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FBI Makes Arrests in Alleged Missile Plot; California Trains For Potential Terror Attack
Aired August 05, 2004 - 15:00 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In the news now, new details emerging about the two terror arrests in Albany, New York. The government says that the two mosque officials agreed to help an informant who told them he was plotting a missile attack against a Pakistani diplomat. More coming up in a live report.
The war flares again in the Iraqi city, Najaf. An American soldier died today during a battle with Shiite insurgents. Two troops were wounded when an American chopper was downed.
Undisclosed evidence surfaces described as potentially beneficial to alleged wife killer Scott Peterson. Today the judge in the case granted a plea by Peterson's attorney to postpone the trial until Tuesday to have the mystery evidence scientifically tested.
Law enforcement officials in Salt Lake City received an extension to continue to hold Mark Hacking amid the ongoing search for his wife, Lori. The "Salt Lake City Tribune" is reporting that Hacking's two brothers are the unnamed witnesses cited in a warrant who say that Hacking told them that he killed his spouse and disposed of the body.
We begin this hour with an upstate sting and new signs of life in al Qaeda training camps, far-flung, seemingly unrelated developments in a hectic week in the war on terror.
Stung are the founder and leader of a storefront mosque in Albany, New York. They allegedly agreed to help an FBI informant launder money tied to the sale of a shoulder-fired missile. Thousands of miles away, fresh comings and goings at known terror training camps near the Pakistan-Afghan border. More on that in just a moment.
Now, the missile in question is Albany, which was only a prop and the property of the U.S. government. It was billed as a means to assassinate the Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations.
CNN's Alina Cho has more now on these dramatic details.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kyra, the arraignment here at the federal courthouse in Albany ended a short time ago. Both of these men heard the charges against them. Both of them are being held without bail. Here's what we can tell you about what happened inside the courtroom; 49-year-old Mohammed Hossain asked for his own attorney, while the younger suspect, 34-year-old Yassin Aref, asked for a court-appointed attorney through an interpreter, both charged with providing material support to terrorists and money laundering. A little bit about the background and what led to these two arrests. They were taken into custody following an overnight raid at a mosque here in downtown Albany. The two men were arrested following a sting operation involving several meetings that were both audio and videotaped. The men allegedly tried to help an FBI informant posing as a terrorist launder money from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile.
Now, that missile, which was a disarmed U.S. missile used specifically for this sting operation was, according to the complaint, going to be used to hit Pakistan's consulate in retaliation for Pakistan's support in the war on terrorism.
Justice Department officials a short time ago called this a good case, a solid case, but not the case of the century.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES COMEY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: This is not a case connected to the current terrorist threat. This is not a case where the defendants were discovered plotting terrorist violence. The terrorist plot in this case is one that the government's agent, a cooperating witness, represented to be under way. It was not real. It was represented. This case is a sting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: These two men will be held here in Albany until a detention hearing is held on Tuesday here at the federal courthouse here in Albany.
Meanwhile, we should also report that there were about a dozen supporters of these two men inside the courtroom today, many of them crying, consoling each other. And the Muslim community will be holding a rally tonight at the mosque that was targeted in the raid overnight -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Alina Cho, thanks so much.
Now to the training camps sites in remote northern Pakistan known to attract al Qaeda plotters and recruits. Defense and intelligence sources tell CNN that activity ebbs and flows at those places and lately it's been actively flowing. Those sources say that's not one of the reasons for the week's high alerts in parts of New York, New Jersey and Washington.
Now, while government agencies are tracking potential terrorists, other agencies are rehearsing for possible attacks. California is one of four states conducting mock disaster drills today.
That's where our Thelma Gutierrez is, on the scene at a simulated dirty bomb attack -- Thelma.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.
Well, that simulated attack has been going on for the last 2 1/2 hours now. And just to set the stage, it is a dirty bomb that apparently goes off in one of the shipping containers out here at the Los Angeles Harbor. There are many casualties.
After that, if you take a look right behind me, you can see that there are emergency workers here. And what would happen in this kind of attack is that all of those rescue workers who had actually worked on patients would actually go through a meter. They would be tested and assessed to see if they are exposed. And then you can see the pools right behind me, the blue pool. They would go into an area where they would be decontaminated.
And joining me now is battalion chief Michael Bowman.
And you have been here out here all morning long. In the simulation, there are about 250 total. Sixty are participating as patients.
MICHAEL BOWMAN, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: Yes, that is correct.
And we had, as you stated before, is a scenario. Again, the United States surrounded by water. And 90 percent of commerce that comes in comes in by ship. So we off-load a container from a ship, explode it. It was a dirty bomb. A dirty bomb, not only the explosive, but also has the potential of radiation and nuclear byproducts, which we had in our scenario.
So what you are seeing is our first arriving companies coming on scene, and they're assessing it and getting the -- calling for the additional resources and getting the infrastructure started for an incident of this magnitude. They're taking initial steps, what we call a rapid extraction, getting all the patients they can, the walking wounded that can go ahead and go to a safe zone. And they're making rescues.
And then from that, they're calling in with additional resources. And we come in. Then we're going to go ahead and set up decontamination zones, hazmat detection zones. And these firefighters that come on scene now since 9/11, they have specialized detection equipment. They can go in and monitor how much exposure they have, so we can do this relatively safely with our breathing apparatus and full protective clothing.
As you can see, two-and-a-half hours into this incident, a lot of our firefighters now have been exposed and rescue workers have been exposed. So we take them now to see their level of contamination. And we can assess right then and there if they need to be decontaminated, as you can see. And we're starting that process now with our rescue workers.
GUTIERREZ: And one of the rescue workers out here was telling me, this is part of the new normal after 9/11. So you would always proceed with this kind of a response, assuming that folks out here were perhaps exposed to biological or radioactive material.
BOWMAN: Right. And we're going to go in. We're going to go in heavy with resources and multi-agencies to assess exactly that. And with our unified command and through the communication with all the different agencies that responded on this incident, it's worked really well so far. And, as you can see now, the structure's working and we're very pleased.
GUTIERREZ: All right, thank you very much.
And so, Kyra, this really is part of a very massive exercise. Again, 4,200 people over five states and two countries will be working together over the next two days to see how well state, local, federal authorities all work together -- back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Thelma Gutierrez, thanks so much.
It happened all the time. That's what a witness says about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. guards.
CNN national correspondent Bob Franken is at Fort Bragg now. He's monitoring the military hearing for Private Lynndie England, one of those accused -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynndie England is the one who is the subject of this pretrial hearing, facing 19 charges.
But the testimony this afternoon was about an incident where she was not alleged to have been. The prosecution is trying to counter defense claims that the military police, like Lynndie England, were acting at the behest of military intelligence officials. So the witness this afternoon is a former military intelligence member of the unit that was at Abu Ghraib, former Specialist Israel Rivera (ph).
Rivera say that, on the night of October 24, a couple of his military intelligence buddies said, come with them. They were going to show him something cool. They went to the cell block, which is the one in question. Three detainees who had been accused of raping a young boy at a different prison were dragged out of their cells and were forced to fall into a pile on the ground, where there were simulated homosexual acts. It's one of the pictures that we have seen.
"Was this against the rules?" he was asked. Again, this is the prosecutor trying to ascertain whether M.I., as they were called, were the ones ordering the military police to do these things?
"Absolutely not," said Rivera. "This was sports, something cool, entertainment." As a matter of fact, one of his colleagues said very nervously, you're not going to tell anyone, are you? The next day, he did tell a friend, but it was several months after that before all of this became public. As I said, this did not involve directly Lynndie England, but she has been implicated in all the controversy surrounding the alleged abuse that happened during this period of time at Abu Ghraib.
She is in fact facing charges as a result of this that could lead to a potential 38 years in prison -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Bob Franken, Live from Fort Bragg, thanks so much.
Straight ahead, 2-year-old conjoined twins spend their first day apart after surgery. More on that ahead on LIVE FROM.
Brown-bag lawsuit. A fired worker sues after her employer says he don't like her lunch.
Bruce Springsteen the boss of you when it comes to how you vote? A new concert tour raises the question, do you like politics with your music?
E-mail us livefrom@cnn.com. We'll air some of your thoughts just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: News across America now.
An Orlando, Florida, woman claims her former employer fired her for eating pork on the premises. Rising Star Telecommunications is run by Muslims, to whom pork is unclean. Lina Morales says that there is no written policy against eating pork. Rising Star says she was told more than once not to do it.
A syndicated shock jock radio team fired for a stunt two years ago has a new gig. Opie and Anthony will premiere on XM Satellite Radio in October. That pair was canceled after encouraging a couple to have sex in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral. The couple complied.
Two-year-old Filipino twins sleep side by side for the first time in their young lives. A marathon surgery to separate the boys joined at the tops of their head was completed in the wee hours this morning at a New York hospital. Doctors say the boys are strong and stable.
President Bush stumping in Columbus, Ohio, also, John Kerry, John Edwards stumping in Saint Louis, Missouri.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we're going to make our military stronger. I pledge to you, Missouri, I can fight a more effective, smarter and better war on terror that actually makes America safer in the future.
And we're going to do it; we're going to do it in a number of ways. We're going to double the number of special forces so that we have the ability to fight more effectively against terror, but we're not going to see our troops overstretched and overextended, the way they are today.
You have got Guard and National Reserve that have been turned into almost active duty today. You have people who have been deployed for 15 months and more, promised less. You have got almost 150,000 of our National Guard who have called up and Reserves.
Almost 40 percent of the troops in Iraq are National Guard and Reserves; 90 percent of our active duty Army divisions are either in Iraq, preparing to go to Iraq or just coming back from Iraq.
I pledge to you, we can make America stronger by being smarter. We can do it by living up to our values. Bringing other countries to our side, working with other nations is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of strength. And we're going to provide that strength.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, from one political performance to another.
(MUSIC)
PHILLIPS: Yes, it's got a good beat, easy to dance to. But will it inspire you to vote for John Kerry? That story, plus your e-mails, just ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, if you've ever gazed at the stars, you've no doubt asked yourself, is anybody out there? Well, proof of what was once considered an absurd idea may be closer than we think.
Now, this Sunday, my partner, Miles O'Brien, goes searching for signs of life in the universe. Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Greetings from the deadest place on Earth, Chile's Atacama Desert.
These researchers are probing the limits of life, trying to understand why is there nothing living in the dirt they're digging, while, just over the hill, life is thriving. The big question is, are we alone in the universe? Is there life anywhere other than Earth? And the scientists tell me, mapping the limits of life here makes it easier to chart a clever course to troll for it out there on Mars and possibly other planets.
And this is why scientists in this field are so excited right now. The more they look for life in all the wrong places, the more they find it, in the scalding hot acid springs of Yellowstone, in the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean, in the cold dry valleys of the Antarctic, even in radioactive waste pools. We now know all of these places are home to some hale, hearty critters. Life is much more tenacious than we once assumed.
STEVEN SQUYRES, MARS ROVER PROJECT LEADER: There used to be this idea that life really only could take hold in a very narrow range of conditions, sort of like a Goldilocks kind of thing, where it can't be too warm. It can't be too cold. It has got to be just light. But what you find is, as long as you can get liquid water there and some source of energy, man, life is happy, on this planet.
O'BRIEN: And this has fundamentally changed the way scientists look at the universe.
PAUL DAVIES, AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR ASTROBIOLOGY: People have speculated about life beyond Earth for centuries. But it's become a scientific venture only relatively recently.
KELLY SMITH, CLEMSON UNIVERSITY: Well, I think the universe is such an incredibly huge place that the chances that there isn't life anywhere out there are virtually zero. How frequent intelligent life is, is another question.
DAVIES: If we were to discover just a single microbe on another planet and if we could be sure it didn't get there from our planet or vice-versa, if we discovered a second sample of life, somewhere where life has began from scratch, even just a microbe, it would transform our world view beyond the discoveries of Copernicus and Galileo and Darwin and Einstein put together.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, be sure to join Miles O'Brien for "CNN PRESENTS: Is Anybody Out There?" this Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.
(FINANCIAL UPDATE)
PHILLIPS: Well, some big names in music are coming together for a common cause. They're taking their show on the road play for the change in the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, the Dixie Chicks and R.E.M. -- just some of the rockers joining forces in an effort to oust President Bush.
In what's being called the Vote for Change tour, the Boss and about two dozen artists are taking to the road in key electoral battleground states in hopes that their music can sway undecided voters to join their cause.
MIKE MILLS, R.E.M. BASSIST: The fact is it is a Vote for Change tour. We want a new administration in the White House, and this is the best way we can think of to do it. Nothing like this has ever really been done before, and it seems like it's got to have some kind of positive effect
VARGAS: To some, the tour may recall the mobilization within the rock world during the Vietnam War, when activist artists, such as Bob Dylan, used the power of their music to energize the anti-war movement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think what we're seeing is an extremely high level of participation by artists, primarily rock artists, that started with the war in Iraq. VARGAS: The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Black Eyed Peas were just two of the prominent musical groups present at the Democratic National Convention. And when it comes to celebrity endorsements, Kerry seems to have the edge.
But President Bush has found support in country and Christian artists. Ricky Martin and Jessica Simpson have previously loaned their support to the president. And with the Republican National Convention fast approaching, some feel it's just a matter of time before the commander-in-chief unveils his musical counter-attack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just haven't seen the Bush camp really push that button yet. And I'm sure we'll see some -- some artists come out for Bush. Perhaps not in as strong numbers, but they'll be there.
VARGAS (on camera): Meanwhile, the Vote for Change tour presented by MoveOn PAC kicks off October 1. Proceeds will benefit the Democratic political organization America Coming Together.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, we've been asking for your opinion today on this question: Do you like politics with your music?
Let's read some of your e-mails.
This one coming from Judy in Minneapolis: "There are many of us who would love to spread the word for John Kerry and Edwards, but can't reach as many as Bruce Springsteen. I love the music, and I appreciate their help in this critical cause."
Michelle in Arizona -- or, actually, in Van Buren -- I apologize -- "I think that some of the singers are looking for free publicity. John Cougar Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen are looking for a boost in record sales, rather than true political interests."
This coming from Chicago, Illinois, "No longer a fan," he says: "Bruce, buddy, I've supported you for all these years. Now we go separate ways. You chose this."
Brian in New Jersey: "Of course musicians should have a voice in the political debate, just like every other American. Labor unions use their bully pulpit to promote their choice for president. Media pundits use the airwaves. There's no reason musicians shouldn't speak their mind as they see fit. After all, this is America."
Now it's time for the all-American "JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS."
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 August 5, 2004 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In the news now, new details emerging about the two terror arrests in Albany, New York. The government says that the two mosque officials agreed to help an informant who told them he was plotting a missile attack against a Pakistani diplomat. More coming up in a live report.
The war flares again in the Iraqi city, Najaf. An American soldier died today during a battle with Shiite insurgents. Two troops were wounded when an American chopper was downed.
Undisclosed evidence surfaces described as potentially beneficial to alleged wife killer Scott Peterson. Today the judge in the case granted a plea by Peterson's attorney to postpone the trial until Tuesday to have the mystery evidence scientifically tested.
Law enforcement officials in Salt Lake City received an extension to continue to hold Mark Hacking amid the ongoing search for his wife, Lori. The "Salt Lake City Tribune" is reporting that Hacking's two brothers are the unnamed witnesses cited in a warrant who say that Hacking told them that he killed his spouse and disposed of the body.
We begin this hour with an upstate sting and new signs of life in al Qaeda training camps, far-flung, seemingly unrelated developments in a hectic week in the war on terror.
Stung are the founder and leader of a storefront mosque in Albany, New York. They allegedly agreed to help an FBI informant launder money tied to the sale of a shoulder-fired missile. Thousands of miles away, fresh comings and goings at known terror training camps near the Pakistan-Afghan border. More on that in just a moment.
Now, the missile in question is Albany, which was only a prop and the property of the U.S. government. It was billed as a means to assassinate the Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations.
CNN's Alina Cho has more now on these dramatic details.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kyra, the arraignment here at the federal courthouse in Albany ended a short time ago. Both of these men heard the charges against them. Both of them are being held without bail. Here's what we can tell you about what happened inside the courtroom; 49-year-old Mohammed Hossain asked for his own attorney, while the younger suspect, 34-year-old Yassin Aref, asked for a court-appointed attorney through an interpreter, both charged with providing material support to terrorists and money laundering. A little bit about the background and what led to these two arrests. They were taken into custody following an overnight raid at a mosque here in downtown Albany. The two men were arrested following a sting operation involving several meetings that were both audio and videotaped. The men allegedly tried to help an FBI informant posing as a terrorist launder money from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile.
Now, that missile, which was a disarmed U.S. missile used specifically for this sting operation was, according to the complaint, going to be used to hit Pakistan's consulate in retaliation for Pakistan's support in the war on terrorism.
Justice Department officials a short time ago called this a good case, a solid case, but not the case of the century.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES COMEY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: This is not a case connected to the current terrorist threat. This is not a case where the defendants were discovered plotting terrorist violence. The terrorist plot in this case is one that the government's agent, a cooperating witness, represented to be under way. It was not real. It was represented. This case is a sting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: These two men will be held here in Albany until a detention hearing is held on Tuesday here at the federal courthouse here in Albany.
Meanwhile, we should also report that there were about a dozen supporters of these two men inside the courtroom today, many of them crying, consoling each other. And the Muslim community will be holding a rally tonight at the mosque that was targeted in the raid overnight -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Alina Cho, thanks so much.
Now to the training camps sites in remote northern Pakistan known to attract al Qaeda plotters and recruits. Defense and intelligence sources tell CNN that activity ebbs and flows at those places and lately it's been actively flowing. Those sources say that's not one of the reasons for the week's high alerts in parts of New York, New Jersey and Washington.
Now, while government agencies are tracking potential terrorists, other agencies are rehearsing for possible attacks. California is one of four states conducting mock disaster drills today.
That's where our Thelma Gutierrez is, on the scene at a simulated dirty bomb attack -- Thelma.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.
Well, that simulated attack has been going on for the last 2 1/2 hours now. And just to set the stage, it is a dirty bomb that apparently goes off in one of the shipping containers out here at the Los Angeles Harbor. There are many casualties.
After that, if you take a look right behind me, you can see that there are emergency workers here. And what would happen in this kind of attack is that all of those rescue workers who had actually worked on patients would actually go through a meter. They would be tested and assessed to see if they are exposed. And then you can see the pools right behind me, the blue pool. They would go into an area where they would be decontaminated.
And joining me now is battalion chief Michael Bowman.
And you have been here out here all morning long. In the simulation, there are about 250 total. Sixty are participating as patients.
MICHAEL BOWMAN, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: Yes, that is correct.
And we had, as you stated before, is a scenario. Again, the United States surrounded by water. And 90 percent of commerce that comes in comes in by ship. So we off-load a container from a ship, explode it. It was a dirty bomb. A dirty bomb, not only the explosive, but also has the potential of radiation and nuclear byproducts, which we had in our scenario.
So what you are seeing is our first arriving companies coming on scene, and they're assessing it and getting the -- calling for the additional resources and getting the infrastructure started for an incident of this magnitude. They're taking initial steps, what we call a rapid extraction, getting all the patients they can, the walking wounded that can go ahead and go to a safe zone. And they're making rescues.
And then from that, they're calling in with additional resources. And we come in. Then we're going to go ahead and set up decontamination zones, hazmat detection zones. And these firefighters that come on scene now since 9/11, they have specialized detection equipment. They can go in and monitor how much exposure they have, so we can do this relatively safely with our breathing apparatus and full protective clothing.
As you can see, two-and-a-half hours into this incident, a lot of our firefighters now have been exposed and rescue workers have been exposed. So we take them now to see their level of contamination. And we can assess right then and there if they need to be decontaminated, as you can see. And we're starting that process now with our rescue workers.
GUTIERREZ: And one of the rescue workers out here was telling me, this is part of the new normal after 9/11. So you would always proceed with this kind of a response, assuming that folks out here were perhaps exposed to biological or radioactive material.
BOWMAN: Right. And we're going to go in. We're going to go in heavy with resources and multi-agencies to assess exactly that. And with our unified command and through the communication with all the different agencies that responded on this incident, it's worked really well so far. And, as you can see now, the structure's working and we're very pleased.
GUTIERREZ: All right, thank you very much.
And so, Kyra, this really is part of a very massive exercise. Again, 4,200 people over five states and two countries will be working together over the next two days to see how well state, local, federal authorities all work together -- back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Thelma Gutierrez, thanks so much.
It happened all the time. That's what a witness says about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. guards.
CNN national correspondent Bob Franken is at Fort Bragg now. He's monitoring the military hearing for Private Lynndie England, one of those accused -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynndie England is the one who is the subject of this pretrial hearing, facing 19 charges.
But the testimony this afternoon was about an incident where she was not alleged to have been. The prosecution is trying to counter defense claims that the military police, like Lynndie England, were acting at the behest of military intelligence officials. So the witness this afternoon is a former military intelligence member of the unit that was at Abu Ghraib, former Specialist Israel Rivera (ph).
Rivera say that, on the night of October 24, a couple of his military intelligence buddies said, come with them. They were going to show him something cool. They went to the cell block, which is the one in question. Three detainees who had been accused of raping a young boy at a different prison were dragged out of their cells and were forced to fall into a pile on the ground, where there were simulated homosexual acts. It's one of the pictures that we have seen.
"Was this against the rules?" he was asked. Again, this is the prosecutor trying to ascertain whether M.I., as they were called, were the ones ordering the military police to do these things?
"Absolutely not," said Rivera. "This was sports, something cool, entertainment." As a matter of fact, one of his colleagues said very nervously, you're not going to tell anyone, are you? The next day, he did tell a friend, but it was several months after that before all of this became public. As I said, this did not involve directly Lynndie England, but she has been implicated in all the controversy surrounding the alleged abuse that happened during this period of time at Abu Ghraib.
She is in fact facing charges as a result of this that could lead to a potential 38 years in prison -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Bob Franken, Live from Fort Bragg, thanks so much.
Straight ahead, 2-year-old conjoined twins spend their first day apart after surgery. More on that ahead on LIVE FROM.
Brown-bag lawsuit. A fired worker sues after her employer says he don't like her lunch.
Bruce Springsteen the boss of you when it comes to how you vote? A new concert tour raises the question, do you like politics with your music?
E-mail us livefrom@cnn.com. We'll air some of your thoughts just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: News across America now.
An Orlando, Florida, woman claims her former employer fired her for eating pork on the premises. Rising Star Telecommunications is run by Muslims, to whom pork is unclean. Lina Morales says that there is no written policy against eating pork. Rising Star says she was told more than once not to do it.
A syndicated shock jock radio team fired for a stunt two years ago has a new gig. Opie and Anthony will premiere on XM Satellite Radio in October. That pair was canceled after encouraging a couple to have sex in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral. The couple complied.
Two-year-old Filipino twins sleep side by side for the first time in their young lives. A marathon surgery to separate the boys joined at the tops of their head was completed in the wee hours this morning at a New York hospital. Doctors say the boys are strong and stable.
President Bush stumping in Columbus, Ohio, also, John Kerry, John Edwards stumping in Saint Louis, Missouri.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we're going to make our military stronger. I pledge to you, Missouri, I can fight a more effective, smarter and better war on terror that actually makes America safer in the future.
And we're going to do it; we're going to do it in a number of ways. We're going to double the number of special forces so that we have the ability to fight more effectively against terror, but we're not going to see our troops overstretched and overextended, the way they are today.
You have got Guard and National Reserve that have been turned into almost active duty today. You have people who have been deployed for 15 months and more, promised less. You have got almost 150,000 of our National Guard who have called up and Reserves.
Almost 40 percent of the troops in Iraq are National Guard and Reserves; 90 percent of our active duty Army divisions are either in Iraq, preparing to go to Iraq or just coming back from Iraq.
I pledge to you, we can make America stronger by being smarter. We can do it by living up to our values. Bringing other countries to our side, working with other nations is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of strength. And we're going to provide that strength.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, from one political performance to another.
(MUSIC)
PHILLIPS: Yes, it's got a good beat, easy to dance to. But will it inspire you to vote for John Kerry? That story, plus your e-mails, just ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, if you've ever gazed at the stars, you've no doubt asked yourself, is anybody out there? Well, proof of what was once considered an absurd idea may be closer than we think.
Now, this Sunday, my partner, Miles O'Brien, goes searching for signs of life in the universe. Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Greetings from the deadest place on Earth, Chile's Atacama Desert.
These researchers are probing the limits of life, trying to understand why is there nothing living in the dirt they're digging, while, just over the hill, life is thriving. The big question is, are we alone in the universe? Is there life anywhere other than Earth? And the scientists tell me, mapping the limits of life here makes it easier to chart a clever course to troll for it out there on Mars and possibly other planets.
And this is why scientists in this field are so excited right now. The more they look for life in all the wrong places, the more they find it, in the scalding hot acid springs of Yellowstone, in the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean, in the cold dry valleys of the Antarctic, even in radioactive waste pools. We now know all of these places are home to some hale, hearty critters. Life is much more tenacious than we once assumed.
STEVEN SQUYRES, MARS ROVER PROJECT LEADER: There used to be this idea that life really only could take hold in a very narrow range of conditions, sort of like a Goldilocks kind of thing, where it can't be too warm. It can't be too cold. It has got to be just light. But what you find is, as long as you can get liquid water there and some source of energy, man, life is happy, on this planet.
O'BRIEN: And this has fundamentally changed the way scientists look at the universe.
PAUL DAVIES, AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR ASTROBIOLOGY: People have speculated about life beyond Earth for centuries. But it's become a scientific venture only relatively recently.
KELLY SMITH, CLEMSON UNIVERSITY: Well, I think the universe is such an incredibly huge place that the chances that there isn't life anywhere out there are virtually zero. How frequent intelligent life is, is another question.
DAVIES: If we were to discover just a single microbe on another planet and if we could be sure it didn't get there from our planet or vice-versa, if we discovered a second sample of life, somewhere where life has began from scratch, even just a microbe, it would transform our world view beyond the discoveries of Copernicus and Galileo and Darwin and Einstein put together.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, be sure to join Miles O'Brien for "CNN PRESENTS: Is Anybody Out There?" this Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.
(FINANCIAL UPDATE)
PHILLIPS: Well, some big names in music are coming together for a common cause. They're taking their show on the road play for the change in the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, the Dixie Chicks and R.E.M. -- just some of the rockers joining forces in an effort to oust President Bush.
In what's being called the Vote for Change tour, the Boss and about two dozen artists are taking to the road in key electoral battleground states in hopes that their music can sway undecided voters to join their cause.
MIKE MILLS, R.E.M. BASSIST: The fact is it is a Vote for Change tour. We want a new administration in the White House, and this is the best way we can think of to do it. Nothing like this has ever really been done before, and it seems like it's got to have some kind of positive effect
VARGAS: To some, the tour may recall the mobilization within the rock world during the Vietnam War, when activist artists, such as Bob Dylan, used the power of their music to energize the anti-war movement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think what we're seeing is an extremely high level of participation by artists, primarily rock artists, that started with the war in Iraq. VARGAS: The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Black Eyed Peas were just two of the prominent musical groups present at the Democratic National Convention. And when it comes to celebrity endorsements, Kerry seems to have the edge.
But President Bush has found support in country and Christian artists. Ricky Martin and Jessica Simpson have previously loaned their support to the president. And with the Republican National Convention fast approaching, some feel it's just a matter of time before the commander-in-chief unveils his musical counter-attack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just haven't seen the Bush camp really push that button yet. And I'm sure we'll see some -- some artists come out for Bush. Perhaps not in as strong numbers, but they'll be there.
VARGAS (on camera): Meanwhile, the Vote for Change tour presented by MoveOn PAC kicks off October 1. Proceeds will benefit the Democratic political organization America Coming Together.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, we've been asking for your opinion today on this question: Do you like politics with your music?
Let's read some of your e-mails.
This one coming from Judy in Minneapolis: "There are many of us who would love to spread the word for John Kerry and Edwards, but can't reach as many as Bruce Springsteen. I love the music, and I appreciate their help in this critical cause."
Michelle in Arizona -- or, actually, in Van Buren -- I apologize -- "I think that some of the singers are looking for free publicity. John Cougar Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen are looking for a boost in record sales, rather than true political interests."
This coming from Chicago, Illinois, "No longer a fan," he says: "Bruce, buddy, I've supported you for all these years. Now we go separate ways. You chose this."
Brian in New Jersey: "Of course musicians should have a voice in the political debate, just like every other American. Labor unions use their bully pulpit to promote their choice for president. Media pundits use the airwaves. There's no reason musicians shouldn't speak their mind as they see fit. After all, this is America."
Now it's time for the all-American "JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS."
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