Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Tragedy in Tennessee: Tornadoes Wreak Havoc; Tom DeLay Withdraws Reelection Bid; Teen Testifies before Congress about Internet Predators; Police Try to Contain Paris Protesters; Genocide Charges Filed Against Saddam Hussein

Aired April 04, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, HOST: From the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris. Kyra Phillips has the day off. LIVE FROM starts right now.
Tragedy in Tennessee. The numbers are staggering, the damage almost incomprehensible. Forty-eight hours after storms raked the state, Tennessee's governor has seen the destruction for himself and has already sent Washington an SOS.

CNN's Jonathan Freed joins us from the devastated community of Newbern.

And Jonathan, if you would. Wow! Look at the scene behind you. Would you walk us through that, please?

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I will be happy to do that, Tony. Good afternoon.

This scene really is -- it's a signature scene from what we're seeing all around here. This is what's left of the United Methodist Church. Let's start back here, Tony. You can see what used to be the raised platform area. You see the twisted metal folding chairs that would have been chairs that perhaps the choir might have used. And this area that we're down on around here is where the congregation would sit and where -- the main part of the chapel here.

And when we really take a look around this area, Tony, you can see, no matter which direction you look, it's just destruction everywhere. This storm was a quarter of a mile to half a mile wide. And we're standing right in the middle of what was its path. It moved about 20, 25 miles, was an F3, Tony, going about 200 miles an hour. And it just took everything with it.

I mean, take a look how open this area is over here to my left. The trees are just stripped, cracked, you know, tossed over. And everywhere I look, I can see families picking through what's left of their lives and their homes -- Tony.

HARRIS: Boy, Jonathan, I understand you spoke just a short time ago with Governor Bredesen. What was his reaction?

FREED: I did. First we saw him fly over. There was a helicopter formation that went right by here a couple of hours ago. And it was the first chance that he had to really get a look from above at the destruction.

And I talked to him. I said, you know, "Obviously, Governor, you've had a chance to see this on television." I asked him if it helped him to get a personal look, to actually see it for himself in terms of motivating him regarding the types of decisions he might have to make.

And he said that it did. He didn't want to get into what those decisions might be. But he said it definitely did.

And another thing that struck me Tony, is when he said that, even though he's done this as long as he has -- and he's been involved in these types of situations before -- he says that he is always -- he's still surprised to find that people are so appreciative of the fact that he comes out and other people come out and demonstrate that they care. Even though on one level it's expected, you expect to see the governor out at a scene like this. He says that he's still touched when people really seem to care -- Tony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. PHIL BREDESEN (D), TENNESSEE: Two reactions. First of all, as you were flying over, the phrase that keep going through my mind is just the wrath of God. I have never seen anything like that. I've gone through several tornadoes. I'm used to seeing roofs off houses or a house blown over or something. There were foundations that had just been scraped -- scraped clean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREED: And that's the governor. You get a sense of his mood today, quite somber talking to him. And he says it's really still quite something for him to have to confront it firsthand -- Tony.

HARRIS: Jonathan Freed for us in the community of Newbern in Tennessee. Jonathan, we appreciate it. Thank you.

From no rain to too much rain, northern California has been battered the past few days by one spring storm after another. That means snow high in the Sierra and a flood alert in the San Francisco area. Some homeowners have another worry: mudslides. They're busy shoring up their homes, hoping they don't go down the mountainside.

What's next, more spring storms are causing all kinds of havoc out west. Let's go straight now to meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the CNN Weather Center for that.

And Jacqui, you're going to take us to California, correct?

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: We just lost her mic. OK. We'll get back to Jacqui in just a couple of minutes.

He was preparing for a showdown in the fall, but now he'll make his exit in June. Former House majority leader, Tom DeLay, says he'll drop his re-election bid and resign from Congress. The man known as the hammer has been facing and a tough political fight in his home state of Texas.

CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash joins us now from Capitol Hill. And Dana, this is a surprising turn of events.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can say that again, Tony. And Tom DeLay is actually, we believe, making his way back from Texas to Washington to the grounds of the Capitol.

And it really is hard to overstate how much power Tom DeLay wielded when he was majority leader in the halls of Congress. And it's interesting that he seems to use the same vote-counting skills that made him so powerful when he was first the House majority whip and then majority leader. Seemed to use that to calculate, really, what his future is, he thought.

And that is the fact that he thought that he probably would lose his seat to the Democratic challenger, or at least have a very tough fight where a lot of money would be spent. And as somebody who really made his career as somebody who wanted to keep the Republicans in the majority here, he knew that that money would probably be better spent elsewhere, especially this year when Republicans do stand to lose the control of the Congress.

So Tom DeLay, in typical Tom DeLay fashion, organized his departure in a way we should not be surprised about. Including in that, he actually put out a statement to his district, something that he taped last night, and it was vintage Tom DeLay, quite defiant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R), TEXAS: Because I care so deeply about this district and the people in it, I refuse to allow liberal Democrats an opportunity to steal this seat with a negative, personal campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: now, Tom DeLay stepped down as majority leader last year after he was indicted back in Texas. And since then, there has been an even larger cloud of corruption, if you will, over him.

Two of his top former aides have recently been indicted and even pled guilty in corruption charges in and around the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Tom DeLay insisting that he personally is innocent, that that had nothing to do with his decision to step down from Congress.

He does say, Tony, that he feels liberated. And I can tell you, though publicly, there is a lot of praise for Tom DeLay from his Republican colleagues, in private, a lot of them also feel liberated, as well. They think that -- in the words of one top aide -- get this guy out of the way before more damage occurs. There is some relief that he is leaving -- leaving this Congress and perhaps they can put what Democrats call this culture of corruption when it comes to Republicans behind them. HARRIS: That's a pretty strong statement, Dana. I have to ask you, how are Democrats reacting to this?

BASH: Democrats are reacting, as you can imagine. I just mentioned the term "culture of corruption." The House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, released a statement. And I think the term "culture of corruption" was in every single sentence in that statement.

Essentially that was part of the problem that Republicans and Tom DeLay was facing. That it's not -- wasn't just his personal race in Texas. It was a broader national issue that Democrats were trying to use and they say they still will use against Republicans. And Tom DeLay was essentially their poster child for what they say has been the Republican culture of corruption when it comes to their 12-year grasp on power here in the halls of Congress.

HARRIS: Congressional correspondent Dana Bash for us. Dana, thank you.

And this programming note. We will hear from the congressman tonight when Tom DeLay joins Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM". That's at 7 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Right now let's take you to Paris, France, where protests are going on now for a fifth day, a fifth day of protests. Hundreds of thousands, we understand, are on the streets now, protesting the newly-enacted labor law there that gives employers wide discretion to fire new employees, young employees, inside the first two years of employment.

The president, Jacques Chirac, is asking that that bill be modified and be changed, that the period -- that probational period be taken down to one year. That still has to work its way through the parliament.

But right now, as you see, under way right now in Paris, a fifth day of protests. We understand hundreds of thousands on the streets.

CNN's Jim Bittermann is on the scene, as well. And we will keep an eye on this situation, and we will go to Jim if this situation starts to heat up a little more.

And well, it is starting to get a little hot right now in Paris. We understand that the riot police -- there are police in full riot gear -- have determined that at 2 p.m. our time that this protest was going to come to an end. And I think we see the first signs of police starting to move in to bring this particular protest to an end. We will continue to watch this, keep an eye on the situation, and we'll bring you updates.

A seemingly innocent activity turns into something sordid and criminal. A teenager tells members of Congress today how he was drawn into the ugly world of sexual predators by a few mouse clicks.

Kelli Arena joins us with more on today's congressional hearing. And Kelli, I've got to tell you, this has been riveting testimony to watch.

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, God, Tony. I mean, I've heard a lot of testimony on Capitol Hill, and I can safely say that this was not only riveting but the most disturbing.

Members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce heard just from an 18-year-old named Justin Berry. Now he told them how, just 13 years old, he got involved in the child porn trade on the Internet.

He says that he got a web cam. He wanted to make friends, possibly meet a girl his age, but all he met were child molesters who were willing to manipulate him and pay him to take his clothes off live on the Internet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN BERRY, SEX PREDATOR VICTIM: As more clothes came off, more people contacted me. The compliments were endless, the gifts and payments terrific. I thought I had achieved online what eluded me in real life. I was popular. Everyone wanted to know my thoughts. Everyone wanted to give me things. I was the king of my own universe. All I had to do in exchange was strip and masturbate while alone -- while alone in my room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: That eventually led to in-person meetings, where Justin was molested by adult males. He says he ultimately went to authorities, providing as many as 1,500 names of men that he says gave him money and gifts over several years for his sexual performances on camera. Only one has been arrested and subsequently pled guilty.

Now, as if the story isn't complicated enough, Tony, Justin claims that the justice department was slow to respond to the evidence that he provided. He told members of Congress that he believes the government only acted fearing an article about its slow response was going to appear in "The New York Times."

I spoke to a justice official that said that prosecutors moved as quickly as they could to protect Justin and other victims while it was conducting a very sensitive investigation, which it says is still ongoing.

Here's a scary part. Experts say this type of child pornography is growing. Web cams, as you know, cost as little as 20 bucks. The number of them being used has grown to more than 15 million. Parents, beware.

HARRIS: Kelli, I've got to tell you, this is -- as a parent, I've got two small kids. This has been scary, disturbing to watch. Do you expect this hearing at some point will turn to perhaps some takeaways for parents to protect their kids from this?

ARENA: Well, they did try to get some of that information today from experts who said, you know, use those parental controls. Be aware of what your children are doing.

You know, I have been told by many investigators when I've worked on stories like this, you know, there is a fine line between, you know, respecting your kids' privacy and being a good parent. And you need to know what your kids are doing. Don't have computers in their bedrooms. Have them in a family location where you can take a look at what they're doing, if anything, unexplained shows up.

I mean, this kid was getting all sorts and equipment and stuff for his computer. Make sure you know what your kids are bringing home, what they're doing.

And it's hard. You know, you're working and trying to stay on top of things.

HARRIS: Right.

ARENA: But it was so eye-opening. And I've worked on these stories a lot, you know. For me to sit there and listen and, you know, horrified, as well. Because, you know, I have three young kids, too. Very scary.

HARRIS: Yes. And it was one thing to read the account in the newspaper. A totally different experience to hear this kid.

ARENA: Yes. And look at him.

HARRIS: And look at him.

ARENA: I mean, look at him. This kid looks like an innocent, honor-roll student, which is what he is. I mean, he's getting A's. He's in college now. Bu this is not a kid who was having trouble with his grades. Look at that face.

HARRIS: Yes, yes. That's disturbing. Kelli, we appreciate it. Thank you. What a disturbing story.

Still ahead, prosecutors say he has blood on his hands. New charges against Saddam Hussein in the massacre of thousands of people. A live report ahead on LIVE FROM.

And we continue to monitor these pictures. Live pictures out of Paris, France. Protesters have taken to the streets for a fifth day in a row. We'll update the story next on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And live to Paris now, where hundreds of thousands of students are protesting in the streets. CNN's Jim Bittermann is there.

And Jim, we saw this unfold about this time last week. And we saw the police in full riot gear move in. Set the scene for us where you are right now.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, it's about the same as last week, as a matter of fact. This is the end of a march that took place on the eastern edge of Paris. The march itself went off pretty much peacefully. The police say there were about 85,000 people or so in this Paris march. More than a million people marched across the country today, according to the national police estimates.

But what we're seeing now as the march is breaking up, a lot of marchers have just dispersed, but a lot of others, young men particularly, have hung around this square, which is in the southeast corner of Paris. And they've just been waiting here for the last hour.

Then, within the last half hour or so, there have been a number of skirmishes between some of these young people and the police. The young people tossing bottles and clods of dirt and other things at the police. We saw at least one young man go down.

There have been a number of arrests, as well as one person was found carrying a gun, according to our cameraman, who saw the police take a loaded gun off the person that was in the crowd. So it's not exactly a recipe for a peaceful end to this demonstration -- Tony.

HARRIS: Jim, I have to ask you. It's difficult to know. There are certainly people in the crowd -- as we see a skirmish unfold right before our eyes here -- it's difficult to know, I would imagine, how many of these people who are causing the problems, like we see at the center of the screen now, are there just to stir up trouble, and how many are there just to legitimately protest this new labor law?

BITTERMANN: Well, one of the things that's gotten very confused in the last few minutes here is exactly that because some -- there's obviously some people here who are just looking for trouble this afternoon and were looking for confrontation with police.

But at the same time some of these skirmishes have been breaking out, there are still people from the march coming into this square, because it's the end of the march, and the number of people that are still along the way are coming and filtering in.

So you have this mix of people. And it's a very difficult chore for the police to sort of separate out the groups. The other thing that's very difficult for the police, this is a huge square, Place D'Italy (ph). It's the square of Italy in the southeast corner. It must be close to a quarter mile wide.

And as a consequence, it's very difficult for the police, even with 4,000 police that are out this afternoon, it's very difficult for them to keep up with the various activities.

And complicating things even further, there are a number of shops. There is also the mayor's office for the 13th district (ph) in Paris who is on this square. And of course, that's an official building and so a natural target for some of these young people. So it's a real difficult chore for police to keep up with the -- with those who want to cause trouble -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, Jim, I have to ask you, haven't the unions and the students essentially won? Haven't they won this?

BITTERMANN: I'm sorry, repeat that again. Haven't they what?

HARRIS: Haven't the students and the union essentially won this fight? I mean, and by that, I'm asking, isn't the French president going to ask for a revision to the law that sparked the protests in the first place? So shouldn't this, in some respects, be a bit of a celebratory march?

BITTERMANN: Exactly. Why can't they take yes for an answer?

HARRIS: Yes.

BITTERMANN: I happen to agree with you there, Tony. It does -- does look that way. The government has definitely backed off. They've come up with the idea of creating a new law, which would pretty much dilute the effects of the first law that's already been passed. And they've been almost pleading with the unions, both the student unions and the workers unions, to meet with them to come up with some kind of a compromise here to bring this sort of thing to an end.

Now, what we've just heard, within the last 15, 20 minutes here, from one of the top union leaders, is that he will go to the senate tomorrow, the French senate, and will meet with government officials. And he's saying that others -- among the unions who have been demonstrating -- may do the same.

But, he says, they still have to -- they still have to withdraw this law. They have to declare this law that they detest so much null and void. They want complete capitulation from the government. So far, at least, they haven't quite gotten that -- Tony.

HARRIS: So let's talk about it in political terms here. The French president essentially -- well, he has. He's asked that the law be modified. And does that, in fact, mean that the prime minister's stock has fallen over this whole episode, and what about the stock of the interior minister?

BITTERMANN: Well, you've got it right there. The prime minister's stock is falling, and the interior minister's stock is rising. It is quite a confused picture, however. A couple of times today there have been these moments that really make you wonder.

One of the opposition members of parliament got up in the parliament and said, "Exactly who is in charge in this country," meaning whether it was the president, the prime minister or the interior minister, because there has been a great deal of confusion on this issue. Basically, because the interior minister has been taking a much larger role, because he simply seemed to be the only one who can get any kind of a government message across to those on the street -- Tony.

HARRIS: CNN's Jim Bittermann for us following the protests, the fifth day of protests on the streets of Paris. Jim, we appreciate it. Thank you. A crackdown on Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s led to new charges against Saddam Hussein. For the first time, the new charges include genocide. Six others are also charged including Hussein's cousin, a man known as Chemical Ali.

Aneesh Raman joins us from Baghdad with details of the latest charges against the ousted dictator.

Hello, Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, good afternoon.

These charges come amid a second indictment now issued against Saddam Hussein by the court trying him. As you say, for the first time, they are charging him with a crime of genocide.

This case centers on what was dubbed the Anfal campaign in the late 1980s. Prosecutors allege it was the systematic destruction of the Kurdish people. Conservative estimates say that well over 100,000 Kurds were killed in the course of the Anfal campaign.

Saddam Hussein is mentioned in the indictment with six codefendants, among them, as you mentioned, his cousin, Chemical Ali. He is most notoriously known for an attack in the town of Halabja in March 1988, where some 5,000 residents were killed from chemical attacks, from gassings. That incident will treated separately, the court says, and the Anfal case will look at it in a more broad sense.

But the big question, of course, is when will the trial begin? No date given by the court. Some suggestions the trial could start as early as next month. But of course, Saddam's already on trial. He's facing the first trial right now. He's set to appear in court tomorrow. And it's unclear, Tony, whether this second trial has to wait for the first to finish or whether the court can actually try both at the same time -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, Aneesh, he may never -- he may never face these new charges. There's a question about whether or not if new charges, when they come to trial, whether or not he'll even be in the courtroom for those.

RAMAN: A big question. The reason being that the statute that governs the Iraqi high tribunal says that at the end of the trial there's a sentencing phase. If one presumes that Saddam will be found guilty, and if he is given the death sentence as the punishment, that death sentence has to be carried out within 30 days of the appellate process ending. Which means, in essence that -- and the appellate process would be expected to be a matter of weeks, that Saddam's execution could be carried out before this second trial begins or in the midst of it.

And also keep in mind Saddam could face upwards of 12 trials. Now, the prosecution says once the death sentence is carried out, the charges are dropped against that defendant in the subsequent trials.

But for many Iraqis, for the Kurds as well as the Shia, who suffered under the oppression of the 1991 Shia uprising, tens of thousands of Shia killed, they want Saddam to physically be in the courtroom for all of these trials. So what that means is, we've heard from the Iraqi president today that a deal could be in the works to essentially change the law and make it so Saddam has to go through all of these trials before any verdict is issued -- Tony.

HARRIS: Wow, that's interesting. OK. Aneesh, new violence today?

RAMAN: Yes, an attack in Sadr City, the majority Shia area of Baghdad. A suicide car bomber detonating in a marketplace. At least 10 people were killed, some 25 others wounded.

Sadr City is notably the home of the country's -- one of the country's major Shia militias, the Mehdi militia, those loyal to radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. They will likely once again say that Iraqi security forces are incapable of protecting the Shia people. It will embolden the militias, but disbanding the Shia militias, Tony, is seen as a key element to bringing stability to Iraq, but you can't disband them without a government, and there's still no government formed here -- Tony.

HARRIS: Man. CNN's Aneesh Raman for us in Baghdad. Aneesh, thank you.

Still ahead, remembering a civil rights leader on the anniversary of his death and for years to come. An update on efforts to raise a memorial for Dr. King on the Mall in our nation's capitol. His eldest son visits LIVE FROM later this hour.

And more from Paris, France, where protesters are filling the streets. The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com