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Suicide Bombers Target Worshipping Shias; Bush Signs Bill to Limit Class Action Lawsuits; Russians Announce Deal with Iranians for Spent Nuclear Fuel; Town Torn Over Teacher Sexual Allegations
Aired February 18, 2005 - 13:00 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, CO-HOST: Pushing the boundaries of life and death. A tiny baby and the courageous doctor behind a medical first.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: And start your engines. NASCAR revs up for the biggest race of the year. We'll take you live to Daytona.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts now.
Ashurah under siege. Once again, the holiest period of the holiest month in Shia Islam is the backdrop for brutal attacks on worshipers in Iraq. Three separate attacks around Baghdad today killed at least 18 people. A fourth killed two at an army checkpoint.
CNN's Nic Robertson has the latest now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest attack occurred just before dusk. A suicide bomber approached a security checkpoint, detonated his explosives, killing one Iraqi soldier, one Iraqi policeman, wounding 10 other Iraqi soldiers and two civilians who were nearby.
Earlier in the day, there have been three Shia mosques targeted by -- targeted by insurgents. The first mosque just around the time of noon prayers, when worshipers were heading towards the mosque. An eyewitness said he saw the suicide bomber approach the crowd of people, detonate the explosives. Police say at least 15 people were killed, 20 wounded.
Within half an hour of that attack on the western side of Baghdad, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives, again at a Shia mosque, killing two people, wounding at least eight.
Another suicide bomber was spotted by guards at the same mosque, according to U.S. officials. This would-be suicide bomber fled the scene, was shot at, detonated his explosives about 100 yards, 100 meters away from the mosque, not injuring anyone, as his explosives went off.
And later in the day another targeted attack on a Shia mosque. This time a rocket fired at that mosque. It missed the rocket, landed a coffee shop, and we're told by police killed one person there and wounded three others.
All of these attacks coming at a time of heightened security in readiness for the Ashurah commemoration on Saturday. The holy shrines in Baghdad and in the holy city of Karbala in the south of Iraq, all the streets around those shrines have been closed off. Security checks are in place.
Security officials saying they're very concerned that the Sunni insurgents are trying to ignite sectarian warfare ahead of this religious -- religious commemoration. Last year at least 141 Shia Muslims were killed in multiple attacks around shrines in Baghdad and in -- and in Karbala. And that is giving great cause for concern. That's why the borders of Iraq have been closed. And that's why there is such tight security around these religious sites.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And elsewhere in Iraq, two more U.S. soldiers are dead in Mosul and eight more suspected insurgents are out of circulation. U.S. officials say the suspects were nabbed by Iraqis.
Plenty more remain, as evidenced by the fiery encounter, pitting U.S. troops and helicopters against insurgents armed with rifles and RPGs. The clash follows repeated roadside bomb attacks on U.S. convoys. One such attack in southern Iraq today killed another U.S. soldier.
And the bodies of a half dozen Iraqi soldiers who were kidnapped a week ago turned up today in Samarra just north of Baghdad. The men had been shot in the head and chest. Two Iraqi policemen were shot and killed in Samarra in a separate attack.
O'BRIEN: So whatever happened to class? That's a question many Democrats fear future plaintiffs will be plaintively asking in the aftermath of the presidential bill signing you may have seen live here on CNN.
The first legislative victory of Mr. Bush's second term diverts most future class action lawsuits from state courts to federal, the latter thought to be far less hospitable to vast groups of agreed parties seeking damages from big corporations.
The president says the measure restores common sense and balance to the U.S. legal system. Critics say it's a gross injustice.
CNN's Elaine Quijano has more now from the White House -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Miles.
That's right, President Bush says the legislation he signed today is necessary to curb the frivolous lawsuits that he says are clogging up the nation's courts.
But opponents say the new law puts corporate interests, they believe, ahead of people's rights to sue and go after companies legally. But President Bush insists that those rights will be preserved.
At the same time, he believes that this new law will cut down on lawyers filing meritless cases and getting paid huge awards or huge settlements. Today, he explained why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Most large interstate class actions into federal courts. This will prevent trial lawyers from shopping around for friendly local venues. The bill will keep out of state businesses, workers and shareholders from being dragged before unfriendly local juries or forced into unfair settlements. And that's good for our system, and it's good for our economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now, this new law represents the first step towards the president's larger goal of cutting down or trying to cut down the number of lawsuits nationwide. The president -- the president believes that so-called junk lawsuits, or lawsuits without merit, are bad for small businesses and bad for the economy.
And along those lines, the president is also focusing on medical liability reform, as well as asbestos litigation as part of his efforts.
And now, with former Republicans in the Senate, some lobbying by the White House on this particular issue, and as he pointed out today, some Democrats even in his camp on this. The president now has his first piece of legislation in his second term -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Elaine Quijano, thank you very much.
So is common sense reform or is it a slap in the face for trial lawyers, who tend to be major Democratic boosters, we might add? Class action is in session on "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS" at 5 p.m. Eastern, 2 Pacific, right here on CNN.
PHILLIPS: Iranians say it's a molehill. Others fear it may be a mountain. What it really is, is a tunnel under construction in remote central Iran near a site that converts uranium for use in power plants, which Tehran claims is its intent, or for nuclear weapons, which the Bush administration believes Iran covets.
Well, these photos were taken less than a week ago and brought to light by the private group Institute for Science and International Security. U.N. watchdogs know about that tunnel and have been there as recently as November.
Now, by itself they say it violates no international laws or protocols. Russia, meanwhile, says the world has nothing to fear from Iranian nukes.
More on that now from CNN's Ryan Chilcote in Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Russian president appeared quite pleased as he met with today the Iranian national security chief, Rowhani. Russia just announcing that it has received a pledge from the Iranians that it would return spent fuel from a reactor it is building in Iran.
And that has been a very contentious issue. Both the United States and Israel very concerned that the Iranians could try to extract plutonium from that spent fuel.
Well, Russia now saying that it has gotten the Iranians to agree to send that spent fuel back to Russia. And with that pledge, the Russian president says he is now convinced that Iran has no intention to build nukes.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The latest steps by Iran convince us that Iran does not intend to produce nuclear weapons. This means we will continue our cooperation in all fields, including atomic energy.
CHILCOTE: The Russian president is talking about the Bushehr atomic power plant. Russians are very close to finishing it. And the head of the atomic energy ministry here in Moscow is going to go to Tehran later this month. He says there he will sign this protocol, this agreement with the Iranians where they say they pledge to return the fuel back to Russia. Then the Russians say that plant could be online as early as next year.
Now, this all comes just before the Russian president sits down with the U.S. president for their first talks in quite a while in Bratislava next week. And both this deal with Iran and also some weapons sales, some Russian weapons sale to Syria, you can be sure, will be high on the agenda there.
Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. Stay tuned to CNN for the latest information day and night.
O'BRIEN: Claims of clergy sexual abuse. Since 1950 the U.S. Catholic Church has spent more than $800 million to settle the lawsuits, and three dioceses have filed for bankruptcy protection as a result.
Today, even as church leaders say they're making gigantic strides to prevent such abuse in the future, there are many past victims who are still coming forward. A U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops audit of churches around the country last year shows that hundred of allegations against priests are still surfacing, many decades old.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHLEEN MCCHESNEY, U.S. CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS: In 2004, at least 1,092 allegations of sexual abuse were made against at least 756 Catholic priests and deacons in the United States.
Most of the alleged incidents occurred between 1965 and 1974. Half of the alleged offenders had been previously accused. Five hundred and fifty offenders, or 72 percent, were deceased, laisized or previously removed from ministry before 2004.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Now even before these new statistics were released, victim advocates were critical of the audit, saying the bishops had too much control over who participated in the reviews.
A town ripped apart by some stunning allegations. An elementary schoolteacher facing ugly accusations that she -- he abused students. Ahead on LIVE FROM, why some parents are standing behind him.
And later, he was born with a severe heart defect. He weighed less than two pounds at birth, his heart the size of a grape. Yet a doctor found a way to save his life. This tiny baby's big medical miracle ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, a Chicago suburb, allegations of child sexual abuse has torn a town in two. This time it's an elementary school band teacher who stands accused.
But CNN's Randi Kaye reports the case is complicated by the strong belief of many parents that the teacher is being falsely accused.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Burlington Northern Railroad cuts right through the heart of Berwyn, Illinois. The tracks aren't the only thing cutting the town in two.
In the last few weeks, Berwyn has been torn apart by searing allegations. The headlines tell the story: sex photos, elementary students bound and gagged, a teacher accused. Parents want answers.
BRANKO BOJOVIC, PARENT: And to have my own daughter in that class really struck me. It was -- it was a really dark, sinking feeling inside that I had as a parent.
KAYE: And at the school board, anger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your role as a mandated reporter is to inform a department when you determine there is a reason to believe that a child has been harmed or in danger or being harmed, physically, sexually or through neglect. That was not done. KAYE: What is alleged to have happen in Berwyn is a parent's worst fear. An elementary school band teacher, beloved and respected in the community, suddenly accused of heinous crimes.
His name is Robert Sperlik. He grew up in Berwyn and has been teaching band here for 18 years.
(on camera) Sperlik worked at six of the seven schools in District 100, including this one, Pershing Elementary. He taught both full classes and one on one. The district also allowed him to hold private sessions in his own basement.
(voice-over) Sperlik is accused of using duct tape to tie down young girls, some as young as 10, then sexually molesting them. Police say he touched their bra straps and rubbed himself against them as they sat pinned and helpless.
FRANK MARZULLO, PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR: It's alleged that students were duct taped and tied with the rope to chairs during class. Their mouths were duct taped. They were locked in closets as they were duct taped during sessions with the teacher. And at some of the times there was some inappropriate touching done by the -- allegedly done by the band instructor.
KAYE: Public Safety Director Frank Marzullo says a search of Sperlik's home turned up dozens of bondage tapes, also computer images of adults bound with duct tape, believed to have been downloaded by Sperlik.
JON LOEVY, PLAINTIFF'S LAWYER: You try to make it like a game. I mean, I don't know how you sell to an 11-year-old girl that duct taping is part of band practice.
KAYE: Lawyer Jon Loevy is representing three of Sperlik's alleged victims in a civil lawsuit. In all, more than a dozen contacted police, though none have chosen to speak publicly. All, according to Loevy, have similar stories.
LOEVY: He used duct tape to bind their hands both in front of them and behind them, bind their mouths, bind their bodies. By all indications he got sexual gratification from restraining young girls.
KAYE: Even as the accusations rocked this suburban community, another disturbing allegation. School officials may have been alerted to Sperlik as early as 1999 and did little or nothing to stop him, according to investigators.
Police say that after arresting Sperlik, they found two letters of reprimand in his personnel file, disciplining him for inappropriate touching.
LOEVY: What they did was they reprimanded the teacher. They told the teacher, "You've got to find a way to learn to teach without touching students. You've got to leave your door open if you're going to be alone with students. You can't be alone with just one girl. You have to have at least two or three girls." KAYE: One of Loevy's clients was the first girl to make accusations against Sperlik. Loevy says she spoke up years ago when she wrote a letter to the school. According to Loevy, the girl's parents were led to believe it was benign touching. Case closed.
LOEVY: But it shouldn't have had to wait five years so that so many students could be victimized.
KAYE: How is it that a teacher reprimanded for inappropriate touching was allowed to continue teaching without a word to police?
(on camera) If you look back and there was the slightest possibility, slightest possibility that a young girl had been assaulted in any way in a room in that school, should something have been done?
MARZULLO: Most definitely. Most definitely.
KAYE: Besides a letter of reprimand in a file?
MARZULLO: Well -- well, we know that now. We certainly do know that now.
KAYE (voice-over): In Illinois, the law requires that anyone aware of inappropriate conduct report it.
(on camera) But it is clear in this case that the school never notified Berwyn police and never notified the Department of Children and Family Services?
MARZULLO: That's correct.
KAYE (voice-over): School officials have said previously circumstances did not require notification. We wanted to know more about the first complaint, but no one with the school district would discuss the matter with CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not hiding anything. We are cooperating with local police and Cook County state attorney.
LOEVY: But to not take it then to the next step and report it to the appropriate authorities leads to the conclusion that something went very, very wrong at that school.
KAYE: But that's also what Sperlik's defenders say.
WILLIAM HEDRICK, SPERLIK'S DEFENSE LAWYER: He did not commit any of the crimes charged, period.
PATRICIA PAOLICCHI, BERWYN PARENT: There just is no way that he is capable of the type of behavior that people are alleging.
KAYE: A surprising number of parents are convinced accused child molester Robert Sperlik is being railroaded.
(END VIDEOTAPE) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM...
KAYE: Who here has serious doubts about the charges that are now facing Robert Sperlik?
PHILLIPS: Meet the parents and students who say the charges against an accused teacher are more frenzy than fact.
Later on LIVE FROM, NASCAR revs up for its biggest race. And we've got stock car's biggest legend, Richard Petty, with a LIVE FROM interview.
Next week on LIVE FROM, he's had the inside track on Hollywood for 40 years. We'll talk with former Motion Picture Association president Jack Valente about his most memorable Oscar moments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: More now on a popular band teacher near Chicago accused of tying up and molesting young girls at school. Robert Sperlik is currently jailed, faces charges of abuse and kidnapping. Still, he has many defenders who say an innocent man's life is being ruined.
CNN's Randi Kaye picks up the story again.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE (voice-over): Robert Sperlik, beloved band teacher, long- time friend of the community of Berwyn, Illinois, now being painted as a child molester.
LOEVY: It's not one girl in isolation accusing the teacher. There are a number of different girls making these accusations over a period of years. Girls who, you know, aren't friends and have no particular connection to each other are making similar accounts of this kind of abuse.
KAYE: Sperlik is accused of preying on his own elementary school students. He's been teaching band here nearly two decades. Now, he's facing more than 100 allegations of abuse, including molesting girls as young as 10, tying them down with duct tape, gagging them, and rubbing himself against them.
(on camera) Who here has serious doubts about the charges that are now facing Robert Sperlik? OK.
(voice-over) Some of Sperlik's greatest supporters, Berwyn parents, even some of his students, describe him as a gentle soul, nurturing. They invited us to hear their side of the story.
DEB LYNCH, BERWYN PARENT: But I do know that my heart harbors no suspicion of wrongdoing whatsoever based on the interaction, the encounters I have had with him for many years in the school district and my three children have through their musical careers.
KAYE: Listen to who they think the real Robert Sperlik is and why they say he doesn't belong in jail.
PAOLICCHI: He's a wonderful man. He's a great teacher. And when I first heard these allegations, I couldn't believe it.
FRANK MASTNY, BERWYN PARENT: I think the community has a wonderful asset in Bob Sperlik, someone who's able to take young kids who don't know anything about instruments and find ways to encourage them. He can make them believe that they are doing well and improving.
ELENA LYNCH, SPERLIK'S STUDENT: It's just like he's a regular guy. I mean, he might ask you how your day went like any other normal teacher would.
KAYE (on camera): Was there ever any strange behavior, in your opinion?
E. LYNCH: No. It was all regular, you know. He was just another human being.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope he has a really good lawyer.
KAYE (voice-over): He may need one. In a matter of weeks, since the first allegation surfaced, this peaceful suburban Chicago community has been turned upside down. Police on one side of the microphone.
MARZULLO: He has admitted to us in writing that he -- the things he did with his students he did for his own sexual gratification.
KAYE: Sperlik's defense lawyer on the other side, questioning the legitimacy of any confession.
HEDRICK: He did not commit any of those crimes charged, period. They walked him clear across an open parking lot in front of a host of film cameras and photographers solely for the purpose of maximizing their leak that day of their tidbit of evidence, to maximize their charges that day. They used my client as a prop in a dog and pony show.
KAYE: The media, the school district, and the community all caught in the middle. At times, turning a small, working-class community into a circus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What kind of a teacher was he?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is insane. Am I the only person you guys can talk to?
KAYE: Sperlik's lawyer calls what's happening here the mob mentality. His other defenders call it a witch-hunt. Police and prosecutors call it justice. SANDRA BLAKE, PROSECUTOR: At least on one occasion he put a rag in her mouth and then taped over her mouth. He also touched her breasts, her thighs, and shoulders with his hands. All of the acts of binding the victim and touching her were performed by him for his own sexual arousal.
KAYE (on camera): Here at Pershing Elementary is where the case begins. Back in 1999 a 10-year-old girl wrote a letter, which was given to her school principal.
In that letter, according to the lawsuit, the girl stated that her band teacher, Mr. Sperlik, had bound her with duct tape during a private clarinet lesson and molested her.
(voice-over) As with other cases involving similar allegations, a larger question looms here. Are these girls telling the truth? Do they remember clearly what happened? Could they have been coached or led by investigators? Experts say it's happened before.
(on camera) Are you ever at all concerned that investigators or therapists or whoever might be talking to these kids lead them to say what they're saying?
MARZULLO: These aren't young children anymore. These are teenagers now that are in high school who, in fact, just didn't know what inappropriate conduct meant back then.
KAYE: So you're not worried at all about investigators leading the children?
MARZULLO: No. No.
KAYE (voice-over): So where does Berwyn go from here? If the crimes did occur, it's a tragedy. Far worse if it's found nothing was done about it. And what about Robert Sperlik?
D. LYNCH: I think his spirit is broken. No matter what comes out of this, he will not view himself doing music with students in the same way ever again. A broken spirit is a hard thing. You can't recover from that.
PAOLICCHI: His life. His whole life is at stake right now.
KAYE: And what if he is innocent?
(on camera) Is there any risk that this might be pile-on, in your opinion, and, possibly, even a witch-hunt as some parents might refer to it?
LOEVY: Well, there's always a fear whenever anybody's accused that you want to make sure the person is guilty. In this case, from what we've seen, the evidence is powerful.
KAYE (voice-over): Whatever the evidence, Berwyn has lost its innocence. It is now a town divided and will likely never be the same. Randi Kaye, CNN, Berwyn, Illinois.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: In the news right now, it's a day of great religious importance for Iraqi Shiites. But for insurgents, nothing is sacred. At least 18 people were killed in three separate attacks targeting Shiite mosques in Baghdad. The attacks taking place during the holy period known as Ashurah.
When the Supreme Court reconvenes next week it will be without its chief justice. The spokeswoman says that 80-year-old William Rehnquist, who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last October, will miss his fourth month of oral arguments. But she says he'll continue to read briefs and vote on cases.
Some of their charges are decades old, but alleged victims of clergy abuse are still coming forward. In an audit released today by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, there are more than 1,000 new allegations of abuse. A bishop spokeswoman -- spokeswoman says that 72 percent of the priests named are now either dead, defrocked, or removed from public ministry before the newest allegations turned up.
O'BRIEN: I don't know about you, but when I think about inflation, I think about double-knit bellbottoms, platform shoes, the '70s. But everything that's old is new again, right Kathleen Hays?
Bring it back. I'm going to get one of those "Whip Inflation Now" buttons. Bring it back, right?
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
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Aired February 18, 2005 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Pushing the boundaries of life and death. A tiny baby and the courageous doctor behind a medical first.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: And start your engines. NASCAR revs up for the biggest race of the year. We'll take you live to Daytona.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts now.
Ashurah under siege. Once again, the holiest period of the holiest month in Shia Islam is the backdrop for brutal attacks on worshipers in Iraq. Three separate attacks around Baghdad today killed at least 18 people. A fourth killed two at an army checkpoint.
CNN's Nic Robertson has the latest now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest attack occurred just before dusk. A suicide bomber approached a security checkpoint, detonated his explosives, killing one Iraqi soldier, one Iraqi policeman, wounding 10 other Iraqi soldiers and two civilians who were nearby.
Earlier in the day, there have been three Shia mosques targeted by -- targeted by insurgents. The first mosque just around the time of noon prayers, when worshipers were heading towards the mosque. An eyewitness said he saw the suicide bomber approach the crowd of people, detonate the explosives. Police say at least 15 people were killed, 20 wounded.
Within half an hour of that attack on the western side of Baghdad, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives, again at a Shia mosque, killing two people, wounding at least eight.
Another suicide bomber was spotted by guards at the same mosque, according to U.S. officials. This would-be suicide bomber fled the scene, was shot at, detonated his explosives about 100 yards, 100 meters away from the mosque, not injuring anyone, as his explosives went off.
And later in the day another targeted attack on a Shia mosque. This time a rocket fired at that mosque. It missed the rocket, landed a coffee shop, and we're told by police killed one person there and wounded three others.
All of these attacks coming at a time of heightened security in readiness for the Ashurah commemoration on Saturday. The holy shrines in Baghdad and in the holy city of Karbala in the south of Iraq, all the streets around those shrines have been closed off. Security checks are in place.
Security officials saying they're very concerned that the Sunni insurgents are trying to ignite sectarian warfare ahead of this religious -- religious commemoration. Last year at least 141 Shia Muslims were killed in multiple attacks around shrines in Baghdad and in -- and in Karbala. And that is giving great cause for concern. That's why the borders of Iraq have been closed. And that's why there is such tight security around these religious sites.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And elsewhere in Iraq, two more U.S. soldiers are dead in Mosul and eight more suspected insurgents are out of circulation. U.S. officials say the suspects were nabbed by Iraqis.
Plenty more remain, as evidenced by the fiery encounter, pitting U.S. troops and helicopters against insurgents armed with rifles and RPGs. The clash follows repeated roadside bomb attacks on U.S. convoys. One such attack in southern Iraq today killed another U.S. soldier.
And the bodies of a half dozen Iraqi soldiers who were kidnapped a week ago turned up today in Samarra just north of Baghdad. The men had been shot in the head and chest. Two Iraqi policemen were shot and killed in Samarra in a separate attack.
O'BRIEN: So whatever happened to class? That's a question many Democrats fear future plaintiffs will be plaintively asking in the aftermath of the presidential bill signing you may have seen live here on CNN.
The first legislative victory of Mr. Bush's second term diverts most future class action lawsuits from state courts to federal, the latter thought to be far less hospitable to vast groups of agreed parties seeking damages from big corporations.
The president says the measure restores common sense and balance to the U.S. legal system. Critics say it's a gross injustice.
CNN's Elaine Quijano has more now from the White House -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Miles.
That's right, President Bush says the legislation he signed today is necessary to curb the frivolous lawsuits that he says are clogging up the nation's courts.
But opponents say the new law puts corporate interests, they believe, ahead of people's rights to sue and go after companies legally. But President Bush insists that those rights will be preserved.
At the same time, he believes that this new law will cut down on lawyers filing meritless cases and getting paid huge awards or huge settlements. Today, he explained why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Most large interstate class actions into federal courts. This will prevent trial lawyers from shopping around for friendly local venues. The bill will keep out of state businesses, workers and shareholders from being dragged before unfriendly local juries or forced into unfair settlements. And that's good for our system, and it's good for our economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now, this new law represents the first step towards the president's larger goal of cutting down or trying to cut down the number of lawsuits nationwide. The president -- the president believes that so-called junk lawsuits, or lawsuits without merit, are bad for small businesses and bad for the economy.
And along those lines, the president is also focusing on medical liability reform, as well as asbestos litigation as part of his efforts.
And now, with former Republicans in the Senate, some lobbying by the White House on this particular issue, and as he pointed out today, some Democrats even in his camp on this. The president now has his first piece of legislation in his second term -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Elaine Quijano, thank you very much.
So is common sense reform or is it a slap in the face for trial lawyers, who tend to be major Democratic boosters, we might add? Class action is in session on "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS" at 5 p.m. Eastern, 2 Pacific, right here on CNN.
PHILLIPS: Iranians say it's a molehill. Others fear it may be a mountain. What it really is, is a tunnel under construction in remote central Iran near a site that converts uranium for use in power plants, which Tehran claims is its intent, or for nuclear weapons, which the Bush administration believes Iran covets.
Well, these photos were taken less than a week ago and brought to light by the private group Institute for Science and International Security. U.N. watchdogs know about that tunnel and have been there as recently as November.
Now, by itself they say it violates no international laws or protocols. Russia, meanwhile, says the world has nothing to fear from Iranian nukes.
More on that now from CNN's Ryan Chilcote in Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Russian president appeared quite pleased as he met with today the Iranian national security chief, Rowhani. Russia just announcing that it has received a pledge from the Iranians that it would return spent fuel from a reactor it is building in Iran.
And that has been a very contentious issue. Both the United States and Israel very concerned that the Iranians could try to extract plutonium from that spent fuel.
Well, Russia now saying that it has gotten the Iranians to agree to send that spent fuel back to Russia. And with that pledge, the Russian president says he is now convinced that Iran has no intention to build nukes.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The latest steps by Iran convince us that Iran does not intend to produce nuclear weapons. This means we will continue our cooperation in all fields, including atomic energy.
CHILCOTE: The Russian president is talking about the Bushehr atomic power plant. Russians are very close to finishing it. And the head of the atomic energy ministry here in Moscow is going to go to Tehran later this month. He says there he will sign this protocol, this agreement with the Iranians where they say they pledge to return the fuel back to Russia. Then the Russians say that plant could be online as early as next year.
Now, this all comes just before the Russian president sits down with the U.S. president for their first talks in quite a while in Bratislava next week. And both this deal with Iran and also some weapons sales, some Russian weapons sale to Syria, you can be sure, will be high on the agenda there.
Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. Stay tuned to CNN for the latest information day and night.
O'BRIEN: Claims of clergy sexual abuse. Since 1950 the U.S. Catholic Church has spent more than $800 million to settle the lawsuits, and three dioceses have filed for bankruptcy protection as a result.
Today, even as church leaders say they're making gigantic strides to prevent such abuse in the future, there are many past victims who are still coming forward. A U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops audit of churches around the country last year shows that hundred of allegations against priests are still surfacing, many decades old.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHLEEN MCCHESNEY, U.S. CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS: In 2004, at least 1,092 allegations of sexual abuse were made against at least 756 Catholic priests and deacons in the United States.
Most of the alleged incidents occurred between 1965 and 1974. Half of the alleged offenders had been previously accused. Five hundred and fifty offenders, or 72 percent, were deceased, laisized or previously removed from ministry before 2004.
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O'BRIEN: Now even before these new statistics were released, victim advocates were critical of the audit, saying the bishops had too much control over who participated in the reviews.
A town ripped apart by some stunning allegations. An elementary schoolteacher facing ugly accusations that she -- he abused students. Ahead on LIVE FROM, why some parents are standing behind him.
And later, he was born with a severe heart defect. He weighed less than two pounds at birth, his heart the size of a grape. Yet a doctor found a way to save his life. This tiny baby's big medical miracle ahead on LIVE FROM.
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PHILLIPS: Well, a Chicago suburb, allegations of child sexual abuse has torn a town in two. This time it's an elementary school band teacher who stands accused.
But CNN's Randi Kaye reports the case is complicated by the strong belief of many parents that the teacher is being falsely accused.
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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Burlington Northern Railroad cuts right through the heart of Berwyn, Illinois. The tracks aren't the only thing cutting the town in two.
In the last few weeks, Berwyn has been torn apart by searing allegations. The headlines tell the story: sex photos, elementary students bound and gagged, a teacher accused. Parents want answers.
BRANKO BOJOVIC, PARENT: And to have my own daughter in that class really struck me. It was -- it was a really dark, sinking feeling inside that I had as a parent.
KAYE: And at the school board, anger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your role as a mandated reporter is to inform a department when you determine there is a reason to believe that a child has been harmed or in danger or being harmed, physically, sexually or through neglect. That was not done. KAYE: What is alleged to have happen in Berwyn is a parent's worst fear. An elementary school band teacher, beloved and respected in the community, suddenly accused of heinous crimes.
His name is Robert Sperlik. He grew up in Berwyn and has been teaching band here for 18 years.
(on camera) Sperlik worked at six of the seven schools in District 100, including this one, Pershing Elementary. He taught both full classes and one on one. The district also allowed him to hold private sessions in his own basement.
(voice-over) Sperlik is accused of using duct tape to tie down young girls, some as young as 10, then sexually molesting them. Police say he touched their bra straps and rubbed himself against them as they sat pinned and helpless.
FRANK MARZULLO, PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR: It's alleged that students were duct taped and tied with the rope to chairs during class. Their mouths were duct taped. They were locked in closets as they were duct taped during sessions with the teacher. And at some of the times there was some inappropriate touching done by the -- allegedly done by the band instructor.
KAYE: Public Safety Director Frank Marzullo says a search of Sperlik's home turned up dozens of bondage tapes, also computer images of adults bound with duct tape, believed to have been downloaded by Sperlik.
JON LOEVY, PLAINTIFF'S LAWYER: You try to make it like a game. I mean, I don't know how you sell to an 11-year-old girl that duct taping is part of band practice.
KAYE: Lawyer Jon Loevy is representing three of Sperlik's alleged victims in a civil lawsuit. In all, more than a dozen contacted police, though none have chosen to speak publicly. All, according to Loevy, have similar stories.
LOEVY: He used duct tape to bind their hands both in front of them and behind them, bind their mouths, bind their bodies. By all indications he got sexual gratification from restraining young girls.
KAYE: Even as the accusations rocked this suburban community, another disturbing allegation. School officials may have been alerted to Sperlik as early as 1999 and did little or nothing to stop him, according to investigators.
Police say that after arresting Sperlik, they found two letters of reprimand in his personnel file, disciplining him for inappropriate touching.
LOEVY: What they did was they reprimanded the teacher. They told the teacher, "You've got to find a way to learn to teach without touching students. You've got to leave your door open if you're going to be alone with students. You can't be alone with just one girl. You have to have at least two or three girls." KAYE: One of Loevy's clients was the first girl to make accusations against Sperlik. Loevy says she spoke up years ago when she wrote a letter to the school. According to Loevy, the girl's parents were led to believe it was benign touching. Case closed.
LOEVY: But it shouldn't have had to wait five years so that so many students could be victimized.
KAYE: How is it that a teacher reprimanded for inappropriate touching was allowed to continue teaching without a word to police?
(on camera) If you look back and there was the slightest possibility, slightest possibility that a young girl had been assaulted in any way in a room in that school, should something have been done?
MARZULLO: Most definitely. Most definitely.
KAYE: Besides a letter of reprimand in a file?
MARZULLO: Well -- well, we know that now. We certainly do know that now.
KAYE (voice-over): In Illinois, the law requires that anyone aware of inappropriate conduct report it.
(on camera) But it is clear in this case that the school never notified Berwyn police and never notified the Department of Children and Family Services?
MARZULLO: That's correct.
KAYE (voice-over): School officials have said previously circumstances did not require notification. We wanted to know more about the first complaint, but no one with the school district would discuss the matter with CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not hiding anything. We are cooperating with local police and Cook County state attorney.
LOEVY: But to not take it then to the next step and report it to the appropriate authorities leads to the conclusion that something went very, very wrong at that school.
KAYE: But that's also what Sperlik's defenders say.
WILLIAM HEDRICK, SPERLIK'S DEFENSE LAWYER: He did not commit any of the crimes charged, period.
PATRICIA PAOLICCHI, BERWYN PARENT: There just is no way that he is capable of the type of behavior that people are alleging.
KAYE: A surprising number of parents are convinced accused child molester Robert Sperlik is being railroaded.
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PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM...
KAYE: Who here has serious doubts about the charges that are now facing Robert Sperlik?
PHILLIPS: Meet the parents and students who say the charges against an accused teacher are more frenzy than fact.
Later on LIVE FROM, NASCAR revs up for its biggest race. And we've got stock car's biggest legend, Richard Petty, with a LIVE FROM interview.
Next week on LIVE FROM, he's had the inside track on Hollywood for 40 years. We'll talk with former Motion Picture Association president Jack Valente about his most memorable Oscar moments.
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O'BRIEN: More now on a popular band teacher near Chicago accused of tying up and molesting young girls at school. Robert Sperlik is currently jailed, faces charges of abuse and kidnapping. Still, he has many defenders who say an innocent man's life is being ruined.
CNN's Randi Kaye picks up the story again.
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KAYE (voice-over): Robert Sperlik, beloved band teacher, long- time friend of the community of Berwyn, Illinois, now being painted as a child molester.
LOEVY: It's not one girl in isolation accusing the teacher. There are a number of different girls making these accusations over a period of years. Girls who, you know, aren't friends and have no particular connection to each other are making similar accounts of this kind of abuse.
KAYE: Sperlik is accused of preying on his own elementary school students. He's been teaching band here nearly two decades. Now, he's facing more than 100 allegations of abuse, including molesting girls as young as 10, tying them down with duct tape, gagging them, and rubbing himself against them.
(on camera) Who here has serious doubts about the charges that are now facing Robert Sperlik? OK.
(voice-over) Some of Sperlik's greatest supporters, Berwyn parents, even some of his students, describe him as a gentle soul, nurturing. They invited us to hear their side of the story.
DEB LYNCH, BERWYN PARENT: But I do know that my heart harbors no suspicion of wrongdoing whatsoever based on the interaction, the encounters I have had with him for many years in the school district and my three children have through their musical careers.
KAYE: Listen to who they think the real Robert Sperlik is and why they say he doesn't belong in jail.
PAOLICCHI: He's a wonderful man. He's a great teacher. And when I first heard these allegations, I couldn't believe it.
FRANK MASTNY, BERWYN PARENT: I think the community has a wonderful asset in Bob Sperlik, someone who's able to take young kids who don't know anything about instruments and find ways to encourage them. He can make them believe that they are doing well and improving.
ELENA LYNCH, SPERLIK'S STUDENT: It's just like he's a regular guy. I mean, he might ask you how your day went like any other normal teacher would.
KAYE (on camera): Was there ever any strange behavior, in your opinion?
E. LYNCH: No. It was all regular, you know. He was just another human being.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope he has a really good lawyer.
KAYE (voice-over): He may need one. In a matter of weeks, since the first allegation surfaced, this peaceful suburban Chicago community has been turned upside down. Police on one side of the microphone.
MARZULLO: He has admitted to us in writing that he -- the things he did with his students he did for his own sexual gratification.
KAYE: Sperlik's defense lawyer on the other side, questioning the legitimacy of any confession.
HEDRICK: He did not commit any of those crimes charged, period. They walked him clear across an open parking lot in front of a host of film cameras and photographers solely for the purpose of maximizing their leak that day of their tidbit of evidence, to maximize their charges that day. They used my client as a prop in a dog and pony show.
KAYE: The media, the school district, and the community all caught in the middle. At times, turning a small, working-class community into a circus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What kind of a teacher was he?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is insane. Am I the only person you guys can talk to?
KAYE: Sperlik's lawyer calls what's happening here the mob mentality. His other defenders call it a witch-hunt. Police and prosecutors call it justice. SANDRA BLAKE, PROSECUTOR: At least on one occasion he put a rag in her mouth and then taped over her mouth. He also touched her breasts, her thighs, and shoulders with his hands. All of the acts of binding the victim and touching her were performed by him for his own sexual arousal.
KAYE (on camera): Here at Pershing Elementary is where the case begins. Back in 1999 a 10-year-old girl wrote a letter, which was given to her school principal.
In that letter, according to the lawsuit, the girl stated that her band teacher, Mr. Sperlik, had bound her with duct tape during a private clarinet lesson and molested her.
(voice-over) As with other cases involving similar allegations, a larger question looms here. Are these girls telling the truth? Do they remember clearly what happened? Could they have been coached or led by investigators? Experts say it's happened before.
(on camera) Are you ever at all concerned that investigators or therapists or whoever might be talking to these kids lead them to say what they're saying?
MARZULLO: These aren't young children anymore. These are teenagers now that are in high school who, in fact, just didn't know what inappropriate conduct meant back then.
KAYE: So you're not worried at all about investigators leading the children?
MARZULLO: No. No.
KAYE (voice-over): So where does Berwyn go from here? If the crimes did occur, it's a tragedy. Far worse if it's found nothing was done about it. And what about Robert Sperlik?
D. LYNCH: I think his spirit is broken. No matter what comes out of this, he will not view himself doing music with students in the same way ever again. A broken spirit is a hard thing. You can't recover from that.
PAOLICCHI: His life. His whole life is at stake right now.
KAYE: And what if he is innocent?
(on camera) Is there any risk that this might be pile-on, in your opinion, and, possibly, even a witch-hunt as some parents might refer to it?
LOEVY: Well, there's always a fear whenever anybody's accused that you want to make sure the person is guilty. In this case, from what we've seen, the evidence is powerful.
KAYE (voice-over): Whatever the evidence, Berwyn has lost its innocence. It is now a town divided and will likely never be the same. Randi Kaye, CNN, Berwyn, Illinois.
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PHILLIPS: In the news right now, it's a day of great religious importance for Iraqi Shiites. But for insurgents, nothing is sacred. At least 18 people were killed in three separate attacks targeting Shiite mosques in Baghdad. The attacks taking place during the holy period known as Ashurah.
When the Supreme Court reconvenes next week it will be without its chief justice. The spokeswoman says that 80-year-old William Rehnquist, who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last October, will miss his fourth month of oral arguments. But she says he'll continue to read briefs and vote on cases.
Some of their charges are decades old, but alleged victims of clergy abuse are still coming forward. In an audit released today by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, there are more than 1,000 new allegations of abuse. A bishop spokeswoman -- spokeswoman says that 72 percent of the priests named are now either dead, defrocked, or removed from public ministry before the newest allegations turned up.
O'BRIEN: I don't know about you, but when I think about inflation, I think about double-knit bellbottoms, platform shoes, the '70s. But everything that's old is new again, right Kathleen Hays?
Bring it back. I'm going to get one of those "Whip Inflation Now" buttons. Bring it back, right?
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