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Two Atlanta-Area Men Investigated for Terrorism Ties; Kansas Students Were Planning Another Columbine, Police Say; Police Use MySpace.com to Track Criminals; Priest on Trial for Nun's Murder; Consumers Struggle to Pay Rising Gas Prices

Aired April 21, 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.
We begin this hour with a story you'll see only on CNN. Two Atlanta-area men being investigated for possible ties to terrorism are now in federal custody. Our Rusty Dornin is here with breaking details from a "CNN Security Watch." And it's all coming down so quickly it's sort of hard to put it all together.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is and sort a convoluted story. But basically you have two men who were U.S. citizens, but both came from different countries. One from Pakistan. This Syed Ahmed and another, Ehsanul Sadequee, from Bangladesh.

The two meet at the 14th Street mosque here in Atlanta, which is known to be a very moderate mosque. Well, apparently their friendship got into other areas. They both became very interested in Islamic studies.

And what the FBI is telling us is that Ahmed, the only one whose picture we do have of these suspects, Syed Ahmed, he told the FBI that they were interested in finding locations in the United States suitable for a terrorist strike. In fact they discussed strategic locations suitable for a terrorist strike, including oil refineries and military bases.

They also plotted how to disable the global position system in efforts to disrupt military and commercial communications.

Now one of the men, the -- Ahmed is also an electrical engineering student at Georgia Tech. He is in custody here in Atlanta. The other young man is in Bangladesh being flown to New York, apparently.

They are saying that the two of them -- what Ahmed has told the FBI is the two of them went to Canada and met with these Islamic extremists, and that's how all of these plans started coming about. They began talking with them. How do you do this? How do you carry out these strikes?

So they're both under arrest now. They have just unsealed all these documents regarding this case, and we're going to have to see what happens. They're only being charged -- the one here is only charged with planning or supporting a terrorist act. And the other is charged with giving false information to FBI agents, because he said they just went to Canada to visit relatives.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's interesting you bring up the whole GPS connection, the fact that this one student, an electrical engineer. Because some were saying he wouldn't be able to figure that out. However, the background is interesting.

DORNIN: Right. And his attorney, the family's attorney here in Atlanta, Jeff Martin, has already said, has told us, that look, this was just a fantasy. These kids, they're talking about "Star Wars" kind of stuff. They never would have been able to pull this off. But we don't know that, since he was an electrical engineering student at Georgia Tech.

PHILLIPS: So the FBI was already looking into something going on in Canada, and they were also looking at these two students. And all of a sudden everything connected. Is that right?

DORNIN: That's right. And we don't know whether, actually, the FBI saw them or connected these two students by their visit to the people they were targeting in Canada, but they began observing them last year some time.

Also Ahmed, the one that -- whose picture we have of the Georgia Tech student. He also, after they went to Canada, he went to Pakistan, apparently, to pursue Islamic studies. That's what he told his family. But the FBI is saying that he was going to pursue trying to get into some kind of terrorist training camp. Because apparently that was another reason they were meeting with this group in Canada, is to find out where do you go for more of this terrorism training to try to put some of these plans into play.

PHILLIPS: Have we heard from anyone in this case so far?

DORNIN: We have through our WAGA, our affiliate here in Atlanta. They interviewed the family of Syed Ahmed a few days ago. In fact, that's how we first found out about the story. FBI was not interested in unveiling what was going on. They really would have preferred to keep this case sealed for awhile longer.

But the mother and sister of this young man were telling the reporters for WAGA, "Look, we don't know what's going on. He was arrested in late March. He's a good boy. He was going to the mosque. He wants to study Islam. He went to Pakistan to go to school. We don't know of anything that he was doing that might provoke the FBI to come and arrest him."

PHILLIPS: Any sound from lawyers? Possible...

DORNIN: Well, the U.S. attorney here in Atlanta did hold a press conference and says they are taking this case very seriously.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID NAHMIAS, U.S. ATTORNEY: This is the first international terrorism indictment ever filed here in Georgia. The charge against Mr. Ahmed is serious, and it involves national security. This case is going to be prosecuted with that in mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: So at this point, both of these men are in custody: one in New York, and one here in Atlanta. We'll just have to see what happens next, if there's going to be any other repercussions, any arrests in Canada, that sort of thing.

PHILLIPS: All right. Rusty Dornin, happening right here in our backyard. Thanks so much.

Well, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Now, a horrifying image: students in black trench coats armed, taking aim at fellow students. It happened in Columbine High School in Colorado seven years ago yesterday.

Well, today police in Riverton, Kansas, say five students there were plotting to mark the anniversary with the same kind of attack. Reporter Daniel Tordjman, with our affiliate KODE, is in Riverton with the very latest.

Daniel, what can you tell us?

DANIEL TORDJMAN, KODE CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point we are still waiting to hear from authorities. There is word that a hearing is scheduled to be held sometime as early as this afternoon. At that time, we hope to get some confirmation on the names of the suspects here and potential charges stemming from the alleged Columbine-like plot right here at Riverton High School.

Now right now, we're in the middle of the school day. So we really haven't seen too much movement out here since the morning. Officials continue to say the school is safe, and attendance hasn't dropped off too much. And prom is still on for tomorrow night.

But I did speak to one girl who says she doesn't feel safe at all. In fact, she claims to be the ex-girlfriend of one of the suspects in custody. She also says she's the one who informed police about the teens' plot to kill. Of course at this point, she's obviously very concerned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELA FERNEAU, RIVERTON H.S. STUDENT: People at school were telling me that it was my fault that he's in jail and that he was innocent and I shouldn't have turned him in in the first place. And it kind of hurt me, because they think that it doesn't hurt me he is in jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TORDJMAN: So again, some students, a little more concerned than others. And in a little bit, we hope to have some more information about these suspects and potential charges. But of course, all of this is up in the air, especially knowing the names of the students, since four of the five are minors.

PHILLIPS: Now, Daniel, if we were to look back when Columbine actually happened, I mean these young men that have been arrested were 9, 10, 11 years old. Has anyone come forward saying that they remember that day? It never left their minds. They finally came together? Or is this something they read about as they got older? Has there been any kind of connection, because they were so young when this happened?

TORDJMAN: Right, I mean, I had this girl that I actually spoke to explained the contrast to me. And she kind of -- she doesn't like to compare it to Columbine. She said she wouldn't, especially because she didn't actually characterize these kids as being, as you said, dressed in any particular clothing or having bad tempers or anything like that. But they do -- I think it's almost inevitable that you do hearken back to that, and those images are once again relived.

PHILLIPS: Daniel Tordjman with our affiliate KODE. Thanks so much.

The alleged plot came to light after a woman in North Carolina learned about it on the web site, MySpace.com. Our technology correspondent, Daniel Sieberg, here to talk about this new world of cyber sleuthing.

You know, first of all when we were talking about MySpace.com, it was about sexual predators, and looking at these web sites...

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. We're still talking about that.

PHILLIPS: And we're still talking about that now. Something totally different.

SIEBERG: Yes, and it sounds like we were hearing that this was a colleague or a friend of some of these guys and that she was hearing this on MySpace.com.

And if you haven't seen MySpace.com, you should check it out, because it's extremely popular with kids. It's a social networking site where you can go and chat. It's not unlike if you were in the school yard chatting, say five or 10 years ago. Now a lot of kids are going online and doing the same thing, posting pictures and music.

It's huge. There are about 70 million registered users on MySpace, and of course it's being used by authorities, as well. The idea of law enforcement patrolling cyberspace is not new, but MySpace certainly poses new challenges. And as Kyra was pointing out, we've been hearing about how MySpace is involved in terms of trying to track sexual predators who are luring kids online through MySpace.

But in this case, it turned out to be a helpful tool for law enforcement. They were able to find out about this plot through MySpace. And that's not the first time that they've used MySpace for an investigation like this. A couple of months ago, they actually used MySpace in a rape case. There was a woman in Colorado who met some guys through MySpace, turned up at a party, ended up being raped by these guys at the party. Only knew their first names but was able to work with police and identify them through the profiles that they had on my MySpace. That's just one of many examples.

Of course, MySpace is very aware of this, and they said that they have hired a chief security officer, a former federal prosecutor, to lead their work with law enforcement and patrol it. Very difficult, though, Kyra, you can imagine. This is an enormous site to try and go through all of this data. So whether they're going undercover or coordinating with students, it's a lot of work for these guys.

PHILLIPS: Well, a lot of parents don't realize that their students are doing this, also.

SIEBERG: Right.

PHILLIPS: Even here at work, parents have said, yes, my daughter's doing it, my son's doing it. I'm not happy about it, but I keep an eye on it. Is it OK, as long as parents are totally involved with what's happening on that site?

SIEBERG: Probably. I mean, we've talked to lots of kids who use MySpace, and adults, too. I mean anybody can use it. And for the most part, it's probably harmless chat. It's a lot of things that are very innocuous and not a serious crime. It -- it goes on every day and no serious things happen.

But that's -- a lot of the experts we've talked to say parents need on get involved. It may be worth creating your own profile and see where kids are doing, talking to them about it.

And if you're worried about monitoring, and you know, some might say, spying on your kids and you want to see what they're doing, we did come across a web site called MySpaceWatch.com which has popped up in the last couple of months. I talked to the guy who runs this site in California. Whether he's doing it for altruistic reasons or the almighty dollar, you can debate that, but he's certainly tapping into a market here.

You can actually follow somebody's MySpace profile, see when they're on, see what they're posting. You're essentially looking over their shoulder. So this is the new market that's opened up.

And as well, a company called Specter Soft, which has long been in the Internet monitoring space, they've come with some new software that's meant to monitor blog activity or my MySpace activity. You can purchase this software and find out what your kids are doing. It will send you an update on what they're looking at.

Of course kids are savvy these days, too, Kyra. And so, you know, they're finding ways to try to circumvent all of this to cover up what they're doing. But so far as I know, there's no way to block what's on a MySpace profile. You can stop someone from communicating with you, but you can't cover it up entirely so that you can see it, which of course, if helpful for law enforcement.

In this case, once they heard about it, they could go and see what was on the site and what was being talked about. Tough, though, to sift through all these and to know what's credible, too. You know, to find out whether or not this was a real threat or not and this does happen all the time.

PHILLIPS: Daniel Sieberg, thanks so much.

SIEBERG: You bet.

PHILLIPS: Another top story we're talking about today. It's a murder trial 26 years after the crime. The gruesome details are difficult to hear and more difficult to imagine. The victim, an elderly Catholic nun. The man charge with killing her, well, that's the hard part to imagine.

A jury's been chosen in Toledo, Ohio, and CNN's Keith Oppenheim is there -- Keith.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, opening statements began this morning, and the stage that was set for a trial that really sets a challenging task for prosecutors and raises the question, "Can they convince a jury that a priest killed a nun 26 years ago?"

Father Gerald Robinson came into court around 9 a.m. this morning. He was wearing his priest uniform and also his priest collar. It was back in 1980 that sister Margaret Ann Pahl, a 71-year- old nun, was found strangled and stabbed in a hospital chapel in Toledo, a chapel where both she and Father Robinson worked.

At the time, the priest was questioned but never charged. Then in 2003-2004, 23, 24 years later, cold case investigators reopened the case, believing they had a match between a blood stain at the crime scene and a dagger-shaped letter opener that police say was the murder weapon and belonged to the priest.

Now, in a moment you're going to hear from the defense attorney, who's going to try to cast some doubt on expert testimony and the connection between the priest and the crime scene, but hear first from the lead prosecutor in this case, Dean Mandros, who describes how sister Margaret Ann Pahl was murdered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN MANDROS, LUCAS COUNTY, OHIO, CRIMINAL DIVISION: The killer laid her upon the floor. And after laying on her on the floor, he covered her with a white cloth. And after doing that, he stabbed her over the heart nine times. Nine piercings of her flesh in the shape of an upside down cross.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During the course of the trial, the evidence will show that -- will cross-examine a number a number of expert witnesses. And you will see that the quality of that testimony still leaves us in this position of reasonable doubt. The pieces do not fit. (END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPENHEIM: Father Robinson is 68 years old, and the case against him, Kyra, is largely based on circumstantial evidence. Prosecutors are trying to show that he was near the crime scene, that the murder weapon belonged to him. And the defense is trying to show that the link between the priest and the crime is too weak for a conviction.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Keith Oppenheim, thanks so much.

Well, New Haven is no haven for the president of China. A day after being heckled at the White House, Hu Jintao was applauded today at Yale University, the final stop on his U.S. tour. But on New Haven City Green, hundreds of demonstrators turned out to denounce China's communist government and its treatment of the banned Falun Gong movement.

Pro-Hu demonstrators turned out, as well. More than 300 of Yale's 11,000 students are Chinese.

Well, the woman who screened at President Hu from a camera platform at the White House yesterday is due in court this afternoon, but to correct an earlier CNN report, Wenyi Wang has not been charged with threatening foreign official. This was information we got from her attorney. At this time she has not been charged, and we regret that error.

Wang may be charged with violating a federal statute prohibiting the harassment of foreign officials and official guests. She could face up to six months in prison and a $5,000 fine. In both Chinese and English, Wang accused President Hu of persecuting the Falun Gong, a religious movement Beijing has banned., religious President Bush later apologized to his guest for the disruption.

Feel like the pawn of big oil and geopolitics? Or maybe you feel like pawning. You won't able what pawn shop customers are selling just for a few tanks of gas.

LIVE FROM gets it in gear after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, you probably don't need for us to tell you that gas prices keep on climbing. Making matters worse, there's a supply crunch in the northeast and the Mid-Atlantic states.

Gas terminals in Virginia, Delaware and Philadelphia are running low, and that's because suppliers have to drain their giant tanks as they replace a banned gasoline additive with ethanol. That's causing serious delivery delays, but some businesses are benefiting from the high prices and I'm not talking about oil companies.

CNN's Gary Tuchman explains in a report first seen on "AC 360".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lynn Wilson drives a 1991 Jaguar that only cost him 3,000 bucks, but he can't afford to drive it any more, so he's come to a pawn shop in Norcross, Georgia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll give you $500 out of that check.

TUCHMAN: Where he's decided to use his car as collateral for a loan and where he's decided to pawn this.

LYNN WILSON, PAWN SHOP CUSTOMER: I'm selling this Bulova watch, which was made in the early 1900s.

TUCHMAN (on camera): It's a beautiful watch.

(voice-over) Pawn shops around the country are reporting a significant increase in business from people who say they need money for gas.

WILSON: It was made in 1906.

TUCHMAN (on camera): So this watch is a hundred years old?

WILSON: A hundred years old.

TUCHMAN: And you feel like you have to sell it?

WILSON: Well, I don't have any choice, because I'm a veteran and I only get a check once a month.

TUCHMAN: And you're selling it basically for gas money?

WILSON: I'm selling it for gas money. I mean, it's not food or anything like that. I mean this is strictly gas.

TUCHMAN: How much are you selling it for?

WILSON: Two hundred dollars.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): They sell most anything. The owner of this pawn shop says business is up about 30 percent because of people who need gas money.

(on camera) What's the most expensive thing you think you've gotten pawned for gas money?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rolexes.

TUCHMAN: The cheapest gas in the neighborhood is at this station, but it's still gone up a lot in just the last few days.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember when I moved to Georgia back in '96 and I got out the military. I was paying 99 cents a gallon. Look at this now. This is ridiculous.

TUCHMAN: Far more ridiculous is the price a station owner in Brooklyn, New York, was charging: $4.14 a gallon, and that was for cheapest gas. In northern California, only one tenth of a penny separates premium gas from the $4 mark.

And in Chicago, only one tenth of a penny separates the cheapest gas from the $3 mark.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Honestly, we need to look at opening up Alaska or something. I mean, we have to become more self-sufficient and quit relying on the Middle East.

TUCHMAN: Speaking of Alaska, a gas station in Barrel, Alaska, which is only 200 miles away from the nation's largest inland petroleum reserve, is at $3.95 a gallon.

(on camera) In the attempt to rationalize high gas prices, many people point out that a gallon of milk is still more expensive than a gallon of gasoline. And indeed in many cases it's still true.

I just bought this gallon of milk for $3.25. But practically speaking, it's not too often that you go into a grocery store and buy 15, 20 or 25 gallons of this stuff.

(voice-over)A recent ABC News/"Washington Post" poll shows a large majority of people blame the White House for the high cost of gas. Nearly three quarters of respondents say they disapprove of the way the president is handling situation with gas prices.

Democrats say this is benefiting them.

MORRIS REID, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think Democrats have to be careful how they use this, but it should be used as a political football, and they should be able to gain some seats. I'm not for sure if it's going to change the House of Representatives or flips the Senate. But it certainly could be something they could position for 2008.

TUCHMAN: Back at the pawn shop, Lynn Wilson believes there is plenty of blame to go around.

WILSON: I mean, I don't feel good about it. And I've got several more antique watches, and if I have to, you know, I'll sell those as well.

TUCHMAN: He leaves in his beloved Jaguar with his $200, which won't even buy him four tanks of gas.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Norcross, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And you can join "ANDERSON COOPER 360" weeknights at 10 Eastern right here on CNN.

Gas prices are rising for lots of reasons. For starters, there's the old stand-by, supply and demand. Environmental regulations and world politics also play big roles. Here's a "fact check." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Crude oil prices directly affect the cost of gasoline. The reason is simple. Crude is the primary raw material from which gasoline is produced, but other factors can affect the cost of gas, as well.

Here in the U.S., refineries have not expanded at the rate of surging demand. According to the American Petroleum Institute, U.S. refineries were running last year at over 90 percent capacity. That left them unable to bump up product to respond to supply shortfalls. President Bush has pushed for expanding refinery capacity.

The current gas price spikes and supply disruptions stem from environmental concerns. A number of states banned a gasoline additive shown to pollute ground water. To make the transition, terminals are having to drain holding tanks and prepare them for the new gas mixture.

Other factors involved in the cost we pay at the pump include distribution cost, marketing costs and taxes. And yes, oil company profits. Last year, Exxon Mobil posted the largest annual profit of any company in U.S. history, $36.13 billion.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a sign of the times. As prices soar, we're going to take a closer look at one oil exec's big payout. LIVE FROM continues in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Seventy-four bucks a barrel. The going price for oil keeps on going. So it shouldn't have surprised you that while we're paying about 45 to 60 cents more for a gallon of gas than we did last April. Where is all of that money ending up? CNN's Ali Velshi reports on big oil's big profits and the big payout for one CEO.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You probably don't know this man. But for years, he was the face of big oil. If you're a driver, he might be the face you want on your dartboard.

You see, Lee Raymond retired in January as the head of Exxon Mobil, the most profitable oil company in the world. American drivers currently shell out $212 million more per day for gasoline than they did a year ago. A lot of money, right?

Well, so is $168 million. That's about the value of Lee Raymond's compensation as he retired from Exxon Mobil after 42 years, the last 12 of them as chairman.

Justified or not, numbers like that make Raymond and Exxon Mobil easy targets. And with unleaded gas averaging about $2.80 a gallon, drivers are looking for someone to blame. Renewed frustrations about gas prices have led to renewed calls in Washington for investigations into the oil industry and for a windfall tax on oil companies. Lee Raymond doesn't want to hear it.

LEE RAYMOND, FORMER CEO, EXXON MOBIL: Back in 1998, when prices went down to $10, I don't recall anybody in Washington calling me up and saying, "Boy, are you guys having a hard time? What can we do to help?"

I'm not interested in hearing from them when prices are $10, and I'm not interested in hearing from them when prices are $40 or $50.

VELSHI: Most oil execs have downplayed the profits. Raymond's not so much for the low profile. He called the criticism shortsighted and politically motivated.

RAYMOND: A single quarter or a single year, which may be interesting from a political circus point of view, is not really all that significant in the time frame that we operate in.

VELSHI (on camera): Ten years might be a better time frame. In fact over the last decade, Exxon Mobil shareholders have seen their investments increase by more than 200 percent. But if you're a driver, you probably feel like your wallet is running on empty.

Ali Velshi, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: More on the skyrocketing gas prices. Susan Lisovicz joins us now live from the New York Stock Exchange with more.

Hi, Susan.

(STOCK REPORT)

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