Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Flooding in the Northeast; Fats Domino Back in New Orleans; Karl Rove's Troubles Continue; Suspicious Package in Norwalk, California; Robert Davis Beating Video

Aired October 14, 2005 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A super soaking. Evacuations and floods after more than a week of rain, but relief is in sight. We're tracking the storm.
Out of the hot seats, but not out of potential legal trouble. Presidential political advisor Karl Rove finished testifying. The CIA leaked probe, we're live from the courthouse.

And a rock legend homecoming: He found his thrill on Blueberry Hill, but Fats Domino is glad to get back to his home in New Orleans.

I'm in the CNN Center in Atlanta. I'm Kyra Phillips, this hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

The deluge is over or nearly so, but the damage is done in the Garden State. Roads are now rivers in the coastal New Jersey communities of Spring Lake and Lanoka Harbor and residents are getting out any way they can. A solid week of downpours has dropped more than a foot of rain on parts of the northeast. Two or more inches are still expected in New England. Reporter Tony Caputo of CNN affiliated News 12 New Jersey has that the latest from that flood soaked area.

TONY CAPUTO, NEWS 12 NEW JERSEY: We've been covering flooding all over the garden state this week, but we haven't seen it any worse than we're seeing it right here. It is Deal Lake, in Lanoka Harbor in Montiff County; actually Deal Lake borders a few towns. We'll begin in Lanoka Harbor. You can see that road completely wiped out from the overflowing lake. You see a car engulfed in water and if you come to your left a little bit, my photojournalist Joe Carusso will show us that the water is up on those lawns and inside that garage. Many of those homeowners have been evacuated already.

We've seen rescue boats still floating around looking for folks in need of some assistance. We will bring you over to this side of Lanoka Harbor across the bridge. Again, you can see some rescue workers in their orange coats up top looking to help some folks. Making sure everybody in there is OK. But, again, this is a road right here. That road is completely gone. Let me bring you across the lake to the Allenhurst section of this area. You can see a pump house out in the distance and a lot of trucks there. Folks are working very hard to try to control the water in that pump house.

From what I'm told, if it gets flooded out, sewage could back up into the sewers or into the basements rather of many homes. Now, across the lake, in the Asbury Park section you can see a high-rise apartment building. We went over there, as well. Water is just about up to the front door now. A woman inside who is 101 years old. She's never seen it this bad. The mayor of Lanoka Harbor tells us it is his opinion this is happening because of over development.

The Dear Lake water shed which extends all the way back through Route 18 is under growing a lot of growth and development and a lot of pavement. There is an expectation that there will be an additional water shed problem once Asbury Park redevlopes and you can't cover things up with concrete and expect that the water is going to flow anywhere.

CAPUTO: Covering up things with concrete (INAUDIBLE) continues to happen. You can see in the distance the big crane. That is the oceanfront in Asbury Park as that town continues to redevelopment. On its way back, certainly good news for Asbury Park, but, again, according to the mayor in Lanoka Harbor, causing many problems concerning Deer Lake. You can see those problems here first hand today. On News 12 New Jersey's, Tony Caputo reporting for CNN.

PHILLIPS: All right. Lets take it to Dave Hennen in the Weather Center what do you think, Dave? Little better, possibly soon?

DAVE HENNEN, METEOROLOGIST: It looks like it Kyra. Especially as you get out of New Jersey where the rain is going to begin to taper off. There are still flood warnings in effect, though, for much of northern New Jersey. These are river flood warnings covering much of the state. These extend into the Hudson Valley, as well. Into western sections of Connecticut. You get an idea of the darker green the warnings. That's where we've seen much of the rainfall thus far. Lets zoom you into the city; we do have the flood watches continuing for the bureaus. As you get into New Jersey here, that's where all the flood warnings are in effect. And it is many of these rivers in northern New Jersey that have been on the rise and will continue to be on the rise until the rain comes to an end.

That will happen later on today. We'll show you the radar picture. Here is the bulk of the rain is now, over eastern Long Island. That is where we have seen much of the precipitation this morning and this is setting up to what we call training. To get an idea of what exactly that means. Think of this of this as a railroad track going up and down like this in individual cars, these are the cells that are associated with this system. Moving over the same areas over and over and over again. We have seen reports out of Long Island of up to six to seven inches of rainfall and radar estimates just off the coast, even higher than that. The rain is going to continue in this area through much of the day today, spreading into southern Connecticut. Heavier around Bridgeport and back towards Hartford and then as you get further north it dries out and notice as you get further to the west, it dries out, as well.

That is the good news and that is a trend that will continue as we head over the next couple of days. Biggest flood threat today in this area, especially Long Island extending into Connecticut, Rhode Island and moving into Massachusetts, as we head through the evening hours tonight. And here as we take you to our future cast. This is a forecast computer model as to what is going to happen over the next couple of days. The rain continues to be heavy on through the day tomorrow. By 11:00 a.m. though, tomorrow a front to the west and behind this frontal system, much drier air. That is the good news. As the front sweeps through, as we take you into Sunday morning 11:00 a.m the front off the coast, much drier air moving in as we get into Canada and into northern New England, the rains continue. But we have not seen the flooding rains there, they should be able to handle this better and certainly some much drier air and welcome news by late in the weekend for folks in the northeast. Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Dave thanks so much.

We will turn it now to Washington where White House Aide Karl Rove testified again today before a federal grand jury. It is the fourth time he talked to the panel, which is trying to determine who leaked the identity of a CIA officer. CNN National correspondent Bob Franken joins us live now, once again, from Washington. He left the courthouse, Bob, of course, not saying anything.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Of course not. We have been warned by his attorneys they would rather we didn't even see him leave the courthouse. That was not to be. What was so interesting, not only the fourth time before the grand jury, but he spent quite a big chunk of time, more than three hours appearing and answering questions that have come up since the last time he had testified in July.

His attorney has hastened to point out that Rove had volunteered to come back and the special prosecutor decided to take him up on it after Matthew Cooper, the "Time" magazine reporter had testified subsequent to Rove's last appearance about conversations that had not been described before the grand jury.

Many are making quite a bit out of this saying that four appearances for a grand jury can be ominous for any individual. Rove's attorney said that he appeared, even though there was no assurance from the prosecutor that there would not be an indictment. Meanwhile, at the White House, about speculation that the distraction of Rove spending so much time on this is distracting from the White House agenda, we sort of got an answer from the press spokesman, Scott McClellan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Karl continues to do his duties as deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to the president, and you're trying to ask a question in the context of an ongoing investigation. The president has made it very clear, we're not going to comment on an ongoing investigation. What we're going to do is support the efforts of the special prosecutor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN : Well, the special prosecutor has finished his efforts for the day. Question now is, will he be finishing his efforts of the investigation within the framework of a grand jury deadline that is supposed to be October 28th, although there could be an extension probably and then, of course, then the larger question is, will there be indictments, and if so, against who? Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Bob Franken, at the courthouse there. Thanks, Bob.

Legal issues for another prominent Republican in the latest squeamish between Congressman Tom Delay and Texas prosecutor Roni Earle. Earle has issued a subpoena for Delay's phone records. The Delay's spokesperson called Earle's subpoenaed ridicules stunt. Former house majority leader is awaiting trial on charges he conspired to violate Texas election laws and money laundering. Two Delay associates were released from custody today after posting bond.

Turning to Iraq. There's a lot riding on tomorrow's vote on a proposed constitution for Iraqis, for the U.S. and for the coalition forces trying to keep the peace there. Earlier CNN's Christine Amanpour talked about the referendum and the potential for continued violence with General George Casey. He is the top U.S. commander, as you know in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GENERAL GEORGE CASEY, U.S. ARMY: Expect violence to continue after the referendum and we said many times that we expect the foreign fighters and the Baathists to go after this political process, these elections based on the constitution. If they're going to disrupt this Iraq's forward movement, they're going to do it here in the next 60 days. They're going to try to do it and I don't think they are going to be capable of stopping the political process.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Do you see an end in sight any time soon to the insurgency violence?

CASEY: No. I think the violence at this level; I do see some possibilities for that tapering off after the elections, especially if there's strong Sunni participation in both the referendum and the elections. But, as I've said before, when you look at the history of insurgencies, the average insurgency has lasted about nine years.

AMANPOUR: Can you tell me how the insurgents have adapted their tactics?

CASEY: The major change here really since the April/May time period has been the use of suicide, the expansion of the use of suicide car bombs to produce large numbers of civilian casualties. And, you know, we've adapted to that. I think you'll see that the measures put in place for the referendum are specifically designed to prohibit the employing of car bombs during that period.

AMANPOUR: For a long time the insurgents were dismissed in Washington as a bunch of dead enders, for a long time. Yet, these dead enders keep at it. That's a huge level of organization, isn't it?

CASEY: It's not a huge level of organization, but it does demonstrate a capability in an organization, an organizational capability that is not insignificant. If you think about what it takes to take a suicide bomber from the Syrian border, move him to safe houses, to Iraq, put him in to a car bomb in Baghdad and move that car bomb to a target, that is not an insignificant capability. It's one that we actively work to disrupt by targeting the person who makes the bomb: by targeting the nodes along the Euphrates Valley where they come from; and by our operations there to restore Iraqi control to the border.

PHILLIPS: And one violent arrest caught on tape -- two very different views of what happened. Just ahead on LIVE FROM, the attorneys on both sides give their take on some new tape of a very bad scene on Bourbon Street.

Also ahead, a recall of the top-selling hybrid car in the U.S. -- talking about a recall of the Toyota Prius.

And Bond -- a blonde James Bond. Will the Spy Who Loved Me feel the love from movie audiences? Meet the newest actor to play Agent 007. Coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The controversy over that violent arrest in New Orleans last weekend is getting hotter again. Now that the Associated Press has released a longer version of its videotape. CNN's Dan Simon has taken a look at the new pictures.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The entire videotape shot by the agency's photographer runs five minutes. The extended footage shows a little more of what happened at the beginning of the incident. We see a woman try to communicate something to the officers. Before she is shooed away by the policemen. This appears to be the woman Davis has publicly asked to come forward to calibrate his story. After the officers strike Robert Davis, the new tape shows the two FBI agents watching the struggle for at least 15 seconds before they assist in the eventual take down.

Moments later, according to one law enforcement trainer who watched the tape at CNN's request, it appears the officers are working against one another -- one holding Davis in what is called a leg lock, the other sitting on his back, effectively pulling and pushing Davis in opposite directions. And listen carefully; this could be significant in court. You can hear the 64-year-old yell, "If you allow me to turn over, I will." It also appears one of the officers delivers a kick to Davis. Bear in mind, he is already on the ground restrained. Later a witness could be heard saying, "Did you get that on film? He surrendered to them. They then hit him on the back of the head and that's when he started to fight."

As the drama continues to unfold, it's clear at least two additional officers, state policemen from Louisiana and New York, are also at the scene. It's not clear in what capacity. Then, this chilling cry, apparently from Davis. At the very end of the complete tape, there are a few more seconds of the handcuffing of relief worker Calvin Briles, who told CNN he wanted to report the alleged brutal treatment of Davis, but was told to mind his own business. Because the case against the officers was filed in municipal court, legal experts tell me that any trial would be handled by a judge and not a jury.

Dan Simon, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Joseph Bruno is the attorney for Robert Davis. Frank DeSalvo is representing the police officers accused of attacking Davis. Now, last night CNN invited them to look at the extended videotape and share their reactions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON BROWN, CNN CO-HOST, "NEWSNIGHT": Early in the tape, your client, Mr. Davis is up against the wall, the officers are trying to pull his arm behind him, and a reasonable person looking at that tape might conclude that he's resisting. So, I wonder if you still would argue as you did to me the other night, that at no point he resisted the officers who were trying to cuff him?

JOSEPH BRUNO, ATTORNEY FOR ROBERT DAVIS: Oh, absolutely. In fact, one of the things that I'm hearing tonight that I didn't see because there's two components to what I'm seeing now. I'm able to hear the voices in the background and I heard clearly voices in the background say, "He didn't start to fight until he got hit in the back of the head." That's what I heard on this tape.

BROWN: Who says that?

BRUNO: Well, I don't know, it's a voice; it's one of the voices that I heard while watching this tape in full. All of the other, you know, times I've seen the tape, you can't really pick up the audio as well as I was able to pick up the audio tonight. You can hear the woman screaming as well. You recall my client saying the woman is screaming, "He didn't do anything wrong. Get off of him."

BROWN: Mr. Bruno, just going back to what you just said. If you hear someone say, "He didn't start to fight until he was hit in the head," it does suggest that at some point he started to fight and that's a problem for Mr. Davis, isn't it?

BRUNO: Oh, absolutely not. A police officer has absolutely no right to strike you. Police officer has no right to put his arms on you unless there's some reason for it. I mean, you see, that's where this thing is spinning out of control. He wasn't drinking, but even if he was drinking, he has to be a danger to the police officers or others before they have the right to put their hands on him.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CO-HOST, "NEWSNIGHT": At what point, though, does he start bleeding in your opinion? What you have been arguing for days is that it was the fall that hit his head and started him to bleed. Clearly his head was protected by one of the officers because he was in a lock. He didn't hit his head on the ground. He is now being kicked or stepped down on once and punched at least once while on the ground. Did that cause the bleeding?

BRUNO: I don't know what caused the bleeding. But I do know this, on the way down you did -- that's to the back. You didn't see any blood in his face.

COOPER: Yes, you are right.

BRUNO: And what they are doing now is still trying to get the arm behind him.

COOPER: But where did all the blood comes from?

BRUNO: Once his arm is behind him -- it came from his nose.

COOPER: So who hit his nose?

BRUNO: I don't know -- you tell me.

COOPER: I don't know; for days you have been saying it was the sidewalk that did it. Clearly that is not the case.

BRUNO: It may very well be.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: That was Joseph Bruno, the attorney for Robert Davis, and Frank DeSalvo, the attorney for the police officers accused of attacking Davis. It appeared on CNN's "NEWSNIGHT" with Aaron Brown and Anderson Cooper. We are being told these live pictures coming to us from KCAL one of our affiliates out of Los Angeles. This is actually the train station near Norwalk, California.

That is not far from Los Angeles, it is actually southeast of Los Angeles. As you can see it is right under the 605 freeway and we are being told there is a suspicious package somewhere within this area. Not quite sure if it is near the train station or somewhere on the highway but the 605 freeway has been closed down, police as you can see on the scene investigating what appears to be a suspicious package in this area.

It is all we know at this point. Obviously, you can see the bomb squad there responding. They have to take every precaution when they don't know what they are dealing with. Don't know if they got a tip or if someone just came a crossed it and called authorities. We will follow it and let you know what is going on there. Suspicious package, once again, in Norwalk, California.

Now tight security and tense nerves as Iraqis prepare to vote this weekend. Will this referendum put them closer to democracy, and American troops closer to coming home? We will take a look at that just ahead.

J.J. RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm J.J. Ramberg at the New York Stock Exchange. Coming up: bankruptcy filings are soaring ahead of Monday's deadline. I'll tell you why people are in such a rush to get those papers filed. Next on LIVE FROM. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Once again, we're continuing to follow these live pictures from KCAL, one of our CNN affiliates out of Los Angeles. The 605 Freeway closed down in Norwalk, California, because of a suspicious package that was found. As you can see the bomb squad little robotic device there moving in towards the package. As we watch these live pictures, don't know how close it is to the package and how police were alerted to the suspicious package. It's right near the train station.

Actually, the robotic device is moving its way -- looks like it came, looks like it's approached -- can't quite see if it's approached the package or not, but this is the train station in Norwalk, California, right underneath the 605 Freeway. You can kind of get a visual of the freeway there above the robotic device.

As you know, this is really commonly used with various SWAT teams and bomb squads to move in on a suspicious package and be able to give authorities sort of a bird's eye view, an up-close look at what is inside that package and sense it and to see if there is any unusual noises or ticking, etcetera, coming out of that package.

We're continuing to monitor what authorities are now calling a suspicious package at the Green Line Commuter Train Station in Norwalk, California. Just underneath the 605 Freeway there. Norwalk, California, is in between Los Angeles -- actually southeast of Los Angeles. Not far away from Long Beach, California. The helicopter there KCAL helicopter pulling out and sort of giving you a wide shot of where exactly that is at the train station. But you can see the robotic device moving its way closer to what's being called a suspicious package.

Don't know who called this in, how authorities were tipped off. We'll follow it. The area has been evacuated. You don't see anybody at the train station or on the freeway -- 605 -- that has been shut down while police are trying to figure out exactly what's taking place there.

And are we moving on to now? We're going to move on to business now. J.J. Ramberg at the New York Stock Exchange checking on numbers and other stories for us. Hey J.J.

RAMBERG: Hi there, Kyra. Stocks here modestly higher right now as oil prices continue to retreat. Checking on those numbers. The Dow Industrials are up about 29 points. The Nasdaq is adding a little bit more than a third of a percent. Now, prices at the pump drove the Consumer Price Index just last month to its biggest gain in more than 25 years. One-month increase of 1.2 percent, which was well above expectations. But, excluding food and energy, prices were tame, rising just 0.1 percent for the fifth executive month. Now, economists say that's evidence that inflation remains under control.

Bankruptcy filings are soaring. This is before a new law takes effect on Monday. For the fourth straight week filings hit a weekly record. More than 100 thousand people filed for bankruptcy last week and according to Lundswick Consulting, that's more than triple the average over the past four years, quite a difference than the past few years. Now, there's a reason behind the record number of filings and that is that this new law will make it more difficult for many individuals to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which eliminates most debts.

That's the latest from Wall Street over here. LIVE FROM continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com