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Western Swing; Manhunt; Tiger Woods on Verge of Missing Cut; Paul McCartney Turns 64
Aired June 16, 2006 - 13:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, President Bush out West, raising cash for two Republican House members before a Father's Day weekend at the ranch. And at the moment he's near Seattle. Later he heads to New Mexico, where our White House correspondent Ed Henry is already on the ground.
Ed, he's working up support for these candidates. Is it a good move for these candidates to align themselves with him, considering everything going on with Iraq?
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a good question, and it's one that's still playing out. What's interesting is just a couple of weeks ago with the president down in the polls, it seems like a lot of Republican candidates would want to avoid the president. All of a sudden, though, he has a little bit of a bounce in his step between the killing of al-Zarqawi, as well as his trip to Baghdad to celebrate the new government in Iraq. Karl Rove finding out he's not going to be charged in the CIA leak case. As you mentioned, the president already in Seattle right now, raising money for Dave Reichert, the Republican freshman, who's in a little bit of trouble.
And then here to New Mexico, Albuquerque, Heather Wilson, a Republican Congresswoman, facing a very stiff challenge, one of the Democrats top targets.
And I think the bottom line is the question that you raise. It's something everyone will be paying close attention to in these midterm elections. It looks like the president a couple of weeks ago was somebody that Republicans didn't want to touch. All of a sudden, this will now be his 38th and 39th fund-raising event of the year for the midterms. And if the president continues to inch up in the polls, you're probably going to see even more Republicans reaching out, wanting him to be the fund-raiser-in-chief -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, let's talk about some of those new poll numbers. This one out June 14th, 15th about how Bush is handling Iraq. What are they saying?
HENRY: Well, this new CNN poll out this hour is showing the president is up on handling of Iraq. Thirty-nine percent of the nation approving of the way he's handling the war. That's up five points from May. A 54 percent still, though, still disapproving. That's down 62 percent from last month. And I think the White House is trying to build on that. And when you talk to him, though, people like Tony Snow say he was asked basically, is the president regaining his footing? And Tony Snow said, he never lost his footing. So they don't even want to concede that point. But there's no doubt this president had lost his footing a bit and now all of a sudden it looks like he's regaining it. Whether that holds or not is a whole another question -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, you look at all the big stories. For example, the surprise trip to Iraq. Zarqawi being killed, and then these al Qaeda documents that were gathered, so a lot of people saying, OK, should the U.S. set a timetable now to tell us when the troops can get pulled out?
HENRY: That's a good question. And there's actually some mixed news in this new CNN poll for the president when you take a look at that very question. Should the U.S. set a timetable for bringing home troops from Iraq? It's now 53 percent, a majority. A small majority of the country, but 53 percent of the country saying they want a timetable, 41 percent saying no. That's disagreeing with what the president has said over and over. That he does not want a timetable and will not set one. And they'll let commanders on the ground decide this question, not politicians in Washington. And that was the whole point of the president's trip to Iraq. He wanted to try to show that we're transferring as much responsibility as possible to Iraqis, but also to tell Prime Minister Maliki that the United States keeps its word and is going to stick it out. I think this poll shows there's still a lot of domestic pressure on the president to bring the troops home -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Ed Henry, thanks so much.
No ways, no means, no fair? Well, the House voted unanimously today remove William Jefferson of Louisiana from the all-important Ways and Means Committee, at least until he's out from under a bribery investigation. Hours earlier, Jefferson's fellow Democrats came to the same conclusion over his vehement protests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. WILLIAM JEFFERSON (D), LOUISIANA: I pointed out that the punishment is unauthorized, but it also is unnecessary. But it also is not right for the folks who I represent. Back home now, I am supported very strongly by the people I represent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the feds are investigating whether Jefferson accepted bribes involving business interests in Africa. He denies wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crime.
One dead, one wounded, one on the run. Police in Reno, Nevada believe that Darren Mack may be in Sacramento, California. Remember this face right here. He's the millionaire pawn broker. He's charged with killing his estranged wife, and he's suspected of taking aim at a judge on Monday. Family court Judge Chuck Weller is recuperating under guard in a secret location.
We have more from reporter Brad Britman (ph) at CNN affiliate KTVN. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRAD BRITMAN, KTVN REPORTER (voice-over): The day started quietly enough with Charla Mack taking her 7-year-old daughter to see her dad, Darren Mack. Shortly after 9:00 a.m. they arrived at the Fleur-De-Lis condo building. Murder, say police, came a few minutes later.
LT. RON DONNELLY, RENO, NEVADA POLICE: Darren Mack asked the roommate, Mr. Osbourne (ph), to accompany the child into a second- floor portion of the apartment while he converses with Charla in the garage area.
BRITMAN: That's when Darren Mack's roommate says he heard his dog barking wildly downstairs.
DONNELLY: His dog followed that Mr. Mack into the house had blood on its face and on its chest.
BRITMAN: Police say Osbourne got worried and left the apartment, taking the daughter with him. Some time after 9:30, Darren Mack called his roommate and asked to meet at a coffee shop in South Reno.
DONNELLY: It's my understanding that for him to see his daughter.
BRITMAN: After that meeting at 11:05, the calls came in to 911.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there was a gunshot from the parking garage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Be advised our computer is down. I've just been advised that we have shots fired, apparently a sniper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there's going to be a sniper in a parking garage just north of the family court building.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's been a gunshot. One of the judges has been shot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the third floor, Judge Weller's chambers, he has been shot.
BRITMAN: Five minutes later, Mack's roommate called police, worried for Charla Mack's safety. A SWAT team swept the area downtown. Around 11:30, investigators made the connection.
DONNELLY: Mr. Mack's name comes up as a possible suspect due to the pending divorce.
BRITMAN: Police went to Fleur-De-Lis. Nobody answered. Without probable cause, police left the condos. Evidence belonging to Charla Mack was found on I-80 near Robb Drive, suggesting sometime after 11:00 that day...
DONNELLY: We believe that Mr. Mack probably disposed of some evidentiary items as he drove westbound out of town.
BRITMAN: Around 1:30 police met with Osbourne. Detectives went back to the condo.
DONNELLY: The officers opened up the garage door and they could see Charla Mack lying dead in the garage. At 2:30, someone used Mack's corporate credit card at the Sacramento International Airport. It's the last lead police get.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Right after the shooting, Mack phoned his cousin, Jeffrey Donner, who lives in Mirago (ph), California. Donner tells reporters that Mack had complained for months about Judge Weller who was handling his divorce. He says if his cousin did what he's accused of, it would be an example of, quote, somebody that has snapped.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY DONNER, DARREN MACK'S COUSIN: My gut instinct is that he is somewhere in the area, meaning either in the northern California area, Reno area. I believe that. And he's obviously, he's on the run. And I am begging him that if he hears this, if he is listening to this, to please contact us. He knows he can trust us. We'll do anything to help him. We want to save his life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The Justice Department has now charged Mack with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, making him a federal fugitive.
A missing persons case in Alabama. And this one is getting a lot of attention. Birmingham cops, the FBI, the ATF and U.S. marshals join in a hunt for a retired couple and their teenage grandson, none of whom have been seen for several days. Police arrested a man yesterday without publicly saying why. They also recovered the couple's car. John and Evelyn Martin are both in their 80s. Their grandson is 19. A family member, unable to reach them by phone, alerted police Wednesday.
Trouble for Tiger Woods. Could he really be shut out of the U.S. Open? A live report ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you singing out there "When I Turn 64?"
SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY, MUSICIAN: No, I'm not singing that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're not?
MCCARTNEY: But I've got a nasty feeling I might be next year. My kid says to me, dad, you have got to disappear off the face of the planet. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For that one year?
MCCARTNEY: Next year. Next year. Don't be here. I said, oh, well. I said, it's either that, or I'll be right in the middle of it all. So I haven't yet made the decision. But if you don't see me next year, you'll know why.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We heard it here first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Marking a musical milestone, even as a legal milestone hangs around his neck. Sir Paul McCartney is turning 64 with a made for tabloids divorce in the works.
CNN's Paula Newton on Sir Paul's big birthday and big breakup.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When he wrote those lyrics at the age of 16, Paul McCartney had no idea how bittersweet his own 64th might be.
(MUSIC)
NEWTON: Sir Paul will finally turn 64 this weekend, just a month after separating from Heather Mills, his second wife of four years.
(MUSIC)
NEWTON: Who could turn Paul McCartney away? Apparently, Heather Mills McCartney.
The British tabloids have been ruthless, relentless. Mills says it was the media scrutiny that destroyed her marriage, but the separation is said to be destroying her. The newspapers are plastered with photos from Mills' past. They allege a career in soft porn and prostitution.
Mills says the tabs are printing lies, and she says she will sue. But her publicist adds the last month has been hideous.
MAX CLIFFORD, PUBLICIST: The public perception is, well, he's been taken for a fool, he's been taken for a ride and is very sad. He obviously loved her and showed that. So we feel very sorry for him. I mean, you know, the crueler ones will say, well, there's no fool like an old fool.
NEWTON: And the divorce settlement could be staggering. Mills stands to gain as much as a quarter of McCartney's $1.5 billion fortune.
IAN CAPLIN, LEGAL ANALYST: So even in the case where there's been a short marriage, you know, three to five years or something like that, the courts can still make, they have decided, a substantial award of the husband's assets in favor of the wife.
NEWTON (on camera): Paul McCartney and The Beatles recorded "When I'm 64" back in the '60s, here at Abbey Road Studios, and fans can't help but think that they actually believed that the lyrics to that song would one day ring true for all of them.
(voice-over): A fact not lost on anyone at the well-worn crossing on Abbey Road. Fans scribble their birthday notes and wax poetic about this grandfather's life at 64.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kind of ironic. I'm sure he's kicking himself for that one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The lyrics in the song are kind of poignant. When you're going through a divorce, you're probably rethinking a lot of things right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just change it to 84. "When I'm 84," yes.
NEWTON: Sir Paul himself jokes he might change the lyrics. He is said to be having a quiet birthday at his country retreat this weekend. We can only wonder if he'll be tempted, just a little, to play the song.
Paula Newton, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: The richest man in the world, head of the biggest philanthropic organization on earth -- Bill Gates' profits fuel his passion in his latest venture. Details coming up. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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