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Troops Charged; Awaiting Tally on Vote From Troop Withdrawal From Iraq; Medical Mystery

Aired June 22, 2006 - 11:30   ET

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

(NEWSBREAK)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. troops are in the fight of their lives, but not on the battlefield. Seven Marines and one sailor face murder charges in the death of a Iraqi civilian. Attorneys and family members say the men are innocent.

Our Kareen Wynter is live from Camp Pendleton in California where the eight men are become held.

Kareen, good morning.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT Daryn, good morning to you. And those eight servicemen remain inside of brigs here on base at Camp Pendleton, really allowed very limited outside contact. They're in individual cells. Now, we have learned that all eight servicemen, in addition to the defense attorneys, the military defense attorneys that they have been assigned, they've gone outside of that. They've hired civilian lawyers to help with this case. You heard this charges, very, very severe. We're premeditated murder here. Here's a bit more on this charges that could carry the death penalty.

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COL. STEWART NAVARRE, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Based on the findings of a criminal investigation, seven Marines and one Navy corpsman have been charged with offenses including kidnapping, murder, and conspiracy in connection with the death of an Iraqi civilian in Hamdaniya, Iraq. It is important to note that the charges and specifications are accusations against the individual and the accused is presumed innocent.

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WYNTER: These men are actually accused of drag that Iraqi civilian from his house, shooting him, and then placing an assault rifle in his hand to make it appear as if he were an insurgent.

Now part of this alleged cover-up, Daryn, also involved a shovel that was believed to have been planted at the scene. CNN had a chance to view the charging document, documents that were given to the defense attorneys here representing the accused. And it also spells out in detail that at least five of the Marines allegedly shot this Iraqi man.

This is a very, very lengthy legal process. In terms of where we stand right now, there's a military proceeding that's somewhat similar to civilian grand jury, which could lead to a court martial for some or all of those who are accused -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Kareen Wynter live from Camp Pendleton in Southern California. Thank you. And we will have live coverage of the Pentagon and General George Casey. That's at 3:30 Eastern. Kyra Phillips will handle that on LIVE FROM.

President Bush is pressing a familiar theme. He gave a speech to the Hungarian people today in Budapest.

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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: We resolve that when people stand up for their freedom, America will stand with them. The success of the new Iraqi government is vital to the security of all nations, and so it deserves the support of the international community. We will continue to help the Iraqi government establish free institutions to achieve its goals, and we will continue to help Iraq take its rightful place, alongside America and Hungary as beacons of liberty in our world.

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KAGAN: We showed you portions of that speech live here last hour on CNN. The president, by the way, is in Budapest to commemorate the 1956 Hungarian uprising against the Soviet Union. He's scheduled to return to Washington later today.

Speaking of Washington, let's talk about what's happening there right now. On the floor of the U.S. Senate, the vote is on right now as they await the tally on the vote -- on the proposal put forward by Senator John Kerry that calls for all U.S. combat troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by July 1st of next year. We'll keep an eye on that.

Also, a disease ahead. It's creepy, but some doctors are asking, is it a real disease?

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black things that intertwine, and you'll see where they erupt through the skin.

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KAGAN: The truth is out there. A live report on this medical mystery ahead. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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KAGAN: We're watching political news with an international bent today, looking at the floor of the U.S. Senate. Democrats basically have the floor as this full Senate votes on two Democratic proposals, two different ideas on what do you do with U.S. troops currently based in Iraq? Right now the voting on the John Kerry-sponsored proposal, which calls for all U.S. combat troops to be brought home from Iraq by July 1st of next year. We will watch that tally.

Also, just moments ago, President Bush, Air Force One, taking off from Budapest, Hungary. He was there commemorating the 50th anniversary of Hungary's revolution against Soviet rule.

And now for your "Daily Dose" of health news. A medical mystery, the creep factor worthy of science fiction. Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is on the case.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's kind of bluish.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of a semi-circle and the top is kind of reddish.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It sounds like something from the "X Files."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The very first one was kind of a creamy white.

COHEN: People claim they have strings -- not hairs, but strings -- growing out of their skin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's all a system. They're all connected together.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're just these awful little black things that intertwine and you'll see where they erupt through the skin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is this black spot back here.

COHEN: Doctors and nurses can't believe what they are seeing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're blue, they're red. They sometimes move, which is really bizarre.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This didn't seem like anything I had ever seen that was coming out of the human body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a mystery. It really is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: All right, we'll find out more about this mystery disease in just a moment. First, though, to Capitol Hill. The final vote coming in on the John Kerry-sponsored amendment dealing with the U.S. troops in Iraq.

Let's listen and then go to Dana.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ask that the following two votes be ten minutes each.

KAGAN: And the final vote, 86-13. The amendment, not surprisingly, as expected, was defeated. Was it defeated in a fashion and in the proportion that we expected? Let's talk with Dana Bash on Capitol Hill about that. Dana, 86-13?

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's pretty much about what most of the Democrats I've been talking to expected. They expected Senator Kerry to get about a dozen votes. That's pretty much what he got. And now what we're seeing, Daryn, the Democrats going on to what they hope will be an alternative and what they hope will be use to defy everybody, particularly the Republicans, who are trying to point out that they are divided when it comes to the issue of Iraq, that they are a party in disarray.

So this vote is something that probably we will see most Democrats in the Senate vote for, simply saying that there should be not a date certain for troops to come home, but there should be a beginning of a phased withdrawal starting this year -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And just to differentiate between the Senator Levin proposal and John Kerry's?

BASH: The difference is that date. Excuse me. The date starting -- it's July 1st, 2007. You know what, Daryn, you're going to...

KAGAN: OK, you know what, I'll take it from there. You go get a drink. I'll handle this. And the Kerry amendment, just to inform you back hope, the Kerry amendment had a specific date of July 1st, 2007, and the Levin amendment does not have a date, but it does call for troops to begin to be redeployed from Iraq.

All right. We do have breaking news out of Texas, and Fredricka Whitfield has that -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just outside of Dallas and Irving, Texas, it's a parent's worst nightmare. Searchers are looking for a 2-year-old that has gone missing. They're looking into an area near a park where the parents were last seen with the child, playing along with their other child, playing in the park called Lively (ph) Park, just off O'Connor Road in Irving, Texas, when somehow the 2-year-old just kind of wandered off. The little boy with the parents, an older little boy, said that he remembers seeing the 2- year-old wandering off toward a wooded trail area. That was the last time he saw him.

And now an all-out search for this toddler. They are checking by air, they've checked on ground. And you're looking at a team of folks who've just finished uncovering a manhole covers to see -- and you're seeing they're approaching yet another one to see if, in any way, this 2-year-old could turn up in that area. They've asked everyone in the area to be on the lookout for a 2-year-old boy by the name of Elian Majano (ph), described as Hispanic, wearing a white shirt, flowered shorts and flip-flops when last seen -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. We'll stay up to date on that story, just outside of Dallas in Irving, Texas. Fredricka, thank you.

All right, a little disjointed here, but I want to get back to that gross story that Elizabeth Cohen was talking about. So these people have these things coming out of their skin. And to add to the mystery, some doctors don't even believe them?

COHEN: Right, they think they totally made this up, that it's a case of what's called Munchausen syndrome. So what you have, as you said, you have people who say that they have strings coming out of their skin. What you see here is a picture that was taken by a patient's husband. And he says those fibers were right beneath his wife's skin and that sometimes they'd just erupt and they'd pop out and they're black, which is what you see here. You saw white. Neon blue sometimes, and red.

And the patients swear this is real. And some of the doctors treating them, including doctors affiliated with universities, respectable people say, it is real. But other doctors say these patients not only are delusional, but they're actually scratching sores into their skin and then shoving fibers into the skin and then showing up at doctor's office and tricking doctors. And we're talking about thousands of patients from various parts of the country.

KAGAN: Like, how would they know to do that? If someone in Des Moines doing it, how would they know someone in Michigan is doing it?

COHEN: Right. Well, they say it's the Internet, that this is a whole new age, and people put these pictures -- the pictures that you just saw there, actually, had been on the Internet. And so the doctors from -- which is, really, I would have to say the majority of doctors we talked to -- say that these patients get on the Internet, they hear about this, and they see these sores and see the fibers and they try to fake it.

But doctors who we talked to from Oklahoma State University say, look, we have seen these fibers under unbroken skin pretty far away from these sores. They say it's impossible. You couldn't create this illness. Those fibers are real. They don't know how they got there.

They don't know what are, but they say this is real and these people are actually quite ill. They're exhausted. They have something called brain fog, where they sort of feel confused and have sort of a tough time functioning in life. And they say it's a real disease and now, actually, the CDC is even looking into it. After being pestered for quite some time now, they're finally looking into it.

KAGAN: So does it have a name and does it have a treatment?

COHEN: It does have a name. It doesn't a treatment. It would be better if it were switched.

KAGAN: Yes, call me what you want, just make me feel better. COHEN: Right, exactly. Just treat it. It's called Morgellon's Disease, and the patients themselves named it. It's after someone who hundreds of years ago allegedly had similar kinds of symptoms. And so they picked that name, Morgellon's Disease.

And as for treatment, doctors really don't know what to do. The doctors who do believe in this, which I have to say is the minority, they've tried doses of antibiotics, anti-fungals, anti-parasitics. They have found that antibiotics give some relief to some people, but definitely doesn't work all the time, doesn't work for everyone.

KAGAN: More on this later today?

COHEN: More on this later tonight on "PAULA ZAHN." That's 8:00 p.m. Eastern. We will be talking about this. We'll be hearing some theories about what these fibers might, in fact, be. That's tonight at 8:00 Eastern.

KAGAN: All right. Elizabeth, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

KAGAN: And we have a lot of international news coming up at the top of the hour. Hala Gorani has a look at that for us -- Hala.

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Daryn.

Michael Holmes and I will be bringing you the latest from Iraq and also a debate within Israel over those targeted killings in Gaza. In the past week, several civilians have died as a result. And we've seen splashed across the pages of newspapers pictures of injured and dead Palestinian children.

We will be speaking to Yosi Bailen (ph), an Israeli political from the left-leaning Marets (ph) Party, about what to do and what the response should be to those militants who are firing rockets into Israel.

Also, and on a much lighter note, remember the Buena Vista Social Club? Well, actually maybe we'll get to that in a second. But before we get to that, the USA soccer team, not very happy this day. Seems like they're going to lose against Ghana. And if they do, they are out of the competition.

I don't know if we have time to talk to you about that Cuban musician. Let's see. There he is. One of the most revered Cuban musicians might have this story finally told to the world, in the same way the Buena Vista Social Club did in that famous movie a few years ago. We'll bring you his story as well. Hope you can join us at the top of the our, YOUR WORLD TODAY, noon Eastern.

KAGAN: Yes, U.S. soccer about to be Ghana.

GORANI: All Ghana.

KAGAN: Yes, here today, Ghana tomorrow. KAGAN: Absolutely. You can use all of them, coming up at the top of the hour. Thank you, Hala.

Well, he is one of the most powerful men in America. This morning he sat down with our John King and no one else. Vice President Dick Cheney's candid thoughts coming up in a moment.

And nature on a rampage. This buggy invasion is making driving hazardous.

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KAGAN: So they're on to vote number two that the Democrats are putting forward to talk about the U.S. troop in Iraq. Let's check in with Dana Bash to see what's happening with this one. Here's Dana.

BASH: Hi, Daryn.

Well, they're now voting on the amendment that will give the most Democratic votes. Also again, just like the one we saw earlier from Senator John Kerry, not likely to get any Republican votes at all. This does not have a timeline for full withdrawal of troops. It will likely get about high 30s to almost 40 Democratic votes.

But you know, Daryn, one thing that has been interesting in sort of watching this, we've been talking about the fact that neither will pass. And this is really to sort of to put the political stamp on the election year over on one of the biggest issues, overriding issues on the election. We've been talking the divide among Democrats. But from listening to the Democrats one thing that has been appearing is a sense of how they're going to try to deal with the president's popularity, or unpopularity, and try to peg Republicans to it.

And what we've heard from, for example, Hillary Clinton yesterday, saying that Republicans can't just blindly follow the president. And even from Harry Reid today saying that standing by the president right or wrong is unpatriotic and morally treasonable. So you hear the Democrats basically trying to leverage basically the president and his numbers going down and trying to use that against Republicans this election year in Congress.

KAGAN: Dana Bash watching the action there on Capitol Hill. Thank you.

Dick Cheney, one of the most powerful vice president in recent memory. This morning, he sat down one on one with our chief national correspondent John King. Cheney specifically addressed the issue that is right now before the Senate, pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq.

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DICK CHENEY, VICE PRES. OF THE U.S.: If we pull out, they'll follow us. It doesn't matter where we go, this is a global conflict. We've seen them attack in London, and Madrid, and Casablanca, Istanbul, and Mombasa in East Africa. They've been in a global basis involved in this conflict, and it will continue whether we complete the job whether we stay in Iraq or not. Only it will get worse. Iraq will become a safe haven for terrorists. They'll use it in order to launch attacks against our friends and allies in that part of the world.

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KAGAN: John King, his exclusive interview with the vice president will air in its entirety later today on CNN's "SITUATION ROOM." That's coming up at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 Pacific.

Parts of Idaho look kind of like the twilight zone today. The landscape literally alive with billions of brown Mormon crickets. It's the perennial swarm, especially bad this year. The state has deployed poison to keep the investigation in check. Motorists say that the smashed crickets on the road have made the surface as slick as ice. Ooh, crunch, crunch, crunch.

I'm Daryn Kagan, keeping watch on CNN. "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next. I'll see you in 20 minutes with U.S. headlines.

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