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American Morning
Alabama Residents Reeling From Gunman's Deadly Rampage; Bulls Make an Appearance on Wall Street; Madoff to Plead Guilty on 11 Counts; Alabama Mayors Discuss Shooting Spree; Behind the Scenes at NASA; Lessons Learned From Mumbai; Comic Book Administration?
Aired March 11, 2009 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: It's coming up on 7:00 here in New York. A look at the most important stories of the day that we will be breaking down for you over the next 15 minutes.
Police in Alabama are still trying to piece together the details of one man's bloody rampage this morning. A tragedy for these counties in Alabama. Michael McLendon, according to police, went on a shooting spree across two counties, murdering ten people, including his own mother, his grandparents, and aunt and uncle along with the wife and child of a sheriff's deputy. The other child of this family was flown to a hospital in Florida, and is still in critical condition this morning. We're live at the very latest.
Also, the bulls are back on Wall Street, even if it's just for a day. All three major U.S. markets posting their strongest gain so far this year. The Dow gaining 379 points yesterday, nearly six percent, closing at 6,926. That's giving stocks across Asia a boost this morning. We're also looking ahead to see if the rally will keep going here.
Also, accused Ponzi scheme mastermind, Bernie Madoff, will guilty to 11 counts later this week. One of his attorneys is telling CNN those charges will include money laundering, perjury, fraud and could carry a 150-year prison sentence. Court documents show that just before his arrest, Madoff's firm was worth nearly $65 billion. We're breaking down the charges for you and whether or not any investors will see again their money back.
First, though, new developments overnight after a gunman's deadly rampage in Alabama. Police have now identified this man. He went on a shooting spree in two towns, they say, with a semi-automatic rifle killing a sheriff deputy's family and his own family. This morning we're starting to learn a little bit more about a possible motive.
Sean Callebs live on the scene for us in Samson, Alabama.
Just shaking this community to the core, Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, without question, Kiran, it has been very grim night here. A lot of the officers who were out yesterday still out here right now. A heavy fog hangs over the area really adding to a very somber mood here in this area.
We do know that this is a very violent rampage. It stretched over three small towns here in southeastern Alabama. Behind me you see this one house. This is where the suspected gunman's four of his family members were actually gunned down on this porch. You can see it's very clean behind me. You know, the crime team cleanup did move in and remove any signs of the carnage. And we expect the news conference is going to come up in just about an hour in the nearby town of Geneva. And hopefully, we'll get some more insight into a possible motive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the worst tragedies in recent memories.
CALLEBS (voice-over): The suspected gunman, Michael McLendon of Kinston, Alabama. Police say he started his killing spree near the Florida/Alabama border by shooting his mother and her four dogs. He left the home in flames. And from there, he took his rampage on the road across southeastern Alabama firing shots as he barreled down State Highway 52.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he puts five or six bullet holes in the truck and then he took off.
CALLEBS: The shooter, also targeting the family that raised him.
CPL. STEVE JARRETT, ALABAMA STATE POLICE: Four adults and one child were found shot to death at one residence. One adult was found shot to death at a second residence, and another adult was found shot to death at a third residence.
CALLEBS: The county coroner says the victims included McLendon's grandfather, grandmother, aunt, uncle, and a sheriff deputy's wife and child who lived across the street. Unsuspecting residents, some sitting on their porches witnessed it all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard about ten shots and I saw someone with a gun and I turned and went the other way.
CALLEBS: Then two more people shot and killed apparently at random at a gas station and a Samson pipe and supply store. The horrible tale came to an end at the Reliable Metal Products plant.
First he fired a 30-round burst. A police chief shot and wounded but saved by his bulletproof vest. Then, McLendon went inside and apparently turned the gun on himself.
JARRETT: Within minutes, shots were heard from within Reliable Metal and law enforcement officers found him dead from what are believed to be self-inflicted gunshots.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: And right across the street from where I'm standing is where the deputy's family lived, and really a horrific irony to all of this. He was actually involved in the standoff at Reliable Metals back here at the time, did not know the fate of his family here. CHETRY: Yes. And again, his youngest child that was shot is still apparently flown, right, to a hospital in Florida and still in critical condition this morning?
CALLEBS: In Pensacola.
CHETRY: In Pensacola.
CALLEBS: Exactly, in Pensacola.
CHETRY: Just such a tragedy. All right. Sean Callebs for us in Samson, Alabama, thank you.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: The strongest gain so far this year being posted on Wall Street. The Dow I think the last session up 379 points to close at 6,926. The Nasdaq shot up over seven percent. The S&P 500, more than six percent. That followed good news from, of all places, Citigroup. The crippled bank finally posting profits. The rally is pushing major markets up across Asia and Europe. The biggest gain -- Tokyo's Nikkei, adding 4.6 percent this morning.
For more on all of this, Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" this morning. We don't want to throw a damper into the good news, but Citigroup still has a lot of problems.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right, John. And a lot of folks this morning are saying that they were just looking for any reason to be optimistic about this really beaten down financial services companies because they have been.
Let me just -- let's stick to the afternoon lows and talk about the market and the rally yesterday. It was persistent. It really never looked back. It was a very strong performance. All the Dow stocks were up. You had a lot of advancing stocks compared with the declining stocks. And what people are telling me surely, there's money there. People want to put money to work and buy some stocks.
Now, what happens typically when we see rallies like that? Well, this year, we've seen it several times, five times, when the Dow has been up 200 points in a single day before yesterday and each time the Dow lost ground in the next session twice by triple digits. So you can see that it was a rally yesterday, but it's what they call a bear market rally.
And will it be a one-day rally, a two-day? I cannot predict that. But I can tell you that European stocks are up.
ROBERTS: Dow futures are up 71.
ROMANS: Dow futures are up 71.
ROBERTS: Nasdaq up 13.
ROMANS: Nasdaq up 13. So there's...
ROBERTS: S&P up 10.
ROMANS: There's still some -- there's still some optimism this morning. So we'll see if we can put two together. It would be rare to put two together. We'll hope that they can.
Everyone is six percent less poorer if you're invested in stocks. That's how I look at it.
CHETRY: The silver lining. Love it.
ROBERTS: Frank way of putting it.
CHETRY: Thanks, Christine.
ROBERTS: You got a way with words.
All next week, we're using all of CNN's worldwide resources to give you unprecedented coverage of the global economic meltdown. Join us for "Road to Rescue," a CNN survival guide. Now we're all feeling six percent richer today. We'll also have online coverage at CNN.com.
CHETRY: Well, disgraced money manager, Bernie Madoff, could get 150 years in jail. His attorney says Madoff will plead guilty to all 11 charges for engineering the biggest money scam in history, according to prosecutors. But for the Madoff investors, that ordeal is far from over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HELEN LOUIS CHAITMAN, FORMER MADOFF INVESTOR: I lost my entire retirement fund. So I'm going to be trying cases until I'm in my 90s, hopefully.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much was that?
LOUIS CHAITMAN: Oh, it was a lot to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: All right. We turn now to Allan Chernoff. And, Allan, with this guilty plea, we usually think plea bargain for Madoff, but that's not the case.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: It is not. And actually a lot of the investors in Madoff thought that was what was coming.
CHETRY: Right.
CHERNOFF: They're very angry about it. But there is no plea deal here. Mr. Madoff is not cooperating with the government investigators.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Bernard Madoff now prepared to plead guilty to operating the biggest investment fraud in history, a plea that could carry a sentence of up to 150 years in prison.
Roni Sue Ambracino (ph) is among the 4,800 alleged victims who had a direct account with Madoff. She says she invested all she had, $1.6 million. She and her husband, Dominic, were traveling in their RV when they learned of the fraud and they've had to live in it ever since, unable to afford to drive the gas-guzzling vehicle.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never planned that Madoff would pull the rug out from under us. We wanted to have a long retirement together, and our thoughts were, we'll save as much as we can today, put it in with Madoff and that money will carry us through.
CHERNOFF: The losses are staggering. Madoff, a former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market, reported to clients around the globe in November that their accounts were worth a total of nearly $65 billion, according to a government court filing. In fact, Bernard Madoff investment securities had only a small fraction of that amount.
Since the 1980s, prosecutors alleged, Madoff used new funds from investors to pay redemptions to other investors. Apparently, the biggest Ponzi scheme ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No comment. No comment.
CHERNOFF: Madoff's attorney, Ira Sorkin, who has received death threats and anti-Semitic hate mail, refused to elaborate on the planned guilty plea. But Sorkin and prosecutors have made clear that Madoff is not cutting a deal to help the government investigate. Pleas in victim Helen Louis Chaitman who feared Madoff might get off easy.
HELEN LOUIS CHAITMAN, FORMER MADOFF INVESTOR: My reaction to the fact that there's no plea agreement is actually one of relief.
ROSS INTELISANO, ATTORNEY FOR FMR. MADOFF INVESTORS: He's trying to protect people, very likely his family, his wife, Ruth, by not having to point fingers to other family members who might have been involved.
CHERNOFF: Bernard Madoff has claimed he committed the fraud on his own, but prosecutors say Madoff directed his employees to keep the fraud going.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: The government is going to continue to investigate to determine who else may have to face charges. Mr. Madoff, himself, he won't be sentenced right away. Judge Denny Chin says it will be several months before he'll hold a sentencing hearing that likely will send Madoff to prison for the rest of his life. Until then, however, he remains in his luxurious Upper Eastside Manhattan apartment, Kiran.
CHETRY: Not for long. But, yes, you're right for now. The interesting thing about the victims though is that they're happy there's no plea deal, that he's not cooperating with prosecutors. Does that make it more -- less likely that they'll find the money? CHERNOFF: If there is money to be found, I mean, it appears that the vast majority of these billions and billions were just part of the Ponzi scheme. You give me money, it goes out to the other investors. That's what Madoff allegedly was doing here.
CHETRY: Right.
CHERNOFF: But, does he have some money tucked away somewhere? Offshore bank accounts? Certainly a possibility and they will be investigating to see what they can uncover there. The trustee thus far in this case has found $940 million. A small fraction of what investors thought they actually owned.
CHETRY: All right. Allan Chernoff for us, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Ten minutes after the hour now, and here's what we're working on for you this morning.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says a plan is in the works to help banks recover from the bad mortgages at the route of the financial crisis. The government will provide low cost financing to private investors willing to buy toxic assets. Once those are off the bank's books, it's hoped that they can resume more normal lending practices.
President Obama expected to sign a $410 billion budget bill today. After over a week of debate, Congress finally approved funding for domestic programs, including several pet projects. Kind of like 8,000 of them. Among them, a boarding school for at-risk native Alaskans. They will receive nearly $500,000.
And the clouds are expected to stay away for tonight's big shuttle launch. If all goes well, Discovery will blast off around 9:20 Eastern this evening. The crew was heading to the International Space Station where they'll drop off the last set of solar supplies. We've got an exclusive look behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to get Discovery ready for launch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're walking down now. We're going to take a look at the white room. And this is exactly where the astronauts would be going when they get on board the space shuttle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Thirteen and a half minutes after the hour now, and last forward to stories that will be making news later on today.
President Obama kicks his day off this morning at 8:45 Eastern. He'll be having his morning coffee with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. They will discuss how his ambitious agenda is progressing over on the Hill on this day 51 of the presidency. Later this morning, at 11:20 a.m. Eastern, President Obama will make an announcement regarding earmark reform. This comes just one day after the controversy of $410 billion spending bill passed in the Senate loaded with pet projects -- 8,000 earmarks. President Obama has indicated that he'll sign the bill, but this announcement is aimed at reforming future legislation.
And a showdown in the Windy City. Comedian Bill Maher and conservative commentator Ann Coulter will go head to head tonight in Chicago at 8:30 Eastern. This will be the third and final debate in the series that kicked off Monday in New York.
And at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, the Homeland Security Committee will look into what American cities can do to prevent the same type of urban attacks that terrorized Mumbai last November. In just a few minutes time, we're going to be speaking with New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly. He'll be testifying at this afternoon's hearings.
And those are the stories that we're following this morning. Commissioner Kelly has got some interesting things to say, and I think a lot of this too is a signal to terrorists, don't try it here in New York City because we got you down.
CHETRY: Exactly. All right. Well, we look forward to hearing from Commissioner Kelly in a few minutes.
Meanwhile, shootouts from the streets of Mexico. Some of the most dangerous in the world right now. And we've been reporting on the unimaginable violence that's been going on south of the border. All of this being fueled by guns, cash and, of course, a thirst for illegal drugs here in our country. And there are some gruesome discoveries almost every day in Mexico. Some of America's cities and towns are being caught up in this drug war as well. U.S. lawmakers are now demanding that border officials step it up before it's too late.
Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is live for us in London. I know they were talking about this yesterday in Washington as well. People saying you can't ignore this problem anymore that's literally at our doorstep.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: You're right, Kiran. Top U.S. border officials got verbally roughed up on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, by exasperated and worried members of Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): Assassinations, beheadings, kidnappings -- the grisly trademarks of Mexico's drug cartels. Is the U.S. doing enough to stop the violence and drugs from coming north to the U.S.? In a hearing with top border officials, a member of Congress made his opinion very clear.
REP. HAROLD ROGERS (R), KENTUCKY: I think we're conveniently hiding our head in the sands of Cancun Beach. And we're not seeing what the real problem is. And it's a real problem for the United States of America.
Every major city in this country has legs of the Mexican drug cartel. Do they not? Anyone want to dispute that? I didn't think so. And yet, I do not see the U.S. taking this thing as serious as they need to take it.
MESERVE: But Rogers wasn't the only member of Congress finding fault. Others wanted to know what officials are doing to stop the flow of money and guns southward from the U.S. into Mexico.
REP. SAM FARR (D), CALIFORNIA: I think a lot of people at least in my state or my district would argue that those guns killed a hell of a lot more people than marijuana that was smuggled into this country.
MESERVE: And what if the violence in Mexico gets so bad it sparks a mass exodus? What then? Members asked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we have any contingency plan to deal with the possible reality that Mexico blows up and people start walking across the border saying, I want to be saved from this violence down here by the millions.
JAYSON AHERN, U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: We've actually put those plans in place, and they're very detailed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: U.S. officials insist they do understand the threat the drug cartels pose to both Mexico and the United States. They say agencies are working with one another and with the Mexican government to stem the violence. But clearly, Kiran, they have a lot of work left to do.
CHETRY: Oh, sure do. All right. Jeanne Meserve for us in Washington this morning. Thanks so much.
Seventeen minutes after the hour.
ROBERTS: Your next vacation haven? Could it be Cuba?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sure Americans would come here more if they could.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: New changes in American travel restrictions to Cuba. But don't book a vacation there until you see this. Ahead, on the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: We are looking this morning at new pictures of the launch pad where the shuttle Discovery will take off from tonight. But before Discovery heads into space, everything down to the thermal tiles will be inspected.
Our John Zarrella gives us an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the place where NASA keeps its fleet up and running.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): A space shuttle comes home. A mission ends. Within hours, prepping for the next flight begins.
TERRY WHITE, ORBITER PROCESSING: Once we get it in here, we completely surround the orbiter by the steel structure so that we can do all of our maintenance on it.
ZARRELLA: This is Terry White's kingdom, the orbiter's processing facility. But for a stop on a shuttle's way back to the launch pad.
Covered in the web of steel "Atlantis." Here White and his team change tires, inspect wiring -- there's 200 miles of it -- check engines inside and out. Everything is eyeballed.
WHITE: This orbiter was built in the mid '80s. It has flown 29 times so it has experienced the heat of reentry 29 times.
ZARRELLA: Protecting it from that heat, 24,000 thermal tiles. Each tile individually numbered. Each one fits just one spot. Each one checked after every flight for gouges and cracks.
WHITE: The tile right here has not flown yet. The tile next to it has not flown yet. This tile over here has one flight on it.
ZARRELLA: On top of the wing, a piece of the shuttle's skin called frizzy is being replaced. As the work on Atlantis moves forward at the launch pad, Discovery sits.
(on camera): I'm standing on top of the launch pad here. We're up 255 feet.
(voice-over): You look out over the Atlantic Ocean, you see only the shuttle's boosters and external tank. The rest is encased until shortly before launch, protection against the elements.
(on camera): We're walking down now. We're going to take a look at the white room. And this is exactly where the astronauts would be going when they get on board the space shuttle.
(voice-over): Travis Thompson is lead on the close out crew, the last people to see the astronauts before the hatch is shut.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We always ask them how they're feeling today and, you know, what are they thinking? ZARRELLA (on camera): So you got to tell me their names. Did anybody ever change their mind and say, I'm not going? You have to point. What's your name? Yes, you are?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I won't mention any names.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Two weeks after tonight's launch, Discovery comes home and the process begins again.
John Zarrella, CNN, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: All right. Potentially some big changes when it comes to Americans being able to travel to Cuba. So we're going to talk about whether or not it's really going to happen and whether or not Cuba is ready as well. Live in Havana at 23 and a half minutes after the hour.
Terrorists taking over hotels. Lessons learned from the terror attacks in Mumbai. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly testifies before the House subcommittee on Homeland Security today, but he's live on AMERICAN MORNING first. What he says must be done to protect Americans now. Ahead on the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
When President Obama signs the $410 billion spending bill, it could be the beginning of a new relationship with Cuba. There are measures included in that bill that will allow Cuban-Americans to visit their families more frequently. But critics aren't so sure that we should hit the reset button with this cold war rival just yet. And it isn't clear Cuba is ready either.
Morgan Neill is live in Havana this morning -- Morgan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MORGAN NEILL, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): On Havana's Malecon, you'll see tourists from Latin America, Canada, Europe, even Asia. But even though it's just 90 miles away, it's rare to find Americans here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Canadians flock in here and I'm sure Americans would come here more if they could.
NEILL: Jim and Denise Hascol (ph) have come all the way from New Zealand. They say they don't understand why Americans aren't allowed to visit Cuba.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We aren't afraid to travel everywhere and we would like to think that other people are too. NEILL: The American government first restricted travel to Cuba in 1963 under President John F. Kennedy. The restrictions were allowed to lapse under President Carter then were reinstated under President Reagan. Since then, Americans traveling here without a special license have faced the threat of steep fines.
LUCY DAVIES, DIRECTOR, CUBANIA TRAVEL: We are interestingly getting a lot of interest from the U.S. over the past couple of weeks. I suddenly had people calling me. What I tell all people who come to Cuba is that they have to expect a completely different reality. Perhaps some of the comforts that we're accustomed to in the western world simply don't exist here.
NEILL: And Cuba may not be ready for a flood of U.S. tourists. Hotels can be run-down. Many are already running near capacity. And something as simple as renting a car can be a bureaucratic nightmare.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: And Morgan Neill joins us now on the phone from Havana. Morgan, now, if this embargo is lifted completely, this will likely have a big impact on the local economy in the short term as well. You know, some are asking is Cuba actually ready for the increased tourism?
NEILL: Well, yes. And that would be a different question if we were talking about the embargo being lifted completely. Right now, what we expect to see happen is a lot more travel from Miami, in particular, Cuban-Americans coming to Cuba to see their families. More often, many of them will likely want to take their family members maybe to a week at a hotel here, something next to no Cubans can afford on their own.
Essentially what this measure means is those with family here can now come more often, once a year, as opposed to once every three years. That is, once this is signed, as expected by President Obama, stay for longer and spend more money while here.
But getting to your question, Cuba, in terms of tourism and services, is absolutely not at the level you'd see at other tourist destinations. But the hotels here will have a bit of a captive audience at least when we're speaking about Cuban-Americans, because they're coming to see their family here. They're not going somewhere else.
CHETRY: Right.
NEILL: So they're not going to be comparing Cuba to other countries. They're going to come here and stay at the hotels that they can stay at here, spend the money that they're going to spend here because they're here to see family at the end of the day, Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes. And the other interesting thing is just how much change will really happen. Apparently, there's some real strong opposition to this measure from lawmakers with this large Cuban- American constituencies. And the Obama administration actually pledged in writing that the changes tucked into this spending bill will actually have no teeth. So what exactly might we see or might we not see as a result of this?
NEILL: Well, what everybody is asking here in Havana, and these Cubans who are not -- who don't always have the most sophisticated understanding of Washington, some of this process that can be very difficult to follow (ph), what they want to know is does this mean we're headed toward the end of the embargo? And in the short-term, absolutely not.
This is just a tightening of the embargo. This does away with the tightening of the embargo that was put in place in 2004 by President Bush. And President Obama said during his campaign, he would keep the embargo in place to use as leverage. But this is definitely a first step in a new direction.
Under President Bush, relations between the two countries had gotten even worse than they had already been to the point where all the diplomats seemed to spend more time insulting one another, trading barbs than doing what we traditionally think of as doing diplomacy. And since President Obama has taken office that certainly appears to be changing definitely in terms of the tone we're hearing from both sides and now with this measure.
CHETRY: All right. Morgan Neill for us on the phone in Havana this morning. Thanks.
It's 30 minutes past the hour. There are three big stories we're watching for you this half hour.
Police have identified the gunman who they say went on a killing spree in southern Alabama yesterday. They say, Michael McLendon murdered 10 people, including his own mother, his grandparents, an aunt, uncle, along with the sheriff's deputy's wife and child. There are new details in a story that broke right before we aired this morning.
There's an intense man hunt that's underway right now in Germany for a gunman who opened fire at a school in a town called Winnenden in the southern part of the country. It is now in lockdown. Police say a 17-year-old former student dressed in military gear killed at least 10 people and injured many more. We are watching this and we will update you as soon as we get new information on this story from Germany.
And Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says that details are coming on a plan to strike at the heart of the financial crisis. On the "CHARLIE ROSE SHOW," he predicted the revamp of $750 billion bailout would be a success.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM GEITHNER, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: What this plan will do is to make financing from the government available alongside public and private capital. So that we can get these markets open up again. The reason why these markets are not moving not moving now is because there is no financing available and no confidence in people's capacity to make judgments about ultimate losses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Geithner went on to say that it is going to take a lot to get through because we are in a deep mess - John.
ROBERTS: Well, the images shocked the world, Kiran, November's brazen commando style attack in hotels, cafes in Mumbai, India, when the smoke cleared, nearly 180 people were dead and the job of fighting terrorism had changed forever. But could such an attack happen here? New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly will be testifying before the House subcommittee on Homeland Security later on today, looking at the lessons learned from Mumbai but he joins us first here in the Most News in the Morning.
It's great to see you this morning.
RAY KELLY, N.Y.C. POLICE COMMISSIONER: It's good to be with you.
ROBERTS: So you sent a team to Mumbai in the wake of these attacks. What are the lessons learned for here in New York City and other American cities?
KELLY: Well, the face of terrorism as far as that attack is concerned changed when you see teams of small highly trained people, well-armed people going in and wreaking havoc. 170 were killed, almost 500 total injured. So what we've learned is that we have to be able to respond with heavy weapons. And we have a cavalry of well- trained officers to do that. But we are training more, quite frankly.
We don't want to be caught short in an extended situation where perhaps hostages are taken. Obviously, we have to think the unthinkable. We have to prepare for such an event happening here in New York City.
ROBERTS: What was the most surprising thing about Mumbai?
KELLY: Well, the length of time that it went on. I think the authorities were stretched thinly. They weren't able to respond quickly. It went on for almost 60 hours. And it was only 10 people. And they caused an awful lot of damage and an awful lot of havoc.
ROBERTS: People talking, the ease with which they coordinated over cell phones...
KELLY: Correct.
ROBERTS: The fact that there is a lack of coordination between police and fire in India. We saw a similar lack of coordination in the wake of 9/11 here. Have those problems been patched up here in New York City to a degree that you're comfortable with? KELLY: Well, we may have to put in place that Mayor Bloomberg has put in place a city-wade management system that I think addresses any of those concerns. We practice it on a regular basis, actually we practice it on a daily basis. We actually on the ground are doing these things in response to an incident. So I don't see that as an issue here.
ROBERTS: So we talked about these teams of police officers who are trained up and ready to go into battle here should something like this happen. We heard that you're running terrorists and organized training sessions involving heavy weapons and armor-piercing rounds. You are also training up a cadre of reinforcements from the Organized Crime Control Bureau. Basically, you want to be able to respond to any size force that might try to attack New York City.
KELLY: Yes. We have a cadre of 400 heavily trained and heavily- armed officers. But we're expanding that. Ideally to another 1500 officers who will act in terms of backup capacity, to say if there is an extended incident that we have to respond to.
ROBERTS: You are talking about private and public partnerships as well, videotaping the inside of hotels. You sort of have an archive of what the inside of them look like if anyone, god forbid, were to be taken over, you know what you're dealing with immediately.
KELLY: Precisely, our supervisors go into hotels, major hotels in Manhattan, mostly, but now we are going to the outer boroughs. To get a feel of how the hotels are laid out, to film those locations and to use it as a training vehicle for our responding officer.
ROBERTS: And I get the sense that you want terrorists to know about these plans, too?
KELLY: Well, we want them to know we are doing an awful lot of training and a lot of preparation. We want to make certain we are doing everything to prevent it from happening. And if god forbid, it does happen, we'll respond robustly.
ROBERTS: All right. Commissioner Kelly, it's great to talk to you this morning. We look forward to your testimony this afternoon. Appreciate it.
KELLY: Thanks a lot.
ROBERTS: Thirty-six minutes now after the hour.
Image shift from clean-cut to criminal. Now angry parents want Chris Brown out of Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're telling our children it is OK to hurt someone.
ROBERTS (voice-over): New uproar over the Rihanna-Chris Brown scandal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is important for us to step in and tell kids what is right from wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The push to get them off the ballot, ahead on the Most News in the Morning.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking news.
CHETRY: Thirty-nine minutes past the hour.
We are following breaking news this morning. Just an unbelievable tragedy hitting two small towns in Alabama. Police have identified the gunman who they say went on a killing spree in southern Alabama yesterday afternoon. They say Michael McLendon murdered ten people, including his own mother, his grandparents, an aunt, an uncle, along with a sheriff's deputy's wife and child. And these are crime scenes now spread out across two small towns this morning. And their mayors join us now, Wynnton Melton of Geneva, Alabama and Clay King of Samson, Alabama.
Mayor King, let me start with you. Thanks, by the way, for joining us in these very unfortunate circumstances this morning. You knew all of the victims and also the shooting suspect who took his own life as well. What can you tell us about the situation this morning, Mayor King?
MAYOR CLAY KING, SAMSON, ALABAMA: Well, the whole community is still in shock. Like I said, we know, I personally know, everyone that is involved, both the shooter and the victims. And that makes it more difficult to have to deal with.
CHETRY: And Mayor King, you say you coached him, along with your own sons in T-ball, in Little League, and that you would have never had any idea that he could have done something like this. Is there any motive that people are talking about this morning?
KING: No, ma'am. At this time, I don't think anybody has any idea of what the motive is. And yes, I did. I coached the shooter's -- I coached him in both T-ball and in Little League baseball along with my two sons.
CHETRY: And Mayor Melton, I want to ask you about this situation. I mean, this turned -- it appears from the beginning, this shooter targeted people within his own family.
After that, it turned into really a random shooting spree. He had a semiautomatic, according to police, and he was firing at random until the sheriffs were able to corner him at this place of business. What are you learning about just how dire the circumstances were and how law enforcement was able to respond the way they did?
MAYOR WYNNTON MELTON, GENEVA, ALABAMA: That is correct. And the response was very quick. He was intercepted in Geneva by one of our officers, and then the chief of police arrived at the scene. Both of those received fire from the assailant. The chief of police was nicked in the arm, not very seriously.
The pursuit went on to the metal fabrication plant, Reliable, where an exchange of gunfire occurred in the parking lot. The suspect went into the building and took his own life there inside the building, which probably had around 400 people working at the time. But no injuries there at all, in the building. He took his own life at that point.
CHETRY: And Mayor King, it's also just so ironic that one of the sheriff's deputies who was actually responding to the call of this emergency going on, it was his wife and one of his children killed, and his second child also airlifted to a hospital in Florida. What is going on with that situation? How did that family become involved in any way in this shooting?
KING: They just happened to be over across the street visiting with the family.
CHETRY: The family, the grandfather, grandmother, uncle and aunt who were out on the porch?
KING: Right, right.
CHETRY: So, just an unfortunate circumstance. So, besides his family, you guys are investigating this, or your authorities are, as a random act? I mean, I know that this is going to be tough for you guys because these crime scenes are spread out over both towns, so many different locations. How are you tackling this?
KING: Well, we're very fortunate. We received a call from the governor this afternoon. And they have -- we've got the department of public safety here, ABI, ABC, FBI. We've got surrounding agencies that have come over to assist us. And that's how we're, you know, handling it. ABI is actually leading the investigation at this time.
CHETRY: And Mayor Melton, how's the community reacting to this news? I'm sure they are learning more details, and it just gets more horrific as you find out how many people lost their lives.
MELTON: It's still in shock. I think the community is handling it very well. But they're still in shock. We just feel here in our rural, southern comfortable communities that things like this just don't happen. But unfortunately, they do.
And that's the major topic of discussion, that we are not shielded. Being small doesn't keep you from the problems of the rest of the world. And it's just a matter of comforting each other and a lot of discussions, a lot of prayers for the family here in Samson.
CHETRY: Absolutely. Our prayers are with you guys, too. A real tough morning there. Mayors King and Melton, thanks so much for joining us this morning.
KING: Thank you.
MELTON: Thank you, ma'am.
ROBERTS: Well, from the halls of power to the pages of a comic book. First, President Obama joined forces with Spiderman. Now two powerful, political women are acquiring super powers. We'll have that for you. Plus, it could be the last picture ever taken of President Lincoln. We are digging into a new mystery surrounding the 16th president, separating fact from fiction.
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ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
First President Obama was penciled into the pages of a Spiderman comic. Now two high profile political women are going to two- dimensional, so to speak. Our Jason Carroll has got this story for us this morning. Let me guess who...
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is not about the men anymore, it's now the women. You can take one guess, here's the answer.
ROBERTS: Ta da!
CARROLL: See that.
ROBERTS: "Female Force."
CARROLL: There is one, secretary of state right there on the cover. It is no longer about us guys. It is all about the women. And it's all called "Female Force." That's what the series is called. It is about profiling powerful women. One comic book company is starting out with political figures and they are not going to stop there.
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CARROLL (voice-over): Supermodels cried foul when celebrities took over their coveted fashion covers. Now, super heroes are taking a back seat as two new comic books are released featuring Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin.
DARREN DAVIS, BLUEWATER PRODUCTIONS: It's kind of insane because right now, the Hillary Clinton and the Sarah Palin comic have sold out to our distributor.
CARROLL: Darren Davis and Jason Schultz are the masterminds behind the new comic books, both represent Blue Water Productions, the company publishing the creation. They say it is all part of their "Female Force" series.
JASON SCHULTZ, BLUEWATER PRODUCTIONS: These are very strong, independent women, that people want to know more about. What better to teach younger kids about these role models than through comic books.
CARROLL: Blue Water Productions hopes their comics will rival others put out by another company featuring President Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. Today is their first day that "Female Force" comics hit stores.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It shows comics isn't just about guys in tight jeans. It is about information. It about understanding people a little better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it just says that women are important. It is to show people what they are all about.
CARROLL: It's no secret, many comic book readers are young men and much of the imagery in comic books of women glorifies the female form. Bluewater Productions, first cover version featuring Secretary of State Clinton was deemed inappropriate by some who saw a preview.
DAVIS: We did an early rendition of the cover of Hillary Clinton that just really didn't - it was almost too comical. And we ended up changing it.
CARROLL: But will these new comics change readership by bringing in more young women?
LATOYA PETERSON, EDITOR, RADIALICIOUS.COM: Say there is a young student who is not really motivated by reading a biography of Hillary Clinton. They would definitely be motivated by reading the comic book version or the graphic novel version of that.
CARROLL: Bluewater Production is banking on that. They are also rolling out a comic for First Lady Michelle Obama and Caroline Kennedy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well this is America, if it sells, it will do really well. And if not, it will always be thought of as a classic.
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CARROLL: Well, next comes a comic featuring Princess Diana, and then get ready for the "Female Media Force" series, that's going to be featuring Oprah Winfrey, and get ready for this, guys, Barbara Walters. So Barbara, if you're listening out there, you, too, will be on a comic, I think maybe comic book cover. Maybe we should get Kiran Chetry up there.
ROBERTS: Absolutely. I was just reading through this. This is sort of like the biographical issue.
CARROLL: Yes.
ROBERTS: It traces the roots.
CARROLL: All of them will be. That's how all of them -
CHETRY: Who's that? Who's that?
CARROLL: We won't talk about that.
CHETRY: By the way, the reason you don't have the Sarah Palin one, that one sold out already.
ROBERTS: Exactly.
CARROLL: We couldn't even get my hands on a Sarah Palin. ROBERTS: Interesting stuff.
CHETRY: In more ways than one, right? Thanks, Jason.
Well, a lot going on this morning. Here's what we're working on for you the next 15 minutes. Is it the beginning or the end of the U.S. embargo of Cuba? The new spending bill will possibly ease traveling trade restrictions. We're covering the story from Washington to Havana.
Also, President Obama talking about earmark reform. Just as he's getting ready to sign a spending bill loaded with pork. So, is that a betrayal of a major campaign promise? We're live at the White House.
It's 51 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Thousands of photographers clamor for a shot of President Obama every day, but the fascination to capture the commander in chief on film goes all the way back to Lincoln. In fact, take a look at this. It could be the last known photo ever taken of President Lincoln. The owner of this photo says Lincoln is the tall figure toward the right standing in front of the White House. So, if you zoom in closer, you can make your own judgment.
And Alina Cho joins us now with more. So, when did this picture surface, and how do you know whether or not it's actually an authentic?
ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Well, the biggest problem is that anybody who really could authenticate it isn't with us anymore. But you know, they're trying to authenticate it. You know, we'll have to see. You'll have to judge for yourself as you mentioned, Kiran. Good morning, everybody.
You know, this photo is actually from a private album that once belonged to Ulysses S. Grant. Now, his great-great-grandson of the same name has had the picture for years but he never really took a good look at it until recently, and he noticed a tall figure in front of the White House. Significantly taller, we should mention, than everyone else in the picture. You really have to look at it closely. I hope we can zoom in. He got a bigger surprise, we should mention, when he removed the photo from the album and he turned it over and read the words "Lincoln in front of the White House" and the year, 1865. That is significant, because it is the same year that Lincoln was assassinated.
Now, Grant wanted an expert to look at it. So he took it to a man (Kia) Morgan, who has studied photos of Lincoln for 15 years. There's the closer picture. That picture. Morgan was so convinced of the photo's authenticity, he bought it from Grant for $50,000.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very, very significant. It's the only photo in existence of Lincoln in front of the White House. It's one of the only photos of Lincoln actually doing something other than, you know, he's usually in a studio shot where he's doing nothing. It's an artificial shot. But this is a natural shot. And it's well documented. And it's inscribed on the back by Grant's son.
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CHO: OK. Let's go back to the opposite side of the photo. If you look very closely, you will see that it is stamped, and the stamp is of the seal of photographer Henry F. Warren. Now, it's been documented that Warren did travel to Washington to photograph Lincoln in March of 1865. The month before he was assassinated. But it seems that he was only able to snap this photo of the president.
Listen to this, Kiran. Thanks to Lincoln's son, Tad. Now, Warren took a picture of the young Lincoln. Gave it to him as a gift, and then he asked him to go get his dad.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said, well, now, Tad, go get daddy, you know, I'll photograph him, too. So, Tad rushed inside. And he basically, you know, brought his dad out, and, you know, Lincoln was very annoyed, very pissed. This is probably one of the first acts of paparazzi ever.
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CHO: Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky, isn't it? Now if this, in fact, the 16th president we are looking at, it would be a rare find. Only 130 photos of Lincoln are known to exist and none in front of the White House. Also significant, if it was snapped in March of 1865, this could very well be the very last image of the great emancipator ever captured on film.
Now, the photo apparently has been shown to some folks at the White House and the Smithsonian but for now it's staying in Morgan's private collection. After all, he did pay 50,000 bucks for it. He said he might loan it to a museum someday, Kiran, but he will never sell it. Now, Morgan said that when Grant called him, listen, I may have a photo of Lincoln, and he said, what does it look like? Well, he's double the height of everyone else.
CHETRY: That's why they showed 6'4".
CHO: Lincoln was 6'4", the tallest president in U.S. history. By contrast we all think of President Obama as being really tall. Obama is 6'1" and I think Lyndon Johnson was 6'3", but anyway that's my historical fact for you in the morning. But nonetheless, I mean just extraordinary. If this is, in fact, Lincoln, a rare, rare find, if you think of no photo was ever taken of the White House with Lincoln. So really interesting.
CHETRY: It sure is. All right. Alina Cho, thanks so much. CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: It's 57 minutes after the hour.
ROBERTS: Report card day for President Obama. With 50 days behind him, James Carville, Ed Rollins, live, give out the president's grade.
Plus, more fallout from the drug battle on the border.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you view this as a threat on your life?
ROBERTS (voice-over): Who's scared, fleeing and hiding, in America?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was clearly a threat that if I don't stop, something will happen.
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ROBERTS: You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
