Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Crews Rescue Driver Trapped in Garbage Truck; New Developments in Duke Rape Case

Aired May 01, 2006 - 13:34   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Straight to the newsroom. Tony Harris is working a developing story.
What's going on, Tony?

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Kyra, I want to show you these live pictures now out of Lorton, Virginia. And finally, we've been watching this story for the last 20 minutes or so as firefighters and rescue teams have been trying to cut this man that you see them working on here now out of a dump truck. They were successful, obviously, in doing that. They've got him on a board now strapped down. They're going to get him to the hospital. And we hope for the best for him.

But just moments ago, as he was being extricated from the cab of this truck. Let me backtrack just a little bit as you watch that operation unfold and tell you what happened here. This is a landfill of some kind, a dumping area. There were two dump trucks involved in this. One dump truck apparently rolled over on top of a second dump truck, crushing the cab of that second truck and trapping the driver inside.

A live picture is now, again, first of all, this was a complicated operation. Firefighters had to remove a lot of debris from the first truck, the truck that flipped, and rolled and crushed the second truck. They had to remove a lot of debris. And then they took a couple of saws to actually cut away some of the metal structure of the cab, to try to get access to the guy that's inside. They were successful in doing that. And just moments ago we showed you the picture of them extricating the man from that cab. And it was quite a scene as firefighters and rescue teams were conducting this operation.

But right now, he's strapped on a board. They're going to get him to a ambulance, maybe Life Flight, him and get him to the hospital. We'll continue to follow this story. It was quite a scene just 20 minutes or so ago -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Tony, thanks so much.

HARRIS: Sure thing.

PHILLIPS: Well, no D.A., no I.D.s, two of a dozen defense motions filed today in the Duke University rape case. We've got some developing details.

CNN's Jason Carroll once again in Durham, North Carolina. Hi, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.

Twelve pages of -- 89 pages of court documents, 12 motions filed today by the defense attorney, Reade Seligmann's defense attorney. One of the motion gives a clear sense of how upset the defense attorneys are the district attorney, Michael Nifong. One of the motions is for the recusal of the district attorney on this case because, quote, "he neglected his duties as a prosecutors to seek the truth and a fair prosecution." It goes on the say, quote, "He created an actual conflict between his professional duty to search for the truth and his personal vested interest in getting elected." As you know, the primary election for D.A. is tomorrow, Tuesday.

But there were also 11 other motions that were filed today, which really give more of a sense, Kyra, of the type of evidence defense attorneys will be presenting at trial. One of the motions is to let the district attorney's office know they will be introducing Reade Seligmann's cell phone records. Reade Seligmann one of the young men who is accused in this crime. Apparently these calls made about the same time the alleged crime took place.

Also 12 photographs from a camera, an ATM camera, these are time- stamped photographs from the ATM camera taken that particular night. Those also introduced in a motion. Also an affidavit from a fellow lacrosse player of Reade Seligmann, who was with him that night, who says that he hopped in a cab with him. They went to the ATM. After the ATM, they went to a restaurant, then went back to their dorm.

So his affidavit included in one of these motions that was filed today as well. So once again, a sense of some of the evidence that will be presented, but also you get a very clear sense of some of the frustration on the part of the defense attorneys with this motion for the recusal of the district attorney. I think that they're going to be some (INAUDIBLE) who might say this is a bit of posturing on the part of the defense attorneys. We did try to reach out to the D.A. in this particular case, Michael Nifong. He has not been available as of yet. He has said in the past, though, Kyra, in his -- it is his moral and ethical duty to pursue a case that he believes in -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jason Carroll, thanks so much.

Straight ahead, a day of protest, a day without immigrants. We're following boycotts in major cities all across the country. We're going to take you live to Los Angeles straight ahead. Right now, live pictures of that protests, via our affiliate KTTV. We're going to keep brining you the news.

More LIVE FROM next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Immigrants march while a city stands still. Organizers warn today's rallies and boycotts will paralyze Los Angeles. CNN's Jen Rogers is there -- Jen.

JEN ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, right now where we are, it is not paralyzed at this point. We're at city hall. But nine blocks away from here, it is a completely different story. And that is the starting point for the protest that is supposed to end here in just a few hours.

Down at the starting point, we have seen people in the white shirts that they've been requested to wear waving flags. We're seeing them stream through the downtown streets here, heading to that starting point.

The organizers of this march and these protesters were also behind the protests at the end of March. They had about 500,000 protesters then. They say that they are expecting that number again, maybe even a number above that.

The organizers are calling for immigrants to boycott work, to boycott school, and not to buy anything today. Some of the people that I've talked to on their way down to the starting point say that they are following those rules so far.

There is another march, though, that is expected to possibly be even bigger, and that is because it is at 4:00 p.m. today. And those organizers are not calling for a boycott of work or school. The mayor has asked for people to stay in school and go to the second march instead. That one starting at 4:00 p.m. local time. Again, some people expecting for that one to be even bigger than the crowd we are expecting to see here shortly -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: What more has the mayor said? He's supporting one but not the other?

ROGER: You know, he is here at city hall, we are told, by a press agent. He will be monitoring the events of the one here at city hall in terms of public safety and traffic. But he has really said stay in school, that that is a big issue for him. He came out on that during the last round of protests as well.

The mayor actually has on his schedule to be in Dallas this evening for an NFL owners meeting, trying to get professional football back here in Los Angeles. He has supported immigrant rights in the past but, again, not planning on making an appearance at the city hall rally. Possibly we are told he could be on the docket for the afternoon rally, but that is not a sure bet either -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Jen Rogers, thanks so much.

Well, it's dirty, dangerous, and often deadly, and almost always leads to hardship on the other side. So what makes crossing the U.S.- Mexican border so attractive to so many people?

Luis Alberto Urrea has written four books about the border, including "The Devil's Highway," a tragic true story. He joins us now from Washington. Four books on border issues. Why are you so passionate about this?

LUIS ALBERTO URREA, AUTHOR, "THE DEVIL'S HIGHWAY": Well, I was born on the border and raised in Southern California like you. I used to be a missionary with a border relief group working the Tijuana garbage dump and, you know, had the opportunity to see that 10 minutes south of downtown San Diego, people were eating dead dogs to survive.

And I thought -- you know, I suddenly had a vision of what was driving the motion north. And I thought if I could chronicle it, people would understand it and maybe sometime do something about it.

PHILLIPS: Well, so when you read "The Devil's Highway," you do mention -- you're right, we both grew up in Southern California. And I remember going back and forth and just observing how life was in Mexico and how life was in San Diego, and it was very normal to have on a regular basis a very crowded border, as you remember. Remember, it would take hours to go back and forth.

URREA: Yes.

PHILLIPS: A lot of people, I think, were pretty prejudiced about the Border Patrol. They had these -- many misconceptions. Did you find that as well?

URREA: Oh, yes. I mean, I have to confess that I had that very prejudice. You know, and I realized -- you know, I set out to write "Devil's Highway" to sort of combat what I thought was an unfortunate and prejudice view of the walkers trying to come here, and realized that I had the prejudice myself.

I had never bothered to talk to a Border Patrol agent. I just had assumptions about who they were and what they did. And perhaps one of the greatest blessings for me of writing the book was getting to know the agents and spending a lot of time with them and understanding their world.

And, you know, once you realize that the border is a place of human beings -- not symbols, not demographics, but human beings -- trying to deal with a chaotic and insane situation, suddenly I think your perception changes.

PHILLIPS: So as we look at these protests that are taking place across the country, and we're debating this issue, do you feel that we're forgetting about the fact that more needs to be done in Mexico to make life better so they don't feel they have to come across the border and get paid these lower wages and bring money back and even be dealing with this issue?

URREA: Kyra, you know the president of Mexico is crazy like a Fox. You notice there's a protest being mounted in Mexico City today to boycott any gringo-made item which, you know, is a really sly way for President Fox not to have these marchers lay siege to him.

You know, Mexico has -- I hate to say it, but cynically sent people north. You know, if you have a social problem, if you have poverty and desperation, one of the easiest ways to handle it if you happen to be next to the first world is send them to the first world.

And, you know, one of the things that is actively happening in Mexico right now is they're trying to find a way to keep the people who have come here to work from retiring and going home. They don't want those people to come back.

And I don't think of them as immigrants because the majority of them are not really seeking American citizenship. They are migrants, in my opinion, in that they're coming here to work and their plan is to go back home when they've gotten their savings and so forth.

And Fox and his guys clearly don't want that. So one of the things I always try to argue for is a border perestroika because I feel that, you know, the Cold War has moved to the south in a real sense.

PHILLIPS: Well, we can't forget the issue of corruption as well. I mean, that is something that has got to be dealt with inside of Mexico.

URREA: Absolutely. Never goes away. And, you know, it fuels much of what happen in Mexico. And, you know, if the standard of living in Mexico were raised miraculously, you would see the tide not only stop but probably reverse itself.

It's extremely difficult to go through what the people go through to come here. And, you know, I heard earlier -- we're all monitoring CNN here at the studio, watching the rallies grow, and someone earlier said they felt that people were seeking something for nothing.

And that struck me as a very odd thing to say, because they risk everything to try to get this little something they get to come here. But, you know, I lay a lot of the burden back on Mexico.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. Luis Alberto Urrea, an author of many books, but the one we were talking about specifically today, "The Devil's Highway." Thanks for your perspective, Luis. It was great talking to you.

URREA: Thank you, Kyra. Good to meet you.

PHILLIPS: Yes, nice to meet you, too.

I'm getting word that we want to get straight to Chicago. Jonathan Freed actually with us on the phone. Jonathan, I understand you're right in the middle of the demonstrators. Have things picked up or taken a different beat since we last checked in?

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, things are very intense here right now, Kyra. There is just a sea of humanity passing in front of me. I'm at the corner of Franklin and Jackson Streets. And if you know Chicago, and even if you don't, you will know where I am. I am right at the base of the Sears Tower. And it is just a never-ending sea of people. There are thousands and thousands of people walking down the streets, heading east towards Grant Park right now. There are predominantly American flags but at times there are almost as many Mexican flags as there are American in the crowd, and just lots of smiling faces. And this has just been going on now for the better part of an hour, even a little more -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So Jonathan, Chicago police actually told us that they weren't even going to wear riot gear because they felt this was going to be peaceful and they were going to be able to secure the rally. Does it seem like they've made the right decision? Do you get a sense that this could take a different turn? Or is it looking like it's going to continue with a peaceful momentum?

FREED: From my vantage point here, it is entirely peaceful. It's one of the things that our crew have been discussing amongst ourselves is that we're somewhat surprised how peaceful it is just given how many people are actually out here. And everybody that we have spoken to have told us in advance that they intended to be -- to make this as peaceful a march as possible. And I have not seen any evidence that it has been anything but that.

A lot of smiling faces. People waving and cheering. Determined to get the message across. I'm seeing signs like we work in your restaurants, we build your homes, all we want is to be able to stay here. That's the sense, that's the vibe here that's coming off of this protest here.

PHILLIPS: Jonathan freed right there in the middle of the demonstration in Chicago, Illinois. We're going to talk to Jonathan again at the top of the hour.

Also coming up on LIVE FROM, it's got a good beat. But this is not a tune you want to dance to, or especially migrate to. We're going to see who is behind the music when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Tune in, tune on and turn around. A stealth campaign by the U.S. border patrol is an unlikely hit on the radio. CNN's Dan Lothian has more in a report you will only see on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The warning isn't on the label, but in the music. And the message is serious. Songs aimed at Mexicans thinking about sneaking into the U.S., a gritty, but little known media campaign produced by the U.S. Border Patrol, which says they're airing on some 30 radio stations across Mexico.

SALVADOR ZAMORA, U.S. BORDER PATROL: They sing the very hard- hitting message: If you come across the border area, especially through the desert, you will die.

LOTHIAN: In "En La Raya," a man fleeing poverty in Mexico runs across another man barely alive in the hot desert.

(SINGING)

LOTHIAN (on camera): The U.S. government is targeting so-called key feeder states, like Zakatekas (ph) and Chiapas. At first, buying the airtime for five different songs, but then, listeners began requesting the tunes, most unaware of the messenger.

ZAMORA: They don't understand, nor do they know that it is a U.S.-based government, law enforcement entity, providing this message.

LOTHIAN: This sort of anonymous strategy is also part of the television and print effort. The campaign No Mas Cruces, or No More Crossings and Crosses, using vivid and disturbing images as a deterrent, aimed deep inside Mexico, on the border, and now for the first time, inside the U.S. with this TV spot set to hit the air this week.

ZAMORA: Friends, family, distant relatives encouraging the illegal immigration, encouraging the illegal crossing, they, too, will have blood on their hands.

LOTHIAN: Ali Noorani, an immigrant advocate in Boston, says this media campaign is in the wrong hands.

ALI NOORANI, IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY COALITION: To educate the public south of the border is an important role to play. However, that role should be played by the Mexican government, by organizations, and businesses and individuals in Mexico.

LOTHIAN: Spending time and money on this message, he says, could be a distraction from finding the real solution to illegal immigration.

NOORANI: President Bush should be passing public policy that serves all immigrants. President Bush should not be running public service announcements in Mexico.

LOTHIAN: But the border patrol says early reports show this unique effort is getting the attention of the Mexican people.

ZAMORA: The ultimate goal is to plant the seed of doubt.

LOTHIAN: And perhaps, like the character in the song "En La Raya," who encountered a dying man, learn an important lesson.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: You can see more of Dan Lothian's report on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" on weekdays starting at 6:00 eastern.

We want to hear from you. How is this day without immigrants affecting you? Is it affecting you at all? E-mail us at livefrom@CNN.com. We'll read you responses straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

(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