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Ghastly Crime in New York; Probe Army to Open Criminal Probe Into Pat Tillman's Death; Iran Nuclear Dispute

Aired March 06, 2006 - 13:59   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A young woman with a new life in a new city today a victim of a brutal murder that has New Yorkers on edge and investigator working every angle.
CNN's Allan Chernoff is at the school where Imette St. Guillen was a graduate student. He joins us now live -- actually, he's back at the bureau.

And Allan, interesting. When I was looking at your piece earlier on, you talked about how police are coming to the conclusion that they believe it's a serial killer. Could you tell us why?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: They believe it's somebody with, certainly, a criminal history here. And the reason is that there are certain signs they've seen in the evidence.

First of all, the way that the woman was found. And just horrific situation at the crime scene in Brooklyn, dumped in a lot, a very desolate area of Brooklyn.

First of all, her face was taped up with packing tape, going all the way from the forehead down to the chin. So she was actually suffocated, bruised as well, raped as well, left in a bedspread. And here you see pictures of the investigators outside of the bar.

And what they've been doing, they've been busy trying to check skin fragments and also hair as well, check it from the bedspread and also check it from the bar. That's what the police have been doing. They've been studying very hard in the laboratory all of their evidence to try to figure out exactly who may have committed this crime. But a very brutal crime.

And there is another reason, also, that the police are suspicious that this person may have some history here and may really have enjoyed all the media attention, because that call that came in to 911 from a diner about a mile away from the crime scene, they believe that this person potentially may actually -- who made the call may actually have been the perpetrator. I mean, that is one -- one avenue that certainly the police have been looking at very closely.

The person who made that call to 911 made it quickly, did not identify him or herself. So certainly this is -- these are all avenues that are being examined by the police now.

PHILLIPS: Well, Allan, taking a look at this situation, has it matched up with any other unsolved crimes? CHERNOFF: To the best of our knowledge, no. But I can tell you also the police are being very tight-lipped about this case right now.

Yesterday, the tabloids in New York did get the news, and they are reporting today that the person who was questioned yesterday was a bouncer at the bar where Ms. St. Guillen was last seen, The Falls, which is a bar in Soho. So this person, a bouncer with a criminal record, apparently on probation after having served time for armed robbery.

But again, this is something that the police are being very tight-lipped about right now. They're not giving any further details. They are telling us that they do not expect they'll be bringing any charges today, not advancing the case publicly today.

PHILLIPS: All right, Allan. We'll say on the story.

Allan Chernoff.

Thanks so much.

The New York City police are seeking help in solving this crime. Imette St. Guillen's friends are offering a $42,000 reward. If you have any information, call the Crime Stoppers, 1-800-577-TIPS.

Who killed Pat Tillman? You remember his story, a pro football store who left fame and fortune to fight for his country in Afghanistan.

CNN's Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon with the latest on a new investigation.

I know a lot of people asking, too, why another investigation?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, now the Army wants to determine if it was criminally negligent activity on the battlefield that killed Pat Tillman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice over): Almost two years after the death of Corporal Pat Tillman, the NFL player-turned-Army Ranger, the Army will open a criminal probe to determine if any fellow soldiers should be held responsible for his death.

Tillman died in a firefight in the mountains of Afghanistan in April 2004 in what was eventually ruled to be friendly fire, killed by fellow Rangers in the confusion of battle. The Pentagon's inspector general has now ruled that while there were fact-finding reviews, the Army failed to ever conduct a criminal probe and did not consider the possibility of negligent homicide.

The Army's criminal investigative division, the CID, will now take over.

GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: The investigation is taking place now with regard to the possibility of criminal charges. And there's no -- no indication that there would be, just an indication that it was not specifically looked at.

STARR: Tillman gained national attention when he walked away from a $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals to become an Army Ranger after the 9/11 attacks. His unit was on patrol when his group was separated from the others.

Shooting broke out. Tillman's fellow soldiers fired at targets without realizing they were firing at him. Although the Rangers quickly knew something had gone terribly wrong, it was weeks before the news became public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The investigation results indicate that Corporal Tillman probably died as a result of friendly fire while his unit was engaged in combat with enemy forces.

STARR: Seven members of the Elite Ranger Unit were punished, mostly for dereliction of duty and failing to communicate with their troops, and failure to maintain fire discipline in combat.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: But Kyra, any investigation could really be very tough. Portions of evidence such as Pat Tillman's uniform, his bloodied uniform, were long ago destroyed, and even some members of his unit have now left the Army. So was it confusion, fog of war, if you will, or was it something else -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, what exactly are investigators focusing in on then?

STARR: Well, here's -- here's the interesting dilemma from the legal military standpoint. When someone dies in combat, that is understood, and pretty much the books are closed. Pat Tillman originally was thought to have died in combat at the hands of the enemy. But once it was determined it was friendly fire, then it essentially becomes what is known in the military as a death investigation.

And what they found was that the Army failed to do that death investigation. Once they knew it was friendly fire, they didn't fully investigate it per procedure.

The question we don't know the answer to because investigators clearly are not saying is whether there is some piece of evidence, some piece of information, potentially conflicting statements, that have led them to believe they need to go back now and finish this work -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Barbara Starr live from the Pentagon.

Thanks, Barbara.

Zacarias Moussaoui lied, almost 3,000 people died, and federal prosecutors are trying to make that connection in the sentencing trial of the only person charged in the U.S. in connection with 9/11. The jury's been seated, opening statements are starting this hour, and the process could last from one to three months.

It will be held in two stages and will decide whether Moussaoui spends his life behind bars or dies. There's no other option.

First off, jurors consider a threshold factor. That's the prosecutor's claim that Moussaoui's lies kept the FBI from cracking the 9/11 plot. Jurors have to accept that claim to continue weighing the death penalty. The defense claims the government dropped the ball before 9/11 regardless of what Moussaoui said or didn't say.

Straight to Tony Harris now, working a developing story in the newsroom.

Tony, what do you have for us?

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Kyra, it's a story we've been following out of South Dakota. Governor Mike Rounds of South Dakota has a short time ago signed legislation banning almost all abortions in that state. The legislation, as you know, was a district challenge to Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court's decision of 1973 that legalized abortion in this country.

Now, the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately get this case after, as many expected, it's struck down as unconstitutional in each and every appellate court level. Many believe the reason this bill was passed and signed into South Dakota law today in the first place was to test the reconstituted Supreme Court with its new chief justice, John Roberts, and new justice, Samuel Alito. And a lot of steps, though, Kyra, between what happened today and that ultimate Supreme Court showdown.

I want to share with you a bit of the statement from the governor a short time ago.

"In the history of the world, the true test of civilization is how well people treat the most vulnerable and most helpless in their society. The sponsors and supporters of this bill believe that abortion is wrong because unborn children are the most vulnerable and most helpless persons in our society. I agree with them."

The statement from the Republican Governor Mike Rounds. The new law, Kyra, is set to take effect on July 1. But everyone expects legal challenges to keep that from happening.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: Sure.

PHILLIPS: It's late in Vienna, but is it too late? Intense talks are still under way in the standoff over Iran's nukes. That country warns of serious consequences if the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog sends the case to the Security Council for possible sanctions. For the latest, we turn to CNN Senior U.N. Correspondent Richard Roth -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, it may take another day or two in Vienna for the International Atomic Energy Agency to decide what to do with the Iran file. Either way, the issue has already been reported here to New York and the Security Council. But international action against Tehran is uncertain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH (voice over): You know how you feel when you expect a phone call which never seems to arrive? That's the way it's been for the 15 countries on the U.N. Security Council. The Iran nuclear question has been simmering in European meeting rooms for years. Next stop, the U.N. chamber which handles international peace and security.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are waiting, eh?

ROTH: As president of the Security Council for this month, the ambassador from Argentina may want to start crying. Iran, on the agenda, may ignite a dramatic, sizzling crisis, something some diplomats in New York would usually like to settle and have quietly disappear. But the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and former arms control official John Bolton is likely to keep the heat on Tehran.

On the eve of the U.N.'s nuclear agency meeting in Vienna, Bolton gave a preview of the U.S. stance at the U.N.

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: The Iranian regime must be made aware that if it continues down the path of international isolation, there will be tangible and painful consequences.

ROTH: The rhetoric may even escalate. But what's really likely to happen? It's widely believed after private consultations the Security Council would adopt a statement acknowledging what the International Atomic Energy Agency has said about Iran and calling on Iran to freeze its nuclear program. But then...

GARETH AVANS, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: One of the big problems about the Iran nuclear issue going to the Security Council is what the Security Council then does. What does the dog do when it catches the car, we sometimes say. I mean, because the truth of the matter is, the options for the Security Council right now in the next few weeks are very limited.

ROTH: Many say tossing the Iran dossier to the Security Council will help put pressure on Iran, but the level of pressure is where a diplomatic deadlock emerges. Russia and China would lead an effort to block any attempt to impose sanctions on the Tehran regime.

WANG GUANGYA, CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: I think it's a matter of principle. China never supports sanctions as a way of exercising pressure, because it is always the people that will be hurt.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ROTH: With China worrying about hurting people and the United States warning about pain for Iran, no one here is thinking there's going to be a quick rush, Kyra, for action against Tehran, at least in the first month or two.

PHILLIPS: So what does Bolton mean by painful and tangible consequences?

ROTH: Well, in remarks today he was saying look at the U.N. charter, in effect saying the U.N. has the right to get tough with a member country that is not living up to international agreements. Nobody here is talking about military force yet.

This is some of the same type of language we heard three and a half years ago with Iraq. But Bolton will be the point man for the United States. I would expect similar comments as we go forward here in New York.

PHILLIPS: You say military action hasn't been talked about yet. Do you think that that could be talked -- we've talked so much about sanctions, but what if sanctions don't work?

ROTH: Well, that would be way down the road. And I think if Tehran is very bellicose or makes clear it has started uranium enrichment on different scales, that would get attention of a lot of countries here. It would be a little hard for China and Russia to still block some type of action. But they're not going to agree on military force here.

They never agreed on Iraq. I don't think they would quickly agree on Iran. Developments would have to go wildly out of control for that to happen here.

PHILLIPS: Richard Roth at the U.N.

Thanks, Richard.

Two words do parents wish they would never hear again: ear infections. But listen up -- there may soon be a way to prevent them.

LIVE FROM has all the news you need this afternoon.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Pray for Puckett, a plea from the Minnesota Twins as their hall-of-famer outfielder remains in critical condition after a stroke. Kirby Puckett, just 44 years old, underwent surgery yesterday after being stricken at his home in Arizona. He's lived there since retiring from the Twins in 1995 after developing glaucoma that left him blind in one eye. Puckett led Minnesota to two World Series championships in his 12 seasons with that team.

Disturbing news on the bird flu front. Health Secretary Mike Leavitt says the government plans a second vaccine for humans. Since works began on the first vaccine, the virus is believed to have mutated. Overseas, Austria reports that bird flu has spread to cats, just like in Asia, where cats have gotten the virus by eating infected birds.

Also today, Poland reports its first confirmed cases of bird flu in swans found dead last Thursday.

The World Health Organization says the virus has spread to 17 additional countries in little more than a month.

Fever spikes, the patients scream, the parents call pediatricians. The days of medication follows, and all too soon it all happens again, ear infections. If you've ever wondered why vaccines exist for every other childhood malady but this, well, lend your ears to our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.

And all I could think about, as a kid having to have tubes in my ears because of brutal...

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh.

PHILLIPS: Remember those days?

COHEN: So you really made your parents crazy.

PHILLIPS: Oh my gosh, yes. And I'll never forget all the popsicles in the hospital.

COHEN: Right. It's just awful. Right, it's just awful.

Ear infections are terrible. Any parent can tell you that, that it just makes -- puts the child in pain and it's a major cause of doctor's visits in this country. In fact, 20 million children go to the doctor, like this little girl right here, because of ear infections.

Now, there is an ear -- ear infection vaccine already on the market. Children already get it. But it only covers seven bacterial strains of ear infection bacteria. This new one, apparently, would cover 11 different strains.

So let's take a look at this shot in particular.

It protects against the two main causes of middle ear infections. And in a study that came out recently, it reduced the overall incidence of infections by one-third. So that definitely sounds like good news.

In 2007, this company, GSK, plans to apply for approval in Europe, where the trials are still ongoing. However, in the United States, they still haven't announced when they would apply for approval.

So, while all of this may sound like definitely good news, it's probably not going to help out your child anytime soon because they still have probably a few years to get this on the market.

PHILLIPS: So if it were to go on the market, you're saying there wouldn't be necessarily a big decrease in the ear infections that kids get?

COHEN: Right. Parents might see a decrease, but they might not see a hugely dramatic decrease. And the reason for that is these ear infection vaccines only cover bacterial ear infections.

Eighty to 90 percent of ear infections are viral. And that's why when you go to the doctor, sometimes the doctor will say, you know, your child does have an ear infection, but it's viral, it's going to go away on its own.

PHILLIPS: And we know that they're painful, annoying. But are there bigger implications -- or I guess bigger reasons why a vaccine would be a good thing?

COHEN: There are, absolutely. It would save children pain, certainly. But there are two other things that an ear infection vaccine would do.

Ear infections sometimes can go beyond just being a minor pain in the ear, so to speak. When a child has recurring ear infections, and when they become severe, a child can have hearing loss.

Now, because of that hearing loss, they can then have speech problems. And if it becomes particularly severe, a child can even get meningitis, which is an infection of the brain.

Another reason why an ear infection vaccine could actually -- or a better one could actually be good news for all of us is that we've all heard of antibiotic resistance. So many children and adults are prescribed antibiotics that many of us are becoming resistant to antibiotics. The doctor gives you antibiotics and it doesn't work.

Now, if a vaccine were to be prescribed and were to work very well, kids would get fewer antibiotics, there would be less antibiotic resistance.

PHILLIPS: Well, it sounds good. Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: OK. Thanks.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Well, the Vietnam War, a top secret mission, never before told until now. I'll talk to the survivor of the Air Force mission code- named Misty next on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The Constitution gives them an act, but President Bush, like many presidents before him, would rather have a scalpel. And so he's asking Congress to give him a line item veto, the power to cut individual spending projects without throwing out entire bills. President Clinton actually got that power, but only for a while.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They need to give the president the line item veto. Congress gave the president a line item veto in 1996, but because of problems with the way the law was written, the Supreme Court struck it down.

That should not be the end of the story. So in my State of the Union I called for new legislation creating a line item veto that will meet Supreme Court standards.

Today, I'm sending Congress legislation that will meet standards and give me the authority to strip special interest spending and earmarks out of a bill and then send them back to Congress for an up or down vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The court said the earlier line item veto gave the president too much power. The new proposal gives Congress the power to reverse the president's cuts.

Merck is back in the courtroom for another Vioxx trial. But there's a key difference between this particular case and the three other trials that have already taken place.

Susan Lisovicz joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange to explain.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: As Susan mentioned, AT&T says 10,000 jobs are likely to go away if its BellSouth purchase does go through. The $67 billion deal requires approval by shareholders and regulators.

Here's a CNN "Fact Check."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice over): The monopoly known as Ma Bell was broken up by the government in 1984. Several so-called "Baby Bells" were created in the breakup. Three of those were SBC, AT&T and BellSouth.

In November of last year, AT&T, the largest telecommunications company in the country, was acquired by SBC in a deal valued at $16 billion. The AT&T name was retained by the new company.

Now AT&T and BellSouth have announced what would be the largest U.S. telecom deal ever. AT&T is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its main local service areas are found in the middle of the country and in California. AT&T has nearly 50 million phone lines in service and almost seven million broadband subscribers.

BellSouth is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Its main local service areas are concentrated in the Southeast. BellSouth operates 20 million phone lines and has nearly three million broadband subscribers.

The U.S. Justice department and the Federal Communications Commission must approve the deal. Critics say the deal will take U.S. consumers one step close to the days of Ma Bell's monopoly.

An AT&T spokeswoman says emerging technologies have created a competitive environment, far different from the days of the old phone monopoly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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