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President Bush Addresses Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts; DNA Makes the Case in Virginia Murder; Dead End for E.U. Negotiations with Iran; Three Homeless Men Attacked in Fort Lauderdale; "Will and Grace" To Be Taped Live; Grey Goose Creator Sidney Frank Dead
Aired January 12, 2006 - 14:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thanks for hosting us. Tommy Longo was in the class of '75. I hope that means you didn't lower your academic standards in that year. He and old Doc Blanchard, they told me. Doc Blanchard went here, in case you didn't know it, the Heisman Trophy winner who carried the leather for West Point.
And one of the things that brother (ph) told me, he said, we wanted to make sure we saved the Heisman Trophy that Doc Blanchard had made sure was housed here in this facility. But I do want to thank you all for letting us come by. Thanks for being in education, really an important part of the future of this state and this country to make sure people get a good education.
I stood in Jackson Square early on and -- after the storm hit, and I said we're not just going to survive but thrive. By that I meant it's one thing to kind of ride it out, it's another thing to take out of the harm that came and convert this into a better life. I said we're not just going to cope but we'll overcome. I meant what I said.
I couldn't have said that if I didn't have confidence though in the people in the local area that had such a spirit to be able to do so. I'm here to report to you some of the progress made and just to let you know that people in far away places like Washington, D.C. still hear you, and care about you.
After signing all of the legislation I've signed, the federal government has committed $85 billion so far to helping folks and to help rebuild the Gulf coast of our country.
Of that $85 billion, about $25 billion has been spent. So $85 billion is available, $25 of it is already in the pipeline, that's $60 billion more coming your way.
Part of the strategy to make sure that the rebuilding effort after the recovery effort worked well was to say to people like Haley and the governor of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans, you all develop a strategy. It's your state. It's your region. You know the people better than people in Washington. Develop the rebuilding strategy, and the role of the federal government is to coordinate with you and to help.
I thought that was an important first statement to make when people began to wonder what life would be like after the storm hit. My view is -- and a lot of my political philosophy is based on -- the local folks know better than the folks in Washington D.C.
I remember when Haley invited me down and he said -- I think we were in a tent at that time. There wasn't a lot of electricity. It was like an old time daytime revival without electricity. It was hot in the tent. It was the first meeting, I think, or at least the first called meeting, of the commission headed by Jim Barksdale, citizens from all walks of life, all occupations, all aimed at one thing -- putting together a strategy that helped this part of the world become even better than it was before.
I have an obligation to make sure that the federal government responds and coordinates and stays in touch with not only the commission and the governor, but local folks as well, and I picked a fellow that I trust, a person who has had a lot of experience, a person who understands how people think down here. After all, he is from Texas.
He understands urban life and he understands rural life and he knows the importance of county commissioners, or you call them county supervisors, I guess. He's a guy who's a good listener and he's got my full confidence and that's my friend Don Powell who is with me today. He's going to be the federal coordinator.
His job is to come down here and listen and report back. And I recognize there's some rough spots and I'm going mention some of them here in a minute, and we're going to work to make them as smooth as possible.
The first challenge we had after the storm hit was to take care of the people that were displaced. Millions of people -- or over a million people -- evacuated and scattered. It was an amazing period in our history when you think about it.
One day, people's lives were turned upside down, and they're looking for help. And they're looking for compassion. And they found it. People found it in churches and synagogues and community centers and private homes -- an amazing part of our history when you think about it. It's like there's a great capacity to absorb hurt in our country, because we've got individuals that are so decent and honorable.
The government had a role to play, and that is to get money in people's pockets. I mean, when you get -- when you have to evacuate, you don't have time to plan. And so one of the first things we did is we got $2,000 in people's pockets as quickly as possible to help them. In other words, it was a response geared toward the individual.
We had special designation for all evacuees so they could become available for Medicaid or family services or the federal programs. The idea was to get a response as quickly as possible to people scattered all over the country so they could help get their feet on the ground. We gave waivers to states. We kind of deregulated the system so states could respond quickly to the people who needed help. We provided 700,000 households with rental help. In other words, the goal is for people to be back in their homes in a home they call their own. That's the goal. But, in the meantime, we had to deal with people evacuated and people without homes. And, so, a part of the plan has been to provide temporary housing with rental vouchers. Three hundred ninety million dollars went out as HUD vouchers for a group of people that qualified.
I can remember people hollering for trailers. We became the largest consumer of trailers probably in the history of mankind. And I know it was slow to begin with.
The production needed to be ramped up. And, frankly, the government crowded out other purchasers, in order to set priorities for people down in this part of the world. We have now put out 61,000 trailers, and there are more in the pipeline.
I was asking Haley, does he have a feel for how many more we need? And he said, we're getting close to the end. But there is still a need. And we understand that. And the -- and manufacturing is making progress. We put cruise ships out, at one point, to help people house on the temporary basis, particularly in New Orleans, so that we could get the police and the firefighters a place to stay, so they could do their job.
People ended up in hotel rooms. At one time, there was about 80- something-thousand people in hotels rooms. It's now down to 25,000 people -- families in hotels room. We are in the process of trying to locate every single family and provide the rental assistance help for them, so they can move from the hotel into a rental housing, all aimed, by the way, at provided some kind of housing until the permanent housing market takes off.
We're trying to bridge from being an evacuee to a person in a place, until their own home gets ready to move into. And, so, what can we do? Well, the first thing is, we can focus on repairing homes. That's not going to do you very good down here in Waveland. I understand that.
Tommy and I and the governor and Marsha just drove by. There is no homes to repair. It's just been flattened. That's what the people of America have got to understand. Sometimes, hurricanes go through. And there is a home and a structure, and maybe put a roof on or do something. Not here.
Our fellow citizens, they got to know, when this hurricane hit, it just obliterated everything. It just flattened it. But, in parts of the hurricane zone, there is repairs that can be done.
FEMA assistance will help with that. SBA loans have gone out to about -- for about $2.1 billion to help people repair their homes. Now, the most innovative approach, however, to getting the homes rebuilt is the CDBG grants that Haley Barbour negotiated on behalf of the people of Mississippi. That's government initials for direct money to help people who weren't there to get their insurance to pay them off. I remember being down in Biloxi. I think it was my first trip. And it was hot, and it was steamy. And an older lady walked up to me and said to me -- I said, how you doing? And she looked at me, said, not worth a darn. And I said, well, I don't blame you.
She said, I have been paying all my life for my insurance. Every time that bill came, I paid it, every single month. And, all of a sudden, the storm hit, Mr. President, and I -- came time to collect, and they told me no. And she was plenty unhappy. And she was looking for anybody she could be unhappy with. And I just happened to be the target. I think Jean (ph) was with me then. Or I might have shared this story with Jean about that.
One way to handle the issue -- I know you got a lawsuit here. And I'm not going to talk about the lawsuit. But Haley did something innovative, which was to take the CDBG grants, a lot of money for Mississippi, and going to help the people do the job that many think the insurance companies should have done in the first place.
Having said that, the government has paid out $12 billion in flood insurance. For those who had flood insurance, the government is making good on its -- on its -- on the bargain with the people.
We got a -- if you have got an FHA loan, your loan will be forgiven for a year. In other words, there is an attempt to try to make sure that things are being done so that we -- people can get back in their homes and get -- and people can get to be rebuilding.
There is going to be a building boom down here. There just is. It's going to be an exciting time for people. One of the real challenges is whether or not people are going to have the skill set necessary to be able to meet the needs of the people, whether there are going to be enough electricians, enough plumbers, enough roofers.
But you're going to have yourself a building boom. You watch. There are going to be work -- people are going to be working hard here.
And Don Powell and I, to this end, met with a group of leaders in Washington, D.C., from building trade unions and businesses. And the whole idea was to come up with a strategy to make sure people have got the skills necessary to fill the jobs which are going to exist.
See, our goal -- and I know it's the governor's goal -- is make sure the jobs first go to Mississippi people when it comes to rebuilding this -- and Mississippi businesses. And we want this opportunity to be an opportunity where minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses have a chance to flourish.
An ownership society has got to be a part of a new vision, where people from all walks of life can say, I'm owning an own -- my own business. I'm operating my own business. I'm owning my own home. It's a fantastic opportunity. And -- but it's not going to work unless people have the skill set necessary to be able to fill those jobs and to be able to provide for the -- to meet the consumer demand. And, so, the idea is -- and Powell is going to work on this strategy -- is to work with your community college system, or the building trades, and have centers where people can go to learn how to -- to get the skills necessary to fill the jobs which are coming. They're coming.
You're going to -- it's going to be an exciting time down here, just so long as you're able to get enough material and enough labor. One other important -- and, by the way, speaking about jobs, not only do we got to make sure people have the skills necessary to fill the jobs. The federal government has got a lot of facilities down here.
And there is a lot of federal employees in this part of the world. We're going to rebuild the federal facilities, so that the people will be able to work. This recovery is going to be led by the private sector, however. The federal government is going to help. And $85 billion is a good -- I -- I would call that help, so far.
But the truth of the matter is, the jobs and the quality of life, the recovery, is going to be led by the private sector. I was asking Haley about, you know, some of the industries down here. And he told me, for example, in -- right at the year end, a casino opened. I mean, it's remarkable. If you would have seen what I -- I'm sure you saw what it looked like up and down this coast.
And, all of a sudden, there is businesses and people are thriving, people beginning to work. It's happening. And it's the private sector that is going to carry much of the recovery. Congress did a smart thing, in my judgment, was to provide tax incentives for businesses who are in this part of the world. They provide tax incentives for small businesses to expense up to $200,000 of investment, and private -- and incentive for all businesses to provide a 50 percent bonus depreciation for investment made.
What I'm telling you is, that's kind of economic talk for saying, if somebody spends money in an investment in this part of the world, they get a tax incentive to do so. In other words, if you're able to make the tax code attract capital, so people invest, it means you're more likely to be able to find work here.
The GO Zone is a smart idea. Again, I want to thank the members of Congress for working on that. I think it is going to make a big difference.
If you are a small business owner -- and we just met today, by the way, with some small business owners in New Orleans. And one of the things that became loud and clear to me there was that, because a lot of people haven't moved back into the region, into area, and if you're a small business owner, there is no customers. So, you have no cash flow, which makes it awfully difficult to survive.
There are SBA loans for this. And I understand, for some, the word SBA means slow bureaucratic paperwork. I hear it loud and clear. I will tell you that SBA has put out about $470 million worth of SBA loans. In other words, the loans are going out. But this small agency has been overwhelmed. And, so, Don Powell is working on an interesting idea, and that is to work with the local bankers, people who understand the local customer, as to how to become the agent for the SBA to get money out the door to help small businesses manage their cash flow needs, until the customer base comes back.
The other thing that happened quickly - and I'm real proud of your folks down here -- was that the energy sector rebounded unbelievably fast. This part of the world is really important for the national security and economic security of the United States of America. Remember, when the storms hit, a lot of folks were really worried about the price of crude oil and gasoline.
We, fortunately -- we just did two things I thought were wise. One, we suspended reformulation -- reformulated gasoline rules, which enabled us to import gasoline from Europe, which helps take the pressure off the market. And the price of gasoline, although that went up, didn't go up nearly as high as a lot of people thought, and now heading back down, thank goodness, for people who are working for a living.
And the price of crude oil stayed reasonable, because we opened up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. I was confident in being able to do that, because I knew how fast this industry could move, if just given a chance. The suspension of some regulations to help these refineries and these gas processing plants get up on their feet was important.
In other words, if you can get government out of the way, amazing things can happen sometimes in the private sector. So, I want to thank those of you who work in the energy industry for doing what you're doing.
I remember going to the plant -- I think Haley and I -- Haley was with me. And we went to the plant in Pascagoula. And we had people there camped out there, working as hard as they could to get the refineries up, so that our citizens from all around the country would be able to have gasoline at a reasonable price.
And these people worked hour after hour after hour and did this -- they did the nation a great service. In the meantime, we did our part -- we tried to do our part to make sure that we cleaned out the waterways, so that the ships could move better.
And our Coast Guard, by the way, provided invaluable service here in this part of the country. And I'm -- part of the recovery of this part of the world is going to be when you get your infrastructure up and running.
I can remember first choppering over here and seeing the incredible devastation done to the bridges and highways. The -- first of all, there has been some incredible construction done. The Slidell bridge there to the west of you got up in record time. It's amazing what happens when you provide a completion bonus for people doing work. And I know you're concerned about the I-90 bridge. But they're getting ready to start on it, as I understand. And there are -- the bills I have signed provide $2.3 billion for repair of highways and bridges in this part of the world.
That's going to provide not only jobs, but it's going to make the quality of life come back to what it was. You are dependent upon good highways and good bridges in this part of the world. The government recognized that and put the money out there available for reimbursing the states when they get these highway projects moving.
One of the really interesting things that happened was education, how the country responded for the kids who had been moved around. And school districts all over America took children from Louisiana and Mississippi and helped educate them.
It was really remarkable to watch the education system rise to the challenge. In the bill, there is $1.6 billion worth of operating money. It was money to help these schools stay afloat. It was to reimburse school districts for taking in the children who had evacuated part of the world.
That's up -- that's in addition to the federal commitment to replace every school. In other words, part of the commitment is that, if your school got destroyed, the federal government will help rebuild the school, or will rebuild the school.
Plus, we understood that there was, you know, a lot of kids that were going to higher education. And these -- I mean, a lot of higher education institutions were affected by the storm, obviously. And they were allowed to retain their federal aid, even though children weren't going to school. In other words, we made a concerted effort to help these schools cope with the crisis.
We're going to make a concerted effort to help the schools deal with the long-term reconstruction as a result of the crisis. Ninety- three percent of the schools here in Mississippi are up and running. And it's -- it's an amazing feat in four months' time. It's a great credit, again, to your governor and your education institution, but, more importantly, it's a great credit to the teachers and superintendents and principals of your local schools.
Finally, the first issue I was confronted with as the president was debris. I remember the meeting very well when the mayor showed up and said, you know, we can't possibly say to our people, things are going to get better, so long as we got piles of debris lying around. It was not only a practical issue, but it was a psychological issue.
And I can understand. I mean, I understood right off the bat what they were talking about. And we had a slow start, because we had a little bit of a -- you know, we had an issue of how to get debris off of private property.
And, thankfully, there was some creative work done here at the local and state level, with the federal government -- really was -- as to how to deal with the liability issue. I don't want to go into the law. I'm not even a lawyer. Got too many of them up there in Washington anyway.
But my point is, is that, by listening to the local folks, and by being flexible about how to deal with an important issue like debris, we're making pretty good progress. Out of the 42 million cubic yards of debris, 27 million have been removed.
Now, there is still debris, you know, it's estimated about 15 million cubic foot -- cubic yards of debris left. But there is a certain momentum that's gathering.
Haley believes that, by the end of March, we can get most of the debris off of the public property. In other words, they're making progress. Don Powell's job is, to the extent that the federal government is contracting out, we want to make sure that they just don't hustle when the president shows up, that they're hustling all the time, because the rebuilding and rebirth of this area is really going to depend, in large measure, to getting these lots cleaned, to getting your public access roads cleaned up, getting that debris out of people's sight.
There is something -- there is a certain confidence to be gained when you see -- when you see this beautiful countryside cleared of the damage of -- of Katrina. Things have changed a lot when it comes to debris. You know, it's just -- it looks a lot different, a whole lot different.
And we got more work to be done. And we're going to stay on it until it gets done. You know, and so, we have done a lot, and there is a lot more to do, but there is a certain kind of optimism and hope that's coming. I hope you feel that. I -- we've (ph) come a long way in four months. It seems like an eternity to you, I know.
It seems like a lifetime for a lot of people, to have gone through what you went through. Four months is not all that long. And a lot has happened in that four-month period, and a lot more is going to happen in the next four months, and then the next four months. I can't wait to come back and keeping coming back and seeing the progress that's being made.
We -- we have learned some lessons about Katrina. And we're going to analyze every lesson learned. Obviously, the federal response in parts of this devastated area could have been a lot better. We want to know how to make them better. We want to make sure that, when there is a catastrophe of any kind, this government, at the federal level, is capable of dealing with it, in conjunction with the state and local governments.
There are going to be some lessons learned about having agencies that get overwhelmed by a size of a storm, agencies whose job it is to help people get on their feet, and maybe aren't able to do it quite as efficiently as some would like.
Those are the lessons we're going to continually analyze. That's what you ought to expect of those of us who have been given the high honor of serving you, where they constantly look for ways to do things better. And I just want to assure you, we are. We are. But there are some other lessons learned where we don't need to change, the lesson of courage. We saw great courage.
I will never forget going to the hangar to see those Coast Guard kids that were flying those choppers. I think it's something like 30,000 citizens were saved by rescue efforts by Coast Guard men and local responders. And the people here on the front lines of saving lives showed great courage during Katrina.
I remember seeing the determination of our citizens. One of the lessons learned is, when people are determined, they can get things done, at the Pass Christian school system, for example. This is a place where they consolidated all the schools at the elementary school. It wasn't -- it was kind of inconvenient, you know, when you think about it. But the inconvenience didn't bother the people in charge of that school system.
As a matter of fact, they viewed it as a fantastic opportunity to be able to come together and share, and -- a lot like before. And that school was up and running with broken windows and -- but there wasn't a broken heart. And the spirit wasn't broken.
One of the lessons, of course, as I mentioned, is the compassion of our fellow citizens. Think about lonely folks being sent out, having all their property, their material goods destroyed, wondering what the future meant for them. And there is a loving family saying, I love you, brother, or, I love you, sister. Think about a country where the compassion is so strong that a neighbor in need can find a stranger that wants to help them get their feet back on the ground.
One of the lessons of this storm is the decency of people, the decency of men and women who care a lot about their fellow citizens, whether they be elected officials or just folks on the ground here just trying to make somebody else's life even better than it was before.
So, we learned some lessons about how to respond. And we're going to change. But some of the lessons shouldn't change. And that is the decency and character of the American people. It has been an amazing experience for you. You just got to know, though, that a lot of people in this country, many of whom have never been down here, care for you. They pray for you. And they're pulling for you. God bless.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The president of the United States there making a speech, his first trip to hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast -- he is in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, there -- it's the first trip in three months.
And one of the things he kept emphasizing to the residents and the reporters there in the room, that Bay Saint Louis, that Mississippi is going to see a building boom. We're going to talk more about that, even some specifics that he brought up about repairs, construction, FEMA assistance, various grants. Our Kathleen Koch is actually from that area. She is covering the president's trip. She sat by the side with a contractor who also listened to that speech. We will go to them in just a second. But, first, we want to tell you about a story that you saw only here on CNN out of Richmond, Virginia. Our Randi Kaye has been working on this story. And it's about Governor Mark Warner. He had ordered DNA evidence to be retested to determine whether a man convicted of rape and murder was innocent when he was executed in 1992.
And we're talking about this man, Roger Keith Coleman. There were a number of supporters coming forward, saying that he did not rape and kill his sister-in-law back in 1981.
Well, Randi Kaye joined us by phone within the last half-an-hour to say those test results are in. And they do prove that Roger Keith Coleman was guilty of rape and murder of his sister-in-law in 1981.
We are going to have more from Randi Kaye and also more about the president's speech from Bay Saint Louis right after a quick break.
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: A developing story happening right now.
Let's go straight to Fredricka Whitfield in the newsroom.
Fred, what do you have?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Kyra, investigators are looking into a possible escape at the Rikers Island prison in New York. Right now, the prison is in lockdown, as officials there try to count the some 11,000 people on that island.
All that's being told to us, according to officials now -- they are not identifying the inmate's name, just that the inmate has been at Rikers since November of last year and is wanted for kidnapping, rape, grand larceny and criminal mischief -- those are the charges that that person is facing -- and that the inmate was scheduled to go from Rikers today to a court appearance in Queens.
We don't know how officials believe that this inmate may have gone unnoticed. But, right now, the search is on for this inmate, as well as the prison being on lockdown, as they continue to search for this person -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, we will stay on top of it.
Fredricka Whitfield, thank you so much.
Meanwhile, we want to talk about this case that has haunted so many Virginians. Convicted of raping and murdering his sister-in-law, Roger Keith Coleman went to his death in 1992 still proclaiming his innocence. Was Coleman telling the truth? Had he been wrongly put to death?
Well, the Virginia Supreme Court refused to order DNA testing to settle this case, but Virginia Governor Mark Warner did. Coleman's proponents were certain the evidence would clear him, but it did not.
Just a short time ago, evidence came back from the lab. And a spokeswoman for the governor says it confirms that Coleman was indeed guilty.
CNN's Randi Kaye has been following the story and has more background on the case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirteen years ago, what happened here at the Greensville Correctional Center was supposed to be the final chapter of a horror story. Roger Coleman was executed for rape and murder. But it wasn't over.
ROGER KEITH COLEMAN, CONVICTED MURDERER: I'm innocent. I did not kill Wanda McCoy, and I did not rape Wanda McCoy.
KAYE: Coleman never changed his story. And so now, as early as tomorrow, more than a decade after this execution, the story may finally come to an end. The victim, 19-year-old Wanda McCoy, was Coleman's sister-in-law. He served as a pallbearer at her funeral.
(on camera): The victim's home is not longer standing. But when investigators showed up here the night of the murder, just 15 minutes after Wanda McCoy's husband found her, this is what they would have done. They would have climbed a flight of stairs, then entered the home through the only door.
They would have made their way through the kitchen, through the living room and then over here to the back bedroom, down a long hallway. Here is where they found Wanda McCoy on the floor next to the bed. She had been stabbed twice in the chest and her throat had been cut.
You actually viewed the body that night?
RANDY JACKSON, FORMER POLICE CHIEF OF GRUNDY, VIRGINIA: Yes, I did. Yes.
KAYE: What do you recall about that?
JACKSON: Actually, one thing that really stood out in my mind was the amount of blood.
KAYE (voice-over): It was 1981. Randy Jackson was the chief of police in the small town of Grundy, Virginia. Investigators zeroed in on Coleman immediately. He had been convicted of sexual assault once before. And police believed McCoy knew her attacker. No sign of forced entry.
(on camera): Over the last now 25 years, have ever wondered if possibly Roger Coleman was innocent?
JACKSON: No I haven't wondered that. KAYE (voice-over): Tom Scott prosecuted Coleman back then. He ways there were inconsistencies in Coleman's story. McCoy likely died between 10:30 and 11:00 p. m. Coleman said he was home at the time. But investigators say he failed to mention a visit to a friend that would have kept him out later, closer to the victim's time of death.
JOHN TUCKER, AUTHOR, "MAY GOD HAVE MERCY": It's really a question of tunnel vision. From that point forward, the police focused on Mr. Coleman exclusively.
KAYE: Virginia Author John Tucker wrote a book about the Coleman case.
(on camera): What makes you believe that Roger Coleman did not kill Wanda McCoy?
TUCKER: There are witnesses who saw Mr. Coleman that evening by himself. And the most important one saw him at about 10:30. If he was at that place at 10:30, he could not have committed the crime.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Coleman!
KAYE (voice-over): Still, prosecutors won their case, even without state-of-the-art DNA technology available today.
TOM SCOTT, FORMER PROSECUTOR: We know that Coleman had O-type blood on his jean pants, and we know that the victim had O-type blood. We know that Coleman had B-type blood. We know that the rapist had B- type blood.
KAYE: No one could have guessed then that today the story would finally end here, at this DNA testing lab in Toronto. Despite the prosecutor's confidence in their murder conviction, Virginia Governor Mark Warner ordered the tests.
MARK WARNER, GOVERNOR, VIRGINIA: It will either confirm the guilt, it may demonstrate -- and there is a high probability that it will remain inconclusive. Or it may to some degree exonerate.
KAYE: Coleman's DNA, stored for nearly 25 years, is being compared to vaginal swabs taken from the victim.
(on camera): If the DNA test comes back indicating that it is not Roger Coleman's DNA, did the state of Virginia execute an innocent man?
SCOTT: Well, there certainly are some that would argue that. It doesn't automatically exclude him. It just excludes him from being the rapist.
KAYE (voice-over): Experts say DNA results are so accurate, only an identical twin could have the same genetic profile.
(on camera): What if in 2006 you find out that it wasn't Roger Coleman's DNA? And say he's still here, would you have prosecuted him? SCOTT: I'd have to re-evaluate that. I mean, I'm not sure. And if I did, I'm not sure whether or not we would seek the death penalty.
KAYE (voice-over): Randi Kaye, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Once again, just to update you, we found out just within the past 45 minutes that the DNA tests came forward and that indeed Roger Keith Coleman was found guilty of that crime.
Well doctors for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon say that a new brain scan today found that Sharon no longer needs an external tube to drain fluids away from his brain. Doctors say that Sharon's condition remains critical but stable. His heartbeat and body temperature are normal.
Sharon suffered a massive stroke on January 4th. The medical staff at Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital says it could be days, even weeks, before they can determine the extent of any brain damage.
Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson has apologized for his remarks about Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. When Sharon suffered a stroke last week, Robertson suggested it was God's punishment for Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAT ROBERTSON, RELIGIOUS BROADCASTER: Ariel Sharon, who is again a very likable person, a delightful person to be with -- I prayed with him personally. But here he's at the point of death.
He was dividing God's land. And I would say, woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the E.U., the United Nations or the United States of America. God says, "This land belongs to me. You better leave it alone."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well now Robertson has written a letter of apology to Sharon's son Omri. The CNN Headline News program "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" obtained a copy of that letter. It says, quote, "My zeal, my love of Israel and my concern for the safety of your nation led me to make remarks which I can view in retrospect as inappropriate and insensitive in light of a national grief experienced because of your father's illness."
Robertson continues, "I ask for your forgiveness and the forgiveness of the people of Israel for saying what was clearly insensitive at the time." There is no public reaction yet from Sharon's family or the Israeli government.
In the West Bank today, an attempted suicide bombing. Israeli medical sources tell CNN that a Palestinian militant killed himself, but no one else, when he detonated his explosives inside the city of Jenin. Military sources say the man blew himself up as he walked toward Israeli troops. A short time later, reports say Israeli troops shot and killed two other Palestinians during a raid. The men reportedly belonged to the militant group Islamic jihad.
Rikers Island locked down as police and corrections officials search the grounds for a possible escaped inmate. It's happening right now. We'll stay on that story. LIVE FROM is back after a quick break.
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PHILLIPS: Tensions heightening over Iran's nuclear program. The U.S. and the E.U. there, Britain, Germany and France, are calling for Iran to be hauled before the U.N. Security Council. That's after Iran broke U.N. seals and resumed nuclear research at one of its plants. Our Richard Roth is tracking developments right now at the United Nations. And what exactly, Richard, could the security council do against Iran?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, this has been going on now for a couple of years. And this week, everybody should realize, Iran broke the seals, thus restarting nuclear research at Natanz, one of the facilities in Iran.
This is not what the International Atomic Energy Agency would have liked. They say it is a violation of a suspension of Iran's research that was agreed upon a couple of years ago. And now, the European Union, which has been conducting the negotiations, says the talks on this issue, a very controversial hot-button issue, are at a dead end.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK STRAW, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: It's a matter, therefore, of very great regret that not withstanding these efforts, as the Minister Schteinbier (ph) has said on our behalf, Iran has decided to turn its back and these negotiations have reached an impasse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice now is demanding action against Iran. And that action would be here at the U.N. Security Council. But first the Iranian issue must come here from Vienna, the home of the international watchdog Atomic Energy Agency.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The IAEA Board of Governors must go forward with a report to the U.N. Security Council, so that the council can add its weight in support of the ongoing IAEA investigation.
The council should call for the Iranian regime to step away from its nuclear weapons ambitions. The United States will encourage the security council to achieve this end.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROTH: But sanctions and firm action against Iran, Kyra, no guarantee. There's a lot of division on the security council. Powerful nations such as Russia and China might likely be opposed to that. Secretary General Kofi Annan just telling reporters he spoke with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator to urge restraint and to call for negotiations -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So when you talk about any kind of expected action, you are talking just about sanctions, Right? And if that's the case, how quickly could that happen?
ROTH: That may not be something that's going to come along very quickly because there is still opposition. But you might see a move for perhaps a travel ban on Iranian officials, suspension of activities such as sports, exchanges and things like that.
But when you're talking about the sensitive issue of oil, China and Russia have lucrative deals with that country. Iran has been signing up a lot of nations to oil deals. So the standard course of action, as the security council president said a few moments ago, is to start writing a statement urging cooperation. It becomes, quote, "A difficult diplomat ball game" -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So you still have the Iraq war, you still have the oil-for-food scandal sort of hanging over the U.N. Could this affect any action against Iran?
ROTH: Well it certainly makes countries hesitant to act militarily or even with haste against a country in the Middle East, considering the divisions and what's happened so far in Iraq. But with this issue, this nuclear issue being so sensitive, you might see a coalition of the willing, perhaps, because France and the Europeans are on board with the U.S. on this issue.
PHILLIPS: Richard Roth from the U.N., thanks so much, Richard.
Iran insists that its program is peaceful though and that there are suspicions that Tehran wants to develop nuclear weapons. Our Christiane Amanpour has been talking to Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, and here's part of that exclusive interview.
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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The IAEA says that the seals that were lifted involved centrifuges and UF-6. Could that mean that you want to try enrichment on a pilot program, a lab level?
ALI LARIJANI, IRAN'S CHIEF NUCLEAR NEGOTIATOR (through translator): This was explained before in a letter we had given to the IAEA. Research is being done on a small scale and this has nothing to do with enrichment.
Nuclear research does not take place in a vacuum. It is done in centrifuges, but for producing nuclear fuel, you have to have at least about 60,000 centrifuges working. On a lab scale or a small scale, no one does enriching for producing nuclear weapons or for nuclear fuel. It's only for research.
And from the beginning we said that if we use centrifuges it would be under the supervision of the IAEA. Right now the agency's inspectors are there. Their cameras are there. These projects are happening under their supervision. There is nothing secret about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well the E.U. there is calling for the issue to be referred to the International Atomic Agency as a first step. Then they want the IAEA to refer the matter to the U.N. Security Council. We'll stay on that story.
We're following another story right now, too. Rikers Island in New York City, still on lockdown. Fredricka Whitfield with more from the newsroom. Fred?
WHITFIELD: Well, just outside of the city, really sandwiched in the Eastern River between the boroughs of Queens, as well as the Bronx, sits Rikers Island. It is New York's largest jail facility, about 10 jails there, in all.
Well, now corrections officers are looking for an inmate. They're not revealing the name of the inmate, just that the inmate is one who is facing charges of kidnapping, rape, grand larceny, and criminal mischief. And had been at Rikers Island since November of last year.
And the way it works there at Rikers, this is generally a facility that holds local offenders who are awaiting trial and cannot afford or obtain bail. This particular inmate apparently was to be moved from Rikers to a courthouse in Queens for a court appearance. But now officials are continuing to look for this person as this jail remains on lockdown. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: All right, Fred, we'll continue to follow the story. And of course these pictures coming to us from our affiliate, WABC. We appreciate that capability and Fred keeping us informed on everything that's taking place. We'll stay on the story.
The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM right after this.
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PHILLIPS: All right. More information coming in to us now on that lockdown at Rikers Island. Fred, I guess maybe some good news to report?
WHITFIELD: That's right. The lockdown has been lifted and now the inmate who was unaccounted for for a period of time has now been located after officials there on Rikers Island have done a full sweep of the 10 building facility, 10-jail facility. And now they have located this inmate.
But of course, we still don't know the circumstances as to why this person was unaccounted for, just that they finally have done a full sweep and that all 11,000 or so inmates have been located, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Fred, thanks so much. Good news out of there.
Now two days of freedom ended today for a man who escaped from a Florida jail. We told you about this the other day, 25-year-old Rodney Buckles didn't go very far or to a very good hiding place after he broke out of the Miami-Dade County stockade Tuesday morning.
Police picked him up at his mother's house. Buckles was locked up originally on a domestic violence charges. We're told that a few guards have been suspended and may be fired over that lapse in security.
Today's mad-as-hell store clerk story is brought to you by the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. This Exxon Mini Mart had been robbed four times in the past month. But not this night.
The clerk uncorks some Louisville slugger action on the surprised robber. Take a look at this. He was later tracked down and arrested. Coincidentally, the Philadelphia Phillies could use a good right- hander in their batting order right now.
Three homeless men were brutally beaten in separate attacks in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, overnight, and one of them died. The two others are in serious condition and police have a surveillance videotape that they're looking at for those attackers.
Ted Scouten of CNN affiliate WFOR has that story.
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TED SCOUTEN, REPORTER, WFOR (voice-over): It's horrifying to watch. A helpless man savagely beaten by two guys with bats. This is right in front of the Florida Atlantic University building on Las Olas Boulevard, in downtown Fort Lauderdale. We first see the victim trying to get away and his attackers following close behind. So far, there is no motive.
KATHY COLLINS, FORT LAUDERDALE POLICE: I know that there was no confrontation prior to the incidents. They seem to have just come out and started beating them immediately.
SCOUTEN: In all, there were three attacks early this morning. At 1:00 a.m. this beating at FAU. An hour later at 2:00 a.m., the violence moved to upscale Harbor Beach at the Church by the Sea, of all places.
The last beating was deadly, here at Esplanade Park by the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. The victim, found on a park bench by a friend. He was just barely alive, but he died later.
MARIANE KROUSTASIS, SHOCKED BY BEATINGS: It's horrifying. And most of these guys that are down here are harmless. I mean really, they're nice guys.
SCOUTEN: Now cops want to know if these guys may have hit before. They're asking any possible victims to come forward.
COLLINS: We've been trying to contact them to see if there is any cases where they maybe have not reported it to the police. Maybe they've been associated with these crimes. So, maybe we'll get some leads that way as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: That was Ted Scouten of CNN affiliate WFOR.
The news keeps coming. We're going to keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM right after a quick break.
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PHILLIPS: So that's funny. Well, they pulled it off in September. Can Will and Grace and Jack and Karen and Rosie and guest star Matt Lauer do it again? It is live TV, and sure we make it look so easy here on LIVE FROM, but it's a big deal in sitcom land. Right, Anderson?
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That is right, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Actually, Brooke, I was thinking -- I was trying to think as I was talking to you, what's the other show that they ad lib so much? Not LIVE, but "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
ANDERSON: "Curb Your Enthusiasm." That's right.
PHILLIPS: Yes, OK.
ANDERSON: But you're right, most of these TV sitcoms and dramas are taped so it is a big deal, Kyra. But "Will and Grace" has done this once before. You may remember back in September for this season's premier, they did the show live and pulled in about 10 million viewers so it worked out really well for them.
Kyra, after that show, the head of NBC, Jeff Zucker, said, hey, this is great. This was great, let's do it again. So here we are. I stopped by the set earlier this week for a chat, and Eric McCormack and Debra Messing, two stars of the show, told me why performing live is really a treat for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBRA MESSING, "GRACE": The unknown -- that makes it so fun. I mean, you know, obviously, after eight years of doing the show, we're spoiled and we know what to expect. And, you know, when we mess up, or we intentionally mess up in front of the audience, you know, they say, cut. And we go back and we do it again or we do something else. And there is no saying cut when it's live. It's just you dive in and hold on tight.
ERIC MCCORMACK, "WILL": Yes, totally fun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And right behind Debra and Eric there you saw a bathroom on the set. This show entirely will be set in Karen's guest bathroom in her mansion, so expect a lot of potty talk.
And speaking of that, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally gave me a sneak peek of what we will see.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: What are you going to do differently from the first live show you guys did?
MEGAN MULLALLY, "KAREN": We're all nude in this one. You didn't hear that?
SEAN HAYES, "JACK": Yes. All nude, all girls, all live.
MULLALLY: I thought -- you didn't talk to Eric and Debra? They didn't tell you?
ANDERSON: They didn't let me in on that. And that's why it's in the bathroom?
HAYES: That's right. That's right.
(CROSSTALK)
MULLALLY: Well, I mean sometimes we're like loofahing each other. But beyond that, I mean, we're nude.
HAYES: That's ...
(CROSSTALK)
HAYES: ... as we loofah.
MULLALLY: God, I've been doing sit-ups all week! Oh!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Crazy kids, Kyra. Crazy kids.
PHILLIPS: Have her loofah and then her usual martini in the other hand, you know, doing it -- you know what? And I can just imagine this cast -- I mean, that show is so funny -- doing it live. They're going to make each other laugh. You know, they're going to have to concentrate so hard not to cut up.
ANDERSON: Exactly. And they're live on the East Coast and the West Coast. And they want to make it different for both audiences. So they're probably going to try to cut up on purpose a few times. But "Will and Grace" -- a lot of people have asked me, you know, is this show still doing well?
And, Kyra, it is. It's pretty solid in the ratings, about 10 million viewers. But due to the competition now and the television landscape, it is coming to an end after this final eighth season.
And while I was on the set, I also asked them about saying good- bye to a show that has been such a big, important part of their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCORMACK: We wanted to end properly. We wanted to end well. We wanted to end big. And now seems the time for that. If -- you know, if things were different, maybe there would be more years. But television is a competitive place, and I just think -- I think we all agreed last year that one more great year and go out with a bang.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And they are going out with a bang tonight with their second live show, Kyra. Back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right. I'll be watching, that's for sure. Thanks, Brooke.
We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.
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PHILLIPS: Well, if flags aren't flying at half-staff from college campuses to high-end martini bars to our control room here at LIVE FROM, they ought to be in honor of Sidney Frank. Frank created the Grey Goose, your favorite -- right, Scottie (ph)? That's right. Thumb's up -- line of vodkas in the mid '90s, and he made history by selling it to the Bacardi Company for billions of dollars.
Frank made his mark in the business by making the German-made Jagermeister, and the lovely Jagerettes, a college right of passage in this country. And it made him one of America's wealthiest businessmen. Sidney Frank died this week of heart failure. He was 86 years old.
Well, it is time for the closing bell on Wall Street, a friend that I've shared a couple of Grey Goose martinis with, Ali Velshi. Hey, Ali.
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