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CNN Live Today

Lee Boyd Malvo Testifies Against Accomplice John Allen Muhammad; Afghan President Orders Probe of Deadly Coalition Bombing; What's Taking So Long?

Aired May 23, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're getting word from The Associated Press that former U.S. senator and former Treasury secretary Lloyd Bentsen has died. That information coming to the AP from family members in Houston.
Of course, he might be best be remembered for that vice presidential debate against Dan Quayle, when Dan Quayle had made a reference to John Kennedy and Lloyd Bentsen replied that he knew Jack Kennedy, and as he replied to Dan Quayle, "And you, sir, are no Jack Kennedy."

More on the life and times of Lloyd Bentsen just ahead.

Meanwhile, fascinating testimony taking place inside of a courthouse in Rockville, Maryland.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Boy, you said it.

KAGAN: Tony Harris has that -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes, Daryn, you've said it.

What a strange scene it must be in this Rockville, Maryland, courtroom today. Lee Boyd Malvo is testifying against his former sniper partner and father figure, really, John Allen Muhammad. Malvo was a teenager at the time he and Muhammad started on this sniper spree that terrorized Washington, D.C., and Maryland and Virginia in 2002.

Here's a bit of what Lee Malvo has testified to in court so far this morning. Malvo talking about his mother leaving him with Muhammad at Muhammad's home. He said, "He basically took me under his wing." Muhammad said -- or Malvo said Muhammad cared for him when he was sick. Malvo says that after that experience -- and we're not sure of how old he was, Malvo was, at this time, but that after Muhammad nursed him back to health, he opened up to Muhammad, saying, "I told him about my relationship with my mother, my father, my experiences. He introduced me," speaking of Muhammad, "to the nation of Islam."

Listen to this. Now, Malvo testified that Muhammad taught him sniper team tactics, including how to zero a rifle and how to aim. He said that the two would aim at paper plates, which he said represented heads.

So, Daryn, as you mentioned, just some amazing testimony going on right now in a Maryland courtroom. As you know, Malvo was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2003. And our CNN producer, Mike Allers (ph), is in the courtroom, and he is sending us notes on the testimony, and we'll have more of this for you throughout the morning -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Fascinating stuff. Tony, thank you.

HARRIS: Yes. Sure thing.

KAGAN: Human shields and civilian casualties. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is ordering an investigation into a coalition bombing raid. It reportedly killed 16 civilians. Apparently, they died when Taliban fighters barged into their homes and drew coalition fire.

Our Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is at his post with the latest on this.

Jamie, hello.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, hello.

The Pentagon still not confirming that any civilians were killed in the strike. But the report from President Karzai's office suggests -- lends credence to what local officials had been saying, that 16 or perhaps even 17 civilians, including some women and children, were killed in this air strike that occurred Sunday night and Monday morning in a village in Kandahar province. That's one of the areas where the Taliban has come back with a little bit of a vengeance.

The U.S. military says that it was firing against compounds from which they were drawing enemy fire and that some of the Taliban fighters had positioned themselves on the roofs and in the houses of people, and that they reserved the right to strike against those locations. But President Karzai expressing concern about the decision to bomb areas where civilians were nearby, even as he condemned what he called the terrorists for using civilians as, in effect, human shields.

Nevertheless, he has called for an investigation into what happened there to determine what the decisions were made -- made by the U.S.-led coalition in using the force they did there, and whether the risk of civilian casualty was justified or not justified. So they're going to look at that.

And, of course, there have been a number of incidents in Afghanistan in the past in which there was a lot of second-guessing about the use of air power. And, of course, in one very famous incident, it turned out a wedding party had been bombed because they were mistaken for insurgents. That was back in 2002.

But again, the U.S. military is looking into the circumstances surrounding this bombing incident. It does appear that as many as 16 civilians were killed -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Jamie McIntyre, live from the Pentagon. Jamie, thank you for that details on that request.

Back here in the U.S., 12 miners killed in Sago, West Virginia, in January. Washington was promising new safety rules. Over the weekend, five miners killed in Kentucky, and people are asking Congress, OK, what's taking so long.

CNN's Joe Johns has the story from "AC 360".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A deadly year in coal mining, and it's only half over. So far, more Americans have died in coal mines during 2006 than all of last year or the year before, or even the year before that.

The investigators, the operators, the regulators, and even the lawmakers say they're baffled by it.

Congressman Charlie Norwood chairs the House subcommittee that oversees mine safety.

(On camera): Why do you think there have been so many deaths this year?

REP. CHARLES NORWOOD (R), GEORGIA: I do not know. I mean, you know, we're trying -- I'm trying very hard to find out precisely what's going on. And I'm getting briefings every week.

JOHNS (voice-over): Critics have claimed that lax regulations or lax enforcement, coupled with greater demand and production of coal have increased the risk for coal miners.

But the fact is that after the Sago Mine tragedy in January, the federal government announced rules to increase the number of emergency air supplies in mines, along with extra training for the people who may need such equipment.

State legislatures, like the one in West Virginia, have passed new mine safety laws, but the U.S. Congress has taken no decisive action. Though it's coming under increasing pressure to do something.

CECIL ROBERTS, UNITED MINE WORKERS: You're much safer in a coal mine in Canada and Australia than you are in the United States of America. And everyone standing right here today should be embarrassed by that.

JOHNS: Just last week on Capitol Hill, only a few days before the disaster in Kentucky, the head of the United Mine Workers union joined family members of miners killed in West Virginia's Sago disaster, demanding new safety measures, including more air supply in the mines, safety chambers, better communications for miners underground. And why do you think some say the Congress has waited?

DEBBIE HAMNER, WIDOW OF GEORGE HAMNER: The real question, I believe, is that it's that corporations' profits are more important than safety of our miners. And we're in this energy crisis right now, and coal can certainly play a factor in that, but we've got to mine this coal safely.

JOHNS: Congressman Norwood defends the time it's taken to get to this point.

NORWOOD: If I had lost a son or a father in one of those mines, I would be just like they are. I would be hammering the tables, saying why aren't you doing something in Washington? But the truth is, when we do do something, it needs to be the right thing. End of the day, I think they'll forgive us for being slow-producing legislation because we really are trying to get the right legislation.

JOHNS: And as far as the issue of corporate profits goes, Norwood says the wrong regulations intended to make safer mines could have unintended effects.

NORWOOD: It doesn't promote anybody's best interests to be so unreasonable that you put these people -- these miners out of work. That's not good for them.

JOHNS: Under pressure from miners' families, Congress is picking up the pace. Norwood hopes to put the finishing touches on his plan as early as this week.

Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And more stories like Joe's can be found on "ANDERSON COOPER 360," weeknights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Desperate measures. A New Orleans judge says he is ready to open the prison doors. Some defendants who have been jailed since Katrina without access to lawyers could walk free.

"The New York Times" reports that judge Arthur Hunter says it's his duty under the Constitution. The judge says he's had little success finding lawyers for the defendants. Most are poor. He's already released one man accused of a felony.

The district attorney has objected. A court reversed that decision, but left the option open for similar releases in the future.

Some little Katrina victims are home at last. Nineteen penguins and two sea otters are back in New Orleans from California. They were rescued from the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas after it was damaged by the storm. When they arrived in New Orleans, they were welcomed home with a purple carpet and a brass band.

The New Orleans Aquarium, by the way, is expected to reopen this coming weekend. And we will talk with aquarium officials later this week and get the scoop on the aquarium reopening.

Well, who could forget images like these after Katrina hit? House lawmakers didn't. They have passed a bill requiring that pets be considered in disaster plans. The legislation state and local offices that don't include pet owners' needs in evacuation planning risk losing federal emergency funds.

And hurricane season, as we've been saying, is now just nine days away. Are they ready on the Gulf oil rigs? We'll look at those new safeguards, straight ahead.

And it wasn't your everyday plane trip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's frightening. I mean, it could be me, right? Wouldn't you want help?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: An unusual occurrence in the skies, but nobody seems to notice. We'll tell you what happened to one passenger on LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: CNN has confirmed the death of former senator and former Treasury secretary Lloyd Bentsen. He died in Houston at the age of 85. A very colorful political career.

Not only did he serve in those roles, he also was the Democratic vice presidential candidate back in 1988. His running mate, Michael Dukakis. Bet you know that.

Also famous for the line in the vice presidential debates with Dan Quayle. When the subject of John Kennedy came up, it was Lloyd Bentsen who looked at Dan Quayle and said, "I knew Jack Kennedy. And you, sir, are no Jack Kennedy."

Lloyd Bentsen dead at the age of 85.

It is 13 minutes past 11:00. Hurricane season. Storms shut down Gulf oil rigs. Prices go up. Today the average price of gasoline is about $3 a gallon, and this year's hurricane season hasn't even started.

Our Randi Kaye looks at what oil companies are doing to protect those rigs. Her story aired on "ANDERSON COOPER 360".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're on our way to the Gulf of Mexico right now. This helicopter is going to take us out to the Ram- Powell oil platform. It's one of about a half a dozen deep-water floating platforms operated by Shell Oil out there. And this will be our first look at the damage that was done and the repairs still under way.

The hour-long flight takes us over the water, which is spotted with oil platforms that survived the terrible sisters -- Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. According to the U.S. Department of Interior, 113 structures were lost in the Gulf. Now, most of those were the older oil platforms that were in shallow water. But when those platforms toppled down, they did major damage to the pipelines and disrupted the flow of oil.

Shell's Mars platform, which was the biggest producer in the Gulf was one of the hardest hit. Unable to land there, we stopped at the similar Ram-Powell oil platform.

This is what the rig looks like on Mars. It weighs as much as two 747s. The problem was that during Katrina, it actually toppled over and fell onto the processing area, putting oil production at a standstill.

GREG GUIDRY, SHELL OIL: For Hurricane Katrina, the clamps that clamp the rig down on Mars, they failed. And so the entire rig toppled over.

KAYE (voice-over): For this hurricane season, Shell has designed new clamps to withstand more than 2 million pounds of pressure -- enough to withstand another Katrina.

That's the oil well right there?

GUIDRY: That's it.

KAYE: During last year's storms, drilling rigs also lost their moorings and floated aimlessly, dragging their anchors along the ocean floor.

An underwater robot like this one, never before used so deep, repaired this crack in 2,700 feet of water. Shell says it spent between $250 million and $300 million on Gulf recovery.

GUIDRY: We came back online, and by the end of 2005, we had about 70 percent to 75 percent of our production back on.

KAYE: And finally, starting today, Mars is producing oil and gas again. Before Katrina, it turned out 140,000 barrels of oil each day. It expects to reach those numbers again in June, just as the next hurricane season begins.

Still, 15 percent of the Gulf oil platforms are still down. But with an estimated 71 billion gallons of oil still out there, ready to be drilled, there was no question Shell and its competitors would rebuild. And it hopes when the next Katrina blows through, they'll be ready.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And Anderson Cooper takes you behind the scenes to get the real story. Join "AC 360" weeknights at 10:00 Eastern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought it would be funny. I spent many years putting up something that nobody wanted to see. And this, I thought, this was funny and kind of gave everybody a laugh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Yes, that's the cost of gas, an arm, a leg, and your first born. The story from a California dealer's parting shot. He and Shell are parting ways after 28 years. Shell terminated his lease.

He says the station's location wasn't a part of its strategic plan. The story comes to us from affiliate KABC.

It's good to have a sense of humor in hard times. Stocks getting the last laugh today, bouncing back a bit.

Susan Lisovicz smiling over that at the New York Stock Exchange.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: Then there are the human -- or the pet babies. Nothing ordinary about these two dogs. Just ahead, we're going to show you why one pooch in Alabama has made his master one happy man.

And then check out this chubby canine -- oh dear -- from Arizona. Find out why she is just so fat and what she's doing to work off the pounds.

And a crazy season finale. "Desperate Housewives" Marcia Cross joins Kyra today on CNN's "LIVE FROM". It's 1:45 Eastern, 10:45 Pacific.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Fascinating testimony taking place right now in a Maryland courtroom.

Tony Harris has more on that -- Tony.

HARRIS: Just got an e-mail just a moment ago, Daryn, from our producer, Mike Allers, who is in the courtroom. Let me just read this one to you, because it's just in to us.

This is testimony, as you mentioned, from Lee Boyd Malvo as he is testifying against John Allen Muhammad, his one-time sniper partner and father figure. And this is testimony talking about how the car, this Chevrolet Caprice, was rigged.

Malvo described how Muhammad modified their car using a hacksaw to cut the bulk head between the passenger compartment and the trunk, and how they cut a hole in the rear of the Caprice just above the license plate. He described how Muhammad rigged the car so that the trunk would only partially open when -- if it was open from inside.

Muhammad got the idea, it says here, from an IRA manual. That according to testimony -- testimony from Malvo today. Malvo said they had a .22 caliber semiautomatic, a .22 caliber revolver, and a Bushmaster AR15 rifle.

More of the testimony now. Malvo saying he, Muhammad, said, "We're going to the Washington, D.C., area and we're going to terrorize people." Muhammad told Malvo they would kill six people a day for six days. He said that that would be followed by a second phase in which they would increase the damage, using improvised explosives with ball bearings.

So, if you ever wondered what these conversations were like, what they were thinking, Lee Boyd Malvo is putting you in the room as these conversations were taking place in his testimony today in Rockville, Maryland.

Daryn, we will continue to follow this and bring you more of the testimony as we get it.

KAGAN: All right, Tony. Thank you.

HARRIS: Sure thing.

KAGAN: The Democratic ticket from 1976 making history today. Talking about former president Jimmy Carter and his vice president, Walter Mondale.

Well, get this, you look at the calendar, they have now lived a day longer after leaving office than any other presidential-vice presidential pair. Today marks 25 years and 123 days since Carter and Mondale ended their term. The only other president and vice president team to last longer than 25 years, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. A

A new world record on the world's highest mountain. A Japanese man is now the oldest person to scale Mt. Everest. He made the climb at the age 70.

On the way to the summit he did have a few problems, including exhaustion, headaches and breathing problems. But thanks to his sherpa guides and bottled oxygen, he pushed on and he made it to the top. Over the last half century, 1,500 people have made it to the summit of Mt. Everest. Nearly 200 climbers have died while trying to reach the top.

Melting polar ice caps, greenhouse gases, the deteriorating ozone later, are these doom's day predictions or are they hype? Science provides limited answers. The rest is politics.

Brian Todd filed this report for "THE SITUATION ROOM".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): As a political issue, global warming may never have been hotter. Take former President Clinton, who compared it to the war on terror.

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Climate change is the most -- more remote than terror, but a more profound threat to the future of the children and grandchildren and great grandchildren I hope all of you have them.

TODD: Clinton gave the same warnings we've heard from others, that if the polar icecap keeps melting at its current rate, in 50 years, it will pour fresh water into the North Atlantic, blocking the flow of the Gulf Stream, causing unbearably cold winters in Europe, massive drought in Africa, and millions of refugees.

CLINTON: I am not one of those that is pessimistic about the future of the world, assuming we get off our duffs and do something about climate change in a timely fashion.

TODD: The latest in a veritable media blitz that includes the new documentary from Mr. Clinton's former vice president.

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope you all enjoy the movie.

TODD: And cover stories in major magazines. But there's a counter movement. A "National Review" piece refutes the climate change warnings, as does Fred Smith, from the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

FRED SMITH, COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: It would be like if you looked at your child's growth rate in its first decade of life and said, my God, my child's been growing dramatically, from almost nothing to taller than I am. If this continues by the time my child is 40 or 50, they'll be 20, 30 feet high. Of course, they don't.

TODD: Smith's group has a media blitz of its own.

ANNOUNCER: Carbon dioxide. They call it pollution. We call it life.

TODD: What do scientists call it? Researchers agree the planet has gotten warmer over the past century and humans have had something to do with it. But they can't project with certainty how bad it will get and can't draw any link yet with the intensity of recent hurricanes.

(on camera): Why are we hearing about all this now? Political analysts say it has a lot to do with projections for the upcoming hurricane season, political fallout from the past one, and with the national debate over gas prices and how fast we should be converting to cleaner burning fuels.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: More from the best political team on television every weekday in "THE SITUATION ROOM," 4:00 p.m. Eastern and again in primetime at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

How about the best weather team? Chad Myers part of that -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Good morning, Daryn.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Well, we've all been on a plane sitting next to a person, doesn't have much to say. But on a recent flight from Dallas to Salt Lake City, there was a good reason why one 78-year-old woman was quiet -- she was dead.

Sandy Riesgraf of our affiliate KTSU has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDY RIESGRAF, KTSU REPORTER (voice-over): It was sometime during that flight from Dallas to Salt Lake City that a Delta spokesperson confirms the woman died. It wasn't until she didn't get out of her seat once the plane landed that the flight crew and other passengers realized the woman had passed away.

CHRIS PRAGLEY, TRAVELER: It seems like I might notice that, I mean, like if they're moving or, you know, getting refresh -- certainly drinks are something we're served. No one noticed? Is that what you're telling me? I can't believe it.

CAMERON KLEIN, TRAVELER: I usually acknowledge them when I sit down, but other than that, I could probably see how that could happen.

RIESGRAF: The flight landed at 11:30. Delta says on Late-night flights flight attendants try not to disturb passengers so they can sleep. As long as their seats are in the up right position and tray tables up as the plane prepares to land, passengers wouldn't be bothered.

(on camera): Now Delta says it does encourage all passengers to quietly let a flight attendant know if they suspect something is wrong with a passenger around them, even if that other passenger is a total stranger.

HEIDI COCHRAN, TRAVELER: I usually sleep. And if there's someone sleeping next to me, I would probably just think she was sleeping.

PRAGLEY: That's frightening. I mean, it could be me, right? Wouldn't you want help?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: After Katrina, chaos, confusion and a deadly shooting. It all started on a bridge, and it has ended up in court. We gave that story ahead on LIVE TODAY.

Also a dog that is so smart, how mart is he? Well, he's so smart he could practically do the grocery shopping for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about a Dr. Pepper now? Get me a drink. There you go. Dig it out of there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Come on. He got the Dr. Pepper. OK, well, we're going to dig out our shopping list in just a moment.

First, let's go live to the floor of the U.S. Senate. As we were telling you just a few minutes, Former Senator Lloyd Bentsen's family is telling CNN he has died at the age of 85. Here's the Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid discussing Lloyd Bentsen.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: He served Mr. President the House of Representatives for three terms. He served in the Senate. he Could have served there as long as he wanted, but he went and the secretary of treasury during the Clinton administration. He, of course, has run for vice president. He's run for president.

And for me personally, he was such a guiding light. I can remember when I was elected to the Senate, I was trying to get on the Appropriations Committee, went and met in his hideaway. And I -- this speaks the way that Lloyd Bentsen conducted his life. I was telling him why it would be good for me. I'd been through a tough race in '86, and it was a most noted race in the cycle at that time. And I guess I was talking a lot about why it was important for me to get on the Appropriations Committee. And he ended the discussion very quickly, and said, it doesn't matter if it's good for you. I believe it's good for the Senate. That was how he conducted his life. He was someone that we all looked to almost -- or at least I can talk as I knew the senator, with reverence. I can remember...

KAGAN: Senator Minority Leader Harry Reid memorializing Lloyd Bentsen. He was the treasury secretary under President Clinton, the first Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, also former senator from Texas and vice presidential runningmate to Michael Dukakis in 1988. He died today at the age of 85 at his home in Houston.

We'll take a break. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: So many sad stories come out of Hurricane Katrina, this next one is being told to a grand jury. Just days after the storm, New Orleans police shot and killed a mentally disabled man. He was unarmed. An autopsy shows the victim was shot in the back, and that contradicts police testimony.

Our Drew Griffin investigates. His report was done for "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Sunday, last September the 4th, Lance Madison said he and his younger, Ronald, were walking up the half-mile-long Danziger Bridge over the Industrial Canal, leaving their flooded home, looking for a way to evacuate.

Madison said teenagers ran up behind, shooting at them.

LANCE MADISON, BROTHER OF SHOOTING VICTIM: We might have been about right here when the kids started shooting at us.

GRIFFIN: A New Orleans police team rushed to the scene in a rental truck after a report about gunshots. They opened fired on the people they saw on the bridge.

WARREN J. RILEY, NEW ORLEANS POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: Several of the people were shot, and I believe two were killed, by our officers in a running gun battle. Now, most police shoot-outs last somewhere between six and 12 seconds, and it's over with. This was a running gun battle that went on several minutes.

GRIFFIN: The first casualty, a teenager killed at the base of the bridge, another critically wounded. Three other people with them were also shot.

Lance and Ronald Madison kept running away from the gunfight, now near the top of the bridge. Ronald was 40, mentally retarded, lived at home with his mother, never charged with a crime. Lance says he saw a policeman behind them point a rifle at Ronald.

MADISON: I said he was shot about right over here, about right here.

And we kept running up the bridge here, trying to go zigzag, so they wouldn't hit us.

GRIFFIN: Lance, a former college football player, said he carried his wounded brother across the half-mile-long bridge and left him here alive, outside the rundown Friendly Inn, while Lance ran to get help, splashing through knee-deep water inside the motel courtyard.

Police say an officer encountered Ronald Madison and shot him at the motel entrance.

(on camera): You heard lots of shots?

MADISON: Yes, I did.

(CROSSTALK)

GRIFFIN: More than one gun?

MADISON: Yes. Two different guns, a -- it's like a handgun or a rifle or a sawed-off shotgun. It was real loud.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): A state police SWAT team tracked down Lance and took him into custody. This news photo shows Lance handcuffed in front of the motel. A few feet away lay his brother's body.

MADISON: My brother was laying right here on the ground.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Face down?

MADISON: Face down.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): In a court hearing last fall, a police sergeant testified, an officer shot Ronald Madison to death at that motel when he turned toward them and reached into his waistband.

But the autopsy results obtained by CNN directly contradict that testimony. Last week, in a lawsuit filed by CNN, the New Orleans coroner, Dr. Frank Minyard, verified, this is the handwritten autopsy report prepared by his pathologist on Ronald Madison's death.

It shows five gunshot wounds in the upper back. Three exited through his chest. None of the shots entered his body from the front. Then there's this, a sketch drawn by New York state police pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, who examined the body at the request of the family's lawyer.

You can see two wounds in the right shoulder and the five in the back. Baden told CNN -- quote -- "Clearly, he was shot from behind."

We told New Orleans police chief Warren Riley about the autopsy findings.

(on camera): Now we understand that Ronald Madison was shot in the back five times.

RILEY: Those are things I can't comment on, no one can comment on, until the investigation is concluded.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Riley rejected a CNN request to interview the police officers involved.

(on camera): Are you concerned about your officers' actions at that bridge at this point?

RILEY: Well, I have to wait on the conclusion of the investigation. Certainly, we do not condone or officers overreacting, even in the most chaotic time. And we don't know that they overreacted. From the radio transmissions, it sounds like their lives were in danger.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Yet, no gun was found on Ronald Madison's body. Lance Madison was unarmed when placed under arrest. He since has been released, though the investigation continues.

At last fall's hearing, the sergeant said one officer did see Lance throw a gun into the Industrial Canal. Lance denies he had any weapon.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Did you have a gun?

MADISON: No. I had no gun at all.

GRIFFIN: Did your brother have a gun?

MADISON: No, he didn't.

GRIFFIN: Did you guys pretend to have guns?

MADISON: No, we did not.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): In a hearing on CNN's lawsuit last week, an assistant prosecutor testified the Danziger Bridge shootings have been assigned to a grand jury, although testimony has not yet begun.

The CNN lawyer asked, "What you are investigating in that case is whether any of the police officers may be indicted for homicide; is that correct?"

Prosecutor Dustin Davis answered: "That's partially correct. We are also looking at Mr. Madison's involvement in the incident."

At the end of our interview, Chief Riley conceded, the two brothers may have been uninvolved with the group on the bridge.

RILEY: I don't know if those young men were innocent or not. I really don't know if they were with that group or not. I really don't know.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: You can see more investigative reporting from Drew Griffin on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," weeknights at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.

Women and girls. A horrific story. Women and girls raped by soldiers. Even though their lives are in ruins, their survivors say no one can break their spirit. Ahead on LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: You can see the pain on their faces -- women and girls, victims of rape. And many of them have been brutalized over and over. The crimes are simply horrible. What's even worse, they say no one is stopping the rapists from attacking again.

Our Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange has the story from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They have nothing to sing about, and yet, they sing. They sing to comfort each other and to find strength. These mothers and daughters, grandmothers and granddaughters have all been raped again and again by men in uniform. The crimes are not isolated incidents. Twenty-one-year-old Tintsi was attacked by 15 men wearing uniforms of the Congolese army. She says they raped her for eight days and eight nights. She was brought here on a stretcher. Now she needs a cane to walk. "They can take away my womanhood," she says, "but they will never be able to break my spirit."

The stories get even worse. Twenty-eight-year-old Henriette Nyota says three years ago she was gang raped while her husband and four children were forced to watch. The soldiers then disemboweled her husband and continued raping her and her two oldest daughters, ages 8 and 10. This went on for three days, she says. "I wish they could have killed me right there along with my husband," she says. "What use am I now? Why did those animals leave me to suffer like this?"

Nzigire tells us soldiers used her as a sex slave for more than a month. She bore a child as a result. Every day, she says, feels like a death sentence. This 19-year-old mother struggles to keep her maternal instincts alive. "I sometimes feel like killing myself and my daughter," she says. "I look at her and all I see is hate. I look at myself and all I see is misery. Sometimes I wish I were dead."

Officials here say this past year, there were more than 4,000 reported rape cases in this one province of the Eastern Congo alone. An average of 12 women arrive here at the rehab center for treatment every single day. As part of the peace deal that ended the civil war here more than two years ago, the country's various militias were integrated into the army. The men in uniform now rape at will.

Dr. Denis Mukwege Mukengere is the lone physician at this hospital that specializes in victims of sexual violence. He says he performs an average of six complex operations a day to repair damaged tissue to mutilated victims. And even when he's successful in the physical, he's not sure he's able to repair the mental. In his 23 years practicing in this region, he admits he's never seen such brutality.

"When we hear stories of how some of them have knives thrust into them after being raped," he says, "and how some suffer gunshot wounds after a pistol has been fired between their legs, it's the cruelest and most barbaric thing I have ever seen."

He takes us to one of several wards filled with victims of sexual abuse, colostomy bag hanging on the floor. And hanging over their heads is another frightening scenario. The chances are high that they could be HIV-positive, raising the prospects of being rejected by family members once they leave the hospital.

He tells us that 19-year-old Helene Mulunzala (ph) first came here when she was 14 after being raped for days. She was treated and eventually released. Six years later, she's back. This time, horribly disfigured, he says, and he's not even sure she's able to fully recover this time around.

"It's unimaginable that she could go through such pain," he says. "It's simply unforgiveable."

Aid money designated by international charitable organizations for victims of sexual violence may be about to run out.

"It's so tragic that the world can afford to sit back and let these things happen," says Marie Walterzon of the Swedish Pentecostal Mission. "Is it because they are poor and voiceless Africans? The women of Congo deserve better."

Here in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it's easy to find the victims of rape, but Amnesty International and private donors say there seems to be no effort to find the rapists. And so the women of this country must try to heal without justice. It makes the words of their song all the more powerful, "We will never be broken," they sing. "We will never be broken."

Jeff Koinange, CNN, Bukabu (ph) in eastern Congo.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: A diet of beer and doughnuts and this is what you get, one chubby canine. The story from Kim Holcomb with our affiliate KPNX.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIM HOLCOMB, KPNX REPORTER (voice-over): Listen closely to the sound of an animal struggling to shed years of horrible nutrition, a dog who weighed almost three times as much as she should have when the Humane Society took her in.

MELISSA AMATO, HUMAN SOCIETY: This is quite unique, to actually have a dog who cannot even get up because she's so overweight.

HOLCOMB: Her owners feeding her a strict diet of beer and doughnuts.

It's not illegal, but the results are certainly immoral.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good girl.

HOLCOMB: Weighing in at about 68 pounds on this day, and that's an improvement.

AMATO: And it's a miracle that she is as healthy as she is.

Melissa Amato is fostering the dog, a sheltee named Cessa (ph), who can barely support her own weight, so workouts are in the water at this East Valley animal rehab center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Usually I can end up getting a dog within a few sessions to start playing games in the pool.

HOLCOMB: Cessa isn't there yet, but after just five sessions, she's dropped seven pounds and can spend almost 20 minutes burning calories in the pool AMATO: I'm just so proud of her. You know, I just think she's doing just awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good girl. You're getting tired already.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It may take a year before she sheds all the pounds. For now, progress is measured in even the smallest steps.

AMATO: She is going to sleep really good.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: You go, Cessa. Keep up the good work.

Then there's a dog will fetch who will fetch just about anything, a spaniel from Alabama taking the game to a new level with his smart choices.

Jere Hough from our affiliate WKRG shows us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE TUCKER, DOG OWNER: Anything I want, he'll go get it for me.

JERE HOUGH, WKRG REPORTER (voice-over): On a hot Gulf Coast morning, this dog is certainly that man's best friend.

TUCKER: Go get me some water.

HOUGH: He's fetching bottles of water for his owner, Joe Tucker, who explains that his dog loves to run errands. And the Boykin spaniel is really good at it.

TUCKER: Get me a beer. Good boy. Good boy. How about a Dr. Pepper now? Get me a drink. There you go. Dig it out of there. Good boy.

See him dig that Dr. Pepper out?

HOUGH: How did he get the name "Homeless?" Mrs. Tucker had said absolutely no dog. But then a relative called and said he had their new puppy.

TUCKER: So she slammed the phone down and went down to my nephew's house down the street right there, and walked in, said where's that homeless dog at? So I named him "Homeless." She picked him up and never put him down.

HOUGH: Homeless will get the worm bucket when it's time to go fishing, and he'll fetch the starter wood for the grill when it's time to cook. Tucker has never intensely trained the dog, and has never used treats as a reward. Homeless just aims to please.

TUCKER: He loves it. He loves attention.

HOUGH: (on camera): I don't want to say anything stupid here, but I think you deserve a college degree, Homeless. Dr. Homeless.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Thank you, homeless.

I'm Daryn Kagan. International news is up next.

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