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CNN Live Today

Duke Rape Probe; Brutal Attack; Survivor's Story; Iran Nuclear Tensions; Back From Iraq; Chevron Profits; Work At Home Tips

Aired April 28, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's yours.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Daryn.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, guys. You have a great weekend.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thanks. You too.

KAGAN: And we'll see you on Monday morning.

We're going to start our two hours with an odd twist this morning in the Duke rape investigation. The accuser apparently made a similar rape claim a decade ago. The woman who says Duke lacrosse players raped her during a party at this house filed a complaint with police in 1996. In it she alleges that three men raped her when she was a teenager.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF TED POLLARD, CREEDMOOR, N.C. POLICE: She alleged that she was assaulted by three men, but there's no report whether the three alleged men made any statements whatsoever.

QUESTION: Can you describe the nature of the sexual assault?

POLLARD: She said that she was repeatedly beaten and sexually assaulted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: CNN's Jason Carroll is in Durham, North Carolina, with more.

Jason, as this case goes on and more information comes out, it's hard to know who actually will be going on trial here, the alleged victim or the defendants?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, obviously, I think, in this particular situation the defense is really going to jump on this police incident report that came out and they're going to try to use it to their advantage because, as you heard from the police chief there, this young woman claimed 10 years ago that three years before that, when she was just 14 years old, that she was sexually assaulted by three men. It's unclear at this point why that case was never pursued. I think when you listen to the police chief there he says it's because the alleged victim in this particular case didn't decide to pursue it.

I think defense attorneys are really going to jump on this. However, Daryn, I think that prosecutors are going to say, there's no reason to say why a woman who was sexually abused in the past that, whatever reason, that couldn't have happened again.

KAGAN: Right. Just because that happened or didn't happen doesn't mean that it doesn't mean that this didn't happen this time around. But as more and more information comes out about both sides of this case, it seems to me it's going to become more and more difficult to seat a jury that can be unbiased and hasn't heard about this case in North Carolina.

CARROLL: And, in fact, Daryn, there have been at least two defense attorneys that we've spoken to that say, because there has been so much publicity here in Durham, if this case does go to trial, they will, in fact, ask for a change of venue. So you're right about that.

KAGAN: Jason Carroll live in Durham, North Carolina.

Jason, thank you for that.

As we move on today, the attack he endured was horrifying. A 16- year-old boy is fighting for his life in a Texas hospital this morning. Authorities say he was savagely beaten and then sexually assaulted outside this house. Now two other teens are facing charges. Ed Lavandera filed this report for CNN's "Paula Zahn Now."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): During a late- night party Saturday, a fight erupted inside this suburban Houston home. Investigators say David Tuck and Keith Turner unleashed a brutal assault on a 16-year-old boy after he tried to kiss a younger girl. Prosecutors say both suspects dragged the victim into the backyard, kicked him in the head with steel-towed boots and then sodomized him with a 2-inch thick PVC pipe.

MIKE TRENT, PROSECUTOR: They also poured bleach on him and the victim is in pretty bad shape right now, critical condition, and it's unclear at all whether he's going to survive.

LAVANDERA: Authorities say no one at the party called an ambulance until 10 hours after the attack. The 16-year-old was left fighting for his life all night. Neighbors who saw the boy taken away by paramedics were shocked.

NANCY BENAVIDES, NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENT: He was severely beaten. It was just, -- oh, my goodness, I couldn't believe it. His face was severely swollen, lips, everything. He just looked -- there was blood everywhere.

LAVANDERA: Tuck and Turner have been charged with aggravated sexual assault. But if the victim dies, authorities say the charges will be upgraded to capital murder. David Tuck made a brief court appearance, but his attorney said he was invoking his fifth amendment right to not incriminate himself. Keith Turner has not been to court yet and it's still not clear if he has an attorney.

But plenty of people are talking in the town of Spring, the Houston suburb where the attack happened. They're especially stunned by the details the attack might have been racially motivated. Investigators say the suspects yelled racial epithets as they beat the Hispanic victim. Many in this neighborhood say the two suspects were troubled and angry. Classmates and neighbors of David Tuck say he had a history of using racial slurs.

DAVID COOK, NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENT: When we were at his house there was all sort of stuff like he has a swastikas painted on the fence in his backyard. It was just real white trashy sort of stuff. He also had a hail Hitler crap.

LAVANDERA: Timothy Borque doesn't think Keith Turner is racist. He says the 18-year-old often hung out with minority students. But he does say Turner acted like a wannabe gangster.

TIMOTHY BORQUE, SPRING, TEXAS, RESIDENT: He's a [bleep]. He's just a wannabe. A little bitty, kind of short, white dude who thinks he's all that.

LAVANDERA: The 16-year-old victim is described as a popular football player at his high school, but right now family and friends are praying for his recovery. He remains in critical condition and is unconscious.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Houston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And now to the story of the sole survivor of the Sago Mine disaster. Randy McCloy is telling the heartbreaking detail, the desperate struggle deep underground as he and the other miners waited for help. McCloy has written a touching letter to the families of the men who died. Here's CNN's Randi Kaye with a report that aired on "Anderson Cooper 360."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The letter is two pages, typed, addressed, "to the families of the loved ones of my co- workers." McCloy describes in haunting detail the miners' desperate attempts to signal the surface for help using a sledge hammer and how some of their breathing equipment failed.

McCloy has no memory of the blast itself, but remembers what happened next. The "mine filled quickly with fumes and thick smoke" and "breathing conditions were nearly unbearable." He writes, "the first thing we did was activate our rescuers." Those are the air packs used to buy miners in trouble an Hour of oxygen. But according to McCloy, "at least four of the rescuers did not function. There were not enough rescuers to go around." So the miners shared oxygen.

WANDA GROVES, JERRY GROVES' MOTHER: Jerry's didn't work. His oxygen didn't work and Randall shared his with Jerry.

KAYE: Two hundred, sixty feet blow ground, short on air, the men "took turns pounding away" on the mine bolts to make noise. "This effort caused us to breathe hard. We never heard a responsive blast or shot from the surface." So they huddled in an area "of about 35 feet" with only a safety curtain between them and the carbon monoxide.

McCloy writes, "the air behind the curtain grew worse, so I tried to lie as low as possible and take shallow breaths." Miner, Martin Toller (ph) and Tom Anderson (ph) tried to find a way out but smoke and fumes caused them to quickly return. "Worried and afraid, we began to accept our fate." Junior Toler led us all in the Sinners Prayer. "We prayed a little longer and then someone suggested that we each write letters to our loved ones." Randy Toler, the nephew of Martin Toler, says he was surprised to receive McCloy's letter.

RANDY TOLER, MARTIN TOLER JR,'S NEPHEW: You just want to know what your loved one experienced in the final moments. You just want to know that -- you just want to know everything that you can find out about it. And it's just -- it's just still, nevertheless, very painful.

KAYE: As carbon monoxide slowly asphyxiated his friends, Randy McCloy remembers feeling like this. "I became very dizzy and lightheaded. Some drifted off into what appeared to be a deep sleep, and one person sitting near me collapsed and fell off his bucket, not moving. It was clear there was nothing I could do to help him. As my trapped co-workers lost consciousness one by one, the room grew still and I continued to sit and wait, unable to do much else.

McCloy closes by writing, "I cannot begin to express my sorrow for my lost friends. I cannot explain why I was spared while the others perished."

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And Randi Kaye is one of the many contribute to "Anderson Cooper 360." That's weeknights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Back from Iraq, homecoming celebrations for the returning troops. We'll talk with a citizen soldier back from a year-long deployment. Also his family. What did his kids think about having dad overseas for a year?

Lessons in life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to tell them all about what it means to be different, how to cope with alienation, how to deal with other people who look at you differently, or worse, don't look at you at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KAGAN: A grandfather with physical obstacles, a grandson with mental challenges. Words of wisdom and my interview coming up on LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Time's up. It's deadline day for Iran. The U.N. Security Council gave Tehran 30 days to show it had stopped enriching uranium. Today it's reported that the U.N. nuclear watchdog is expected to say Iran has not complied. That could set the stage for possible U.N. sanctions. Live now to CNN's Aneesh Raman who joins us from Tehran.

Aneesh, it sounds like the Iranian government doesn't sound like it cares very much about what the U.N. decides to do about its nuclear issue.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly, Daryn. Good morning. We're mixing technology a bit here.

We heard from Iran's president, who's in the northwestern part of the country today, who said that any international action against the country would carry no weight here in Tehran. It's the latest in a string of statements we have heard all week with Iran saying that it in no way will cease it's nuclear program. What Iran has maintained from the start is a peaceful civilian nuclear program.

The Iranians have said if the U.N. takes any action, not only will the U.N. lose credibility, but they will cease cooperating with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog. The Americans, on the other hand of that pendulum, through Secretary Rice has said, if the U.N. does not make tacks, the U.N. will lose credibility. So in-between is where we will likely see the diplomatic dance in the weeks ahead.

But Iran is standing firm that it is its right to have a civilian nuclear program, that it is not developing a weapon and that they are willing to allow inspectors into the country to verify that.

Daryn.

KAGAN: That's the government. But what about the people of Iran? Have you had a chance to hit the streets, Aneesh, and get a sense of what they think about the nuclear program and possible U.N. sanctions?

RAMAN: Yes, we went out earlier in the week and we found almost uniformity and support for this nuclear program. There is great pride here that Iran was able to develop a nuclear program on its own and a great understanding here that it is their right to have that program.

Now we've heard the rhetoric really ratchet up towards the United States here in Tehran. Yesterday we heard again a warning that if America attacked Iran, American interest around the world would be harmed from Iranians supreme leader. And Iranians, when we asked them about America, they sort of separate the American government from the American people. By and large, they like the America people. They find America a progressive society. One man we spoke to off camera said he even liked President Bush because he had gotten rid of Saddam Hussein. Iran, of course, had an eight year bloody war with Iraq. But then when we turned the camera on he refused to say that.

To get a true (INAUDIBLE) about what they think about larger issues. But when it comes to this nuclear program, there is uniformity, rich or liberal conservative. It's a unifying force and it's something the government has played into in recent months.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Aneesh Raman live from Tehran. Aneesh, thank you.

When we come back, a chance to visit with a citizen soldier who goes from the classroom to a year in Iraq. He's now home. We'll visit with him and his family just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Citizen soldiers back from battle. Members of Georgia's 48th Infantry Brigade are returning from a year-long deployment in Iraq. They started arriving last week. The rest of the 4,300 troops should be home by mid-May.

It was a long and difficult years for the soldiers of the 48th. A year spent dodging bombs and bullets in Iraq. They lost 26 soldiers, 11 were killed during an 11-day period last summer. The 48th was the largest combat unit of the Georgia National Guard deployed overseas since World War II.

They suffered heartache, but they also found hope. An infant, known as Baby Noor, brought back to the U.S. for life-saving surgery. And now the soldiers themselves are having a chance to come home.

First Sergeant Bobby Mayfield is with the 48th, just back from Iraq, and he's here with his wife, Mechelle, and his sons, Ben and Will.

Mayfield family, good morning. It is good to have you here.

1ST SGT. BOBBY MAYFIELD, 48TH INFANTRY BRIGADE: Thank you.

KAGAN: Not just here, but all together, I bet.

BOBBY MAYFIELD: It's good to be home.

KAGAN: Is it good to be home? How does it actually feel?

BOBBY MAYFIELD: It's great. We had a huge welcome home ceremony yesterday in Gainesville, Georgia, and we're just dumb struck. It was just great.

KAGAN: Let's talk a little bit about the service. Because you're a teacher by training, I understand. BOBBY MAYFIELD: Oh, yes.

KAGAN: What grade do you teach?

BOBBY MAYFIELD: I teach high school mostly, ninth and tenth grade math.

KAGAN: So you have a different kind of battle to teach when you're doing that. How does that translate into a year's service in Iraq?

BOBBY MAYFIELD: Well, actually, I used a lot of the same skills in Iraq that I use in the classroom, because you have to have good communication skills, good people skills and you have to be able to read people. Since we had quite a bit of a language barrier, you have to understand that body language and that posture. You get a lot of that in the classroom.

KAGAN: And it's not all happy -- I mean we have the happy tears of coming down, but not happy tears for 26 members of your brigade. How is it to remember them and those families that don't get a chance to welcome home their loved ones?

BOBBY MAYFIELD: It's always sad to lose a soldier, but they died doing their duty, so we're very proud of that. My company in particular was very fortunate. We had two Bradley fighting vehicles completely destroyed, 13 purple hearts, but none of my soldiers got killed. So we were very lucky.

KAGAN: Which takes us to the home front. Michelle, let's start with you. A year -- now you have a different battleground. You were staying home with two teenage boys.

MECHELLE MAYFIELD, SGT. MAYFIELD'S WIFE: Yes.

KAGAN: And how was it at home? But not just being at home, but worrying about what was taking place overseas?

MECHELLE MAYFIELD: Well, the biggest challenge I think I had was learning how to be a single mom because there were situations where you would have -- I would have depended on him. We just said a prayer every night and just -- I tried not to watch a lot of the news.

KAGAN: I can tell you're glad that he's back.

BOBBY MAYFIELD: Oh, yes, definitely.

KAGAN: Boys, let's bring you in here. You guys are certainly old enough to watch the news, to talk to kids at school, to know what's going on. How was it to have your dad away for that year?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, he e-mailed us every day, so we knew how he was doing so we didn't have to worry about the unknown too much. So that was all right.

KAGAN: And how was it for you to have your dad gone? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was tough, but I got through it.

KAGAN: How much did they grow while you were away?

BOBBY MAYFIELD: A tremendous amount. They don't realize it because they were here doing the growing. But when I came back, I'm looking up instead of down.

KAGAN: But they still need to clean their rooms, right?

BOBBY MAYFIELD: Oh, they definitely do. They're good boys and they will.

KAGAN: That's good.

Let's talk about one of the happier stories of the service, and that is Baby Noor. There's been a lot of coverage of that nationwide and here in Georgia. The brigade coming in touch with this baby that was suffering from Spina Bifida.

BOBBY MAYFIELD: Yes, we were really just kind of a -- getting a feel for them. We were over there in Iraq just doing a good thing at the time and missed out on all that publicity and PR and evidently it was quite a stir here. But we were just glad to help the little kid out.

KAGAN: How will your service over there change you as a teacher?

BOBBY MAYFIELD: I'm much more seasoned, more reasoned and I learned through some experiences to think things through very thoroughly before take something action and I think my students will benefit from that.

KAGAN: And when do you go back to the classroom?

BOBBY MAYFIELD: I'm only taking one week off. I'll be back to work on May the 8th.

KAGAN: Oh, so you're going back?

BOBBY MAYFIELD: Oh, I'm looking forward to it.

KAGAN: And what about as a husband and a father, how does the service affect you?

BOBBY MAYFIELD: Well, it's always a sacrifice. I've been in for 24 years now. And up till now I probably missed Ben's birthday here about six or eight times and half of his life. But it's really been a benefit to us overall because there's some things in the military you can take advantage of and it's forced them to grow up and mature a little bit earlier than they would have normally and I think that's going to be a positive impact.

KAGAN: When you joined 24 years ago, was your intent to do -- obviously do service to your country, but could you even envision the type of sacrifice you would have to make? BOBBY MAYFIELD: No. At the time I was young and dumb and didn't really think it through and I wanted to get some money to go to college so I could get some of that college knowledge and be a teacher. But then once I got in the military and learned what they were really all about and what the military lifestyle was about, I decided to hang around and it's really been a worthwhile trip.

KAGAN: And then is your service done now?

BOBBY MAYFIELD: Well, no, I could actually stay for 30 years, but I plan to retire after this tour. I could have retired earlier, but I didn't want to leave my guys with no first sergeant going to war. So I went ahead and stayed with them throughout the war and now I'm going to retire when we get back.

KAGAN: And then, finally, let me just ask the boys, you've watched your dad grow -- you've grown up with your dad being of service like this. Do either one of you see doing the same thing? Could you see going into the military?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I've always wanted to be in a cop. But I don't know, it could be the military.

KAGAN: Not for you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was part of the JROTC for a couple of years and I could see myself being in the military.

KAGAN: You proud of your dad?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am.

KAGAN: And glad to have him home. Well, we won't take any more time of the homecoming. Thanks for taking some time out of your homecoming to the Mayfield family and coming and seeing us here on CNN.

BOBBY MAYFIELD: Thank you.

KAGAN: First Sergeant, thank you. And to all the family.

Well, talking codes just ahead. Code cracked. A ruling in "The Da Vinci Code" court case hides a message, but it's been cracked. We'll tell you what it says coming up.

Oh say can you see. A controversy in the works. The source, this song, the National Anthem in Spanish. That story's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's check out the latest numbers on Wall Street. They've been open about 54 minutes, the markets have. You can see the Dow moving up a little bit. It is up 19 points. The Nasdaq inching up as well. It is up 10 points.

So checking some of the profits. Exxon, ka-ching. Conoco, ka- ching. And today, Chevron is chiming in. The nation's second largest oil company rakes in a $4 billion profit for the first quarter. JJ Ramberg joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange to give us some perspective on those numbers.

JJ, hello.

JJ RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Daryn.

Yes, it's been a big week for those oil companies. If you combine those, combine Exxon, Conoco and Chevron, they earned $15.7 billion during the first three month of the year and that's because of -- oh, and that's even before actually the recent surge in crude prices.

Now Chevron, like the other two, is benefiting from soaring crude oil prices. The first-quarter profit rose 49 percent. That was better than expected. On Wall Street, Chevron shares are up 2 percent right now.

Now this, not surprising, has prompted renewed calls by politicians to do something. Proposals include bringing back windfall profits tax. That was repealed in 1998. Or repeal the tax benefits for oil companies enacted just last year.

Now oil companies, on the other hand, have defended their earnings, as you would expect, saying that they need to compete in the global oil business and they make multimillion dollar investment decisions in order to stay competitive.

Daryn.

KAGAN: So, overall, how are oil prices looking today, JJ?

RAMBERG: Oil is climbing up today just about a little bit -- just a little over a half percent higher right now. But, you know, it is off of its highs of last week when it was over $75 a barrel.

KAGAN: All right, JJ Ramberg live at the New York Stock Exchange. JJ, thank you.

And just ahead -- actually right now you're going to want to roll out of bed, stumble into the kitchen and grab a cup of coffee and then get to work right in the comforts of your own home. Well, for a lot of people, telecommuting is a dream come true, especially with today's high gas prices. In today's "Top Five Tips," CNN's Gerri Willis tells you how to convince your boss that you should work from home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Does the high cost of gas have you dreaming of telecommuting? In today's "Five Tips" we'll tell you how to convince your boss you should work if home. First off, your hopes of telecommuting are not farfetched. In fact, some employment experts say telecommuting will become the norm rather than a perk. High gas prices and natural disasters are convincing employers that working remotely, it's a good thing. And last year, 44 percent of U.S. companies offered telecommuting options. Now that's up a third from four years ago.

Tip number two, assess your job. There's a high chance you'll be able to telecommute if you spend most of your working day on a phone or computer. Accountants, travel agents, customer service jobs, those are all good bets for telecommuting. Keep in mind, though, it's rare to find a job that starts out as a telecommuting gig. You'll have to show your employer just how productive and trustworthy you are before you bring up the option.

Tip number three, weigh the costs. Sure, telecommuting is going to save you a bundle on gas, but don't forget about the cost of working from home. You'll need an extra phone line, a fax machine, a laptop and a broadband Internet connection. Now your employer may cover part of these expenses, but there's really no guarantee. And, of course, you may have to wait for those reimbursement checks.

Tip number four, get it in writing. Deducting your home office is harder than you think. To claim a home office deduction, you have to telecommute for the convenience of your employer, not for your own sake. So be sure to get a letter from your employer that confirms the arrangement and that it benefits your boss, not just you.

And finally, make it all about your employer. When proposing a telecommuting arrangement, remember, it's all about what telecommuting does for the company, not what it does for you. Be prepared with stats on how telecommuting could make you more productive. For help on finding those facts and figures, check out the Telework Coalition at telcoa.org.

I'm Gerri Willis and this is "Five Tips."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Thank you, Gerri.

Just ahead, a great story about a perfect love. A grandfather's inspiring letters to his autistic grandson. My live interview with Dan Gotly (ph) coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY.

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