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Bloody Attack in Fallujah Leaves Four U.S. Civilian Contractors, five U.S. Troops Dead
Aired March 31, 2004 - 14:30 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is LIVE FROM...
A sixth grader's fight to keep her head scarf. A case pitting religious freedom against public school dress codes could have national implications.
He idolizes Greg Norman, he's been compared to Tiger Woods and he has a crazy shoe collection. In just a few minutes, we're saying good day, mate, to PGA Tour golfer Adam Scott.
Top stories we're following for you first -- carnage in the heartland of the Iraqi resistance. Four American civilian contractors killed in brutal attacks in Fallujah. The White House condemned the killings and insisted it will not back away from its mission in Iraq.
A Canadian connection? Authorities there say that this man has been arrested for alleged terrorism-related activities in Ottawa and London. He's 29-year-old Mohammed Kowajah, a Canadian-born software developer. His arrest comes a day after anti-terror raids in England.
Back on the job. Attorney general John Ashcroft returned to office today, three weeks after undergoing gallbladder surgery. He was in the hospital for about a week and has been recuperating at home since then.
Making the rounds. Leaving his legal problems behind him, Michael Jackson is on Capitol Hill for a second day to talk about fighting AIDS in Africa. He's meeting with lawmakers but was turned down for a meeting with the full Congressional Black Caucus.
Today's bloody attack in Fallujah left four U.S. civilian contractors dead and five U.S. troops were killed, raising the casualty count for American troops in Iraq to 600.
Joining from Tucson to talk more about the options that are faced in the ongoing hostilities in the so-called Sunni Triangle, retired Major General Don Shepperd. General, great to see you.
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Hello, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk about Fallujah. What's going on and why is it being referred to as the Wild West? SHEPPERD: Well, the Wild West is a little bit different than we're thinking of the Wild West. This is the Wild West armed with Rocket-Propelled Grenades, grenades themselves, heavy weapons, if you will and improvised explosive devices.
Kyra, if you can set the situation up a little bit, Baghdad, there is Highway 10 that runs west of Baghdad, past the airport. Runs through Fallujah, al Habinah (ph) and then to Aramadi.
That's the southern side of the Ba'athist or Sunni Triangle. It's an extremely desperate area because they were on top of for 35 years, the heart of the Ba'athist and Sunni people.
They've now lost everything. They don't think they have a hope in the new Iraq. The situation is not military, but rather giving them a stake in the new Iraq.
PHILLIPS: What were civilian vehicles doing without an escort?
SHEPPERD: Great question. That's the first question I'd have to anybody in the area there. We know how dangerous Fallujah is. Why were two civilian vehicles going through there with contractors and not escorted? Did anybody know they were coming? Is this a regular habit pattern of passing through at this time of day?
I would have all of those question because everybody knows it's a dangerous area.
You'll also note we have toned down the number of military operations in that area and basically are working with the tribal leaders in the city officials rather than going house to house like we used it do, because it's so dangerous. Any time the military is there in there, we go in with overwhelming force.
So I've got the question you just asked, why two civilian vehicles are going through there unescorted.
PHILLIPS: In Fallujah, economics are not good at all, there is not a lot of jobs. Is this what's making it a hotbed for this type of terrorism? Why is it so much different from other parts of Iraq right now?
SHEPPERD: Partly that. Remember, this is the heart of the support for Saddam Hussein during his 35 years on top. When I was there recently on a trip, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez made it very clear, we cannot provide security in Iraq. The Iraqis must do so and we must train their police to take over and provide their own security.
However, the key to getting the support of the Sunnis -- and this Ba'athist Triangle, if will you, is making sure they understand they will have a role and a future in the new Iraq and it will be better than what they're doing now.
Further, they're not going to drive the U.S. out and they're not going to prevent an Iraqi government of some type of taking over and proceeding toward democracy. It's a tough order to get that all done, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Is security slowly slipping out of control?
SHEPPERD: I don't think it is. I think we can expect to see accelerated attacks until sovereignty is turned over to the Iraqis on June 30.
That is going to happen. It's going to be turned over probably to an expanded Iraqi Governing Council. You'll see accelerated attacks to keep that from happening and you will also see accelerated attacks thinking that perhaps the U.S. can be driven through public opinion in a presidential election year. I think you'll see more and more attacks.
PHILLIPS: Retired Major General Don Shepperd, thanks again for your time.
Plan of attack for Iraq before 9/11. New details are coming out about Operation Desert Badger. In light of the recent 9/11 hearings, it could have the White House answering more questions. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Frustrated that Iraqi gunners were shooting at American planes, within weeks of coming into office, President Bush approved war plans for a massive retaliatory attack on Iraq if a U.S. pilot had been shot down.
CNN has learned that the secret plan Operation Desert Badger called for escalating air strikes within four to eight hours of a shootdown. Pentagon sources say a long list of targets across the country would be hit, crippling Iraqi air defenses and command and control. The plan went far beyond the Clinton administration's 1998 Operation Desert Fox, which hit 100 targets in four days.
President Bush revealed Desert Badger's existence in January, responding to criticism he planned to invade Iraq from the beginning.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Like the previous administration, we were for regime change. And in the initial stages of the administration, you might remember, we were dealing with Desert Badger or flyovers, and fly-betweens and looks.
And so we were fashioning policy along those lines.
STARR: One defense official familiar with the plan says, "If a plane got shot down, that was the trigger, we were going in." Over time, the source said, Operation Desert Badger evolved into a more robust plan for attacking the regime.
The president would have quickly decided whether to take the next step, approving a small number of ground troops to secure key areas. At the time, only a few thousand troops were in nearby Kuwait. Sources tell CNN Operation Desert Badger was not a plan to invade Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld says the new options were justified by the threat.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We packaged them, we pre- cleared them with the president, and we were cocked and ready to do a variety of different things in the event something occurred that fit one of those possible unfortunate possibilities.
STARR (on camera): The new details about the scope and intent of Operation Desert Badger may raise even more questions about whether the Bush administration was paying too much attention to Iraq before 9/11.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: This just in to CNN. We are being told that Audrey Seiler, the 20-year-old University of Wisconsin college student that we had been talking about, reported missing.
After looking at the surveillance tape that was released, we are told now that she has been found and she is with her parents at this time. There were some earlier incidents about an assault on this same student prior to the disappearance of Audrey Seiler.
We are now being told, however, she has been found. She is with her parents. More details are coming in. When we have them, we'll bring them to you.
The commander in chief takes some time out today to welcome baseball's best at the White House.
And speaking of the best, Adam Scott in the house. If you haven't seen him, well, you got to see him on the green. Here is that shot. Courtesy of NBC Sports, of courts. You want to few tips? Stick around. He's on his way to the Master's.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Rebel without a cause or a little girl being true to her faith? A religious controversy is spawning a heated debate in Oklahoma. It's -- at its heart, a 12-year-old Muslim girl who wants to wear a head scarf, but her school's dress code forbids it. Keith Oppenheim picks the story up from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EYVINE HEARN, STUDENT'S FATHER: We explained to the teacher that we were Muslims, and this is, you know, how she dressed.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eyvine Hearn was taken aback last September when his 12-year-old daughter, Nashala, was told she couldn't wear a hijab, or headscarf, at her elementary school in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Nashala been wearing the hijab for a month, but was told the headdress was a violation of the district's ban on headwear in school. She refused to take it off and was suspended twice.
(on camera): What does that make you feel like after that?
NASHALA HEARN, SUSPENDED FOR WEARING MUSLIM HEADSCARF: Very sad and angry. Like, they can wear crosses, so why can't I wear my hijab?
OPPENHEIM: You don't think it's fair.
N. HEARN: No.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Neither did her parents, who filed a lawsuit. Now, the U.S. Justice Department is backing the Hearns and will intervene on their behalf in federal court.
ALEX ACOSTA, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: And the Constitution says every American has the right to worship as they see fit, as they choose. A student shouldn't leave that right at the schoolhouse door.
OPPENHEIM: Muskogee school officials say they're actually following existing federal guidelines. They say they're not attacking freedom of religion.
(on camera): They say they're protecting it, arguing that if one religious group violates the rules of the dress code, then other groups could do the same.
DR. ELDON GLEICHMAN, MUSKOGEE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: They would have the Satanists there immediately. They would have long coats. They would have pierced bodies all over the place. And they'd want a room to go in, and they'd probably kill their chickens and do all of that stuff in the rooms.
OPPENHEIM: Now with a bigger government body challenging a smaller one, this case could be a test for whether Americans can defy a dress code in the name of religious freedom.
Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Muskogee, Oklahoma.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: More information now on a story we've been talking about since the past weekend. And that was the missing college student, Audrey Seiler, from the University of Wisconsin.
We have pictures now via one of our affiliates out of Wisconsin. These pictures come to us courtesy of WITI. You can see police -- it's kind of a signal that's coming in and out due to technical difficulties.
Looks like now police pulling away from a dumpster. This is all happening live. It appears they found something in this dumpster. These pictures, once again live pictures coming out of the Wisconsin area. You see that they were looking around a dumpster there.
Now police officers moving actually to the side of that dumpster. They seem to have located something. It could possibly be a suspect. We were told they were looking for the suspect, once Audrey Seiler was brought back home to her parents. Unfortunately, we've lost this live signal. We're trying to get it back.
While we try to do that, I'll tell you a little bit more about Audrey Seiler. She is a 20-year-old student who turned up missing from the University of Wisconsin. She was seen on surveillance video. We had that.
Then these pictures just moments ago out in front of her house. This is taped video from WITI when she had been located, brought home. You can see the police officers and detectives outside of her home here.
Then if we can get that live picture up and running again, can you see police officers actually coming across something in sort of an open field behind a dumpster, guns drawn, possibly maybe the suspect that they are looking for.
Police are also trying to determine whether Seiler's disappearance has anything to do with an attacker who came across her -- near her apartment back on February 1. She was hit from behind by an unknown attacker and knocked unconscious. And then this past weekend, she came up missing.
Twenty-year-old college student Audrey Seiler, now back home with her parents. Live pictures here. I am told, this is out in -- this is taped pictures out in front of her house. We are working this story. As soon as we have more information, we'll bring it to you. We'll try and get that live picture back as police have their guns drawn on what possibly could be a suspect. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Big buzz in the golf world today. It's not about the Tiger, but an awesome Aussie. Adam Scott made history on Sunday making this ten-foot bogey putt at Player's Championship. But don't let that bogey word throw you. It was good enough to win.
At 23 years old, he's the youngest champ to win golf's richest purse and he's qualified for the master's. Adam Scott here with us in studio. Man, what an awesome day for you.
ADAM SCOTT, PRO GOLFER: Yes. It was incredible. I really couldn't believe what was going on out there.
PHILLIPS: We have video from the 18th hole you. Tee off. All right? The tee shot goes in the drink. You're thinking, man, I'm going to win this thing. What's going on? What was going through your mind?
SCOTT: Right here, as soon as I hit it, I knew it was left. There can see, I realized it was just going straight in the water. And this place has, you know, a flair for the dramatic. All the water around the green, that's got to happen. I was actually pretty happy with that chip shot. It wasn't that easy. This was the easiest of all the shots once I got up there.
PHILLIPS: A ten-foot putt.
SCOTT: It was big to finish it there because I played so nicely, I felt like I should twin coming down the stretch. And it was nice to close it out in the end.
PHILLIPS: So 23 years old. You seem like a pretty humble guy here. You're keeping it all in check. What's helping you sort of not get caught up in all this craziness?
SCOTT: I think I have a great support group around me with my friends and my family and my girlfriend and every one. They keep me down on the ground and that's really great. Because it's nice to just get away from the whole golf thing and get back to some real life.
PHILLIPS: OK. Now you know you mentioned girlfriend. There is going to be some very disappointed women in this newsroom and around the country Because I'm told you have quite the groupie following. Do you want to tell us about this girlfriend? Is this serious?
SCOTT: Yes. No, we're pretty serious. She's back over in Europe where I live now.
I don't know about the groupie following. Maybe you can let me know about that.
PHILLIPS: Oh, come on. We're seeing -- look at this. All out there in the crowd. They're following you from hole to hole.
SCOTT: I don't know. I think they were just enjoying the beer out there on the course.
PHILLIPS: You're pretty humble. I'm impressed by that. All right.
I want to talk about a fashion here. You know, our buddy, Jesper, we know how he's allegedly the big fashion plate. We pulled up a picture of him in one of his finest outfits. Do we have that picture? There it is.
OK. Now, this was supposed to be the fashion king. But now I'm told that you're the fashion king with all your crazy shoes and your I -- I guess you're wearing your Burberry.
SCOTT: Yes, got my Burberry on today. Little bit of plaid up here on the collar.
PHILLIPS: What do you say to Jesper?
SCOTT: He's got me beat, hands down. He's down there, Jesper. I'm a little more contemporary style than him.
PHILLIPS: What's the deal with the crazy shoes?
SCOTT: That's the European influence coming in. I've been living over there for a little while and I got some pointy shoes on. I keep it pretty simple on the golf course.
PHILLIPS: I won't make you throw them up there. You're a big surf person how did you mix surfing and golf? I grew up in Southern California. Surfers are very laid back. You know. And golf is such a stressed-out sport. How did you make the...
SCOTT: I think it's a good -- they go well together. It's nice to be laid back on the course. It gets so intense out there, that sometimes it's nice to just sit back and relax out there and you know, growing up in Australia, we're very laid back down there. Most of us live on the beach down there. So just kind of went well with each other.
PHILLIPS: So who inspired you, Adam? How did you get playing golf and how did you know had you a talent?
SCOTT: Well, my dad really got me started in the game. He's a professional golfer as well. He never played good enough to play on tour, but he got me started.
And then my hero growing up was Greg Norman. I followed his career. And still do.
PHILLIPS: Do you like his wine?
SCOTT: Yes, he makes nice wine too.
PHILLIPS: Doesn't he? That Australian wine, you got to love it.
SCOTT: Yes. We will have plenty of that on Sunday night.
PHILLIPS: I bet. What's Greg said to you? Have you had a chance to play a lot with him?
SCOTT: Yes, I have an unbelievable relationship with him. Because, to be my idol growing up and then to come out here and have him offer advice to me last week even, and he called me on Monday after I won. It was pretty special to get that call from him.
PHILLIPS: Now you're on the way to the Master's. Are you nervous?
SCOTT: Well, yes. Yes and no. I've got to deal with this week at the Bellsouth first and get that out of the way. Getting on to Augusta. I've been there two times before. So I'm pretty comfortable with the place. I've done OK there.
PHILLIPS: I heard you're quite the ping-pong champ too.
SCOTT: Where do you guys get your information from?
PHILLIPS: I'm an investigative reporter. I work for CNN.
SCOTT: I don't like getting beat on the ping-pong table.
PHILLIPS: Can I talk you into some golf? SCOTT: Yes.
PHILLIPS: We'll bring the girlfriend along.
SCOTT: Sure.
PHILLIPS: Adam Scott, thanks very much.
SCOTT: OK.
PHILLIPS: We want to take you back to that breaking news story we've been talking about. Audrey Seiler, the 20-year-old from the University of Wisconsin, she has been found. This was the young girl that's been missing since over the weekend.
Pictures now via WITI out of Wisconsin. These are in front of her house. Detectives and police right now trying to figure out what happened and where exactly she was taken, who had taken her. These live pictures that we continue to follow just moments ago, we had seen a number of police officers with their guns drawn within this fielded area.
Now police officers still around the same area that we were showing you. Not quite sure if they believe there is some type of evidence in this area, if indeed the suspect may be in this area. The story is continuing to develop now as we watch the live pictures.
But we can tell you that 20-year-old Audrey Seiler is back home safe and sound with her parents, not quite sure if her condition, but she is home with her parents.
Police are also trying to determine whether Seiler's disappearance has anything to do with someone who attacked her near her apartment back in February. She was hit from behind from an unknown attacker and knocked unconscious. Then this past weekend, she turned up missing.
But now she is back home. Police looking for the person or persons who allegedly abduct the her. It's a story we continue to follow. We are expecting a news conference at the top of the hour. We'll bring that to you live as soon as it happens. We'll take a quick break and be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired March 31, 2004 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is LIVE FROM...
A sixth grader's fight to keep her head scarf. A case pitting religious freedom against public school dress codes could have national implications.
He idolizes Greg Norman, he's been compared to Tiger Woods and he has a crazy shoe collection. In just a few minutes, we're saying good day, mate, to PGA Tour golfer Adam Scott.
Top stories we're following for you first -- carnage in the heartland of the Iraqi resistance. Four American civilian contractors killed in brutal attacks in Fallujah. The White House condemned the killings and insisted it will not back away from its mission in Iraq.
A Canadian connection? Authorities there say that this man has been arrested for alleged terrorism-related activities in Ottawa and London. He's 29-year-old Mohammed Kowajah, a Canadian-born software developer. His arrest comes a day after anti-terror raids in England.
Back on the job. Attorney general John Ashcroft returned to office today, three weeks after undergoing gallbladder surgery. He was in the hospital for about a week and has been recuperating at home since then.
Making the rounds. Leaving his legal problems behind him, Michael Jackson is on Capitol Hill for a second day to talk about fighting AIDS in Africa. He's meeting with lawmakers but was turned down for a meeting with the full Congressional Black Caucus.
Today's bloody attack in Fallujah left four U.S. civilian contractors dead and five U.S. troops were killed, raising the casualty count for American troops in Iraq to 600.
Joining from Tucson to talk more about the options that are faced in the ongoing hostilities in the so-called Sunni Triangle, retired Major General Don Shepperd. General, great to see you.
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Hello, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk about Fallujah. What's going on and why is it being referred to as the Wild West? SHEPPERD: Well, the Wild West is a little bit different than we're thinking of the Wild West. This is the Wild West armed with Rocket-Propelled Grenades, grenades themselves, heavy weapons, if you will and improvised explosive devices.
Kyra, if you can set the situation up a little bit, Baghdad, there is Highway 10 that runs west of Baghdad, past the airport. Runs through Fallujah, al Habinah (ph) and then to Aramadi.
That's the southern side of the Ba'athist or Sunni Triangle. It's an extremely desperate area because they were on top of for 35 years, the heart of the Ba'athist and Sunni people.
They've now lost everything. They don't think they have a hope in the new Iraq. The situation is not military, but rather giving them a stake in the new Iraq.
PHILLIPS: What were civilian vehicles doing without an escort?
SHEPPERD: Great question. That's the first question I'd have to anybody in the area there. We know how dangerous Fallujah is. Why were two civilian vehicles going through there with contractors and not escorted? Did anybody know they were coming? Is this a regular habit pattern of passing through at this time of day?
I would have all of those question because everybody knows it's a dangerous area.
You'll also note we have toned down the number of military operations in that area and basically are working with the tribal leaders in the city officials rather than going house to house like we used it do, because it's so dangerous. Any time the military is there in there, we go in with overwhelming force.
So I've got the question you just asked, why two civilian vehicles are going through there unescorted.
PHILLIPS: In Fallujah, economics are not good at all, there is not a lot of jobs. Is this what's making it a hotbed for this type of terrorism? Why is it so much different from other parts of Iraq right now?
SHEPPERD: Partly that. Remember, this is the heart of the support for Saddam Hussein during his 35 years on top. When I was there recently on a trip, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez made it very clear, we cannot provide security in Iraq. The Iraqis must do so and we must train their police to take over and provide their own security.
However, the key to getting the support of the Sunnis -- and this Ba'athist Triangle, if will you, is making sure they understand they will have a role and a future in the new Iraq and it will be better than what they're doing now.
Further, they're not going to drive the U.S. out and they're not going to prevent an Iraqi government of some type of taking over and proceeding toward democracy. It's a tough order to get that all done, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Is security slowly slipping out of control?
SHEPPERD: I don't think it is. I think we can expect to see accelerated attacks until sovereignty is turned over to the Iraqis on June 30.
That is going to happen. It's going to be turned over probably to an expanded Iraqi Governing Council. You'll see accelerated attacks to keep that from happening and you will also see accelerated attacks thinking that perhaps the U.S. can be driven through public opinion in a presidential election year. I think you'll see more and more attacks.
PHILLIPS: Retired Major General Don Shepperd, thanks again for your time.
Plan of attack for Iraq before 9/11. New details are coming out about Operation Desert Badger. In light of the recent 9/11 hearings, it could have the White House answering more questions. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Frustrated that Iraqi gunners were shooting at American planes, within weeks of coming into office, President Bush approved war plans for a massive retaliatory attack on Iraq if a U.S. pilot had been shot down.
CNN has learned that the secret plan Operation Desert Badger called for escalating air strikes within four to eight hours of a shootdown. Pentagon sources say a long list of targets across the country would be hit, crippling Iraqi air defenses and command and control. The plan went far beyond the Clinton administration's 1998 Operation Desert Fox, which hit 100 targets in four days.
President Bush revealed Desert Badger's existence in January, responding to criticism he planned to invade Iraq from the beginning.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Like the previous administration, we were for regime change. And in the initial stages of the administration, you might remember, we were dealing with Desert Badger or flyovers, and fly-betweens and looks.
And so we were fashioning policy along those lines.
STARR: One defense official familiar with the plan says, "If a plane got shot down, that was the trigger, we were going in." Over time, the source said, Operation Desert Badger evolved into a more robust plan for attacking the regime.
The president would have quickly decided whether to take the next step, approving a small number of ground troops to secure key areas. At the time, only a few thousand troops were in nearby Kuwait. Sources tell CNN Operation Desert Badger was not a plan to invade Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld says the new options were justified by the threat.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We packaged them, we pre- cleared them with the president, and we were cocked and ready to do a variety of different things in the event something occurred that fit one of those possible unfortunate possibilities.
STARR (on camera): The new details about the scope and intent of Operation Desert Badger may raise even more questions about whether the Bush administration was paying too much attention to Iraq before 9/11.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: This just in to CNN. We are being told that Audrey Seiler, the 20-year-old University of Wisconsin college student that we had been talking about, reported missing.
After looking at the surveillance tape that was released, we are told now that she has been found and she is with her parents at this time. There were some earlier incidents about an assault on this same student prior to the disappearance of Audrey Seiler.
We are now being told, however, she has been found. She is with her parents. More details are coming in. When we have them, we'll bring them to you.
The commander in chief takes some time out today to welcome baseball's best at the White House.
And speaking of the best, Adam Scott in the house. If you haven't seen him, well, you got to see him on the green. Here is that shot. Courtesy of NBC Sports, of courts. You want to few tips? Stick around. He's on his way to the Master's.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Rebel without a cause or a little girl being true to her faith? A religious controversy is spawning a heated debate in Oklahoma. It's -- at its heart, a 12-year-old Muslim girl who wants to wear a head scarf, but her school's dress code forbids it. Keith Oppenheim picks the story up from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EYVINE HEARN, STUDENT'S FATHER: We explained to the teacher that we were Muslims, and this is, you know, how she dressed.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eyvine Hearn was taken aback last September when his 12-year-old daughter, Nashala, was told she couldn't wear a hijab, or headscarf, at her elementary school in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Nashala been wearing the hijab for a month, but was told the headdress was a violation of the district's ban on headwear in school. She refused to take it off and was suspended twice.
(on camera): What does that make you feel like after that?
NASHALA HEARN, SUSPENDED FOR WEARING MUSLIM HEADSCARF: Very sad and angry. Like, they can wear crosses, so why can't I wear my hijab?
OPPENHEIM: You don't think it's fair.
N. HEARN: No.
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): Neither did her parents, who filed a lawsuit. Now, the U.S. Justice Department is backing the Hearns and will intervene on their behalf in federal court.
ALEX ACOSTA, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: And the Constitution says every American has the right to worship as they see fit, as they choose. A student shouldn't leave that right at the schoolhouse door.
OPPENHEIM: Muskogee school officials say they're actually following existing federal guidelines. They say they're not attacking freedom of religion.
(on camera): They say they're protecting it, arguing that if one religious group violates the rules of the dress code, then other groups could do the same.
DR. ELDON GLEICHMAN, MUSKOGEE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: They would have the Satanists there immediately. They would have long coats. They would have pierced bodies all over the place. And they'd want a room to go in, and they'd probably kill their chickens and do all of that stuff in the rooms.
OPPENHEIM: Now with a bigger government body challenging a smaller one, this case could be a test for whether Americans can defy a dress code in the name of religious freedom.
Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Muskogee, Oklahoma.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: More information now on a story we've been talking about since the past weekend. And that was the missing college student, Audrey Seiler, from the University of Wisconsin.
We have pictures now via one of our affiliates out of Wisconsin. These pictures come to us courtesy of WITI. You can see police -- it's kind of a signal that's coming in and out due to technical difficulties.
Looks like now police pulling away from a dumpster. This is all happening live. It appears they found something in this dumpster. These pictures, once again live pictures coming out of the Wisconsin area. You see that they were looking around a dumpster there.
Now police officers moving actually to the side of that dumpster. They seem to have located something. It could possibly be a suspect. We were told they were looking for the suspect, once Audrey Seiler was brought back home to her parents. Unfortunately, we've lost this live signal. We're trying to get it back.
While we try to do that, I'll tell you a little bit more about Audrey Seiler. She is a 20-year-old student who turned up missing from the University of Wisconsin. She was seen on surveillance video. We had that.
Then these pictures just moments ago out in front of her house. This is taped video from WITI when she had been located, brought home. You can see the police officers and detectives outside of her home here.
Then if we can get that live picture up and running again, can you see police officers actually coming across something in sort of an open field behind a dumpster, guns drawn, possibly maybe the suspect that they are looking for.
Police are also trying to determine whether Seiler's disappearance has anything to do with an attacker who came across her -- near her apartment back on February 1. She was hit from behind by an unknown attacker and knocked unconscious. And then this past weekend, she came up missing.
Twenty-year-old college student Audrey Seiler, now back home with her parents. Live pictures here. I am told, this is out in -- this is taped pictures out in front of her house. We are working this story. As soon as we have more information, we'll bring it to you. We'll try and get that live picture back as police have their guns drawn on what possibly could be a suspect. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.
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PHILLIPS: Big buzz in the golf world today. It's not about the Tiger, but an awesome Aussie. Adam Scott made history on Sunday making this ten-foot bogey putt at Player's Championship. But don't let that bogey word throw you. It was good enough to win.
At 23 years old, he's the youngest champ to win golf's richest purse and he's qualified for the master's. Adam Scott here with us in studio. Man, what an awesome day for you.
ADAM SCOTT, PRO GOLFER: Yes. It was incredible. I really couldn't believe what was going on out there.
PHILLIPS: We have video from the 18th hole you. Tee off. All right? The tee shot goes in the drink. You're thinking, man, I'm going to win this thing. What's going on? What was going through your mind?
SCOTT: Right here, as soon as I hit it, I knew it was left. There can see, I realized it was just going straight in the water. And this place has, you know, a flair for the dramatic. All the water around the green, that's got to happen. I was actually pretty happy with that chip shot. It wasn't that easy. This was the easiest of all the shots once I got up there.
PHILLIPS: A ten-foot putt.
SCOTT: It was big to finish it there because I played so nicely, I felt like I should twin coming down the stretch. And it was nice to close it out in the end.
PHILLIPS: So 23 years old. You seem like a pretty humble guy here. You're keeping it all in check. What's helping you sort of not get caught up in all this craziness?
SCOTT: I think I have a great support group around me with my friends and my family and my girlfriend and every one. They keep me down on the ground and that's really great. Because it's nice to just get away from the whole golf thing and get back to some real life.
PHILLIPS: OK. Now you know you mentioned girlfriend. There is going to be some very disappointed women in this newsroom and around the country Because I'm told you have quite the groupie following. Do you want to tell us about this girlfriend? Is this serious?
SCOTT: Yes. No, we're pretty serious. She's back over in Europe where I live now.
I don't know about the groupie following. Maybe you can let me know about that.
PHILLIPS: Oh, come on. We're seeing -- look at this. All out there in the crowd. They're following you from hole to hole.
SCOTT: I don't know. I think they were just enjoying the beer out there on the course.
PHILLIPS: You're pretty humble. I'm impressed by that. All right.
I want to talk about a fashion here. You know, our buddy, Jesper, we know how he's allegedly the big fashion plate. We pulled up a picture of him in one of his finest outfits. Do we have that picture? There it is.
OK. Now, this was supposed to be the fashion king. But now I'm told that you're the fashion king with all your crazy shoes and your I -- I guess you're wearing your Burberry.
SCOTT: Yes, got my Burberry on today. Little bit of plaid up here on the collar.
PHILLIPS: What do you say to Jesper?
SCOTT: He's got me beat, hands down. He's down there, Jesper. I'm a little more contemporary style than him.
PHILLIPS: What's the deal with the crazy shoes?
SCOTT: That's the European influence coming in. I've been living over there for a little while and I got some pointy shoes on. I keep it pretty simple on the golf course.
PHILLIPS: I won't make you throw them up there. You're a big surf person how did you mix surfing and golf? I grew up in Southern California. Surfers are very laid back. You know. And golf is such a stressed-out sport. How did you make the...
SCOTT: I think it's a good -- they go well together. It's nice to be laid back on the course. It gets so intense out there, that sometimes it's nice to just sit back and relax out there and you know, growing up in Australia, we're very laid back down there. Most of us live on the beach down there. So just kind of went well with each other.
PHILLIPS: So who inspired you, Adam? How did you get playing golf and how did you know had you a talent?
SCOTT: Well, my dad really got me started in the game. He's a professional golfer as well. He never played good enough to play on tour, but he got me started.
And then my hero growing up was Greg Norman. I followed his career. And still do.
PHILLIPS: Do you like his wine?
SCOTT: Yes, he makes nice wine too.
PHILLIPS: Doesn't he? That Australian wine, you got to love it.
SCOTT: Yes. We will have plenty of that on Sunday night.
PHILLIPS: I bet. What's Greg said to you? Have you had a chance to play a lot with him?
SCOTT: Yes, I have an unbelievable relationship with him. Because, to be my idol growing up and then to come out here and have him offer advice to me last week even, and he called me on Monday after I won. It was pretty special to get that call from him.
PHILLIPS: Now you're on the way to the Master's. Are you nervous?
SCOTT: Well, yes. Yes and no. I've got to deal with this week at the Bellsouth first and get that out of the way. Getting on to Augusta. I've been there two times before. So I'm pretty comfortable with the place. I've done OK there.
PHILLIPS: I heard you're quite the ping-pong champ too.
SCOTT: Where do you guys get your information from?
PHILLIPS: I'm an investigative reporter. I work for CNN.
SCOTT: I don't like getting beat on the ping-pong table.
PHILLIPS: Can I talk you into some golf? SCOTT: Yes.
PHILLIPS: We'll bring the girlfriend along.
SCOTT: Sure.
PHILLIPS: Adam Scott, thanks very much.
SCOTT: OK.
PHILLIPS: We want to take you back to that breaking news story we've been talking about. Audrey Seiler, the 20-year-old from the University of Wisconsin, she has been found. This was the young girl that's been missing since over the weekend.
Pictures now via WITI out of Wisconsin. These are in front of her house. Detectives and police right now trying to figure out what happened and where exactly she was taken, who had taken her. These live pictures that we continue to follow just moments ago, we had seen a number of police officers with their guns drawn within this fielded area.
Now police officers still around the same area that we were showing you. Not quite sure if they believe there is some type of evidence in this area, if indeed the suspect may be in this area. The story is continuing to develop now as we watch the live pictures.
But we can tell you that 20-year-old Audrey Seiler is back home safe and sound with her parents, not quite sure if her condition, but she is home with her parents.
Police are also trying to determine whether Seiler's disappearance has anything to do with someone who attacked her near her apartment back in February. She was hit from behind from an unknown attacker and knocked unconscious. Then this past weekend, she turned up missing.
But now she is back home. Police looking for the person or persons who allegedly abduct the her. It's a story we continue to follow. We are expecting a news conference at the top of the hour. We'll bring that to you live as soon as it happens. We'll take a quick break and be right back.
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