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Outrage Over Pentagon Base Closings; Muslims Protest Allegations of Quran Abuse; Police Identify Abused Girl in Photos; Glance at Top African Stories
Aired May 13, 2005 - 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's going on now in the news. Not in my home state -- lawmakers vent over plans to close military bases in their district. We're live from the Pentagon with the hit list and the fallout.
Mark Geragos used to asking questions, today he's expected to testify at the Michael Jackson child molestation trial. Of course, he represented Jackson before Thomas Mesereau took the case. Not clear why the defense subpoenaed him to appear, however.
Waving the waiting period. Pope Benedict XVI announces he's putting Pope John Paul II on the fast track to sainthood. Usually the process doesn't begin until five years after the candidate dies. The only other time it was waived was for Mother Teresa.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF ROB DAVIS, SAN JOSE POLICE: The jig is up. The puzzle pieces are begining to fall into place and the truth is begining to be exposed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: That's San Jose police, the chief there, taking a bite out of crime, following a tip, fingering a victim or alleged accomplice or both. The case of the purported contamination of Wendy's chili by a fingertip supposedly found in March by a woman whom police arrested weeks later on a larceny charge.
Anna Ayala still insists she found the fingertip in her food, but she dropped her plans to sue when police started nosing around. The chili story not withstanding, no one knew until today whose hand the finger once beloged to.
In his news conference, the chief announced they finally traced it, through a call to the Wendy's hot line to an acquaintance of Ayala's husband, who lost it in an industrial accident in December. Thus, the pieces falling into place.
Chief Davis says none of this is a laughing matter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF ROB DAVIS, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, POLICE: As I've stated, this is a case that has truly victimized a lot of people here in San Jose and elsewhere. They victimized a corporation. They victimized the people who live in San Jose who lost job hours as a result of what happened.
The San Jose Police Department, working with the Santa Clara County district attorney's office, will explore all options and avenues available to see to it that those who may have been involved in this charade are indeed investigated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Wendy's offered a six digit reward for information leading to the finger's origin. No word on whether anybody will be claiming it.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Hours later word has traveled around the nation of the Pentagon's proposed retreat from scores of bases here in the United States. Military families are suddenly pondering moves, but to where they don't know. Others face possible job losses, and elected officials whose states could close out, are out there trying to explain already.
CNN's Jamie McIntyre fills us in on the plan that was announced by the Pentagon earlier today.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, that Pentagon base closing plan was delivered up on Capitol Hill today with a resounding thud.
It came as a bit of a rude shock to members of Congress, especially a day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had hinted that his request for base closings might be scaled back because of the need to bring back troops from Europe and other plans to move from private facilities onto government-owned contracts. He had said they won't be as big as some people expected.
But what they delivered to Capitol Hill was essentially the mother of all base closings, the biggest ever recommended by the Pentagon.
Let's take a look at some of the major bases that are included in the 33 major bases the Pentagon wants to close. New England is hit with a submarine base at New London, as well as the Portsmouth naval yard, sprawling Fort Monroe in Virginia, the naval station at Pascagoula.
Ellsworth Air Force Base, by the way, is where the B-1 bombers are based. That is scheduled for closure. The B-1 is not being phased out. It will just move to another base. A lot of what's going on here is consolidation.
The New London Submarine Base has 16 attack submarines based at that base. Again, the submarines aren't going away. They'll simply be moved to another base, possibly to King's Bay, down farther south, where it's a little bit warmer.
And, you know, bases like, for instance, Fort McPherson in Georgia, Georgia particularly hard hit with seven facilities that are scheduled for closure. And you can bet that all of these jurisdictions are going to be fighting tooth and nail to try to save those bases.
And just to give you an idea of how strong the reaction is when this list came out, here's a comment from Senator Olympia Snowe, who put out this statement.
And she said, quote, "Today's decision by the Department of Defense is nothing short of stunning, devastating, and above all, outrageous. It's a travesty and a strategic blunder of epic proportions on the part of the Defense Department. It is entirely beyond me," Olympia Snow says, "as to the basis on which they made their recommendations, but it certainly wasn't logic or reason."
Very strong language, and of course, the Portsmouth Naval Yard is in Olympia Snowe's district. They were quite worried about that.
Now, they're going to be making their argument before the independent base closure commission, which will begin its work on Monday. The Pentagon will be arguing that all of these decisions are interdependent, that one is linked to another. And they're going to ask the commission not to take the recommendation apart piecemeal while individual jurisdictions will be arguing for their base.
O'BRIEN: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thank you very much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Other news across America now.
Double trouble for a pair of identical twins in Utah. Seems the one seen here on the left works at Salt Lake International Airport refueling aircraft. When he couldn't make it to work the other day, he sent his brother in his place.
Well, the foolproof plan went awry when airport police ran fingerprints on the twin who showed up. Yes, it's all fun until the FBI gets involved.
Federal officials released the man who unwittingly sparked yesterday's Air France kafuffle. This plane, en route from Paris to Boston, was diverted to Bangor, Maine, after the passenger's name and birth date matched someone on the U.S. no fly list. After questioning the man, authorities released him, along with his wife and two kids.
And they're still rerouting traffic on the Henry Hudson Parkway in New York City while city workers try to scoop up a massive mud slide that resulted when a century-old retaining wall gave way. Officials don't think anyone is trapped underneath, but there are definitely some car owners wishing they'd parked somewhere else.
O'BRIEN: Now to anger in the Muslim world. A magazine article alleging U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo bay desecrated the Quran, sparking new protests today. This one took place in Pakistan. There were more in Gaza and in Indonesia, but some of the most biggest and most violent rallies are taking place in Afghanistan. CNN's Richard Quest reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The demonstrations in Afghanistan are the most widespread anti-U.S. protest since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. Since Tuesday, the flag burning and anti-American slogans have spread to towns and cities in at least nine provinces.
The initial spark for this wave of anti-U.S. sentiment was a "Newsweek" magazine article about the Guantanamo Bay military prison. It quoted sources as saying that interrogators had, in their words, placed Qurans on toilets and, in at least one case, flushed the holy book down the toilet.
The Pentagon on Thursday said the account had not been confirmed.
GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: They have looked through the logs, the interrogation logs, and they cannot confirm yet that there were ever the case of the toilet incident, except for one case, a log entry which they still have to confirm where a detainee was reported by a guard to be ripping pages out of a Quran and putting in the toilet to stop it up as a protest. But not where the U.S. did it.
QUEST: As protesters in one province smashed the windows of CARE International, policymakers stepped-up their efforts to calm the violence.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: I want to speak directly to Muslims in America and throughout the world. Disrespect for the holy Quran is not now, nor has it ever been, nor will it be tolerated by the United States. We honor the sacred books of all the world's great religions. Disrespect for the holy Quran is abhorrent to us all.
QUEST: Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, visiting Europe, has played down the anti-U.S. riots.
HAMID KARZAI, AFGHAN PRESIDENT: The administration was with regard to what was reported in Guantanamo bay. It was a reaction to that. There were a few demonstrations, that the resolution (ph), Afghanistan is a -- is a democratic society. Various groups can express themselves in various forms.
QUEST: But some see signs that the violence has morphed from student outrage over the Guantanamo Bay allegations to a broader challenge to the Karzai government, whether that comes from the remnants of the Taliban, Islamic fundamentalists or local governors.
MYERS: The violence that we saw in Jalalabad was not necessarily the result of the allegations about disrespect for the Quran, but -- but more tied up in the political process and the reconciliation process that President Karzai and his cabinet is conducting in Afghanistan. QUEST: Saudi Arabia has also weighed in on the Quran story, saying that it was following the issue with deep indignation and calling for a swift probe of the allegations.
Richard quest, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
O'BRIEN: All right. Some breaking news coming into us just now. A case we've been following closely here at CNN, federal authorities telling CNN's David Mattingly that they have identified a girl who had been the subject of some rather difficult pictures to see, child pornography pictures.
It had become a story, because the investigators in Toronto and also in Florida were faced with the vexing question as to whether to allow this girl's -- little girl's picture to be used in order to help identify her.
David Mattingly joining us now with more on this. They never actually had to do that, did they?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This girl has been making news for months. And authorities from two countries have been going after this, looking very closely, trying to find special ways where they could be innovative to try and find a victim of child porn without actually putting the victim's picture out there. It's been very difficult for them to do this.
And we've now been told by the FBI, by a spokesperson for the FBI that this particular girl, the girl that has become known as hotel girl, we have a picture of her to show you. Her face is obscured. This is the only way we've been able to know her and see her for the past few months.
The FBI tells us the girl has been identified. She is safe and the man responsible for taking the photographs of her has -- get this, has already been arrested and convicted and is now beginning a 15-year term.
So this is a case the FBI has been working on for some time now. The man they believe is responsible is already convicted, in jail. They are just now making the connection, or getting the information to the other federal Authorities with immigrations and customs enforcement, as well as to the authorities in Toronto and Orlando, who were searching for this girl.
O'BRIEN: All right. A couple things then. How did the break come, then? Where did it all come together?
MATTINGLY: That's what we don't know right now. In fact, the FBI is saying that this is an ongoing case. They won't even tell us what the man's name is, the man who's already convicted of a crime. They won't tell us exactly what he's convicted of. They will only tell us he is already in prison, the first year of a 15-year term.
So they're saying that because this is a child porn case, they have to treat it very sensitively, and this is something they feel like might lead to something else. So they're being very careful with the information they're giving out right now.
O'BRIEN: So is it their assumption that these pictures are a bit dated and this girl is fine and with her family?
MATTINGLY: All along, the Toronto authorities first became aware of this girl when they were alerted to her by authorities in Europe. Toronto has been on the case for months, possibly a little over a couple of years now.
And they believe that the girl in the picture at the time was possibly around 9 or 10. They believe that was -- those pictures were taken several years ago. So now the girl obviously, possibly, in her early teens.
And again, they've been looking very hard for her, trying to innovate whatever they possibly could. In fact, the Toronto authorities came up to this idea. Let's go back to that picture and show that to you right now.
The Toronto authorities came up with this idea. They had all these awful pictures of this girl that were posted on the Internet. But as you can see, Miles, they were able to take her picture out, virtually erase her from the photograph, and then they would go back and reconstruct that photograph as if she weren't there, and actually re-create the crime scene, something very innovative in child porn cases.
Now, what they were able to do with that, they put that out, made it public. Someone recognized the bedspread in this picture as belonging to a resort, a Disney resort in Orlando. That's when Orlando police got involved, and they -- they have been looking for the man responsible for this ever since.
Now, it turns out he's already been in FBI custody, and he's already in prison.
O'BRIEN: This is a testament to some really dogged police work. Have you had a chance to talk to these investigators who have refused to let go of this case?
MATTINGLY: Not yet, but I can tell you, they will be very relieved. They took it very personal in the way they were going after this girl. They felt like they had a chance to find her because of the clues they were finding in these photographs with her. They really had some hopes.
And this is something that they keep saying over and over again, Miles. There are 50,000 separate children on the Internet, victims of child pornography, on any given day. This is one case that they believe they were getting enough clues to actually do some -- make a difference in. And this work they've been doing may not have made a difference, since the man was already in custody. But what they've done will certainly set the bar for other cases to follow.
O'BRIEN: All right. That's a sobering thought. Fifty-thousand. All right. David Mattingly, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
Back with more in a moment.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We definitely have our favorite correspondents here on LIVE FROM, and Jeff Koinange is definitely one of them. Why? Because he brings us stories like these, just for us.
Koinange and the crocodiles. Villagers here in Ghana believe that these crocs are guardian angels. Evidently, one of the rogue reptiles saved a man stuck in a cave.
Then there's the Bonobo apes in the Congo. How can we -- we'll never forget this. Jeff told us about efforts to save these adorable orphans from exotic meat slaughter houses.
And let us not forget the bare handed baggers of big fish in northern Nigeria, a fishing festival far greater than anything on ESPN. We still expect to get the pieces like this from Jeff and even more.
He joins us live to tell us about his new role at our network. We can never call him a man without a country, because he's got an entire continent to cover now.
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, 53 countries.
PHILLIPS: Good to see you.
Fifty-three countries. Minor job here at CNN. Did they give you a big raise? That's all we want to know. All right, we'll skip past that.
KOINANGE: Exactly.
PHILLIPS: Why don't we start with -- you're going to be moving to Johannesburg.
KOINANGE: Right.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk about South Africa, 10 years after independence, a lot of exciting stuff going on that we have not covered.
KOINANGE: No doubt, Kyra. And you know what? It's written up. All the critics who had said South Africa would plunge into civil war, never happened. They're doing so well. The economy is strong; the currency is doing so well. Investments are pouring into their country. And again, moving to South Africa, it's easy to get anywhere on the planet from Johannesburg, anywhere on the continent. So easy. Much easier than in Lagos or Nairobi or any other place. It's a fantastic place to be, a first world country in a third world area.
PHILLIPS: Zimbabwe, another place.
KOINANGE: Yes.
PHILLIPS: A lot of things happening since the elections.
KOINANGE: That's right.
PHILLIPS: You were there doing pieces for us.
KOINANGE: Just last month, President Mugabe has been there 25 years. In fact, one of the reporters asked him in one of the press conferences, how long do you plan to be there? He says, "Until I'm a century old."
The country is spiraling into chaos. The economy is in a tailspin. They really need a lot of help, and it doesn't seem like anyone is ready to challenge Mugabe. It's going to be an interesting story to do in the next few months and few years.
PHILLIPS: Well, we can't skip over the AIDS issues. Every time, it seems we're talking about South Africa, we talk about AIDS and the problems there, from medications to the orphans. It's -- it's a tremendous, tremendous problem.
KOINANGE: Heart wrenching story. Some countries, 38 percent of the population are HIV positive, one third. These are the stories we have to bring to viewers, is just let them know the human side of AIDS, what's being done to combat this disease. Education, which is key. People have to be told more about the disease just so that they can know what steps to take. Those stories we must highlight.
PHILLIPS: There are so many cultural stories that we hear, also, out of Africa, when we talk about the AIDS issue. Is that still a tremendous roadblock for curing this problem?
KOINANGE: Very much so. In some countries they believe that if you sleep with a virgin that the disease will disappear from your body. Those are beliefs that have been engrained in people for the last several decades.
People have be to be told, have to be taught firsthand this disease is decimating an entire population, an entire generation. If they're not told this now, in 10, 15 years' time, Africa's population will be reduced drastically.
PHILLIPS: So good point. Rent the movie "Beat the Drum," ladies and gentlemen. It's an incredible film on that exact issue.
All right. We can't wrap up this without talking about the peacekeeping efforts that are going on, and you, boy, from Sudan to Liberia, you've got it covered?
KOINANGE: Got it covered and they're doing really amazing stuff, Kyra, on the continent. African leaders are taking this initiative into their own hands, saying, "Hey, listen, these are our problems. We can solve them. If the west can provide the logistics, the west can provide the money, we'll provide the troops and we'll go and we'll solve these problems."
Because a lot of the times western peacekeepers are afraid to come to Africa for obvious reasons. The Africans can take it upon themselves. They will be on the ground. If they can just get the help to get the job done, they'll do it.
PHILLIPS: What's the latest, remember the story about the U.N. peacekeepers or some of the peacekeepers in that area that...
KOINANGE: In the Congo.
PHILLIPS: ... were being accused -- yes...
KOINANGE: That's right.
PHILLIPS: ... of sexually assaulting.
KOINANGE: That's right.
PHILLIPS: What's the status on that?
KOINANGE: Still going on. A lot of them have been repatriated back to their countries and under investigation. Story's not going away. There are independent investigators in -- and also, human rights groups. The story will come out one of these days, and it's not going to be good.
PHILLIPS: Jeff Koinange, congratulations. The official title, Africa correspondent.
KOINANGE: That's right.
PHILLIPS: My gosh, minor details there. All right, Jeff Koinange, thank you so much.
KOINANGE: Thanks for having me.
PHILLIPS: Pleasure.
O'BRIEN: You know, you can have Africa, but I still have the universe. I want you to know that. The universe is my turf.
KOINANGE: Can I have Saturn?
O'BRIEN: No, no. No Saturn.
PHILLIPS: Stay away from Saturn.
O'BRIEN: Take the continent. I want Titan. I want Saturn. PHILLIPS: Titan. He has space.
O'BRIEN: OK. Thank you.
Ahead, the mysterious connection between "American Idol" and Judy Woodruff's "INSIDE POLITICS." Is another red state/blue state battle brewing?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Shameless promotion time. "THE TURNAROUND" is CNN's newest business news and feature program, the best on any network around. Perfect time for it too, we think, Saturdays, 11 a.m. Eastern.
Ali and company are about small business this weekend. Let's roll a preview, Tommy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, HOST, "TURNAROUND": This week's "TURNAROUND" found us in southern California where Ben Morey, the owner of a small construction company, needed a blueprint for lasting success.
BEN MOREY, OWNER, MOREY CONSTRUCTION: If I can get the business to operate and be successful, then, as my sons or daughter, for that matter, came into the business, there is a confidence to pass onto them.
VELSHI (voice-over): Ben wants to build a business that can last, so to help him we brought in a giant in the construction industry, Bruce Karatz, the CEO of KB Home.
BRUCE KARATZ, CEO, KB HOME: I've got to get him to believe how good he is, because he's entitled to make a profit, if you run a business that well. And he's got to price his product a little bit better.
VELSHI: Our mentor suggests some remodeling tips for Ben that many businesses could use to help generate profits. Make sure your logo and show room represent you. Offer incentives for referrals, and be sure not to price yourself too low.
(on camera) Ben took his mentor's advice, and in three days he laid a foundation for a turnaround.
I'm Ali Velshi. See you next time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And you can join Ali Velshi for "THE TURNAROUND," tomorrow morning and every Saturday at 11 Eastern on CNN.
O'BRIEN: Is that a fashion do or a fashion don't right there, the striped vest with the check shirt?
PHILLIPS: You know what?
O'BRIEN: I'm curious what you think, because I'm not hip enough to know.
PHILLIPS: Anything -- anything he does is a do.
O'BRIEN: What would do you? What would you do with it? Would he wear that?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: No, he wouldn't.
PHILLIPS: My snappy husband.
O'BRIEN: I'm not sure about that one. It's definitely, in this case...
PHILLIPS: Why don't we ask Judy Woodruff?
O'BRIEN: Judy, what do you think about the striped vest and the checked shirt for Ali? Did you see it?
JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": I think it's perfect, and I like white shirts and red and white striped ties, too!
O'BRIEN: Oh, you're so sweet.
PHILLIPS: Judy!
O'BRIEN: You're the best!
WOODRUFF: All right.
O'BRIEN: Aren't you sweet? I'm blushing now.
WOODRUFF: Thank you, both.
O'BRIEN: All right. All right.
WOODRUFF: We'll see you on Monday.
O'BRIEN: OK.
WOODRUFF: So we know today many military communities across the country reeling from news about the Pentagon, news that they are closing or at least recommending that some bases be closed. We're going to take a look at which bases and which politicians are affected.
Plus, reality TV goes political. I'll look at how future presidential contenders could learn a thing or two from the "American Idol."
"INSIDE POLITICS" begins in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
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Aired May 13, 2005 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's going on now in the news. Not in my home state -- lawmakers vent over plans to close military bases in their district. We're live from the Pentagon with the hit list and the fallout.
Mark Geragos used to asking questions, today he's expected to testify at the Michael Jackson child molestation trial. Of course, he represented Jackson before Thomas Mesereau took the case. Not clear why the defense subpoenaed him to appear, however.
Waving the waiting period. Pope Benedict XVI announces he's putting Pope John Paul II on the fast track to sainthood. Usually the process doesn't begin until five years after the candidate dies. The only other time it was waived was for Mother Teresa.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF ROB DAVIS, SAN JOSE POLICE: The jig is up. The puzzle pieces are begining to fall into place and the truth is begining to be exposed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: That's San Jose police, the chief there, taking a bite out of crime, following a tip, fingering a victim or alleged accomplice or both. The case of the purported contamination of Wendy's chili by a fingertip supposedly found in March by a woman whom police arrested weeks later on a larceny charge.
Anna Ayala still insists she found the fingertip in her food, but she dropped her plans to sue when police started nosing around. The chili story not withstanding, no one knew until today whose hand the finger once beloged to.
In his news conference, the chief announced they finally traced it, through a call to the Wendy's hot line to an acquaintance of Ayala's husband, who lost it in an industrial accident in December. Thus, the pieces falling into place.
Chief Davis says none of this is a laughing matter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF ROB DAVIS, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, POLICE: As I've stated, this is a case that has truly victimized a lot of people here in San Jose and elsewhere. They victimized a corporation. They victimized the people who live in San Jose who lost job hours as a result of what happened.
The San Jose Police Department, working with the Santa Clara County district attorney's office, will explore all options and avenues available to see to it that those who may have been involved in this charade are indeed investigated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Wendy's offered a six digit reward for information leading to the finger's origin. No word on whether anybody will be claiming it.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Hours later word has traveled around the nation of the Pentagon's proposed retreat from scores of bases here in the United States. Military families are suddenly pondering moves, but to where they don't know. Others face possible job losses, and elected officials whose states could close out, are out there trying to explain already.
CNN's Jamie McIntyre fills us in on the plan that was announced by the Pentagon earlier today.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, that Pentagon base closing plan was delivered up on Capitol Hill today with a resounding thud.
It came as a bit of a rude shock to members of Congress, especially a day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had hinted that his request for base closings might be scaled back because of the need to bring back troops from Europe and other plans to move from private facilities onto government-owned contracts. He had said they won't be as big as some people expected.
But what they delivered to Capitol Hill was essentially the mother of all base closings, the biggest ever recommended by the Pentagon.
Let's take a look at some of the major bases that are included in the 33 major bases the Pentagon wants to close. New England is hit with a submarine base at New London, as well as the Portsmouth naval yard, sprawling Fort Monroe in Virginia, the naval station at Pascagoula.
Ellsworth Air Force Base, by the way, is where the B-1 bombers are based. That is scheduled for closure. The B-1 is not being phased out. It will just move to another base. A lot of what's going on here is consolidation.
The New London Submarine Base has 16 attack submarines based at that base. Again, the submarines aren't going away. They'll simply be moved to another base, possibly to King's Bay, down farther south, where it's a little bit warmer.
And, you know, bases like, for instance, Fort McPherson in Georgia, Georgia particularly hard hit with seven facilities that are scheduled for closure. And you can bet that all of these jurisdictions are going to be fighting tooth and nail to try to save those bases.
And just to give you an idea of how strong the reaction is when this list came out, here's a comment from Senator Olympia Snowe, who put out this statement.
And she said, quote, "Today's decision by the Department of Defense is nothing short of stunning, devastating, and above all, outrageous. It's a travesty and a strategic blunder of epic proportions on the part of the Defense Department. It is entirely beyond me," Olympia Snow says, "as to the basis on which they made their recommendations, but it certainly wasn't logic or reason."
Very strong language, and of course, the Portsmouth Naval Yard is in Olympia Snowe's district. They were quite worried about that.
Now, they're going to be making their argument before the independent base closure commission, which will begin its work on Monday. The Pentagon will be arguing that all of these decisions are interdependent, that one is linked to another. And they're going to ask the commission not to take the recommendation apart piecemeal while individual jurisdictions will be arguing for their base.
O'BRIEN: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon, thank you very much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Other news across America now.
Double trouble for a pair of identical twins in Utah. Seems the one seen here on the left works at Salt Lake International Airport refueling aircraft. When he couldn't make it to work the other day, he sent his brother in his place.
Well, the foolproof plan went awry when airport police ran fingerprints on the twin who showed up. Yes, it's all fun until the FBI gets involved.
Federal officials released the man who unwittingly sparked yesterday's Air France kafuffle. This plane, en route from Paris to Boston, was diverted to Bangor, Maine, after the passenger's name and birth date matched someone on the U.S. no fly list. After questioning the man, authorities released him, along with his wife and two kids.
And they're still rerouting traffic on the Henry Hudson Parkway in New York City while city workers try to scoop up a massive mud slide that resulted when a century-old retaining wall gave way. Officials don't think anyone is trapped underneath, but there are definitely some car owners wishing they'd parked somewhere else.
O'BRIEN: Now to anger in the Muslim world. A magazine article alleging U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo bay desecrated the Quran, sparking new protests today. This one took place in Pakistan. There were more in Gaza and in Indonesia, but some of the most biggest and most violent rallies are taking place in Afghanistan. CNN's Richard Quest reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The demonstrations in Afghanistan are the most widespread anti-U.S. protest since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. Since Tuesday, the flag burning and anti-American slogans have spread to towns and cities in at least nine provinces.
The initial spark for this wave of anti-U.S. sentiment was a "Newsweek" magazine article about the Guantanamo Bay military prison. It quoted sources as saying that interrogators had, in their words, placed Qurans on toilets and, in at least one case, flushed the holy book down the toilet.
The Pentagon on Thursday said the account had not been confirmed.
GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: They have looked through the logs, the interrogation logs, and they cannot confirm yet that there were ever the case of the toilet incident, except for one case, a log entry which they still have to confirm where a detainee was reported by a guard to be ripping pages out of a Quran and putting in the toilet to stop it up as a protest. But not where the U.S. did it.
QUEST: As protesters in one province smashed the windows of CARE International, policymakers stepped-up their efforts to calm the violence.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: I want to speak directly to Muslims in America and throughout the world. Disrespect for the holy Quran is not now, nor has it ever been, nor will it be tolerated by the United States. We honor the sacred books of all the world's great religions. Disrespect for the holy Quran is abhorrent to us all.
QUEST: Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, visiting Europe, has played down the anti-U.S. riots.
HAMID KARZAI, AFGHAN PRESIDENT: The administration was with regard to what was reported in Guantanamo bay. It was a reaction to that. There were a few demonstrations, that the resolution (ph), Afghanistan is a -- is a democratic society. Various groups can express themselves in various forms.
QUEST: But some see signs that the violence has morphed from student outrage over the Guantanamo Bay allegations to a broader challenge to the Karzai government, whether that comes from the remnants of the Taliban, Islamic fundamentalists or local governors.
MYERS: The violence that we saw in Jalalabad was not necessarily the result of the allegations about disrespect for the Quran, but -- but more tied up in the political process and the reconciliation process that President Karzai and his cabinet is conducting in Afghanistan. QUEST: Saudi Arabia has also weighed in on the Quran story, saying that it was following the issue with deep indignation and calling for a swift probe of the allegations.
Richard quest, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
O'BRIEN: All right. Some breaking news coming into us just now. A case we've been following closely here at CNN, federal authorities telling CNN's David Mattingly that they have identified a girl who had been the subject of some rather difficult pictures to see, child pornography pictures.
It had become a story, because the investigators in Toronto and also in Florida were faced with the vexing question as to whether to allow this girl's -- little girl's picture to be used in order to help identify her.
David Mattingly joining us now with more on this. They never actually had to do that, did they?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This girl has been making news for months. And authorities from two countries have been going after this, looking very closely, trying to find special ways where they could be innovative to try and find a victim of child porn without actually putting the victim's picture out there. It's been very difficult for them to do this.
And we've now been told by the FBI, by a spokesperson for the FBI that this particular girl, the girl that has become known as hotel girl, we have a picture of her to show you. Her face is obscured. This is the only way we've been able to know her and see her for the past few months.
The FBI tells us the girl has been identified. She is safe and the man responsible for taking the photographs of her has -- get this, has already been arrested and convicted and is now beginning a 15-year term.
So this is a case the FBI has been working on for some time now. The man they believe is responsible is already convicted, in jail. They are just now making the connection, or getting the information to the other federal Authorities with immigrations and customs enforcement, as well as to the authorities in Toronto and Orlando, who were searching for this girl.
O'BRIEN: All right. A couple things then. How did the break come, then? Where did it all come together?
MATTINGLY: That's what we don't know right now. In fact, the FBI is saying that this is an ongoing case. They won't even tell us what the man's name is, the man who's already convicted of a crime. They won't tell us exactly what he's convicted of. They will only tell us he is already in prison, the first year of a 15-year term.
So they're saying that because this is a child porn case, they have to treat it very sensitively, and this is something they feel like might lead to something else. So they're being very careful with the information they're giving out right now.
O'BRIEN: So is it their assumption that these pictures are a bit dated and this girl is fine and with her family?
MATTINGLY: All along, the Toronto authorities first became aware of this girl when they were alerted to her by authorities in Europe. Toronto has been on the case for months, possibly a little over a couple of years now.
And they believe that the girl in the picture at the time was possibly around 9 or 10. They believe that was -- those pictures were taken several years ago. So now the girl obviously, possibly, in her early teens.
And again, they've been looking very hard for her, trying to innovate whatever they possibly could. In fact, the Toronto authorities came up to this idea. Let's go back to that picture and show that to you right now.
The Toronto authorities came up with this idea. They had all these awful pictures of this girl that were posted on the Internet. But as you can see, Miles, they were able to take her picture out, virtually erase her from the photograph, and then they would go back and reconstruct that photograph as if she weren't there, and actually re-create the crime scene, something very innovative in child porn cases.
Now, what they were able to do with that, they put that out, made it public. Someone recognized the bedspread in this picture as belonging to a resort, a Disney resort in Orlando. That's when Orlando police got involved, and they -- they have been looking for the man responsible for this ever since.
Now, it turns out he's already been in FBI custody, and he's already in prison.
O'BRIEN: This is a testament to some really dogged police work. Have you had a chance to talk to these investigators who have refused to let go of this case?
MATTINGLY: Not yet, but I can tell you, they will be very relieved. They took it very personal in the way they were going after this girl. They felt like they had a chance to find her because of the clues they were finding in these photographs with her. They really had some hopes.
And this is something that they keep saying over and over again, Miles. There are 50,000 separate children on the Internet, victims of child pornography, on any given day. This is one case that they believe they were getting enough clues to actually do some -- make a difference in. And this work they've been doing may not have made a difference, since the man was already in custody. But what they've done will certainly set the bar for other cases to follow.
O'BRIEN: All right. That's a sobering thought. Fifty-thousand. All right. David Mattingly, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
Back with more in a moment.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We definitely have our favorite correspondents here on LIVE FROM, and Jeff Koinange is definitely one of them. Why? Because he brings us stories like these, just for us.
Koinange and the crocodiles. Villagers here in Ghana believe that these crocs are guardian angels. Evidently, one of the rogue reptiles saved a man stuck in a cave.
Then there's the Bonobo apes in the Congo. How can we -- we'll never forget this. Jeff told us about efforts to save these adorable orphans from exotic meat slaughter houses.
And let us not forget the bare handed baggers of big fish in northern Nigeria, a fishing festival far greater than anything on ESPN. We still expect to get the pieces like this from Jeff and even more.
He joins us live to tell us about his new role at our network. We can never call him a man without a country, because he's got an entire continent to cover now.
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, 53 countries.
PHILLIPS: Good to see you.
Fifty-three countries. Minor job here at CNN. Did they give you a big raise? That's all we want to know. All right, we'll skip past that.
KOINANGE: Exactly.
PHILLIPS: Why don't we start with -- you're going to be moving to Johannesburg.
KOINANGE: Right.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk about South Africa, 10 years after independence, a lot of exciting stuff going on that we have not covered.
KOINANGE: No doubt, Kyra. And you know what? It's written up. All the critics who had said South Africa would plunge into civil war, never happened. They're doing so well. The economy is strong; the currency is doing so well. Investments are pouring into their country. And again, moving to South Africa, it's easy to get anywhere on the planet from Johannesburg, anywhere on the continent. So easy. Much easier than in Lagos or Nairobi or any other place. It's a fantastic place to be, a first world country in a third world area.
PHILLIPS: Zimbabwe, another place.
KOINANGE: Yes.
PHILLIPS: A lot of things happening since the elections.
KOINANGE: That's right.
PHILLIPS: You were there doing pieces for us.
KOINANGE: Just last month, President Mugabe has been there 25 years. In fact, one of the reporters asked him in one of the press conferences, how long do you plan to be there? He says, "Until I'm a century old."
The country is spiraling into chaos. The economy is in a tailspin. They really need a lot of help, and it doesn't seem like anyone is ready to challenge Mugabe. It's going to be an interesting story to do in the next few months and few years.
PHILLIPS: Well, we can't skip over the AIDS issues. Every time, it seems we're talking about South Africa, we talk about AIDS and the problems there, from medications to the orphans. It's -- it's a tremendous, tremendous problem.
KOINANGE: Heart wrenching story. Some countries, 38 percent of the population are HIV positive, one third. These are the stories we have to bring to viewers, is just let them know the human side of AIDS, what's being done to combat this disease. Education, which is key. People have to be told more about the disease just so that they can know what steps to take. Those stories we must highlight.
PHILLIPS: There are so many cultural stories that we hear, also, out of Africa, when we talk about the AIDS issue. Is that still a tremendous roadblock for curing this problem?
KOINANGE: Very much so. In some countries they believe that if you sleep with a virgin that the disease will disappear from your body. Those are beliefs that have been engrained in people for the last several decades.
People have be to be told, have to be taught firsthand this disease is decimating an entire population, an entire generation. If they're not told this now, in 10, 15 years' time, Africa's population will be reduced drastically.
PHILLIPS: So good point. Rent the movie "Beat the Drum," ladies and gentlemen. It's an incredible film on that exact issue.
All right. We can't wrap up this without talking about the peacekeeping efforts that are going on, and you, boy, from Sudan to Liberia, you've got it covered?
KOINANGE: Got it covered and they're doing really amazing stuff, Kyra, on the continent. African leaders are taking this initiative into their own hands, saying, "Hey, listen, these are our problems. We can solve them. If the west can provide the logistics, the west can provide the money, we'll provide the troops and we'll go and we'll solve these problems."
Because a lot of the times western peacekeepers are afraid to come to Africa for obvious reasons. The Africans can take it upon themselves. They will be on the ground. If they can just get the help to get the job done, they'll do it.
PHILLIPS: What's the latest, remember the story about the U.N. peacekeepers or some of the peacekeepers in that area that...
KOINANGE: In the Congo.
PHILLIPS: ... were being accused -- yes...
KOINANGE: That's right.
PHILLIPS: ... of sexually assaulting.
KOINANGE: That's right.
PHILLIPS: What's the status on that?
KOINANGE: Still going on. A lot of them have been repatriated back to their countries and under investigation. Story's not going away. There are independent investigators in -- and also, human rights groups. The story will come out one of these days, and it's not going to be good.
PHILLIPS: Jeff Koinange, congratulations. The official title, Africa correspondent.
KOINANGE: That's right.
PHILLIPS: My gosh, minor details there. All right, Jeff Koinange, thank you so much.
KOINANGE: Thanks for having me.
PHILLIPS: Pleasure.
O'BRIEN: You know, you can have Africa, but I still have the universe. I want you to know that. The universe is my turf.
KOINANGE: Can I have Saturn?
O'BRIEN: No, no. No Saturn.
PHILLIPS: Stay away from Saturn.
O'BRIEN: Take the continent. I want Titan. I want Saturn. PHILLIPS: Titan. He has space.
O'BRIEN: OK. Thank you.
Ahead, the mysterious connection between "American Idol" and Judy Woodruff's "INSIDE POLITICS." Is another red state/blue state battle brewing?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Shameless promotion time. "THE TURNAROUND" is CNN's newest business news and feature program, the best on any network around. Perfect time for it too, we think, Saturdays, 11 a.m. Eastern.
Ali and company are about small business this weekend. Let's roll a preview, Tommy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, HOST, "TURNAROUND": This week's "TURNAROUND" found us in southern California where Ben Morey, the owner of a small construction company, needed a blueprint for lasting success.
BEN MOREY, OWNER, MOREY CONSTRUCTION: If I can get the business to operate and be successful, then, as my sons or daughter, for that matter, came into the business, there is a confidence to pass onto them.
VELSHI (voice-over): Ben wants to build a business that can last, so to help him we brought in a giant in the construction industry, Bruce Karatz, the CEO of KB Home.
BRUCE KARATZ, CEO, KB HOME: I've got to get him to believe how good he is, because he's entitled to make a profit, if you run a business that well. And he's got to price his product a little bit better.
VELSHI: Our mentor suggests some remodeling tips for Ben that many businesses could use to help generate profits. Make sure your logo and show room represent you. Offer incentives for referrals, and be sure not to price yourself too low.
(on camera) Ben took his mentor's advice, and in three days he laid a foundation for a turnaround.
I'm Ali Velshi. See you next time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And you can join Ali Velshi for "THE TURNAROUND," tomorrow morning and every Saturday at 11 Eastern on CNN.
O'BRIEN: Is that a fashion do or a fashion don't right there, the striped vest with the check shirt?
PHILLIPS: You know what?
O'BRIEN: I'm curious what you think, because I'm not hip enough to know.
PHILLIPS: Anything -- anything he does is a do.
O'BRIEN: What would do you? What would you do with it? Would he wear that?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: No, he wouldn't.
PHILLIPS: My snappy husband.
O'BRIEN: I'm not sure about that one. It's definitely, in this case...
PHILLIPS: Why don't we ask Judy Woodruff?
O'BRIEN: Judy, what do you think about the striped vest and the checked shirt for Ali? Did you see it?
JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": I think it's perfect, and I like white shirts and red and white striped ties, too!
O'BRIEN: Oh, you're so sweet.
PHILLIPS: Judy!
O'BRIEN: You're the best!
WOODRUFF: All right.
O'BRIEN: Aren't you sweet? I'm blushing now.
WOODRUFF: Thank you, both.
O'BRIEN: All right. All right.
WOODRUFF: We'll see you on Monday.
O'BRIEN: OK.
WOODRUFF: So we know today many military communities across the country reeling from news about the Pentagon, news that they are closing or at least recommending that some bases be closed. We're going to take a look at which bases and which politicians are affected.
Plus, reality TV goes political. I'll look at how future presidential contenders could learn a thing or two from the "American Idol."
"INSIDE POLITICS" begins in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
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