with that, you can jump in?

HOSTIN: Well, he did pay things, though.

CHETRY: Well, I mean, gestures of good will, as he calls it, and things like that, right?

HOSTIN: I don't think it's gestures of good will in this case. We're seeing gifts. We're seeing phone calls. We're seeing a letter signed "dad." He, by all accounts, is this child's father. And isn't it true? Don't you want a father or rather a son or a daughter to be able to get Social Security benefits if their parent dies? You know, what an heir typically would get.

And I think that's a big issue here that no one has really looked at. What happens when his father dies? Shouldn't he be entitled to his father's estate?

CHETRY: Very interesting. Is this going to have ramifications for other sperm donors, or do you think it's an isolated case?

HOSTIN: I don't think it's that isolated. I think if you're acting like a father, sort of, you know, walks like a duck, looks like a duck. If you're acting like a father, you may have to pay child support.

CHETRY: Sunny Hostin, thanks. We'll see you in the next hour.

HOSTIN: Thank you.

ROBERTS: The FBI tracks $7 million in stolen armored car money to a remote area of West Virginia. This morning a young girl, a young man, and his mom are in jail.

And want to help the environment? Stay married. A new study that says divorce is a planet killer. We'll tell you why coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty-five minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the most news in the morning here on CNN. "Quick Hits" now.

A California high school teacher arrested for allegedly using his chemistry lab to make methamphetamine. Authorities say he was trying to import red phosphorus. That's a key ingredient in making meth. They say it's not clear if the meth was for personal use or for distribution.

CHETRY: How about this one? Proving yet again that there is a world record for just about everything, and this one is today's "Hot Shot." It comes to us from Nevada.

A man finished the Las Vegas marathon with his quadruplets in a carriage. Check them out. The previous record was just one kid in a carriage. But Mustafa Sheda (ph) bought a stroller. It was made by a specialist in Oregon. He had planned pit stops along the way for diaper changes. There you see him. Even the kids, by the way, got medals in the end. Congratulations. And there's the family.

CHETRY: Wow.

ROBERTS: That's the biggest baby jogger I've ever seen.

CHETRY: It doesn't quite fit well in stores. But, hey, for long distance running, it's ideal.

ROBERTS: Incredible.

CHETRY: How about it? If you have a "Hot Shot," send it to us. The address AMHOTSHOTS@CNN.com. Please include your name, where you're from, a little bit about the picture or video, and please make sure the image is yours. Please make sure the quadruplets are yours and not someone else's. Very cute and congratulations for winning the race.

ROBERTS: We're getting some great hot shots from people, and it's really nice that everybody is participating.

CHETRY: Yes. Love it. So keep them coming.

Well, meanwhile, if you don't have a car, if you live in our nation's capital, you probably don't need one. But the Brookings Institution says that Washington, D.C. has more walkable places per capita than any other city. What do you think?

ROBERTS: It does have a lot of plazas. There's a lot of areas where people can walk through. It's got a whole mall that stretches between the capital and the Lincoln Memorial. Yes, it's got a lot of walking space.

CHETRY: How about that number two, Boston. Third was San Francisco. Denver and Portland, Oregon, round up the top five. Walkable cities, they say, has been around for hundreds of years. But the automobile, of course, paved the way for suburban living. Surprisingly, New York is not on there. Because I grew up -- I mean, you can really -- you can walk pretty much anywhere.

ROBERTS: Yes. I love watching people do the dance across the street as they try to avoid the cabs and the limousines.

CHETRY: That's right. They don't care what color the light is. They're still going to walk.

ROBERTS: Exactly.

A tiger goes on the attack at an animal sanctuary. Ironically, it's run by a woman who was famously attacked by animals in a movie. We'll explain coming up.

And getting a divorce. Just bad for the kids. The inconvenient truth for couples who want to go their separate ways. Coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's Tuesday, December 4th. I'm John Roberts. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. We have some breaking news overnight.

The teacher who did time for letting her kids name a teddy bear Muhammad in the Sudan is back in Britain this morning. Gillian Gibbons arrived home after Sudan's president gave her a pardon from her 15-day prison sentence for "Insulting Islam." Early this morning, she talked about how something that seemed to be so innocent became an international incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GILLIAN GIBBONS, RELEASED FROM SUDANESE PRISON: Well, I was very upset to think that I might have caused offense to people. Very, very upset about it. I'm just an ordinary middle-aged primary school teacher that went out there to have a bit of an adventure and got a bit more of an adventure than I bargained for. I don't think anyone could have imagined that it could have snowballed like this. On my second day in prison, somebody told me that they'd seen me in the paper in Sudan. And then I had a meeting with the British consul who told me that -- they said we need to phone your next of kin. And I said, well, don't worry about it. They'll only worry.

And then they told me that it was in the British press. And then -- I mean, I missed most of it. I really -- the thing about being in prison is you're so isolated. You don't really hear what's going on. The first prison I was at was just like downtown prison, sort of like a lock-up. I mean, Sudan -- I was treated the same as any other Sudanese prisoner. You're just given the bare minimum of comforts really. And then I was moved to another prison. And then the ministry of the interior sent me a bed, which is possibly the best present I've ever had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, now Gibbons said she is planning to spend Christmas with her family and look for a new job.

ROBERTS: A hearing today for three of the suspects in the murder of Sean Taylor. They were transferred to a detention center in Miami from Fort Myers and will appear at the hearing via video conference. The fourth suspect is being handled differently because he's a juvenile.

A plea deal for one of the so-called Jena Six. Mychal Bell has pleaded guilty to a juvenile battery charge. It will allow him to avoid a second trial. His attorney says he could be out of jail by June. The teenager was originally charge as an adult for attempted murder for beating a white classmate even though he was 16 at the time. That decision lead to one of the most racially charge protest in years.

A couple goes to court today in West Virginia. Charged with stealing nearly $7.5 million from an armored car company. Roger Lee Dillon., 22 years old and Nicole Boyd, 24 are accused of taking the money on the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend when they knew company safes would be full. Dillon worked for the armored car company in the Youngstown, Ohio area. The FBI found them with the money in a secluded mobile phone in West Virginia. Dillon 's mother also accused of being involved in the heist.

A new breed of Bonnie and Clyde. Police say Edward Anderton and Jocelyn Kirsch in Philadelphia didn't rob banks; they stole their neighbor's identity. They lived in a $3000 amount apartment, traveled the world and had a both load of high end electronics, paid for police say, with other people's money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY SWEENEY, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: They were living the life for one of the better. They were living the life at the expense and victimization of other people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Detectives estimate that the couple stole at least $100,000 in the past year. In their apartment, police found an ID printing machine with many fake IDs and dozens of stolen credit cards. They also found a copy of a book titled "The Art of Cheating." A nasty little book for tricky little schemers and their hapless victims.

Well, Tippi Hedren became famous for being attacked by fictional birds in the Hitchcock film. But now, has a real life tiger attack on an animal sanctuary that she runs just outside of the Mojave Desert. 40 miles northeast of Los Angeles. A worker at the preserve was repeatedly bitten by a tiger when he was trying to clean the cage. He's currently listed in stable condition and is expected to be OK. Hedren starred in the Hitchcock classic "The Birds." She's also the mother of Melanie Griffith. She opened the sanctuary in the 1970s to save these animals. Once they have been born in captivity and given up by circuses and zoos and private owners and she lives on that property.

He is putting up $5 million. So, now he's looking to you to give your part. Actor Brad Pitt made the call for cash in New Orleans for his "Make It Right" Campaign. An effort to build new, environmentally sound houses that were wiped out from Hurricane Katrina. He stood surrounded by hot pink tents representing future houses. Why pink? He talked about it with our Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, LARRY KING LIVE HOST: OK. Explain the pink.

BRAD PITT, ACTOR: OK. This is what we're calling the "Adopt the House" Campaign. It's part art installation, part active social disobedience, but it's really meant to work as a fund-raising component. And we were looking for something that was loud and we'd get a lot of attention but was also hopeful. So, what you see here is you see these blocks scattered across this section of the lower ninth to represent the houses that were destroyed, the homes that were destroyed. And what we're hoping to do is, as a house gets adopted -- this is going to be up for five, six weeks, 5 1/2 weeks.

As a home gets adopted, we will right that house, we will put it back on its foundation. So hopefully, this will be an art installation that will be constantly evolving. And by the end of this 5 1/2 weeks, we hope to have it symbolically, a symbolic neighborhood put back together. And that's the goal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Creative and an attention getter to boot. Pitt toured the lower ninth ward back in July of last year. He expects to have families in his homes by the end of next summer. And you can see Larry's entire interview with Brad Pitt tomorrow night, 9:00 eastern right here on CNN.

Preserving your marriage can help you conserve. That's according to a new study that says staying married is greener than getting a divorce. According to researchers at Michigan State University, people's consumption of electricity and water goes up by about 50 percent when they go their separate ways and live in separate houses. Makes sense. The study also found that, if the divorced couples had stayed together in 2005, the United States would have saved 73 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and 627 billion gallons of water in that year alone.

Kiran?

CHETRY: Well, we have an update on a story that we first told you about on AMERICAN MORNING. Jerry Mika got a check from the state of Utah supposed to be for about $15. Well, it was mistakenly made out for more than $2 million. He joked that he had cashed the check and was already headed to Hawaii. Well, now he really is. Ellen DeGeneres is giving him a week long trip to Hawaii after he appeared on her show. He's going to be in our show a little later. While we'll have some delicious bagels for him and some orange juice, but we can't promise you a trip. But hey, we wanted to hear his story because, he's a great guy.

And it brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote." If you found a check for $2 million, would you return it, if you thought you wouldn't get caught? Cast your vote, cnn.com/am. We're going to get the first tally of the votes coming up in the next hour.

ROBERTS: We'll give him a trip to H&H Bagels.

A recount changes the result of the Miss California pageant. A new winner crowned after a mistake was revealed. We'll all the details of that coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

And from the mound to the stump. Who Curt Schilling is backing in the presidential race? Coming up here on CNN.

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CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. "Quick Hits" now. And a few shots of the northwest weather nightmare. Flood in roads, hurricane force winds, and that nasty weather triggered a mudslide that nearly buried a car. There you see it. And it also shut down several roads in Olympia Washington. Cars, trucks, and a school bus with kids inside all stranded in Oregon. There you see the picture of a little boy looking out the back window there. The Department of Transportation said that falling trees and rising waters closed two dozen highways in about 30 different spots. No one hurt in these situations, but a lot of rescues taking place there.

Also, well, someone's firing up a water pump to try to reach his girlfriend's home in Washington State. There's just another example of how much wet weather the northwest has been facing. It's 41 past the hour. Rob Marciano joins us now. Some of these spots, they got ten inches in a 24-hour period. So, what a mess.

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ROBERTS: Coming up on 43 minutes after the hour, another pageant scandal to tell you about this morning. This one for Miss California USA. Christina Silva was wrongly crowned last weekend. Organizers discovered an apparent accounting error, forcing Silva to give up the crown to the runner up, 21-year-old, Rachel Beezley. Something about the fact that she had actually come in last but they thought she came in first. Pageant's Director blames the "simple human error" for the screw up.

The last word before super duper Tuesday will be here on CNN. That tops today's "Political Ticker." The last Democratic presidential debate before super duper Tuesday will be in Los Angeles on January 31st. Five days later, more than 20 states will hold primaries, and that could be the end of the nominating contest. The debate will air right here on CNN with questions from the L.A. Times and politico.com.

Senator Barrack Obama's camp is fighting back against what it says are Hillary Clinton's attacks. It has set up a new website documenting them. And they're asking supporters to send in anything negative they see, phone calls, flyers, even blog posts.

Arizona Senator John McCain told New Hampshire voters, he is worried about China's military build-up. Especially reports that China is building or buying aircraft carriers. McCain says there should be a focus on diplomacy, but the U.S. should strengthen its alliances with other Asian nations.

It once pick, John McCain's beloved Diamondbacks to the World Series. Now Curt Schilling is officially backing McCain for president. Schilling pitches for the Boston Red Sox, and they will join McCain for a campaign appearance in New Hampshire tomorrow.

Find all the day's political news around the clock at cnn.com/ticker.

CHETRY: Well, a senator's aide busted in a sex sting topping your "Quick Hits" now. An aide to Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington was fired last Friday just hours after the FBI arrested him for allegedly trying to set up a meeting online with someone he thought was a 13-year-old boy. James McHaney is being held without bond. He'll have a court hearing tomorrow. Cantwell's office says it will cooperate with the investigation. And a bankrupt Catholic Dioceses hammering out a $37 million settlement with the victims of priest sex abuse. The Davenport, Iowa Dioceses has agreed to pay more than 150 people. The settlement also requires the bishop to personally apologize to any accusers or family members who ask for an apology. The Davenport Diocese filed for bankruptcy last year in the wake of these lawsuits.

13-year-old Megan Meier killed herself after her parents say she was being cyber bullied by a former friend's mom. No charges filed in this case. Veronica De La Cruz takes a look at how the online community has now taken justice into its own hands.

Plus chimps versus human in a battle of wits and the chimps win every time. What? We're going to take a look at this, coming up ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. 48 minutes past the hour now. And if you're just joining, here's a look at the news making headlines right now.

We have breaking news over night. A teacher who did time in Sudan for letting her kids name a teddy bear Muhammad is back in Britain this morning. Gillian Gibbons arrived home after Sudan's president gave her a pardon from her 15-day prison sentence for "Insulting Islam."

Surprising intelligence is out now that Iran is not building nuclear weapons. A new national intelligence report says Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and could not build a bomb before 2010. Iran saying this morning that it welcomes the report. President Bush is sure to be asked about this when he holds a news conference at the White House that's set for 10:00 a.m. this morning.

And President Bush also plans to take Congressional Democrats on, saying that they have a year's worth of work to be done in the next few weeks. Senator Harry Reid firing back, he says President Bush refuses to work with Congress on the budget, war spending, and taxes. All this is to be addressed at the President's news conference happening live on CNN 10:00 a.m. eastern today.

John?

ROBERTS: A Missouri prosecutor says he will not seek charges in the case of a teenager who committed suicide after she received harsh messages on her MySpace page from someone that she thought was her friend. 13-year-old Megan Meier killed herself last year. Prosecutors say the messages were actually sent by an adult neighbor and the neighbor's 18-year-old employee. The prosecutor says, he did not find enough evidence to charge them with harassments, stocking, or child endangerment.

Megan's family can still file a civil suit against the Drew's for emotional distress though. Our Veronica De La Cruz has been tracking reaction to this story online. She joins us now. What are you finding?

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's so interesting because what we're seeing is those on cyber space are taking the law into their own hands. Like John just mention, no criminal charges having filed against Lori Drew or her family, but they've become targets of cyber vigilantes. Those who have taken it upon themselves to bring what they feel is justice. Websites like rottenneighbor.com and a blog called Hits USA repeatedly posts photos of Lori Drew, her husband, their address, phone number, and places of employment, urging people to harass them. The statement posted to a blog called David Dreaming Darkly reads, "Some people are born evil. Hitler, Stalin, Lori Drew."

It's not only that, the Drew's home has been vandalized. It's been hit by paintballs, a brick thrown through their window, they had been death threats, and calls to set their home on fire. And the voice-mail belonging to the business run by Lori Drew was even hacked. So, cyber-bullying, the very thing Lori Drew has been accused of is now happening to her and her family.

ROBERTS: What kind of protections is to people have against this? I mean, if this prosecuted and find that any charges were warranted, what can anybody do?

DE LA CRUZ: Well, that's exactly the thing here, John. Is that, I'm sure we're going to see new legislation, like you just said, on the federal level, and in most states stalking laws have yet to be created to include the online variety. Like, John, was just saying, the prosecutor in this case says the law in Missouri requires proof that communication was made to frighten, disturb, or harass someone. The prosecutor says the fictitious MySpace profile was created not to bully Megan but to find out what she was saying about the Drews' daughter. So, really the only thing that can happen here is the Meier's file a civil suit.

ROBERTS: Incredible. All right, Veronica, thanks very much for that.

Get those letters to the post office. You "Quick Hits" now. Today is the last day that the U.S. postal service will guarantee that letters to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan will be delivered in time for Christmas. The deadline for most other overseas military locations is December the 11th.

And the National Menorah will be lit tonight in front of the White House on the first night of Hanukkah. Attorney General Michael Mukasey will do the honors. Mukasey is an Orthodox Jew. He's been active in New York's Jewish communities.

Police near Dallas, Texas, had their hands full. You can say that the suspect was hopped up. We'll show you how the chase ended ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. That painful sound of your child's cough. Why cough medicine may not be the answer.

And could honey actually be a better substitute for tackling a cold? Find out ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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CHETRY: Well, a kangaroo on the loose not in Australia, but in Lewisville, Texas. Police were able to catch him after he spent about 20 minutes hopping around the neighborhood. Well, there he looks like he just sort of moping around the neighborhood. Maynard was being treated by a local vet who brought him home and let him run around in his backyard. The vet says that when the gate blew open, Maynard got out. He will eventually -- and I haven't seen him hop yet. He must be really -- you know, he's a suburban roo. He doesn't feel like hopping. He just wanders the sidewalk.

Well, are you smarter than a chimpanzee? I think, most of us would say yes, but the answer may be no actually according to a Japanese researcher, Tesuro Mazawa (ph). I really messed up that name. Sometimes, when you have a pronouncer -- anyway, he did a test of short term memory. See, they've told me how to pronounce it, but I forgot. The experiment, chimps and people were shown a screen with the numbers 1 through 9, and they had to touch the numbers in order. And in another test, the numbers 1 through 9 again, but this time you touch the number 1, and the other eight numbers were covered in white boxes. You lost me already. But both tests the chimps finished faster. Even with the training, the humans couldn't get those. Now I know who I want picking my stocks.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How long in advance of that, that little thing, did they give you the pronouncer?

CHETRY: They didn't give me the pronouncer. I was just joking.

ROBERTS: So, that wasn't a short-term memory?

CHETRY: No, I was joking.

VELSHI: OK, well, that was funny. Correct me up.

CHETRY: Thank you, Ali. You're my biggest fan.

VELSHI: No, that was good and you're right about the kangaroo too. It wasn't jumping.

ROBERTS: On to other important things. Has your interest rate for your credit card just gone up dramatically? Ali Velshi here to tell you why and what's been here about it?

VELSHI: I can hear the TV is switching off now. But let's talk about interest rates on your credit cards. Now, listen. You expect that, if you miss a payment or you're late on a payment for your credit cards that your interest rate is going to go up. But what about credit card companies that raise your interest rate just because your credit score went down? Your payment history can be perfect. Well, that's what's happening. Some credit cards increase your rate to 30 percent because your credit score goes down. Now, why does your credit score go down? Well, let's say you go to Macy's, and you open up an account because they're offering you 10 percent off your purchase over the holidays. That alone, just opening another account can cause your credit score to decrease and cause your credit card interest rates on other credit cards to go up. Now, Congress is threatening some action on this. Senator Karl Levin says that they'll take action next year if credit card companies don't deal with these themselves. Citigroup has already changed its policies. JP Morgan Chase says it's going to discontinue this practice as of March.

But there are still a lot of big credit card issuers out there who are engaging in this practice. They should stop, and Congress says they'll force them to stop if this practice doesn't change. So, we'll keep an eye on that for you.

CHETRY: All right.

ROBERTS: Watch the chimps go.

CHETRY: Go practice numbers 1 through 9. The test coming up in the next hour. Ali, thanks.

Well, the top story straight ahead. A young couple accused of being a modern day Bonnie and Clyde. Police say they ripped off neighbors' identities, living the high life. We're going to have more on the hunt for these two.

Also, with new concerns about cough and cold medicines. There is a new study that says the answers to your kids' cough could be right there in your cupboard. Grandma was right all along. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

Breaking news.

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GIBBONS: It came as a shock to me.

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CHETRY: The teacher thrown in jailed after a student named a teddy bear Muhammad back home overnight and speaking out.

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GIBBONS: I don't think anyone could have imagined it could have snowball like this.

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CHETRY: Extreme weather.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never seen it like this and I've been here 11 years. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Hurricane force winds and pounding rain. A deadly storm on the move this morning.

Plus toy avengers.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eye injuries, potential for blunt force injuries.

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CHETRY: Private groups doing their own toy inspections. Protecting your kids or confusing consumers. We're looking out for you on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Welcome back. It is Tuesday, December 4th. I'm Kiran Chetry.

ROBERTS: Good morning to you.

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