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CNN Live Saturday
Terror Sweep in Toronto; Suspected Murderer on the run in Indianapolis; Powerful Blast in Iraqi Market
Aired June 03, 2006 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, Canadian police say this is evidence of plans for a series of terror attacks in the Toronto area. Police showed off what they identified as bomb making materials confiscated during a series of overnight raids. Police say those raids followed a lengthy investigation. In all 17 men and boys were taken into custody. Authorities say the suspects had made arrangements to obtain three tons of ammonium nitrate, a powerful explosive. We'll have a live report coming up from Toronto.
Officials now say 33 people are dead and 55 people injured after a bombing in southern Iraq. The explosion occurred at a crowded outdoor market in Basra about 300 miles south of Baghdad.
The hunt continues in central Indiana for 28-year-old Desmond Turner, the prime suspect in a mass murder. Seven members of an Indianapolis family including three children were gunned down in their home. We'll go live to Indianapolis straight ahead for the latest developments.
A top western diplomat is headed for Iran, an aide say European Union chief Javier Solana will try to talk the Iranians into giving up their nuclear program. The U.S. and other countries have agreed to offer a package of incentives in return.
U.S. defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld today urged China to be more open about its military spending. Rumsfeld is attending an Asian defense and security conference in Singapore.
We update the top stories every 15 minutes on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
And welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Ahead this hour, a story you'll only see on CNN. One on one with the president of Congo. Our Jeff Koinange asks him about allegations of rape in his country.
And later the face-off between Congress and the FBI. Our legal eagles talk about the charges, but first our top story.
We begin on security watch with a massive antiterrorist sweep in Toronto, Canada. A total of 17 suspects in custody. Police say they intended to use ammonium nitrate to carry out a series of attacks on targets around Toronto. CNN's Kyung Lah joins me now from Washington.
Kyung?
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, the reaction here in Washington from lawmakers that are starting to trickle in now is that they're very concerned. Most troubling to Canadian investigators is how far advanced this plot was able to get before they were able to make these arrests. Specifically it's the amount of explosives that they were able to get according to agents there.
They were able to acquire some three tons of explosives, three times the ammonium nitrate used to blow up the federal building in Oklahoma City. The Canadian authorities do say the investigation, the suspects, the targets, they were all within Canada's borders. This has been an ongoing investigation they say for the last two years, hundreds of agents involved.
For some reason they made these arrests last night. These arrests were made in the Toronto are. Agents say by making them they were able to avert any attacks. Seventeen people arrested, all of them men, 12 adults, five minors, all coming from various backgrounds, though, sharing one same philosophy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUC PORTELANCE, CANADIAN SECURITY INTEL SERVICE: The men arrested yesterday are Canadian residents from a variety of backgrounds. For various reasons they appear to have become adherents of a violent ideology inspired by al Qaeda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: And we are now hearing about a U.S. connection, two Americans recently were arrested, they're both from Atlanta, Georgia, they are two U.S. citizens arrested in March, had apparently limited contact with some of the Canadians who were arrested in the sting last night. That is coming from the FBI. The chairman of Homeland Security Committee, Representative Peter King did react this morning. He said that this to Americans while it may not have been directly U.S. targets, targeted, certainly, this is a wake-up call. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right. Kyung Lah. Thanks so much for that update from Washington.
LAH: You bet.
WHITFIELD: And stay tuned day and night for the northwest reliable news about your security.
An early morning raid came up empty so the search continues in central Indiana for a mass murder suspect. Twenty eight year old Desmond Turner is wanted in connection with an apparent home invasion that ended with the deaths of seven family members including three children. CNN's Keith Oppenheim is standing by from Indianapolis. Keith?
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. I'm standing in front of the home, Fredricka, where the murders occurred last Thursday night. Just to give you an idea how intense the search for Desmond Turner has become, get this, in the last 24 hours police say they have conducted seven raids, but so far no sign of the key suspect. The raid that you referred to took place starting around 5:00 this morning, a few miles from here police went to a home believing that the suspect was inside. They fired some tear gas canisters inside, but they did not find the suspect although they do believe he had been at that home at one point. I spoke to the deputy police chief, and he gave a warning to the suspect that he had better cooperate because they say they're going to find him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEP. CHIEF CLIFFORD MYERS, INDIANAPOLIS POLICE: Mr. Turner needs to turn himself in. If his family is listening, he needs to turn himself in and we need to get this resolved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: Reporter: the funeral for the six of the seven victims who died in this home will take place on Wednesday. Police say they have made one arrest, that of a suspect by the name of -- excuse me, I lost his name here -- sorry, James Stewart, 30-year-old James Stewart, and they say that he is an accomplice, but they are still focusing on the search for Desmond Turner and they say that within days they think they will get him, if not less than that. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: So Keith, are police saying it's James Stewart that has helped implicate Desmond Turner and that's why Desmond Turner is the chief suspect?
OPPENHEIM: Well, they've said they're interrogating him, and they indicate they're getting information from him, but they also say they're getting more information from other sources, so I don't think it's just James Stewart that has led them to various places where they are looking for Desmond Turner. In fact they say they're relying heavily from tips from the public to find out where the key suspect is, and that was the key to the last raid, but, again, they didn't find him yet.
WHITFIELD: All right. Keith Oppenheim from Indianapolis. Thank you so much.
U.S. forces in Iraq under fire and under scrutiny. An army investigation clears troops of wrongdoing in one incident but the military is still looking into an alleged massacre and two deadly shootings. First the March raid in the town of Ishaqi north of Baghdad.
The army now says troops there acted properly and will not face charges. Officials say U.S. forces came under attack and fired back. They say as many as a dozen Iraqi civilians may have died.
Now, to the shooting death of an Iraqi man in Hamandiya in April. A dozen U.S. troops are under investigation. A source says murder charges are likely against several of them.
And another incident happened this week in Samarra. The military is looking into reports that soldiers shot and killed two women, one of them pregnant. The women's vehicle apparently sped through a checkpoint to take the pregnant woman to the hospital to give birth.
And new developments on another story out of Iraq. A deadly bombing in the southern city of Basra. The latest now from CNN's John Vause in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The blast happened in a busy marketplace on a Saturday afternoon, killing dozens and wounding many others. Iraqi police say it was a powerful explosion leaving behind widespread damage, pools of blood, and set cars on fire. It comes just three days after the Iraqi prime minister declared a state of emergency in Iraq's second largest city saying he would use an iron fist to stop the growing unrest caused by criminal gangs and Shiite factions vying for power.
The attack was carried out despite increased security. Extra police are on the streets manning roadblocks and conducting ID checks. Basra has seen increased violence during the past month with the deaths of more than 140 Iraqi citizens and nine British servicemen. The bomb blasts was one of the most deadly in Basra since the fall of Saddam Hussein and could well present a challenge to the new prime minister and his national unity government. John Vause, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Meantime in a Baghdad neighborhood diplomats were the target of another attack. A Russian diplomat was killed and fourth others were kidnapped just hours ago in a neighborhood near the Russian embassy. Gunmen attacked the vehicle that the diplomats, rather, were in.
Still ahead, a reporter's notebook from CNN's Arwa Damon. She takes a look at the tensions in western Iraq.
Now let's go across America. Police say a search of a home in suburban Nashville, Tennessee, uncovered a baby food jar filled with ricin, a deadly biological agent. Police say they also found two pipe bombs, blasting caps, and five gun silencers. The owner of the house was jailed last week for violating a protective order taken out by his wife.
A couple of hundred residents in Sedona, Arizona may return to their homes this afternoon. A wildfire chased them from their neighborhood on Thursday. It's now 50 percent contained. The blaze is moving away from houses toward a wilderness area. Five buildings were burned.
Florida restaurants are going to the dogs. Governor Jeb Bush has signed a so-called dogging dining bill that allows local governments to decide if they want to let dogs eat with their owners at restaurants, outdoors only, of course. They lawmakers will decide after three years whether to continue the pilot program.
And big bird, this big bird shows up at an elementary school outside Albany, New York, just in time to disrupt kindergarten graduation. The emu escaped from a farm, and students were kept inside, but they had a good time watching it all. The emu, as you know are rather unsociable, and they can be down right mean and nasty. Animal control seemed to let the emu run until it got a little tired before they were able to capture it.
Well, when the FBI raided the office of Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson, it broke precedent, but did it break the law? Our legal experts weigh in.
And who's on the other side of the door? An insurgent or an innocent civilian? Marines in Iraq must make split second decisions. Arwa Damon looks at the pressures of combat in Iraq.
You can gain the birds and bees for the recent rise in gator attacks. We'll tell you why gators are feeling frisky this time of year. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A quarter past the hour now. Here is what's happening now in the news. A major terrorism sweep in Toronto. Police have rounded up 17 terror suspects, five of them are youths. They're accused of planning to build a fertilizer bomb to attack Canadian targets.
A big jump in the number of dead and wounded in Basra. Iraqi officials say 33 people were killed and 55 others hurt in today's bombing. It happened in a marketplace during its busiest time.
A mass murder suspect is on the loose in Indiana. Officials identified the wanted man as 28-year-old Desmond Turner. Seven members of an Indianapolis family were shot to death, three of the victims were children.
President Bush is again urging Congress to pass a constitutional ban on same sex marriage. He used today's weekly radio address to renew his call for the so-called marriage protection amendment. It defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The Senate votes next week on the proposed amendment.
The European Union's foreign policy chief is prepared to go to Iran to present a proposal by the world's superpowers. The package offers incentives if Tehran gives up its nuclear program or sanctions if that country refuses. We update the top stories every 15 minutes on CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Your next update is coming up at 2:30 Eastern.
A race in Washington today, but it's not political. This one is personal. It's the race for the cure against breast cancer. Secretary of state Condoleezza Rice was on the front lines today. She has seen the battle against breast cancer firsthand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: My mother had breast cancer and she first had it when I was 15 years old, but she survived, she was a survivor, I was 30 when she succumbed to the metastasis of the cancer, but the wonderful thing is she saw not her 15 year old daughter but her 30 year old daughter and she knew I had grown up to teach at Stanford and become a specialist in international politics and I think that underscores what we're really looking for here is of course the cure, the cure that makes it so that no one has to worry about this disease.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The Susan G. Komen (ph) Breast Cancer Foundation Race for the Cure raises millions of dollars each year to fight the disease.
What's it like to go on a door to door search in Haditha, Iraq? Still ahead in this hour a rare look at troops on patrol in that country.
But first in an exclusive interview you'll only see on CNN, our Jeff Koinange questions the president of Congo about allegations of child rape in his country. That's next. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: From the heart of Africa, a heartbreaking story. Reports of ethnic cleansing in Congo conducted by government troops. CNN Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange has been talking about people that say they've been raped and mutilated and recently Jeff presented these findings to Congo President Joseph Kabila. The shocking stories now and the president's response in this report you will only see on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KOINANGE (voice-over): Sunday morning mass in a makeshift church in eastern Congo, this is no ordinary service. It's not only about faith, but also about healing the human spirit.
When you hear this boy's story, you will wonder, is it really possible? Because they are all victims of rape and mutilation, they are all here to console each other and to seek answers from a higher authority.
In this congregation alone, more than half say they have been raped or mutilated, or both, by men in uniform, men of the military. Congo's civil war ended three years ago, but these atrocities continue today. Locals here say soldiers from one ethnic group are systematically raping and mutilating women from another group, with the intention, they say, of destroying their child-bearing capabilities.
The UN calls it ethnic cleansing. And it's not just women being violated. As for the boy, he's a teenager. He would only give us his name, Olivier. About a year ago, he tells us, more than 20 soldiers smashed into his home. His parents and four uncles fought back, but they were all slaughtered, as Olivier and his two sisters, 12 and 10 years old, looked on.
The men in uniform then took the two girls outside. Olivier says he heard screams for a long time. Then the soldiers came back into the house and grabbed him, saying his sisters had died without satisfying them. "That's when they tore off my trousers and started sodomizing me," he says. "They raped me until I passed out. And when I woke up, they were still taking turns with me. I have never felt such pain in my life."
The pain would last another six months, as doctors stitched him back together. They say his recovery has been miraculous.
Miracles are one thing, justice, another. Why is no one being prosecuted for these crimes?
We went to ask the man who should be in control, Congo's young president. Five years ago, he was catapulted to power after his father was assassinated in a coup attempt. He was just 29, and the army's chief of staff. Now he's facing elections, Congo's first democratic test in 40 years. He says he'll make public safety a top priority if elected. We wanted to know why his soldiers seemed to be raping at will. We show the young president the story we aired on victims of rape and mutilation by the military. As he watches, he winces every now and then, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He had just one word to describe what he had seen.
JOSEPH KABILA, CONGOLESE PRESIDENT: It's the shock, the shock that you receive to yourself, the shock that anybody, any human being, would definitely feel when they see such images. My reaction is one of shock, of course.
KOINANGE: Mr. President, you have a 6-year-old daughter. You have a twin sister. You have a mother. If something like this were to happen to you, what would you do sir?
KABILA: You definitely have the answer to that. You definitely have the answer to that.
KOINANGE: In other words, he would hunt down the soldiers and execute them. Isn't this shameful to see soldiers doing this, sir?
KABILA: It's shameful to see anybody in uniform doing anything that is contrary to the reasons why he's, in fact, in uniform, so yes, it's shameful.
KOINANGE: Kabila says more than 300 soldiers have been convicted on rape charges in the last two years. He promises others will be punished. Back at the makeshift church, the congregation knows that many have not been punished. Fifteen-year-old Olivier is now an orphan with little education and an uncertain future. The church's pastor has given him temporary shelter in his home. Some 2 million people died during Congo's civil war. Those who escaped death didn't escape pain. A generation of women and children have been so emotionally scarred, who can make them feel safe again? Jeff Koinange, CNN, Bukavu in Eastern Congo.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And Jeff wrote more about the situation in the Congo and how you can help. And you can read more on our Web site, log on to cnn.com/ac360 blog.
Well, ant to help end in suffering in Congo? Here are a couple of contacts. We'll leave this information up on the screen while we go to break.
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