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CNN Live At Daybreak

Marine Offensive; Mother's Day Murders; Murder-Suicide?

Aired May 11, 2005 - 5:00   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: Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, scores are dead as another wave of suicide bombings washes over Iraq.
Plus, tears for two young girls. Police believe they know who killed the best friends, but they don't know why.

Also, targeting terrorists or illegal aliens, how a late-night vote on Capitol Hill might change your next trip to the DMV.

And listen to this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICK JAGGER, ROLLING STONES (SINGING): If you start me up I'll never stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Mick and the boys get ready. The Rolling Stones could be heading your way.

He's 61 now. I think he's older.

It is Wednesday, May 11. This is DAYBREAK.

Good morning to you. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.

"Now in the News," dozens of people are killed, scores wounded in at least six attacks in three Iraqi cities. Once again, Iraqi army and police forces are targeted by insurgents.

Was there an assassination attempt on President Bush yesterday? There is a report that a grenade was thrown at the president as he was giving his speech in Tbilisi. It supposedly landed 100 feet from the stage but did not explode. Georgia's security chief now says the grenade was inactive and was placed at the scene, not thrown. The Secret Service is investigating.

A bond hearing is set this morning for Jerry Hobbs. The 34-year- old ex-convict is charged with killing his 8-year-old daughter and her 9-year-old classmate in Zion, Illinois.

And the fury of nature in Kearney County, Nebraska. The National Weather Service says at least a dozen tornadoes touched down in central Nebraska. Some damage, but no deaths.

To the forecast center. Rob Marciano in for Chad Myers today.

Good morning.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Rob.

We start this morning in Iraq. The day is only half over there, and already it's been an exceptionally violent day. There have been six bombings, most of them suicide bombings. Fifty-three Iraqis have been killed, another 85 wounded.

Two suicide bombings were in Baghdad, along with one roadside bombing aimed at a U.S. military convoy. No American casualties reported.

Also in Baghdad, an attack outside of a police station on the city's south side. Six Iraqis, some of them police officers, were hurt.

A car bombing in the eastern neighborhood of New Baghdad wounded two Iraqis. And 135 miles north of Baghdad, one of today's deadliest attacks. It was carried out by a man with explosives hidden underneath his clothes. He detonated his bomb while standing in line with civilians lined up to join the Iraqi army. Thirty people died, 35 more were wounded.

And another 26 Iraqis were killed and 40 wounded in a car bombing in Tikrit. The explosion went off at a busy intersection where workers gather each morning to be picked up for day labor. Tikrit is Saddam Hussein's home town.

Now, all of these bombings come as the U.S. military enters another day of Operation Matador, an offensive aimed at insurgents and so-called foreign fighters near the Syrian border. Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These first fleeting glimpses from the front lines give a flavor of the remote area of western Iraq, where Operation Matador has been unfolding, but show nothing of the ferocity of the fighting of the past three days, as U.S. Marines engage a motivated and well-trained enemy.

BRIG. GEN. JAMES CONWAY, U.S. MARINE CORPS: There are reports that these people are in uniforms, in some cases are wearing protective vests. And there's some suspicion that their training exceeds that of what we have seen with other engagements further east.

MCINTYRE: According to journalists embedded with the U.S. force of some 1,000 Marines, the toughest battle came Monday during a night of gritty house-to-house urban warfare. JAMES JANEGA, REPORTER, CHICAGO TRIBUNE: In Ubaydi, it was face- to-face combat. The firing, as I said, was quite intense. They went there in armored personnel carriers with tanks. They had air support from F-18s and from Huey Cobra Gunships.

MCINTYRE: The operation kicked off Saturday when Marines crossed the Euphrates River and set up a blocking position south of the Iraqi town of Ramana (ph). But instead of running, the enemy stood and fought. So far, the U.S. says as many as 100 insurgents have been killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they are intending on being martyred, that has to be cranked into the equation with this particular enemy.

MCINTYRE: The Pentagon says since last November's Falluja offensive the center of resistance has moved west, regrouping in the desert area near the Syrian border, where smuggling routes provide easy access to money and arms. There has even been a reported sighting within the past three weeks of Iraq's most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. But he is said not to be a target of the operation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be a welcome event to come across him or his body and find him in that region, but that's -- that's not the purpose of the operation.

MCINTYRE (on camera): And in what appears to be a desperate move, rebels have kidnapped the governor of the region and are demanding an end to the U.S. offensive. The U.S. military says it doesn't deal with kidnappers. And some observers believe the abduction is related to a feud between the governor's tribe and one that backs Zarqawi.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Turning to matters of your security, $76 billion, big money, the Senate has approved spending that much for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The yays are 100, the nays are zero. The conference report is agreed to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So the Senate has approved spending $76 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but new driver's license rules tacked on to that spending bill creating some controversy this morning. Several states already complaining, saying they will have to pay big money for the new rules. Among them, preventing states from issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, establishing national standards for issuing driver's licenses, and funds for the construction of a fence along the border between California and Mexico.

Also in our "Security Watch," he allegedly tapped into the bank accounts of hundreds of people. A man has pleaded innocent in a Boston court to identity fraud. He's accused of secretly installing card readers and spy cameras around bank machines to steal pin numbers from ATM users.

Officials say he stole at least $400,000, targeting places in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The man, a Romanian national is also wanted in Canada.

Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Turning now to the gruesome killings of two little girls in Zion, Illinois. People in that small community are mourning with the families of the second grade girls who were found stabbed to death. Residents held a prayer vigil, walking from one slain girl's home to the other.

The father of one of the victims has now been charged in the killings. He will appear in court this morning.

CNN's Chris Lawrence has more details on the Mother's Day murders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police and prosecutors believe they can answer the question of who killed these little girls, but not why.

MICHAEL WALLER, LAKE COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY: There's no rational explanation or reasonable motive that can be ascribed to an act of horror like this.

LAWRENCE: The accused is the father of one of the victims and the man who reported finding their bodies. Jerry Hobbs has a criminal record going back 15 years in Texas. Most recently, he was convicted of aggravated assault and spent several years in prison. He was released about four weeks ago and moved here to Illinois.

WALLER: He's charged with the stabbing and beating death of both girls, which occurred on Mother's Day.

LAWRENCE: Hobbs' daughter disappeared on Mother's Day while she was playing with her best friend. On Monday morning, the bodies of Laura Hobbs and Krystal Tobias were discovered in a nearby park. The second-graders had been stabbed to death and left in the thick woods well off the bike path.

Zion is a small town north of Chicago. Parents here were stunned and scared, thinking some sort of random killer could be loose in their neighborhood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our kids aren't even going outside our home until they find out who did it.

LAWRENCE: The murders changed everything here, with the school assigning escorts to students and parents literally walking their kids to the front door.

(on camera): We mentioned that conviction for aggravated assaulted. Well, court records show Jerry Hobbs got into an argument with Laura's mom and then started chasing other people around with a running chainsaw. Prosecutors will look at criminal history like that when decided whether to pursue the death penalty.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Zion, Illinois.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: In other news "Across America" this morning, Atlanta courthouse shooting suspect Brian Nichols has received official notice from a prosecutor that he will seek the death penalty. Nichols is charged in the March shooting deaths of four people, including a judge. His arraignment is scheduled for next Tuesday.

Also in Atlanta, a cold case investigation into the Atlanta child murders heats up. Wayne Williams was convicted of killing two young men and suspected in 27 other killings of black boys and men a quarter century ago. This afternoon, the DeKalb County police chief will hold a news conference to discuss the reopened investigation of four of the killings.

New Mexico police have issued an Amber Alert for 16-month-old Justin Black. The toddler's mother was found dead hours after police answered a call about an argument between the woman and her husband. When police went back to the home, the child was missing and the husband was gone.

And at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, a collision between two planes. One Northwest Airlines plane was heading to the gate when it hit another that was backing away from the terminal. An airport commission official says it appears the incoming plane had steering control problems. No serious injuries reported there.

Well, you've sat in it, you've cursed at it, and you don't have to live in a really big city to face it. What is it? Traffic.

A new study shows traffic congestion is getting worse, and not just in places like Los Angeles or New York. Take Omaha, Nebraska. It's on a growing list of cities where drivers spend what amounts to almost a full day in gridlock each year.

There were five such places in 1982. Now there are 51. And that brings us to our DAYBREAK e-mail "Question of the Day." What's the solution to traffic?

We're going to talk to a traffic expert in the next hour of DAYBREAK. So if you want to pose some questions, please do. But what's the answer? Is it new subways, new metro systems? Do too many people drive? And do you really think that people will give up their cars even if it was easy to take mass transit to work? I don't think so. I think Americans love their cares and the freedom, and maybe we're to blame for traffic congestion.

Who knows. We want to know what you think this morning, DAYBREAK@CNN.com. That's DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

MARCIANO: It's not good for us, Carol, because the more time people spend in their cars, the less time they're watching TV.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

MARCIANO: Even though CNN is on satellite radio.

COSTELLO: Although -- although, people leave really early for work to avoid the traffic.

MARCIANO: Right.

COSTELLO: So they do watch DAYBREAK. So in that sense...

MARCIANO: Is that why the show starts in 5:00 in the morning?

COSTELLO: Yes. That's a big reason why news organizations are starting their news earlier, because they realize people leave early to avoid traffic. So here we are.

MARCIANO: Well, you know, the more -- the more the population explodes, at some point we're going to run out of real estate for parking spaces and just roads. So we might be forced to have better mass transit systems, and some cities are implementing that with some success. But...

COSTELLO: And for some reason, people -- you know, people are moving to the burbs because it's too expensive to live in the city. So that makes the population in the burbs swell. Of course they don't have enough roads to accommodate the new people, so there's no planning that goes into that, and that's also a problem.

So what is your solution?

MARCIANO: We should ask the Beatles. I think maybe just that song may -- may help us out.

COSTELLO: I just want to kick back and listen to the song this morning.

MARCIANO: Good e-mail question. I look forward to some of those answers.

COSTELLO: Yes. DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

Coming up later on DAYBREAK this hour, hundreds of fakes are sparking real fears, and they have FBI agents scrambling.

Also, can the sense of smell give us -- give us a sense of someone's sexual orientation? A new study sniffs out a link.

And start 'em up again. The Rolling Stones just can't seem to stop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAGGER: And so, if you've got any questions...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Mick Jagger is 61 years old. We'll tell you more about the new tour, but first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The international markets are on a downslide this morning. Tokyo's Nikkei lower by just about 39 points. The London FTSE down just over 21. The German Dax up over 11.5.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:17 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Congress passes tougher and more uniform standards for getting a driver's license. Critics say those standards basically create a national I.D. card. The measure was tacked onto a war spending bill.

Dozens of casualties in Iraq this morning. Six bombing attacks have killed more than 50 Iraqis and wounded more than 80. The attack struck Baghdad and two northern cities.

In money news, if you like downloading songs off the Internet, you have a new option. Yahoo! has launched an online music service using lower prices to compete with Napster and other companies.

In culture, he'll pick the winning gal and you will see it live. Monday's season finale of ABC's "The Bachelor" will be shown live. Unlike past seasons, bachelor Charlie O'Connell will bestow the final rose. And I suppose they're doing that because nobody's watching "The Bachelor" these days.

In sports, Bellamy Road will be out to pasture for a few months. The former Kentucky Derby favorite is off the Triple Crown trail, sidelined by a minor hoof injury. He finished a disappointing seventh in the derby.

That was the problem for him in the derby -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Hey, a beautiful horse, though. Isn't it amazing? They're just amazing.

COSTELLO: That was the Steinbrenner horse.

MARCIANO: Hey, that's my guy. You know, he's not having -- he's not having much luck today -- or this year. Yanks below 500, horse not doing well. COSTELLO: Yes, but didn't the Yankees just win three or four in a row?

MARCIANO: Yes. It's still early. Don't worry. They'll be in come September.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Rob.

That's a look at the latest headlines this morning.

In California, the tragedy of an entire family found shot to death. Six bodies were found, each with a bullet to the head. And as CNN's Ted Rowlands reports, the man at the center of the case is an investigator for the district attorney's office.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The sister of one of the six victims arrived at the scene, clearly distraught as investigators at first kept her from the house where the murders took place. It started with a 911 call at 4:30 a.m. from inside this rural mountain home near Palm Springs. It led to the discovery of six bodies, three adults and three children, all, according to investigators, victims of gunshot wounds to the head.

A 14-year-old boy, a 10-year-old girl and an 8-year-old girl were found in their beds, as was a woman in her 40s and a woman in her 60s, believed to be the children's mother and grandmother.

SHERIFF BOB DOYLE, RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA: The phone, initially hitting the wall, and then a gunshot. That was all that the dispatcher heard when that 911 call came in.

ROWLANDS: Near the phone with a handgun next to his body, according to the sheriff, was David McGowan, an investigator who worked for the local district attorney. While the sheriff says this case is being investigated as a mass homicide, he says it's possible McGowan killed his wife, his mother-in-law, his three children, and then himself.

BOYLE: He'd been with the district attorney's office for at least five years, and, you know, this -- it hits home. And it's very -- emotionally, a lot of people are distraught about it.

ROWLANDS (on camera): If McGowan did kill his family, it is unclear why. According to neighbors here in this quiet mountain community, he was a "nice guy," who always used to have a smile on his face. And according to the sheriff, there were no documented problems with McGowan at work.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Mountain Center, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: A massive bust in New York shows authorities just how good the bad guys really are. We'll tell you what they're good at doing ahead on DAYBREAK.

And later, singer-songwriter Jill Scott has won a Grammy for her music. Now we will hear what she has to say in a different voice. That's just ahead.

You are watching DAYBREAK for Wednesday, May 11.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's time for some "Late Night Laughs," Rob.

MARCIANO: What do you have for us? One of our -- one of our own was on a late night show?

COSTELLO: Yes, on the late, late, late, "Late Show."

MARCIANO: Did that just end? Is it (INAUDIBLE)?

COSTELLO: Actually, I think it just did.

MARCIANO: What show?

COSTELLO: In some markets, anyway.

MARCIANO: Sanjay was on, huh?

COSTELLO: Sanjay Gupta was on "The Late Show With Craig Ferguson." And they got around to talking about brain surgery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG FERGUSON, "THE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON": Are brain surgeons really smarter than regular folk? Are you really, really, very, very smart?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No. I mean, you know, with all due respect to all my colleagues...

FERGUSON: Yes?

GUPTA: ... I think that -- one of my attendings (ph), one of my professors always said that you could teach a monkey how to operate. Now, what makes a good -- no, seriously.

FERGUSON: That's one smart monkey, my friend.

GUPTA: Smart monkey.

FERGUSON: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

GUPTA: But what makes a good doctor, a good brain surgeon, I think, is compassion, spending time with your patients, all the things that make a good doctor, period.

FERGUSON: Well, monkeys aren't compassionate. They're angry.

GUPTA: No, they're just good -- right, with their hands.

FERGUSON: They throw crap at you.

GUPTA: They throw crap.

FERGUSON: At L.A.'s zoo, they throw their own crap. They throw it.

GUPTA: Does this happen to you?

FERGUSON: It did happen to me last week, actually.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I don't know. I'd want my brain surgeon to be smarter than the next guy.

MARCIANO: Yes, I prefer him to be smart. And Sanjay's compassionate, so he makes a good brain surgeon.

COSTELLO: Who cares about compassion if they're operating on my brain?

MARCIANO: Who's that -- who's that -- who's that guy? He took over for Craig Kilborn, I suppose? Is that -- what's his...

COSTELLO: Man, you are like out of it.

MARCIANO: Well, listen, you know, I sleep. I try to, at least. He's funny, though.

COSTELLO: I know. Yes, Craig Ferguson took over.

MARCIANO: OK.

COSTELLO: And the other guy left, I don't know, six or seven months ago. So it was a big thing because, you know...

MARCIANO: Well, that's pretty good. I'm usually one or two years behind pop culture.

COSTELLO: He was on the "The Drew Carey Show," remember? He was the boss.

MARCIANO: Right.

COSTELLO: Craig Ferguson.

MARCIANO: Yes.

COSTELLO: Anyway, Sanjay...

MARCIANO: You just keep me informed.

COSTELLO: I know. I know, I have a lot of trivial information stored in my brain. But Dr. Sanjay, he is incredibly smart.

MARCIANO: Yes, very much so.

COSTELLO: Yes. He was selling himself way short. And he has a special on this weekend about crime scene investigations.

MARCIANO: On CNN.

COSTELLO: So it should be pretty interesting.

Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Opener" right now.

Highway mayhem in North Carolina. A truck carrying chickens overturned -- overturned near Siler City and caught fire. The driver was taken to the hospital. He's in fair condition this morning, but the road had to be closed for almost five hours to clean up the mess.

Meet Ohio high school senior Adam Rosenberg, all decked out for his high school prom in cowboy gear to honor his recently deceased grandfather. But Adam's outfit did not meet the dress standards at his school. No, he was turned away at the door. Adam now wants a ticket refund.

North Carolina Governor Mike Easley got behind the wheel of a NASCAR -- a NASCAR car to promote racing in his state. Bad idea. He lost control and slammed into a curb. Later, he had to swerve to miss another vehicle.

It's a tough job being governor, especially when you can't drive very well. That's just embarrassing.

Here's what's all new in the next half-hour of DAYBREAK.

A New York City bust finds an assortment of fakes that's almost good enough to fool officers.

Plus, some new research about the way you smell and the connection it may have to the person you're sexually attracted to.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired May 11, 2005 - 5:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, scores are dead as another wave of suicide bombings washes over Iraq.
Plus, tears for two young girls. Police believe they know who killed the best friends, but they don't know why.

Also, targeting terrorists or illegal aliens, how a late-night vote on Capitol Hill might change your next trip to the DMV.

And listen to this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICK JAGGER, ROLLING STONES (SINGING): If you start me up I'll never stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Mick and the boys get ready. The Rolling Stones could be heading your way.

He's 61 now. I think he's older.

It is Wednesday, May 11. This is DAYBREAK.

Good morning to you. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.

"Now in the News," dozens of people are killed, scores wounded in at least six attacks in three Iraqi cities. Once again, Iraqi army and police forces are targeted by insurgents.

Was there an assassination attempt on President Bush yesterday? There is a report that a grenade was thrown at the president as he was giving his speech in Tbilisi. It supposedly landed 100 feet from the stage but did not explode. Georgia's security chief now says the grenade was inactive and was placed at the scene, not thrown. The Secret Service is investigating.

A bond hearing is set this morning for Jerry Hobbs. The 34-year- old ex-convict is charged with killing his 8-year-old daughter and her 9-year-old classmate in Zion, Illinois.

And the fury of nature in Kearney County, Nebraska. The National Weather Service says at least a dozen tornadoes touched down in central Nebraska. Some damage, but no deaths.

To the forecast center. Rob Marciano in for Chad Myers today.

Good morning.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Rob.

We start this morning in Iraq. The day is only half over there, and already it's been an exceptionally violent day. There have been six bombings, most of them suicide bombings. Fifty-three Iraqis have been killed, another 85 wounded.

Two suicide bombings were in Baghdad, along with one roadside bombing aimed at a U.S. military convoy. No American casualties reported.

Also in Baghdad, an attack outside of a police station on the city's south side. Six Iraqis, some of them police officers, were hurt.

A car bombing in the eastern neighborhood of New Baghdad wounded two Iraqis. And 135 miles north of Baghdad, one of today's deadliest attacks. It was carried out by a man with explosives hidden underneath his clothes. He detonated his bomb while standing in line with civilians lined up to join the Iraqi army. Thirty people died, 35 more were wounded.

And another 26 Iraqis were killed and 40 wounded in a car bombing in Tikrit. The explosion went off at a busy intersection where workers gather each morning to be picked up for day labor. Tikrit is Saddam Hussein's home town.

Now, all of these bombings come as the U.S. military enters another day of Operation Matador, an offensive aimed at insurgents and so-called foreign fighters near the Syrian border. Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These first fleeting glimpses from the front lines give a flavor of the remote area of western Iraq, where Operation Matador has been unfolding, but show nothing of the ferocity of the fighting of the past three days, as U.S. Marines engage a motivated and well-trained enemy.

BRIG. GEN. JAMES CONWAY, U.S. MARINE CORPS: There are reports that these people are in uniforms, in some cases are wearing protective vests. And there's some suspicion that their training exceeds that of what we have seen with other engagements further east.

MCINTYRE: According to journalists embedded with the U.S. force of some 1,000 Marines, the toughest battle came Monday during a night of gritty house-to-house urban warfare. JAMES JANEGA, REPORTER, CHICAGO TRIBUNE: In Ubaydi, it was face- to-face combat. The firing, as I said, was quite intense. They went there in armored personnel carriers with tanks. They had air support from F-18s and from Huey Cobra Gunships.

MCINTYRE: The operation kicked off Saturday when Marines crossed the Euphrates River and set up a blocking position south of the Iraqi town of Ramana (ph). But instead of running, the enemy stood and fought. So far, the U.S. says as many as 100 insurgents have been killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they are intending on being martyred, that has to be cranked into the equation with this particular enemy.

MCINTYRE: The Pentagon says since last November's Falluja offensive the center of resistance has moved west, regrouping in the desert area near the Syrian border, where smuggling routes provide easy access to money and arms. There has even been a reported sighting within the past three weeks of Iraq's most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. But he is said not to be a target of the operation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be a welcome event to come across him or his body and find him in that region, but that's -- that's not the purpose of the operation.

MCINTYRE (on camera): And in what appears to be a desperate move, rebels have kidnapped the governor of the region and are demanding an end to the U.S. offensive. The U.S. military says it doesn't deal with kidnappers. And some observers believe the abduction is related to a feud between the governor's tribe and one that backs Zarqawi.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Turning to matters of your security, $76 billion, big money, the Senate has approved spending that much for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The yays are 100, the nays are zero. The conference report is agreed to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So the Senate has approved spending $76 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but new driver's license rules tacked on to that spending bill creating some controversy this morning. Several states already complaining, saying they will have to pay big money for the new rules. Among them, preventing states from issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, establishing national standards for issuing driver's licenses, and funds for the construction of a fence along the border between California and Mexico.

Also in our "Security Watch," he allegedly tapped into the bank accounts of hundreds of people. A man has pleaded innocent in a Boston court to identity fraud. He's accused of secretly installing card readers and spy cameras around bank machines to steal pin numbers from ATM users.

Officials say he stole at least $400,000, targeting places in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The man, a Romanian national is also wanted in Canada.

Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Turning now to the gruesome killings of two little girls in Zion, Illinois. People in that small community are mourning with the families of the second grade girls who were found stabbed to death. Residents held a prayer vigil, walking from one slain girl's home to the other.

The father of one of the victims has now been charged in the killings. He will appear in court this morning.

CNN's Chris Lawrence has more details on the Mother's Day murders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police and prosecutors believe they can answer the question of who killed these little girls, but not why.

MICHAEL WALLER, LAKE COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY: There's no rational explanation or reasonable motive that can be ascribed to an act of horror like this.

LAWRENCE: The accused is the father of one of the victims and the man who reported finding their bodies. Jerry Hobbs has a criminal record going back 15 years in Texas. Most recently, he was convicted of aggravated assault and spent several years in prison. He was released about four weeks ago and moved here to Illinois.

WALLER: He's charged with the stabbing and beating death of both girls, which occurred on Mother's Day.

LAWRENCE: Hobbs' daughter disappeared on Mother's Day while she was playing with her best friend. On Monday morning, the bodies of Laura Hobbs and Krystal Tobias were discovered in a nearby park. The second-graders had been stabbed to death and left in the thick woods well off the bike path.

Zion is a small town north of Chicago. Parents here were stunned and scared, thinking some sort of random killer could be loose in their neighborhood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our kids aren't even going outside our home until they find out who did it.

LAWRENCE: The murders changed everything here, with the school assigning escorts to students and parents literally walking their kids to the front door.

(on camera): We mentioned that conviction for aggravated assaulted. Well, court records show Jerry Hobbs got into an argument with Laura's mom and then started chasing other people around with a running chainsaw. Prosecutors will look at criminal history like that when decided whether to pursue the death penalty.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Zion, Illinois.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: In other news "Across America" this morning, Atlanta courthouse shooting suspect Brian Nichols has received official notice from a prosecutor that he will seek the death penalty. Nichols is charged in the March shooting deaths of four people, including a judge. His arraignment is scheduled for next Tuesday.

Also in Atlanta, a cold case investigation into the Atlanta child murders heats up. Wayne Williams was convicted of killing two young men and suspected in 27 other killings of black boys and men a quarter century ago. This afternoon, the DeKalb County police chief will hold a news conference to discuss the reopened investigation of four of the killings.

New Mexico police have issued an Amber Alert for 16-month-old Justin Black. The toddler's mother was found dead hours after police answered a call about an argument between the woman and her husband. When police went back to the home, the child was missing and the husband was gone.

And at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, a collision between two planes. One Northwest Airlines plane was heading to the gate when it hit another that was backing away from the terminal. An airport commission official says it appears the incoming plane had steering control problems. No serious injuries reported there.

Well, you've sat in it, you've cursed at it, and you don't have to live in a really big city to face it. What is it? Traffic.

A new study shows traffic congestion is getting worse, and not just in places like Los Angeles or New York. Take Omaha, Nebraska. It's on a growing list of cities where drivers spend what amounts to almost a full day in gridlock each year.

There were five such places in 1982. Now there are 51. And that brings us to our DAYBREAK e-mail "Question of the Day." What's the solution to traffic?

We're going to talk to a traffic expert in the next hour of DAYBREAK. So if you want to pose some questions, please do. But what's the answer? Is it new subways, new metro systems? Do too many people drive? And do you really think that people will give up their cars even if it was easy to take mass transit to work? I don't think so. I think Americans love their cares and the freedom, and maybe we're to blame for traffic congestion.

Who knows. We want to know what you think this morning, DAYBREAK@CNN.com. That's DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

MARCIANO: It's not good for us, Carol, because the more time people spend in their cars, the less time they're watching TV.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

MARCIANO: Even though CNN is on satellite radio.

COSTELLO: Although -- although, people leave really early for work to avoid the traffic.

MARCIANO: Right.

COSTELLO: So they do watch DAYBREAK. So in that sense...

MARCIANO: Is that why the show starts in 5:00 in the morning?

COSTELLO: Yes. That's a big reason why news organizations are starting their news earlier, because they realize people leave early to avoid traffic. So here we are.

MARCIANO: Well, you know, the more -- the more the population explodes, at some point we're going to run out of real estate for parking spaces and just roads. So we might be forced to have better mass transit systems, and some cities are implementing that with some success. But...

COSTELLO: And for some reason, people -- you know, people are moving to the burbs because it's too expensive to live in the city. So that makes the population in the burbs swell. Of course they don't have enough roads to accommodate the new people, so there's no planning that goes into that, and that's also a problem.

So what is your solution?

MARCIANO: We should ask the Beatles. I think maybe just that song may -- may help us out.

COSTELLO: I just want to kick back and listen to the song this morning.

MARCIANO: Good e-mail question. I look forward to some of those answers.

COSTELLO: Yes. DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

Coming up later on DAYBREAK this hour, hundreds of fakes are sparking real fears, and they have FBI agents scrambling.

Also, can the sense of smell give us -- give us a sense of someone's sexual orientation? A new study sniffs out a link.

And start 'em up again. The Rolling Stones just can't seem to stop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAGGER: And so, if you've got any questions...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Mick Jagger is 61 years old. We'll tell you more about the new tour, but first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The international markets are on a downslide this morning. Tokyo's Nikkei lower by just about 39 points. The London FTSE down just over 21. The German Dax up over 11.5.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:17 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Congress passes tougher and more uniform standards for getting a driver's license. Critics say those standards basically create a national I.D. card. The measure was tacked onto a war spending bill.

Dozens of casualties in Iraq this morning. Six bombing attacks have killed more than 50 Iraqis and wounded more than 80. The attack struck Baghdad and two northern cities.

In money news, if you like downloading songs off the Internet, you have a new option. Yahoo! has launched an online music service using lower prices to compete with Napster and other companies.

In culture, he'll pick the winning gal and you will see it live. Monday's season finale of ABC's "The Bachelor" will be shown live. Unlike past seasons, bachelor Charlie O'Connell will bestow the final rose. And I suppose they're doing that because nobody's watching "The Bachelor" these days.

In sports, Bellamy Road will be out to pasture for a few months. The former Kentucky Derby favorite is off the Triple Crown trail, sidelined by a minor hoof injury. He finished a disappointing seventh in the derby.

That was the problem for him in the derby -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Hey, a beautiful horse, though. Isn't it amazing? They're just amazing.

COSTELLO: That was the Steinbrenner horse.

MARCIANO: Hey, that's my guy. You know, he's not having -- he's not having much luck today -- or this year. Yanks below 500, horse not doing well. COSTELLO: Yes, but didn't the Yankees just win three or four in a row?

MARCIANO: Yes. It's still early. Don't worry. They'll be in come September.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Rob.

That's a look at the latest headlines this morning.

In California, the tragedy of an entire family found shot to death. Six bodies were found, each with a bullet to the head. And as CNN's Ted Rowlands reports, the man at the center of the case is an investigator for the district attorney's office.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The sister of one of the six victims arrived at the scene, clearly distraught as investigators at first kept her from the house where the murders took place. It started with a 911 call at 4:30 a.m. from inside this rural mountain home near Palm Springs. It led to the discovery of six bodies, three adults and three children, all, according to investigators, victims of gunshot wounds to the head.

A 14-year-old boy, a 10-year-old girl and an 8-year-old girl were found in their beds, as was a woman in her 40s and a woman in her 60s, believed to be the children's mother and grandmother.

SHERIFF BOB DOYLE, RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA: The phone, initially hitting the wall, and then a gunshot. That was all that the dispatcher heard when that 911 call came in.

ROWLANDS: Near the phone with a handgun next to his body, according to the sheriff, was David McGowan, an investigator who worked for the local district attorney. While the sheriff says this case is being investigated as a mass homicide, he says it's possible McGowan killed his wife, his mother-in-law, his three children, and then himself.

BOYLE: He'd been with the district attorney's office for at least five years, and, you know, this -- it hits home. And it's very -- emotionally, a lot of people are distraught about it.

ROWLANDS (on camera): If McGowan did kill his family, it is unclear why. According to neighbors here in this quiet mountain community, he was a "nice guy," who always used to have a smile on his face. And according to the sheriff, there were no documented problems with McGowan at work.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Mountain Center, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: A massive bust in New York shows authorities just how good the bad guys really are. We'll tell you what they're good at doing ahead on DAYBREAK.

And later, singer-songwriter Jill Scott has won a Grammy for her music. Now we will hear what she has to say in a different voice. That's just ahead.

You are watching DAYBREAK for Wednesday, May 11.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's time for some "Late Night Laughs," Rob.

MARCIANO: What do you have for us? One of our -- one of our own was on a late night show?

COSTELLO: Yes, on the late, late, late, "Late Show."

MARCIANO: Did that just end? Is it (INAUDIBLE)?

COSTELLO: Actually, I think it just did.

MARCIANO: What show?

COSTELLO: In some markets, anyway.

MARCIANO: Sanjay was on, huh?

COSTELLO: Sanjay Gupta was on "The Late Show With Craig Ferguson." And they got around to talking about brain surgery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG FERGUSON, "THE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON": Are brain surgeons really smarter than regular folk? Are you really, really, very, very smart?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No. I mean, you know, with all due respect to all my colleagues...

FERGUSON: Yes?

GUPTA: ... I think that -- one of my attendings (ph), one of my professors always said that you could teach a monkey how to operate. Now, what makes a good -- no, seriously.

FERGUSON: That's one smart monkey, my friend.

GUPTA: Smart monkey.

FERGUSON: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

GUPTA: But what makes a good doctor, a good brain surgeon, I think, is compassion, spending time with your patients, all the things that make a good doctor, period.

FERGUSON: Well, monkeys aren't compassionate. They're angry.

GUPTA: No, they're just good -- right, with their hands.

FERGUSON: They throw crap at you.

GUPTA: They throw crap.

FERGUSON: At L.A.'s zoo, they throw their own crap. They throw it.

GUPTA: Does this happen to you?

FERGUSON: It did happen to me last week, actually.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I don't know. I'd want my brain surgeon to be smarter than the next guy.

MARCIANO: Yes, I prefer him to be smart. And Sanjay's compassionate, so he makes a good brain surgeon.

COSTELLO: Who cares about compassion if they're operating on my brain?

MARCIANO: Who's that -- who's that -- who's that guy? He took over for Craig Kilborn, I suppose? Is that -- what's his...

COSTELLO: Man, you are like out of it.

MARCIANO: Well, listen, you know, I sleep. I try to, at least. He's funny, though.

COSTELLO: I know. Yes, Craig Ferguson took over.

MARCIANO: OK.

COSTELLO: And the other guy left, I don't know, six or seven months ago. So it was a big thing because, you know...

MARCIANO: Well, that's pretty good. I'm usually one or two years behind pop culture.

COSTELLO: He was on the "The Drew Carey Show," remember? He was the boss.

MARCIANO: Right.

COSTELLO: Craig Ferguson.

MARCIANO: Yes.

COSTELLO: Anyway, Sanjay...

MARCIANO: You just keep me informed.

COSTELLO: I know. I know, I have a lot of trivial information stored in my brain. But Dr. Sanjay, he is incredibly smart.

MARCIANO: Yes, very much so.

COSTELLO: Yes. He was selling himself way short. And he has a special on this weekend about crime scene investigations.

MARCIANO: On CNN.

COSTELLO: So it should be pretty interesting.

Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Opener" right now.

Highway mayhem in North Carolina. A truck carrying chickens overturned -- overturned near Siler City and caught fire. The driver was taken to the hospital. He's in fair condition this morning, but the road had to be closed for almost five hours to clean up the mess.

Meet Ohio high school senior Adam Rosenberg, all decked out for his high school prom in cowboy gear to honor his recently deceased grandfather. But Adam's outfit did not meet the dress standards at his school. No, he was turned away at the door. Adam now wants a ticket refund.

North Carolina Governor Mike Easley got behind the wheel of a NASCAR -- a NASCAR car to promote racing in his state. Bad idea. He lost control and slammed into a curb. Later, he had to swerve to miss another vehicle.

It's a tough job being governor, especially when you can't drive very well. That's just embarrassing.

Here's what's all new in the next half-hour of DAYBREAK.

A New York City bust finds an assortment of fakes that's almost good enough to fool officers.

Plus, some new research about the way you smell and the connection it may have to the person you're sexually attracted to.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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