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Record Snowfall Hits Northeast U.S.; Miners' Families Ask Congress for Improved Safety; New Judge Takes Charge Despite Saddam's Objections; Police Open Lines of Communication to Church Arsonists
Aired February 13, 2006 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips.
A nor'easter, a whiteout, a monster storm, whatever you want to call it, the blizzard of 2006 is one for the books.
Shovels, snow blowers, the weapons of choice for millions of people in the nor'east and Midatlantic states. Road crews plowing and salting places they were powerless to plow and salt yesterday.
The storm dumped more than two feet of snow in some spots, including a record 27 inches in New York's Central Park. It shut down airports, schools, stopped commuter trains in their tracks.
But people across New England say it could have been worse. They escaped major damage because the snow was light and fluffy, not wet and heavy. O
Of course, not everybody gets off easy. Our senior correspondent, Allan Chernoff, is at New York's LaGuardia Airport where the world -- the word cancel is still showing up on a lot of monitors -- Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra, but things definitely have improved. Now we just have long lines, a few flights being delayed, but it doesn't seem all that bad, especially after yesterday's nightmare, when absolutely nothing left LaGuardia and nothing came into LaGuardia. This airport entirely shut down, and the other airports in the New York region were shut for most of the day.
A massive storm, as you mentioned. Here at LaGuardia, they got more than 25 inches of snow. It was certainly a huge effort here to clean things up.
Some people, who were unfortunate enough to come to the airport yesterday, never got out, and they slept overnight here at the airport. One hundred seventy-six cots were set up. People were sleeping on those cots, sleeping on chairs, even sleeping on their luggage.
We met one woman earlier today who's trying to get to Fort Lauderdale. She spent more than 24 hours here at LaGuardia. She is hoping to get out by 2 p.m. this afternoon, and we're wishing her luck. Certainly lots of people have been stranded here. The cleanup continues outside. The snow plows still going. They've been on a marathon mission, and you can imagine just how many tons they had to clean up here, more than 300 acre of tarmac here at LaGuardia, and that's a relatively small airport -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Allan, any idea when things will get back to normal? Yesterday I was in D.C. and I was amazed at Reagan National. They actually knew what flights they were going to cancel days before and when things would really be up and running, and I can't believe I was on time leaving yesterday.
CHERNOFF: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airports here, is saying that this afternoon things are pretty much going to be back to normal.
Looking at the schedule board for American Airlines right behind me, the flights departing, most of them are listed on time. A few cancelled. Right now we have a few more delays on the arriving flights, but it doesn't look all that bad right now.
Having said that, I would not necessarily recommend that people try to get on a flight and come over to New York. If you can, wait another day. Certainly, things will be even better tomorrow -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Allan Chernoff at LaGuardia, thanks so much.
Well, thunder bolds and lightning. A little bit frightening. A little bit freakish when they come in the middle of a blizzard. Some of you in the path of yesterday's nor'easter got a taste of what the experts call thunder snow, sort of a snowstorm and thunderstorm all rolled into one. Scientists say it's extremely rare.
So is the first major blizzard of 2006 a sign of things to come? Let's head to the CNN Weather center where meteorologists Jacqui Jeras and Dave Hennen have your weather and travel forecast.
What do you think, you guys? Is it a sign of something bigger?
(WEATHER REPORT)
DAVE HENNEN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks, Jacqui. I was with you yesterday, and we were looking at our Flight Explorer system, which is behind me. And this is the system that tracks all of the airplanes in the area at any one give moment. About 5,000 plus in the air right now.
Yesterday we saw about 3,000 during the height of the storms. There's about 2,000 planes in the air this afternoon than there was at this time yesterday.
Let's take a closer look at Flight Explorer here, and here's the New York City metropolitan area right there. Notice all of the little planes in there. We did not see that yesterday. In fact, very few planes flying yesterday.
A change of pace as well up in Boston, where we're seeing quite a bit -- few more planes. Yesterday, 93 percent of the flights were cancelled out of Boston. They landed about 75 planes yesterday between arrivals and departures at Logan Airport. That's about what you would see during a normal hour during the peak time.
And New York City cancelled over 500 flights yesterday.
Let's take a look now at the current delays that we're experiencing at the present time. Still a few to talk about. Let me clear that off.
About an hour, still, a normal delay. It's called a ground delay program. It controls the amount of airplanes at any given moment up in the air to these particular airports. Newark, LaGuardia, about 42 minutes, that's your average delay there at LaGuardia.
One other, as well. That is in Philadelphia at the present time. We are looking at delays in Philadelphia. These are departure delays, still about 30 minutes. But certainly a lot better than it was yesterday.
A couple of quick notes, too. Amtrak canceled about 15 trains this morning. They're running a modified schedule today. So if you're running through Amtrak you want to call ahead and see if your train is on time.
And the Long Island Railroad out of the city running about 15 minute delays. They were at about an hour delayed this morning, so it is getting much better at this hour.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right. Jacqui and Dave, thank you so much. We'll be talking a lot today.
We're also talking about a national failure. A three-word conclusion from 11 House Republicans investigating the overall governmental response to Hurricane Katrina. CNN has an advanced copy.
It calls their Katrina response, and we quote, "Abdication of the most solemn obligation to provide for the common welfare." While it says state and local officials share the blame, the panel's chairman calls former FEMA director Michael Brown clueless and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff detached.
In a speech today, Chertoff defended its agency but also promised to fix the problems at FEMA.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I want to be clear. As the secretary of homeland security I am accountable and accept responsibility for the performance of the entire department, good and bad. I also have the responsibility to fix what went wrong so we can meet the president's expectations and the public's expectations for helping disaster victims as quickly and effectively as possible. (END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Chertoff says FEMA is adding 1,500 employees and developing a more reliable system to report on disasters as they happen.
Today is checkout day for thousands of Katrina evacuees. FEMA says it will no longer pick up hotel tabs for 12,000 families made homeless by the storm. No more warnings, delays or extensions. Those families will have to either move out and or pay the bills themselves with federal assistance.
Evacuees' lawyers -- evacuees' lawyers, rather, asked for a temporary restraining order to delay that move. But the Associated Press is reporting at this hour that the motion has been denied.
A heartbreaking question from a coal miner's widow: did my husband die in vain? A month and a half after a dozen men were killed at West Virginia's Sago mine, their families went before, with a lot of grief today, at a forum on Capitol Hill.
CNN's Kathleen Koch joins me now with the details -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the testimony this morning was very, very emotional, very heart wrenching. And lawmakers this morning heard not only from families who lost loved ones in the Sago mine disaster in West Virginia last month, but also from the families of 13 miners who died four years ago in the very similar explosion in a Brookwood, Alabama, mine.
Those families expressed such anger and frustration that reforms and safety improvements they say were promised after that accident, they say never occurred.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WANDA BLEVINS, COAL MINER'S WIDOW: But there were several recommendations that was made and, had they been implemented and followed, gentlemen, you would not be dealing with Sago today. You would not be dealing with Sago today.
Nothing was taken into consideration after Brookwood. Nothing. So did my husband die in vain? I don't know. But he should have never died. My husband should have never died. My life should not be in turmoil right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: Among the changes the families were asking for this morning, better communications equipment, supplies of food, air and water for miners underground in case of emergencies. Better enforcement of existing mine safety rules and regulations.
And finally, they'd like to see a separate entity created to investigate after accidents, because they don't believe the federal body which inspects mines, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, can adequately police itself -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Now let's talk about this letter that was evidently found by one of the miners, and that was read out loud today.
KOCH: It was an emotional letter that was written by 54-year-old George Hamner Jr., and his daughter read it, very strong young woman, Sarah. I'll just give you part of it. It said, quote, "We don't hear any attempts at drilling or rescue. The section is full of smoke and fumes, so we can't escape." And he concluded saying, "Be strong. I hope no one else has to show you this note. I am in no pain, but don't know how long the air will last" -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Wow! Pretty powerful words. Kathleen Koch. Thank you so much.
KOCH: You bet.
PHILLIPS: He was aiming at a bird but shot a companion instead. It's an accident that's said to happen often, just not to the vice president of the United States.
Dick Cheney is back in Washington after the mishap Saturday in Texas. Witnesses say he was shooting at quail when a member of his hunting party, a 78-year-old lawyer and prominent Republican activist, came up unannounced. Cheney didn't see him and fired, hitting the man in the face and chest with birdshot.
Harry Whittington is in stable condition in a Corpus Christi hospital. Cheney's office didn't publicly report the accident for almost 24 hours, a lag not lost on the White House press corps.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The very first priority was making sure Mr. Whittington was getting the medical care. And that's where all efforts were focused.
There wasn't a press corps traveling with the vice president. He didn't have his full entourage he might have on other trips, official trips. This was a weekend hunting trip.
And then secondary to that is gathering the facts, and so you want to get the facts together so you can provide that information to the public. And I think that's important to do. And so they gathered facts together, and those facts are coming back to us throughout the evening and into the morning hours of Sunday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: A local sheriff said the deputies are investigating but consider the shooting an accident.
Saddam Hussein in a huff, and wait until you see what his half- brother wore as they went back to court against their will, against the judge, against the whole proceeding. LIVE FROM captures the chaos after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: He wouldn't wear a tie, and he wouldn't hold his tongue. But Saddam Hussein was back in court today, shouting "down with Bush" and "long live Iraq" and cursing at the judge. Surprise, surprise.
Hussein's half brother and co-defendant did him one better, if that's possible, coming to court in what he said were his pajamas.
CNN's Aneesh Raman saw it all for himself -- Aneesh.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, good afternoon.
Another day in court, another day of high drama. For the first time Saddam Hussein forced to appear in court. He was brought in, the first of the eight defendants, wearing, as you say, not the suit we've seen up to now, but in a traditional distashan (ph), an overcoat.
Right after he walked in he began screaming at the judge, calling him a traitor, calling him an agent of America. And then, as always, Saddam had some choice words for the U.S. president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SADDAM HUSSEIN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF IRAQ (through translator): Down with the traitor. Down with the traitors. Down with Bush. Long live the nation. Long live the nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAMAN: Now, one of the more peculiar moments came, as you said, when Saddam's half-brother sat down on the floor, his back to the judge, wearing what he said were his pajamas. And during that hour and a half he was looking directly at those of us in the media gallery, glaring at us. So it made for a sense of tension throughout the courtroom.
But really, by day's end, the judge able to bring the proceedings forward. We heard from two witnesses, for the first time, members of Saddam's former regime, one of them his former chief of staff, the other a top intelligence official. And documents were presented, Kyra. One of them, the prosecutors say, was an execution order actually signed by Saddam Hussein -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Now here in the states, you would see a deputy immediately come over, cuff him, lead him out, make him be quiet. How are they going continue to reign him in or try and reign him in?
RAMAN: Well, I think this new chief judge essentially is going to try and wear down Saddam. At one point his half-brother, when he was screaming, the guards did go in, and they tried to silence him physically and then vocally.
But with Saddam, at the start of the day he was yelling. By day's end, today he was laughing at times as the witnesses testified.
And so I think what this judge is going try and do is get it in the head of these men who were former leaders of this country and who still see themselves as the leaders of this country, that they are, in fact, defendants on trial.
They haven't talked about any sort of change in the courtroom setup, sound-proof rooms for Saddam or a video feed where he would watch from elsewhere. This judge, it seems, intent on making the point every day that Saddam is a defendant. We'll see if he makes that again tomorrow.
PHILLIPS: So what do you think? Is this court losing its credibility fast, or do you think it's going to get better with the new chief judge?
RAMAN: Well, I think today was a turning point. Up until now I can't recall the last day where we actually talked about witnesses that spoke. It was all about procedure. It was all about the spotlight being on the defendants.
This new chief judge suffers from incredible criticism among the defense lawyers for what they say is bias, given where he's from, Halabja, a town that suffered huge atrocities under Saddam, but also the sort of militaristic style with which he is heading the court.
But if the trial does push forward, at some point, if these defendants start to remain quiet, participate in the process -- Saddam's half-brother called the judge "sir" at end of today's session -- it will undoubtedly add credibility to the proceedings.
But the fact that the defense lawyers are still not there does continue to cut at the court's legitimacy -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Aneesh Raman, thanks so much.
Well, if you missed the Saddam Hussein trial overnight and wanted to watch it during the day, turn to CNN Pipeline for the replay.
Thousands of dead birds, hundreds frightened workers and widespread fears that bird flu may be widespread than first thought in Africa.
So far it's been confirmed only in birds in northern Nigeria. But authorities worry the H5-N1 strain has infected poultry in a fourth of the country. Health officials are trying to screen workers at one of the affected farms, but they don't have the right equipment and some of the workers are afraid to be tested. Experts from other countries are on their way to help upon.
The European Union has its first case, as well. Wild swans found dead in Italy and Greece. Italy is now testing domestic birds and banning all hunting of wild birds. New cases of bird flu have turned up, meantime, in Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia.
Well, he's supposed to want bamboo, but this panda apparently had a hankering for cabbage. A rare visit to a farmland and the wild panda is smack cab in the middle of an animal adventure. LIVE FROM joins the chase, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Animal adventure caught on tape. A wild panda scampers near a villager in China. The normally shy creatures are rarely seen, especially this close to cabbage. You see, most pandas eschew cabbage and other snacks in favor of green bamboo.
Matters of taste aside, though, this lively little renegade eventually takes a tranquilizer dart in the side. Don't worry, panda fans. The 3-year-old endangered cutie is safe and will be released back into the wild in just a few days.
Released in the east, a rare pink dolphin returns to the sea five months after being trapped in fishing nets. Jessy, as he's known, was recently rescued again after pictures revealed he was being trained at a resort in Thailand. Jessy's cute pink underside is a feature of the Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin, an endangered species.
Good news for the class of 2006. College seniors in most majors are experiencing a jump in starting salary offers. So, which degrees are the most lucrative?
Susan Lisovicz, I don't think it's our job.
(STOCK REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Buddies with a message. One emerging theory after 10 deliberate church fires in Alabama, the latest on Saturday: Beaverton Freewill Baptist in the northwest corner of the state. It was heavily damaged, and investigators believe the arsonists are two young white men, an inseparable team with stresses in their lives and something on their minds.
Bob Franken has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For years this is where people came to worship, to go to Sunday school, for weddings, the types of things associated with churches. Now it's in ruins.
On Saturday, very late in the afternoon, this church, the Beaverton Freewill Baptist Church, went up in flames. Why? They don't know why. Authorities believe, though, that the two people involved in this, they decided there are two young men in their late 20s or early 30s.
The two people involved have been responsible for 10 different churches going up in flames, intentionally set, they now believe. Ten churches in just ten days, a rash of church fires, all Baptist churches, some of them predominantly African-Americans, some of them predominantly white, which is puzzling to the investigators. They can't really figure out what the motive is.
So they've set up a line, an e-mail address, a post office box where people can call in, those particularly who are responsible to try and talk about what it is they're doing and why they're doing it.
This is something that was taken out of the D.C. sniper investigation, why have they've taken what was the pulpit here, what was where the choir would sing, and turned it into ashes. Authorities want to find that out, and ultimately, of course, they want to catch those responsible.
Bob Franken, CNN, Beaverton, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Investigators say they have solid leads and the church fires are solvable, whether the arsonists give up or night.
Law enforcement and security expert Mike Brooks is following the case from Minneapolis.
Mike, good to see you. I want to get straight to what the ATF agent in charge had to say. It was an interesting expression. "Frick and Frack" is what he calls these guys. Let's take a listen .
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CAVANAUGH, ATF SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: When people see these two guys, they're going to say, you know, you always see them together. They're Frick and Frack. Any time you see one, there's the other. That's the way I think the neighbors or relatives would view them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Why is he making this assumption?
MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Kyra, they're looking at these two guys because of what they've heard from witnesses and from some of the evidence that they've gathered already from the scenes. They're not really telling us exactly what they have. My sources close to the investigation said they have some good evidence.
They believe that the -- at least the first five of these fires were done by the same person or persons. Now, they won't come out and say whether or not the last, the latest five, are done by the same persons. They're waiting for some evidence to come back from the laboratory in Atlanta, Georgia. They're looking at different kinds of accelerants.
They do have some fingerprints from one of the scenes, where they believed one of the arsonists was actually -- might have gotten trapped, almost trapped, in one of these churches, had to break out and left a full palm print. But they're not giving away too much right now, because they're concerned and they haven't ruled out, Kyra, a copycat in some of the last five of the arsons. PHILLIPS: All right, investigators have set up a phone number, an e-mail address, a local P.O. box for the arsonist to try to communicate with investigators. Then, once again, the head of the ATF came up -- or came out and had this message for the suspects.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAVANAUGH: They have not tried to attack, you know, humans, and that's significant to us, and we do think they have a message. We feel that the burnings are somewhat of a message, but we would like to hear what they have to say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now, what has led investigators to think they have a message? Is that typical of serial arsonists, that they just want to prove a point? And would they actually call in?
CAVANAUGH: They may. And they're very, very -- they're keeping things close to the vest and they're not calling these serial arsons, as of yet, because they haven't been able to link all ten. But they believe that these two will come out and actually make a claim, have something to say .
Because the big question right now that both the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, they're trying to get to what is the motive? Is it vandalism? Is it revenge? Is it extremism? What is the complaint that these people have with these particular churches?
Now, you know, is it a hate crime? The FBI is looking at whether or not it is a hate crime, whether or not there are any civil rights violations. But that remains the question, what is the motive? And they believe that they would to say something, because in some of these different motives, they will actually come out and make a claim. But they have not as of yet.
PHILLIPS: The U.S. Fire Administration says that 15 percent of arson cases an arrest; 50 percent of those arson arrests are young people. Why?
BROOKS: Well, Kyra, you know, they go back. You look at -- there's a lot of fire setters. A lot of times they go back and they look at the history of these people when they are arrested. And they go back -- and that they were juvenile fire setters. And that's why so many communities around the country have a juvenile fire setters program. You know, the old don't play with matches? Well, it starts with that and then they try to set a fire with the matches and they set something else.
And, you know, one of the motives, the main six motives, is excitement. This could be young. They're looking at these people. The ones that they're focusing on right now say that they're in the 20s or early 30s.
We've heard about a black SUV. But I want to be careful -- and my sources, the my law enforcement folks there on the scene say don't want to focus just on that black SUV. If somebody in that area sees something other than an SUV, any area of a rural church, please notify the authorities. Because we go back to the sniper shooting in D.C., which Bob Franken referred to earlier and, you know, we're looking for a white panel van, wound up being an old Chevy Caprice. Let's not focus just on that black SUV.
PHILLIPS: Why a 15 percent arrest rate? Why is it so hard to close these case with an arrest?
BROOKS: Well, Kyra, you have to let the evidence do the talking for you. You look at some of these churches that we've seen in Alabama. You know, what kind of evidence are they getting? They are getting some -- you know, there was accelerant used and fingerprints. But many times, some of the methods of how they start the fires are gone with the fire. That's why you have to have investigators there that know what they're doing.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, also known as ATF, they are the best investigators to investigate these kind of arsons. And they have over on 200 certified fire investigators in their staff that they can call upon. Right now they've got over a hundred agents there on the scene and they're talking about bringing more in, because this is their top priority right now.
PHILLIPS: Mike, real quickly, the people that staying in these churches to try and protect their churches, is that a good idea? Do you think these type of arsonists would ever want to put a person at risk?
BROOKS: They may. So far, they have not. There have been no occupied buildings so far, Kyra. And you know, it's hard to stake out like law enforcement would normally do, like they would in an urban area. These are very, very rural environments. And the people who are setting these fires, they believe that they probably know the area a little bit and know those woods. So -- because they're able to make their escape pretty quickly.
But, you know, staying inside these churches, they have to be very, very careful, leave it up to the law enforcement people to do that kind of work for them. Don't try to protect it yourself. I know they want to, because they don't want their churches burned down. But don't put yourself in harm's way.
PHILLIPS: Mike Brooks, thanks.
BROOKS: Thanks, Kyra, good to be you.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead -- it's good to be with you. New abuse allegations in Iraq. This time, it's British troops captured on video, beating, kicking and punching Iraqi teens. We'll have reaction when LIVE FROM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: In the streets and in Parliament, the fight for Iraq is far from settled. This morning, a suicide bombing out of Baghdad Bank killed at least six civilians. Another 41 individuals were hurt. Less than an hour earlier, Iraq's former minister of electricity escaped unhurt, but just barely, from a roadside bomb attack, also in Baghdad. Just to the north, in Baquba, four members of Iraq's main Shia religious party were killed in a drive-by shooting.
The election may be over, but Iraq still doesn't know who is the new -- or who the new prime minister will be. Shiite lawmakers, who won the most seats in the new legislature, want Ibrahim Al-Jaafari, who's been doing the job on a temporary basis. But Kurds aren't keen on him. Over the next two weeks, they, along with Shiites and Sunni Arabs, will try to select a president and two vice president who, in turn, will name a prime minister.
In America's other war, four U.S. troops killed today when their armored Humvee had a roadside bomb in central Afghanistan. Soon afterward, the joint U.S.-Afghan patrol was attacked by guns and rocket propelled grenades. U.S. forces responded with attack helicopters and fighter planes.
It's not Abu Ghraib but images of British troops allegedly apparently beating Iraqi teenagers has triggered outrage in Iraq and revulsion back home. British MPs say one man is under arrest. Our Paula Newton is on the story from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The video, said to have been shot two years ago, begins as rioters are running away, but in pursuit, British soldiers. The tape then cuts to at least four Iraqi teenagers being dragged out of sight and into a scene of brutality. .
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. You're going to get it.
NEWTON: The disturbing blow by blow narration of the cameraman is chilling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Naughty little boys. Yes! yes!
NEWTON: As the boys endure repeated blows and beg for mercy, again, the voice of the unidentified cameraman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, please! don't hurt me!
NEWTON: Witnessing the entire scene, several other British soldiers who walked by and did nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You little [ bleep ] die!
NEWTON: The beatings seemed to go on even as the boys were subdued. One is kicked in the genitals while another seems to have passed out. The British Ministry of Defense had no choice but to respond quickly. BRIG. MARTIN RUTLEDGE, BRITISH ARMY: The images in the video amount to very serious allegations. They're extremely disturbing and are the subject of an urgent royal military police investigation.
NEWTON: That was echoed by a visibly shaken Prime Minister Tony Blair now in South Africa.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We take seriously any allegations of mistreatment and those will be investigated very fully indeed.
NEWTON: The video was released by the British newspaper, the "News of The World." Editors there say they received the video from a whistle blower whom they refused to identify, but they insist they've done all they can to authenticate it.
STUART KUTTNER, "NEWS OF THE WORLD": We went to exhaustive lengths to be absolutely sure they are genuine, authentic footages, is absolutely sound.
NEWTON: The newspaper claims the video was shot in Basra by a corporal in the British army where most of the 8,000 British soldiers in Iraq are based. Iraqis who have seen the video have reacted with disgust and demands that foreign troops respond.
Iraqis are asking for the removal of British forces, he says, the removal of the invaders.
The video is also playing prominently on Arab television networks like al Arabiya and al Jazeera along with photos from the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal.
(on camera): No matter how quickly this investigation proceeds, no matter what it finds or any punishment that's handed out, the damage here is already done.
The war remains deeply unpopular in Britain and this will only complicate the government's objectives in Iraq.
Paula Newton, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Dreams of gold end for some high-profile skiers after a horrifying crash. It's day three of the winter games in Torino, Italy. We're going to take you there live. The news keeps coming and we'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: More U.S. medals in a most Americanized sports and horrifying downhill crashes. Larry Smith is there to fill us in on all of it. Hi, Larry.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra. Another gold medal for the U.S. as you mentioned. In men's speed skating the 500 meters. Joey Cheek getting the gold in a performance that just about 20 minutes ago finally wrapped up. Cheek won bronze in the thousand meter in 2002 in Salt Lake and again tonight a gold medal.
The big story of the day was on the slopes and well, a tragic spill. Let's get the latest now from our Mark McKay. Mark?
MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. women's best hope for a medal in alpine skiing is said to be sore, but doing well after taking a wicked fall on the training slopes on Monday. Lindsey Kildow has what's described as a severe hip contusion. She'll remain hospitalized overnight as a precaution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It happened about three-quarters of the way down the course in what we call the restaurant jump and she came down and apparently lost edge and landed on the back side of her left pelvis in the back. She's pretty banged up and she's pretty sore, but she's in good spirits and doing pretty well.
She's a pretty tough young lady. Almost nothing surprised me about her. Until we tell her she's can't race she's not going rule it out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAY: Doctors will reevaluate Kildow in the morning. The Olympic women's downhill is Wednesday. Mark McKay, CNN, Torino.
SMITH: Thanks, Mark. Good news there and also good news on the women's snowboard halfpipe as Hannah Teter took gold and Gretchen Bleiler took silver. Again, a good day for the U.S. in snowboarding.
PHILLIPS: So what's the word? Should the U.S. be picking it up a bit? Should we be taking home more gold.
SMITH: I hear people saying they're struggling but they lead the gold count with four. They're tied for second overall with six medals with Russia, Norway has eight. So far so good. You can see some places where they could have won other gold medals, but off to a good start in the first three days.
PHILLIPS: So far any personal highlights? Maybe athletes that you've met or something you've observed?
SMITH: Really the highlight for me was yesterday's taking three hours just walking around the major part of downtown and seeing some of the sights here. Very friendly people, one Italian couple invited us into the courtyard of their home. They wanted to show us this intricate design on their ceiling made out of silk and they were so excited that we were here. It's been a great experience. Looking forward to the rest of the time, the next two weeks.
PHILLIPS: There you go. Food, clothes, art and Olympics, you've got it all there.
SMITH: We've got it all and not bad weather, either. It hasn't been too bad.
PHILLIPS: Great news. Larry Smith, thanks so much.
Our Olympic coverage will continue all afternoon. LIVE FROM has all of the news that you need so stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Here's a news flash. Some of the supposedly designer stuff you can pick up at flea markets or on street corners, well, are you ready for this? They're fake. Bet you didn't know that, right? Well, you know what cashes in on all of that when you find that bargain of the century?
Consumer correspondent Greg Hunter found out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREG HUNTER, CNN CONSUMER CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, and Christian Dior. If you're looking for a bargain, you won't find one here. High-end fashion powerhouses like these are known for peddling top-of-the-line goods and charging top dollar, from the runway to the red carpet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who did your dress?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Giorgio Armani.
HUNTER: Luxury brand names have become the ultimate status symbol. We use them to define ourselves, a need reflected in pop culture, in TV shows like "Sex and the City."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SEX AND THE CITY")
SARAH JESSICA PARKER, ACTRESS: The Birkin bag. Really? That's not even your style.
KIM CATTRALL, ACTRESS: Oh, honey, it is not so much the style. It is what carrying it means.
PARKER: It means you're out 4,000 bucks.
CATTRALL: Exactly. When I'm tooling around town with that bag, I will know I have made it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTER: And getting your hands on a designer must-have doesn't come cheap. A Burberry wool scarf will run you $50 -- a pair of Prada pumps, 850 bucks -- and a Christian Dior handbag, nearly $3,000.
But what if you can't afford the real thing? Welcome to the underground world of knock-offs, look-alikes, and fashion fakes, all brought to you by our hidden camera investigation.
This is the seamy side of Chinatown in New York City, where counterfeit luxury goods cost a fraction of what you would pay for the real thing. And you won't believe the secret world we walked into. So, what is the harm in getting a good deal, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much are you going to charge me for this?
HUNTER: The answer may surprise you.
MARTIN FICKE, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY'S IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT IN NEW YORK: We have got plenty of examples of cases where money is being sent to areas of the world that are of much concern to the United States, as it relates to terrorist activity.
HUNTER: Martin Ficke is the top investigator for Homeland Security in New York City. He says trafficking counterfeit products is a $250-billion-a-year criminal business in America. Some of that is fakes like these.
So, what happens to the illegally generated money? Some of it is sent out of the country to crooks and possibly terrorists.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
HUNTER (on camera): Al Qaeda could end up with profits from counterfeit bags?
FICKE: Yes, they could. Yes, they could. And I -- I -- I think that people should think about that when they're out there buying counterfeit merchandise. It may seem like it is a victimless crime, but, clearly, from our perspective, it is not.
HUNTER (voice-over): And, Ficke says, that counterfeit fashion profits also fund other organized crime, such as drugs, prostitution and human trafficking.
The private security investigator you see here has agreed to give us a behind-the-scenes look at what is really going on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see Chanel.
HUNTER: Luxury good companies hire people like her to catch counterfeiters. Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Louis, all the big labels, and, our experts say, all knock-offs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, Prada.
HUNTER: And in secret showroom...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Make a left and then go upstairs, OK?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Make a left and then go upstairs?
HUNTER: ... after showroom, we saw vendors eager to make a sale. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You should be giving that to me for $30.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lose money.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You lose money. That's not my problem.
HUNTER: And take our money.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty-two, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Sure.
HUNTER (on camera): This isn't like going shopping at your local mall. We are going to go down a secret passageway here.
ANDREW OBERFELDT, PRESIDENT, ABACUS INVESTIGATIONS & SECURITY INC.: There is nothing in there that is legal to sell. And that's why that is a secret. And that's how you know they know what they're doing, because all of the stuff that is legal to sell is outside of that secret showroom.
HUNTER (voice-over): Andrew Oberfeldt, a former NYPD-detective- turned-private-investigator, helps luxury companies protect their brands by getting these copycats off the streets.
(on camera): Selling counterfeit goods is a crime.
OBERFELDT: Right. It is a felony. It is a -- a serious crime. If it was legal and OK, why are they all sneaking around doing it?
HUNTER: But, if you buy it, it is not a felony.
OBERFELDT: Not yet. We're working on that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, we have it.
HUNTER (voice-over): The reality is, right now, it is not a crime of any kind to buy a knock-off. We had no problem buying any counterfeit bag we wanted, whether it was a secret showroom or making a deal right on the street, Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, all bought within two hours, for a fraction of what the real thing would cost.
And even though you buy knock-offs dirt cheap, crooks rake in huge profits. If caught, the chance of these criminals doing any jail time is slim to none.
OBERFELDT: The profit of selling counterfeit goods is exactly the same, if not more, than selling drugs.
HUNTER (on camera): You're telling me that some guy selling counterfeit purses makes as much as some guy selling heroin? OBERFELDT: Yes. Yes. I don't know why anybody sells heroin anymore. They must be stupid.
HUNTER (voice-over): We decided to go back to Canal Street, this time with no hidden camera. We had a few questions for the places that sold our undercover people the counterfeit bags.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on. (INAUDIBLE)
HUNTER: They weren't eager to talk, like this guy, who closed his shop when he saw us coming.
(on camera): Are you selling counterfeit goods?
(voice-over): And in store...
(on camera): Do you sell counterfeit bags? No?
(voice-over): ... after store, the answer was the same. Everyone told us they didn't sell counterfeit products.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no counterfeit bag here.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is good.
HUNTER: So, where do all the counterfeits come from?
Most are shipped to the United States in 40-foot containers to places like Port Elizabeth, New Jersey.
(on camera): I'm inside a steel shipping container. Just one of these things, filled to the brim, say, with fake Louis Vuitton bags, could mean as much as $2 million to $4 million to the counterfeiter.
(voice-over): It is Customs and Border Protection's job to try to stop things like bogus bags before they hit the streets, a mammoth job, considering, each year, 2.3 million of these containers come through this port alone. That's more than 6,000 containers each and every day.
(on camera): No way, you could physically inspect each one of them?
LORRAINE SPINA, CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: Each container is examined in one way, shape or form, like I said, either electronically or physically, depending upon the circumstances.
HUNTER: The day we were there, officers were unpacking shipments of seized handbags. To the untrained eye, some look like the real thing, but, no matter how good they look, buying counterfeit products really comes down to a simple question of what is right and what's wrong. OBERFELDT: It is wrong. It is wrong to take somebody else's stuff. That's -- we all learn that in grade school. You know, if it is not yours, you don't take it.
HUNTER: Greg Hunter, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: It's almost the top of the hour. You're watching LIVE FROM. Fair game at the White House. A barrage of questions about the vice president's weekend hunting trip, where he accidentally wounded a fellow hunter while shooting quail. But it's what happened after the mishap that's left many people puzzled. Dick Cheney's office didn't report the accident for almost 24 hours. Cheney's spokeswoman says it was up to Catherine Armstrong (ph) the owner of the ranch where the shooting took place, to handle the announcement. It's a stance the White House is defending today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got a situation room here, you've got people who monitor stuff. It's impossible to find out -- I mean, the vice president knew immediately, oh, no, I've shot somebody accidentally, and it takes 22 hours to...
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: You know what his first reaction was? His first reaction was go to Mr. Whittington and get his team in there to provide him medical care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Why is it that it took so long for the president, for you, for anybody else to know that the vice president accidentally shot someone?
MCCLELLAN: Well, earlier the next morning, Mrs. Armstrong reached out the Corpus paper -- that's her local paper -- to provide them information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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