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Somali Teen Pirate Awaiting Trial in New York; Premed Student Arrested in Craigslist Killing; UFO Believers Asking President Obama to Open X-Files; Former Governor Spitzer Talks About Sex Scandal; First African-American Woman Heads EPA; Loopholes for the Lawless at Sea: Catch and Release Pirates

Aired April 21, 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: Well, we're coming up on two minutes before the top of the hour.

We want to welcome our viewers once again, on this Tuesday, April 21st. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Here's what's on the agenda this morning. The big stories that we're breaking down for you in the next fifteen minutes.

Breaking news today -- new pictures of the only surviving pirate, who hijacked the U.S. cargo ship the Maersk Alabama. The teenage suspect arriving in New York City overnight, and he was all smiles when he arrived. He is now just hours away from facing a judge. We'll see if the smiles continue.

Also developing right now, a premed student at Boston University in police custody, suspected of being the so-called Craigslist killer. The 22-year-old charged with killing the woman who advertised massage services on the popular site for classifieds.

And this morning, President Obama under pressure from UFO believers to release America's files on extraterrestrials. Hear what they say, the government is hiding and what the president, himself, thinks about life beyond our planet.

We begin now with breaking news this morning. And for the fist time in more than 100 years, an American court will hear the case of a real-life pirate. The teenage suspect arrived in New York City overnight escorted by FBI agents and police. He is the only surviving member of the pirate crew that hijacked the Maersk Alabama and later kidnapped Captain Richard Phillips. The charges could land him in prison for life.

CNN's Jason Carroll live outside the courthouse in New York City.

Jason, the young suspect will be facing a judge this morning, or at least he's expected to. And you got to wonder, are they dusting off the law books here, because I think the last piracy case that was prosecuted that went to trial on this country was I think 1861?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is correct -- 1861, dealing with some Confederates. So attorneys are really going to have to be dusting off those old books. But, you know, there was another case even before that one -- a famous case dealing with Blackbeard, which you're going to hear about in just a little while.

But let's first talk about this suspect. His name is Abduhl Wali-i-Musi. And already his parents are coming to his defense. His father saying this was his first voyage as a pirate. His mother basically calling on the president to let her son go.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): The Somali pirate in custody is by no means a household name, but he's already earned a place in U.S. history.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: This will be a very unusual case for a variety of reasons. You have a piracy charge for the first time in many, many decades. You have a very young defendant. You have someone who doesn't speak any English at all. You have someone who's never been to the United States.

CARROLL: The suspect expected to appear today in federal court where the prosecution will likely outline what role he allegedly played when four pirates commandeered the Maersk Alabama and took the captain hostage for five days. Not much is known about the young man in custody, was stabbed during a struggle with the ship's crew and was being treated aboard the USS Navy rescue ship when the captain was free.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said all four pirates involved were between 17 and 19 years old. But in an interview with "The Associated Press," a woman identified as the suspect's mother, says her son is 16 and that he was coaxed into joining the pirates saying, "There is no sensible reason that makes him join pirates. I sometimes find myself weeping. The absence of my eldest son brings tears to my eyes."

Some legal experts say that his age and level of participation could end up being a key part of the defense.

PAUL CALLAN, FORMER NEW YORK CITY PROSECUTOR: His tender age could also present difficulties in another respect, because I think he's going to claim that he was acting under duress when he became involved in this act of piracy.

CARROLL: On the juvenile issue, a high-ranking federal law enforcement source told CNN we're operating as if he is an adult.

TOOBIN: What if he says he was under duress? What if he said he would have been killed if he didn't participate? What if he said he didn't understand the circumstances? These are things that a New York jury, a year from now when passions have cooled, might well feel sympathetic towards.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And, John, piracy charges are very serious, so is the punishment. If convicted of the most serious charges, this young man could be looking at life in prison -- John.

ROBERTS: A lot of people will be making, as you said, counterarguments, though, during this case. Jason Carroll outside of the federal courthouse -- Jason, thanks so much.

And prosecutors may need to brush up on piracy laws. As we've been saying, it's more than a century since a person has been tried in the United States on piracy charges.

Coming up in about ten minutes' time, we're going to break down the case for the former defense attorney for the Navy. And no, he didn't prosecute the last piracy case but he knows a lot about it.

CHETRY: We're also following a developing story in Boston right now. An arrest in the case of the so-called Craigslist killer. The suspect's identity is the thing that really has people talking this morning.

We now have our first picture of 22-year-old Philip Markoff, a premed student at Boston University. Police say that he's the same man seen in surveillance pictures leaving a Boston hotel after they say he killed a 26-year-old woman that he met on Craigslist. They also say she is not the only victim.

CNN's Randi Kaye has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the man police say has been stalking women on the popular Internet bulletin board Craigslist. And now detectives say they know his name. He's 22-year-old Philip Markoff from Quincy, Massachusetts.

DAN CONLEY, SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTY: I top priorities (ph) holding Philip Markoff accountable. He's a predator.

KAYE: A predator because they say he attacked at least two women, killing one of them. All of them had advertised erotic services on Craigslist.

Markoff is a premed student at Boston University. Police say he's been under surveillance and was picked up on Route 95 just south of Boston. He's charged with murder, armed robbery and kidnapping. He'll be in court Tuesday and has not yet entered a plea.

Police say Markoff fatally shot 26-year-old Julissa Brisman, who had advertised massages on Craigslist. She was found dead last Tuesday at a Boston Marriott. Police suspect it was an attempted robbery and that she struggled with Markoff.

CONLEY: In the hours to come, they will execute a search warrant to develop more evidence in this case. They have not rested and they will not rest until Julissa Brisman's killer has been held to answer for his crimes.

KAYE: Four days before Brisman's death, another woman was robbed at gunpoint at a Westin hotel in Boston. Investigators say that was Markoff too. Police say both women had offered erotic massages.

(on camera): Boston police are working with investigators in Rhode Island to determine if these photos just released are also Philip Markoff. The suspect here is making his way through the Holiday Inn Express in Warwick, Rhode Island. That's where police say he tied up a woman who had advertised lap dances on Craigslist. Detectives say he had a gun but fled before he could rob his victim.

(voice-over): Boston authorities say they received more than 150 tips. Investigators consulted computer crime experts and connected computer IP addresses to physical locations. Police fear there could be more victims out there. They're asking anyone who is robbed or hurt after advertising on Craigslist to come forward.

ED DAVIS, BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER: Someone that clearly is preying on people who are in a vulnerable position and someone that is committing a very, very serious crime that clearly has led to violent acts in our estimation. So we're very, very happy to have this man off the street in such a timely way.

KAYE: Off the street, but investigators still have few answers. They still don't know why a 22-year-old college student without any criminal record would suddenly stalk and kill.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: And we're also getting reaction this morning from people who knew Philip Markoff. The Boston University premed student lives in Quincy, Massachusetts. It's a city just south of Boston. His classmates and neighbors spoke out last night saying they were stunned by the arrest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's definitely a creepy factor to it, you know. It's like I lived with another guy and we're still like -- this is a little uncomfortable to say the least.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't know him personally, but a couple of my friends were in his class and he seemed normal. But I guess they always do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's weird, especially someone who's in medical school and has a lot of things going for them. You know, a lot on their minds to be preoccupied doing something crazy like that, it's very bizarre.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: And the story is again raising a lot of security questions concerning the popular ad site, Craigslist. We're going to be talking to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster following our show today. You can see that interview tomorrow here on AMERICAN MORNING. ROBERTS: The federal government about to try a person on piracy charges for the first time since the 1860s. The suspect is very young. He can't speak English and was caught in lawless waters. We'll talk about the complicated case with the former Navy prosecutor just ahead.

And from lights in the sky to abductions, UFO enthusiasts claim the truth is out there and they want President Obama to come clean. But is there really a government cover-up? We'll hear from the skeptics and the believers.

It's eight minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Back to the Most News in the Morning, we are following breaking news today.

And there he is, all smiles on his arrival in the United States. The only accused pirate to survive the attack on the Maersk Alabama. He arrived in New York just hours ago and will face a judge today. It's a rare case, and here to help us understand it is Charles Swift. He's a former defense attorney for the Navy. He's live for us this morning in Seattle.

Charles, again, thanks for getting up so early for us. We really appreciate it. What do we expect to see at this initial hearing today?

CHARLES SWIFT, FORMER NAVAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, his initial hearing will be generally a prosecution show. This is -- the purpose of this hearing is to demonstrate that they have probable cause to continue to hold him. And so what we'll probably have is an affidavit from the case's lead agent or one of the agents on the case to put in an affidavit that will outline the government's case against him and the magistrate will then decide, or the federal judge.

It will probably be before a federal magistrate will decide whether there's sufficient probable cause to continue to hold him. They won't deal with the -- generally, they don't deal with the question of bail here. That would be at a later hearing.

ROBERTS: But by most people's recollection, if this case goes to trial, it would be the first piracy trial in the United States since 1861. Are the prosecutors, are the defense attorneys, are the judges all kind of dusting off the history books here to see how to proceed?

SWIFT: The procedure will be a federal court procedure. I'm sure they've dusted off the history books to look at the crime. Although modern American statutes have continued the crime of piracy, it's just not been a crime that they use very often.

And that's probably part of the delay in deciding where to bring him and what to do with him, was going through the statutes making sure that the jurisdiction that they have the elements of the crime. But you're right, it is new. ROBERTS: Historically, as I understand it, a big problem in prosecuting piracy is jurisdiction, because the crimes occur out there on the high seas in international waters, pirates are often seen as stateless operators. Could this idea of jurisdiction throw a monkey wrench into the proceedings?

SWIFT: It might in other cases but not in this one. This is as far as jurisdiction goes as clear cut as you ever going to get it.

It was a U.S. ship that stopped him. It was U.S.-flagged ship. And when we say a U.S.-flagged ship, you could think of that as U.S. territory that was attacked.

ROBERTS: I got you.

SWIFT: Because no one had attacked U.S. ships in over 200 years, really going back to the Barbars, you had not had attacks on U.S. ships, you just hadn't had a case of U.S. piracy in U.S. courts. That was a unique situation where we've had one ship attacked and pirates captured in another attempt. That's almost without historical precedence.

ROBERTS: And what about this fellow's age? He's 16 years old. But in this country, there's plenty of examples where minors have been prosecuted as adults. Juveniles have been prosecuted as adults.

SWIFT: Absolutely. Though, remember that juveniles are generally prosecuted as juveniles.

Now, the juvenile code was set up to handle what were considered juvenile-type crimes. And this is definitely an adult-type crime. While if I were his defense attorney, I'd raise it. Standing on the sidelines, I don't see that it has much of a chance of success though I do think it would be a factor at sentencing (ph) if they get that part.

ROBERTS: Charles Swift, it's great to sort of, you probe the depths of your mind this morning and get an idea of how this case is going to proceed, should it go to trial. Thanks very much for being with us this morning. Appreciate it.

SWIFT: It was great to be with you.

ROBERTS: All right. Take care.

SWIFT: See you.

ROBERTS: We'll see you again. Yes, we'll keep following this case -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Well, America's fascination with flying saucers making its way to the White House. We're going to hear from a growing number of believers who want President Obama to open what they claim are the government's secret UFO files.

Also, his most extensive interview since the sex scandal. What disgraced former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer wants now, and how his wife dealt with the embarrassment of his infidelity and downfall.

It's 13 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. You know, today, a lot of people, space enthusiasts, even astronauts are wanting the president to release government documents that they claim contain information on close encounters with aliens and UFOs.

CNN's Jim Acosta has been following the story live in Washington. Are you a believer, Jim?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, I refuse to answer that question. The implant in my head is interfering with the response.

Kiran, John, Mulder, Scully, you heard about the scores of special interest groups appealing to President Obama in his first 100 days in office. Now, you can add believers in UFOs to the list.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): To believers in UFOs, the truth isn't out there, it's in there. So they're calling on President Obama to end what they insist is a government cover-up of the existence of extraterrestrials.

STEPHEN BARRETT, UFO BELIEVER: Will you release these records? Will you release all documents?

ACOSTA: Documents they claim exists and prove there is life in outer space.

President Obama is awfully busy these days?

EDGAR MITCHELL, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: I know he is.

ACOSTA: Do you think he has time for this?

MITCHELL: Well, let's say I would say the fact that we are not alone in the universe is one of the more important aspects of our time.

ACOSTA: Former Apollo astronaut, Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon, told the National Press Club he's convinced.

ACOSTA: But there isn't convincing proof that's going to convince the entire world at this point.

MITCHELL: That is correct. That is what we're trying to open up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're about to go out and you want to know a hoax.

ACOSTA: Equally committed are UFO skeptics. Earlier this year, two skeptics set off weather balloons that people in New Jersey mistook for alien spacecraft. The pranksters showed up on the local news pretending to be eyewitnesses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And all of a sudden we see these lights literally zip over our car.

ACOSTA: They later admitted it was all a hoax and paid a $250 fine for creating a disturbance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Again, we're not trying to prove or disprove anything. But it's OK to be skeptical.

ACOSTA: The open-minded counter UFO believers pointing to former White House chief of staff and former Obama transition team head John Podesta.

JOHN PODESTA, FORMER OBAMA TRANSITION CHIEF: It's time to find out what the truth really is that's out there.

ACOSTA: It's a question President Obama has fielded before.

TIM RUSSERT, NBC NEWS: The three astronauts of Apollo 11 who went to the moon back in 1969 all said that they believe there is life beyond Earth. Do you agree?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, I don't know. And I don't presume to know. What I know is there is life here on earth. And that we're not attending to life here on earth.

It depends on what these aliens were like and whether they were Democrats or Republicans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Yes. The CNN poll of outer space coming to a galaxy near you. Now, last year, the British government opened up its files on UFOs. And as for John Podesta, he's still sticking to his belief that the government knows more than it's telling about UFOs. He released a statement to CNN saying the government should open the files. The American people can handle the truth.

And, Kiran, may the force be with you.

CHETRY: All right. You're throwing out every single space statement you can think of today.

ACOSTA: I'm trying.

CHETRY: Pretty early. All right.

ACOSTA: Yes, very early.

CHETRY: I hope that chip in your head will allow you to speak more freely next time.

ACOSTA: Now we joke about this but I have to point out when I was at this press conference yesterday at the National Press Club, there was a gentleman there claiming to be an expert in alien abductions. He held up slides of what

When I was at the press conference, there was a gentleman there claiming to be an expert in alien abduction. He held up slides of what he purported to be alien implants. So I just throw that out there. That was a point in the press conference when I said "beam me up".

CHETRY: How about it? It's fascinating stuff.

ACOSTA: It's fascinating stuff.

CHETRY: Jim, thanks so much.

ACOSTA: You bet.

CHETRY: John?

ROBERTS: Shocking allegations against a "Slumdog" star's dad. Did he try to sell his actress daughter or was he set up by an unscrupulous tabloid? We're taking you all the way to India to get to the bottom of the shocking story.

And what good is capturing pirates at sea if you're just going to let them go? The loophole that's allowing the lawless on the water to go free.

And the governor who stepped down after being caught using prostitutes. Eliot Spitzer breaks his silence and explains why his wife is sticking by him.

It's 21 minutes now after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, he became the butt of jokes, a political disgrace. Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's call girl scandal destroyed his career and it nearly ruined his marriage. And yet, here he is back in the spotlight with his most revealing comment since resigning last year.

In fact, he sat down for four separate on the record sessions with "Newsweek's" senior writer and political correspondent Jonathan Darman. And Jonathan joins me now from D.C.

Thanks for being with us today.

JONATHAN DARMAN, SENIOR WRITER & POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "NEWSWEEK": Hi, Kiran. Thanks for having me.

CHETRY: So we just mentioned you had a chance to speak with him on four different occasions in late March and the first half of April. What was the most revealing part of what former Governor Spitzer told you? DARMAN: Well, it was all quite revealing to me. I think that, you know, what's going to get the headlines in a lot of ways is the thing everyone wants to know -- why. Why did you squander this all away?

And Spitzer who is a guy who really has the politician's allergy to any kind of introspection at first really didn't want to go there and then when I read the question line, he said, well, I'm sure it has something to do with tension and the need for release and that builds up. And that's what he says about why, you know, he did what he did and at a great cost.

He said he knew what he was doing. He knew what he was risking when he engaged in these acts. And, you know, he regrets it now but at the time he was fully aware of it.

CHETRY: Yes. He also told you the human mind does and permits people to do things they rationally know are wrong, outrageous. "We succumb to temptations we know are wrong and foolish when we do it and then in hindsight we say, how could I have?"

You talked in your article about how instead of really talking about himself in the first person to sort of explain what he did, he kept saying the human mind as if it was this hard-to-control entity.

DARMAN: Yes, which again sounds to me in a lot of ways like a politician.

I pushed him at a certain point. I said, so you've been to therapy. And he said, well, you know, you talk to people, and you know. And I said, but have you been to therapy? And he said, you talk to people.

CHETRY: Right.

DARMAN: You know, that's in a lot of ways a classic politician, and seen as weak to admit you've been to therapy but it also seems to me to be a guy who's just very much uncomfortable looking too deeply inside of himself, which a lot of politicians are. But the interesting challenge for Spitzer in a lot of ways is if he wants to have a political future, he can't just say I'm sorry, let's change the subject, I'm going to move on.

The American public over the long course of time really in a lot of ways expects people to seem to give up their ambition and give up all of their old, you know, politician ways.

CHETRY: Right. It's interesting we're seeing pictures of former Governor Spitzer with his wife Silda. And one thing that surprised many is that she stayed with him through all of this. How did that relationship survive? What impact did it have on his family as well?

DARMAN: Well, it's interesting. I think one thing that helped them, Spitzer says, was in the earliest days, they're under this intense, intense media scrutiny. And he and his wife are the only two people in the world who can know what that feels like in a lot of ways. So Spitzer said that breeds a certain closeness. He likened it to being in a fox hole, and they did have some really pressing things to think about.

They had those cameras outside their apartment. Their daughters had to go to school.

CHETRY: Right.

DARMAN: They sort of took some great pride in saying, you know, they didn't miss school. They went out there and they faced the world.

CHETRY: Great.

DARMAN: And then I said to Spitzer at one point, I said, you know, everybody says, why is she still with him? And he sort of corrected me and he said, well, I'd be surprised if everybody said that. Because, you know, marriages have their ups and downs and I think a lot of marriages are dynamic and people go through these things because, you know...

CHETRY: You know, well, finding out your husband spent time with a call girl is certainly a down, I guess you could say but...

DARMAN: Right, when he is the governor of New York.

CHETRY: Yes.

DARMAN: And everywhere you go people who don't know you know that about you.

CHETRY: All right. Well, it's really interesting and basically you end it by saying that, you know, he's not ruling out a return to public life. So that also is an interesting aspect of it. I recommend everybody to read it. It's a great article.

Jonathan Darman with "Newsweek," thanks for joining us.

DARMAN: Thanks so much.

ROBERTS: Coming up now on 28 minutes after the hour and checking our top stories this morning.

Breaking news. A bizarre scene as the only suspected pirate to survive the attack on the Alabama arrives in New York to stand trial. He's in cuffs surrounded by police and appears to be grinning about the whole thing. He is expected in court later today.

And following a major slide in Wall Street, Asian and Pacific markets have tumbled as well. The Nikkei average was down close to 3 1/2 percent.

And famous mathematician and physicist Stephen Hawking is in the hospital fighting a chest infection. His family this morning says they expect him to make a full recovery. More on our breaking news this morning, here he is. The pirate suspect grinning as he heads to his holding cell in New York. He's the only suspected pirate to survive the kidnapping of American Captain Richard Phillips onboard the Maersk Alabama. Known on official documents only as "the pirate defendant," he was taken to a federal detention facility late last night.

Here's live pictures from the courthouse in New York City where the accused pirate is expected to be brought next to face charges.

And this one got hauled in for his day in court, but in many cases, the pirates are simply set free. And even when you catch them, it's hard to keep them.

We just saw a perfect example of that this past weekend, and our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence is here now to show us a loophole for the lawless.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says these incidents are sending the wrong message. And other U.S. officials are wondering what's the point of catching pirates if no one has the authority to arrest them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): When pirates attacked a Norwegian tanker this weekend, a Canadian ship raced to the rescue forcing the pirates to back down and sail away. A NATO crew boarded the pirates' boat. It tossed guns, ladders, and scaling equipment overboard.

Did they arrest them? No. Hand them over for trial? No. They let the pirates go because NATO crews have no power to hold them.

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The minister and I agree that we will take this matter to NATO.

LAWRENCE: The U.S. has an agreement with Kenya to turn over pirates for prosecution, but NATO leaves it up to each nation's own laws which sometimes don't even allow crews to detain pirates they catch.

CLINTON: NATO has not provided that authority, so we need to coordinate this. We need to move very quickly to do so.

LAWRENCE: Not fast enough for a Dutch NATO crew which rescued 13 hostages Saturday, then let every pirate go free.

SEAN CONNAUGHTON, FORMER U.S. MARITIME ADMINISTRATOR: The pirates are going to quickly realize that most of the navies out there will not take action against them. And so they're just going to continue doing this until things escalate even further.

LAWRENCE: Sean Connaughton was President Bush's top maritime official. He says navies are catching pirates red handed, then looking back to their home countries for guidance on what to do next. Too often, the answer is nothing. CONNAUGHTON: You can't all of a sudden take nice, neat laws that are perfect for dealing with criminal situations in the streets of Washington, or the streets of Ottawa and apply them off the coast of Somalia.

LAWRENCE: What Secretary Clinton and others are pushing for are universal rules of engagement, meaning every ship, no matter if it's sailing under the EU, NATO, task forces, would have the authority to arrest pirates and hand them over to trial. John, Kiran?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Chris Lawrence for us, thanks.

Well, a check of your political ticker this morning. Same-sex marriage in California, of course, has been a contentious political issue for sometime. Now even the Miss USA pageant weighed in for the controversy. Miss California was asked by openly gay judge, Perez Hilton. He's a blogger about her views on same-sex marriage Sunday. Here's what she answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEREZ HILTON, BLOGGER: Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?

CARRIE PREJEAN, MISS CALIFORNIA: Well, I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land that you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage, and you know what, in my country and in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and woman. No offense to anybody out there. But that's how I was raised and that's how I think it should be, between a man and woman. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: All right. Well, apparently, according to witnesses, her answer triggered a shouting match in the lobby after the show. She's not backing down from her answer. She says she has no regrets and no crown either. Miss North Carolina ended up winning. But it was interesting because later, she added that she felt her answer cost her the crown, and she said that she wouldn't have it any other way: "I said what I feel, and I was true to myself, and that's all I can do."

ROBERTS: When you get into these situations, you've got to answer the question honestly, right?

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: Yes. All right. Well, did the father of a "Slumdog Millionaire" star really try to sell his little girl or did the British tabloid set him up? We're taking you to India to find out the answer to that question this morning.

And could there be a simple test to find out whether you'll get lung cancer. We're paging Dr. Gupta for the answer. It's 32 and a half minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ROBERTS: Thirty-five and a half minutes past the hour now. And let's fast forward to the stories that will be making news later on today. About 1,600 GM employees will lose their jobs this week, according to an e-mail from company president Troy Clark. The move comes as part of an effort for the troubled automaker to qualify for more government aid.

Some major U.S. companies will reveal their quarterly earnings today. we're expecting first quarter reports from construction equipment maker, Caterpillar, pharmaceutical giant Merck, Coca-Cola, Delta, "The New York Times," and later in the day, Yahoo!.

And what companies really are too big to fail? Congress will try to figure that out today at 9:30 Eastern. AIG already has that label. They're trying to figure out how lawmakers should deal with large firms that could potentially take down the entire financial system if they were to collapse.

And did the father of a "Slumdog Millionaire" child actress try to sell his own daughter or did a British tabloid set him up? Undercover reporter from "News of the World" say the father of nine- year-old Rabina Ali demanded money in exchange for allowing them to adopt her. This morning, he's denying that story.

Our Sarah Sidner joins us now live from New Delhi. She has been trying to get to the bottom of the shocking story. And Sara, what have you been learning so far?

SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, today the destitute family of Rabina Ali, the child star who every one knows from the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" is basically being torn apart because of the allegations that the father tried to sell his newly famous daughter. Now these allegations are being investigated now by police but they did not originate with police or Indian authorities. They originated from a British tabloid.

The tabloid "News of the World" out of Britain basically did an article that expressed they came to Mumbai, they sent the couple in under cover who was posing as a rich couple, a sheik and his wife from Dubai. That family contacted Rabina's family and basically told them that they were looking to adopt the 9-year-old.

Well, in the course of that, the article says that Rabina's father actually said he wanted money, up to about $290,000 for a legal adoption. In the end though, the father has flatly denied this. But again, police are investigating. Now this whole thing has stirred up a lot of controversy here from several different agencies, but one including "Save the Children" here in India who says they are very concerned about the allegations against the father but also concerned about how this tabloid went about targeting this very poverty-stricken family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS CHANDY, CEO, SAVE THE CHILDREN: What news agency did is contemptible. It's vulgar and I think it's cheap (INAUDIBLE). Simply exploiting that child and the families (INAUDIBLE). The child is under severe media clear (ph) and media scrutiny. So is the family at this point in time.

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SIDNER: Now, we tried to speak with "News of the World" but have not gotten a comment from them. As for 9-year-old Rabina, she has backed her father's claim, saying that yes, they did meet up with the sheik and his wife but that he would never ever give her away. John.

ROBERTS: Just to be clear, this is the little girl who played Latika in the film? The question I had when I heard about this whole story is, I mean, she's a child star. Potentially, she has a terrific future. She was amazing in the film. Why would this question of adoption even come up?

SIDNER: Well, here's the situation right now. This family is still living in the slums. This is not Hollywood or Bollywood. This family is living in the slums still. And there is a lot of question as to why they're still there. Because at some point someone had said, hey the Indian government is looking at possibly removing them from the slums, and moving them to housing. But that has obviously not happened and that was just something that they felt was promised.

But, again, we must reiterate that the father and the family flatly denies this allegation and the police are now looking into all of this to try to sort it out there. Also, looking into the tabloid that came to the country to do the investigation. John.

ROBERTS: Wow. What a crazy story. Sara Sidner for us this morning in New Delhi. Sara, thank you so much for that -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Well, it's 39 minutes past the hour. Just in to CNN, reports of an earthquake in Alabama. Rob Marciano is following the developments from the CNN weather center in Atlanta right now. Hey, Rob. It doesn't seem too serious. What do you know?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not very serious. But I think some people probably felt it. That was a 3.8 magnitude quake. The center of it about four miles from Centerville, Alabama, which is about 40 miles south-southwest of Birmingham. Pretty shallow, about three miles deep. So those that live within 10, 20, maybe 30 miles probably felt this thing and got a little bit of a rude wakeup. So we'll wait for reports on that. Likely not seeing a whole lot of damage.

(WEATHER REPORT) CHETRY: 3.8. So, not too bad. But yes, you're right. Something to talk about this morning, especially if you got all shook up from it.

MARCIANO: Exactly.

CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: You got it.

ROBERTS: This idea of enjoying temperatures in relative terms too.

CHETRY: Using it loosely.

ROBERTS: Making history, she is the first African-American head of the EPA. See what Lisa Jackson tells us what is on the very top of her agenda just in time for earth day.

And a breakthrough for smokers. The new simple test to see if you are at risk of getting lung cancer. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells you how it works. It's 41 1/2 minutes now after the hour.

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ROBERTS: Well, smoking is like Russian roulette. You never know who's going to end up with lung cancer and who won't. But now never before seen research says the answer could be found with a simple urine test. We're paging CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's at the CNN Center in Atlanta this morning. Tell us all about this. Can it really differentiate if two people who is standing side-by-side, you pee into a cup and who is going to get cancer and who will not?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, theoretically, yes. And this is pretty exciting stuff, John. Very early research but this has been a question for a long time. Because like you said, it is sort of like Russian roulette. People smoke. Some people seem to be very adversely affected by developing lung cancer. Other people never do. Why? What happens exactly.

You know it's worth pointing out, you know, when you smoke first of all there are lots of things that are happening. Obviously, it's bad for you. It has carcinogens that are getting into your blood stream. Subsequently, those carcinogens, those same cancer forming elements can get into your urine as well and that's sort of what this is all about.

The question is how much of a risk is this really cause and how do you quantify something like this. That really hasn't been done up until now. So, that's where researchers focused on this idea that if you smoke, if you have high levels of nicotine in your blood, that is something that can be measured. And you also have high levels of this particular carcinogen called MAL, if you pay attention to that in your urine, you're 8.5 times increased risk of developing lung cancer in your lifetime.

So those two things together, John, really interesting, give doctors and other healthcare professionals some sort of idea of who is most at risk.

ROBERTS: I got two questions to follow out of this, and I'll just blend them all together. So, is the goal then to know that you've got this elevated risk to, you know, see your doctor frequently for increased monitoring? And what about people who quit years ago and are worried at some point am I going to develop lung cancer? Is there some test for them?

GUPTA: Great questions. Both of them. First of all, yes, to your first question. That's exactly right. It's the sort of screening aspects. We can't screen everybody for lung cancer. So how do you pinpoint who's most likely to benefit from screening? This is a CT scan of a lung. You see what lung cancer might look like here. This is where you're going to get some information if you figure out who's right to screen. The question is, who do you get these scans on?

As far as your second question - it's not going to be perfect for everybody. So someone who's a smoker, for example, 30 years ago and they stopped smoking 20 years ago, this is not going to be a great test for them. They may have some increased level of carcinogens still in their system, but to your point, a lot of that, including the nicotine, is likely to be gone.

So this is sort of more for current smokers, John.

ROBERTS: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta for us in Atlanta this morning. Doc, always good to see you. Thank you so much here.

GUPTA: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Well, Boston police say that the search for the so-called Craig list killer is now over. They say it's a 22-year- old premed student now charged on the death of a woman who offered massage services on the popular site. He is considered a suspect now and other attacks as well.

And she's part of what some are calling the Obama administration's powerful new sisterhood. She is making history, too. We're going to see the first African-American head of the EPA is saying. 46 minutes after the hour.

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CHETRY: Well, she is one in a new lineup of powerful women in the Obama administration. She is also and making some history of her own. Elaine Quijano goes one-on-one with Lisa Jackson. She is the first African-American head of the EPA. ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson is at the center of President Obama's climate change policy but she is also another historic first for the nation.

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LISA JACKSON, ADMINISTRATOR, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: I'm trying to save the world. We're all trying to save the world. What kind of things can we do?

QUIJANO (voice-over): Meet EPA chief Lisa Jackson, the woman in charge of making sure your air and water are safe. She holds chemical engineering degrees from Princeton and Tulane University, but it's also her background as a mother and an African-American from New Orleans Ninth Ward that drives her agenda.

JACKSON: Opening up of our agency so that people of color literally see themselves in our issues. See me and say, well what draws her to the EPA? What drew her, a city girl from New Orleans to the EPA? Maybe there are issues there I should be worried about.

QUIJANO: As the new head of EPA, she has been dubbed part of the sisterhood of Obama women, mainly African-American women with powerful positions in the administration, like President Obama, Jackson's main message: change and a renewed focus on science.

JACKSON: The EPA is back on the job. That's not to meant to say that the employees who were here for long haven't been working hard, but a lot of their work wasn't allowed to come forth to the American people.

QUIJANO: Jackson's first day on the job was a homecoming of sorts that she spent 16 years as an EPA employee herself.

JACKSON: I don't, you know, walk the hall with security or anything like that, because I want people to feel as though the administrator -- when I get the chance to get away from my desk -- that I'm approachable.

QUIJANO: Yet, in this hallway, lined with portraits of her predecessor is, Jackson is reminded daily of her unique status as the first African-American ever to head up the EPA.

JACKSON: You know, I don't think of it every moment, but I think of it every moment. What I hope to see at the end of this are activists who look like me, activists who represent the future and demographic of our country because that is going to be the EPA in the future.

QUIJANO: As for her policy priorities, administrator Jackson lists several, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality -- John, Kiran.

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CHETRY: Elaine Quijano, thanks.

CHETRY: And today is day 92 of the Obama presidency. We wanted to take a look at some of the more important events of his first 100 days so far in an "AM Extra." His third day of his presidency, President Obama signed an order to close Guantanamo Bay. On day 16, the President signed a bill extending health care coverage to four million uninsured children. Day 25, his $787 million stimulus bill makes it through the House and the Senate.

On day 29, he approved 17,000 more troops for the war in Afghanistan. On day 49, he overturned Bush administration restrictions on stem cell research. He asked GM CEO Rick Wagoner to step down on day 69 and on day 84, he eased the travel restrictions to Cuba for Cuban Americans.

ROBERTS: This morning, the surviving Somali pirates accused of holding an American captain is on U.S. soil. He is here at New York City. He could spend the rest of his life in prison. We're live outside the courthouse.

And you may have you may never have heard of the Canadian rock band but Metallica, Guns N' Roses and other huge metal bands of that era did. Anvil, unfortunately, they never made it but now they are the subject of what could be one of the best rock documentaries ever and they will talk to this formal rock journalist about the dream that never died. Coming up in our next hour of the most news in the morning.

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ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney taking some shots at President Obama in a Fox News interview. Cheney blasted the president's outrage to world leaders at the Summit of the Americas saying he projected a sense of vulnerability on the world stage.

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DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I guess I've been concerned that the way that we've been presented overseas. There is a great temptation for new administration to come in and when you find a problem, obviously, to blame it on your predecessor. We did it. I'm sure the Obama administration is not the first one ever to do that, but what I find disturbing is the extent to which he has gone to Europe, for example, and seem to have apologized profusely in Europe, and been to Mexico and apologized there and so forth.

I think you have to be very careful. The world outside there, both our friends and our foes, will be quick to take advantage of a situation if they think they are dealing with a weak president or one who is not going to stand up and aggressively defend America's interest. The United States provide mostly the leadership in the world. And we have for a long time and I don't think we got much to apologize for.

You can have a debate about that, but bottom line is that, you know, when you go to Europe and deal with our European friends and allies, some things they do very well, some things they don't. And sometimes it's important that a president speak directly and forthrightly to our European friends and you don't get there if you're so busy apologizing for past U.S. behavior.

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ROBERTS: Cheney also criticized President Obama for his handshake with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

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CHENEY: I didn't think much of it. I mean, I've seen Hugo Chavez in operation before and Daniel Ortega down in Nicaragua. These are people who operate in our hemisphere but who don't believe in and aren't supportive of the basic fundamental principles and policies that most of us in this hemisphere here do. We believe in democracy. Nobody would ever accuse Hugo Chavez of being somebody committed to democracy. Basically, the position we took in the Bush administration was to ignore it. I think that was the right thing to do.

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ROBERTS: The former vice president didn't stop there. He also took issue with the Obama Justice Department releasing CIA memos on interrogating terror suspects and he defended the tactics used during the Bush administration.

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CHENEY: One of the things that I find a little bit disturbing about this recent disclosure is they put out the legal memos. The memos that the CIA got from the Office of Legal Counsel, but they didn't put out the memos that show the success of the effort and there are reports that show specifically what we gain as a result of this activity. They have not been declassified. I formally ask that they be declassified now.

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ROBERTS: And Cheney addressed criticism from the current vice president Joe Biden who referred to Cheney as the most dangerous vice president in American history.

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CHENEY: it doesn't concern me. Joe Biden has been saying a lot. He has been a senator for, what, 37 some years. He's never been one would couldn't come up with a comment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is known for that?

CHENEY: Joe has the job now. I wish him well. I hope he is able to prosper in it and make a contribution. So I'm - you know, I've been criticized by experts, Sean. I don't worry a lot about it.

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ROBERTS: It really is quite extraordinary. The degree to which the former vice president is out there criticizing this administration. I've not seen that before.

CHETRY: Yes.