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Justice Delayed?; Missing Scout; Compromised Data

Aired June 20, 2005 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: The murder trial of an alleged former Ku Klux Klan leader nearing an end. Final arguments in the case expected to get under way this hour. We are live from Mississippi.
Where is Brennan Hawkins? Thousands of volunteers searching for the Boy Scout missing in rugged terrain.

And developments in the Natalee Holloway disappearance. The fourth suspect in the case goes to court. We're live from Aruba.

Plus this: a Kiwi captures golf's top prize. New Zealander Michael Campbell tamed Tiger and wows them at the U.S. Open. He joins us with a LIVE FROM interview.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Kyra Phillips today. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Well, just one day short of the 41st anniversary of the crime that still haunts Philadelphia, Mississippi, if not the nation. We are nearing the end of a trial that almost certainly will close the case. The parties have rested in the State of Mississippi versus Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old former preacher and alleged former Klansman charged with murdering three civil right workers who were signing up voters in Freedom Summer.

Closing arguments are due any time. And CNN's Ed Lavandera is watching and waiting.

Ed, what's the latest?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty.

Well, we understand that attorneys and the public are making their way into the courtroom here in Philadelphia, Mississippi, where for the next hour or so they will be listening to closing arguments from the prosecution and the defense. And the defense attorneys of Edgar Ray Killen finished putting on their case just about an hour ago.

One of the last witnesses called here was a police officer from the area who had been a former Klan member and testified that Killen last -- that Killen told him back in 1967 that Michael Schwerner, who was one of the civil right workers that was murdered here, that his last words were, "I understand how you feel, sir." Prosecutors saying that Michael Schwerner probably said those words to one of Edgar Killen's associates and friends at that time, and that those words were later passed along to him. But much of this testimony boils down to where Edgar Ray Killen was at the time the three civil right workers were killed back in 1964.

We have heard conflicting testimony, and much of the testimony focusing on where -- that Edgar Ray Killen had gone to a funeral home -- to a funeral that night. But then there are many people who say that he had been organizing and leading the charge to murder the three civil rights workers. In fact, going so far as to tell the Klan of about 18 people that killed him -- that killed the three civil rights workers where to hide and how to pursue them.

A little bit of that exchange from the police officer this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did the defendant say the last words of Michael Schwerner were before...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the 22nd, on that afternoon, we came there and -- we got rid of the civil rights workers and all, and what happened. He also told me that Michael's Schwerner's last words were, "I understand how you feel, sir."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: Now, prosecutors like to point out that Edgar Ray Killen does not necessarily have to -- there doesn't have to be evidence that puts him at the scene at the moment the three civil rights workers were killed. They say that there's enough evidence to show that he orchestrated and masterminded the murders to convict him of murder in all three cases. And that's what the jury will have to decide. We suspect they will get the case and start deliberating here shortly -- Betty.

NGUYEN: So closing arguments are supposed to be taking place shortly. Do you know how long those might last? Any indication as you've been there through the case?

LAVANDERA: We're probably guessing that closing arguments will take about an hour or so. Each side, of course, gets enough time to put on their case. We're guessing about an hour. So probably within the next two hours the jury will begin deliberating the case, as you mentioned, on the eve of the 41st anniversary of the murders.

NGUYEN: And we will be watching. CNN's Ed Lavandera. Thank you for that.

LAVANDERA: Sure.

NGUYEN: Well, the land is rough, but the nights have been mild in the mountains east of Salt Lake City, where search teams are hitting it hard, in the words of one sheriff, for 11-year-old Brennan Hawkins. Brennan is a Boy Scout who disappeared from camp Friday evening, a scout believed to have basic survival skills and the benefit of above-freezing temperatures over the weekend.

Let's get the latest from reporter Jose Miguel of CNN affiliate KSTU in Salt Lake City.

Jose, what do you know?

JOSE MIGUEL, REPORTER, KSTU: Well, Betty, I can tell you that the volunteer effort out here has slowed down tremendously. Just to give you an example, yesterday alone they had about 3,000 people out here searching this area. Today, that number has dropped to about 200. But all of those people have one thing in common, and that's to find 11-year-old Brennan Hawkins.

Now, Brennan disappeared, as you just mentioned, on Friday, after he was found -- seen climbing a rock wall with a friend. Now, that friend headed back to camp thinking that Brennan was behind him, but Brennan wasn't.

Now, since that day, more than 4,000 people have scoured this area looking for him. One family in particular that stands out is the Bardsley. Their son Garrett disappeared in this area about a year ago, and they said since that day they vowed that they will help any other family in need.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN BARDSLEY, SON DISAPPEARED LAST YEAR: My friends and I, we decided that if anybody came missing we would be there immediately. And within -- when I got the call at 6:30 in the morning, we were on the road in a half-hour.

We were gone. We were moving. And all of my friends were in place and moving the same way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JODY HAWKINS, MISSING SCOUT'S MOTHER: He's the only person that knows how I feel. And he describes that the days are incredibly long and the nights (INAUDIBLE). The days stretch out to eternity and (INAUDIBLE). You learn to hate the moon (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL: Sheriff deputies are not ruling out foul play in either boys' disappearance. But so far, they have found no evidence for kidnapping in either boy's case. And both cases still remain those of missing children.

Betty, back to you.

NGUYEN: So, but they are looking into both cases to see if there is some kind of a connection there?

MIGUEL: They are simply because both boys are similar characteristics. They're about the same age.

They disappeared within miles from one another during around the same time of year. So there are-- there's too many similarities for them to automatically rule out foul play. They just want to be very careful. But again, no evidence so far of any type of kidnapping. Still just missing children.

NGUYEN: All right. We thank you for that report.

In news "Across America" now, a dangerous dive for an Arizona man. Look at this.

A base jumper took a leap from a 700-foot cliff in Fountain Hills, Arizona. His parachute failed to fully open. Authorities told us last hour the man is in critical condition and there are plans to airlift him to a local hospital.

A search at sea recovers a jet skier in Hawaii. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the man yesterday morning off the coast of Maui. He spent 15 hours drifting at sea with only his life jacket.

And what a restless night for an Arkansas man. He was asleep in his bed when this car plowed into his home and landed on top of him. The man was in serious condition but is improving. Ironically, authorities say the driver of the car who hit the home had fallen asleep at the wheel.

Here's a question for you. Where is Osama bin Laden? The director of the CIA says he has an excellent idea where the elusive al Qaeda leader is hiding. We'll have details on that just ahead.

Plus, it has happened again. Credit cardholders' information put at risk. What you need to know about how it happened straight ahead.

And Cruise confrontation. The actor is not amused after a practical joker strikes the red carpet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

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NGUYEN: Afghan government officials say they have thwarted a plot to assassinate one of Washington's top diplomats. The alleged target was the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, seen here with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Khalilzad is also the future U.S. envoy to Iraq. Afghan security officials arrested three heavily-armed Pakistanis Saturday, the day before Ambassador Khalilzad was to appear at a ceremony in the Laghman Province. That's where they believe the alleged attack was to take place.

Turning now to the hunt for Osama bin Laden. U.S. officials say the search for the world's most wanted terrorist has narrowed, but the area where he is believed to be hiding is still quite large. The comments follow a "TIME" magazine article which quotes CIA Director Porter Goss as saying that he has an excellent idea where bin Laden is holed up.

Now, earlier, I asked international security analysis Jim Walsh about his thoughts about Goss's comment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM WALSH, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think it's the same excellent idea we all have, and that is he's somewhere in Pakistan along that frontier region, as the last report indicated. That's what the overwhelming consensus of experts and analysts think.

That's where the bulk of al Qaeda, as such, that really remains sort of official al Qaeda. It's in that area. It's also in Pakistan, where most al Qaeda members have been arrested. Those that have been arrested have been in Pakistan. So all the best evidence is there.

And there's even a little hint in Porter Goss's statement. When he says sanctuaries in sovereign countries, rather than saying countries that are sanctuaries, that's talking about the frontier, the lawless region in Pakistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: And Pakistani forces recently widened their hunt for bin Laden to villages that were inaccessible for decades.

In Iraq, insurgents launched deadly attacks as the U.S. military wraps up Operation Spear with explosive action. Look at this.

U.S. Marines today destroyed what they believe was a major car bomb factory used by insurgents in Karabila. Forces are now leaving the city with the end of Operation Spear, which was aimed at ousting insurgents.

Now, in the northern Iraq city of Erbil, insurgents target police. A suicide car bomb exploded inside the compound of an Iraqi police building. At least 12 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded.

Also today, a suicide car blast left one Iraqi civilian dead and two hurt. It happened near an Iraqi police checkpoint at the main entrance of the airport in Baghdad.

And there is a bounty on the head of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri. The highest ranking Iraqi official not yet captured. The Iraqi government is offering a $10 million reward for the capture of al-Douri.

He was deputy commander of armed forces under Saddam Hussein, and he is number six on the list of 55 most wanted Iraqis. Also, the king of clubs on the U.S. military's famous deck of cards.

Hackers get information that a credit card processor wasn't even supposed to have, records from millions of credit cards. Are you at risk? That story just ahead on LIVE FROM.

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kathleen Hays at the New York Stock Exchange. Coming up, he's known for policing Wall Street and suing several major banks. But now Eliot Spitzer is in the hot seat. I'll tell you why next on LIVE FROM.

Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, it has happened again, personal credit card data compromised, putting millions at risk for fraud. The CEO of CardSystems Solutions admits his company should not have kept the records that were hacked. They were being stored for research purposes. Computer hackers may have gained access to up to 40 million credit card accounts.

And our Allan Chernoff is live in New York to sort all of this out.

First off, I want to ask, this company was storing this information for research purposes. What are we talking about? And is that legal?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: They weren't supposed to be doing it, Betty. What the company did, CardSystems Solutions, they were actually collecting credit card numbers. They're not supposed to do that.

They are transaction firm. They are simply supposed to pass all of the data along when you buy something at a merchant, and then they pass the information along to the bank.

Well, what they did was hold on to credit card numbers, a research project to try to figure out why certain transactions are not approved. What happened here, that file was downloaded, exported out of the company's computer system by hackers, 200,000 credit card numbers.

Sixty-eight thousand of them we know were Mastercard. About 100,000 were Visas. And about 30,000 others from different types of credit card companies.

Now, what happened here is that the hackers got access not only to the credit card numbers, but also the names of the cardholders. And on the back of your card you have a three-digit security code.

NGUYEN: Right.

CHERNOFF: They also got access to that. So Betty, really pretty serious breach here.

NGUYEN: All that information. Well, and I think the thing that really strikes me is the fact that once you swipe that card, all of the people that get your information from that point on, how does that work? And how do you keep those people from gaining access to your information? Can you do anything about it?

CHERNOFF: Betty, the sad truth is that we are terribly vulnerable, particularly vulnerable when these companies are not following the rules. But just as an example of what we can do here, the banks over the weekend were saying that they would phone and they would send letters to people who were affected here.

I decided to pick up the phone about an hour ago and to call my credit card company, one of my credit card companies, the bank that issued the card, and asked, "Hey, am I affected?" The customer service person told me, "Oh, no, this bank has nothing to do with that."

I explained it's not a bank-related issue. If I have a Mastercard or a Visa it certainly could be possible. He put me on hold.

And on hold I was listening to some music, taped music. The song was "Don't Worry, Be Happy." Well, when he came back on a few minutes later, he said, "There's actually no way we can determine if your number was taken unless there's some fraudulent activity, and then we can cancel your card."

NGUYEN: So hold on.

CHERNOFF: So really, really unsatisfactory answer from customer service.

NGUYEN: Yes. I mean, you have to wait be victimized before you can do anything about it?

CHERNOFF: Yes, that -- that really should not be the case. Perhaps this customer service person was not fully informed, but clearly the banks at a minimum should be notifying their customers and telling them, "Your number was accessed. Let's give you a new card."

NGUYEN: Allan, here's another question that people are asking. We found out about this -- or the company found out about this sometime in late May, yet we, the public, are now just finding out about it. Why is that?

CHERNOFF: Betty, it actually gets worse, because Mastercard uncovered this back in April. They noticed a bunch of fraudulent activities.

They contacted the bank that had issued the cards where these fraudulent activities were going on. Together, they traced it over to the credit card processors, to CardSystems. So it was way back in April. And so that means that there really could have been more exporting of card numbers, some of those potentially 40 million card numbers that were held in this company's data bank.

So a very serious problem. And obviously this is a situation where the public clearly is not being fully protected.

NGUYEN: And that them, "Don't Worry, Be Happy," is not going to work here.

CHERNOFF: Just a song. NGUYEN: Allan Chernoff. All right. Thank you so much.

And CNN's Aaron Brown is focusing on ways to protect your personal information. Tonight on a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT," Brown shows you where you are most vulnerable to identity theft and what you can do to protect yourself. That's "NEWSNIGHT." It begins at 10:00 Eastern.

The tables have turned on New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Some major banks are bringing a lawsuit against him. Kathleen Hays joins us now from the New York Stock Exchange for that story.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: "Now in the News," closing arguments are getting under way in the Edgar Ray Killen trial. The 80-year-old alleged former Ku Klux Klan member is accused of killing three civil rights workers in Mississippi back in 1964. The defense rested without calling Killen to the stand. We, of course, will have a live report from the courthouse in about 45 minutes.

President Bush says U.S. partnership with the European Union is vital. The president wrapped up a meeting with EU leaders in Washington just over an hour ago. He used the opportunity to press Senate Democrats to allow a vote later today on the nomination of John Bolton for U.N. ambassador.

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