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Confession Barred from Trial in Jessica Lunsford Murder; More Civilian Murders Investigated in Iraq; Northeastern States Assess Flood Damage; Bush, Japanese Prime Minister Visit Graceland

Aired June 30, 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 at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
A convicted sex offender confesses to killing a 9-year-old, but now a judge throws out the confession. What went wrong?

The waters start to recede, but it's far from over for the northeast. Thousands of people still homeless.

And how do you say "I'm the king of the world" in Japanese? This prime minister may never come back to earth after the president takes him to Graceland. From the Jungle Room to a king-sized lunch, we've got every Elvis detail.

Nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford was kidnapped raped, and buried alive last year. Her alleged attacker confessed, but John Couey's words won't be used against him.

Reporter John Petramala of Bay 9 News joins me now from Inverness, Florida, with more on today's explosive ruling. What can you tell us, John?

JOHN PETRAMALA, REPORTER, BAY 9 NEWS: Well, Judge Richard Howard listened to this argument last Friday for 9 1/2 hours on whether or not to suppress John Couey's investigation. He made up his mind this morning at the hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETRAMALA (voice-over): The world has heard John Couey confess to the murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, but the jury in his upcoming trial won't have that chance.

Judge Richard Howard made the decision to throw Couey's confession out, because he wasn't given an attorney after repeatedly requesting one. A blow to the prosecution but authorities are confident in their case against Couey, and so is the victim's father.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I've always told you that we built this case on the rock-solid part of evidence. Evidence doesn't lie. I've got enough evidence to put John Couey to death and that's our next phase.

MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA'S FATHER: I don't care. They got -- they got what they need. They got everything they need. And the prosecutors are confident and so am I.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PETRAMALA: Now, prosecution says they will not appeal the decision and the trial is scheduled to begin July 10th with jury selection. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Now John, the judge had to consider more than 40 other motions today, right? Anything of note?

PETRAMALA: Yes, this morning he did consider those 40 other motions. He kind of blew through it. One thing of note: the defense wanted the death penalty to be ruled unconstitutional in this case. The judge denied that request, and so the death penalty will be considered in the trial.

PHILLIPS: John Petramala, thanks so much.

Well, civilians killed in Iraq, a family of four in their own home, and now there's allegations that American troops had something or everything to do with it. It's the latest of several wrongful death probes in Iraq.

Straight to the Pentagon and our correspondent, Barbara Starr.

Barbara, how did this information surface?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, at this point, of course, it is all allegations, but the military has now put out a statement that a new criminal investigation is under way into allegations that soldiers in Iraq may have been involved in rape and murder.

All of this surfaced because one soldier from the 502nd Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, and that is a very important piece of information, said he believed there was information about this.

That is the unit that, of course those two privates, Menchaca and Tucker, came from, those two soldiers that were so brutally killed by Iraqis just a couple of weeks ago. Soldiers in that unit were undergoing stress counseling after that incident, and one of them said that all of this came up at a place called -- a town of Mahmoudiya in Iraq near Baghdad. He said that he had heard, hearsay, that soldiers had been involved in rape and murder.

So they started to look in it. They found another soldier with basically the same information, saying that he heard other soldier conspire to do this, that they had blood on their clothes. So now a full-blown criminal investigation under way, Kyra. And the allegations are that some soldiers were involved in the rape of an Iraqi woman and then killing her, a child and two adults in the same house.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, we'll continue to follow the story. Appreciate the latest information. Now we want to get straight to the president of the United States with Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan. It's not like every normal news conference, shall we say? They're visiting Graceland. Why? The Japanese prime minister loves Elvis. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That the ties between our people are very strong, as well. And so again, to the Presleys, thank you all. And Mr. Prime Minister, glad you joined us. Want to say a few comments?

JUNICHIRO KOIZUMI, PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN: It's like a dream. I never expected Mr. President with me to visit this place. There's Elvis song "To Dream Impossible" -- (singing) "To Dream the Impossible Dream".

My dream came true. So thank you very much. Thank you very much for treating me nice. Elvis song, "Treat Me Nice." Thank you.

BUSH: We're going to go have some barbecue. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: As you can see the Japanese prime minister has quite a sense of humor, actually putting on his Elvis glasses there. He had a chance to perform for Lisa Marie and Priscilla. Now he's performing for the crowd there in Graceland. Just seemed something odd about this, but it's quite interesting. The president obviously having a good time.

Now as you heard, the president said they're off to have some barbecue. We're actually going to talk to the owner of the restaurant, what it was like to put together a very interesting menu for the Japanese prime minister, huge fan of Elvis Presley, along there with the president. We'll talk with that restaurant owner coming up in a little bit.

Well, waterlogged and weary, waiting for relief. About 6,000 people in New Jersey are still out of their homes. No power, no fresh drinking water, no idea when they'll be able to return.

Now, Governor Jon Corzine is flying over the Delaware River today before deciding which areas need federal aid.

Hardest hit areas of New York are getting visits today from senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Teams of New York fir and police officers also rushing up today. A lot of farmland in and around Binghamton remains under several feet of water. Early estimates show the flood damage to one hospital alone could top $10 million.

New York Governor George Pataki also got an eyeful of the muddy waters. He says it will take weeks if not months to mop it all up. But he assures New Yorkers disaster aid will be coming their way.

CNN's Allan Chernoff is there in New York near Binghamton with more details -- Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. Just a few minutes ago I got off a helicopter. We rode with the governor and we took a look at the damage. And there certainly is some improvement. So the governor was very pleased to see that. Some roads and bridge that had been covered over by flood water are now clear.

However, severe damage remains, without a doubt. There were many homes that are simply surrounded by water. These homes have become islands unto themselves, essentially. And we did see a few swift boats going from house to house, National Guardsmen checking to make sure that no one is still stranded in these homes.

Also, many trucks have been flipped over by the floodwaters, and they're also just stranded, as well.

The roads, well, it's still a very tough situation. Within New York state, there are 64 portions of highway and bridges that remain shut down because of the floodwaters. Initially, a few days ago, the governor had estimated the damage would be about $10 million. Now, he's saying it's going to be far higher.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE PATAKI (R), NEW YORK GOVERNOR: It's got to be in the husbands of millions of dollars. When you look at all of the homes that have been lost, the businesses, of course the infrastructure, roads and bridges that have been washed out, it's got to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

But we'll do a thorough assessment. I'm sure that the federal government will work with us make sure that we get the disaster relief that we're entitled to. We're going to do everything we can to get the people back on their feet as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: In addition to asking for federal relief, the governor announced a state aid plan, $35 million. And that will amount to about $5,000 maximum for any individual who can prove flood damage, and trust me there will be thousands of people.

Kyra, one other very interesting note here. The governor announced legislation. He wants the legislature to pass a bill that will have New York state buy back any home along a body of water, anybody who wants to sell. And he says the state would like to see those areas return to the way they had been prior to being developed, prior to homes being built on that land -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Allan Chernoff, appreciate the report.

Well, Pennsylvanians also adding up costs, clearing debris and pumping out muddy water. An all too familiar frustration for those who have now experienced three floods in two years.

Pennsylvania's governor already has asked President Bush to declare half the state a disaster area.

CNN's Jason Carroll joins me from New Hope, just one community rolling up its sleeves.

Hey, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And there's going to be a lot of rolling up their sleeves down here in New Hope.

Some encourage news, as well. Take a look behind me. You can see the Delaware River, it's still surging. But not anything like it was yesterday. The river water levels are actually down three and a half feet. Those measurements may not mean much to people. Kyra, what that translates into is that areas that are dry today were flooded yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): Homes along the Delaware River, partially submerged. Businesses, too. In New Hope, Pennsylvania, its charming shops, bed and breakfasts under water.

STEVE EBERSOL, BUSINESS OWNER: This is about a 50-stall parking lot. And the fence over there is the border up to the river. And then there's a big bank that drops down to what usually is a very low running river.

CARROLL: Steve Ebersol owns this parking lot, this building and a bed and breakfast across the street.

EBERSOL: That water is trying to get into my basement, even though it's got walls. It's basically just spinning right through -- right through the concrete block and coming in.

CARROLL: The Delaware River crested Thursday evening, six feet above flood stage. And while its waters are supposed to steadily recede, there's still a lot of debris in the water, which is threatening the New Hope Bridge. It remains closed until further notice.

Emergency officials say most people here evacuated. The area has flooded many times before.

CHIEF HENRY PASQUALINI, NEW HOPE POLICE DEPARTMENT: We have become proficient with floods. This is our third flood in two years. And we will get the borough back and running, the business community back and running as soon as possible.

CARROLL: Further north, the Susquehanna River in the town of Wilkes-Barre receded pretty quickly. A relief to people living here and to the Army Corps of Engineers monitoring the levees.

(on camera) Are you surprised at all by the fact that the water has receded in this area so quickly?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I am. This crest, even as late as yesterday was predicted to stand for at least a day. We've already lost five or six feet.

CARROLL (voice-over): Emergency officials lifted the evacuation order in Wilkes-Barre but statewide, 34 counties were declared federal disaster areas.

GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: It's too soon to put a dollar figure on it. But in terms of loss of life, it looks like at least five lives, maybe six. In terms of loss of homes and properties and businesses and possessions and things that are dear to people, it's impossible to calculate.

CARROLL: Back in New Hope, disappointment among the Ebersols and other business owners at the loss before the Fourth of July holiday.

CHRISTINE EBERSOL, BUSINESS OWNER: I think it's really going to hurt the town. This is a shame. It's a great place.

CARROLL: A place still waiting for relief.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And relief has come, albeit slowly. But you can see some of the emergency crews that are still up there on the bridge, and at this point the bridge remains closed. Once again, we're still waiting to hear when that bridge will reopen.

But in terms of how things are looking right now, yesterday I could not have been standing here. Yesterday this parking lot that you saw in the story there, Kyra, you saw how it was filled with water. It's a dry parking lot today. So that's definitely some encouraging news here for the folks here in New Hope.

We're also hearing that by earlier afternoon, power should be back on for some of the residents here, some 300 businesses evacuated in New Hope. So some of emergency officials are telling us that they're hoping that some of the business people, some of the -- some of the residents who are also evacuated from their homes might be able to get back in as early as this evening. Most are expected to return sometime this weekend -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Jason Carroll, thanks so much.

Straight ahead, a president, a prime minister and the king. A high profile road trip so Japan's prime minister can pay homage to his American idol, that's right, Elvis Presley. Don't be a hound dog. Stick around.

Now, we know Koizumi is crazy for Elvis, but could he pass our trivia test? See if you can answer the question about the king. In the 1960s Elvis had a pet chimp named Scatter. Scatter had a reputation for what: A, drinking booze and accosting women; B, stealing Elvis's keys and wrecking cars; or C, stealing neighborhood dogs? No monkeying around. True. No trick question. We'll have the answer after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: All right. So what was Elvis's chimp Scatter known for? You guessed it, it's boozing, stealing. OK, I'm going to come right out, boozing it up and accosting women. Can you believe it? Scatter was crazy.

Well, Hope and Crosby had Rio, Morocco and Zanzibar. But President Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi took the road to Graceland. OK, they really took Air Force One, but you know what I mean. Global harmony doesn't get much more harmonic than this.

CNN's Elaine Quijano has the latest now from Memphis.

We just heard from the prime minister. He said this is his dream come true, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: My gosh, wasn't that fun? I guess surreal is really the best way to describe the whole experience here. But I can report to you this just in, the president and the prime minister have left the building. Actually, more accurately Graceland mansion, which is over my shoulder here.

The two leaders just wrapped up their tour a short time ago. And really, before they did, there was a chance for Prime Minister Koizumi, who needless to say is a huge Elvis fan, to do his own Elvis impersonation. He donned the glasses, did a little air guitar and then even before that he sung a few bars of his favorite -- he sang a few bars of his favorite song. "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You" is one of them.

But the trip here really is underscoring the close ties between these two leaders, President Bush and Japan's prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi. The president rarely gives these kind of personal tours and this kind of personal attention to world leaders.

But Koizumi, who is stepping down in September after five years on the job, really has been one of President Bush's closest allies in the war on terrorism.

Now, in addition, President Bush and Prime Minister Koizumi have a very close personal rapport as well. In fact, it was five years ago today, June 30th of 2001, at Camp David, that the two leaders first met at Camp David and actually bonded over a game of catch, a game, by the way, that we should mention, Kyra, their advisers advised against initially. But they threw protocol to the wind, if you will, decided they wanted to toss around a baseball, both men, of course, big baseball fans, as well. And that really set the tone for their relationship going forward.

Now they're off -- we just found out a short time ago they've made an unannounced stop. They're actually at the motel, the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and there's a civil rights museum there, as well. After that, we understand that they're going to be getting some Memphis barbecue. But that we just learned just a few minutes ago is an unscheduled stop, a stop that wasn't originally on their itinerary -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: Well, we've been lucky enough. We're going to talk with Nick Vergos, who's the owner of that restaurant. We're going to hear exactly what they're going to eat, including those barbecued nachos.

You're right about throwing protocol out the window. I mean, not just throwing a baseball around, but look at what we're seeing now. Now I'm hearing you've got some inside information about peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I mean, this is getting more and more strange as we go throughout the day, Elaine.

QUIJANO: Well, you know, the White House really wanted to make the prime minister have a unique experience. And this truly was a unique experience.

As the prime minister boarded Air Force One today, they had Elvis music playing on the overhead speakers and then on the menu for Air Force One, they had Elvis' favorite, of course, fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. And it was interesting, though, Kyra, is that we're told that neither the president, who you know is a big health nut, if you will, nor the prime minister actually had one.

But Josh Bolton, the president's chief of staff did, 36 grams of fat, we're told. And according to reporters who were there, he was apparently feeling it a little bit later on.

PHILLIPS: I can just imagine. Hey, you didn't get your hand on those glasses from the prime minister, did you?

QUIJANO: You know what, it's funny, when -- at the end of the tour they basically made some statements, very brief statements, and the prime minister's reaction, I mean, the only way to describe it is priceless.

He basically said, as you said at the very top, that it was like a dream come true and then he started to walk away, and we thought that was going to be the end of it. Well, then he puts on these glasses, not these very glasses but glasses kind of like this one and he stands there and he proceeds to hold court for a few more seconds, at which point the president very gently, but firmly, led him away, saying, "Come on. We've got to go. We've got to eat some barbecue now."

PHILLIPS: All right. I want to know how much those cost and where you got them. And you didn't get them from the prime minister? OK.

QUIJANO: No, no. They're mine.

PHILLIPS: All right. Elaine Quijano. OK. Very good.

All right, Elaine. We'll keep checking in, see what the latest news is there from Graceland.

You can't talk Elvis or Memphis without the topic of food. So coming up, it's no wonder lunch is a key factor and feature, as you heard Elaine say, as the president hosts the prime minister on this special trip to Graceland. But no fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches on the lunch menu. The venue for the vittles is the world famous Rendezvous Restaurant.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VERGOS, OWNER, RENDEZVOUS RESTAURANT: We're going to serve them ribs and chicken and shells (ph). And we're going to put cheese and sauerkraut (ph), famous Rendezvous cheese plate, and barbecued nachos on the table. Sop that will be there when they get there.

QUIJANO (voice-over): Rendezvous owner Nick Vergos says the White House is only asking the restaurant to close for lunch to cater to the president's party of 60.

VERGOS: Last night we served over 1,300 people last night. So a little party of 60 is not that big of a deal.

QUIJANO: They'll use the same ingredients but mix that with Graceland, and it's a recipe for any king, prime minister, or president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, if the prime minister really likes the ribs, he's in luck. The Rendezvous will deliver via Memphis based FedEx. Now we are going to talk with Nick, the owner of that restaurant, live coming up in the hour.

Well, on the launch pad ready for liftoff, but will weather keep Space Shuttle Discovery grounded? LIVE FROM heads for Kennedy Space Center right after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: How do you stop a tiger? Well, fire crews in Arizona are doing what they can against a blaze that started yesterday and promptly swelled to 2,500 acres. It's called the Tiger Fire, Prescott National Forest. That's 50 miles northwest of Phoenix.

Because of the rugged terrain, firefighters are being flown in by helicopter now. Like many of the other wildfires plaguing Arizona and other parts of the west, the Tiger fire is blamed on a lightning strike.

A major proposal from GM's biggest investor has the potential to radically reshape the auto industry. Susan Lisovicz has that story live from the New York Stock Exchange.

Hey, Susan.

(STOCK REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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