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CNN Live Today

Incendiary Claims; Hunt For Escapees; Chimney Safety And Sweeps Tips

Aired November 17, 2005 - 10:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning to you, Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you both. You all have a great day.

We want to get straight to a developing story out of Florida this morning.

Authorities in Florida have cancelled an Amber Alert for a 17- year-old girl. South Florida's Hialeah police say Dialys Ramos (ph) is safe. Police say her suspected abductor, Robert Laird, shot and killed himself. Ramos had been missing since yesterday.

And Florida jurors will likely get the Carlie Bruscia case today. Joseph Smith is on trial for abducting, raping and murdering the 11- year-old girl. Carlie was last seen alive in a car wash security video. That one right there taped in February of 2004. Her body was found days later.

The House is expected to vote on renewing the Patriot Act today. President Bush signed the original bill into law after the 9/11 attacks. House and Senate negotiates reached an agreement yesterday on making most of the provisions permanent and extending others for seven years. Democrats complained that they've been mostly kept out of the loop in recent negotiations.

A new videotape is threatening attacks on the U.S., Britain, Italy and Australia. The video is said to be from the leader of the al Qaeda linked group Gemia Islamiyah (ph). That group's been linked to at least four deadly bombings targeting westerners in Asia. The video threatens the four nations because of their continued troop presence in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Daryn Kagan this morning.

The fighting rages in Iraq. The war of words escalates in Washington. Vice President Dick Cheney is helping to lead the counteroffensive. He's joining President Bush and other Republicans in attacking critics who say the administration twisted pre-war intelligence to win public support.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The suggestion that's been made by some U.S. senators that the president of the United States or any member of this administration purposely mislead the American people on pre-war intelligence is one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever aired in this city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Democrats are firing back. Their leader in the Senate dismisses the vice president's tough talk. He says Cheney is "playing politics like he's in the middle of a presidential campaign." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID, (D) MINORITY LEADER: Unfortunately, he brought his bunker mentality with him to the speech. He's repeating the same tired attacks we've heard from administrative officials over the last two weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: At least one Republican is pulling away from the administration's counteroffensive, Senator Chuck Hagel, who sits on both the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Oversight Committees. He had this to say about the White House attack on its critics.

Quoting him now. "Suggesting that to challenge or to criticize policy is undermining and hurting our troops is not democracy. To question your country is not unpatriotic. To not question your government is unpatriotic." Those words from Chuck Hagel.

Earlier today, President Bush pointedly sided with his vice president's point of view, rather than Senator Hagel's. And he says many Democrats are undermining the war by playing partisan politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, ours is a country where people ought to be able to disagree and I expect there to be criticism. But when Democrats say that I deliberately mislead the Congress and the people, that's irresponsible. They looked at the same intelligence I did and they voted many of them voted to support the decision I made. It's irresponsible to use politics. This is serious business winning this war, but it's irresponsible to do what they've done. So I agree with the vice president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Mr. Bush made his comments while in South Korea, the second stop of an eight-day visit to Asia. Our Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president and we'll hear from her later on in this newscast.

Now "The Fight For Iraq."

The U.S.-led offensive, Operation Steel Curtain, gros deadlier. U.S. military officials say yesterday's fight for the third city in the mission, Ubaydi, has been among the costliest. Five U.S. Marines were killed yesterday. The military says U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 16 suspected insurgents. More than 200 people are being detained as the sweep continues. Also today, the U.S. military announced the death of another Marine. The roadside bomb attack took place yesterday near the western Iraqi city of Haditha. The Marine was taking part in combat operations with the 2nd division.

The Pentagon is facing questions over an anti-insurgent offensive it launched last year. U.S. military officials now concede that American troops did use controversial, white phosphorous weapons in Fallujah, but they dispute an Italian report of a horrific toll. CNN's Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The Italian TV documentary alleges that during the siege of Fallujah a year ago, the U.S. military used white phosphorous artillery shells in a massive and indiscriminate way against civilians. And the result was that noncombatants, including Iraqi women and children, were burned to the bone. The U.S. military was quick to deny the report and said it did not know how these people died.

BRIG. GEN. DONALD ALSTON, MULTINATIONAL FORCE IRAQ SPOKESMAN: We have not change our position that, in fact, we did not use white phosphorous against civilians in Fallujah during Operation (INAUDIBLE).

MCINTYRE: But while strongly denying civilians were deliberately targeted, the Pentagon has belatedly admitted the phosphorous shells, which burn extremely hot and produce thick smoke, were used against enemy positions in Fallujah. An initial State Department response had claimed indirectly, the incendiary shells were only "fired into the air to illuminate enemy positions at night, not at enemy fighters." Unlike Napalm, which is designed to set large areas a blaze and which the U.S. no longer uses, white phosphorous is usually employed to mark a target or produce a smoke screen to hide troop movements. But the U.S. troops attacking Fallujah in November of 2004 had another use for the super hot burning munition which they call "shake and bake" missions.

According to an after action report published in "Field Artillery" magazine, U.S. troops used white phosphorous "as a potent psychological weapon against insurgents in trench lines and spider holes," firing the incendiary rounds against enemy positions "to flush them out," then using high explosives to "take them out." The United States never signed an international ban against using incendiary weapons, but experts say that doesn't matter because the ban didn't apply to legitimate military targets.

JOHN PIKE, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: There's a Geneva protocol against using it against civilian, the way we used firebombs against cities in World War II. It's legitimate under that Geneva protocol to use it against military targets like in Fallujah.

MCINTYRE: Any munition can inflict unintended civilian casualties, but the Pentagon argues it works very hard to avoid the loss of innocent life. In Fallujah, the military says civilians were urged for weeks to leave. By the time the siege took place, most of the people left were either insurgents or their sympathizers.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: On to Afghanistan now where two U.S. soldiers will face a court-martial for their alleged treatment of detainees at a military base. Army Sergeant Kevin Myricks and Army Specialist James Hayes are accused of punching two detainees in the chest, shoulders and stomach. Neither detainee needed medical care. A military spokesman says the decision to prosecute shows how seriously the military handles allegations of prisoner abuse.

Meanwhile, leaders of U.S. soldiers searching for Taliban and foreign fighters in Southern Afghanistan reportedly say the insurgency there seems to be growing stronger. "USA Today" spoke with the commander and officers of the elite unit Desert Eagles. They told the newspaper that guerilla fighting has grown more fierce and more organized over the past year. That assessment calls into question plans to phase out anti-insurgency operations there next year.

Ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY, oil execs grilled last week on Capitol Hill about the sudden hike in oil prices. Did they tell the whole truth? Their controversial answers now drawing a lot of criticism.

After Katrina, Rita and Wilma, FEMA says it's now out of money. But that's not stopping some victims of those storms from suing the agency. Why they feel FEMA is being unfair.

But first, on the run. The hunt for two prison escapees. A community living in fear now. A live report when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Police have received tips from across the country in their pursuit of two escaped Iowa inmates considered dangerous. So far none of the reported sightings of Robert Joseph Legendre and Martin Shane Moon has panned out. CNN's Keith Oppenheim explains how they made their prison break.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Two convicts may be on the loose somewhere in this idyllic town, Fort Madison, Iowa. Convicts eluding police after escaping from the state prison here on Monday. And people who live here are scared.

RICK BERRY, FORT MADISON RESIDENT: These guys have nothing to lose, so there's a great possibility that if they were cornered they could hurt someone.

OPPENHEIM: Schools were locked down and residents were locking their doors, too. Trudy Eid has seven children.

TRUDY EID, FORT MADISON RESIDENT: They're a little scared. My oldest one got was in lockdown for about five hours yesterday. So he was a little freaked without that one yesterday.

OPPENHEIM: Police say 34-year-old Martin Shane Moon and 27-year- old Robert Joseph Legendre scaled a wall and escaped Monday from the Iowa State Penitentiary. Moon has been serving a life sentence for murdering his roommate in Iowa 15 years ago. Legendre was doing life for the kidnaping and attempted murder of a taxi cab driver in Las Vegas. He was transferred to Iowa last year.

Authorities say the men had been working in a prison furniture shop and used upholstery webbing to scale the wall. Investigators believe one of them stole a bicycle, then rode it to this Fort Madison neighborhood about a mile and a half away.

Police say a 1995 Gold Pontiac Bonneville was outside on the street. No one was in it, but it was running because the owner of that vehicle made a quick stop at a friend's house. Detectives say the escapees, Moon and Legendre, left in that car. And the question is, why hasn't that vehicle been spotted since?

GENE MEYER, IOWA DIVISION OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION: I would have thought we might have had a sighting of the vehicle by now. We haven't.

OPPENHEIM: The search for the escapees has gone nationwide. Meanwhile, some Iowa lawmakers say the prison wasn't secure. State Senator Gene Fraise says budget cuts lead to installing security wires rather than manning all watchtowers at all times. The tower near the southwest wall was unmanned when Moon and Legendre scaled the wall there.

GENE FRAISE, IOWA STATE SENATE: If we'd have had someone in those towers, the chances of them getting over the wall was about a chance of winning the lottery.

OPPENHEIM: Authorities keep warning the public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It say, they will do anything to keep from returning to the penitentiary.

OPPENHEIM: The escapees could be armed and dangerous.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OPPENHEIM: Fredricka, I'm joining you live from outside the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison. And this is an aging place. It was built in 1839. It's the oldest prison in the United States west of the Mississippi River. But having said that, there haven't been many escapes here at all. The last time there was an escape from inside the wall behind me was in 1979 when five prisoners, get this, escaped in a garbage truck and then were found shortly afterwards at the county landfill. This time it appears that finding the escapees isn't going quite so quickly.

WHITFIELD: So, Keith, your report is remarkable because we're looking at the wall behind you. You talk about no one in the watch tower. The wall was scaled by these two inmates. How tall of a wall is it? Because it really doesn't look like it's that sizeable behind you. That's the very wall, right?

OPPENHEIM: Yes. That's the wall. And it's exactly behind me where they made their escape, but pretty close to it. And I'm just making an estimate here that that is probably 40 to 50 feet up. And, you know, there's a lot of ingenuity that goes into an escape like this, as well as guts to try to get out. But also it sounds like that these guys understood loopholes in the system.

Not so different from the story that we were talking about a week and a half ago in Houston when Charles Victor Thompson escaped from a jail there. And he basically conned his way out by wearing civilian clothes. The two stories are similar in that the escapees found a way to exploit a problem in the system and get out. But the difference is, was that Thompson was caught in 78 hours. So far, these two have not been caught.

WHITFIELD: All right. Keith Oppenheim, thanks so much. Fascinating story.

And this just in out of Florida now in Sarasota specifically. The case of Carlie Bruscia, the 11-year-old girl who was abducted, raped and murdered back in February of 2004. Well that man right there who was on trial for those offenses, Joseph Smith, is now going to be awaiting deliberation and a verdict from the jury because the jury is now going into deliberations there in Florida.

This case unfolding back in 2004 and the abduction captured on videotape. The little girl was walking past a car wash. The abduction on videotape and then apparently the admission of this crime taking place, Joseph Smith telling his brother that he murdered the girl, helping to lead to his arrest and now the trial and now the case in the hands of the jury. And, of course, when there's a verdict in this case, we'll be bringing that to you here on CNN.

Meantime, let's check in with Chad Myers in the Weather Center.

Over the past couple of days we've been look at some severe weather in the mid section of the country and then a cold front heading to the northeast. What's going on now?

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, of course, except for the west coast and South Florida, this is pretty perfect weather for nestling next to a warm fireplace. But before you do that, our Gerri Willis has some great advice.

Hello to you, Gerri.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fred.

We're going to show you how to stay toasty and not get burned. Fireplace safety is next on "Five Tips."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Don't you just love this time of year. A little bite in the air outside, which means family wants to gather in front of a cozy fire. But is your fireplace ready for the season? CNN Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis has the "Top Five Tips" on the chimney safety and hiring sweeps. And hard to believe that we all have to be reminded, first off, Gerri, about what to actually put into your fireplace. Don't burn everything.

WILLIS: That's right. You know, Fred, when you're doing this this year, make sure that you're using the right kind of wood. You want hard woods. Dry, hard woods. Not green wood. That's the best thing to burn in your fireplace because if you burn the wrong thing, you can have creosote form in your chimney. Not only is it bad news, it could create a fire, it's also carcinogenic. So it's a bad thing. Make sure you're burning cherry, oak. Those are the great things you want to use. And don't burn the wrapping paper over the holiday because it gives of toxic fumes.

WHITFIELD: Oh, right. Well, don't just worry about what's in your fireplace, but how about what's around your fireplace.

WILLIS: I think everybody knows to keep things away from the fire place itself, like at least three feet. You want to keep the toys, the kids, everything away. But also on top of the house. Think about your chimney outside. If you're putting up some decorations this winter on top of your house for the holiday, make sure it's at least 15 feet away from your chimney and make sure, too, that any tree's bows don't get close to that chimney.

WHITFIELD: And when and how do you call upon a sweeper?

WILLIS: Well, you should call upon a sweeper every year to clean out your chimney. That's absolutely . . .

WHITFIELD: Every year? Woa.

WILLIS: Yes, they can take a look at it. You know, they don't have to absolutely do the cleaning, but they should check to make sure that creosote isn't building up. Listen, not everybody is like Dick van Dyke, you know the chimney sweep that appeared on "Mary Poppins," right. You want to hire somebody who knows how to do the job and you can do that by going to csia.org to get a certified sweeper. Listen, these people don't have to be licensed generally. Anybody can go out and, you know, buy a broom and say they're a chimney sweep. You want to make sure you're getting somebody who really knows how to do the job.

WHITFIELD: And then you've finally settled on a name, you have them come to your home. Still, you need to be suspicious about what they tell you?

WILLIS: Well, you know, sometimes some of these chimney sweeps try to sell you things you don't need like a liner, they may tell you. You know, ma'am, that liner in your chimney, it's just not doing the job. I have one in the truck right now we can put in for only $3,000.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

WILLIS: Yes. You want to make sure that the people you're using are on the up and up. And if they're offering you extra, additional services that they're going to take care of right on the spot, that's one clue that things are wrong.

WHITFIELD: Wow. So a liner, $3,000. You know that this whole venture could be rather costly. How do you make sure you don't get taken?

WILLIS: Well, make sure that, for example, you don't fall for the old, your chimney's dangerous and crumbling and maybe has is emitting carbon monoxide. You want to make sure that if somebody's going to make some suggestions about your chimney, that you can get a second opinion. You can bring somebody else in to take a look at the problem as well. Make sure you're using somebody who's certified. And, you know, take recommendations from the neighbors who may have used them in the past.

WHITFIELD: All right. All great tips. And now, Gerri, what's coming up on "Open House" this weekend.

WILLIS: Saturday morning, 9:30, you want to join us. We'll be talking more about chimneys. And I've got to tell you, Fred, we're going to have your Thanksgiving survival guide. I think everybody needs it.

WHITFIELD: We all need that.

WILLIS: Yes. In fact, if you've got guests coming in, you've got a lot of people coming to the house, we'll tell you what to do if you don't have enough beds, if you don't have enough storage space. How to accommodate these people and how to be relaxed about it.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. You want to enjoy the whole process. You don't want to get stressed out about it.

WILLIS: That's right.

WHITFIELD: All right. I'll be taking copious notes. Gerri Willis, thanks so much.

WILLIS: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, executives of some of the biggest and most profitable oil companies. You remember what they had to say on Capitol Hill last week. Well now apparently they're getting grilled again. Many folks are saying they're not getting some of the straightforward answers. Allegations of a secret meeting at the White House straight ahead all on that very topic as well.

And, a family who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina being cut off by FEMA. Why the agency is telling them they're on their own now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Coming up on the half hour. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Daryn Kagan. Here's what's happening "Now in the News."

A Florida jury is right now deliberating the Carlie Bruscia case. Jurors got the case earlier this hour. Joseph Smith is on trial for abducting, raping and murdering the 11-year-old girl. Carlie was last seen alive in a car wash security video back in February of 2004. Her body was found days later.

Live on Capitol Hill, we're awaiting what is being called a major announcement expected on the war in Iraq. Representative John Murtha has assembled the media there but it's not clear exactly what the Pennsylvania Democrat is going to say. We'll have live coverage, however, when it does get underway there on Capitol Hill.

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