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New York Transit Strike Continues; Saddam Claims He Was Beaten; Capitol Hill Battles Over Budget, Patriot Act; Families of Seaplane Crash Victims Share Sorrow

Aired December 21, 2005 - 13:00   ET

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

CAROL LIN, HOST: From the CNN world headquarters, I'm Carol Lin, in for Kyra Phillips. These are the stories we're working on for you right now.
An accused serial rapist escapes. A huge manhunt is underway. A live briefing from Miami police is minutes away.

And a nightmare commute. Day two of the New York transit strike. This hour, calculating the cost when the trains stop running.

And outbursts and accusations. Saddam Hussein claims he's been beaten. We're live from Baghdad with more on the trial.

All that and more straight ahead. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

New York City transit workers are ignoring a million dollar a day fine and staying on strike. For a second straight day, New Yorkers are being forced to walk, carpool, bike, or even skate to commute. And it is freeing out there. It's around 30 degrees.

The city's tabloid newspapers show us how angry people really are. The front page of the "Daily News" said "Mad as Hell." The headline on "The New York Post" said "You Rats."

CNN senior correspondent Allan Chernoff is on the streets of Manhattan by the Brooklyn Bridge.

Allan, you've had a chance to talk to commuters. Do you think they're sympathetic with the union for their demands or are they pretty angry?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, you have opinions on both sides. But to tell you the truth, and this is entirely unscientific, a tremendous number people with whom I've spoke are actually sympathetic to the workers, even though they've had to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge you see right behind me.

And maybe it's appropriate that people have turned to walking over the bridge, since the Brooklyn Bridge predates the subway system here by 21 years. They're going back 102 years to a time when there was no subway service and people were walking across the bridge, taking their carriages across.

There's a lot of spirit today, people sort of enjoying it. But the truth is, at some point, this is going to lose its novelty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, I hope they can come to some sort of agreement really soon, you know, because this -- it was fun yesterday. It's not so fun today

CHERNOFF: One day's enough?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. First day, it was an adventure. Today, it's getting a little, you know -- I wish it would go back to normal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: There is a tremendous amount of pressure on the transit workers union. A judge yesterday fined the union $1 million a day during the strike.

They're back in court today. The lawyers are arguing that that fine is just too stiff. We haven't heard, yet, what exactly has happened in the courtroom.

A mediator also is supposed to meet with both sides, although a mediator, we know, has not yet met with the MTA. And so far, no talks scheduled between the Metropolitan Transit Authority and the workers -- Carol.

LIN: So Alan, how much is this going to cost the city of New York? What's the economic impact?

CHERNOFF: There's no way to have a precise number. But the city has been using a number north of $400 million a day.

That is not only retail, where, of course, many people can't get to the stores. But just think about all the businesses in New York City where employees are getting in late or not able to get in to work at all. So tremendous loss in productivity, a big loss in man hours. And the city certainly is suffering. After all, this is the economic capital of the country.

LIN: You bet. We're expecting to hear from Mayor Bloomberg sometime in the next hour. He's made a lot of threats. But what can the mayor really do about this problem? He doesn't have any authority over the MTA.

CHERNOFF: Exactly. A very good point. The governor of New York state actually oversees the Metropolitan Transit Authority. But the mayor has been doing everything he can in terms of talking tough, criticizing the union and also the city's chief lawyer has been going to court. The city's looking to make those fines even tougher against the workers and also against the leadership of the transit workers union.

LIN: All right. Allan Chernoff, thank you very much. So how do you get around New York when there aren't any subways or buss? As CNN's Rick Sanchez reports, there are all sorts of strategies. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR (voice-over): Commercial banker Dustin Craven knew how to prepare for New York's first transit strike in 25 years.

DUSTIN CRAVEN, SKATING COMMUTER: I have ski gear on.

SANCHEZ: And rollerblades for the improvised commute to and from her office in lower Manhattan to her home to her home in Queens.

(on camera) An hour and a half on skates?

CRAVEN: That's right.

SANCHEZ: Is that grueling?

CRAVEN: It's a long haul. But it was fun.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Not so fun for the millions of commuters who walked, biked, and carpooled their way out of Manhattan after work Tuesday night. Store manager Damani Ali says he can't afford to miss work.

DAMANI ALI, WALKED TO WORK: If our tax money is going towards that service, then that service -- that service should be available.

SANCHEZ (on camera): And that's what you're mad about?

ALI: Yes.

SANCHEZ: And you've got to walk for two hours now?

ALI: Yes.

SANCHEZ: We're talking about seven million people that are trying to get into the city every day. And this morning, many of them decided they'd just have to drive. It would be the only way in. It's now about 5:30 and some of those people are trying to get back out. You can imagine what's happened. Gridlock.

How many you got in there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have eight.

SANCHEZ: Eight people you're taking home?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

SANCHEZ: And these are all family, workers?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All family. Wife, sister.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She just walked from Water Street to get over here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.

SANCHEZ: An hour on a bicycle?

PETER JOERSS, BIKED TO WORK: Yes.

SANCHEZ: It's a long way.

JOERSS: Yes, it's a long way. It could be a lot worse, though.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of us live in Queens. Some of us live in Brooklyn. But, you know, we carpool, and we got to do it.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): As for Craven, she says she's OK to keep skating to work for now. But talk to her in a week.

CRAVEN: One day is -- it's not too bad for us, you know. But if it lasts much longer, it's a big -- it's, you know, a hassle to get in. I guess we'll do what we have to do.

SANCHEZ: And so will millions of other New York commuters.

Rick Sanchez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: All right, more on the transit strike throughout the hours this afternoon.

But in the meantime, a suspected serial rapist is on the move and a city is on the edge. Florida police say Reynaldo Elias Rapalo escaped from a Miami jail last night after scaling the outside wall using a rope made out of bed sheets. He's considered armed and dangerous.

Rapalo was awaiting trial for several attacks in Miami's Shenandoah neighborhood back in 2002 and 2003. The victims ranged in age from 11 to 77. Police are now keeping an eye on their homes and in case he just tries to return.

More drama in an Iraqi courtroom. Saddam Hussein's trial continues with emotional and, frankly at times, graphic testimony about torture. And more outbursts and accusations from the defendants.

CNN's Aneesh Raman is following it all from Baghdad.

Aneesh, tell us more about Saddam Hussein's outburst.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good afternoon.

It came just at the end of the court session. All morning Saddam had been really sedate, quiet, soft-spoken. But at the end, he lashed out against those who have him in custody. He alleged that he has been beaten. He said that he could show where he has bruises. Here's what Saddam had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SADDAM HUSSEIN, FORMER IRAQI PRESIDENT (through translator): Yes, I was beaten on every part of my body and marks are still on my body. I'm not complaining about Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMAN: Now, Carol, it's always been part of Saddam and his defense lawyer's strategy to make this trial as much about their time in detainment and about the current situation in Iraq as it's been about the crimes against humanity THAT they face. They did that again today, Carol.

LIN: Well, Aneesh, there was -- there were allegations of horrible torture and abuse. In fact there was testimony from an eyewitness who was pretty young at the time of this alleged massacre.

RAMAN: Yes, just 14 years old. He was the first to testify today. His name, Ali al-Haydari, from that village of Dujail. I spoke with him just weeks ago in Dujail. He told me what he told the court, that at 14, he was taken into custody. He spent years in prison. He was tortured. He was abused.

Later on, we heard from two other witnesses who spoke behind that blue curtain, their voices disguised. They spoke of torture, their skin being peeled off, liquid plastic being poured on them, again beatings with cables, also seeing people die from malnutrition, as well as from execution.

So graphic testimony about time spent in prison and the aftermath of that failed assassination attempt against Saddam in 1982 -- Carol.

LIN: Aneesh, the court video that we see, are we seeing the whole story?

RAMAN: No is the short answer. We should make the point that the video that comes out of that courtroom is censored, predominantly by the presiding judge, who at will can cut off the audio, can cut off the video. Also, there's a three-member panel associated with the court that can do the same.

They tell us the reason they cut things out is for security purposes. If Saddam were to mention specifics about where he's being detained or by whom, they don't want that getting out into the public domain. But they have great latitude. We haven't gotten clear answers on when exactly they exercise that option.

In the outburst, Saddam today within court said he knows the name of the man who turned him in, who said where he was hiding in that spider hole. That, it seems, not part of the video.

So we're waiting to try and get further clarification, but this is not the whole story in terms of what comes out on that video, Carol.

LIN: Aneesh Raman, thank you very much, live in Baghdad.

Well, President Bush is back on the offensive today, lashing out at a Senate filibuster blocking an extension of the controversial Patriot Act. Sixteen provisions of the anti-terrorism law are set to expire at the end of the year. An effort to renew them was blocked by filibuster last week. Four Republicans joined Democrats in defeating a bid to end the filibuster.

Mr. Bush, again today, denounced the move.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Senate Democratic leader recently boasted about killing the Patriot Act. This obstruction is inexcusable. The senators obstructing the Patriot Act need to understand that the expiration of this vital law will endanger America and will leave us in a weakened position in the fight against brutal killers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Now Democrats and other critics of the Patriot Act say there is a simple solution to impasse: Republicans should agree to include more protection for civil liberties of Americans.

All right, the Patriot Act fight is just one of several contentious issues roiling Capitol Hill today. This morning, Vice President Cheney was needed to cast the deciding vote as the Senate approved legislation cutting spending on federal programs by nearly $40 billion.

Now, Democrats denounced that measure, in part because it imposes the first restraints in almost a decade on programs such as Medicaid, Medicare and student loans. But a Democratic move just before the vote means the House will have to vote on it again before Mr. Bush can sign it.

And just a short while ago, senators took action on another hot issue by rejecting a Republican measure that would have permitted oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Keeping on top of all of this and other action, CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry. He is live on Capitol Hill.

Ed, tell us more a little bit about what happened this morning.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's start with ANWR, which just broke. And you're right: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist fell just three votes short of breaking off this Democratic-led filibuster of the broader defense spending bill.

The key there is there was some high drama. On the way in, neither side really knew where the votes were. That's pretty rare around here. It's usually preordained, and they're just having the speeches and the political posturing. But they know how it's going to turn out. This case, they didn't know.

It's a blow to President Bush. Opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration is one of a key pieces of his domestic agenda on the energy front. This was -- this was a big battle.

What this now means is Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has a decision to make. Does he strip ANWR out of the defense spending bill now and try to send it back to the House and push forward on it?

This is also a blow to Republican Senator Ted Stevens. He's known as the Incredible Hulk around here in the hallways because he's a pretty tough customer. And in fact, when he breaks out a necktie with The Incredible Hulk on it, like he did today, you know he means business. It's kind of a joke in the hallways about it, but this is probably the first time I've seen that he broke out that necktie and didn't turn out to be a superhero. He actually lost this vote. So it's pretty interesting, Carol.

LIN: All the secrets from Capitol Hill, Ed, that you have. So what is the Senate doing right now?

HENRY: Well, you mentioned the Patriot Act. That is not technically on the Senate floor, but it's been pending since last Friday, as you laid out.

What you're hearing from Democrats now, their mantra is extend it, don't end it. And what they mean by that is they want a three- month temporary extension, kick this past the holidays. Why rush it through now? Why deal with the four-year extension that was filibustered last week, mostly by Democrats, but you're right, also by four Republicans?

So far, the White House, Senate Majority Leader Frist, have completely rejected the idea of a three-month extension. The politics being played back and forth, who's to blame? You're right.

The Democratic leader Harry Reid, as the president pointed out last week, boasted about killing the Patriot Act. I think there's some Democratic strategists up here who wish he had not put it that way. Instead, they are pushing this "extend it, don't end it." You're going to keep hearing that.

But right now there's no deal in sight. And they're, you know, trying to get home for the holidays. They're still stuck here. But it's entirely possible that the Senate is going to go home without extending those 16 key provisions of the Patriot Act. Both sides admit it could make the country less safe, but they just can't get past the politics of it right now, Carol.

LIN: Hey, Ed, tell us a little bit more about the tiebreaker, with the vice president having to go in and cast a deciding vote.

HENRY: Again, high drama. He had to cut short his foreign trip yesterday in order to get back here. As president of the Senate, the vice president can cast tie breaking votes. As you mentioned, $40 billion in spending cuts. It was a tough hill for the Republicans to climb, because some of their own moderates left them on it. They didn't like those cuts to Medicaid, student loans and others. As you mentioned, the Democrats did win one procedural vote that basically kicks this over to the House side. They have to make some technical changes.

But in the end, the vice president got a chance to cast the tie- breaking vote on the overall budget. That passed 51-50. That basically means, despite all the back and forth, the Republicans get their budget deal with just about $40 billion in spending cuts, Carol.

LIN: Ed, a busy day on Capitol Hill. Thank you very much.

Coming up on LIVE FROM, looking for answers in Miami. Investigators probe the wreckage from Monday's seaplane crash. Have they found the fatal flaw? We're going to have more details.

The news keeps coming. More LIVE FROM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Did cracks in the wing bring down that vintage seaplane in Miami Monday? Well, investigators say they have found a stress fracture in the wing that broke off the 58-year-old aircraft. Now the fracture was found inside the right wing spar. That is the interior structure of the wing.

Amateur video obtained by CNN shows the plane's burning and smoking wing hit, seconds after the fuselage slammed into the ocean. Now, in this type of plane, fuel is actually carried inside the wings.

A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board says the FAA and Chalks Ocean Airways have been told of the flaw and would determine if the company's entire fleet of Grumman seaplanes needs to be grounded. All those on board the plane, 18 passengers and crew members -- two crew members, died in that crash.

Now, coming up at 2 p.m. Eastern, the NTSB has a briefing scheduled in Miami. And we are going to take you there live when it happens.

In the meantime, Monday's seaplane crash left many families in mourning right before Christmas. But one man's sorrow is multiplied 11 times over. That is how many relatives Leonard Stewart lost on the ill-fated flight.

CNN's Christopher king has more from Miami Beach.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As recovery teams search for parts of the ill-fated plane, families of the victims grieved. Leonard Stewart was related to 11 people on the flight, including two cousins, Salome Rolle and Genevieve Ellis. They had just returned from a relative's graduation in Greensboro, North Carolina.

LEONARD STEWART, LOST 11 FAMILY MEMBERS: I've been through tragedies and stuff. But, you know, I think I'm a little strong at this stage. I'll probably break down probably as we get nearer to the funeral time.

KING: Authorities say 20 people were on board the seaplane owned by Chalk Ocean Airways. It was headed from Miami to the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, so small, Cletis Smith says, nearly everyone there knows each other and nearly everyone is feeling the pain.

CLETIS SMITH, VICTIM'S SON: It's only seven miles long by a half mile wide. And from one end to the next, we know everybody. You can go from door to door and you can actually get a meal from everybody. That's how close knit we are.

KING: Smith lost his young nephew and his father Donald, a dock master at a fishing marina on the tiny island. They, too, had been returning from another graduation.

SMITH: We're all in there. We just pull together and we just hold on each other inside there, because together we'll get through it.

STEWART: I was praying that they would survive. It's really, really devastating to the family.

KING: Salvage teams scoured the water for the Grumman G-73. Atlanta Air Recovery of Georgia hoisted a portion of the wing out of the Atlantic. Crews are still searching for fragments of the plane. The National Transportation Safety Board hopes to recover the voice recorder on the plane, which it says is a delicate process.

MARK ROSENKER, ACTING CHAIRMAN, NTSB: It's in the tail section of the aircraft, we believe. And it's difficult for us to get to it, the way it's sitting and the way the tail has been mangled up.

KING: In the meantime, officials have cleared cruise ships to leave the port. They've been forced to dock since the crash.

Christopher King, CNN, Miami Beach.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And remember, we're going to be hearing from safety officials in the next hour on that crash.

But in St. Louis, they are safe. A Lear jet with landing gear problems touched down safely a little while ago at Lambert Airport. The corporate jet took off this morning from a suburban St. Louis airport with nine people on board. And when the front landing gear wouldn't retract, a visual inspection showed the nose gear appeared to be turned to the left.

The plane flew for more than two hours to burn off fuel before the pilot made a textbook landing. Whew! Well, anxious moments over Boston last night, as a commercial jet also developed landing gear trouble there. Midwest Airlines Flight 210, with 90 people on board, circled for about two hours to burn off fuel. The pilot brought it down safely at Logan International Airport.

Now, incredible technology that lets Internet users get a real bird's eye view of nearly anything on Earth. But are they able to see a little too much? The concerns with Google Earth as the news keeps coming right here on LIVE FROM, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: So have you surfed the halls of Congress lately? Well, some governments are worried that dangerous people figure out floor plans and other security details at government buildings with a little bit of technology on the Internet.

Google Earth combines satellite and aerial images with maps. And you can see a detailed birds-eye view of nearly any place on Earth. Now India, South Korea, Thailand and Russia are concerned that those images could be used to highlight military locations and government buildings and other sensitive areas.

Google is talking with some countries about this. But U.S. experts downplay any risks, saying images used by Google are also available from other sources.

Well, it looks like the slump may be over on Wall Street. Chris Huntington at the New York Stock Exchange with more on that.

Chris, glad you made it to work.

(STOCK REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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