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CNN Live At Daybreak
Latest Bombing in Baghdad; Latest on Ohio Shooting Suspect
Aired March 18, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you.
It is Thursday, March 18.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Thank you for joining us.
Let me bring you up to date now.
New attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq. Mortar rounds kill one soldier and wound seven others near Baghdad's airport. And mortar fire also kills a Marine near the Syrian border.
President Bush defends the war in Iraq while thanking those who fought it. The president speaks to troops at Fort Campbell, Kentucky today.
Secretary of State Colin Powell wraps up his visit to Pakistan as the U.S. upgrades its military ties to the South Asian nuclear power.
And the suspect in the Ohio highway shootings faces extradition after his arrest in Las Vegas. Police say Charles McCoy, Jr. is campaigning.
We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:15 Eastern.
Another soft target, another earth shattering explosion and more killings, 17 to be exact. But the latest bombing in Baghdad is different due to its timing.
CNN's Walter Rodgers reports on the aftermath of the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Twelve hours after Wednesday night's deadly car bomb attack here in Baghdad, the residents of this city awaken still able to smell the acrid odor of smoke from the car bomb attack on the Mount Lebanon Hotel. No one is claiming responsibility for this, although senior U.S. military officials here are very suspicious that it is probably an Islamist militant attack. They say that because the use of a car bomb packed with a thousand pounds of explosives and perhaps a large artillery shell, as well, has similar earmarks to the attack on the United Nations headquarters here last August 19th, and that, they definitely believe, was the attack of Islamist militants. Again, people in Baghdad are more than a little concerned this morning. This is about the one year anniversary of the launch of the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Still, the Iraqis do not have much by way of security. The Islamic militants, the insurgents, have shown again that they are capable of striking at almost any time or any point.
This is exactly what the Americans hoped they could avoid when they launched Operation Iron Promise yesterday, rounding up extremists and trying to confiscate bomb making materials. The problem is this is a large city and the guerrillas still appear to be able to operate at will.
Walter Rodgers, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And as we heard Walter say, the search is on for who did this. We take you live to vote and CNN contributor and counter- terrorism expert Kelly McCann.
He joins us live by phone -- good morning, Kelly.
J. KELLY MCCANN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Hi, Carol.
COSTELLO: Kelly, the bomb appears to have been made from 1,000 pounds of plastic explosives mixed in with some artillery shells.
What does that tell you about the bomber or bombers?
MCCANN: It's a pretty standard pattern, Carol. Basically the PE4 is an RDX-based high explosive. And because there's so much battlefield munitions available to anybody there, it's easy to see how they would have made this bomb. I think that you'll find it's a fairly common compound and a fairly common delivery method. And, also, basically, it shows that there was significant surveillance done prior to the incident happening -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So in saying that, is there any way to determine whether this is the work of Ansar al-Islam, that terrorist group that's based in northern Iraq? Or Abu Zarqawi, who has ties to al Qaeda?
MCCANN: That will probably come from grassroots information that the intel folks will be working right now on the ground. The bottom line is that it is a layered threat. I mean you hit two of them right there. You've got former criminals loose who are being paid to attack Westerners. You've got former regime loyalists. You know, you've got al Qaeda. We know that there's a significant number of Arab fighters in the country because, of course, Hassan Gul (ph) was captured not too long ago, a senior planner for al Qaeda, headed into Iraq -- Carol.
COSTELLO: But specifically, to my knowledge, the coalition has caught no one for any suicide bombing in Iraq, no specific person who was responsible. Is there a way to change that? I know you talk about better intelligence and they seem to be rounding up a lot of people but yet these attacks go on.
MCCANN: Sure they do. But you've got to remember that they do fall in the militarily acceptable casualty radius. Not -- I mean the bottom line is anyone who loses someone there doesn't see that as an acceptable thing. But it's almost impossible in a country that size to absolutely keep anything like this from happening, especially when more civilians will be moving into the country as contractors to help with the infrastructure and as you start to see more NGOs and humanitarian relief people move into the country.
In fact, if you notice, there's a slight change in targeting. There's been seven U.S. personnel, now more with this morning's mortars attack, killed since Friday in country, but it got almost no coverage compared to yesterday's day long coverage of the businessmen killed and previously the missionaries that were killed there.
So we're seeing a slight change in targeting -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Kelly McCann joining us live by phone from Virginia.
Many thanks to you.
He'll join us again at the bottom of this half hour.
On Capitol Hill this morning, a House panel is focusing on the hidden assets of Saddam Hussein. A finance subcommittee opens hearings in about four hours. The members will be talking about international efforts to find Saddam's hidden fortune and return it to Iraq. The Treasury Department estimates that about $4.5 billion has been frozen in accounts worldwide.
A Maryland woman is denying again she served as an Iraqi intelligence agent and says she was just trying to help prevent the war. Susan Lindauer faces up to 25 years in prison if she's convicted of acting as an Iraqi agent. Lindauer says she's being punished for getting involved in U.S. foreign policy, though.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM WTTG TV)
SUSAN LINDAUER, ACCUSED IRAQI AGENT: This is surreal for me. This is the FBI coming into my living room monitoring my conversations. This is what you would expect in a totalitarian government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Lindauer says she was only trying to persuade Iraq to allow weapons inspectors before the war.
In Tennessee this morning, from the county that brought us the Scopes trial back in 1925, you know, where a teacher was convicted of teaching evolution, well, today Rhea County commissioners say homosexuality is a crime against nature and wants the state to pass a law saying so.
Brian Hahn (ph) of affiliate WDEF looks at local opinion there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN HAHN, WDEF-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rhea County commissioners want to make homosexuality a crime. They'll ask state legislators to give them the option of charging gay people with crimes against nature. Some Rhea County residents support the idea.
GARY CAGLE, SPRING CITY, TENNESSEE: I don't think it's morally right. I don't think it's -- I think their rights end where my rights begin. And I think -- it offends me if I did something to offend everybody in the community.
HAHN: Commissioner J.C. Fugate was quoted by a local paper saying, "We need to keep them out of here." Fugate offered the motion to county commissioners.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really agreed with him. All I know is, you know, I try and live right and do right, and according to the bible, it's not right.
HAHN: Reverend Matt Nevels (ph) was outraged by his comments.
REV. MATT NEVELS: Pray tell, what are they going to do, line 'em up and shot 'em like a bunch of dogs? Pray tell, you know, what's next?
HAHN: Others share the reverend's sentiments. They're embarrassed by Monday night's meeting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a narrow minded community.
ROSETTE GOHENNESSEL, DAYTON, TENNESSEE: It's switching the clock back a hundred years ago. It's like going back to Oscar Wilde time.
KEITH ADAMS, DAYTON, TENNESSEE: I don't believe they should run them out of town. They're just like us, regular people. There's other kind of people they should run out of town worse than.
HAHN: In Rhea County, Brian Hahn, News 12.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And thanks very much for that report, Brian.
In Bothell, Washington, another anti-lesbian issue tops our look at Stories Across America. Thirty-three supporters of a lesbian United Methodist minister have been arrested in the suburb of Seattle. They were protesting a church trial to determine if the Reverend Karen Dammann should continue as pastor of a church in Ellensburg.
Near Santa Barbara, in southern California, the Highway Patrol diverts traffic off Highway 101 after someone fired six shots near the highway. One car was hit. No one was hurt. Traffic was stopped, though, for four hours while officers searched for the shooter. No arrests have been made.
A Texas family says Delta Airlines lost an 80-year-old family member with Alzheimer's. The family says a Delta representative was supposed to have met the man during a stop at the Atlanta airport. The man was found nearly 24 hours later near a bus station in downtown Atlanta. Delta says no one told them the man had Alzheimer's.
To the forecast center now to talk about, oh, a big storm approaching.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: A quick Stump the Weatherman question?
MYERS: You know what...
COSTELLO: Do you have one?
MYERS: Yes. Well, yes, I have it right here.
COSTELLO: Poor Chad. I like to surprise him like this.
MYERS: Yes, it's like the toaster.
COSTELLO: It keep him on his toes.
MYERS: "Originally considered a myth, please explain the reason that we can see frogs and fish raining from the sky." That was from British Columbia.
In fact, that is part of some kind of a suction spot or some type of a tornado that has happened in the storm back maybe an hour ago or 20 minutes ago that ran over a pond. That tornado can actually pick up some frogs and some fish from that pond using that moisture, sending it into the sky. And then as it moves off, the frogs and the fish will actually rain out of the storm. Not a myth. It actually happens.
COSTELLO: Excellently done.
MYERS: But all kinds of things -- when you get a tornado, all kinds of things fall out of the sky, from insulation to shingles. I mean...
COSTELLO: To cows, like in that movie.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Yes.
We have to talk about our mug contest, because we have the winner.
MYERS: Oh, right.
COSTELLO: You have the winner up there, don't you? MYERS: I don't know.
COSTELLO: Oh, well, go get that while I read yesterday's questions.
MYERS: OK. Go ahead.
COSTELLO: The first question was what did Father Paul Carrier say was the most urgent problem facing children in Haiti? And the second question was the FDA is starting a new program soon. What changes could you see to food labels?
The answer to the first one, hunger. And the answer to the second, they're putting the calories on labels in total for the whole serving size.
So, Wednesday's winner is...
MYERS: And the winner is -- I feel like I'm in the Academy -- David Dillard of Seminole County, Florida, the first one in with the answer.
COSTELLO: Awesome. OK.
MYERS: David Dillard.
COSTELLO: And, of course, David Dillard, you will receive your cup soon, because they're coming in tomorrow and we're very excited about that.
MYERS: Awesome.
COSTELLO: And our next question will come your way at 6:50 today, 6:50 Eastern time. And everyone else will have a chance to win a DAYBREAK coffee mug.
Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Coming up on DAYBREAK, taking the concept of conversation one step farther if you're looking for love.
And caring for others in a desperate situation. Our special guest, Father Carrier, speaks to us live again from Haiti.
Plus, the path from Ohio to Vegas, police await the return of their suspect in the Ohio highway shootings. I'll talk to a reporter in Columbus who is covering the case.
And the kind of mistake that makes a student's heart sink.
This is DAYBREAK for March 18.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: 6:15 Eastern time.
Time to take a quick look at the top stories now.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.S. will elevate military ties with Pakistan, giving it the status of major non-NATO ally.
President Bush will defend the war in Iraq today during a speech to troops at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. They're just back from the front lines.
And in the former Yugoslavia, ethnic clashes between Kosovo Serbs and Albanians have claimed the lives of 10 people.
We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:30 Eastern.
The Ohio shooting suspect could be going back to Columbus as early as tomorrow. That's when Charles McCoy, Jr. has an extradition hearing in Las Vegas. An alert resident spotted McCoy at a betting parlor and then the suspect's car at a motel parking lot. McCoy was not armed and he has been cooperating with police.
Stacie Raterman has been covering the highway shooting case for WTVN Newsradio in Columbus.
She joins us live on the phone to talk about the arrest.
Good morning, Stacie.
STACIE RATERMAN, WTVN 690 NEWSRADIO CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So, will he be back to Ohio tomorrow?
RATERMAN: Well, it has to depend on whether he waives extradition or not. That's the first thing that the courts have to determine. If so, he could be back by this weekend, is what our prosecutors are saying.
COSTELLO: It's kind of weird how it went down in Las Vegas, because I guess a man spotted him in that betting parlor, called the FBI in Cincinnati and they didn't believe him at first.
RATERMAN: Right. You know, they've had thousands and thousands of tips on this case. So I'm sure somebody out in Las Vegas at a betting pool, they might have had a few concerns about whether it was legitimate or not.
COSTELLO: Yes, but this man went to the extra mile. He went out, he followed him outside, looked at his car and noticed that he had Ohio plates and then called the FBI, I think in Nevada. And that's when the FBI swooped in and got him.
Is there any word of a motive as to why this man allegedly went on this shooting spree? RATERMAN: No, that's still the biggest question around here, especially the residents in Columbus wanting to know what the answer to that is. You know, his family has said he might have some mental history problems, so -- of course, that's speculation. But as far as anything else goes, we're not hearing anything from the police or even the suspect's family.
COSTELLO: What kind of guy is he?
RATERMAN: Neighbors and friends have told us all along, you know, this man is a quiet man. He's maybe a little odd, sticks to himself, pretty much the same things you hear any time there's a case like this.
COSTELLO: Did he have a job?
RATERMAN: We're not hearing anything about a job right now. We do know he lived with his mother for the past year. But so far, you know, no employers have come forward, no coworkers have come forward. So that's still unclear.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, I can only imagine the security that will be surrounding him when he is extradited back to Ohio.
RATERMAN: That's right. Police have said all along that he could be homicidal or suicidal, so this will be very closely guarded.
COSTELLO: All right, Stacie Raterman live on the phone from WTVN Newsradio in Columbus, Ohio.
Time for a little business buzz now.
Forget about the baby boom, the population is growing at a slower rate.
Carrie Lee reports live from the NASDAQ market site -- good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
That's right, the Census Bureau today expected to forecast that the nation's population will rise by 49 percent in the year 2050, and that's a decline from an 87 percent gain during the prior 50 years. So is a slower growth rate good or bad news for the economy? Well, it's actually a little bit of both.
The biggest concern in the USA is the ability to fund programs for our rapidly aging population. Less growth in the number of workers means fewer taxpayer dollars and that can put a strain on things like Social Security, Medicare, other government programs. This is a key issue as baby boomers are set to retire.
The good news here is that the population growth slowing means it will be easier for people to find jobs. That can give them more bargaining power and it can improve the quality of living. Of course, any population growth is good news for the housing market. That's an important piece of our economy. One expert, Carol, says what's important now is to educate the children of immigrants so that they are well qualified to join our workforce in years to come.
An interesting report.
COSTELLO: Interesting, yes.
A quick look at the futures?
LEE: Things looking a bit weak this morning. Of course, major market indices gaining ground across the board yesterday. The Dow up over 100 points, up 115. The NASDAQ up over one percent, about 1 3/4 percent.
One stock to watch today, Morgan Stanley. The banker/brokerage reporting profits. We've heard good news from Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns this week. We'll see what they have to say later this morning -- back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, Carrie Lee, we'll catch you again in the next half hour.
Coming up on DAYBREAK, helping Haiti's children. I'll talk with our special guest, Father Paul Carrier, about his visit to a village in need.
Also, Martha Stewart's team's plotting an appeal. What's behind it? That's this morning's Coffey Talk.
And our DAYBREAK Photo Of the Day. What is it? Can you guess? We'll have the answer for you, right after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: OK, the DAYBREAK Photo Of the Day -- Chad, any guesses?
MYERS: A baseball down in the Cactus league.
COSTELLO: You cheated.
MYERS: I did not.
COSTELLO: You cheated.
MYERS: Did not.
COSTELLO: You are completely right.
MYERS: Wow!
COSTELLO: It is the dugout screen at Surprise Stadium in Arizona, where a 9-year-old boy was trying to sneak a peak at the Kansas City Royals' batting practice. Isn't that a great picture? MYERS: That is a good shot.
COSTELLO: I wish I were him.
MYERS: I mean that's the MLB shot of the week and you might put that on your Web site, just trying to drum up some support for major league baseball there.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
MYERS: Yes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: This just in to CNN, something to tell you about now. Police in Spain say they have made four more arrests in connection with last week's train bombings in Madrid. Spain's state radio saying three North Africans have been taken into custody in a Madrid suburb. It's a suburb where a suspicious van was found after Thursday's bombings. The van, you may remember, contained at least seven detonators and an Arabic tape with teachings from the Koran. A fourth person was arrested in northern Spain. We'll keep you posted.
And we want to pay a visit by phone once again to Haiti.
Once again, Father Paul Carrier from Fairfield University in Connecticut on the phone from Cap Haitien.
Fairfield runs a school in Haiti for the children there.
And Father Carrier, before you begin, we want to show our viewers some pictures you've sent us from Haiti. And these are some of your kids there. So hopefully we'll get those pictures up.
But tell me about the pictures you sent and who these children are.
PAUL CARRIER, S.J., FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY: Well, Carol, these are the children who two or three years ago were on the streets of Cap Haitien living, like I said, off the stalls of the marketplace. And they were able to participate in a day program that we have, which helps them to do some remedial work educationally and also bathing and eating. And then at some point when they're ready, when they're fit, they go to the village. And the village is a 24 hour residential program where they have educational programs, not only academic, but also vocational stuff. So they learn to be tailors or metal workers and carpenters. And it's a program that, for the past six years, has been remarkably successful in the sense of helping the kids begin to put their lives together and have some future.
COSTELLO: Well, and I understand that, I understand you paid a visit to that village and spent some time there.
What was that like?
CARRIER: Well, it was wonderful, again, because it's going on that little campus. It's a campus with eight buildings. And there's a peace and a calm there that really isn't matched anywhere else in Cap Haitien. And one of the young men came up to me, the young kids, and he said to me, you know, "I'm sorry, Father, that you had to come when it was a time of violence and difficulty, but I'm happy that you're here with us."
And that really kind of confirmed my instinct of wanting to be here, to be with the kids and to be with our people who run this program who really are fantastic.
And, Carol, I would just say that, you know, all of us at Fairfield are so proud of our people who have given their lives to this project and who have stayed through all the difficulties.
COSTELLO: Well, let me ask you this. A lot of those armed rebel groups running around Haiti consist of kids.
Is education the answer?
CARRIER: I think so, Carol. I think education and offering a model of, you know, of a life that isn't based on, you know, revenge and violence and retaliation. I think, again, all the kids have known all their life is violence and hatred. And in the village we try and, you know, show them conflict resolution, how to talk things out, how to forgive each other, how to, you know, deal with each other as brothers, as family. And, again, that's a model that they're not used to.
COSTELLO: Yes. And we're looking at pictures now of Marines, U.S. Marines, keeping the peace in Haiti. I guess a new parliament was seated today and, of course, they have a new interim leader there. But that really isn't resonating much where you are now, I know that, and we're going to talk more about that tomorrow when you join us once again live from Haiti.
Father Paul Carrier, many thanks to you.
CARRIER: Thanks, court.
COSTELLO: When we come back, more on the bomb attack in Baghdad. Why that neighborhood? Why that hotel? Our counter-terrorism expert, Kelly McCann, will join us.
Also ahead, Will's will -- Shakespeare's last wishes now available for you to see.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: And good morning to you.
Welcome back to DAYBREAK.
I'm Carol Costello.
It is Thursday, March 18.
Let me bring you up to date.
Across Kosovo, at least 10 people are dead in ethnic clashes across the country. U.N. officials call it the worst violence since the end of the Kosovo war in 1999. Of course, that the former Yugoslavia.
The likely Democratic presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, is in Idaho this morning. He's taking five days off from the campaign trail, staying at his vacation home north of Ketchum.
Google goes local. The online search engine has introduced a new system aimed at making it easier to find things or people closer to where you live.
We update the top stories every 15 minutes. Our next news update comes your way at 6:45 Eastern.
The death toll from that bombing of a hotel in Baghdad has been revised downward. The U.S. military now says 17 people were killed when a suspected suicide bomber detonated more than 1,000 pounds of explosives. More than 40 people were wounded. The FBI is aiding in the investigation of that bombing now. The attack comes two days before the first anniversary of the launch of the war in Iraq.
Now the hunt is on for who carried out these bombings. Was it al Qaeda? And if it was, should we expect more?
Joining us live on the phone from Virginia, CNN contributor and counter-terrorism security expert Kelly McCann -- good morning, Kelly.
J. KELLY MCCANN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: And, Kelly, before we begin, we have dramatic pictures to share. We just got these in this morning, so let's put that videotape up now. There you hear the sound of the explosion. That was a woman being interviewed live in an Arabic TV station shortly before the blast, because the hotel was directly across the street. And you can see the window there.
Just looking at these pictures, Kelly, these were very powerful explosives.
MCCANN: Absolutely, Carol. And it just goes to show you how fragile the stability and seeming individual peace can be. Just moments before that happened, of course, people were in a hotel minding their business, going about their daily schedule. And just seconds after the blast, of course, complete carnage.
So it just reminds everybody if you're not proactive, if you don't have well thought out and conceived security precautions in place, you know, you are very vulnerable in Iraq.
COSTELLO: Is that why that hotel was hit? Or was it something more, do you think? MCCANN: Well, analysts are a little bit confused right now. They're not confused, but they're thinking about a bunch of different things. Number one, it was in the direct line of sight of the Palestine Hotel. So the immediacy of it made for a good target. For instance, we ourselves, on our network, had images almost immediately, as Walt Rodgers reported on it, with smoke billowing in the background, etc. So there's that consideration.
There's another consideration, that this was an Arab based target, a message to the Arab world. In fact, Mamoun Fandy, another contributor for CNN, said yesterday that, in fact, it was the ORASCOM people and Motorola people working out of Egypt to build ARACHNA (ph), the GSM network, in Iraq that may have been the target, basically a message -- don't come here to Iraq to help the infrastructure, stay away.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
MCCANN: Some interesting things.
COSTELLO: Interesting, because as you mentioned before, other targets -- missionaries have been targeted now, U.S. military soldiers have been targeted. So they're trying a bunch of different things. But...
MCCANN: Almost trying to rejuvenate, Carol. Almost trying to make sure that they are always at the forefront of the media's attention, which is fairly clever.
COSTELLO: So who's to blame, do you think?
MCCANN: Well, I think that everyone's in agreement that it is Islamist fundamentalists. I think that trying to determine who, in fact, it is -- because there's a loose affiliation. I mean you've got Zarqawi's affiliation with al Qaeda. You've got al Qaeda. You've got Ansar al-Islam. And although they're not linked at the arms, they do assist each other when it meets a common goal, which is basically to kill Westerners.
So it'll be probably some time, unless someone claims responsibility and it's vetted, that we find out exactly who's responsible -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Kelly McCann joining us live by phone from Virginia this morning.
Many thanks.
Washington is making moves to elevate military ties with Pakistan. Pakistan, of course, a strong ally in the war on terrorism.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.S. will grant Pakistan a new status that will make it easier for Islamabad to get weapons from Washington.
Earlier, in an interview with Aaron Brown, Powell defended U.S. actions in the war on terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "CNN'S NEWSNIGHT")
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Al Qaeda was around before we went after Saddam Hussein. Al Qaeda was using Afghanistan as a home. Al Qaeda had essentially kidnapped a country and in that country of Afghanistan, al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden was planning terrorist attacks, not just against the United States, but against anything that was against his own, his own weird, his own horrible view of the world. And so to think that Iraq is the cause of terrorism or to expand terrorist actions around the world, I think, is a misreading of the situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Powell wraps up his trip to the region today.
Let's head to the forecast center now, because I know some of you are traveling this morning and a big storm is heading for different parts of the country and that may mean some travel delays.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: She stayed by her mother's side in court, now Martha Stewart's daughter tells what happened when she heard the guilty verdict.
And lips in the loo? We've been getting your e-mail comments about this story. We'll tell you more about this red hot mouth that has, well, a different function.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.
All may not be lost for Martha Stewart. Her lead attorney plans to appeal and he has a new strategy. We're going to tell you about it.
But first, we want to talk about Stewart's daughter, Alexis. She attended every day of the trial and she talked about it with CNN's Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "LARRY KING LIVE")
LARRY KING, HOST: What was the trial like for you?
STEWART: Exhausting, difficult.
KING: Why did you attend every day?
STEWART: I wouldn't have missed it. I wanted to see what was going to happen.
KING: Because some people might have said it's going to be too much to handle.
STEWART: No, but I have to be there for my mother. You couldn't have kept me away.
KING: Were you shocked at the verdict?
STEWART: Oh, yes, completely. I actually fainted. Nobody really knows that, but it was so horrifying and incomprehensible that I fainted. And even the people around me didn't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So unless Martha Stewart's conviction is reversed on appeal, she is expected to get a 10 to 18 months prison term.
Time for some Coffey Talk now.
Live from Miami on the phone, our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey -- good morning, Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: And, you know, in listening to Alexis, she says she fainted and nobody noticed in the courtroom.
Was it that emotional when the verdict was read?
COFFEY: Oh, god, it would be devastating. I mean it's hard to recreate the drama and the intensity for the lawyers and -- but when you're talking about the defendant themselves or a family member, it's one of the most excruciating things that can happen other than, you know, serious health or injury issues.
COSTELLO: Understand. Let's talk a little bit about this new strategy in the appeal. Martha Stewart's attorney intends to appeal her conviction by arguing the judge unfairly prevented him from explaining to the jury that Ms. Stewart had not been charged with criminal insider trading.
Is that a good strategy?
COFFEY: Well, it's the kind of strategy you need to pursue. Because what you have to focus on is not whether you disagree with the jury. You don't get a new trial in front of a higher court where you can say, for example, that the jury should have disregarded what Douglas Faneuil, the government's star witness, had to say.
You have to focus in on narrowly on the legal rulings that the judge herself made and try to demonstrate why a specific ruling, such as including evidence that shouldn't have been included or excluding evidence that should have been allowed, those kind of things, were, one, wrong; and, two, were significant enough to the case that a new trial should be ordered.
So the defense is certainly heading down the right direction. But, Carol, these kind of appeals are obviously very uphill. COSTELLO: I know, but I think that, you know, some of our correspondents who are covering the trial talked to jurors afterward and they were kind of confused as to what they convicted Stewart of. I mean she was convicted of obstruction of justice, but some of them felt that they were punishing her for the actual trade.
COFFEY: Well, and I think that the defense had raised that issue even during jury -- the jury selection process, concern that the sense that it was all about insider trading was something that was going to continue to be a source of confusion.
But the essence of this issue -- and we haven't seen the briefs and all the appellate stuff is going to be done after sentencing -- but the essence of this issue is, look, if you're going to say that she should be convicted because she had a motive to cover-up, we ought to have been allowed that she did not believe she had committed a crime, there was no crime and that because she had not, in effect, the defense would say, committed any kind of crime with respect to insider trading, she didn't have a motive to cover-up and didn't have a motive to obstruct and we should have been allowed to discuss that with the jury.
So the issue is did the judge improperly tie the hands of the defense on what the defense would say is an essential part of their case?
COSTELLO: Well, we'll see if it works.
Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami this morning.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 6:45 Eastern time.
Here at latest headlines.
Crews sift through the rubble of a Baghdad hotel, site of yesterday's car bomb explosion. The U.S. military puts the death toll at 17.
The man accused of killing nine family members in Fresno will be back in court today. Yesterday's hearing was postponed because Marcus Wesson appeared without an attorney.
Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian opposes the death penalty. But he says if the death penalty is allowed, then doctors should be able to experiment on death row inmates before they die.
Your money, Fleet Boston Financial Corporation and Bank of America approve a $47 billion merger. It will create the nation's number three bank, but it may also result in up to 13,000 job cuts.
In sports, if it's March, it must be madness. The NCAA men's basketball tournament begins today with 16 of the 32 first round games. In culture, Britain's National Archives posts the wills of famous authors online this week. Among them, William Shakespeare, who bequeathed his second best bed to his wife.
And in weather, thunderstorms in the Southeast and snow expected in the Northeast.
Those are the headlines.
Your next update coming up on AMERICAN MORNING at the top of the hour.
Hey, speaking of AMERICAN MORNING -- are you guys ready?
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we sure are, actually.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
HEMMER: Waiting on you.
How are you, Carol?
O'BRIEN: Waiting on you, Carol.
COSTELLO: I know. It takes me a long time sometimes to get to you guys.
O'BRIEN: Oh, we're just kidding you.
HEMMER: Hey, listen, if you saw our coverage yesterday from Baghdad, just really spot on, Jane Arraf and her crew. And, you know, our folks in Baghdad brave so much every day and they were there all throughout the day yesterday, hours upon hours. Get you back there today with Walt Rodgers today in Baghdad. We'll talk with Dan Seymour and the brigadier general, David Kimmelt (ph), also, about what's happening today. So stay tuned for that.
O'BRIEN: And we're going to talk about politics and politics in the context of this violence yesterday. Senator Kerry was talking about President Bush. Vice President Dick Cheney was talking about Senator Kerry at the same time they were running side by side pictures of the Baghdad bombings.
HEMMER: That's right.
O'BRIEN: So the question is, of course, what exactly is the impact going to be of the violence and continuing violence on the election and the process following up to it?
HEMMER: Also, Carol, 24 hours ago we were talking about this deal in Las Vegas, this -- the suspect in the Ohio sniper shootings arrested. He was writing things on a bedding sheet, apparently, when a man struck up a conversation with him, called the police repeatedly...
O'BRIEN: He says 50 times. HEMMER: Yes. They finally believed him, they came out and they got him. So we're going to talk to a sergeant out there involved in that arrest and investigation. We'll have that for you.
Also, Jack's got a really good e-mail question today. It deals with Howard Stern, Mel Gibson and George Bush.
COSTELLO: Ooh.
O'BRIEN: All at once.
HEMMER: Jack has more on that at the top of the hour.
O'BRIEN: How weird is that?
COSTELLO: It should be very weird and interesting.
Thank you, Bill and Soledad.
HEMMER: You've got it.
See you, Carol.
COSTELLO: We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time for a little business buzz now.
Are you looking for love, but painfully shy? Help is on the way. Just make sure you have a cell phone.
Carrie Lee has more on this story live from the NASDAQ market site.
What does this have to do with business?
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's sort of one of these fun business stories. It's really interesting. This team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to reports, have put together this program called Serendipity. And the idea is you can use your cell phone to find a soul mate. Doesn't this sound romantic?
People can subscribe to a service which stores in their phones a personal profile, information on what they want most from a partner and when there are enough similarities between two people and they happen to be in close proximity, the service tells their phones to communicate with each other. So it's sort of an idea on the have my people call your people idea, have my phone call your phone idea.
Now, mobile phone networks have yet to show an interest in this new wireless technology. Some say it is the wave of the future. So if a mobile phone company does take this idea into the fold, well, it could potentially help their sales, help drum up some interest, I guess. I don't know, Carol. I know it's a cliche, a picture is worth a thousand words, but I think that's very apropos to something like this. If you can't see what somebody looks like, well, what's the interest going to be like?
But anyway, they've come up with this idea, MIT. They're calling it Serendipity. We'll see if it comes to a cell phone near you.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you.
Carrie Lee live from New York this morning.
All right, our coffee mug question of the morning. They're tough ones this morning. What county in Tennessee wants to ban gays from living there? And, two, the British Archives are putting William Shakespeare's will online? In it, he leaves his wife something. What is it?
E-mail your answers, daybreak@cnn.com. The first one with the right answers will win a beautiful DAYBREAK coffee mug.
Chad joins me for the Lightning Round, coming up.
But first, the latest headlines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Take a look at that graphic on the screen. Oh, well, it just flew by. But it said the average cost of a bridal gown is $900. But brides to be, take heart. Filene's Department Store holds its annual bridal gown sale. It's actually taking place today at its Atlanta store and, boy, is it ever popular. When the doors open at 8:00 Eastern this morning, the brides will come a running.
Live to the scene and our Bob Van -- Bob?
BOB VAN DILLEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes?
COSTELLO: Bob Van Dillen, you're out there at Filene's and look at all the ladies behind you.
VAN DILLEN: Hey, 1,000 ladies, Carol, all behind me, all scratching and clawing. If you look around, these are the ladies that got here first. And they got here yesterday afternoon at around 4:30. And it really wasn't a warm evening for Atlanta standards. It got down into the low 40s. So they bundled up and then that line goes way back around the corner. And there probably are between, I'd say, 500 to 1,000 people. Now there's probably more.
The doors actually open at 8:00. And the reason why, Carol, some of these dresses are usually on sale for $9,000, going on today for $699.99.
COSTELLO: That's it. I can't believe there are that many people there. VAN DILLEN: There's so many people here that Debbie -- she's the store manager -- she told me it takes them seven minutes to get every single one, the last person through the door. It's just a steady cattle call of people going in for seven minutes through two doors.
COSTELLO: Well, Bob, I have some advice for you.
VAN DILLEN: Yes?
COSTELLO: Do not get in the way when the doors open.
VAN DILLEN: No, I know. I want to know how many people are going to come out with a half a dress. No, I'm a size eight. No, you're a size eight.
COSTELLO: It can get pretty violent in there.
VAN DILLEN: Oh, it's going to get whacky. It's already starting, Carol. You can hear it now.
COSTELLO: My gosh. It's amazing.
VAN DILLEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: Oh, they're getting excited.
VAN DILLEN: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: Bob Van Dillen, I'm sure we'll have a -- we'll follow- up tomorrow.
Thank you for joining us on DAYBREAK.
VAN DILLEN: Indeed. We'll talk to you.
Yes.
COSTELLO: Chad, you have that cheesy effect out?
MYERS: I do.
COSTELLO: Oh, good. Thanks.
MYERS: I have one piece of advice for Bob if he's still listening. Don't call it a cattle call. That'll get you in trouble.
COSTELLO: That's true. That was a bad move.
MYERS: And he is married so he should know these things.
COSTELLO: Definitely.
All right, let's get on with our Lightning Round, shall we?
MYERS: All right, I'm ready. COSTELLO: Could you survive the sky? Couples in Singapore are competing for $30,000 by trying to live in these stomach turning cable cars for a week. They get a 10 minute break each day. I don't know how, but they do.
MYERS: Yikes.
COSTELLO: Sexy and urinal are not words you'd normally use in the same sentence, Chad. But that's how Virgin Airways describes these restroom fixtures in the new Club House at New York's JFK Airport.
MYERS: Yes, they are in the Club House. They are not in the public restrooms.
COSTELLO: Virgin Airways -- I mean why?
MYERS: Yes. I'm not sure
COSTELLO: You know, when they first showed me these pictures, I thought it was like in a porno store somewhere. But, no, it's at JFK.
MYERS: Well, it could be.
COSTELLO: It could be.
MYERS: But it's also (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
COSTELLO: It has a dual use.
Thousands of students, Chad, received an e-mail from U.C. Davis congratulating them on receiving a $30,000 scholarship.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: But it was a mistake, a clerical mistake.
MYERS: Ouch.
COSTELLO: The students weren't really getting any money at all, so the next thing from the university will be, I'm sorry to disappoint you. But cui being so excited, $30,000 in scholarship money, and then an oops letter?
MYERS: You've got a 1.2 grade point average and you get a Regents scholarship? I mean you've got to be living large.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
Thanks to you all for joining us this morning and for your fine e-mails.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
AMERICAN MORNING starts right now. MYERS: Two days till spring.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Suspect>
Aired March 18, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you.
It is Thursday, March 18.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Thank you for joining us.
Let me bring you up to date now.
New attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq. Mortar rounds kill one soldier and wound seven others near Baghdad's airport. And mortar fire also kills a Marine near the Syrian border.
President Bush defends the war in Iraq while thanking those who fought it. The president speaks to troops at Fort Campbell, Kentucky today.
Secretary of State Colin Powell wraps up his visit to Pakistan as the U.S. upgrades its military ties to the South Asian nuclear power.
And the suspect in the Ohio highway shootings faces extradition after his arrest in Las Vegas. Police say Charles McCoy, Jr. is campaigning.
We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:15 Eastern.
Another soft target, another earth shattering explosion and more killings, 17 to be exact. But the latest bombing in Baghdad is different due to its timing.
CNN's Walter Rodgers reports on the aftermath of the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALTER RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Twelve hours after Wednesday night's deadly car bomb attack here in Baghdad, the residents of this city awaken still able to smell the acrid odor of smoke from the car bomb attack on the Mount Lebanon Hotel. No one is claiming responsibility for this, although senior U.S. military officials here are very suspicious that it is probably an Islamist militant attack. They say that because the use of a car bomb packed with a thousand pounds of explosives and perhaps a large artillery shell, as well, has similar earmarks to the attack on the United Nations headquarters here last August 19th, and that, they definitely believe, was the attack of Islamist militants. Again, people in Baghdad are more than a little concerned this morning. This is about the one year anniversary of the launch of the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Still, the Iraqis do not have much by way of security. The Islamic militants, the insurgents, have shown again that they are capable of striking at almost any time or any point.
This is exactly what the Americans hoped they could avoid when they launched Operation Iron Promise yesterday, rounding up extremists and trying to confiscate bomb making materials. The problem is this is a large city and the guerrillas still appear to be able to operate at will.
Walter Rodgers, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And as we heard Walter say, the search is on for who did this. We take you live to vote and CNN contributor and counter- terrorism expert Kelly McCann.
He joins us live by phone -- good morning, Kelly.
J. KELLY MCCANN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Hi, Carol.
COSTELLO: Kelly, the bomb appears to have been made from 1,000 pounds of plastic explosives mixed in with some artillery shells.
What does that tell you about the bomber or bombers?
MCCANN: It's a pretty standard pattern, Carol. Basically the PE4 is an RDX-based high explosive. And because there's so much battlefield munitions available to anybody there, it's easy to see how they would have made this bomb. I think that you'll find it's a fairly common compound and a fairly common delivery method. And, also, basically, it shows that there was significant surveillance done prior to the incident happening -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So in saying that, is there any way to determine whether this is the work of Ansar al-Islam, that terrorist group that's based in northern Iraq? Or Abu Zarqawi, who has ties to al Qaeda?
MCCANN: That will probably come from grassroots information that the intel folks will be working right now on the ground. The bottom line is that it is a layered threat. I mean you hit two of them right there. You've got former criminals loose who are being paid to attack Westerners. You've got former regime loyalists. You know, you've got al Qaeda. We know that there's a significant number of Arab fighters in the country because, of course, Hassan Gul (ph) was captured not too long ago, a senior planner for al Qaeda, headed into Iraq -- Carol.
COSTELLO: But specifically, to my knowledge, the coalition has caught no one for any suicide bombing in Iraq, no specific person who was responsible. Is there a way to change that? I know you talk about better intelligence and they seem to be rounding up a lot of people but yet these attacks go on.
MCCANN: Sure they do. But you've got to remember that they do fall in the militarily acceptable casualty radius. Not -- I mean the bottom line is anyone who loses someone there doesn't see that as an acceptable thing. But it's almost impossible in a country that size to absolutely keep anything like this from happening, especially when more civilians will be moving into the country as contractors to help with the infrastructure and as you start to see more NGOs and humanitarian relief people move into the country.
In fact, if you notice, there's a slight change in targeting. There's been seven U.S. personnel, now more with this morning's mortars attack, killed since Friday in country, but it got almost no coverage compared to yesterday's day long coverage of the businessmen killed and previously the missionaries that were killed there.
So we're seeing a slight change in targeting -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Kelly McCann joining us live by phone from Virginia.
Many thanks to you.
He'll join us again at the bottom of this half hour.
On Capitol Hill this morning, a House panel is focusing on the hidden assets of Saddam Hussein. A finance subcommittee opens hearings in about four hours. The members will be talking about international efforts to find Saddam's hidden fortune and return it to Iraq. The Treasury Department estimates that about $4.5 billion has been frozen in accounts worldwide.
A Maryland woman is denying again she served as an Iraqi intelligence agent and says she was just trying to help prevent the war. Susan Lindauer faces up to 25 years in prison if she's convicted of acting as an Iraqi agent. Lindauer says she's being punished for getting involved in U.S. foreign policy, though.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM WTTG TV)
SUSAN LINDAUER, ACCUSED IRAQI AGENT: This is surreal for me. This is the FBI coming into my living room monitoring my conversations. This is what you would expect in a totalitarian government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Lindauer says she was only trying to persuade Iraq to allow weapons inspectors before the war.
In Tennessee this morning, from the county that brought us the Scopes trial back in 1925, you know, where a teacher was convicted of teaching evolution, well, today Rhea County commissioners say homosexuality is a crime against nature and wants the state to pass a law saying so.
Brian Hahn (ph) of affiliate WDEF looks at local opinion there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN HAHN, WDEF-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rhea County commissioners want to make homosexuality a crime. They'll ask state legislators to give them the option of charging gay people with crimes against nature. Some Rhea County residents support the idea.
GARY CAGLE, SPRING CITY, TENNESSEE: I don't think it's morally right. I don't think it's -- I think their rights end where my rights begin. And I think -- it offends me if I did something to offend everybody in the community.
HAHN: Commissioner J.C. Fugate was quoted by a local paper saying, "We need to keep them out of here." Fugate offered the motion to county commissioners.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really agreed with him. All I know is, you know, I try and live right and do right, and according to the bible, it's not right.
HAHN: Reverend Matt Nevels (ph) was outraged by his comments.
REV. MATT NEVELS: Pray tell, what are they going to do, line 'em up and shot 'em like a bunch of dogs? Pray tell, you know, what's next?
HAHN: Others share the reverend's sentiments. They're embarrassed by Monday night's meeting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a narrow minded community.
ROSETTE GOHENNESSEL, DAYTON, TENNESSEE: It's switching the clock back a hundred years ago. It's like going back to Oscar Wilde time.
KEITH ADAMS, DAYTON, TENNESSEE: I don't believe they should run them out of town. They're just like us, regular people. There's other kind of people they should run out of town worse than.
HAHN: In Rhea County, Brian Hahn, News 12.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And thanks very much for that report, Brian.
In Bothell, Washington, another anti-lesbian issue tops our look at Stories Across America. Thirty-three supporters of a lesbian United Methodist minister have been arrested in the suburb of Seattle. They were protesting a church trial to determine if the Reverend Karen Dammann should continue as pastor of a church in Ellensburg.
Near Santa Barbara, in southern California, the Highway Patrol diverts traffic off Highway 101 after someone fired six shots near the highway. One car was hit. No one was hurt. Traffic was stopped, though, for four hours while officers searched for the shooter. No arrests have been made.
A Texas family says Delta Airlines lost an 80-year-old family member with Alzheimer's. The family says a Delta representative was supposed to have met the man during a stop at the Atlanta airport. The man was found nearly 24 hours later near a bus station in downtown Atlanta. Delta says no one told them the man had Alzheimer's.
To the forecast center now to talk about, oh, a big storm approaching.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: A quick Stump the Weatherman question?
MYERS: You know what...
COSTELLO: Do you have one?
MYERS: Yes. Well, yes, I have it right here.
COSTELLO: Poor Chad. I like to surprise him like this.
MYERS: Yes, it's like the toaster.
COSTELLO: It keep him on his toes.
MYERS: "Originally considered a myth, please explain the reason that we can see frogs and fish raining from the sky." That was from British Columbia.
In fact, that is part of some kind of a suction spot or some type of a tornado that has happened in the storm back maybe an hour ago or 20 minutes ago that ran over a pond. That tornado can actually pick up some frogs and some fish from that pond using that moisture, sending it into the sky. And then as it moves off, the frogs and the fish will actually rain out of the storm. Not a myth. It actually happens.
COSTELLO: Excellently done.
MYERS: But all kinds of things -- when you get a tornado, all kinds of things fall out of the sky, from insulation to shingles. I mean...
COSTELLO: To cows, like in that movie.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Yes.
We have to talk about our mug contest, because we have the winner.
MYERS: Oh, right.
COSTELLO: You have the winner up there, don't you? MYERS: I don't know.
COSTELLO: Oh, well, go get that while I read yesterday's questions.
MYERS: OK. Go ahead.
COSTELLO: The first question was what did Father Paul Carrier say was the most urgent problem facing children in Haiti? And the second question was the FDA is starting a new program soon. What changes could you see to food labels?
The answer to the first one, hunger. And the answer to the second, they're putting the calories on labels in total for the whole serving size.
So, Wednesday's winner is...
MYERS: And the winner is -- I feel like I'm in the Academy -- David Dillard of Seminole County, Florida, the first one in with the answer.
COSTELLO: Awesome. OK.
MYERS: David Dillard.
COSTELLO: And, of course, David Dillard, you will receive your cup soon, because they're coming in tomorrow and we're very excited about that.
MYERS: Awesome.
COSTELLO: And our next question will come your way at 6:50 today, 6:50 Eastern time. And everyone else will have a chance to win a DAYBREAK coffee mug.
Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Coming up on DAYBREAK, taking the concept of conversation one step farther if you're looking for love.
And caring for others in a desperate situation. Our special guest, Father Carrier, speaks to us live again from Haiti.
Plus, the path from Ohio to Vegas, police await the return of their suspect in the Ohio highway shootings. I'll talk to a reporter in Columbus who is covering the case.
And the kind of mistake that makes a student's heart sink.
This is DAYBREAK for March 18.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: 6:15 Eastern time.
Time to take a quick look at the top stories now.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.S. will elevate military ties with Pakistan, giving it the status of major non-NATO ally.
President Bush will defend the war in Iraq today during a speech to troops at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. They're just back from the front lines.
And in the former Yugoslavia, ethnic clashes between Kosovo Serbs and Albanians have claimed the lives of 10 people.
We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:30 Eastern.
The Ohio shooting suspect could be going back to Columbus as early as tomorrow. That's when Charles McCoy, Jr. has an extradition hearing in Las Vegas. An alert resident spotted McCoy at a betting parlor and then the suspect's car at a motel parking lot. McCoy was not armed and he has been cooperating with police.
Stacie Raterman has been covering the highway shooting case for WTVN Newsradio in Columbus.
She joins us live on the phone to talk about the arrest.
Good morning, Stacie.
STACIE RATERMAN, WTVN 690 NEWSRADIO CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So, will he be back to Ohio tomorrow?
RATERMAN: Well, it has to depend on whether he waives extradition or not. That's the first thing that the courts have to determine. If so, he could be back by this weekend, is what our prosecutors are saying.
COSTELLO: It's kind of weird how it went down in Las Vegas, because I guess a man spotted him in that betting parlor, called the FBI in Cincinnati and they didn't believe him at first.
RATERMAN: Right. You know, they've had thousands and thousands of tips on this case. So I'm sure somebody out in Las Vegas at a betting pool, they might have had a few concerns about whether it was legitimate or not.
COSTELLO: Yes, but this man went to the extra mile. He went out, he followed him outside, looked at his car and noticed that he had Ohio plates and then called the FBI, I think in Nevada. And that's when the FBI swooped in and got him.
Is there any word of a motive as to why this man allegedly went on this shooting spree? RATERMAN: No, that's still the biggest question around here, especially the residents in Columbus wanting to know what the answer to that is. You know, his family has said he might have some mental history problems, so -- of course, that's speculation. But as far as anything else goes, we're not hearing anything from the police or even the suspect's family.
COSTELLO: What kind of guy is he?
RATERMAN: Neighbors and friends have told us all along, you know, this man is a quiet man. He's maybe a little odd, sticks to himself, pretty much the same things you hear any time there's a case like this.
COSTELLO: Did he have a job?
RATERMAN: We're not hearing anything about a job right now. We do know he lived with his mother for the past year. But so far, you know, no employers have come forward, no coworkers have come forward. So that's still unclear.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, I can only imagine the security that will be surrounding him when he is extradited back to Ohio.
RATERMAN: That's right. Police have said all along that he could be homicidal or suicidal, so this will be very closely guarded.
COSTELLO: All right, Stacie Raterman live on the phone from WTVN Newsradio in Columbus, Ohio.
Time for a little business buzz now.
Forget about the baby boom, the population is growing at a slower rate.
Carrie Lee reports live from the NASDAQ market site -- good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
That's right, the Census Bureau today expected to forecast that the nation's population will rise by 49 percent in the year 2050, and that's a decline from an 87 percent gain during the prior 50 years. So is a slower growth rate good or bad news for the economy? Well, it's actually a little bit of both.
The biggest concern in the USA is the ability to fund programs for our rapidly aging population. Less growth in the number of workers means fewer taxpayer dollars and that can put a strain on things like Social Security, Medicare, other government programs. This is a key issue as baby boomers are set to retire.
The good news here is that the population growth slowing means it will be easier for people to find jobs. That can give them more bargaining power and it can improve the quality of living. Of course, any population growth is good news for the housing market. That's an important piece of our economy. One expert, Carol, says what's important now is to educate the children of immigrants so that they are well qualified to join our workforce in years to come.
An interesting report.
COSTELLO: Interesting, yes.
A quick look at the futures?
LEE: Things looking a bit weak this morning. Of course, major market indices gaining ground across the board yesterday. The Dow up over 100 points, up 115. The NASDAQ up over one percent, about 1 3/4 percent.
One stock to watch today, Morgan Stanley. The banker/brokerage reporting profits. We've heard good news from Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns this week. We'll see what they have to say later this morning -- back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, Carrie Lee, we'll catch you again in the next half hour.
Coming up on DAYBREAK, helping Haiti's children. I'll talk with our special guest, Father Paul Carrier, about his visit to a village in need.
Also, Martha Stewart's team's plotting an appeal. What's behind it? That's this morning's Coffey Talk.
And our DAYBREAK Photo Of the Day. What is it? Can you guess? We'll have the answer for you, right after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: OK, the DAYBREAK Photo Of the Day -- Chad, any guesses?
MYERS: A baseball down in the Cactus league.
COSTELLO: You cheated.
MYERS: I did not.
COSTELLO: You cheated.
MYERS: Did not.
COSTELLO: You are completely right.
MYERS: Wow!
COSTELLO: It is the dugout screen at Surprise Stadium in Arizona, where a 9-year-old boy was trying to sneak a peak at the Kansas City Royals' batting practice. Isn't that a great picture? MYERS: That is a good shot.
COSTELLO: I wish I were him.
MYERS: I mean that's the MLB shot of the week and you might put that on your Web site, just trying to drum up some support for major league baseball there.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
MYERS: Yes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: This just in to CNN, something to tell you about now. Police in Spain say they have made four more arrests in connection with last week's train bombings in Madrid. Spain's state radio saying three North Africans have been taken into custody in a Madrid suburb. It's a suburb where a suspicious van was found after Thursday's bombings. The van, you may remember, contained at least seven detonators and an Arabic tape with teachings from the Koran. A fourth person was arrested in northern Spain. We'll keep you posted.
And we want to pay a visit by phone once again to Haiti.
Once again, Father Paul Carrier from Fairfield University in Connecticut on the phone from Cap Haitien.
Fairfield runs a school in Haiti for the children there.
And Father Carrier, before you begin, we want to show our viewers some pictures you've sent us from Haiti. And these are some of your kids there. So hopefully we'll get those pictures up.
But tell me about the pictures you sent and who these children are.
PAUL CARRIER, S.J., FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY: Well, Carol, these are the children who two or three years ago were on the streets of Cap Haitien living, like I said, off the stalls of the marketplace. And they were able to participate in a day program that we have, which helps them to do some remedial work educationally and also bathing and eating. And then at some point when they're ready, when they're fit, they go to the village. And the village is a 24 hour residential program where they have educational programs, not only academic, but also vocational stuff. So they learn to be tailors or metal workers and carpenters. And it's a program that, for the past six years, has been remarkably successful in the sense of helping the kids begin to put their lives together and have some future.
COSTELLO: Well, and I understand that, I understand you paid a visit to that village and spent some time there.
What was that like?
CARRIER: Well, it was wonderful, again, because it's going on that little campus. It's a campus with eight buildings. And there's a peace and a calm there that really isn't matched anywhere else in Cap Haitien. And one of the young men came up to me, the young kids, and he said to me, you know, "I'm sorry, Father, that you had to come when it was a time of violence and difficulty, but I'm happy that you're here with us."
And that really kind of confirmed my instinct of wanting to be here, to be with the kids and to be with our people who run this program who really are fantastic.
And, Carol, I would just say that, you know, all of us at Fairfield are so proud of our people who have given their lives to this project and who have stayed through all the difficulties.
COSTELLO: Well, let me ask you this. A lot of those armed rebel groups running around Haiti consist of kids.
Is education the answer?
CARRIER: I think so, Carol. I think education and offering a model of, you know, of a life that isn't based on, you know, revenge and violence and retaliation. I think, again, all the kids have known all their life is violence and hatred. And in the village we try and, you know, show them conflict resolution, how to talk things out, how to forgive each other, how to, you know, deal with each other as brothers, as family. And, again, that's a model that they're not used to.
COSTELLO: Yes. And we're looking at pictures now of Marines, U.S. Marines, keeping the peace in Haiti. I guess a new parliament was seated today and, of course, they have a new interim leader there. But that really isn't resonating much where you are now, I know that, and we're going to talk more about that tomorrow when you join us once again live from Haiti.
Father Paul Carrier, many thanks to you.
CARRIER: Thanks, court.
COSTELLO: When we come back, more on the bomb attack in Baghdad. Why that neighborhood? Why that hotel? Our counter-terrorism expert, Kelly McCann, will join us.
Also ahead, Will's will -- Shakespeare's last wishes now available for you to see.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: And good morning to you.
Welcome back to DAYBREAK.
I'm Carol Costello.
It is Thursday, March 18.
Let me bring you up to date.
Across Kosovo, at least 10 people are dead in ethnic clashes across the country. U.N. officials call it the worst violence since the end of the Kosovo war in 1999. Of course, that the former Yugoslavia.
The likely Democratic presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, is in Idaho this morning. He's taking five days off from the campaign trail, staying at his vacation home north of Ketchum.
Google goes local. The online search engine has introduced a new system aimed at making it easier to find things or people closer to where you live.
We update the top stories every 15 minutes. Our next news update comes your way at 6:45 Eastern.
The death toll from that bombing of a hotel in Baghdad has been revised downward. The U.S. military now says 17 people were killed when a suspected suicide bomber detonated more than 1,000 pounds of explosives. More than 40 people were wounded. The FBI is aiding in the investigation of that bombing now. The attack comes two days before the first anniversary of the launch of the war in Iraq.
Now the hunt is on for who carried out these bombings. Was it al Qaeda? And if it was, should we expect more?
Joining us live on the phone from Virginia, CNN contributor and counter-terrorism security expert Kelly McCann -- good morning, Kelly.
J. KELLY MCCANN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: And, Kelly, before we begin, we have dramatic pictures to share. We just got these in this morning, so let's put that videotape up now. There you hear the sound of the explosion. That was a woman being interviewed live in an Arabic TV station shortly before the blast, because the hotel was directly across the street. And you can see the window there.
Just looking at these pictures, Kelly, these were very powerful explosives.
MCCANN: Absolutely, Carol. And it just goes to show you how fragile the stability and seeming individual peace can be. Just moments before that happened, of course, people were in a hotel minding their business, going about their daily schedule. And just seconds after the blast, of course, complete carnage.
So it just reminds everybody if you're not proactive, if you don't have well thought out and conceived security precautions in place, you know, you are very vulnerable in Iraq.
COSTELLO: Is that why that hotel was hit? Or was it something more, do you think? MCCANN: Well, analysts are a little bit confused right now. They're not confused, but they're thinking about a bunch of different things. Number one, it was in the direct line of sight of the Palestine Hotel. So the immediacy of it made for a good target. For instance, we ourselves, on our network, had images almost immediately, as Walt Rodgers reported on it, with smoke billowing in the background, etc. So there's that consideration.
There's another consideration, that this was an Arab based target, a message to the Arab world. In fact, Mamoun Fandy, another contributor for CNN, said yesterday that, in fact, it was the ORASCOM people and Motorola people working out of Egypt to build ARACHNA (ph), the GSM network, in Iraq that may have been the target, basically a message -- don't come here to Iraq to help the infrastructure, stay away.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
MCCANN: Some interesting things.
COSTELLO: Interesting, because as you mentioned before, other targets -- missionaries have been targeted now, U.S. military soldiers have been targeted. So they're trying a bunch of different things. But...
MCCANN: Almost trying to rejuvenate, Carol. Almost trying to make sure that they are always at the forefront of the media's attention, which is fairly clever.
COSTELLO: So who's to blame, do you think?
MCCANN: Well, I think that everyone's in agreement that it is Islamist fundamentalists. I think that trying to determine who, in fact, it is -- because there's a loose affiliation. I mean you've got Zarqawi's affiliation with al Qaeda. You've got al Qaeda. You've got Ansar al-Islam. And although they're not linked at the arms, they do assist each other when it meets a common goal, which is basically to kill Westerners.
So it'll be probably some time, unless someone claims responsibility and it's vetted, that we find out exactly who's responsible -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Kelly McCann joining us live by phone from Virginia this morning.
Many thanks.
Washington is making moves to elevate military ties with Pakistan. Pakistan, of course, a strong ally in the war on terrorism.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says the U.S. will grant Pakistan a new status that will make it easier for Islamabad to get weapons from Washington.
Earlier, in an interview with Aaron Brown, Powell defended U.S. actions in the war on terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "CNN'S NEWSNIGHT")
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Al Qaeda was around before we went after Saddam Hussein. Al Qaeda was using Afghanistan as a home. Al Qaeda had essentially kidnapped a country and in that country of Afghanistan, al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden was planning terrorist attacks, not just against the United States, but against anything that was against his own, his own weird, his own horrible view of the world. And so to think that Iraq is the cause of terrorism or to expand terrorist actions around the world, I think, is a misreading of the situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Powell wraps up his trip to the region today.
Let's head to the forecast center now, because I know some of you are traveling this morning and a big storm is heading for different parts of the country and that may mean some travel delays.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: She stayed by her mother's side in court, now Martha Stewart's daughter tells what happened when she heard the guilty verdict.
And lips in the loo? We've been getting your e-mail comments about this story. We'll tell you more about this red hot mouth that has, well, a different function.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.
All may not be lost for Martha Stewart. Her lead attorney plans to appeal and he has a new strategy. We're going to tell you about it.
But first, we want to talk about Stewart's daughter, Alexis. She attended every day of the trial and she talked about it with CNN's Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "LARRY KING LIVE")
LARRY KING, HOST: What was the trial like for you?
STEWART: Exhausting, difficult.
KING: Why did you attend every day?
STEWART: I wouldn't have missed it. I wanted to see what was going to happen.
KING: Because some people might have said it's going to be too much to handle.
STEWART: No, but I have to be there for my mother. You couldn't have kept me away.
KING: Were you shocked at the verdict?
STEWART: Oh, yes, completely. I actually fainted. Nobody really knows that, but it was so horrifying and incomprehensible that I fainted. And even the people around me didn't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So unless Martha Stewart's conviction is reversed on appeal, she is expected to get a 10 to 18 months prison term.
Time for some Coffey Talk now.
Live from Miami on the phone, our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey -- good morning, Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: And, you know, in listening to Alexis, she says she fainted and nobody noticed in the courtroom.
Was it that emotional when the verdict was read?
COFFEY: Oh, god, it would be devastating. I mean it's hard to recreate the drama and the intensity for the lawyers and -- but when you're talking about the defendant themselves or a family member, it's one of the most excruciating things that can happen other than, you know, serious health or injury issues.
COSTELLO: Understand. Let's talk a little bit about this new strategy in the appeal. Martha Stewart's attorney intends to appeal her conviction by arguing the judge unfairly prevented him from explaining to the jury that Ms. Stewart had not been charged with criminal insider trading.
Is that a good strategy?
COFFEY: Well, it's the kind of strategy you need to pursue. Because what you have to focus on is not whether you disagree with the jury. You don't get a new trial in front of a higher court where you can say, for example, that the jury should have disregarded what Douglas Faneuil, the government's star witness, had to say.
You have to focus in on narrowly on the legal rulings that the judge herself made and try to demonstrate why a specific ruling, such as including evidence that shouldn't have been included or excluding evidence that should have been allowed, those kind of things, were, one, wrong; and, two, were significant enough to the case that a new trial should be ordered.
So the defense is certainly heading down the right direction. But, Carol, these kind of appeals are obviously very uphill. COSTELLO: I know, but I think that, you know, some of our correspondents who are covering the trial talked to jurors afterward and they were kind of confused as to what they convicted Stewart of. I mean she was convicted of obstruction of justice, but some of them felt that they were punishing her for the actual trade.
COFFEY: Well, and I think that the defense had raised that issue even during jury -- the jury selection process, concern that the sense that it was all about insider trading was something that was going to continue to be a source of confusion.
But the essence of this issue -- and we haven't seen the briefs and all the appellate stuff is going to be done after sentencing -- but the essence of this issue is, look, if you're going to say that she should be convicted because she had a motive to cover-up, we ought to have been allowed that she did not believe she had committed a crime, there was no crime and that because she had not, in effect, the defense would say, committed any kind of crime with respect to insider trading, she didn't have a motive to cover-up and didn't have a motive to obstruct and we should have been allowed to discuss that with the jury.
So the issue is did the judge improperly tie the hands of the defense on what the defense would say is an essential part of their case?
COSTELLO: Well, we'll see if it works.
Kendall Coffey live on the phone from Miami this morning.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 6:45 Eastern time.
Here at latest headlines.
Crews sift through the rubble of a Baghdad hotel, site of yesterday's car bomb explosion. The U.S. military puts the death toll at 17.
The man accused of killing nine family members in Fresno will be back in court today. Yesterday's hearing was postponed because Marcus Wesson appeared without an attorney.
Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian opposes the death penalty. But he says if the death penalty is allowed, then doctors should be able to experiment on death row inmates before they die.
Your money, Fleet Boston Financial Corporation and Bank of America approve a $47 billion merger. It will create the nation's number three bank, but it may also result in up to 13,000 job cuts.
In sports, if it's March, it must be madness. The NCAA men's basketball tournament begins today with 16 of the 32 first round games. In culture, Britain's National Archives posts the wills of famous authors online this week. Among them, William Shakespeare, who bequeathed his second best bed to his wife.
And in weather, thunderstorms in the Southeast and snow expected in the Northeast.
Those are the headlines.
Your next update coming up on AMERICAN MORNING at the top of the hour.
Hey, speaking of AMERICAN MORNING -- are you guys ready?
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we sure are, actually.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
HEMMER: Waiting on you.
How are you, Carol?
O'BRIEN: Waiting on you, Carol.
COSTELLO: I know. It takes me a long time sometimes to get to you guys.
O'BRIEN: Oh, we're just kidding you.
HEMMER: Hey, listen, if you saw our coverage yesterday from Baghdad, just really spot on, Jane Arraf and her crew. And, you know, our folks in Baghdad brave so much every day and they were there all throughout the day yesterday, hours upon hours. Get you back there today with Walt Rodgers today in Baghdad. We'll talk with Dan Seymour and the brigadier general, David Kimmelt (ph), also, about what's happening today. So stay tuned for that.
O'BRIEN: And we're going to talk about politics and politics in the context of this violence yesterday. Senator Kerry was talking about President Bush. Vice President Dick Cheney was talking about Senator Kerry at the same time they were running side by side pictures of the Baghdad bombings.
HEMMER: That's right.
O'BRIEN: So the question is, of course, what exactly is the impact going to be of the violence and continuing violence on the election and the process following up to it?
HEMMER: Also, Carol, 24 hours ago we were talking about this deal in Las Vegas, this -- the suspect in the Ohio sniper shootings arrested. He was writing things on a bedding sheet, apparently, when a man struck up a conversation with him, called the police repeatedly...
O'BRIEN: He says 50 times. HEMMER: Yes. They finally believed him, they came out and they got him. So we're going to talk to a sergeant out there involved in that arrest and investigation. We'll have that for you.
Also, Jack's got a really good e-mail question today. It deals with Howard Stern, Mel Gibson and George Bush.
COSTELLO: Ooh.
O'BRIEN: All at once.
HEMMER: Jack has more on that at the top of the hour.
O'BRIEN: How weird is that?
COSTELLO: It should be very weird and interesting.
Thank you, Bill and Soledad.
HEMMER: You've got it.
See you, Carol.
COSTELLO: We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time for a little business buzz now.
Are you looking for love, but painfully shy? Help is on the way. Just make sure you have a cell phone.
Carrie Lee has more on this story live from the NASDAQ market site.
What does this have to do with business?
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's sort of one of these fun business stories. It's really interesting. This team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to reports, have put together this program called Serendipity. And the idea is you can use your cell phone to find a soul mate. Doesn't this sound romantic?
People can subscribe to a service which stores in their phones a personal profile, information on what they want most from a partner and when there are enough similarities between two people and they happen to be in close proximity, the service tells their phones to communicate with each other. So it's sort of an idea on the have my people call your people idea, have my phone call your phone idea.
Now, mobile phone networks have yet to show an interest in this new wireless technology. Some say it is the wave of the future. So if a mobile phone company does take this idea into the fold, well, it could potentially help their sales, help drum up some interest, I guess. I don't know, Carol. I know it's a cliche, a picture is worth a thousand words, but I think that's very apropos to something like this. If you can't see what somebody looks like, well, what's the interest going to be like?
But anyway, they've come up with this idea, MIT. They're calling it Serendipity. We'll see if it comes to a cell phone near you.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you.
Carrie Lee live from New York this morning.
All right, our coffee mug question of the morning. They're tough ones this morning. What county in Tennessee wants to ban gays from living there? And, two, the British Archives are putting William Shakespeare's will online? In it, he leaves his wife something. What is it?
E-mail your answers, daybreak@cnn.com. The first one with the right answers will win a beautiful DAYBREAK coffee mug.
Chad joins me for the Lightning Round, coming up.
But first, the latest headlines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Take a look at that graphic on the screen. Oh, well, it just flew by. But it said the average cost of a bridal gown is $900. But brides to be, take heart. Filene's Department Store holds its annual bridal gown sale. It's actually taking place today at its Atlanta store and, boy, is it ever popular. When the doors open at 8:00 Eastern this morning, the brides will come a running.
Live to the scene and our Bob Van -- Bob?
BOB VAN DILLEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes?
COSTELLO: Bob Van Dillen, you're out there at Filene's and look at all the ladies behind you.
VAN DILLEN: Hey, 1,000 ladies, Carol, all behind me, all scratching and clawing. If you look around, these are the ladies that got here first. And they got here yesterday afternoon at around 4:30. And it really wasn't a warm evening for Atlanta standards. It got down into the low 40s. So they bundled up and then that line goes way back around the corner. And there probably are between, I'd say, 500 to 1,000 people. Now there's probably more.
The doors actually open at 8:00. And the reason why, Carol, some of these dresses are usually on sale for $9,000, going on today for $699.99.
COSTELLO: That's it. I can't believe there are that many people there. VAN DILLEN: There's so many people here that Debbie -- she's the store manager -- she told me it takes them seven minutes to get every single one, the last person through the door. It's just a steady cattle call of people going in for seven minutes through two doors.
COSTELLO: Well, Bob, I have some advice for you.
VAN DILLEN: Yes?
COSTELLO: Do not get in the way when the doors open.
VAN DILLEN: No, I know. I want to know how many people are going to come out with a half a dress. No, I'm a size eight. No, you're a size eight.
COSTELLO: It can get pretty violent in there.
VAN DILLEN: Oh, it's going to get whacky. It's already starting, Carol. You can hear it now.
COSTELLO: My gosh. It's amazing.
VAN DILLEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: Oh, they're getting excited.
VAN DILLEN: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: Bob Van Dillen, I'm sure we'll have a -- we'll follow- up tomorrow.
Thank you for joining us on DAYBREAK.
VAN DILLEN: Indeed. We'll talk to you.
Yes.
COSTELLO: Chad, you have that cheesy effect out?
MYERS: I do.
COSTELLO: Oh, good. Thanks.
MYERS: I have one piece of advice for Bob if he's still listening. Don't call it a cattle call. That'll get you in trouble.
COSTELLO: That's true. That was a bad move.
MYERS: And he is married so he should know these things.
COSTELLO: Definitely.
All right, let's get on with our Lightning Round, shall we?
MYERS: All right, I'm ready. COSTELLO: Could you survive the sky? Couples in Singapore are competing for $30,000 by trying to live in these stomach turning cable cars for a week. They get a 10 minute break each day. I don't know how, but they do.
MYERS: Yikes.
COSTELLO: Sexy and urinal are not words you'd normally use in the same sentence, Chad. But that's how Virgin Airways describes these restroom fixtures in the new Club House at New York's JFK Airport.
MYERS: Yes, they are in the Club House. They are not in the public restrooms.
COSTELLO: Virgin Airways -- I mean why?
MYERS: Yes. I'm not sure
COSTELLO: You know, when they first showed me these pictures, I thought it was like in a porno store somewhere. But, no, it's at JFK.
MYERS: Well, it could be.
COSTELLO: It could be.
MYERS: But it's also (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
COSTELLO: It has a dual use.
Thousands of students, Chad, received an e-mail from U.C. Davis congratulating them on receiving a $30,000 scholarship.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: But it was a mistake, a clerical mistake.
MYERS: Ouch.
COSTELLO: The students weren't really getting any money at all, so the next thing from the university will be, I'm sorry to disappoint you. But cui being so excited, $30,000 in scholarship money, and then an oops letter?
MYERS: You've got a 1.2 grade point average and you get a Regents scholarship? I mean you've got to be living large.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
Thanks to you all for joining us this morning and for your fine e-mails.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
AMERICAN MORNING starts right now. MYERS: Two days till spring.
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