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Three-Alarm Fire Near Sacramento; Trial Resumes for Coca-Cola Conspiracy Case; Big Lottery Win for Indiana Factory Workers

Aired July 11, 2006 - 15:30   ET

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

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KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Fire in California, Betty Nguyen working all the developments on it, Betty.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, take a look at these pictures Kyra, coming in to us from Roseville, California which is near Sacramento. Look at this fire, it's at the Roseville Square. You can tell this is kind of a shopping center, square-like area. The fire is coming out of the Ross Store there, a department store. It doesn't appear there's anybody inside, obviously, so far we know of no injuries, but this is a three-alarm fire. and you can see why right there. Lots of smoke coming from that department store.

There are several fire units on the scene, you see the hoses being worked both from the top of the building and through the front door it appears. Good news though, no one injured at this point. But this is a pretty big fire, a three alarm fire at the shopping center. It's originating inside the Ross Store, pretty amazing pictures coming from our affiliate KCRA from Sacramento. And of course, we will stay on top of this story for you Kyra and bring you any developments, should they be warranted.

PHILLIPS: Alright, thanks Betty. Well was it the real thing? Prosecutors say, yes and plan on showing why today in the Coca-Cola conspiracy caper. Joya Williams, an administrative assistant at Coke headquarters in Atlanta, is charged with trying to pedal secrets to arch rival Pepsi. She and her two alleged accomplices are back in federal court today for a hearing. Our Rusty Dornin on the case. She joins me with the latest. I know you just got back from there, but first give us a little back haul and bring your viewers up to date on what happened.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, sometime in early May, it turns out that one of the three suspects, Ibrahim Dimson sent a letter to Pepsi saying I am a high-level executive at Coke and I've got some secrets I can share with you, let's talk. So they sent a letter to Pepsi and Pepsi immediately notifies Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola in turn notifies the FBI.

The FBI starts a whole under cover operation, where it begins meeting with one of these suspects, alleging that they claim that they had all these documents that Coca-Cola says were real top secret documents. One of the executive assistant, who was apparently to a top level executive, she, according to the affidavit, was videotaped stuffing document into a bag and a little bottle of what's supposed to be a new product and that is all put in another Armani bag and then the FBI agents and one of the suspects meet at the Atlanta Airport and they exchange an Armani bag and a girl scout book of cookies full of $30,000 in cash.

So after this goes on for a few weeks, they did arrest them on July 5th and in court today there was supposed to be a preliminary hearing, but they just skipped that. The grant jury did hand down an indictment of all three on conspiracy charges for theft of trade secrets, possessing, selling, that sort of thing of trade secrets.

PHILLIPS: Alright, so two questions, did this administrative assistant and these other two that were involved, did they actually have the secret recipe? Did they have these documents?

DORNIN: No, if you are talking about the recipe for Coke, no, Coke has said that's not what they had. There's a new product, that they referred to as project N. And that is all that is said.

PHILLIPS: We don't know what project N is?

DORNIN: No, you're not going to know because the Coke attorneys did have the judge agree to a confidentiality agreement or order so that the suspects are not allowed to talk in public about what was involved in these secrets, they can only talk to their attorneys. And also all of the documents, the court documents will be redacted, and that means when you have those big black marks through it and that will be all the trade secrets.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. Well, it was really big of Pepsi to make a phone call immediately and say, hey, look you've got some employees that are ....

DORNIN: At this point though, that's something they had to do in terms of corporate, it was too big a chance they would have had to take in something like this, and at this point, when it comes to trade secrets, a lot of times they are on the same team these days because they know how vulnerable they can be.

PHILLIPS: And they're both successful companies. Now this administrative assistant, how did she now these other two? How were the three all connected?

DORNIN: Well, it's just coming out, as a matter of fact, in court today. I just heard from my producer who's in court right now and he said that the wife of one of the suspects is up on the stand and she's talking about how the three of them have known each other for a long time. The two men who do have prior records, were in prison together and that's how they became friends. And then the wife of one of them became friends with this Joya Williams, who was the executive at Coke. And it turns out one of them is definitely still in prison until trial. The judge determined that he could be a danger to the community. The other one Edmund Duhaney, who is from the Atlanta area, they are arguing now about whether he should be detained or granted bond.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile the famous Coke recipe is still under wraps, still classified?

DORNIN: Right.

PHILLIPS: Alright Rusty Dornin, thanks so much. Well, we will get back to our top story now this afternoon, we where talking about plenty of condemnation but no claim of responsibility yet in today's horrifying string of explosions in Mumbai. No fewer than eight explosions hit commuter trains and platforms in the Indian metropolis formerly known as Bombay. More than 140 people are dead, hundreds more are hurt. The blasts left mangled wreckage and body parts. And they've put major cities across India on alert.

New York City has beefed up transit security as well, adding police and random searches. Now residents of India have seen their share of deadly attacks, but this is one of the worst in recent memory. CNN's Tim Lister with a time line of the terror.

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TIM LISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was the evening rush hour in India's commercial capitol. In the space of a few minutes, a series of explosions tore apart crowded trains, all of them heading out of one of the city's main rail stations. Passenger leapt in terror from moving trains. Jagged holes were punched into carriages. Panic and chaos as fellow travelers and bystanders tried to rescue the injured. But many were beyond help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Limbs lying everywhere, dead bodies secured by the local business people, who ran out of their shops to clear the dead bodies from the tracks and the platforms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a blast in the first class mail compartment and that's the place where the explosive was kept.

LISTER: The dazed sat bloodied on platforms. Anger mixed with shock. The number of dead climbed quickly into three figures, heavy rain hampering rescue efforts. All together seven explosions on local trains in what police say was a well-coordinated attack. Another bomb was diffused.

Mumbai has seen plenty of terrorism before. The worst previous attack coming in 1993 when at least 250 people were killed. In March of this year, 15 people were killed and 60 wounded in explosions at a Hindu pilgrimage in northern India. But the scale of these bombings dwarfs recent terrorist attacks in India from the government and appeal for calm.

SHIVRAJ PATIL, INDIAN HOME MINISTER: The citizens of Mumbai have faced similar trauma more than a decade ago. I am confident that the people of this great city have the will and courage to face this situation and will stand firm in their resolve to carry out their normal activities without succumbing to threats of terror.

LISTER: And the question remains, who had the ability to carry out such an ambitious attack. Indian intelligence officials suspect a militant Islamic group based in Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba. Although banned in Pakistan, the group is often blamed for attacks in India. And just six weeks ago, Indian officials complained to Pakistan that it needed to do more to crack down on militant groups.

President Musharraf of Pakistan quickly condemned the Mumbai attacks, but the scale of these bombings is expected to complicate peace efforts between the two countries. Tim Lister, CNN, Atlanta.

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PHILLIPS: News keeps coming, we'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM coming up next.

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PHILLIPS: Well, he was a rock legend, one of many tagged with the title troubled genius. Syd Barrett, co-founder of Pink Floyd has died. He is third from the right in this old publicity shot. Barrett left the group in 1968, five years before its biggest success, "Dark Side of the Moon." Still the band calls him its guiding light and made sure he always got his royalties. Barrett spent the last decades of his life in seclusion in his native Cambridge, England. Syd Barrett was 60-years-old

Well in the 1940s and the 50s, she was the girl next door. She also played the loving wife in movies alongside Jimmy Stewart or Van Johnson. June Allyson got her start in musicals here singing with Harry James. Her petite frame and raspy voice set her apart. Her daughter says Allyson died Saturday at her home in California of lung failure and acute bronchitis after a long illness. June Allyson was 88.

Well she calls herself a "D-List" celebrity and loves to throw stones at the "A-List," but life isn't always funny for Kathy Griffin. She and her husband Matt co-star in her reality T.V. show, but in real reality the marriage is over. Griffin sat down with CNN's Larry King last night to talk about it.

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KATHY GRIFFIN, COMEDIAN: My ex-husband without my knowledge was sneaking into my wallet when I was asleep in the mornings and taking my ATM cards of my own private accounts and withdrawing money that I didn't know about and that money totaled $72,000. And he was doing it systematically over about a year and a half.

KING: He knew your password?

GRIFFIN: Yes.

KING: Why didn't he just ask you?

GRIFFIN: I don't know.

KING: I mean you're in a marriage. He can't ask you for $72,000?

GRIFFIN: I don't know.

KING: What did he say when confronted?

GRIFFIN: He admitted it and apologized and then I kind of embarked on a whole journey about, can we fix this marriage? We went to couple therapy. I really wanted to make it work. And then recently our divorce became final and unfortunately we won't be able to get beyond the trust issue.

KING: Was that the reason or was that the straw?

GRIFFIN: I think that was the reason and then the trust issue is kind of ever present when something like that happens.

KING: How did you find out?

GRIFFIN: I got a call from my business manager and they got a call from the bank.

KING: Why did he need the money?

GRIFFIN: You know I really don't know.

KING: What does he do for a living?

GRIFFIN: Computer IT person.

KING: Makes a good living?

GRIFFIN: OK, I think, you know.

KING: Also, by the way, someone in the business in a year and a half $72,000 doesn't sound like a lot.

GRIFFIN: Yes.

KING: I mean you're doing all these in person shots and television shows and everything. One would imagine you could afford $72,000.

GRIFFIN: Yes but it's a lot of money to have, you know, taken from you.

KING: Stolen.

GRIFFIN: And, also you know it's -- I work hard to earn that money and, you know I love what I do and stuff and so it's -- it's a tough thing to get beyond.

KING: So you couldn't forgive him?

GRIFFIN: Well, we sure tried. We sure tried.

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PHILLIPS: And you can join Larry King and his guest every night on CNN at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Tomorrow night his exclusive with Dan Rather.

Out of a job, but definitely not out of luck. Nine lottery winners we can all cheer for next on LIVE FROM.

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PHILLIPS: Well, a bad bust equals big bucks in South Carolina. Remember this surveillance tape from 2003? Take a look. It's that raid at Stratford High School in the town of Goose Creek. Police converged with guns drawn and ordered about 140 students to stop and drop while a dog sniffed them for illegal drugs. No drugs found, no arrests made. The kids may have hit the floor but their parents hit the roof. Now a federal judge says the school district and the cops better start peeling off the bills. The class action settlement will award $6,000-to-$12,000 to each wronged high schooler.

Late last night, the Colorado legislature passed a package of bills said to be the toughest in the nation on illegal immigrants. Anyone receiving state or federal aid must first prove his or her legal residency. Other measures include a requirement that businesses verify that all employees are legal in that country. Colorado's governor is expected to sign the legislation.

Nine players, $9 million. It may not be the biggest lottery win, but for workers in an Indiana factory, that is about to be shut down, it's big enough. Reporter Pam Elliot of CNN affiliate WISH-TV has the details.

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PAM ELLIOT, WISH-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ralph and Denise Flesher couldn't wait to see confirmation that they were, indeed, $265,000 richer.

DENISE FLESHER, HUSBAND WON LOTTERY: He came home last week and he said, "I gave my last $30 for the lottery." And I just never gave it another thought.

ELLIOT: Since 1989, a group of Delphi workers out of Anderson has played the lottery every week. Some of the faces have changed. In fact, Ralph is rather new to the group.

RALPH FLESHER, LOTTERY WINNER: I wasn't in the whole time because I replaced one of the guys who retired. So I have now only been playing a year and a half with this group.

ELLIOT (on camera): Wow.

R. FLESHER: Yes, it's exactly right.

ELLIOT: How lucky are you?

R. FLESHER: Apparently pretty lucky.

ELLIOT (voice-over): Pretty lucky because Ralph is part of what's being called the Delphi Lucky 9. One member is on vacation. The rest appeared at Hoosier lottery headquarters to claim their prize money, $9 million before taxes.

Dick Quinn spoke on behalf of the group.

DICK QUINN, LOTTERY WINNER: I could hardly talk. I told my wife, I said, look. We looked at it and we couldn't believe it, so we waited about 12:00 and checked the computer again, and it was true.

ELLIOT: What's significant about their win is the timing. The group won't be playing the lottery together again. With the Delphi plant in Anderson closing, they scatter. Most of them have been forced to retire early. Ralph plans to work for G.M., but he and his wife don't know where he will end up.

D. FLESHER: I am glad he gave that last $30. So yes, it's been great, it's a real blessing.

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PHILLIPS: Well the Delphi 9 chose to take the lotto's cash option, worth $3.7 million, or worth $370,000 a share before taxes.

It was a special arrival that delighted a California aquarium. A sea lion named Kona gave birth to a pup on Memorial Day weekend. You can imagine the shock and sadness when both were found dead 10 days ago. Now the Aquarium at the Pacific says improper care is to blame. Two workers have resigned after an investigation found they didn't keep mom and baby cool on a hot day. Both animals died of heat exhaustion.

Time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. He's standing by in "THE SIT ROOM" to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour. Hey, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Kyra, thanks very much. Do today's deadly attacks in India mean any increased security risk right here in the United States? At least one major U.S. city stepping up security precautions right now. We will be live in both countries with the latest on this important story. Plus, President Bush is enjoying some good economic numbers today, but gas prices are topping $3 a gallon in several U.S. cities right now. Is political trouble looming?

And new protections for detainees in U.S. military custody. I'll speak with Senator Dick Durbin who's just returned from Guantanamo Bay. All that, Kyra, coming up right here at the top of the hour in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

PHILLIPS: We will be watching, thanks Wolf. The closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

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PHILLIPS: All right, ladies, forewarned is forearmed. A British publisher has released a list of top international pickup lines to help the savvy traveler avoid those continental casanovas. Steal yourselves, if you can, to these honeyed words. Was your father a thief because he stole the star from the sky and put them in your eyes. Didn't it hurt when you fell from heaven? You must be tired because you've been running through my mind all day.

I think we forgot to provide all the crackers with that cheese. Susan Lisovicz, the closing bell about to ring on Wall Street. Do you remember the worst pickup line?

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