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Names Released of SEALs Killed in Afghanistan; Losers of 2012 Summer Olympics Express Disappointment; "Times" Reporter Sent to Jail for Not Revealing Source

Aired July 06, 2005 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: A look at our top stories "Now in the News."
Cindy is down-graded to a depression, but it looks like that storm has just been a warm-up act for the Gulf Coast. Tropical Storm Dennis continues to gather strength and is poised on the brink of hurricane status. Current models show Dennis coming to shore anywhere from Tampa to Lousiana.

In Scotland, it's a storm of protest near the site of the G-8 Summit. SOme 10,000 police are trying to keep demonstrators off the grounds of the resort hosting the meeting. The demonstrators are protesting over a host of issues including global warming, world-wide poverty, nuclear weapons and the Iraq war.

A thread of hope. That's all that remains for the father of Natalee Holloway as the FBI tells the family it's unlikely the missing teen will be found alive.

But a very active, ongoing search continues today with three Dutch F-16 jets, equipped with lasers and special cameras, joining in the hunt for clues.

And there are reports that al Qaeda in Iraq is threatening to kill Egypt's ambassador. The threat has appeared on some Islamic web sites, although CNN has been unable to confirm whether it is authentic.

Ihab al-Sharif was abducted near his home in Baghdad on Saturday. He's the first diplomat to represent an Arab country in the new Iraq and had just arrived on the job in June.

Breaking his silence, but not his word. That's the headline from a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., where "TIME" magazine reporter Matt Cooper has reportedly told the judge he will tell the grand jury who leaked the name of a top CIA operative.

The Associated Press says Cooper received, quote, "in somewhat dramatic fashion word that his unnamed source was releasing him from his pledge of confidentiality."

As you may know, Cooper's bosses at "TIME" magazine already had surrendered his notes, having been rejected by the highest court of the land. On the other hand, "New York Times" reporter Judith Miller reportedly is standing her ground. Like Cooper, Miller was threatened with jail for protecting her sources, even though, unlike Cooper, she never wrote a single word about the CIA staffer in question. We'll bring you the judge's decision in her case as soon as we hear it.

To the Pentagon now and some names to go with the Special Forces killed last week in the treacherous terrain of Eastern Afghanistan. Here's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the Pentagon today has announced the name of the two SEALs whose bodies were recovered in the rugged mountains of Eastern Afghanistan.

They are identified today as Petty Officer Second Class Danny Dietz, 25, of Littleton, Colorado. He was assigned to a SEAL team from Virginia Beach, Virginia. And also, Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, New York. He was assigned to a SEAL team from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Those were two members of the four-man team that was stranded on the ground in Afghanistan when a rescue helicopter, a MH-47 Chinook, crashed after taking a rocket propelled grenade to the tail section.

One of the SEAL members was recovered alive. He apparently fell down into a ravine after being knocked off his feet by the blast from a rocket propelled grenade. And that may have saved his life, because he became separated from the other team members and eventually was able to evade the enemy and be rescued by U.S. troops.

There is still one Navy SEAL missing in the mountains there, and the U.S. at this point has no word on his fate -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jamie McIntyre, thanks so much for that report.

Well, Cindy is a memory, Dennis a danger. As hurricane season gets off to the busiest start on record, it didn't take long for Tropical Storm Cindy to fade into tropical depression status once it hit the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama early this morning. It's still a mighty rainmaker, though, and power interpreter -- interrupter, I should say, to thousands. But we have no reports of serious damage or injuries.

All eyes now are on Dennis, a top tier tropical storm with major hurricane potential.

CNN's Rob Marciano is watching its every move -- Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Cindy, as you mentioned, did produce some winds that caused some power outages, about 70 miles an hour wind gusts in spots. So a tropical storm that was pretty strong, at least when it was over water.

Right now, though, it is heading across Alabama and pretty strong, storms firing up to the north and east of this system. And we do have a tornado watch out for parts of eastern Alabama and western parts of Georgia through the south.

Heavy rains the big deal. Pascagoula, Mississippi; Gulfport, Mississippi, over six inches. Same near Mobil. And lesser amounts as you head towards Louisiana. But all this rain is heading up the Appalachians, or at least the southern part of the Appalachians. And flooding could be an issue there for the next couple days.

What we'll be watching over the next couple days into the weekend is Tropical Storm Dennis. This is likely to become a hurricane. Here is the island of Hispaniola. Here's Jamaica. Just over 300 miles to the east southeast of Jamaica and heading right there. Looks like it's going to get there sometime tomorrow, likely as a hurricane.

A wider view to show you the expanse of the cloud from Venezuela all the way to Hispaniola. This thing has taken up the entire central Caribbean.

Here's the forecast track out of the National Hurricane Center. Seventy miles an hour sustained winds today, likely increasing hurricane status tonight and tomorrow morning.

Jamaica, Southern Cuba could very well see some hurricane force winds. And then increasing to intensity to Category 2 or possibly 3 status over the weekend into the Gulf of Mexico. And once it gets into the Gulf of Mexico odds are it's going to hit somewhere in the U.S., likely during the day on Sunday or Sunday night.

And if it hits as a major hurricane, a tropical -- Category 3 storm, Fredricka, that means winds that could damage small residences. Obviously, some heavy flooding. And these folks remember the major hurricanes from last year.

So this year we're getting off to a quick start. And we'll be quite busy over the weekend.

WHITFIELD: Yes. People remember it very well. All right. Seems like yesterday almost, doesn't it?

MARCIANO: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much.

Well, elsewhere across America, Idaho officials now say they believe Joseph Edward Duncan III is solely responsible for kidnapping two children and killing their older brother, mother and her boyfriend. Duncan was arrested Saturday in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. Eight-year-old Shasta Groene was in his custody. Authorities fear human remains found in a Montana field may be those of her 9-year-old brother Dylan.

A two-day visitation for singer Luther Vandross. He is set to begin at the top of the hour at a New York church. The Grammy Award winning singer died Friday at the age of 54. A cause of death has not been released. Vandross suffered a stroke two years ago at his Manhattan home. Former Republican senator turned actor Fred Thompson will be returning to Capitol Hill. A White House spokesman says President Bush has asked Thompson to help secure Senate approval of his yet to be named Supreme Court nominee. Thompson will also serve as an informal advisor during the process.

Cheers, jubilation and astonishment. London is celebrating its stunning win to host the 2012 Olympic Games, but the announcement sent a wave of disappointment across competing cities, particularly the one of Paris.

CNN's Jim Bittermann reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madrid will not participate in the next round.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One by one the losers were announced. Then there was audible disappointment from the crowds, which in many cases was followed shortly thereafter by reactions similar to the lady in the Madrid, who said it's all about money and politics because we were completely prepared for the Olympics.

Everyone, it seemed, was prepared for the games, but some were more laconic about losing them than others. In Moscow, one woman said life was so upset by the last Olympics there that she was not disappointed about not winning a return performance.

And in New York, the resignation went hand in hand with determination.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't knock a good man down. They're going to keep coming and fighting. So hopefully, New York will come on back in about four years.

BITTERMANN: The worst disappointment had to be in Paris. For an hour after the decision was made in Singapore, the crowd in front of city hall was still waiting in suspense for the official announcement. A crowd that only grew when word spread that it had come down to a battle between Paris and archi-rival London.

And when the announcement finally came that London won, the crowd could not believe it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... to the city of London.

BITTERMANN: It was the surprise as much as the disappointment. Many here thought Paris had done things exactly right this time. And many sports enthusiasts had even volunteered to work on the 2012 games.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This year would have been great, 2012 is in seven year's time. Everything would have been ready for the special events and, unfortunately, it's not this year once again. Just hoping Paris is going to bid again. I don't know when. I don't think it will be for 2016, because two in a row may be too much.

BITTERMANN: As the crowds who came to celebrate began to file away, it was clear that, even if they did lose their Olympic bid, at least some here had not lost their sense of humor. The band, which had been patiently waiting to play out victory tunes, instead paid homage to the winners by striking up James Bond theme songs.

(MUSIC)

BITTERMANN: Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Now this just in. We want to show you video of arriving F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands on their way to Aruba. The Dutch aircraft are equipped with lasers and special cameras, and they are being summoned to help in the month-long search of missing Alabama teen Natalee Holloway.

The search so far over the past five, nearly six weeks now has involved Aruban authorities, citizens there, Texas search teams and now Dutch military planes.

And now a holiday swim turns into a nightmare for three people trapped by tides off the Oregon coast. We have details on the tricky rescue.

Also ahead...

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WHITFIELD: Mission of mercy to people in a desperate situation. How one group of volunteers is making a difference.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This just in. Standing her ground and refusing to reveal her sources, Judith Miller of "The New York Times" tells a federal court that she is standing her ground, will not reveal sources about the CIA operative.

Our Bob Franken is right outside the district courtroom there.

Bob, no surprise that Judith Miller says she won't -- will not spill the beans?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are two reporters, one of them Matthew Cooper of "TIME" magazine has decided to disclose his source after he got permission to do so and said would he testify.

Judith Miller of "The New York Times" has just been sentenced by Judge Paul Hogan to immediately begin a term in jail that could last as long as the rest of the grand jury investigating the Victoria -- the Plame case is in existence. She's going to be taken to a jail in the D.C. area. That was a rejection of requests for more lenient treatment.

Her lawyer, Robert Bennett, said that there is no way that the standard of coercing her to testify would be met, but the judge said this is not something that he would believe until he finds out if the jail time softens her resolve not to testify.

Before all of this happened, Judy Miller told the judge, "I cannot break my word to stay out of jail."

And the judge said that being the case, she will go to jail.

As far as Matthew Cooper is concerned, he said that, as of this morning, he had not received assurance from his source that would allow him to testify. But even as he left home, he got a call from that source, saying he has permission.

So the judge ruled that that contempt citation would be vacated. Matthew Cooper will be testifying again before the grand jury.

The ruling, as I said, confinement in a jail in the Washington area still to be decided. Judy Miller has been taken into custody immediately. She said she would not testify. Her lawyer said that she could not be coerced into testifying. The judge said it was time to give that a try -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Bob, a couple of things. Matthew Cooper, as well as Judith Miller, had requested that, perhaps, if it did come to jail time, perhaps they would have home confinement. And then after that Judith Miller apparently made her request, well, since that was denied, that she would rather go to a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut.

Did the judge reveal any reasoning as to why it's more likely to be a jail within the D.C. area?

FRANKEN: He did not. But in the process of making the decision he did, he rejected those requests. He did express the concern that was expressed by her lawyer about safety considerations.

There are several jails in the D.C. area that might accommodate her. One is in Alexandria, Virginia, or Arlington, each of which have sections that are for female prisoners only. That is the kind of thing that is still being decided.

But the import is, is that rejecting all the pleas, the judge has said that Judy Miller not only must go to jail, but he rejected a request that she be allowed to surrender. She is leaving immediately and has been taken into custody. WHITFIELD: And when that decision was rendered, Bob, can you kind of paint a picture in the courtroom? Was there a gasp? Was there any kind of audible reaction from anyone?

FRANKEN: Not other than reporters stumbling over themselves to get out. The most part, it was very businesslike. The lawyers for all sides made their arguments.

The prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, said that Judith Miller could not have what he called special treatment. He insisted that her testimony was necessary to wrap up this investigation into the alleged leak, illegal leak of information in 2003 that revealed the identity of Valerie Plame, who we now know is a CIA undercover operative.

The prosecutor was able to convince the judge and had been for the longest time that this testimony was needed. The judge said that he could not allow Judith Miller to defy his court order. Therefore, she must go to jail to find out if he can get her through coercion, and that's what he's trying to do here. Through the coercion of time spent in jail to change her mind and testify.

WHITFIELD: Now, Miller and Cooper arrived at the courthouse separately, working for separate organizations. However, they were in this together.

Were there any exchanges between them within the courtroom? We know that outside the courtroom that Miller had expressed being disappointed that "TIME" magazine would hand over Cooper's notes and obviously very disappointed, I'm sure, to hear that Cooper said he was willing to reveal the sources.

Any kind of interaction between those two inside the courtroom?

FRANKEN: None that I was able to discern. This was something where everybody had been told that decorum must be maintained. Each of these people was represented by an army of lawyers, all of whom were in the top tier of lawyers in the United States.

The name Robert Bennett, for instance, is one you'll recognize from involvement in so many cases, including representing President Clinton, among other cases.

So no, there was absolute decorum that was reached. Each of the defendants, and I'll use that word, was allowed to speak to the court. And Matthew Cooper said that as early as this morning, as late as this morning he had kissed his 6-year-old son good-bye and said that he wouldn't be there for awhile but felt that he was released when his source called him personally and said that he could testify. At that, it was vacated.

Now, there's some people coming to the stake-out microphone. I'm going to have to turn around and see who we have here. Let's just see who's talking. Floyd Abrams, who's the famous First Amendment lawyer has just come to the microphone. Let's hear what he has to say.

(LIVE EVENT: PRESS CONFERENCE) END

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