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India Blasts Kill At Least 145; The Cost of Caregiving

Aired July 11, 2006 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's been about six hours since a series of deadly explosions put India on high alert. And the death toll keeps rising. The blast struck the city of Mumbai, formerly know as Bombay. They shattered commuter trains and stations, and killed, by last count, at least 145 people. More than 300 others are hurt.
Jency Jacob of our Indian sister network got a firsthand look. I spoke to him earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENCY JACOB, CNN-IBN CORRESPONDENT: I was traveling on this train, moving toward my home, when this train stopped between two stations because of a huge explosion that took place.

For some time, people were all shocked, because they did not know what has hit them. But, after that, people started jumping out of the train and running helter and skelter.

When I jumped out of the train, I saw that one of the first-class compartments -- this is the main compartment -- was totally blown to pieces because of the -- the major explosion that took place.

And it -- it was a scene that -- that can never be forgotten, because people were lying on the tracks, lying inside the compartment. There were blood all around. People were really not able to comprehend what has hit them.

In fact, many people died on the spot at that time. And it's after some time when we realized that it's not just this train that was hit by an explosion, but there were at least seven or eight places, that it was a serial blast, a well-coordinated terror network that took place, that -- that -- that ensured that all these blasts took place at 10 to 15 minutes duration with each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, no claims of responsibility yet. Islamic militants based in Pakistan have been blamed for previous attacks in India.

"TIME" magazine South Asia correspondent Alex Perry joins me on the phone with more.

We have talked about that group out of Pakistan, Alex. You have also talked about the radical group of students based in India. Tell us what you know to this point. ALEX PERRY, "TIME" MAGAZINE SOUTH ASIA CORRESPONDENT: It's still the same, that -- that -- that there's still been no claim of responsibility. Nobody has said they have carried these attacks out.

But, still, all fingers are pointing to -- to -- to the Lashkar- e-Tayyaba, the Pakistani group, and SIMI, the Indian radical Muslim student group.

(INAUDIBLE) students. These are -- these are -- you know, the -- the -- I have -- I have met one or two of these guys before. These are professional militants. The -- the -- the guy that I met was 54 years old. So, it would be wrong to think of them as -- as youths. These are -- these are hardened, professional militants.

PHILLIPS: So -- and you have been talking with your sources within Indian intelligence; is that right, Alex?

PERRY: That's right, yes.

PHILLIPS: And -- and what goes -- how do they go forward from here? You have probably heard the news that, back here in the United States, even New York is beefing -- beefing up security around public transit.

But, if, indeed, this is something that is just solely based against the Hindu people, with these Muslim extremist groups, it sort of changes the story a bit.

PERRY: It does. And it makes it a rather -- unfortunately, a rather old story in India. This has been going on for decades, if not centuries, in India, the -- the -- the Hindu-Muslim divide. It's just that, today, you know, much more modern methods are employed.

How does the Indian security forces take it forward? Well, I think they continue with they are doing, which is, they have an excellent surveillance network. They are very good at electronic eavesdropping and so son. But, in a sense, it's very -- they -- they are limited to what they can do. India is a nation of a billion people.

There are several cities bigger than 15 million people. There's simply no way to control that sort of massive population. You -- you -- you can't put all these commuters through some kind of electronic metal detector. So, they -- they do what they, but, actually, their -- their first job right now is -- is to try and prevent any Hindu backlash against the Muslim community.

PHILLIPS: And -- and what type of Hindu backlash could we see? What have you seen in the past?

PERRY: Well, for instance, in 2002, there was an attack on a train in Gujarat, where 58 Hindus were killed.

And that attack was blamed on Muslims, although it's still unclear today whether it was actually Muslims. But, immediately afterwards, there was basically a pogrom in Gujarat. Hindus took to the streets with the -- well, perhaps, sometimes with the encouragement of the security forces. Other times, the security forces simply stood by.

But 2,000 Muslims were killed in about four days. I mean, the whole, you know -- Gujarat erupted. Women were -- were disemboweled on the streets. So, you know, that kind of thing is a -- is a -- is a very real prospect. And that's what the security forces will be focusing on right now.

PHILLIPS: That's interesting, because, here in the United States, we think so much about the terrorist threats by insurgents and al Qaeda. And we forget about these other terrorist organizations in other parts of the country.

Alex Perry with "TIME" magazine, doing an incredible job for us today, Alex, thank you so much for helping us push this story forward.

PERRY: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Severe weather alert -- let's get to straight to meteorologist Jacqui Jeras for more -- Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we have got a tornado warning, Kyra, in Essex County.

This is extreme eastern parts of Massachusetts right here, and it does include the city of Gloucester. Trained weather spotters reported a funnel cloud near the Topsfield area. That's moving up the north and to the east around 25 miles per hour.

There, you can see a little bit of a hook indication on our radar. That is a good sign that there is rotation within this cell -- so, a very dangerous situation.

A couple of cities I want to mention in the path of this storm, Ipswich, Essex, Gloucester, and then also the northwestern part of the Rockport area -- so, Essex County under a tornado warning -- trained spotters actually seen funnel clouds -- so, a very dangerous situation.

You need to be taking shelter right now. The whole area is under a severe thunderstorm watch. We think this is probably a pretty issue situation. But, keep in mind, large hail and damaging winds could be rolling through the area again later on this afternoon. The watch is in effect until 8:00 Eastern time tonight -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, thanks, Jacqui. We will stay in touch with you.

JERAS: Mmm-hmm.

PHILLIPS: Let's get to the newsroom -- Betty Nguyen working a developing story -- Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra, take a look at this video that we have just coming in to CNN now live. This is the Senate Judiciary Committee. It looks like they are kind of wrapping up. But look at the bottom portion of the screen. You see two people there in an orange jumpsuit. Well, these are protesters who have stormed in. And one of those signs there you can't see from this vantage point. But what it says is, "Close Gitmo," the Guantanamo base where prisoners are being held there in Cuba.

Now, obviously, they are in protest of -- of the prisoners being held there today.

And I am just being told in my ear that this Judiciary Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, was hearing about detainees. That's what the hearing was dealing with today. So, this is in response to that. You see the protesters still standing there, very silently. It's not a violent protest at all, but, obviously, getting their message across to these senators, which many of them have already cleared out of the room at this point.

So, what they're doing is basically -- yes, you can see there highlighted in the sign on the back of that person that is holding it, saying "Close Gitmo."

Now, I don't know. It almost looks like that they, if I look closer, like they have hoods on, black hoods on -- well, we have lost the picture now -- on -- on their heads -- so, obviously,some protests going on today in Washington at the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was holding hearings about Gitmo, the very thing that those protesters were there to protest against -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Betty, thanks.

We have been talking about those rules change, of course, throughout the day at Gitmo -- the Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, until today, though, it's been uncommon, to the point of nonexistence, for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay.

CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre joins us now.

Jamie, I don't know if you had a chance to see those live pictures, but, obviously, it was expected to see some type of protest on how Gitmo detainees are treated there, and the lawsuits that have been taking place. And, of course, now, finally, we are hearing about the developments of these new rules under Geneva connection (sic).

Once again, we have got live pictures there from where the committee was meeting. And, as we continue to follow these live pictures, we might get another shot of these protesters.

Jamie, you can bring us up to date about what exactly these new rules will mean for these detainees.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, first of all, the Senate Judiciary Committee was not considering the question of whether Guantanamo Bay should be closed, although some senators also expressed the opinion that it is time to close Guantanamo, because it's creating such a negative image for the United States around the world.

The hearing itself was focused more on the procedures for trying suspected terror suspects, and the fact that the Supreme Court ruled the plan under the Bush administration un -- essentially illegal, and told them to go back to the drawing board. And that's, ostensibly, what this hearing was about.

As you said, the -- the Pentagon today announced that it would, almost reluctantly, be extending some very limited Geneva Convention protections to all detainees, based on the ruling by the Supreme Court that this Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention applies to terror suspects in the war with al Qaeda.

The language we're talking about bars outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment. And that's something that the Justice Department argued today before Congress was simply too broad a definition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE BRADBURY, ACTING ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, OFFICE OF LEGAL COUNSEL, U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT; It is susceptible to interpretation. It is clearly a vague term.

It is basically the same term, the "inhuman and degrading treatment" term, that caused Congress to take a reservation to the Convention Against Torture, because of the uncertainty as to how that term might be interpreted by foreign tribunals, for example.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Nevertheless, a memo issued today by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England makes a matter of DOD policy that that one provision, not all the provisions of the Geneva Conventions, but that one will apply to everyone, as a matter of DOD policy.

On Capitol Hill, a lot of criticism of the fact that the Bush administration came up with these plans for military tribunals that didn't pass legal muster. Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, a vocal critic of the administration, said, essentially, the administration had wasted the last five years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: In the last five years, there have been no trials and no convictions of any of the detainees. And no one has been brought to justice through these commissions. Instead, precious time, effort and resources have been wasted.

Remember what I said: five years, no trials, no convictions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: The heart of this debate, really, is how much due process to give to terror suspects. The court said, for instance, that they could be tried in military court-martials. But the problem with that is that, the Pentagon argues, that would essentially make soldiers in the field into police officers, who have to collect evidence and protect crime scenes. They are looking for something that they think is a little more reasonable, but will still resolve the deficiencies that the Supreme Court said was in the proposed process -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jamie McIntyre, thanks so much.

Chilling words, unspeakable crimes, but, unless John Evander Couey takes the stand, jurors at his murder, rape and kidnapping trial won't hear about any of it from him.

Now, Mark Lunsford relies on evidence and his faith in the system to win justice for his daughter, Jessica.

CNN's John Zarrella has the latest from Miami -- John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: Hi there, Kyra.

Well, that's exactly right. The jury selection began yesterday and is now in the second day of jury selection in Lake County, Florida. It moved pretty slowly yesterday. Today, the paced picked up a little bit. But, as of noon today, as that lunch break during the selection process, they had gone through about 31 potential jurors. Twenty of those potential jurors were dismissed.

You can see there John Evander Couey as he sat in the courtroom today. Those 21 were dismissed for various reasons, primarily for hardship or for pre-trial publicity. Obviously, many people around the nation and around the world have heard the national -- international broadcasts of John Couey's confession to the crime.

But, in court, if they are selected, these jurors will not hear it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA (voice-over): Hate is not a strong enough emotion for Mark Lunsford.

MARK LUNSFORD, FATHER OF JESSICA LUNSFORD: It's worse than that, but how do you describe that? What words do you use?

ZARRELLA: Lunsford's 9-year-old girl, Jessica, was murdered. Her body was found buried outside a mobile home in Inverness, Florida, about 100 yards from where she lived.

This man, a convicted sex offender, John Evander Couey, confessed to the killing. It seemed like an airtight case.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JOHN EVANDER COUEY, DEFENDANT: I went out there one night and dug a hole, and put her in it, buried her. (INAUDIBLE) I put her in a plastic bag, plastic baggies.

UNIDENTIFIED DETECTIVE: Was she dead already?

COUEY: No, she was still alive. I buried her alive.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Police found Jessica's body buried outside the mobile home where Couey was living. She was clutching a stuffed dolphin. Couey admitted to letting her bring it when he kidnapped her.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED DETECTIVE: Where's her dolphin at?

COUEY: In there, buried with her.

UNIDENTIFIED DETECTIVE: In the bag with her?

COUEY: Yes, sir. I let her keep it. She wanted to take it with her.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Couey's words are chilling. But they will not be heard in court by the jury. Just over a week ago, as Couey sat for a pretrial hearing in a Citrus County courtroom, the judge threw out the confession. Couey had asked for an attorney, but did not get one.

JUDGE RIC HOWARD, CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA, CIRCUIT COURT: This is a material and a profound violation of one of the most bedrock principles of criminal law.

ZARRELLA: Detectives from Citrus County had gone to interview Couey in Augusta, Georgia, where he was picked up. On tape, he is heard repeatedly to have an attorney present.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED DETECTIVE: John, would you take a lie-detector test for us?

COUEY: I guess. I want a lawyer.

UNIDENTIFIED DETECTIVE: I'm just asking. I'm just asking. Would you? I'm not saying now. I'm just saying, would you?

COUEY: I said I would. I just want to talk to a lawyer. I want a lawyer here present.

UNIDENTIFIED DETECTIVE: OK.

COUEY: I want to talk to a lawyer. I mean, if people are trying to accuse something I didn't do. I didn't do it. I ain't, you know...

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Jessica's father believes, even without the confession, Couey will be convicted.

LUNSFORD: I don't care. I'm confident in the system. I'm confident in -- in the prosecuting attorneys.

ZARRELLA: Citrus County's sheriff, whose detectives conducted the Couey interview, insists there is still more than enough evidence to convict Couey.

JEFFREY DAWSY, CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA, SHERIFF: Yes, we would have liked to have the confession go in. But, as I have told you guys privately and publicly, that was not what I would say the rock part of this case. It is the evidence we have collected.

ZARRELLA: So, what evidence do prosecutors have? Law enforcement sources tell us -- quote -- "There is more than enough blood and DNA evidence to convict him" -- end quote.

Reports from crime scene investigators describe the search of Couey's bedroom in the trailer. They found blood on the bed sheets and mattress, palm prints, possibly Jessica's, on the glass door of the entertainment center, an empty VHS movie sleeve, "Curly Top," a kid's movie starring Shirley Temple, a pair of Couey's jeans with possible blood on them.

Investigators also removed an entire west wall of the bedroom closet, looking for prints and evidence. Couey had said in his confession that he kept Jessica in the closet.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

COUEY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED DETECTIVE: Well -- well, we already showed up?

COUEY: It was like -- yes, it was like three days or something like that she stayed in the closet, where I was feeding her. You know, I wouldn't let her starve, gave her water and stuff like that.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: The judge's action and the lost confession may actually help the state if Couey is convicted, says a former federal prosecutor.

KENDALL COFFEY, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: He's not just assuring a fair trial for John Couey; he is eliminating huge potential delays through years and years of appellate processes.

ZARRELLA: If Couey is convicted, prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA: Now, jury selection is going on in Lake County. That's a neighboring county. But, once this jury is selected, they will actually be bussed over to Citrus County, which is where the -- the crime was committed, and they will be put up in hotel rooms there, sequestered for the duration of the -- the testimony -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You know, this -- this story has been all over the headlines, and, of course, the country. What do you think? Even with change of venue, how difficult do you think it's going to be able to find an jury that is impartial?

ZARRELLA: Right. It is -- it is going to be difficult, has been difficult already -- the judge acknowledging that yesterday.

We originally thought it might take a day or two, at most, to seat a jury. But it is now likely that, at best, it may be Thursday before we have opening statements in Citrus County.

They have done their -- in fact, the -- the prosecutors have already asked, again, and defense is talking again about a change of venue, moving the trial. But the judge went ahead and denied that.

The best he's doing is picking the jurors -- jurors from a different county, and then going to bus them in, but -- but we are still finding that it's very difficult to find people who are going to be impartial, haven't heard all about this, or heard the confession -- so, not easy, no question about it -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We will follow it all.

Thanks, John.

He went to Afghanistan as a soldier twice. He came home to find out that he was losing his job as a teacher.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPTAIN JOHN PARKER, U.S. ARMY RESERVE: It just made me feel that the people that I was fighting for were the exact people that were taking my job away from me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: When LIVE FROM continues: one soldier's battle to get back in the classroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, casino excitement from the comfort of home could become a thing of the past. The House passes a bill to ban the use of credit cards to pay for online bets.

Online betting has mushroomed into a multibillion-dollar industry. It's already illegal to gamble online, but the bill would give law enforcement the authority to block access to gambling sites. Much of the online betting business is set up outside the U.S., but about half of bettors live somewhere inside the U.S. -- live pictures from the floor once again.

Do we have those tallies on the numbers? Three hundred and seventeen in favor of this, 93 against -- there you go. Got the numbers up there live.

Well, more NATO doesn't mean less U.S. in Afghanistan -- that's the message Donald Rumsfeld delivered to Afghan Position Hamid Karzai today on his unannounced visit to Kabul. U.S.-led coalition forces will give way to NATO troops later this month in southern Afghanistan, where clashes against the Taliban are on the rise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Well, I think, if you look at the number of terrorists and Taliban and al Qaeda that are being killed every month, it would be hard for them to say that -- that the coalition forces and the Afghan security forces were losing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Karzai says his country still needs the protection the United States offers.

Coming home for more, getting out of uniform, back to normal life, fighting for his job -- the last part isn't supposed to be part of the equation, but a teacher by trade in Tennessee is being told that he no longer has a place in his former school system.

Details now from Jennifer Kraus of CNN affiliate WTVF.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER KRAUS, WTVF REPORTER (voice-over): Like so many soldiers who have helped fight the war on terror, Captain John Parker put his life on the line every day while he was deployed in Afghanistan.

CAPTAIN JOHN PARKER, U.S. ARMY RESERVE: Well, I signed up to serve my country.

KRAUS: And serve he did, which is why he was so shocked at how he was treated when he came back home to Wilson County.

PARKER: It just made me feel that the people that I was fighting for were the exact people that were taking my job away from me.

KRAUS: You see, Parker is not just a soldier. He's also a teacher who taught criminal justice to high school students and helped coach the school wrestling team, before he was sent to the Middle East with the Army Reserves.

PARKER: I just told all the kids that, hey, I'm going to be going, and I will be back.

KRAUS: And he went back to Wilson Central High School after his first yearlong tour in Afghanistan. And, after a second tour of duty there, he expected to return to the classroom again.

(on camera): And Parker should have had no problem going back to work, thanks to a federal law that protects soldiers just like him, and guarantees that, when they come home from their deployment, they will get their old jobs back for at least a year.

(voice-over): But just one month after Parker went back to work, the Wilson County school system told him his teaching contract was not being renewed and he was out of a job.

JIM DUNCAN, DIRECTOR, WILSON COUNTY SCHOOLS: He was not fired.

KRAUS: Dr. Jim Duncan maintains it was because there just weren't enough students signed up for Parker's class.

DUNCAN: I mean, it was like, we have got these classes going, and you are supposed to be the teacher.

KRAUS: But Duncan admits he also had problems with Parker being sent to Afghanistan not once, but twice.

(on camera): So, you are saying his teaching position should have been his priority?

DUNCAN: Firmly, yes.

KRAUS (voice-over): But, again, it doesn't matter what he thinks. The law is very clear. In fact, in this document put out by the National School Boards Association, it's right there in black and white, that a soldier's job is protected when he's called to service.

Despite the law, though, the director of schools still feels that, when class started, instead of being on the battlefield, Parker should have been in the classroom.

DUNCAN: Could he have said something to his superiors, "Look, I really need to get back there; if everything was equal, I need to get back there January the 3rd, because that's when my class starts, and I need to be with those kids for the full semester"?

GARY BLACKBURN, ATTORNEY FOR CAPTAIN JOHN PARKER: He chose to risk his life. He didn't choose to risk his job.

KRAUS: Parker's lawyer says what happened to Parker is not the way someone who has honorably served his country should be treated.

BLACKBURN: People who are willing to leave their homes, go to strange environments, endure personal hardship and threats of death should not be punished when they return home for their sacrifice. It's -- it's wrong.

PARKER: Well, I just feel that it's an injustice.

KRAUS: Parker says he loves his country and his job teaching, and he doesn't think it was fair to make him choose between the two. PARKER: Well, it's pretty hard to believe in a place, you know, in a country where -- where we are out there fighting for liberty, that -- that, you know, those same things are not being given back to us when we come back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And thanks again to Jennifer Kraus of Nashville affiliate WTVF.

Now, Parker filed a lawsuit against the Wilson County School Board, claiming it broke the law had and violated his rights. We are going to follow that case.

Your plant is about to shut down, and your jobs disappear. What are are you going to do?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He came home last week and he said, "I gave my last $30 for the lottery," and I just -- I never gave it another thought.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, here's some lottery winners we can all cheer for -- coming up on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, his doctor says there's reason for hope, though there may be tough days ahead. Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner, is suffering what doctors call potentially serious complications to his badly hurt leg.

Over the weekend, surgeons replaced a titanium plate and treated an infection in the leg that Barbaro shattered in the Preakness Stakes in May. Yesterday, they put a new cast, the fourth change in a week.

Having to care for older family members is becoming a more common problem for American workers, not to mention their employers.

Susan Lisovicz, live from the New York Stock Exchange, with that story.

Hey, Susan.

(MARKET REPORT)

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