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Security Tight for Bush's Pakistan Trip; U.S. General: Tensions Easing in Iraq; Trooper Crashes in High Speed Chase; SUV Rams North Carolina Students; Congressman to be Sentenced for Taking Bribes
Aired March 03, 2006 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, HOST: Hello, I'm Betty Nguyen at the CNN world headquarters right here in Atlanta. Kyra Phillips is on assignment. We do have a lot to tell you about. Thanks for joining LIVE FROM today.
This just in to CNN. Take a look at the pictures right now. You're looking at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Here's what we know about what's going on there.
At least three people were injured when a sports utility vehicle ran into a group of university of North Carolina students. And that vehicle at this point has sped away. The search is on for the driver, of course.
But this happened in an area known as the Pit. It's a gathering area. And paramedics have responded to those injured on-scene. As you can see from the video right there, it has been roped off.
It looks like, though, people are still on campus, so it hasn't affected too many classes as of yet. But we understand three people were injured in this hit and run accident when an SUV plowed into a group of students there at a gathering area called the Pit. This is on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
You can see by looking at this aerial footage right now of paramedics, firefighters still on the scene treating people that were injured in this. It could be more than just three that received some injuries from this hit-and-run.
Of course we are working our sources, gathering information, and we will bring that to you just as soon as it becomes available for us. So stay with us for that.
And much more news today, because President Bush is in Pakistan. Not the friendliest of territories for him, figurative and literally. He's there after three days in neighboring India, talking of outsourcing, a pending nuclear agreement and the delicate balance of power on the subcontinent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tonight I will leave India to travel to Pakistan, another important partner and friend of the United States. There was a time when America's good relations with Pakistan would have been a source of concern here in India. That day's passed. India is better off because America has a close relationship with Pakistan, and Pakistan is better off because America has a close relationship with India.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The president's agenda quite a bit different in Pakistan. That's where an American diplomat was killed in a suicide car bombing yesterday. And there's the issue of Osama bin Laden's whereabouts. The al Qaeda leader is widely believed to be hiding in western Pakistan.
Mr. Bush is the first American president in nearly six years to set foot in Pakistan, and you can be sure that security there is tight.
CNN's senior Asia correspondent, Mike Chinoy, reports -- reports that there is good reason for that tight security.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The last time an American president visited Pakistan, he arrived not in Air Force One, but in this small unmarked jet. Bill Clinton's official plane just a decoy, so great was the concern about his security.
And that was before September 11. Now, with Pakistan a key ally and, as Thursday's bombing outside the U.S. consulate in Karachi underscored, a battleground in the war against terror, security concerns surrounding George Bush's visit are even greater.
AFTAB KHAN SHERPAO, PAKISTAN INTERIOR MINISTER: Essentially (ph), his security is paramount in that sense. And naturally, for that, we have taken a number of steps and-- and worked along with the -- his security people. They have been here and we've been working with them. And I think whatever was possible and is possible is being done.
CHINOY: In Islamabad, police and soldiers have been deployed to seal off parts of the capital: movement in and out of key areas strictly controlled, the president's movements a closely guarded secret.
RICHARD FALKENRATH, CNN SECURITY CONSULTANT: Decoy cars, decoy planes, decoy helicopters. They can change the time of his movements. They can change the location of his movements and the meetings, and that I'm sure will be part of the plan.
CHINOY: Despite the efforts of President Pervez Musharraf, al Qaeda, the Taliban and their allies continue to operate in Pakistan, especially in the rugged region bordering Afghanistan.
Mr. Bush is expected to urge Musharraf to do more to curb the jihadis, with whom there's still some residual sympathy among elements in Pakistan's armed forces, especially in military intelligence, which has had a long relationship with the Taliban.
That's added to American concerns about the president's own safety. In response, the Pakistanis note that President Musharraf, too, has also been the target of terrorists.
SHERPAO: The president of Pakistan is also on the hit list.
CHINOY (on camera): And that's precisely the point. Musharraf has indeed survived a number of assassination attempts, several originating from within the ranks of the army he heads. Not exactly reassuring for those in charge of keeping President Bush safe.
Mike Chinoy, CNN, Islamabad.
(END VIDEOTAPE0
NGUYEN: Now to the all-out effort to prevent Iraq from imploding. The teeming city of Baghdad ground to a halt today, under a one-day ban on vehicular traffic. That ban applied to Baghdad and areas right around it amid fears the Muslim Sabbath might erupt into a bloodbath. Reports say the day was mostly quiet across the land.
Well, Thursday night gunmen under the cover of darkness attacked a power station southeast of Baghdad. Associated Press reports that a gun battle erupted and nine people were killed. Part of the plant went up in flames, and the area lost power.
Now in a nearby suburb, at least 18 workers were killed overnight when gunmen attacked a brick making plant.
The nine-day total of dead in Iraq is at least 500, but a top American general told reporters today he believes the surge of sectarian killing may be ebbing.
CNN's Barbara Starr has the story now from the Pentagon. She joins us live.
Barbara, give us the status report from General Casey. What's being done to get a handle on all of this violence?
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Betty, General Casey holding a press conference with the Pentagon press corps earlier today in itself is noteworthy as to how seriously military commanders take the situation. General Casey does not often meet with the press corps, but he did today over a video connection from Baghdad.
He said he does believe the crisis is easing, but that he was very cautious. He said he wouldn't rule anything out. He doesn't think there will be civil war. He does think things are getting better.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. GEORGE CASEY, U.S. ARMY: Is that violence out of control? Clearly not. Now it appears that the crisis has passed, but I should -- we all should be clear that Iraqis remain under threat of terrorist attack by those who will stop at nothing to undermine the formation of this constitutionally elected government, this -- a government of national unity and a government that represents all Iraqis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: You know, Betty, it was just yesterday another spokesman in Baghdad told us that civilian deaths in Iraq, Iraqis dying, that figure was up 55 percent in just one week. And indeed, General Casey today called the civilian casualty rate unacceptable -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, this leads to another question: how is the Iraqi security forces performing in this latest wave of violence?
STARR: Well, they are indeed key to the entire situation. The U.S. believes it is Iraqi security forces that ultimately will prevent any civil war from breaking out.
General Casey had a bit of a mixed report this morning. He said for the most part they had performed well, but there were some exceptions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASEY: The reports that we have is that they were allowing the Mehdi militia to pass through their checkpoints, and obviously, this is not something that we -- that we are going to condone, nor will the Iraqi security force leadership condone.
But as I said, this is different than August '04 and April '04. The militias didn't take over anything, or if they did, it was -- it was quite fleeting. And when the Iraqi security forces showed up, they, by and large, yielded control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: But General Casey, Betty, did go on to say that getting those militias until control and having official Iraqi security forces be in complete charge of the security situation really is vital to the ultimate success in Iraq.
Now General Abizaid and General Casey expected in Washington sometime next week for discussions here at the Pentagon on Capitol Hill, and possibly at the White House about the other key question: what about U.S. troop reductions? General Casey wouldn't go there today. He said he's not yet ready to make a recommendation about whether more troop reductions are possible -- Betty.
NGUYEN: We'll be watching and waiting. Thank you, Barbara Starr.
Well, the former director of FEMA says homeland security chief Michael Chertoff should be fired for mishandling the response to Hurricane Katrina. Michael Brown, of course, has shouldered a lot of the blame for the government's poor performance. He resigned under pressure back in September. On "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer, Brown said that government records will show that he tried to warn Chertoff and others that FEMA was not prepared to handle a major disaster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL BROWN, FORMER FEMA DIRECTOR: I hope that, you know, one of the things that comes out of these tapes is, in 2003, 2004, and 2005, inside the Department of Homeland Security -- Security, I was rising those alarm bells. I was sounding those alarms and saying we've got to fix this, that what you're doing to it is going to ultimately cause FEMA to fail.
What I didn't think was that I would still be there when it did fail. And so I hope that now that Secretary Chertoff will go back and actually read those memos and understand what I was trying to do and actually fix it now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Brown says budget and personnel cuts caused serious damage at FEMA.
Meanwhile, the White House stands behind Michael Chertoff. President Bush said this week that he's doing, quote, "a fine job."
Well, Michael Brown will have even more to say later today on CNN. He returns to "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer tonight at 7 Eastern, 4 Pacific.
Want to get you straight to Fredricka Whitfield, who's working two developing stories for us, both happening in North Carolina.
Fred, what do you know?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, but in two separate cities. First, let's begin in Durham, North Carolina, where a state trooper lost control of his cruiser. He is now being hospitalized. You're seeing the front end of his Crown Vic, ripped off completely.
What happened was he was pursuing a suspect who was avoiding a checkpoint, a license checkpoint. Apparently the suspect in a Honda approached the checkpoint, turned around and then Trooper Jerry Brand got into his Crown Vic there, started pursuing the suspect. It went into high speeds, and somehow he lost control of his vehicle.
So Trooper Brand is now in the hospital and is listed in stable condition. Meantime, the suspect is still at large.
And the other story in North Carolina, this taking place in Chapel Hill at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where apparently a driver in his sport utility vehicle crashed into a crowd of people outside a popular gathering part at that campus called the Pit. Many people are being treated for their injuries. We don't know the extent of their injuries. Nor do we know the story of the driver of the SUV, as to why he or she apparently crashed into this crowd of people. And of course, when we get any more information on that at UNC-Chapel Hill, we'll be able to bring that to you, as well -- Betty.
NGUYEN: All right, Fred. We'll stay on top of it. Thank you.
Well, he was a war hero turned member of Congress, then he decided to cash in. Just ahead, we will go live to California. A former congressman is going to be sentenced to prison for taking bribes worth millions of dollars.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, a prison cell beckons for the "cell phone bandit," the young woman who couldn't be bothered to hang up before she held up no fewer than four banks in the suburbs of Washington.
Her real name is Candice Martinez, and she was sentenced today in Virginia to 12 years in prison, same as the man she was talking to, who also was the getaway driver. Dave Williams was sentenced last week.
He was once a powerful member of Congress, and today he is headed to prison. Randy "Duke" Cunningham will be sentenced in just a few hours. He pleaded guilty to tax evasion and corruption charges last fall.
CNN's Jen Rogers is standing by in San Diego.
Jen, walk us through the crimes committed. What exactly did the former congressman do? Refresh our memories here.
JEN ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, back in November, when Cunningham reached a plea agreement with the government, he agreed to plead guilty to tax evasion and conspiracy charges.
He admitted that he accepted at least $2.4 million in bribes. And he said that, in exchange for the bribes, which ranged from cash to boats to cars to even yacht club fees, he admitted that he used his power, his position as a member of Congress to try and help secure defense contracts for the very people that were paying him this money.
NGUYEN: As far as sentencing goes, Jen, what's the prosecution asking for, and what does the defense want?
ROGERS: Well, his plea agreement sets out that the maximum that he can be sentenced to is 10 years. And the prosecution is asking that he be sentenced to that maximum 10 years. They say that his crimes are unparalleled for a sitting member of Congress and that his punishment should be unparalleled, as well.
Now on the other side, his defense attorneys are saying that he is a decorated war veteran. He fought in the Vietnam War. He also has had a clean criminal record up until this point. He is 63 years old, they're saying. And that he has declining health. They believe he should be given leniency, and they are asking for six years. That's the difference. Six years from his side, prosecutors asking for the maximum, which is 10 years.
NGUYEN: All right. That is Cunningham. But what happened to the contractors who bribed him?
ROGERS: Well, right now, besides Cunningham's plea agreement that they have been able to secure, they also have a guilty plea from one defense contractor, Mitchell Wade. They secured that last month.
In his plea agreement, though, there were four unnamed co- conspirators, so that leaves three others that still have not been charged. At this point, the government is only saying that the investigation is ongoing.
NGUYEN: Jen Rogers in San Diego. Thank you, Jen.
Well, heavy rains are battering parts of Hawaii, closing roads, snarling traffic and forcing people to evacuate their homes. Flood warnings remain in effect in the island of Oahu, where more than a foot and a half of rain has fallen in the last several days. Look at that rain come down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the worst flood. I've lived here over 30 years. I've never seen a flood like this. We're totally flooded in the bottom part of my house. Totally. Like, you can even go into the other door.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: My, oh, my. An emergency shelter has opened to help people forced to escape the rising water. And so far there are no reports of any injuries. That is some good news there.
I want to check in now with meteorologist Dave Hennen.
Boy, those pictures are quite remarkable, the flooding there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: I'm cold just thinking about that, 11 degrees below.
DAVE HENNEN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, it's early March. It's going to be cold.
NGUYEN: All right. I say bring on the sunshine.
HENNEN: Exactly.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Dave.
Well, coming up in our "Security Watch," a CNN exclusive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said, "Guys, you really want this guy to go out and do something with this training and come back and say, where did you learn, you know, to fly? Pan Am in Minneapolis. I don't want that."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The guy in question was Zacarias Moussaoui, and the actions of two Minnesota flight instructors saved lives. We're going to hear how Moussaoui set off alarm bells when LIVE FROM returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Let's get straight to Fredricka Whitfield, working a developing story out of Dallas. Fred, what's happening?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fred? Fred, can you hear me?
NGUYEN: Fred, can you hear us?
All right. We want to take a look at some pictures that we have coming in from affiliate KDFW out of Dallas. You can see, a plane has landed, but tires have blown out on that plane, according to the information that we're getting in to CNN. This is happening at DFW Airport right outside of Dallas, Texas.
It appears that the plane has landed intact, but we don't know what kind of injuries may have been sustained by that landing, nor do we know if there were any injuries on board.
But the runway has been shut down at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. That, of course, is going to cause a lot of delays, because that's one of the largest airports in the nation.
But as you can see there, here's the front part of that America West plane that flew in from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Dallas. There were some problems with the tires on it. It had a couple, or at least one blown tire, but it seems to have landed, and it appears that there are folks surrounding it right now, trying to ascertain as to what kind of damage was caused.
We don't know at this point, though, if there are any injuries related to this. We'll stay on top of it and bring that to you just as soon as we get it.
We'll tell you about some other news, though, business news that is taking place today. A 99 cent song download may sound like a good deal to you, right, a good deal, perhaps, but the government thinks there could be something fishy going on.
CNN's Susan Lisovicz has that story now, live from the New York Stock Exchange.
That sounds like a deal to me, Susan.
(STOCK REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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