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CNN Live Today

Saddam Hussein Trial; Sago Mine Tragedy; NCAA March Madness Tips; Father 401

Aired March 15, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning about more troops heading to Iraq. An armed battalion of up to 700 troops from the first armored division has been called up. U.S. military officials say the move has nothing to do with rising sectarian violence. Abizaid is appearing before the House Armed Service Committee. We will be covering that for you, as we look at live pictures from Capitol Hill.
Talk of his children brought him to tears, but it was the brutal killing of an 11-year-old that could send Joseph Smith to Florida's death row. Later today, a judge is expected to decide the fate of Carlie Brucia's killer. Her abduction, you might remember, was captured by a surveillance camera at a Sarasota car wash. We'll have a live report from Florida.

It's official, Sweden joining the ranks of bird flu nations after officials confirmed that two wild ducks were felled by H5N1. Neighboring Denmark is also reporting its first possible case. A wild bird is being tested to see if it is infected with the deadly virus.

Good morning. I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta.

Let's go ahead and take a look at live pictures we're seeing right now from Belgrade. The remains of Slobodan Milosevic returning to his homeland today, flown to Belgrade from the Netherlands where he died last weekend at a U.N. detention center in the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Some controversy over the funeral that will take place later. He will be buried in his hometown, but the socialists, his party, had demanded a funeral with state honors at a cemetery reserved for prominent Serbs. Authorities, however, have rejected this demand, reflecting the controversy about the former president's legacy. More from Belgrade in a little bit.

Right now, though, we move on to Iraq. Saddam Hussein's trial has just adjourned until April 5th. The defiant ex dictator took to the stand for the first time today and, true to form, he proclaimed his presidency and he lunged into what he considered insightful rhetoric. Then the judge flexed his muscle, giving the media the boot. Our Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson was there for all the courtroom drama. He joins us from Baghdad now.

Nic, any idea what was taking place in that courtroom after reporters were kicked out?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, that is the toughest question to answer at the moment. We were kept out of the courtroom for about an hour and 40 minutes. When we were allowed back in, we heard just the last half an hour of court proceedings where Saddam Hussein's defense team were laying out 16 issues that they want dealt with by the judge. The top issue that they say that the court is not a legitimate court. We've heard this line of defense from Saddam Hussein's defense team before. They were clearly sticking to it.

But what has Saddam said in the hour and 40 minutes while we were outside of the court, that was not clear. The prosecution lawyer didn't appear to want to push ahead with the proceedings this day. The judge had appeared very keen to wrap up this phase of the trial.

We did manage to catch the chief prosecutor as he was leaving the courtroom, Jafar Almasawi (ph), and asked him, is this phase of the trial over? Is Saddam Hussein's testimony phase in this trial over? Now it was a very brief conversation. He indicated that, yes, this phase of the trial was over, but I think this requires closer examination. There is an hour and 40 minutes that we just didn't hear what happened in the courtroom at all.

Daryn.

KAGAN: And, Nic, from what I was able to listen to as this was taking place morning time here in the states, this seems like it turned in to kind of a political soap box for Saddam Hussein. Let's listen to a little bit of what the former president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SADDAM HUSSEIN, (through translator): It wasn't for the militors (ph), not you or your father would be able to bring me here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'll respect (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is this? What are you talking about? You are here accused of a criminal case, killing innocent people. That's what you are here for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir, the only (ph) 80 people were found in Baghdad. Aren't they innocent? Aren't they Iraqi?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Besides the fact of his guilt or innocence, Saddam Hussein still seems to appear under the file of he just doesn't get it. He still thinks he's the president of Iraq and supposed to be running things.

Do we still have Nic with us?

ROBERTSON: It almost seems, Daryn, as if he is accepting that there's no point in putting forward a defense or he doesn't have a real defense to put forward. We were always left to wonder, would his defense team come up with a stronger defense than the two points, he is still the president and the court is an illegitimate court. They're the same two points they're standing by.

Saddam Hussein's half brother, in the morning, had laid out a defense, although it didn't appear credible to the judges, is that despite being head of intelligence, he hadn't known anything that was going on and wasn't involved. From Saddam Hussein today, it appears he wasn't even trying to lay that kind of defense at all. That he was just going to use his period in the dock to grandstand and try and get across the issues that he wanted to raise, which is that the people of Iraq should unite, they shouldn't fight themselves and that they should fight the United States.

Daryn.

KAGAN: So what's next in this trial process, Nic?

ROBERTSON: Well, on the fifth of April, it does appear that handwriting experts are going to be brought to the court to examine documents supposedly found (ph) by Saddam Hussein's half brother that would directly link him to this case. Now when these documents were shown in the courtroom earlier today, Saddam Hussein's half brother said there's a lot of forgerers in this country. Everyone knows that. All these signatures, they're not mine. It's not my handwriting. I didn't know about these issues.

So that appears to be one of the things that is said on the agenda. But we've also heard the defense lawyers want to bring back some of the earlier witnesses, bring them back into the stands. Defense lawyers also say that they have a number of witnesses they would like to bring as well. So at this stage, there appears to be a lot yet to unfold and happen in this case.

Daryn.

KAGAN: And you're there covering it for us. Nic Robertson on the phone from Baghdad. Thank you.

Now we want to show you these pictures that we got in also from Iraq. A gun battle on the streets of Ramadi just a short time ago caught on tape. Take a look at this.

The Associated Press reporting that U.S. troops were fighting insurgents. There's been no comment yet from the U.S. military about this. An oil tanker was set on fire. Soon becomes engulfed in flames. We'll bring you more on that story and these pictures when they become available.

Bur right now, back here to the U.S. A West Virginia coal mine reopening today. It's the first time since an explosion left 12 workers dead. And the company that runs the Sago Mine has released its report on the cause of the explosion. Their investigation concludes it was the result of lightning. The story from CNN's Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): A fierce lightning storm was pounding the hills of West Virginia when the Sago Mine exploded. Federal investigators initially put the time of the blast at around 6:30 a.m. Now the mine operators have pinpointed the time to 6:26, the moment when, as CNN first reported, remote sensors decked two lightning bolts hitting the ground above the Sago Mine complex. One somewhere in this area, very close to the explosion itself. From the start, authorities were wondering if lightning might be to blame.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The incident coincided with a local thunderstorm, but we do not know at this time whether those events were related.

FOREMAN: Suspicion that lightning ground strikes might trigger explosions far below drove this study four years ago by the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety and a researcher at the University of Alabama. The report found that this could happen, especially if the lightning followed a medal conductor. And the company's investigation suggests something like that is what happened.

Somehow the lightning found a conductor. For example, a medal pipe or wire extending from within the mine to the surface and the electricity followed that metal down into the earth into a closed and sealed part of the mine. There, investigators say, they believe the lightning ignited naturally occurring explosive methane.

The company says it is still investigating exactly how the electricity made it from above the ground to the mine beneath, but says the explosion pulverized the 40 inch thick seals that separated the closed area from the rest of the mine.

The Sago Mine was cited for more than 200 violations of mining regulations before the blast. But company officials now say those had nothing to do with this explosion.

Still, government officials who are conducting their own investigations will not comment on the company's findings that this accident involved an act of God. At least not yet.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And the sole survivor of the Sago Mine disaster was able to go home for the first time since the explosion. Randy McCloy Jr., seen earlier in this photo, spent about three hours at his home in Simpson, West Virginia, yesterday. A family spokeswoman says McCloy enjoying a meal of barbecue ribs, macaroni and cheese and homemade applesauce. After the visit, McCloy returned to the rehab hospital where he is still undergoing therapy. He suffered serious brain and organ damage from carbon monoxide poisoning.

On to weather now. Strong winds could be the enemy today. Firefighters battling those wildfires that have ravaged the Texas panhandle. Right now the firefighters are preparing for the worst. That's because winds up to 40 miles an hour are being forecasted and those winds could ignite smoldering embers. The fires have scorched more than 800,000 acres so far. They've killed at least 11 people, as well as an estimated 10,000 horses and cattle.

And we have some spectacular pictures from Hawaii where an earthen dam burst on the island of Kauai. It unleashed a wave towering about 50 feet tall, sweeping away at least two homes into the Pacific. At least one person was killed and as many as seven other people are missing. The only road on the island's north shore is washed out and thousands of homes are cut off. Officials say the reservoir dam gave way without warning after several days of heavy rain.

Chad Myers is watching Hawaii, as well as the continental United States as well.

Chad, good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Going back to live pictures now to Belgrade. The remains of Slobodan Milosevic arriving in his homeland today. They were flown to Belgrade from the Netherlands. That's where Milosevic died last weekend at a U.N. detention center near the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Controversy over the kind of funeral he'll receive. The socialists asking for a state funeral to honor the former president. Given his controversial legacy and being on trail for war crimes at The Hague, the current leaders of the country deciding that, no, that is not the kind of sendoff he will get.

Coming up, these mothers have a bond like no other.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we're close.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes. It's a -- I really couldn't feel closer to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Their children also have something in common, their looks, and they have their dad to thank for that. But the kids and the moms have no idea who dad is. We'll explain the link just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and check out the markets. They've been open about 47 minutes. Not a lot of movement. You can see the Dow was up just a bit. Up four points. The Nasdaq also creeping up. It is up four points as well.

All right. Sports fans and sports fans not -- whether you are or not. March Madness officially underway. Have you done your brackets? Upside down there. The NCAA tournament always a favorite for sports fans. Also one of the most popular events for throwing a few bucks into workplace pools. Here with some "Top Five Tips" before tipoff is Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis.

Of course, the play in game was last night. So, in a way, it's kind of underway but some office pools might have the rule that, you know, it really gets started today. GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just started. We're still going. We're still going strong here in New York, I've got to tell you.

Daryn, what we were interested in is finding out how do you win that office pool. Understand first, though, that, you know, the pools, they're essentially not legal. Everybody turns the other way and, in fact, only 23 percent of employers have any rule against the pools. But, believe me, you don't want to be involved in pools that over the Internet, that involve telephones. Make sure that whoever's operating the pool isn't getting a cut of the proceeds. Look, at the end of the day, you don't want to be wearing an orange jumpsuit after you participate in the office pool.

KAGAN: No. The only kind of orange you want is if you're rooting for Syracuse.

WILLIS: There you go.

KAGAN: And I've got the orange working. There you go.

OK. Trying to pick some winners. Sometimes ignorance can be bliss.

WILLIS: That's absolutely right. You know, we did a lot of research on this, but I've got to tell you, I am not like a sports reporter.

KAGAN: You're kidding.

WILLIS: Yes. So -- but I have a better chance of picking winners than probably somebody who spends a lot of times obsessing about these teams. In fact, according to the statistics, people who have some kind of familiarity with the teams win 50 percent of the time, the sports fans, 30 percent of the time. I'm telling you, you've got to find those people who are not obsessive over these games.

KAGAN: Kind of quick pick with the lottery.

WILLIS: That's right.

KAGAN: You might want to start backwards, like pick who you think's going to win it all.

WILLIS: That's right, pick who you think's going to win it all. Pick who you think is going to be in the final four. Look, there are 18 billion potential different team combinations. So you want to do it the right way. The easiest way is to pick that big winner first. And now you're looking at the brackets right now.

KAGAN: Yes, absolutely. And I actually have my own copy here. So if you're looking -- another suggestion is to pick upsets. So maybe you want to go with Oral Roberts defeating the top seed Memphis or perhaps the Belmont Bruins beating the UCLA Bruins. WILLIS: Very impressive, but, yes, you want to pick an underdog because there's always a team that gets upset. And, as a matter of fact, one of the numbers we came across, apparently, statistically, the fifth seed has about a 50 percent chance of getting blown out. So you might want to bet against that team.

KAGAN: That's good. What other kind of statistics might help you?

WILLIS: Well, you want to find teams that are great on the road, because these teams are going to be playing not at home. They're not going to have their fan base behind them necessarily. So you definitely want to look for teams that can do well on the road. Go to sportsillustrated.com or even espn.com for more stats, more info on March Madness.

KAGAN: Gerri Willis, thank you so much.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: And we go from a basketball pool to the gene pool.

Coming up, what do all these kids have in common? They share the same father. They don't know who daddy is though. We're going to solve that mystery, but only a little part of it, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: New pictures. This is of Birmingham, Alabama. These are the three college students from Birmingham. Actually, just two of them there, but arrested last week in connection with 10 church fires that were set around Alabama in February. They had a court appearance last week and apparently another court appearance today. They do face, at this point, federal charges initially, but there might be more charges to come.

All right, a really fascinating story for you now. This guy -- this is what we know about him, 6'4", he was a college football star and he has his master's degree. And now, whether he knows it or not, he has more than a dozen children. None of those kids know who dad is. Even their mothers only know him by a single number, 401, but their bond, to his sperm and the sperm donor now has extended each (ph) to each other. CNN's Dan Simon has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Carla Schouten knew what she was looking for in a man.

CARLA SCHOUTEN, MOTHER: I wanted somebody that had a quick smile and a nice life.

SIMON: Former Rugby player, Lisa Weix, describes her ideal guy as athletic.

LISA WEIX, MOTHER: He loves sports. He loves the outdoors. SIMON: And Leann Mischel wanted a guy with height.

LEANN MISCHEL, MOTHER: So I screened for over six feet tall.

SIMON: The ladies hit the Internet. No, not match.com. This wasn't about dates and dinner. The women were looking for a sperm donor and logged onto a cite that lets them choose the perfect DNA.

The website was for the Fairfax Cryobank, a sperm bank in Virginia. And when they came across the profile for 401, they knew they had their match. 401 sounds like a heck of a guy, 6'4", college football all-American, a master's degree, someone you wouldn't mind introducing to your parents.

And by all accounts, 401, who wishes to remain anonymous, helped produce some beautiful children. This is Carla's son Tice (ph). Lisa delivered twins, Eliza (ph) and Julia (ph). And Leann got Ethan (ph).

But there are more. 401's sperm produced at least 14 children and as many as 20 from at least 11 mothers. Many of them gave us photos.

WEIX: It is a little strange . . .

SCHOUTEN: It is strange.

WEIX: But it's strangely wonderful. You know, I mean, we have what we always wanted, which is kids, and they're, you know, happy and healthy and they're doing great.

SIMON: But how do these mothers know each other? Sperm banks usually operate confidentially. The site donor sibling registry.com is connecting women who have the same sperm donor. This site allows mothers to log on to the site, type in the number or profile of their donor and see if there are any matches. That's how Carla and Lisa met online. Then the two women from northern California met face-to-face, and since then have become close friends.

WEIX: I think we're close.

SCHOUTEN: Yes. Yes. It's -- I really couldn't feel closer to you.

SIMON: Julia and Eliza also have a half siblings.

SCHOUTEN: They're going to know each other when they grow up. I always think of it as sort of cousins. We go camping in the summer. We do birthdays. We have playdates.

SIMON: The sperm bank industry is largely unregulated and the banks vigorously protect donors identities. But some say the donors shouldn't be able to remain anonymous, depriving families of knowing their own background. They say sperm banks should require donors to agree that their children can contact them when they turn 18. That's the law in some European countries. But there's a fear that could significantly reduce the number of willing donors like 401. SCHOUTEN: I would love to meet him just to say hi and see what it really looks like to see him smile.

SIMON: There's no indication 401 wants to emerge from the shadows. In fact, he's now out of the baby business. He no longer wants to donate his sperm. Well, that left Leann Mischel in a lurch who wanted to have a second child with his DNA.

MISCHEL: If you're smart, you're buying in bulk for extra. I was not that forward thinking.

SIMON: It just so happened, though, that Carla had an extra vial of 401 sperm and gave it to her.

SCHOUTEN: And I felt really good about giving it to somebody that needed it so desperately. That felt good.

SIMON: Carla's gift created another, baby Emma (ph), 401's newest addition to the world.

Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Fascinating times.

OK. So what happens if you go to a guy who does not want to be a dad? Does he have the right to say no? The abortion debate, an issue fueling a new debate over a long-standing dilemma. Can a guy say no thanks to fatherhood? Should would-be fathers have a legal right to make that decision of a lifetime? That's next hour on CNN LIVE TODAY.

Straight ahead, though, a notorious killer gets another chance at freedom today. And that could pose a problem for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. We'll explain the ties just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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