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Live From...
Abduction of Wisconsin college student a hoax; Judge declares a mistrial in Tyco case; Warning of possible terror attacks; Jobs report good news for White House; Alaska governor to allow offshore drilling for oil
Aired April 02, 2004 - 14:00 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.
WRAY: ...the picture here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Unintelligible.)
WRAY: Excellent question. We are as a department, I have already been in contact with our budget section and we are already assessing the costs associated for us and we'll provide that information to the mayor.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us where the items were found you're talking about? Is this something she went out and bought this stuff ahead of time and vended all this and were these found in the woods out there?
WRAY: Sure. That's a good question. That clarifies it. These items were purchased by Audrey ahead of time and that is substantiated. Do we have it? We don't have it? OK. They were purchased ahead of the time that she was alleged abducted from the first time that she said she was allegedly abducted, OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Unintelligible.)
WRAY: That is correct, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One last question.
(CROSSTALK)
WRAY: Let me go back there. Yes, she has admitted it and that's one of the reasons why, as I mentioned before in the earlier press conference as we continue to investigate this reported abduction by Audrey, she was presented with these confirmed inconsistencies that resulted in Audrey admitting, in fact, that she had not been abducted at her apartment at all but then that's when she brought up the other issue of the other abduction. I think that's going to be it.
(CROSSTALK)
WRAY: I have no idea and that's going to have to be it. Thank you very much.
PHILLIPS: Well, that's it out of Madison and it's probably it for us and this ongoing coverage. It's a hoax folks.
That's exactly what assistant chief for the Madison Police Department said, Noble Wray, that 20-year-old University of Wisconsin at Madison student Audrey Seiler admitted she just wanted to be alone. After putting everything together, taking their police work and testimony from Audrey it looks like this was pretty much all premeditated.
Let's bring in Mike Brooks once again who has been analyzing this for us. I guess where everybody sort of gasped is when they had the show and tell of the cough medicine, the rope, the knife and the assistant chief admitting this is something she did prior to all of this, a videotape proving she bought the items before this alleged abduction that she made up.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She went to a lot of trouble to make herself disappear and preplanning all this in advance, buying all these things and placing them about in the area where she was found. They found evidence but it was evidence that she had planted there.
Now, my question though, Kyra, is going back to February 1st. Is this case going to be unfounded or was this alleged assault that happened then by an unknown assailant that came up behind her was this just something to set up this whole scenario that she had planned out four days ago?
So, I'm sure detectives are going to be looking at that but right now who can say if that was actually a real assault or if that was just a setup for what she was doing now?
PHILLIPS: We definitely have to commend the police department. They took this seriously. They exhausted every means of information and put this all together. This has got to be a tremendous -- they've got to be irritated and pretty upset number one but how is she going to be held accountable for this now, a lot of cost involved?
BROOKS: A lot of cost, a lot of manpower, the helicopter that was up using the infrared system, the armored personnel carriers from another county that came into help, a lot of manpower, a lot of money.
Now he said that it will be up to the district attorney but, as I said earlier, they do have a local charge and they also do have a state charge of obstruction. When I spoke with the police department in Madison earlier today they did say that the district attorney could also charge her with filing a false police report.
Different jurisdictions handle it differently but it's still a misdemeanor and it's not, you know, that serious of a charge but it's something that she could be charged with.
PHILLIPS: Jonathan Freed covering this story for us. He's our -- he works in our Chicago Bureau but he's in Madison. Jonathan, you've been there on the streets talking to people there. The question was asked was this a cry for help? Is her mental state something now that will be talked about and looked at? JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Those are the sorts of things that people were coming up to us and talking about over the last couple of days. It was in the area of speculation and, of course, in this business we never really want to speculate.
So, until now it's something that I haven't been entirely comfortable talking about but in the context now I think it's fair to say that, yes, we were getting that kind of feedback from people, increasingly starting yesterday.
And one other point, Kyra, that I think is important to mention, especially for people that may be just joining in now, the police have made it clear that they do not believe that there is a suspect at large in this area here in Madison, Wisconsin and that all of this, as you pointed out, certainly looks like a hoax -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So, Jonathan, this sketch that she put together or described, this person she described to police is this someone police believe she just made up? Is this someone that maybe she did have in her head? She was sort of preplanning that police would go after this individual that maybe upset her in the past?
FREED: That is a question that we're hoping the police will eventually answer. As of a couple of hours ago with the first news conference they said that she insisted that the sketch was of somebody that did abduct her just not Saturday morning. Now, of course, police have got holes in all of that, so that throws the sketch. And who exactly is the person in the sketch if it's somebody that might have approached her?
Mike has brought up the question about this initial incident in February. We don't know whether or not that's actually legitimate. Of course, eyebrows raised now about that as well.
PHILLIPS: Our Jonathan Freed in Madison, Wisconsin thanks Jonathan. Thank you very much Jonathan and also our Mike Brooks here on the set with us in Atlanta, thanks guys -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Well, charges of corruption, evidence of lavish lifestyles and pressure on an independent minded juror. After six long months, the Tyco trial is over, at least this one. The judge declares a mistrial.
CNN's Allan Chernoff has been following it from the start and he's got to get ready to cover Tyco No. 2 I guess now. Hello, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: It appears so, Miles.
Judge Michael Obus did declare a mistrial almost two hours ago but he did not publicly announce the reason for the mistrial. However, CNN has learned through a source who was present in the judge's chambers this morning that a coercive letter was sent to Juror No. 4. That is the controversial juror who apparently made an OK sign to the defense table one week ago today. So, a coercive letter apparently sent to Juror No. 4. The judge questioned her about this this morning before the attorneys in his chambers and, based upon her answers, we understand that is the reason the judge decided to declare a mistrial.
Now, Judge Obus said to the jury that this is very unfortunate. He said that he feels this is unfair to the entire jury and he also pointed out that they have put in a tremendous amount of time and effort and he said the entire state of New York owes you it's gratitude.
Now the district attorney in New York, Robert Morgenthal, said that he is (AUDIO GAP) he intends to bring a new case against Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz as soon as possible. Mr. Swartz' attorney said that he will be ready for that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES STILLMAN, SWARTZ' ATTORNEY: We are disappointed that we were not able to finish the mission that we started six months ago. Having said that, you all are familiar with the events that occurred over the last several days. They are events that were obviously beyond anyone's expectation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz, the former top two executives of Tyco, were charged with stealing $600 million from the company, $170 million in cash, the rest in elicit stock sales. They were each facing 24 criminal counts, 13 of them grand larceny.
CNN spoke to one juror shortly after the verdict and he said that the jury was very close to resolution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF PETER MCENTEGART, TYCO JUROR: It's so frustrating because literally we virtually had a verdict yesterday afternoon. It was even tossed, someone said, you know, why don't we just stay an extra half hour because we were that close and then we come in this morning and we thought it would be another ten -- well, nothing takes ten minutes in this trial but half hour or an hour and we would have been done. We literally were not allowed to deliberate today at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: The judge said that he is setting a hearing for May 7th to talk about a new trial against Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Well, Allan, I guess if anything or person should be labeled guilty in all this it would be the media, wouldn't it?
CHERNOFF: It is very possible and, Miles, I think we can expect there will be a tremendous amount of criticism laid against the media in this case. The "New York Post" and "The Wall Street Journal" last weekend had identified Juror No. 4, even identifying where she lived, not the specific address but the neighborhood.
And apparently Juror No. 4 had also received a phone call from someone trying to influence her. So, this letter, the latest example of apparent efforts to coerce Juror No. 4. She had been perceived to be the holdout among the 12 jurors. So, a very interesting case and one that is likely to be studied in journalism schools as well as law schools -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Allan Chernoff in Manhattan thank you very much.
You're going to hear from three jurors if you tune in to "PAULA ZAHN NOW," not now but tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Three Tyco jurors will talk then -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, a new level of concern in Washington this hour. It's from Homeland Security officials. CNN's Kelli Arena has learned it involves potential threats to public transportation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have alerted relevant authorities to the possibility that there could be a plot underway to attack commercial transportation systems in major U.S. cities this summer.
(voice-over): The agencies quote uncorroborated information to that effect which means that it's information that came in from a single source and has not yet been matched by the intelligence community.
Nonetheless, the Department of Homeland Security thought that it was important enough to pass on to officials within the Department of Transportation, other state and local partners to be sure that precautionary measures were put in place to make sure that the relevant officials were aware of the possible threat, that they could keep their eyes out for anything suspicious.
The bulletin goes on to say that the likely targets are busses and railways and that the plot calls for the use of improvised explosive devices that were constructed of possibly ammonium nitrate, which is fertilizer, diesel fuel which would be concealed in luggage and carry-on bags and left on -- left on a train, for example, or on a bus.
(on camera): So, good idea to be alert as passengers and obviously for officials to take the necessary precautions to make passengers aware of any possible danger.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The government says U.S. employers added 308,000 jobs last month, the biggest monthly gain since April of 2000. At the same time, the nation's unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a point as laid off workers who had abandoned their searches got back in the game. Overall though, it's a net political windfall for the White House and that's where we find CNN's Dana Bash. Hello, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles, and probably the best way to describe how they feel here at the White House is the way a senior administration official just described it to me. He said it's as if they just kicked a 60-yard field goal.
They are ecstatic and somewhat stunned at these numbers, especially after having to explain month after month why if the economy is doing so well, as the president likes to say, the jobs numbers hadn't quite caught up. Now they are certainly very happy to point to these new numbers.
The president was in West Virginia today. That is a traditionally Democratic state that he won in 2000 and right now polls show him neck-and-neck with Senator John Kerry, so it was a perfect state for the Bush campaign for Mr. Bush to be -- to talk about these new numbers and he was quick to tout them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The economy is growing and people are finding work. Today, the statistics show that we added 308,000 jobs for the month of March. We've added 759,000 jobs since August. This economy is strong. It is getting stronger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And the president and his aides were saying all day today that they feel that this is finally proof that the president's nearly $2 trillion in tax cuts over the past three years are working.
Not like Senator Kerry and other Democrats have been saying, calling on these job numbers and the fact that jobs have not caught up with the rest of the economy, proof that the president's policies are not working.
And, of course, as crass as this sounds, Miles, the fact is good economic news, good job news in particular is not such great news for Democrats in this election year and, while Bush officials have certainly been hailing the numbers, Democrats are saying not so fast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JON CORZINE (D), NEW JERSEY: We still have the worst job performance record of any president since Herbert Hoover and that's the facts and people can talk about the facts whatever they want. We have not performed for the American people in creating jobs and creating real earnings that will make a difference in their lives. So, I hope that we don't start celebrating and spending so much that we lose track of what the reality is for people in their own lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: But privately, Miles, Democrats are admitting that it's very difficult to put a dark cloud, any dark cloud over this blue sky moment on the jobs front for the Bush White House. This is something that they White House has certainly been waiting for and Democrats have been hoping politically perhaps would take a little bit longer to happen -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Dana Bash at the White House -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Still ahead on LIVE FROM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM ZOVKO, BROTHER OF CONTRACTOR: When he left he said, you know, he wanted to go and do what he could to make it a better place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: His brother was one of the U.S. contractors killed in Iraq. His emotional interview straight ahead.
Plus, higher cost at the pump, could Alaska help curb high oil prices? Alaska's governor going to join us to talk about his controversial plans for offshore drilling.
And, are you getting the real McCoy or is it a fake? Antique experts the Chino (ph) brothers will show you how to tell the difference.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Two more GIs are dead in Iraq since this time yesterday, along with one Iraqi police chief and three would-be bombers. Police say the bombers were killed near the northern city of Kirkuk when the device they were trying to plan went off prematurely.
Elsewhere, protesters railed against the U.S. and Israel today and a powerful Shiite cleric vowed to be the striking hand, that's his term, of sworn Israeli enemies Hamas and Hezbollah. Clerics in Fallujah today condemned the mutilation of those dead American security workers but not the attack that killed them.
PHILLIPS: March was one of the deadliest months for U.S. troops. It was also one of the most horrifying for U.S. civilians. Four U.S. security contractors killed in their convoy Wednesday in Fallujah, their bodies were mutilated and hanged. The brother of contractor Jerry Zovko spoke to Bill Hemmer this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Tell me about your brother.
ZOVKO: A unique individual. He was a great person. I can't say anything bad about him.
HEMMER: Age 32 from Willoughby, Ohio.
ZOVKO: He's actually from Euclid, Ohio. We grew up in Euclid. Now we live in...
HEMMER: Right in the Cleveland, Ohio area then, the northern part of the state.
ZOVKO: Yes.
HEMMER: How long has he been in Iraq?
ZOVKO: He's been there since September of 2003.
HEMMER: What did he say about the work he was doing there?
ZOVKO: Well, he was there doing what needed to be done. He was, you know, in the military and when he left, got out of the military I believe it was '97, he continued in a military-type career in special security consulting, contracting.
He was a bodyguard and, you know, among other things he went there, you know, in September. He spent a lot of time in the Middle East when he was in the service and when he got out of the service he had some connections, met some friends there, and worked internationally really.
And this last time when he left in September, he came to see me and my family before he left when he had a chance to take a vacation and when he left he said, you know, he wanted to go and do what he could to make it a better place.
HEMMER: Wow. How has the pictures and the coverage influenced you this past week?
ZOVKO: It's -- I have mixed emotions, very, extremely mixed emotions. I try not to think about them but I think they're necessary to show everyone what's going on. He went there to prevent something like this.
HEMMER: The pictures are one thing, Tom, and the brutality and the details of the story are another. Have you had time to reflect on that?
ZOVKO: No. Not as -- no, no. No. It still hasn't sunk in.
HEMMER: Do you blame the Iraqi people?
ZOVKO: No, no, no, no, no.
HEMMER: What do you consider now about the situation what you hear in Fallujah?
ZOVKO: I firmly agree with most of the officials. This is a small percentage, you know, of the people that want to keep it the way it was, you know, and these are the type of people that would do something like this and that's how they kept it the way it was by keeping control over the people by doing stuff like this. I firmly believe that and so did my brother. You know he was for freedom and, you know, for human rights for everybody, equality for everybody, you know.
HEMMER: How do you rationalize a resolution in Iraq? There are some who suggest this could be a war that goes on for a decade.
Aired April 2, 2004 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WRAY: ...the picture here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Unintelligible.)
WRAY: Excellent question. We are as a department, I have already been in contact with our budget section and we are already assessing the costs associated for us and we'll provide that information to the mayor.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us where the items were found you're talking about? Is this something she went out and bought this stuff ahead of time and vended all this and were these found in the woods out there?
WRAY: Sure. That's a good question. That clarifies it. These items were purchased by Audrey ahead of time and that is substantiated. Do we have it? We don't have it? OK. They were purchased ahead of the time that she was alleged abducted from the first time that she said she was allegedly abducted, OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Unintelligible.)
WRAY: That is correct, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One last question.
(CROSSTALK)
WRAY: Let me go back there. Yes, she has admitted it and that's one of the reasons why, as I mentioned before in the earlier press conference as we continue to investigate this reported abduction by Audrey, she was presented with these confirmed inconsistencies that resulted in Audrey admitting, in fact, that she had not been abducted at her apartment at all but then that's when she brought up the other issue of the other abduction. I think that's going to be it.
(CROSSTALK)
WRAY: I have no idea and that's going to have to be it. Thank you very much.
PHILLIPS: Well, that's it out of Madison and it's probably it for us and this ongoing coverage. It's a hoax folks.
That's exactly what assistant chief for the Madison Police Department said, Noble Wray, that 20-year-old University of Wisconsin at Madison student Audrey Seiler admitted she just wanted to be alone. After putting everything together, taking their police work and testimony from Audrey it looks like this was pretty much all premeditated.
Let's bring in Mike Brooks once again who has been analyzing this for us. I guess where everybody sort of gasped is when they had the show and tell of the cough medicine, the rope, the knife and the assistant chief admitting this is something she did prior to all of this, a videotape proving she bought the items before this alleged abduction that she made up.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She went to a lot of trouble to make herself disappear and preplanning all this in advance, buying all these things and placing them about in the area where she was found. They found evidence but it was evidence that she had planted there.
Now, my question though, Kyra, is going back to February 1st. Is this case going to be unfounded or was this alleged assault that happened then by an unknown assailant that came up behind her was this just something to set up this whole scenario that she had planned out four days ago?
So, I'm sure detectives are going to be looking at that but right now who can say if that was actually a real assault or if that was just a setup for what she was doing now?
PHILLIPS: We definitely have to commend the police department. They took this seriously. They exhausted every means of information and put this all together. This has got to be a tremendous -- they've got to be irritated and pretty upset number one but how is she going to be held accountable for this now, a lot of cost involved?
BROOKS: A lot of cost, a lot of manpower, the helicopter that was up using the infrared system, the armored personnel carriers from another county that came into help, a lot of manpower, a lot of money.
Now he said that it will be up to the district attorney but, as I said earlier, they do have a local charge and they also do have a state charge of obstruction. When I spoke with the police department in Madison earlier today they did say that the district attorney could also charge her with filing a false police report.
Different jurisdictions handle it differently but it's still a misdemeanor and it's not, you know, that serious of a charge but it's something that she could be charged with.
PHILLIPS: Jonathan Freed covering this story for us. He's our -- he works in our Chicago Bureau but he's in Madison. Jonathan, you've been there on the streets talking to people there. The question was asked was this a cry for help? Is her mental state something now that will be talked about and looked at? JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Those are the sorts of things that people were coming up to us and talking about over the last couple of days. It was in the area of speculation and, of course, in this business we never really want to speculate.
So, until now it's something that I haven't been entirely comfortable talking about but in the context now I think it's fair to say that, yes, we were getting that kind of feedback from people, increasingly starting yesterday.
And one other point, Kyra, that I think is important to mention, especially for people that may be just joining in now, the police have made it clear that they do not believe that there is a suspect at large in this area here in Madison, Wisconsin and that all of this, as you pointed out, certainly looks like a hoax -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So, Jonathan, this sketch that she put together or described, this person she described to police is this someone police believe she just made up? Is this someone that maybe she did have in her head? She was sort of preplanning that police would go after this individual that maybe upset her in the past?
FREED: That is a question that we're hoping the police will eventually answer. As of a couple of hours ago with the first news conference they said that she insisted that the sketch was of somebody that did abduct her just not Saturday morning. Now, of course, police have got holes in all of that, so that throws the sketch. And who exactly is the person in the sketch if it's somebody that might have approached her?
Mike has brought up the question about this initial incident in February. We don't know whether or not that's actually legitimate. Of course, eyebrows raised now about that as well.
PHILLIPS: Our Jonathan Freed in Madison, Wisconsin thanks Jonathan. Thank you very much Jonathan and also our Mike Brooks here on the set with us in Atlanta, thanks guys -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Well, charges of corruption, evidence of lavish lifestyles and pressure on an independent minded juror. After six long months, the Tyco trial is over, at least this one. The judge declares a mistrial.
CNN's Allan Chernoff has been following it from the start and he's got to get ready to cover Tyco No. 2 I guess now. Hello, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: It appears so, Miles.
Judge Michael Obus did declare a mistrial almost two hours ago but he did not publicly announce the reason for the mistrial. However, CNN has learned through a source who was present in the judge's chambers this morning that a coercive letter was sent to Juror No. 4. That is the controversial juror who apparently made an OK sign to the defense table one week ago today. So, a coercive letter apparently sent to Juror No. 4. The judge questioned her about this this morning before the attorneys in his chambers and, based upon her answers, we understand that is the reason the judge decided to declare a mistrial.
Now, Judge Obus said to the jury that this is very unfortunate. He said that he feels this is unfair to the entire jury and he also pointed out that they have put in a tremendous amount of time and effort and he said the entire state of New York owes you it's gratitude.
Now the district attorney in New York, Robert Morgenthal, said that he is (AUDIO GAP) he intends to bring a new case against Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz as soon as possible. Mr. Swartz' attorney said that he will be ready for that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES STILLMAN, SWARTZ' ATTORNEY: We are disappointed that we were not able to finish the mission that we started six months ago. Having said that, you all are familiar with the events that occurred over the last several days. They are events that were obviously beyond anyone's expectation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz, the former top two executives of Tyco, were charged with stealing $600 million from the company, $170 million in cash, the rest in elicit stock sales. They were each facing 24 criminal counts, 13 of them grand larceny.
CNN spoke to one juror shortly after the verdict and he said that the jury was very close to resolution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF PETER MCENTEGART, TYCO JUROR: It's so frustrating because literally we virtually had a verdict yesterday afternoon. It was even tossed, someone said, you know, why don't we just stay an extra half hour because we were that close and then we come in this morning and we thought it would be another ten -- well, nothing takes ten minutes in this trial but half hour or an hour and we would have been done. We literally were not allowed to deliberate today at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: The judge said that he is setting a hearing for May 7th to talk about a new trial against Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Well, Allan, I guess if anything or person should be labeled guilty in all this it would be the media, wouldn't it?
CHERNOFF: It is very possible and, Miles, I think we can expect there will be a tremendous amount of criticism laid against the media in this case. The "New York Post" and "The Wall Street Journal" last weekend had identified Juror No. 4, even identifying where she lived, not the specific address but the neighborhood.
And apparently Juror No. 4 had also received a phone call from someone trying to influence her. So, this letter, the latest example of apparent efforts to coerce Juror No. 4. She had been perceived to be the holdout among the 12 jurors. So, a very interesting case and one that is likely to be studied in journalism schools as well as law schools -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Allan Chernoff in Manhattan thank you very much.
You're going to hear from three jurors if you tune in to "PAULA ZAHN NOW," not now but tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Three Tyco jurors will talk then -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, a new level of concern in Washington this hour. It's from Homeland Security officials. CNN's Kelli Arena has learned it involves potential threats to public transportation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have alerted relevant authorities to the possibility that there could be a plot underway to attack commercial transportation systems in major U.S. cities this summer.
(voice-over): The agencies quote uncorroborated information to that effect which means that it's information that came in from a single source and has not yet been matched by the intelligence community.
Nonetheless, the Department of Homeland Security thought that it was important enough to pass on to officials within the Department of Transportation, other state and local partners to be sure that precautionary measures were put in place to make sure that the relevant officials were aware of the possible threat, that they could keep their eyes out for anything suspicious.
The bulletin goes on to say that the likely targets are busses and railways and that the plot calls for the use of improvised explosive devices that were constructed of possibly ammonium nitrate, which is fertilizer, diesel fuel which would be concealed in luggage and carry-on bags and left on -- left on a train, for example, or on a bus.
(on camera): So, good idea to be alert as passengers and obviously for officials to take the necessary precautions to make passengers aware of any possible danger.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The government says U.S. employers added 308,000 jobs last month, the biggest monthly gain since April of 2000. At the same time, the nation's unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a point as laid off workers who had abandoned their searches got back in the game. Overall though, it's a net political windfall for the White House and that's where we find CNN's Dana Bash. Hello, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles, and probably the best way to describe how they feel here at the White House is the way a senior administration official just described it to me. He said it's as if they just kicked a 60-yard field goal.
They are ecstatic and somewhat stunned at these numbers, especially after having to explain month after month why if the economy is doing so well, as the president likes to say, the jobs numbers hadn't quite caught up. Now they are certainly very happy to point to these new numbers.
The president was in West Virginia today. That is a traditionally Democratic state that he won in 2000 and right now polls show him neck-and-neck with Senator John Kerry, so it was a perfect state for the Bush campaign for Mr. Bush to be -- to talk about these new numbers and he was quick to tout them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The economy is growing and people are finding work. Today, the statistics show that we added 308,000 jobs for the month of March. We've added 759,000 jobs since August. This economy is strong. It is getting stronger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And the president and his aides were saying all day today that they feel that this is finally proof that the president's nearly $2 trillion in tax cuts over the past three years are working.
Not like Senator Kerry and other Democrats have been saying, calling on these job numbers and the fact that jobs have not caught up with the rest of the economy, proof that the president's policies are not working.
And, of course, as crass as this sounds, Miles, the fact is good economic news, good job news in particular is not such great news for Democrats in this election year and, while Bush officials have certainly been hailing the numbers, Democrats are saying not so fast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JON CORZINE (D), NEW JERSEY: We still have the worst job performance record of any president since Herbert Hoover and that's the facts and people can talk about the facts whatever they want. We have not performed for the American people in creating jobs and creating real earnings that will make a difference in their lives. So, I hope that we don't start celebrating and spending so much that we lose track of what the reality is for people in their own lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: But privately, Miles, Democrats are admitting that it's very difficult to put a dark cloud, any dark cloud over this blue sky moment on the jobs front for the Bush White House. This is something that they White House has certainly been waiting for and Democrats have been hoping politically perhaps would take a little bit longer to happen -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Dana Bash at the White House -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Still ahead on LIVE FROM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM ZOVKO, BROTHER OF CONTRACTOR: When he left he said, you know, he wanted to go and do what he could to make it a better place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: His brother was one of the U.S. contractors killed in Iraq. His emotional interview straight ahead.
Plus, higher cost at the pump, could Alaska help curb high oil prices? Alaska's governor going to join us to talk about his controversial plans for offshore drilling.
And, are you getting the real McCoy or is it a fake? Antique experts the Chino (ph) brothers will show you how to tell the difference.
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O'BRIEN: Two more GIs are dead in Iraq since this time yesterday, along with one Iraqi police chief and three would-be bombers. Police say the bombers were killed near the northern city of Kirkuk when the device they were trying to plan went off prematurely.
Elsewhere, protesters railed against the U.S. and Israel today and a powerful Shiite cleric vowed to be the striking hand, that's his term, of sworn Israeli enemies Hamas and Hezbollah. Clerics in Fallujah today condemned the mutilation of those dead American security workers but not the attack that killed them.
PHILLIPS: March was one of the deadliest months for U.S. troops. It was also one of the most horrifying for U.S. civilians. Four U.S. security contractors killed in their convoy Wednesday in Fallujah, their bodies were mutilated and hanged. The brother of contractor Jerry Zovko spoke to Bill Hemmer this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Tell me about your brother.
ZOVKO: A unique individual. He was a great person. I can't say anything bad about him.
HEMMER: Age 32 from Willoughby, Ohio.
ZOVKO: He's actually from Euclid, Ohio. We grew up in Euclid. Now we live in...
HEMMER: Right in the Cleveland, Ohio area then, the northern part of the state.
ZOVKO: Yes.
HEMMER: How long has he been in Iraq?
ZOVKO: He's been there since September of 2003.
HEMMER: What did he say about the work he was doing there?
ZOVKO: Well, he was there doing what needed to be done. He was, you know, in the military and when he left, got out of the military I believe it was '97, he continued in a military-type career in special security consulting, contracting.
He was a bodyguard and, you know, among other things he went there, you know, in September. He spent a lot of time in the Middle East when he was in the service and when he got out of the service he had some connections, met some friends there, and worked internationally really.
And this last time when he left in September, he came to see me and my family before he left when he had a chance to take a vacation and when he left he said, you know, he wanted to go and do what he could to make it a better place.
HEMMER: Wow. How has the pictures and the coverage influenced you this past week?
ZOVKO: It's -- I have mixed emotions, very, extremely mixed emotions. I try not to think about them but I think they're necessary to show everyone what's going on. He went there to prevent something like this.
HEMMER: The pictures are one thing, Tom, and the brutality and the details of the story are another. Have you had time to reflect on that?
ZOVKO: No. Not as -- no, no. No. It still hasn't sunk in.
HEMMER: Do you blame the Iraqi people?
ZOVKO: No, no, no, no, no.
HEMMER: What do you consider now about the situation what you hear in Fallujah?
ZOVKO: I firmly agree with most of the officials. This is a small percentage, you know, of the people that want to keep it the way it was, you know, and these are the type of people that would do something like this and that's how they kept it the way it was by keeping control over the people by doing stuff like this. I firmly believe that and so did my brother. You know he was for freedom and, you know, for human rights for everybody, equality for everybody, you know.
HEMMER: How do you rationalize a resolution in Iraq? There are some who suggest this could be a war that goes on for a decade.
