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Ebbers Gets 25 Years in Prison; London Bombing Suspects Investigated

Aired July 13, 2005 - 11:30   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at what's happening "Now in the News." Residents are evacuating 30 cabins in Arizona after a mountain fire jumped a containment line. It's burned about 4,500 acres. Firefighters almost had a ring around the blaze, but gusty winds caused it to flare up. 700 crew members are now battling that fire.
Investigators are updating Congress this morning -- actually, this hour, about allegations of prisoner abuse at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They're telling a Senate committee about their findings, which are reported to include three violations of the Geneva Covention. Senators say investigators wanted the prison's former commander reprimanded, but that recommendation was blocked apparently by a general.

"Time" magazine reporter Matt Cooper testified before a Grand Jury this morning into CIA leak probe. Cooper agreed to appear only after his source released him from a pledge of confidentiality. That source has been revealed in Cooper's e-mail as presidential adviser Karl Rove. Rove's attorney denies his client identified the CIA operative by name.

And it will put many of America's favorite consumer brands under one big corporate umbrella. Shareholders have approved the $57 billion Procter & Gamble/Gillette merger. That deal still needs approval from U.S. and E.U. regulators.

Discovery is poised to mark NASA's first mission to since Columbia and that disaster of 2003. We're looking at live pictures there, just a moment ago. These are pictures that came in just a few minutes ago. The crew loading up, suiting up, getting ready to go on board. That crew is scheduled to head for the launchpad about -- well, about a half hour from now. Liftoff is set for this afternoon at 3:51 Eastern.

A CNN special report, "Return of a Shuttle," with a live launch coverage, airs today beginning at 3:00 Eastern.

And now to the London bombings. Prime Minister Tony Blair tells parliament today he is going to move quickly on tougher counterterrorism laws. And Blair is also reaching out to Muslims in his country. He urged Britain to respect the faith and its followers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I think we all know that security measures alone are not going to deal with this. This is not an isolated criminal act we are dealing it. It is an extreme and evil ideology whose roots lie in a perverted and poisonous misinterpretation of the religion of Islam.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: And now onto the criminal investigation. Police, family, neighbors are all painting a fascinating picture of the four young men who may have carried out those attacks. All were British citizens. CNN's John Vause is in Leeds, England, today. Most of the suspects were from that area. John, hello.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn. The search continues at the six homes here in the whole West Yorkshire area. This particular house here at Leeds, a short time ago, police brought in scaffolding that will erected around the house, part of a more detailed forensic search. This is the house of a Shehzad Tanweer, the 22-year-old man who is believed to be a suicide bomber at Aldgate station.

We're learning a little bit more about Tanweer as this goes on from his uncle, Bashir Ahmed. He says that his nephew traveled to Pakistan last year, that he went to a Madrasa (ph), a religious school in Lahore, spent a few months there. But he is denying reports that his nephew actually traveled to Afghanistan on one of those trips.

Now, as far an explanation, like so many people in the neighborhood, Bashir Ahmed has no idea why his nephew did what he did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR AHMED, SUSPECT'S UNCLE: This person had everything to live for. He (INAUDIBLE) life (INAUDIBLE). He had no financial difficulties. So I can't see, how could he do that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Now, Mr. Ahmed says as for Tanweer's family, they're now thinking about packing up and leaving. He says they believe they can no longer stay here in this community, especially as the publicity continues and there's mounting evidence that Tanweer was, in fact, one of four men who carried out the first suicide bombings in Britain -- Daryn.

KAGAN: John Vause, live from Leeds, England. Thank you for that.

It is another day of deadly violence in Iraq. The latest incident happening in Baghdad on the city's east side. Police say a suicide bomber blew up a vehicle near a U.S. military convoy, and a group of Iraqi children. Iraqi officials say 27 people were killed, and most of the dead are children. The U.S. military says a U.S. soldier was also killed. Since the start of the war, at least 1,736 U.S. troops have died in Iraq.

Here are other stories making news overseas this morning. In Israel, prime minister Ariel Sharon is barring non-settlers from the Gaza strip and four West Bank settlements less a week before a scheduled protest of Israel's plan to withdraw from the region. Israeli officials say non-settlers were ousted to prevent such demonstrations. A complete pull-out of Jewish settlements from Gaza is slated for next month.

A grisly day in Pakistan. More than 100 people were killed, and hundreds were injured in a multi-train collision. Rescuers are still working to recover bodies from the wreckage. At least 17 cars were destroyed in that crash, each carrying about 1,000 passengers.

And tracking the Tour de France. Lance Armstrong's quest for a seventh straight win is still on solid ground. The six-time winner finished on a -- in second place on a 107-and-a-half-mile climb up the Alps. But Armstrong retains the yellow jersey despite not coming in first in the tour's 11th stage.

The fight over embryonic stem cell research, in the center ring today on Capitol Hill. The president says no, the House says yes. Will the Senate play the role of the middleman? That's ahead in our "Daily Dose."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: This just in to CNN, the sentence is in for former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers. Our Allan Chernoff outside the courthouse in New York City where that sentence handed down just moments ago -- Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Daryn. The judge has determined that the sentence for Bernie Ebbers, the former chief executive of WorldCom, will be 25 years in prison. She's saying that that's likely to be a life sentence since Mr. Ebbers is 63 years old. She denied a request by his attorneys to reduce the sentence because of his heart condition, saying it was not serious enough.

Mr. Ebbers being sentenced after his conviction for his role in the $11 billion accounting scandal at WorldCom. That had been, and continues to be, the biggest corporate accounting scandal in the history of America. So again, 25 years for Bernie Ebbers in prison. A dramatic downfall for Mr. Ebbers. He had been leading the nation's number-two company, and he really built it up from virtually nothing. Years ago, Mr. Ebbers ran some motel chains. He and some partners bought a small telecom company in Mississippi, built it up through acquisition after acquisition. They even bought MCI. They bought it into a great, big company.

And then the scandal hit. The company had great trouble meeting the analyst expectations on Wall Street. Mr. Ebbers and his chief financial officer, Scott Sullivan, essentially cooked the books, and it was a huge scandal, as we said, an $11 billion accounting scandal, and now Bernie Ebbers facing 25 years in prison.

In the courtroom, we now have heard Mr. Ebbers was sniffling as the judge made this announcement, and a big comparison, a big dramatic difference from his entrance this morning, where he actually shoved a photographer with both hands as he entered the courthouse. So certainly a very dramatic sentence, a very stiff sentence here.

And I'm reading just some notes from my producer inside, saying that Mr. Ebbers is required to transfer all of his cash to a liquidation trust. Mr. Ebbers has already agreed to give up most of his assets. He settled with WorldCom shareholders, giving up more than $40 million in assets, as well as his estate in Mississippi, essentially leaving his wife, Christie, with just the home in Mississippi, a small home in Mississippi, as well as $50,000 to live on.

So again, once again, 25 years for Bernie Ebbers, the former chief executive of WorldCom.

KAGAN: And does he go right into custody?

CHERNOFF: The judge actually has not yet announced that, but I can tell you that anyone who is required to serve more than 10 years in prison is not sent to a minimum-security prison camp. Rather, Mr. Ebbers would most likely be sent to a low-security federal correction institute. And the government also does try to place people within 500 miles of their home, so that means that if they follow that guideline, Mr. Ebbers could be sentenced to serve his time in Yazoo City, Mississippi. There's also a low-security prison in Florida as well, in the panhandle of Florida. Coleman is the name of that facility.

So, but we don't know just yet exactly where Mr. Ebbers will be serving his time, but 25 years is the sentence for Bernie Ebbers for his involvement in the $11 billion accounting scandal at WorldCom -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, we should say those pictures we were showing of Bernie Ebbers, too, clearly file pictures. It was a sunny day. His hair also a lot longer than as we saw it was when he walked into the courthouse on that rainy morning today in New York City.

Allan, thank you. We'll be back to you.

Meanwhile, let's get some legal analysis on this and bring in former U.S. prosecutor Kendall Coffey, joining us now fro Miami.

Kendall, 25 years. Prosecutors were asking for 85. But at his age, at Bernie Ebbers age and health status, kind of doesn't really matter.

KENDALL COFFEY, FMR. U.S. PROSECUTOR: I think 25 years is a very, very strong sentence, a very powerful message that's got to be heard in every boardroom in America right now. Daryn, there was a time when five or six years might have seemed like a severe sentence, prior to Enron.

As we know now, the landscape has changed so drastically. And I think with the 25 year sentence, effectively the rest of his life, the message couldn't be stronger about corporate accountability.

KAGAN: All right, Allan Chernoff, also just getting word now that Bernie Ebbers not reporting today, but he must report within 72 hours. Is that standard, Kendall?

CHERNOFF: Well, it's not, per se, standard, but it's certainly not extraordinary. When you're looking at that many years, I think the judge's view is, let's get started. And she's looking at a record of somebody that this just found to have committed the most serious white-collar fraud in the history of the country. Think of terms of (INAUDIBLE). It's just what the jury found, who goes into tens and tens of (INAUDIBLE), loots them of their savings, loots people of their job, with the effect of $11 billion in losses. When you look at it that way, these kinds of stern measures seem very just.

KAGAN: All right, Kendall Coffey, live from Miami. Kendall, thank you.

More on Bernie Ebbers ahead. Also, we're probably just about 15 minutes away from the shuttle of the -- from the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery walking out. They've suited up. We've seen those pictures. They are getting ready to load up for their launch about three hours from now. You're going to see those pictures live right here on CNN.

More on that straight ahead after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We are keeping our eyes on the Shuttle Discovery, getting some new news from NASA. They're switching some statistics around because of the weather. You see those clouds? Well, they have been saying, up until now -- this is actually tape, but we have been hearing up until now that there was a 60 percent chance the launch was a go, 40 percent chance it would have to be scrubbed due to weather. Now they're flopping that around. They're saying 60 percent they're going to have to scrub because the weather and 40 percent that it's still a

So let's go back and show you -- they're still getting ready. They haven't pulled the plug on this thing for today yet. Let's show you some pictures that we're getting in here earlier. And that was -- this is of the crew suiting up. This was happening about 40 minutes ago. Quite a process to get into their suits there. The timeline says that they're just about ten minutes away from going on to actually loading up and going down the ramp and getting on the Shuttle Discovery, with the launch supposed to be just after 3:00 this afternoon.

But once again, we're getting this news in. They watched the weather very carefully. They need a specific window, in terms of time, and a specific window, in terms of weather, in order to go with the launch. Of course, a lot of eyes -- a lot of eyes on this launch because it has been since 2003, February 2003, that the shuttle program has been on hold after Columbia upon re-entry basically disintegrated.

And there's been so much attention trying to get this shuttle, Discovery, in tip top shape. NASA going through an entire overhaul of its safety culture, changing the way they look at the launch, the way they look at safety measures. One person described it as before, you had to make a case not to launch. Now, you have to make a case to launch. And now that case not being helped by the weather today.

It looks beautiful in those pictures right then, but apparently, weather forecasters saying they need to take another look at this. So once again, 60 percent chance that Shuttle Discovery will be scrubbed today. But we're keeping an eye on it.

We're going to take a break. Much more news after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right. Once again, we're back into our breaking news. We've, of course, been keeping our eye on the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the launch, the pending launch, of Shuttle Discovery. Not the best news. Mother nature not completely cooperating in terms of the weather picture. We had been saying 40 percent chance of scrub because of weather. Now NASA saying with the clouds coming in, that's about a 60 percent chance.

Our meteorologist Rob Marciano here. You were talking about this earlier. You see those clouds in the background and such.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I thought they were being a little optimistic this morning.

KAGAN: Did you?

MARCIANO: And it's tough -- you know, you easily get confused over the percentages. Because official forecast is for 40 percent chance of a shower popping up. And then they were saying 60 percent chance of a go. But, basically, now they're saying like more likelihood of it actually not happening. And for the past hour-and-a- half, you've seen the shots behind Miles. It's just gotten darker and darker and darker.

KAGAN: Yes.

MARCIANO: And our radar pictures beginning to light up more by just a little bit more.

KAGAN: And it's not just -- they're not just talking directly above where the launch happens. There's a certain perimeter...

MARCIANO: There is.

KAGAN: ... that has to be free and clear.

MARCIANO: It's a radius, and it's kind of offset because of the flight path itself. 20 miles inland from Cape Canaveral, the margin of error is 20 miles. And then because the space shuttle takes off and kinds of head into the north and east, they need a 20 -- a 35 mile radius out from the center of Cape Canaveral to the north and east to allow for mow thunderstorms.

And you can see our Titan radar right now is picking up a pretty good cell just to the west of the launch site. So, you know, if they were to launch right now, it wouldn't happen. That's for sure. Closer in -- now these things, later in the afternoon, tend to move inland. If they do pop up in the morning or this time of day, they tend to kind of sit. So that's why you don't see this one moving.

We've kind of turned it around for you. We're looking for the north down to the south. Atlantic Ocean, Cocoa Beach -- Major Nelson, remember him? That's where he used to live. And -- but later on today, you know, these were -- this stuff may very well begin to shift inland. And so chances of that happening and having that radius, the 20 miles West and 35 miles north and east, at about a 40 percent chance of that -- so a 40 percent, on the optimistic side, that will have that happen. They set up weather balloons and right now the atmosphere is pretty buoyant.

KAGAN: I like the "I Dream of Jeannie" reference, by the way. Thank you for that. Too bad they just can't blink, you know, nod their head and make it all better.

Miles O'Brien on the phone right now to tell us what the scope is from NASA.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Daryn, I'm on the phone because we're trying to break down our gear in the interest of personal safety and keeping it preserved and safe. And there's a pretty decent little thunder cell pretty much above us, over the vehicle assembly building. We still got four hours here or so before the appointed launch time, but I had a conversation with the chief Air Force meteorologist here. And she told me that what's happened is that there's been a subtle shift in the winds, they are now out of the southwest, which is pushing the -- those cumulus cloud build-ups, instead of going inland, are now headed back this way.

And so the build-up that has occurred over the course of the day is now headed back here. Hopefully, that wind will turn back around in the next four hours. But in the meantime, there's now only a 40 percent chance of go, 60 percent no go on account of weather -- Daryn.

KAGAN: OK, we will be watching it. Miles O'Brien, thank you.

Much more coverage straight ahead right here on CNN from Kennedy Space Center. I'm Daryn Kagan. I'll see you tomorrow morning.

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