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Bush Reasserts Immigration Plan; Residents of Hell Celebrate 6/6/06; Canadian Terror Suspects Make Court Appearance; More Details Emerge in Iraqi Shooting; Museum Marks 62nd Anniversary of D-Day

Aired June 06, 2006 - 13:30   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The second day in a row, the bears are out on Wall Street. A live look now at the Dow below 11,000 for the first time in month.
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PHILLIPS: It was already bad on Indonesia Java's island but things are rapidly getting a lot worse. The May 27th earthquake, you'll remember, it killed thousands of people, left more than half a million people homeless. It is just a warmup act to a major volcanic eruption right now. At least 10,000 people are being evacuated as Mt. Merapi threatens to blow.

Superheated puffs of gas are escaping and lava is already cascading down the upper slopes of the increasingly active volcano. Mt. Merapi's last deadly eruption was in 1994 when 60 people were burned to death by a searing gas cloud. CNN's Cathy Quiano joins me now on the phone from Jakarta about 250 miles west of that volcano. What can you see and what can you tell us.

CATHY QUIANO, CNN PRODUCER: I can tell you Kyra is that about 11,000 residents from the district of Malang, which is near the slopes of Mt. Merapi have been evacuated. This evacuation started last Sunday when the volcano showed signs of increased activity. Merapi spewed more lava clouds of hot gas. It flowed down as far as about two to three miles down its slopes. Local officials gathered the residents and drove them to safer ground in about 40 trucks and many of the evacuees are now in temporary shelters, government and school buildings. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Is the current -- the concern now obviously is if that lava dome will collapse. I mean, are scientists able to make any type of prediction on the odds of that?

QUIANO: Well, scientists here are saying it's really hard to predict how big the eruption will be. It has been erupting for almost two months now. We have to remember that.

They say the earthquake may have caused heightened activity. They also say Merapi's past eruptions have been what we've seen so far, massive heat clouds which can be as hot as hundreds of degrees and molten lava flowing down its slopes.

They are watching a lava dome that has grown to four million cubic meters. We have to note this has been going before the earthquake and scientists can't say if and when that dome will collapse and how much volcanic debris will come out. What the government is doing now is making sure people living near the volcano are out of harm's way. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Cathy Quiano, thanks so much. Not a lot happens in Artesia, New Mexico, save for the training of border patrol agents. today, a visit from President Bush. You may have heard him speak live here on CNN just a few minutes ago. CNN's Elaine Quijano did, she's going to give us a little brief. Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Bush today is trying to, once again, nudge lawmakers in the House and Senate closer together on getting a comprehensive immigration reform bill to his desk. Well, today, he took his immigration pitch here to Artesia, New Mexico, home to a federal law enforcement training center, which also houses the only U.S. Border Patrol academy in the country.

The president highlighted the work they do here. There were several demonstrations, including a bus and train check, as well as a checkpoint operation, a simulation. This is a 19 1/2 week program that students undergo here before becoming a part of the border patrol. They include everything from learning Spanish here to studying firearms technique and studying immigration laws.

Now, by traveling to this facility, the president is clearly trying to send the message he in fact, is serious about enforcing the nation's borders. At the same time he is not backing away from his proposal for a temporary guest worker program and he is again calling for this immigration debate to be conducted civilly.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've also got to remember this, though, during this debate. That illegal immigration's a problem, but we need to remember that immigrants have been one of the great strengths of the United States of America.

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For generations, immigrants to this country have risked everything because of the dream of freedom. And they've assimilated into our society. And they've contributed to our economy. And they've contributed to the greatness of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, after his remarks, the president took time to swear in the commissioner of customs and border protection, Ralph Basham, a 28-year veteran of the U.S. Secret Service, from a director of the Secret Service, being sworn in as the new head of the Customs and Border Protection.

Now, it certainly is an emotional debate, this debate over immigration, but President Bush signaling today that, while he does want to show he is serious about enforcing the borders, he also has no plans to back away from his support for a guest worker program. But, Kyra, unclear at this point whether or not the president's actions and his speeches will, in fact, move those members of the House Republicans, conservatives who feel that what the president is calling for amounts to amnesty -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Elaine Quijano, thanks so much.

Have you looked at your calendar today? One town is having a devil of a time with the triple 6's. LIVE FROM goes to Hell and back right after this.

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PHILLIPS: Well, for some, it's the mark of the devil. For one Michigan hamlet, 666 means celebration. Welcome to Hell, where hundreds of people from all over the country are going, at least today. And no one's enjoying it more than the unofficial mayor of Hell, John Colone.

John, thanks for joining us.

JOHN COLONE, UNOFFICIAL MAYOR OF HELL: Well, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: So what's it like in Hell?

COLONE: Welcome to Hell.

PHILLIPS: Yes, hey, I never thought Hell could be so much fun. Tell us what's going on today.

COLONE: Well, you know, we just -- kind of quickly put together a little thing. Realizing after Memorial Day that there was June 6 coming up and thought we'd do a little bit of thing and got some special mugs and -- coffee mug for June 6, T-shirts that say "Once in a Lifetime, 666, June 6, Hell, Michigan".

We got some folks that wanted to sing, and dance, they wanted to play. And so we put together a little bit of celebration.

PHILLIPS: So does Hell ever freeze over there?

COLONE: We haven't had a freeze in the last year and a half. That's when we hold our elections, when Hell freezes over.

PHILLIPS: And do you tell people to go to Hell on a regular basis?

COLONE: I'm sorry, I didn't get that.

PHILLIPS: Do you tell people to go to Hell on a regular basis? I mean, you're the unofficial mayor.

COLONE: You know, here we can get away with it. More people come to our town than anywhere on earth.

PHILLIPS: So how did Hell get its name? COLONE: We were settled in 1838 by George Reeves and his family. George had seven daughters. No reason to call it Hell yet. But he built a mill and a general store on the banks of our river here. And he would grind the local farmers' grain into flour, but he also ran a whiskey still.

So a lot of times that first seven, 10 bushels became whiskey or moonshine and sometimes horses would come home without riders and wagons without drivers and somebody would say, to the wife, "Well, where's your husband?"

"Oh, he's gone to Hell."

So in 1841 when the state came by and asked George what he would name his town he says, "Call it Hell for all I care. Everybody else does." So we've been Hell for 165 years.

PHILLIPS: Do you still sell that moonshine?

COLONE: It started on a little drink.

PHILLIPS: Outstanding. Well, do you have Hell's angels there?

COLONE: What was that, I'm sorry?

PHILLIPS: Do you have Hell's angels there?

COLONE: Do we have Hell's? Hell's angels? Well, we're kind of -- our population, you know, we have about 72 residents here in Hell. And it's equally split between hellions and "hellbillies." I'm sure there's a few Hell angels mixed in there, though.

PHILLIPS: Now, we understand there are 72 people in Hell, is that right?

COLONE: That's correct.

PHILLIPS: You would think that a lot more people would be in Hell.

COLONE: Well, you know, it's because of our beautiful land and all the state property around here. There's very few homes and building sites available.

PHILLIPS: Do you have any churches in Hell?

COLONE: We have no churches or crossroads in Hell. We do have a brand-new wedding chapel. And we're going to be blessing some weddings or marriages today about 6 p.m. And so you'll now be able to get married in Hell, in a real chapel.

PHILLIPS: Unbelievable. Now, in the summertime, does it get hotter than Hell and is that even possible?

COLONE: We look forward to those cool downs. PHILLIPS: Oh, mayor, so one final -- one final pitch, I guess, no pun intended, your web site, you sell all kinds -- matter of fact, we couldn't even get into the store, because there's so many people logging on to your web site today. But what do you think your hottest thing is in the Hell store?

COLONE: Right now, it's our 6/6/06 T-shirts and our 6-6 mugs. But one I think I see more, people that want to be property owners here. You can buy a square inch of Hell for $6.66. And a lot of folks are taking advantage of that.

PHILLIPS: Well, so what are you guys going to do to generate interest in Hell until the next 6/6/6, 100 years from now?

COLONE: We're offering if folks are still -- folks are going to be here right on everything that's purchased today, we give them a certificate of authenticity. And if they're still here in 100 years, they can have their money back.

PHILLIPS: Mayor John Colone of Hell, Michigan. I hope that things do not go to Hell in a hand basket. I had to get that one in there. Maybe, great talking to you.

COLONE: Have a Hell of a great day.

PHILLIPS: I sure will. Appreciate it, Mayor.

Well, coming up, terror suspects in court. Our Jeanne Meserve outside with an update on the suspects in that alleged Canadian plot. And we continue to monitor the Dow, which has dropped below 11,000 over the last few hours. LIVE FROM has all the news you need this afternoon. Stay with us.

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PHILLIPS: Well, a dozen men, five teens and three tons of explosive ammonium nitrate. That much we already know. But if you want details on that alleged terror scheme in Toronto, you won't get much from a Canadian courtroom today.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve is in suburban Toronto where the prosecution apparently isn't ready to put its cards on the table -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But Kyra, we nonetheless got some intriguing information. Defense attorneys say that they were given today a synopsis of the allegations against their clients. And in that synopsis, some startling new revelations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY BATASAR, LAWYER FOR STEVEN CHAND: The allegations, as you reported, are quite serious, including storming and bombing of various buildings and there's an allegation, apparently, that my client personally indicated that he wanted to behead the prime minister of Canada.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: According to this synopsis, the demands of the alleged terrorists would be to free Muslims from prison and get Canadian troops out of Afghanistan.

Now, attorney Gary Batasar, who you just heard, who's representing defendant Steven Chand, says that his client was certainly quite disturbed by these allegations, and he said he thought it was quite inappropriate for the prime minister to have commented on this case since he is named. He said he thought the government is trying to instill fear in the public here in Canada.

Now in the courtroom, there was a lot of discussion about the conditions in which these defendants are being held. Attorneys said they're being held in isolation 24 hours a day, under very heavy guard, that families do not have access to them, that they can't observe their dietary laws.

But most upsetting to them is the fact that they have not been able to have private time with their clients. They say when they do talk to them, there are armed guards nearby, that they have to talk on the telephone through Plexiglas. They said this is not the way the Canadian justice system is supposed to work.

The justice of the peace presiding today said he didn't know enough about the charges and the security concerns to call for any changes. The attorneys indicated that was not enough for them. They said this is not Guantanamo; this is Ontario. They pointed out that even in Nuremburg defendants had the right to private time with their counsel. They want to see it here. And they indicate they'll be back in court on Monday to file an emergency motion if they are not giving that private access.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Two suspects didn't appear in court today, Jeanne?

Reporter: Yes, two of them are already in jail serving time for trying to import weapons and ammunition into this country. According to documents we saw today, in August, two of them were coming across the Peace Bridge, which runs from Buffalo to Fort Erie. Their car pulled up an alert when it tried to go through customs on the Canadian side. It went for secondary inspection.

When the men got out of the car, one of them was seen to be fidgeting, so they did a physical search of these men. They found that two of them had three weapons on their bodies. They also had ammunition. So they were charged at that point in time and are currently serving jail time. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Jeanne Meserve in Toronto. Thanks, Jeanne.

Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

First they said it was justified. Now some U.S. Marines are said to be changing their stories about a killing in the Iraqi town of Hamdaniya. CNN's Kathleen Koch is at the Pentagon.

Kathleen, they're talking premeditated murder here, and now we have details that there may have been a cover-up. What do we know?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, this from a source close to the investigation. Yes, indeed, it does appear that some of the Marines involved may have committed premeditated murder in the shooting of an Iraqi man in the town of Hamdaniya, this in April.

Now as a result, these Marines, seven Marines, one Navy corpsman being held at Camp Pendleton in California while charges are being considered. The source was a military officer with direct knowledge of the preliminary results of the findings, the investigation's findings. Says that some of the Marines have admitted that circumstances of the man's death were staged.

Knight Ridder news service recently reported that the family of the victim showed to reporters a hand-written note from a Marine sergeant that said that his unit killed a man because he was seen, quote, "Digging on the side of the road from our ambush site. I made the call and engaged. He was pronounced dead at the scene with only a shovel and an AK-47."

The official tells CNN that investigators have instead conclude that the unarmed man was dragged from his home, was shot by the Marines and then that the Marines placed a shovel and an AK-47 on his body to make it appear as though he was an insurgent. The officer told CNN, quote, "They went after someone not necessarily this person but they set out to get someone" -- Kyra.

PHILLIP: Now there are some, as you mentioned, some have admitted guilt. So where's the investigation go from here? It seems like this would be a done deal.

KOCH: Well, not necessarily, Kyra. No charges have yet been filed against these seven Marine, against the corpsman. They have begun to hire lawyers.

And the lawyer for the corpsman is quite upset about some of the reporting on this, calling the leaks cowardly. And in a statement, Jeremiah Sullivan (ph) tells CNN, quote, "These individuals have the unqualified right to a presumption of innocence, and it is an injustice for anyone to rush to judgment based on conjecture and politics. This is the same reactionary frenzy surrounding the cases I handled involving Navy SEALs implicated in the killing of a terrorist. I represented two of those SEALs and am proud to say that both were fully exonerated and serve our country today. As in those case, I am confident that my client will be vindicated at the conclusion of this process" -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Kathleen Koch, live from the Pentagon, thank you.

Recovering nicely in China. A 2-month-old boy was born with an extra arm. And until today, Jie-Jie had one right arm and two left arms. The extra just protruding from his chest area. Surgeons had to decide which of the left arms to remove. The operation took 2 1/2 hours, and Jie-Jie still faces extensive physical therapy. Doctors say he may never have full use of his remaining left arm.

Sorry Charlie. "Consumer Reports" is recommending pregnant women skip canned tuna. The magazine analyzed government tests of canned light tuna and albacore. They reportedly showed about six percent of light tuna cans contain potentially harmful amounts of mercury. The government says that there's no research suggesting that pregnant women would be hurt by an occasional tuna sandwich or salad, even tuna with higher than average mercury levels.

A tuna trade group maintains the benefits outweigh any risk from trace amounts of mercury.

It's one of the largest military operations in history, and it changed the course of World War II and gave the world a new term for days of destiny. D-Day, plus 62 years, straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... American soldiers. The immediate effect of this decision is assignment to Great Britain to participate in the training and build up of forces to be used in the invasion. Not for all were the...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Spring day in the god-awful winter of war, June 6, 1944. American, British and Canadian troops land on five beachheads in Normandy, launching the liberation of France, hastening the defeat of Nazi Germany. D-Day.

Near those beaches today, D-Day veterans honoring comrades who came ashore with them and in many cases died there. The bravery and sacrifice of American D-Day vets is being honored today in New Orleans at the National D-Day Museum. Actually, it's known now as the National World War II Museum.

And CNN's Sean Callebs is there.

Hey, Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. How are you?

Indeed, actually, that designation actually, they got the ball rolling in Congress two years ago because of copyright information, to make sure they could keep the logo. The name was just changed from D- Day to World War II Museum this past weekend.

And we are in one of the LCVPs. And this is the reason this museum is in New Orleans. This was invented by Andrew Higgins. It was nicknamed the Higgins Craft. They made about 20,000 of these in New Orleans. And these carried as many as 30 to 36 troops, 12 miles off shore, onto the beaches that day.

Kyra, could you imagine that, people shooting at you, bombs going off? You have to ride 12 hours in? It took hours to get there, just a punishing ride.

But let me show you a bit around this area. If you look over this way this aircraft really doesn't have a whole lot to do with the European campaign, but those who have studied history will know this is the Avenger, the same kind of aircraft that George Bush, the first George Bush, flew and was shot down in the Pacific.

And over here, just to my left, a Spitfire. This thing was actually crashed in 1944. Basically laid waste in a field for some 50 years. Then it was brought out, salvaged, and now is on display here. This is really something.

This museum has been here since 2000. But boy, got to tell you, Kyra, in the aftermath of Katrina it wasn't damaged. No wind damage, no water damage. There was some looting. They hit the gift shop. But it's been tough sledding for this area in those months after Katrina.

PHILLIPS: And in addition, I mean, it's just amazing pieces of history, Sean, that's inside this museum. There's also a lot of documentation in the museum, right? I remember -- I've been there a couple times when I used to live there.

CALLEBS: Right.

PHILLIPS: But there are everything from love letters to documents, journals from these soldiers, right?

CALLEBS: You're exactly right. And really, we've had a chance, a wonderful chance, to talk with vets. Remember, 62 years ago, you don't need to be a math whiz to realize our World War I veterans are growing older. Many are passing away. It's been wonderful to talk to those who are here today.

They don't come here to look at the hardware. I mean, it's interesting to see all this. They come for these little mementos, maybe a little piece of paper that maybe someone slipped someone else, someone's brought on. There's some machine guns upstairs. They can look at -- this is four floors so they can look back on this.

The veterans who were here, we talked to a couple paratroopers with the 801st, who jumped in behind enemy lines the night before D- Day. And it's interesting to hear these veterans start telling their stories. People turn away from the displays and just start listening to what these people had to say. It is very compelling information.

PHILLIPS: Is it something that stood out for you? I know there's so many interesting stories and pieces of history and mementoes, et cetera. But was there something that really caught your attention?

CALLEBS: Well, to me this is fascinating. I mean, I knew a little bit about the LCVP before I got here. But you knot, the fact that this is wooden. I always presumed it was some kind of metal ship. And the fact that when they opened this museum, they couldn't find one of these things. They looked all over the place. And they found one -- there's one across the way that is actually an official, but it was a later version of the LCVP. So they had to basically rebuild this one from the design.

And after the museum opened, people in France called and said, "Oh, we got bunches of those over here. You should have asked us." Because they were basically all scuttled off the coast of France after the operation.

But in terms of walking through, you stop everywhere. I mean, something catches your eye, a Purple Heart, a letter that was found on a beach. And it's interesting, because instead of mailing large letters home, they used to actually be basically shrunk so it wasn't nearly as large and they would ship those home. We saw some authentic of letters like that.

The sense of history, walking through here. Boy, and you just hope this museum does well in the aftermath of Katrina. There's so few people coming here these days. So when people say what can they do for this area, come visit. Come see this piece of history.

PHILLIPS: So it did OK through Katrina? Doesn't look like it had major damage, yes?

CALLEBS: It had no major damage. This place -- actually, half of it, the way this is built, half of it was an old German brewery. What's the irony there? And they had no wind damage, no water damage. As I mentioned, some looting damage.

But in the aftermath, because so few people are coming here, they say about a third as many visitors as before. They've gone from being open seven days a week to five. They've had to lay off about 50 percent of the staff here. So they are certainly hoping that the summer months prove to be somewhat of a boon for tourism and hoping for a good fall and a light hurricane season. Else you could so us using these things to get out of here.

PHILLIPS: Yes, no kidding. Sean Callebs there at the World War II Museum in New Orleans. Thanks so much, Sean. We'll see you again the next hour.

Well, we're getting word in out of Phoenix that Billy Preston has passed away at the age of 59. You may remember the singer and songwriter, well known also as a keyboardist. He landed a number of dream gigs in his career.

You may remember from the Beatle, the Rolling Stones. And had his own series of hit singles, as well, "Out of Space", "Nothing from Nothing".

He died on Tuesday. His longtime manager said that he had been in a coma since November in a care facility and was taken to a hospital in Scottsdale on Saturday after his condition deteriorated. He had been battling chronic kidney failure. He had undergone a kidney transplant in 2002, but the kidney failed and he had been on dialysis treatments until he died today at the age of 59.

We remember singer/songwriter Billy Preston today.

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