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Who Is Carla Martin?; Price Of War; Campus Crusade; Real Estate Deduction Tips

Aired March 16, 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: But who exactly is Carla Martin? What's her background? Our Senior National Correspondent John Roberts investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So why did you do it, ma'am?

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): She is ultimately described as articulate and smart, opinionated and overbearing. So who is Carla Martin? And why did she violate a judge's order to not give witnesses prior testimony? The attorney general was baffled.

ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: You'll have to ask Carla Martin what motivated her.

ROBERTS: Here's what we know. Martin joined the Transportation Security Administrations legal department in April of 2002 following 14 years at the FAA. It was a second career. She'd been a flight attendant for World Airways before getting her law degree in 1989 from American University. The bulk of her work was litigation, representing the FAA in several lawsuits, including the Pan Am 103 case.

James Kreindler, an attorney for the Pan Am plaintiffs, remembers Martin as "easy to deal with - not a bad person or a monster."

Others paint a less flattering picture. A.P. Pishevar went up against Martin in a security discrimination case.

A.P. PISHEVAR, ATTORNEY: Aggressive. Perhaps overzealous.

ROBERTS: Was he surprised about her conduct in the Moussaoui case?

PISHEVAR: I would have to say that I was not surprised because of my background with her.

ROBERTS: A former colleague, who requested anonymity, recalls Martin had "good attorney skills," but "her short coming was that she was very opinionated -- very passionate -- with a strong personality." People weren't sad to see her leave."

And Claudio Manno, one of the FAA witnesses now barred from testifying told the court, Martin "had a tendency to go off on tangents that really were not that relevant and taking up a lot of time."

According to her mother, Martin is "totally distraught" over what happened, "as if it were the end of the world." Gene Martin Lay (ph) says her daughter "would never disobey the court's order," though Carla Martin could not explain to her how she misjudged Brinkema's explicit rules on witnesses.

Some people who know Martin speculate it might have been her lack of experience in criminal law that was to blame for all of this. It appears that Martin may try to convince Judge Brinkema that she meant no harm, she simply didn't know about the order. But lawyers I talk to said, rules about coaching witnesses are basic law school 101.

John Roberts, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And just to bring you up-to-date on where we are with the Moussaoui case. Government attorneys are asking the judge to reverse her ruling that the witnesses and the related evidence be banned from the trial. Meanwhile, that trial is due to resume on Monday.

It is three years after the Iraq invasion and three months after elections there. Iraq's new parliament was finally sworn in this morning. The long awaited session (ph) lasted only about 30 minutes. That's because Iraq's Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds are bitterly divided over who will lead a national unity government. Acting Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's candidacy for a second term is at the center of that log jam. Many of the political parties criticize his handling of the government over the last year.

The body count just keeps rising in Baghdad. Office say 31 more bodies were found throughout the city yesterday and all had been shot and stripped of their identification. That brings the total number of people found dead this week to more than 166.

The innocent are too often the victims in the war in Iraq. Take a U.S.-led mission targeting a suspected insurgent. Iraq police say four women and five children were killed in yesterday's action. CNN's Arwa Damon has that story. A warning for you, before we go to the tape, you might find some of these images disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): These are the hardest images to see. Children caught in the middle of the daily complexities of war in Iraq. It started out as a straight forward mission, to rout out foreign fighters. But military success came at a terrible human price.

U.S. forces acting on intelligence raided a farmhouse north of Balad (ph) looking for a suspected insurgent linked to al Qaeda in Iraq. After coming under fire, they captured their intend target. But in a battlefield with no clear front lines, it's the unintended consequences that are the most devastating. Innocents paid the price this day, crushed under the rubble of the full force of this military operation.

Iraqi police say four women and five children, one a 6-month-old baby, were killed. Families forever changed in an instant. Troops left haunted by the images of their mission on a day for them that began as any other. The cost of war, not always paid by combatants.

In Iraq, as so often is the case, civilians pay the ultimate price of this war. The casualties in Balad will now be added to an ever growing list of civilians killed here. The events in a remote farmhouse northeast of the capital are a vivid reminder of the realities faced by all. And as anarchy and confusion continue, the line between combatant and civilian becomes even more unclear.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: We should let you know that U.S. military officials had a different casualty count from police. One insurgent, two women and one child killed in that incident.

A woman and her boyfriend charged in a deadly hit and run accident are giving conflicting accounts of how that happened. It goes to southern California where a witness give as first-hand account of the aftermath.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TENNYSON COLLINS, WITNESS: I heard the sound of screeching tires and an impact sound. I turned and I saw a car up on the sidewalk and literally plowing through bodies flying in the air. The car was -- kind of spun around and came to a stop facing the opposite direction that it was traveling. And there were literally bodies laying all around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: A teacher was killed and eight students were injured when the car plowed into them on a sidewalk in Culver City in southern California. It happened yesterday. The woman who was driving the car told police her boyfriend grabbed the steering wheel during an argument. He denies that. Both are in custody, charged with vehicular manslaughter and hit and run involving a fatality.

Police are also trying to figure out whether a homeless man who opened fire at a Denny's restaurant was mentally ill. They say Lawrence Woods entered the restaurant in Pismo Beach, California, during lunchtime with, police say, guns blazing. Police say he killed two people and wounded a couple before turning the gun on himself. Among the dead, a 65-year-old man who was gunned down in front of his wife and great grand daughter. Denny's says the shooting appears to be a random act of violence.

New alarm this morning over inhalant abuse among young people. A survey released last hour shows nearly 2 million middle and high schoolers took up sniffing over the past three years. Researched by a government health agency also shows about a third of these new users are 12 and 13-year-olds. Teens use common household products like shoe polish, paint, lighter fluid to get high. How do you know if your teen is sniffing? Well, a few indicators for you to look for. If your kid has a chemical odor, he or she may have unexplained paint stains on their body or clothes, speech could be slurred and you might notice frequent nausea.

Finally, are household products mysteriously disappearing? We're going to focus on inhalant abuse in depth nest hour. My guest will include a parent whose child died from sniffing.

There's a new push in Congress today to restrict Internet porn. Just last hours, a pair of senators called for a .xxx domain for all porn sites. Porn peddlers would have to abandon their .com designation and move into what amounts to an Internet red light district.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARK PRYOR, (D) ARKANSAS: Children are exposed to pornography on the Internet. In fact, there's a study done by the Kaiser Foundation that says 90 percent of kids age eight to 16 have viewed pornography online. And most of that, the study says, is due to them doing their homework online.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The world body that assigns Internet domain would have to sign on to that .xxx plan if the bill passes. One free speech group opposes .xxx. It says the move would amount to what it calls the ghettoization (ph) of a constitutionally protected product.

Well, it is spring break 2006 New Orleans style. Instead of getting hammered, college kids are swinging hammers as they help the crescent city clean up. We'll have that story, talk to a couple of students who chose this for spring break just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Exotic beaches, drunken binges, wild parties and girls gone wild. Well, if this is your image of spring break, you need to take another look. CNN's Susan Roesgen is in New Orleans where thousands of students are spending spring break on a crusade.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): They could be lying on a Florida beach, but these kids are camped out on cots. It's a college church group that wouldn't take no for an answer. They wanted a base of operations to help rebuild the area. And when FEMA offered to find room for 200 students, the students found this warehouse instead and made room for 2,000. They found a way to rig running water, brought in their own food and, in a place where most people don't have electricity, let there be light.

Through sheer determination, this young group of aid workers has descended on New Orleans, more than 10,000 students over five weeks, and they are here to help. They may not be skilled workers, but they're hard workers. And for homeowner Kim David, that's what counts. Ripped off by contractors who took her money and never came back, Kim stood in awe watching a miracle.

KIM DAVID, NEW ORLEANS HOMEOWNER: As bad as Katrina was, this is how good it is to make you feel like, yes, we still have Americans that love and care, complete strangers and step up to the plate and help.

RUTH GILLIAM, CAMPUS CRUSADERS FOR CHRIST: I feel like we're only here for a couple days and we're making like this much of a difference, but it's a huge difference to her.

ROESGEN: And these students are making a difference for a lot of people here. They expect to work on as many as 3,000 houses.

Susan Roesgen, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And taking a break from their working vacation in New Orleans are two students from the University of Portland. Want to welcome in David Exley and Ruth Gilliam joining us from our Gulf bureau.

Good morning.

RUTH GILLIAM, CAMPUS CRUSADE, UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND: Good morning.

DAVID EXLEY, CAMPUS CRUSADE, UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND: Good morning. How's it going?

KAGAN: It's going great.

Hey, didn't you guys get the memo, college students are supposed to be into themselves, selfish, out there on the beach, getting drunk, girls gone wild. What went wrong with you two people?

GILLIAM: Yes, we got the message. Spring break, yes, supposed to be a break, but it's not really a break for us. We just decided to come down here and spend our spring break just serving the people down in New Orleans who lost all their houses. It's pretty sad. It's a pretty sad story. We're kind of staying in a big warehouse right now with a bunch of cots and just piled on top of each other. There's about 2,000 of us over in Light City (ph). And I'm not going to lie, it's pretty disgusting, but . . .

KAGAN: We saw the pictures.

GILLIAM: We're loving it.

KAGAN: We did see the pictures, Ruth.

GILLIAM: Yes. KAGAN: David, this is definitely not luxury accommodations. What about the pay you're getting in terms of the reaction you're get from people that you're helping?

EXLEY: I was actually really surprised. Just like the first day -- we actually worked with Kim. I think you guys had a clip of Kim.

KAGAN: With her house and helping -- the woman who had contractors rip her off.

EXLEY: Yes. We were working with Kim and like I've never seen someone just so like happy to have someone come and help her. And it's just like a really like heartwarming experience just to see Kim like so involved and just so happy that we could help her. I mean, I think it's probably the best way I could have ever spent spring break.

KAGAN: And it is just for spring break. Ruth, is there a certain frustration, though, that you've come, you've tasted and now you're going back to your classes, that maybe you'd want to stay and help more?

GILLIAM: Yes. I mean, we were just talking about this this morning. Yes, I definitely want to stay here and help more. It's pretty hard just to leave this city. There's so much more work to be done. I mean, we've only helped two people kind of rebuild their houses but, you know, that's two more people back up on their feet. And we have a whole group just helping. And it's going to be really hard to leave here. You know, the first day when I got here I didn't think of -- I was like, I'm ready to go home now, you know?

KAGAN: Yes.

GILLIAM: But, you know, over the couple -- past couple day, I've just been, like, wow, you know, I really want to stay here and help more people just because -- just the impression we're leaving on them is just going to last a lifetime for them, you know? It's a break -- it's not really a break for us, but it's a big break for them.

KAGAN: And, David, as we also saw in Susan's piece, this isn't exactly -- you guys aren't necessarily skilled workers. You just kind of came down and just said, show me where I need to go, what I need to do, and just kind of diving in.

EXLEY: Yes, it's funny. Actually, what we're working on mostly is like knocking down walls and stuff. So, I mean, it's pretty easy just to take a hammer and go at a wall.

KAGAN: Yes.

EXLEY: I enjoy that a lot any ways. But, yes, we don't really have too many skills. They gave us like an hour training session and we're just here trying to help any way that we can. And they need us to knock down walls, you know, we'll try our hardest to knock down walls, try to do our best at what we can do.

KAGAN: And, of course, you guys represent two of what we're saying about 2,000 students that came down. What's the camaraderie? What's the feeling like among your fellow students that you're camping out and living with and working with?

GILLIAM: It's awesome. Everyone is just so excited to be down here. You know, we're living in close quarters, but there's not been one rude comment, not one complaint. We are just having a blast. I mean we're all down here to serve God and we have worship nights and we just love being down here and just the love of Christ has just totally filled our lives up in these awful situations. You know, we just come here just to bring hope to these people.

KAGAN: Well, you have brought hope, you've brought help and it sounds like perhaps you are even getting more out of it than what you're leaving behind there along the Gulf Coast in New Orleans.

EXLEY: Definitely.

KAGAN: Ruth Gilliam, David Exley, thank you for sharing your story and thank you for your service this week.

EXLEY: Thanks.

GILLIAM: Thanks.

KAGAN: Appreciate it.

EXLEY: Yes, thank you so much.

KAGAN: Let's bring in Chad Myers.

Chad, is this bringing back memory of any spring breaks that you had when you were in college?

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: And we are going to update you now on the Texas wildfire situations. Those fires have scorched more than 860,000 acres in Texas. They are now marching toward the Oklahoma border. A new fire erupted in the Texas panhandle yesterday fanned by gusty winds. Dangerous fire conditions are expected to continue throughout the day. At least 11 deaths are blamed on the fires. In some areas, firefighters are using soapy water to douse the flames because it sticks to vegetation better. Texas Governor Rick Perry tours the affected areas today.

Are you getting the most out of your home? Gerri Willis is going to tell you how.

Hey, Ger.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Daryn, good to see you.

You know, your home doesn't just shelter your family, it can also shelter your income from the tax man. "Five Tips" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAGAN: Markets have been open about 53 minutes and the Dow is moving up nicely. You can see the Dow is up 48 points. The Nasdaq moving along as well. It is up 15 points.

Homeowners, this is for you. Nearly seven of 10 Americans own their homes rather than rent. And with that ownership comes the benefit of tax deductions. Are you getting what's coming to you? Our Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis joins us with her "Top Five Tips" on real estate deductions.

Good morning.

WILLIS: That's right. Good morning, Daryn. Good to see you.

If you own your own home, you know that the mortgage interest deductions is one of the biggest freebies Uncle Sam gives out, so it's a very big deal for homeowners. But you may not know that if this year you're paying off that mortgage, you're not going to have any debt on your home, the good news is, if you face prepayment penalty fees from your mortgage lender, you can write those things right off.

Daryn.

KAGAN: You want to keep the receipts.

WILLIS: Keep the receipts from any home improvements over time. Look, once you sell that house, you can deduct that from your cost of selling. It's a very big deal, particularly if you're spending a lot of money for upgrading a kitchen, a bathroom, maybe you put in a pool. It's going to make a very big difference to the taxes you pay on those gains when you sell.

KAGAN: What if you have to relocate for your job?

WILLIS: This is also deductible, Daryn. I don't think a lot of people know just how much they can save on their taxes. If you move, the cost is not only hiring the van and a crew to pack your stuff up, but any hotel nights. Maybe you're going to have to put fido somewhere for a few days. That can be written off as well. So it's a very big deal for people out there who are moving this year for a job.

KAGAN: What if your house has had some damage to it?

WILLIS: Well, you know, this is kind of complicated. But let's say your home is hit by a tornado, a hurricane, maybe you've had a theft. If that has amounted to more than what your insurance company is reimbursing you, you may be able to deduct the difference. Here's the deal. The federal government allow you to take a deduction for costs to you that are over and above your insurance reimbursement.

KAGAN: And, finally, there's this area that you get conflicting advice on, your home office. Can you deduct it?

WILLIS: You can indeed, but it's tricky. The devil is definitely in the detail with this. You're going to want to make sure you do a few things. First of all, if you're a full-time employee with a boss out there, you want that boss to write you a letter saying you have to have the home office. That is going to convince the IRS you're doing things right.

Also, make sure whatever room in the house you're using for this home office, that's the only thing it's used for. It can't be a playroom for Johnny. It can't be a guest bedroom. It's got to be the home office and that's it with a door that actually closes it and separates it from the rest of the house. But once you do that, the deduction can be sweet indeed. You can write off not only the cost of your computer, but all of the equipment and services you need to run that home office.

Daryn.

KAGAN: What's coming up this weekend on "Open House"?

WILLIS: We've got lots of fun coming. We have the dog whisper from "National Geographic" coming on.

KAGAN: Love the guy.

WILLIS: Isn't he awesome?

KAGAN: Yes.

WILLIS: He's going to come on the show. He's going to show us what you can do to curb that dog, make sure he's not taking down your whole house.

Also we're going to talk about the mortgage rates and how they're going up. What you can do if you're in the market this year and you're getting a mortgage. It's not as pretty as it was last year at this time, I've got to tell you, Daryn.

KAGAN: I think the dog whisper is Cesar Milan (ph), I think is his name.

WILLIS: That's right.

KAGAN: You tell him that Darla (ph), Louise (ph) and I watch all the time. We're big fans.

WILLIS: OK, I will.

KAGAN: OK. Thank you.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: Well an interesting story out of Britain coming up. They agree to be human guinea pigs, now their families fear they could pay with their lives. We'll take you live to London for what some are calling a medical disaster.

Anorexia, bulimia, they don't just effect women any more. Men are dying to be thin, as well. An in-depth look at eating disorders among men just ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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