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Striking Transit Workers Reenter Negotiations; New York Businesses Hurt by Strike; New Airline Passenger Screening Methods Go into Effect

Aired December 22, 2005 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILIPS, HOST: From CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, I'm Kyra Phillips. Here's the stories that we're working on for you right now.
The transit on strike, the nation's biggest city on foot. We're tracking negotiations right now this hour.

The accused becomes the accuser. Saddam Hussein on trial and accusing his American captors of torturing him. We're live from Baghdad.

And the ultimate holiday gift. A soldier serving in Iraq gets a new house and finally his own place to call home.

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

'Tis three days before Christmas and all through New York, not a subway is stirring, but some of them may be relatively soon. Buses, too. It doesn't rhyme, but it's music to the ears of seven million New York commuters who have been stuck in the middle of that city's first mass transit strike in a quarter century.

It's gotten old fast, though it only started Tuesday, and it's hugely expensive to all involved. But if you've been watching CNN, you saw a mediate mediator announce resumption of talks, a modicum of headway, and the prospect of a smoother commute, if not this evening, then early tomorrow.

CNN's Allan Chernoff following all the twists and turns. Alan, I understand the union board is meeting right now as we speak.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. On the upper west side of Manhattan, the executive counsel of the transport workers union is meeting. They are going to vote on this framework, to at least get the workers back onto their job. And also to continue negotiations to try to resolve the contract dispute with the MTA, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

What's happened here is that a state mediator has brokered an agreement, whereby both sides have pretty much stepped away from the brink. The MTA, for now, agreeing to set aside the key issue of pensions and, still, saying it will seek some cost savings, but will look into the health care issue, see if it can save money in health care. And the union basically agreeing to say that, well, we are protecting our pension, at least for now.

Keep in mind, this is all a tentative deal. The union has to OK it, and then we'll get everybody going back to work. Not clear yet exactly how long it will take to get all the subways on line. But the buses, that will be pretty easy.

The workers have been striking for three days now, and we did have some protesters here in Brooklyn. When we told them about the situation, they were quite pleased, although some were still talking tough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were willing to stay at work. The city is -- the city's the one that had the illegal act first. They -- with the pension. They're not supposed to be negotiating the pension. They put it on the table. All we asked was that they take the pension off the table and negotiate in good faith, and that's something that they haven't done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: This is quite a change from late yesterday, because the head of the union, Roger Toussaint, had been insisting that unless the MTA pulled that pension issue off the table, his workers would not go back to work. And the head of the MTA, in response, said that was an outrageous demand.

So, Kyra, it really appears to have been a very good job done by the mediator here, to at least get the two sides to agree to talk once again.

PHILLIPS: All right. So they've agreed to talk once again. So let me get this straight. Let me try and figure this out. Is it possible that workers could go back to work while these talks are still going on? I mean, as early as tomorrow morning?

CHERNOFF: That's precisely the scenario. Right. We would expect to see the transit workers back on the job tomorrow. It seems pretty clear that the union's executive counsel is going to agree to this framework, since the union leader said that he will recommend that they vote in favor of it.

So it appears they'll go back to work tomorrow. And then the negotiations would continue with the MTA.

PHILLIPS: Got it. That's great news. Allan Chernoff, thank you so much.

Well, New Yorkers are doing everything they can do to deal with the city's transit troubles, including turning to the Internet for solutions.

Thousands of people are logging on to Craig's List, New York City. The site is a way for people to share information and services. Just type in the keyword "strike," and you'll find nearly 1,000 listings of people looking for a ride to share or a place to camp out in town if they can't get home. A lot of folks are using the site to say what they think about the strike, too.

And if the strike ends today, it will be two days too late for the retailers, restaurateurs and countless other New Yorkers whose cash flow depends on a free flow of people, especially in December.

Here's CNN's Adaora Udoji.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTY SHAPIRO, CO-OWNER, TRIBECA GRILL: In one word, it's devastating.

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Marty Shapiro's devastating feeling is blasting through businesses all over New York City, not just his upscale restaurant, Tribeca Grill, co-owned by actor Robert De Niro.

The transit strike, like a plague, keeping their regular customers and the tourists away. Not to mention preventing their employees from getting to work.

How did the sous chef get in?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Walked in.

SHAPIRO: It's crippling. You know, this is the busiest time of the year. December is when most restaurants make most of their money.

UDOJI: Stores are also feeling the brunt of the strike. Fifth Avenue is one of the most expensive and famous streets in the world. It's busy, but not as busy as store owners hoped it would be during this all-important pre-holiday week. Analysts predict the luxury icon Tiffany's stand to lose a bundle.

Some smaller businesses have been forced to hang a shingle, announcing limited hours. Hotels are facing unheard of cancellations. And they, like restaurants, are taking hits as high-rolling Wall Street bankers and others cancel expensive holiday parties.

SHAPIRO: I'd say we probably lost 80 percent of our business.

UDOJI: This cleaners has seen a 50 percent drop, because the clothes partygoers would have worn are still in their closets.

PETER LEE, GREEN CLEANERS: I don't think -- it's hard to make up. How can you make it up? You know, what's done is done.

UDOJI: Businesses stand to lose anywhere from $250 million to $400 million a day, according to many estimates: huge losses at a time of expected big profits.

Marty Shapiro says the show will go on.

SHAPIRO: We're trying to, you know, trying to make the best of a bad situation.

UDOJI: That means, right now, part of his job description is helping his employees get to work and get home. So the roasted red snapper will be served to whomever shows up.

Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And coming up in the 3 p.m. Eastern hour, we'll be talking to New York's governor, George Pataki. He'll join us here, live.

Well, here we are. Holiday hustle and bustle at the nation's major airport. In the midst of it all, new passenger screening procedures designed to better detect explosives and to keep the terrorists guessing.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is standing by live with the story. She's at Reagan National Airport, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, you know, the most talked about measure that went into place today allows items like these, once forbidden, back into carry-on luggage. And to say the least, it is a very controversial change.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH (voice-over): Since the 9/11 attacks, the government has seized tens of thousands of scissors, screwdrivers, and other tools from airline passengers because they were potential weapons. But starting today, the ban has been lifted, because the government is worried about a bigger threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Virtually any object can cause harm. My hands, tie, belt, you know, whatever. But our perspective at TSA and homeland security is the system and what can hurt the United States. And the big threat is explosives to the United States. Scissors and small tools do not represent much of a threat to the country.

KOCH: The government says screeners will now spend more time looking for bombs.

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We see an ever increasing sophistication in the kinds of explosive devices that we encounter all over the world. We have to train our screeners, now, to become more alert and more adept at detecting devices that are not as obvious as they might have been 10 years ago.

KOCH: But critics warn the decision could leave aircraft and their crew vulnerable to terrorists.

REP. EDWARD MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: TSA can't have it both ways. If this knife is too dangerous to be in a passenger cabin, then this scissors is too dangerous to be in a passenger cabin. PAT FRIEND, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: We believe that the TSA's decision is reckless and it endangers the people who work on that aircraft, and it endangers the people who fly on that aircraft, and potentially endangers thousands of people on the ground.

KOCH: Government screeners will also step up random passenger screenings and pat-downs, including arms and legs, instead of just the torso.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: And the government doesn't believe that allowing items like these back on board aircraft presents an undue risk, pointing out that, since 9/11, cockpit doors have been hardened, many pilots are now armed, and there are many more federal air marshals on board U.S. aircraft, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: How have passengers been reacting? Have you had a chance to talk to them throughout the morning and day?

KOCH: We have, and it's interesting. We talked to probably 16 people, and I think it's safe to say they're split right down the middle on this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm comfortable with it. I don't think it's going to make any difference. I share my husband's opinion. And I've had two cuticle snippers confiscated, so I'm kind of glad I can carry that stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In some ways, for some of us on the plane, it feels like -- those feel like weapons to us, to me, and makes me a little bit nervous. And so we're going to keep on flying. And I still feel like everybody will do a good job. But I would have been perfectly happy if they'd kept it just the way it was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is all about priorities, I guess, when it comes to this sort of thing. So I think it's probably better that they're more concentrated on such, like, explosives or whatever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, knives are still banned, as are box cutters. And also tools like crowbars, hammer saws and drills, because the TSA says those could be used to break into the hardened cockpit doors, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Kathleen Koch, live from Reagan National, thanks so much.

Down to the wire. Senate leaders agree to extend the Patriot Act for six month. Key parts of the law were set to expire at the end of the year. The House earlier extended a bill to make most of those provisions permanent, but it was held up by a filibuster in the Senate. Some lawmakers have expressed concerns over protecting civil liberties. This extension will give them and the White House time to address those concerns.

The holiday season is tampered with fear -- tempered with fear, rather, in Miami -- in a Miami neighborhood right now. A man accused of raping seven girls and women in the Little Havana area is still at large after escaping from a maximum security jail. He is considered armed and dangerous. This is his picture.

CNN's Christopher King has the latest on the search for this man, known as the Shenandoah Rapist.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At this moment, a massive manhunt for the man Miami police call the Shenandoah Rapist, Reynaldo Elias Rapalo.

Last night, Rapalo escaped from his cell in the maximum security wing in a county jail just outside Miami. Police say the 5'4" Rapalo tied together bed sheets and rappelled to the ground after crawling through an air duct to get outside.

Rapalo was facing charges for raping seven girls and women, ages 7 to 79, from over a period of months, starting three years ago in Miami's Shenandoah community. He was awaiting trial, scheduled for February, when he made his break.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That should not be happening. I mean, I'm absolutely shocked. What are these people doing? Where are they? I mean, I'm appalled.

KING: Police believe he's armed with a handgun. Dade County prosecutor Katherine Fernandez-Rundle is outraged.

KATHERINE FERNANDEZ-RUNDLE, DADE COUNTY PROSECUTOR: We're all so angry. This is a person that avoided the police and justice, did not want to face his victims, did not want to be held accountable for his vicious and vile crimes.

KING: Police are combing the streets, handing out flyers and watching airports and bus terminals. Outside the homes of Rapalo's alleged victims, they've also posted officers. Chief John Timoney says someone must be helping Rapalo.

CHIEF JOHN TIMONEY, MIAMI POLICE: I've convinced at least a person and probably persons know where he is and what he's up to.

KING: At a news conference, corrections chief Charles McRay was asked how could a suspect escape a maximum security facility.

CHARLES MCRAY, CORRECTIONS CHIEF: Believe me, we're looking at every avenue of how we can fix this problem. This inmate was able to manipulate the system and was able to actually escape, but it's not as simple as just somebody tying sheets and climbing down the building.

KING: McRay says a guard stands watch over the 48 prisoners in the wing where Rapalo was held. But even though it's supposed to be maximum security, the cells in this wing are dormitory style with no bars. So now in Shenandoah, the rapist's hunting grounds, people are worried.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very difficult to walk around your own neighborhood. It's very unsettling.

KING: Christopher King, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, Saddam Hussein calls the White House a liar. Another colorful day in the trial of the former Iraqi leader. Our Aneesh Raman was in the courtroom. He'll join us live.

The news keeps coming. We're going to keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: On trial and, yes, lashing out. The deposed Iraqi leader once again disrupts court, hurling insults, complaints and more accusations. A familiar target, the U.S., which denied Saddam Hussein's claims that he's been beaten while in custody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SADDAM HUSSEIN, FORMER IRAQI PRESIDENT (through translator): I documented my injuries before three medical teams, two -- two for sure, unequivocally two. And eight months for now, almost healing now, eight months later. And some bruises and marks three years later are still clear. We don't lie. The White House lies. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Hussein and seven others are charged with crimes against humanity, stemming from mass killings in the village of Dujail in 1982. That was right after Hussein paid a visit there and a group of young men tried to assassinate him.

Witnesses have been describing tales of torture, intimidation and death. The defense is challenging the testimony, claiming the witnesses were too young and are being coached. They've asked that future testimony not be broadcast until all the witnesses have taken the stand. The court's considering that, while the trial is in recess for the next month.

Our own Aneesh Raman has had the front row seat to all the drama in the courtroom. He's joining us now from Baghdad.

And listening to Saddam Hussein, Aneesh, talking about his injuries, I'm curious how he documented those injuries. I'm also curious how a bruise lasts for three years.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's sort the lingering question. We've gotten vaguely specific answers from Saddam's defense team. On the ground, of course, beyond the White House, saying that these claims are preposterous and the Pentagon calling them simply untrue.

The chief investigative judge of the court, Raad Jouhi, told me today that at the beginning of his investigation process, he asked all of the defendants if they'd been abused. All of them said no.

But Kyra, just moments ago, I spoke to two of Saddam's leading defense attorneys, including Khalil Dulaimi, his lead defense attorney. They say they have evidence that documents these abuses. They said it took place in the immediate aftermath of Saddam's arrest, now more than two years ago. And they also claim abuse has taken place in the buildup to this trial.

They wouldn't specify what the evidence is. They say, though, they have submitted it to the court and are waiting for an investigation to take place. Nonetheless, though, the fact that Saddam has brought this up in open court does force the conversation to be about Saddam and his custody, rather than the charges at hand -- Kyra.

PHILIPS: Once again turning it around, I guess, from what he's allegedly done to his victims, to him, again, the center of attention.

You've been in the courtroom. I remember talking to you, and you were disappointed the first day you were going to court and he didn't show up. Well, now you've had plenty of time to see him, watch the interaction. What do you think?

RAMAN: Well, it's an amazing experience to be in that courtroom. We're in this media gallery that's separated by a bulletproof, sound- proof glass wall. Directly in front of us are the defendants. To our right are the defense attorneys, to our left the prosecution and looking back at us are the judges.

What we see that you don't are the defendants walking in, which is sometimes the most dramatic moment of the day. Saddam is always the last to enter. And as we've said all along, in this trial, he is projecting the image of leader, a defiant Arab voice against the American.

But whenever he walks in, all the other seven co-defendants stand up. The defense attorneys stand up, as well. It all plays to the image of Saddam as head of a state, really that doesn't exist anymore.

And during the court, you see the defendants sort of look to each other. Many of them only see themselves in this trial. And you see how aggressive they can be. They raise their hands for the judge to call on them. It's always an odd moment to see Saddam raising his hand.

And they veer from being completely subservient as -- as defendants to taking control of the court. So a lot of interaction that is incredibly interesting within that courtroom, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Aneesh, how long do you think this trial will go? Six months?

RAMAN: That's the minimum estimate from those who are on the ground. We're nearing the end, we're told, of the first phase. And there are perhaps eight of them to this trial. The court reconvening at the end of January, a few more of these complaint witnesses.

And then we will hear witnesses who will have direct evidence, if you will, testimony that links the defendants to the charges at hand. That could be those members of Saddam's former regime, who will point the finger at Saddam and those seven co-defendants.

But it's a long process. The defense will have to make its case. The prosecution will have to make its case. And all along we expect breaks like the one we're about to see of a month or so. So well into next year is the best guess so far, Kyra. And this is the first of perhaps 12 trials Saddam could face.

PHILLIPS: Aneesh Raman, you're going to be in Baghdad for quite a long time. Thanks, Aneesh.

Well, a U.S. Marine is being investigated in Italy in the death of an Italian secret service agent. The agent was shot dead by U.S. fire near a checkpoint in Baghdad last March. It happened shortly after he secured the release of an Italian journalist held hostage in Iraq. He was taking the reporter to Baghdad airport when their car was fired upon.

The U.S. military says the car was going fast enough to alarm the troops at that checkpoint.

Early next year, we could begin seeing fewer U.S. troops in Iraq. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the scheduled deployment of two Army brigades could be canceled. That would drop the number of U.S. troops in Iraq to below 138,000. Rumsfeld dropped that hint earlier today while flying to Baghdad for an unannounced holiday visit.

Also making a surprise Christmas visit to Iraq, America's chief ally in the war, British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He flew into the southern city of Basra where 8,500 British servicemen and women are stationed. He's also expected to talk about possible troop reductions with officials on the ground there.

A new lead in the case of a missing zoo animal in England. We're going to update you on fate of this baby penguin, Toga. LIVE FROM has all the news you need this afternoon. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, there could be foul play in the story of England's missing penguin. Police are investigating a call from a man who says who says Toga, the baby penguin, is in a plastic bag and was dumped at the Portsmith (ph) dockyards. They say that the call could be a hoax.

The 3-month-old penguin was swiped from his home at the Amazon World Zoo, the Isle of Wight, last week. Zookeepers say that the baby bird won't take food from people and could die soon if he isn't returned.

Paying for college is already a huge weight on many students and their parents. And now it's about to get even harder. Chris Huntington is live from the New York Stock Exchange to explain. And Chris is too young to have kids that age, so I won't even ask him for personal experience.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I have my own personal experience of paying off a student loan.

PHILLIPS: I know that feeling.

HUNTINGTON: But when the Senate -- when the Senate voted yesterday to approve a $40 billion deficit reduction bill, the biggest losers coming out of that could prove to be students and their families who depend, many of them, on federal loan programs.

Those programs, as the result of the deficit reduction plan, will lose more than $12 million available loans over the next five years. To help limit spending, Congress also raised interest rates on the popular loans, known as Stafford loans, to a fixed 6.8 percent. That's more than two percentage points higher than the current variable rate that most students pay.

The interest rates on student loans have traditionally been kept artificially low by government subsidies.

This could make paying for college even more difficult for many families at a time, of course, when tuition bills continue to skyrocket. Over the past decade, private college tuition and fees have increased 37 percent, while tuition at state-run colleges has soared by 58 percent.

(STOCK REPORT)

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