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CNN Live Today
Update on Ramsey Murder Case; Italian Air Traffic Says British Plane With Suspected Bomb Lands in Southern Italy; Screening Teachers
Aired August 18, 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 move on at the top of the hour to the JonBenet Ramsey case and what we know right now.
Suspect John Karr could be returned to the U.S. at any time. That is from officials in Thailand. He'll return with growing questions about his credibility. Some legal experts point to inconsistencies between his reported claims and the evidence in the case.
Meanwhile, the brother of the -- of the 41-year-old school teacher vows to clear him today. He says the murder case is just ridiculous.
For the latest on the case, let's go to CNN's Ed Lavandera. He's standing by in Boulder, Colorado.
Ed, Hello.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
Well, you know, we're still trying to piece together all the different pieces of information that have been coming on John Karr over the last 24 hours or so, and needless to say, it is still a rather confusing time. And of course that's why the district attorney here in Boulder, Colorado, saying that people need to show down and not rush to judgment in this case.
But one of the things that came out yesterday that really started to -- we had learned that really drove investigators to looking into John Karr was this exchange of e-mails that he had been having with a journalism professor at the University of Colorado. "The Rocky Mountain News" newspaper here in Denver this morning obtained a few of those e-mails. Not all of them, but the professor there refusing, really, to share these widely with a lot of people, but apparently "The Rocky Mountain News" getting a hold of a few of them.
So we can read you a few samples of them. In one of the e-mails, it's Karr writing to this professor like a tribute, an ode to JonBenet Ramsey.
It starts off by saying, "JonBenet, my love, my life. I love you and shall forever love you. I pray that you can hear my voice calling out to you from my darkness -- this darkness that now separates us."
Another one went on to write -- and this is Karr again writing to this journalism professor -- "I will tell you that I can understand people like Michael Jackson and feel sympathy when he suffers as he has." He also added that he is "trapped in a world that does not understand."
Of course this another element to this story that kind of even makes it more confusing. There are a lot of swirling pieces of information about John Karr that we're trying to piece together and try to figure out exactly whether or not -- and, of course, all of this boils down to trying to figure out the credibility of John Karr, whether or not what he said yesterday in Thailand is the truth or not -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Right. And then we heard from the district attorney in Boulder yesterday, where she said that this arrest came sooner than she wanted it to.
LAVANDERA: That was the interesting -- besides the fact that she repeatedly said that she couldn't comment on anything, any of the details in this case, there -- you almost got the sense that, if it were up to these prosecutors, we wouldn't be talking about John Karr today. And they said that they acted to move in on this arrest for two reasons.
One of them being that perhaps they considered him a flight risk, and also that he started a new job as a second grade school teacher in Thailand. So perhaps those two elements forcing their hand a bit. That's what it almost sounded like the district attorney here was saying in Boulder yesterday.
KAGAN: All right. Ed Lavandera, live in Boulder, Colorado.
Thank you.
With this confession in the Ramsey murder case there actually now seems to be more questions than answers.
With that, here's CNN's Tom Foreman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In this quiet town, nagging questions have always surrounded the theory that an unknown intruder killed JonBenet. And if Karr has given a confession and if it is true and if he is to be charged, authorities will want those questions answered.
QUESTION: What happened?
JOHN MARK KARR, SUSPECT: Her death was -- was an accident.
FOREMAN: How did a killer get into the house? Police sources said at the beginning there was no forced entry, no footprints in the snow -- those assertions have been challenged in the years since -- and a window was apparently left unlocked. But in the neighborhood, no witnesses reported a passing car, a vagrant, a barking dog, nothing of value for police. How did the intruder navigate the darkened house to find his victim, brutally kill her, and hide the body without waking anyone? Investigators said from the outset the house was a sprawling maze of hallways, rooms, staircases and closets. The storage room where the body was found was even overlooked by police when they first searched the house for the missing girl. And, by the way, Karr lived in Alabama at the time of the murder.
Why did the killer leave a ransom note for a murder? The handwritten note contained details about John Ramsey's past and his personal finances which a casual acquaintance would not know.
PATSY RAMSEY, JONBENET'S MOTHER: Then I go down the spiral staircase, and there on one of the rungs of the stair is the three- page ransom note.
FOREMAN (on camera): And the questions just go on and on.
Why did the killer use a broken paint brush from Patsy's hobby kit to twist a cord around JonBenet's neck? Why did no phone call ever come for this supposed ransom before the body was found?
(voice over): Such questions have made the authorities highly cautious about reaching any conclusions.
(on camera): One of the arguments all along has been that the Boulder authorities have simply been too cautious and that's why there's never been an arrest. What do you think?
MARY LACY, BOULDER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I'm not commenting further at this time.
FOREMAN: You can't even talk about that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse us, sir. Thank you very much.
FOREMAN (voice over): And for now, the questions are still outrunning the answers.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Boulder, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Tom is with the team that's covering the JonBenet Ramsey case for "ANDERSON COOPER 360". You can watch "AC 360" weeknights at 10:00 Eastern, only here on CNN.
So, with these jaw-dropping admissions from the suspect, that's one thing, but the key to any case is evidence.
Don Clark is a former FBI lead investigator. He's joining me now from Houston, Texas, to talk about all this.
Don, good morning.
DON Clark, FMR. FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Hey, Daryn. Good morning.
KAGAN: Let's go through a list, like a checklist, for a lack of a better word.
First, let's talk about the DNA and how important that is.
CLARK: Well, certainly, the DNA is going to be, in my opinion, the most crucial piece of evidence, because if they can find DNA that's matching KARR or any other suspect in this case that's in that house, and with all of the evidence that they've collected at this point, that's going to be very strong evidence. And with the technology today, clearly the age of the DNA, the quantity of the DNA is not as significant as it was, say, 10 or 20 years ago. Today they can take little tiny pieces.
So, if they can put that together -- and I suspect that the police department there, they have to be looking very diligently at that.
KAGAN: Right. I don't remember hearing before about an outsider's DNA in the Ramsey case, which I think is interesting.
CLARK: Well, I don't recall hearing about an outsider's DNA either in the Ramsey case, but I've got to believe that with all of the information that's out there, there must be some information, Daryn, that the police are really keeping close to vest. And to me, it was like the press conference that the D.A. was going to have there. I couldn't imagine that press conference telling us anything that was going to be significant, because I think they've learned to try to keep this thing as close to the vest as they can.
KAGAN: Yes, I understand that.
Now, the ransom note that was left behind, we have a piece of that, and we also have a piece of John Karr's writing. And we can put that up side by side.
CLARK: Yes. Well, you know, handwriting could make a big difference in this. And I know that people say, well, you can disguise your handwriting. And I don't mean to speak as an expert on handwriting, but I certainly have worked with enough of them to know that, no matter how you try to disguise your writing, that at some point in time what's common to you and what's familiar to you and your style will show up in that writing at some point.
It may be it's accidental. It's not that -- you are trying to disguise it but you just can't 100 percent disguise all of your writing. I mean, think about signing your own name. I mean, you just go back to some letters and they're almost identical every time.
KAGAN: There they are.
What about the footprint that was outside the Ramsey house in Boulder?
CLARK: Well, that could be very crucial to them. But the one thing about the footprint, they can take a cast of it, but it means nothing unless you can find a shoe to match it.
Now, if they can find a shoe on this guy or some place else that matches that footprint, it can either connect someone else or certainly it can say that this was not the person because this shoe does not fit the person that we have in custody now. So they've got to be looking at this. And I've got to think that they must have a bit more information about those things than certainly we do.
KAGAN: Now the confession. This would seem like an investigator's dream come true, and yet there's a lot of problems here.
CLARK: You know, Daryn, I'm always a little bit shaky with confessions, because they can change their mind and so forth. But you're not going to turn them down. Just do them the right way, get the information properly. Make sure that when the challenges come, that that's not going to be the reason that the confession is not used.
However, the confessions are one thing and, still, investigators have to get on their horses and really try to verify all of the information that's in that confession. They just can't take it at face value. They have got their work cut out to say that, yes, this is valid and, no, this is not.
KAGAN: And finally, what's out there that we haven't touched on, Don?
CLARK: You know, I don't know. It seems like we've touched on every suspect of this case. But I think the one thing that's out there is the psychological profile of John Karr.
I mean, they've really got to get the profilers involved and all of the experts, and really try to figure out who this person is. And if there's some evidence, that's good. If there's no evidence, then that's a problem.
KAGAN: All right. Thank you so much.
CLARK: You bet, Daryn.
KAGAN: Good to see you again.
CLARK: OK.
KAGAN: Let's get back to the story that's been developing out of southern Italy, this passenger jet, this charter jet that left London on its way to Egypt. It was diverted and forced to land in southern Italy.
Alessio Vinci is on the phone from Rome with the latest on that -- Alessio.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we do understand that a Boeing 767, all the 280 passengers on board have deplaned. And, of course, the crewmembers as well. And we do understand that the Italian security officials, the anti-bomb squad, the anti-terrorism squad, is going through the plane as we speak now.
All the security checks are being -- taking -- are taking place right now. And that so far, no bomb has been found on board of the plane.
There are some reports which we cannot confirm here that Italian officials have already called off the alert. We cannot confirm this independently, but it does appear -- and I stress the word it does "appear" -- appear that this was a hoax.
That said, it is obviously a very difficult decision that a pilot has to make when he is flying at 13,000 feet in the air, whether or not to take -- to land the plane when he receives a note. We do understand that a note was found on board indicating that there was a bomb on board. That note was passed from passenger to passenger all the way to the pilot, which then had to make a quick decision. And the quick and safest decision, of course, was to land the plane at the Brindisi Airport in southeastern Italy. But, again, the search has been going on now for quite some time and we do understand from Italian officials that no bomb has been found on board.
That said, the Boeing 767 is a large -- it's a wide-body plane. There were 280 passengers on board, obviously carrying a lot of luggage. These were holiday-makers going from England to the resort town of (INAUDIBLE) in Egypt.
It will take hours before the entire aircraft is searched to make sure that there is no bomb on board. But certainly, the modus operandi, the fact that the note was found, does not certainly indicate that if there was indeed -- if there were indeed terrorists or a terrorist on board of this plane with the serious intention to blow it up, that this would have already happened.
So, certainly, all necessary and precautionary have to take -- are being taken, including the fact that Italian air force jets were sent to intercept the plane. We do not know whether indeed the plane was intercepted before it made the emergency landing, but we do know, however, that the plane is now sitting on a tarmac at the Brindisi Airport in southeastern Italy, all passengers, 280 of them, have safely deplaned, and the security checks are under way.
And as you can imagine, such a large plane, it will take, again, hours before the entire search is complete.
KAGAN: All right.
VINCI: For the time being, no bomb has been found.
KAGAN: Thank you for the latest.
Alessio Vinci, live on the phone from Rome, Italy.
Thank you.
Coming up in a few minutes, we will hear from President Bush. He will be live at a news conference this morning. That's expected to begin in the next few minutes. You'll see it live here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
KAGAN: Meanwhile, Hezbollah has started handing out cash payments to Lebanese civilians whose houses were damaged or destroyed by Israel, building more support and potentially embarrassing the Beirut government. The U.S. says the Islamic group gets funds from oil-rich Iran.
Could North Korean scientists be planning an underground nuclear test? U.S. officials say there is a small sign. Recent images have shown wire bundles at a suspected underground nuclear site that could mean North Korean scientists are wiring the site to monitor a test from a distance. But U.S. officials caution they cannot be certain the tests will be coming very soon.
Here in the states, the JonBenet Ramsey case and what we know right now at the quarter hour.
Suspect John Karr could be returned to the U.S. at any time. That comes from officials in Thailand. He'll return with growing questions about his credibility. Legal experts point to inconsistencies between his reported claims and the evidence in the case.
Meanwhile, the brother of the 41-year-old school teacher vows to clear him today. He says the murder case is just ridiculous.
The arrest of John Karr, a traveling teacher, is raising questions today about background checks at the nation's schools.
CNN's Susan Candiotti takes a closer look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before Rafael Serrano can be a substitute teacher in Miami.
RAFAEL SERRANO: I just hadn't never given much thought.
CANDIOTTI: He learns this lesson. No fingerprints, no criminal background check, no job. His prints will be cross checked with databases in all 50 states, 10 percent of all teacher job candidates come back with positive hits.
SERRANO: Especially in my case, I'm going to be working with young children, I think it's very important that they do a background check. I don't feel in any way violated in any way.
CANDIOTTI: No system is fool proof. For example, in Miami, once teachers pass, there is no required follow-up unless they leave and want their job back.
JOHN SCHUSTER, MIAMI-DADE SCHOOL DISTRICT: People must self- report any crime that they are accused of, so that if someone after employment is actually involved in a crime, they must report it to their supervisor or they risk losing their job.
CANDIOTTI: Despite all the attention on child predators, there's no single way school districts check teacher's backgrounds. Thirty- nine states require or authorize state and FBI background checks of teachers including fingerprinting. Nine states provide for state background checks. However Indiana, Massachusetts and Tennessee have no policy on fingerprinting, according to a national certification group.
President Bush recently signed the Adam Walsh Act allowing fingerprint checks of national crime databases, but only if individual state education agencies ask for it.
It's a crime not to make sure that our kids are safe, and for these school districts, for these states that aren't doing it, they should be accountable for allowing this to happen without doing background checks. It's unacceptable.
CANDIOTTI: One study done for the U.S. Department of Education says nearly one of every ten students reports some form of sexual misconduct by teachers, administrators, or coaches during their high school years. But that misconduct doesn't necessarily show up in a database.
CHAROL SHAKESHAFT, HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY: The problem that most teachers have never been charged or convicted of sexual based crimes so that if you did a background check on them, you wouldn't necessarily turn anybody up.
CANDIOTTI: Some schools have gone beyond checking teachers. Example: Florida's Jessica Lunsford Act, named after a little girl kidnapped, raped, and killed by a sex predator.
(on camera): The law requires criminal background checks of anyone who works at schools, even those who don't come in close contact with children including construction workers and those who restock vending machines.
(voice-over): One more way to make schools safer from those looking for any opportunity to get closer to children and do them harm.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: You can catch more of Susan's reports on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," weeknights at 8:00 Eastern, only here on CNN.
Standing by any minute, we expect President Bush to come to the microphones. He's at Camp David today. He is having a summit with his economic advisers, but we do expect him to answer questions on a number of different issues.
Our Elaine Quijano is standing by at the White House with more on what we can look forward to.
Elaine, hello.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.
Well, White House officials say that really this is an annual meeting, a huddle, if you will, that the president does every year in August with his economic team to look at the larger economic picture. So we'll likely hear about things like job growth, the big economic picture, the budget, among other things. But this is coming at a time when, of course, Americans have continued to see those high gas prices.
This is an administration that understands full well that has continued to be a concern for many Americans and, of course, a concern for this White House, as well, with those congressional midterm elections right around the corner. The president certainly has been campaigning for Republicans.
Now, also, though, another issue which will likely come up, the president will be answering some questions, we believe, from the pool of reporters there at Camp David.
The NSA surveillance program, the ruling by the federal judge in Detroit, Michigan, yesterday, essentially calling the warrantless wiretap program unconstitutional. Now, already we have heard a very staunch defense yesterday, not only from the White House -- we heard from White House Press Secretary Tony Snow in a statement saying that the Bush administration couldn't disagree more with that ruling -- we also heard from attorney General Alberto Gonzales, essentially, Daryn, reiterating the administration's argument that the program, the administration feels, is legal and necessary, Daryn.
So a number of topics likely to be brought up. We do expect the president to be appearing here momentarily. And we understand joining him, in addition to the economic team, will be Vice President Dick Cheney. We also understand that Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt will also be there. But other familiar economic team faces, if you will, the Commerce secretary, Carlos Gutierrez; Labor secretary, Elaine Chao; Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson among those who will be with the president that we're expecting to see any moment now -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right, Elaine. Thank you.
We'll keep an eye on the cameras at Camp David, and we'll go there live when it begins.
Right now, a quick break. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Any minute now, President Bush should step to the microphone at Camp David. He could be getting questions on the NSA wiretapping situation, other hot-button issues. He is at Camp David for a meeting with his economic advisors, and when it begins, you'll see it live right here on CNN.
But first, let's see what's happening in the Middle East.
It is day five of the Mideast cease-fire. Long-term enforcement still a major concern. Fifteen thousand Lebanese troops are expected to be in southern Lebanon by the end of the day.
Italy agrees to send as many as 3,000 troops to join them, part of a 15,000 member U.N. peacekeeping force.
And Hezbollah has started handing out cash to Lebanese whose homes were hit by Israeli air strikes. Hezbollah officials say civilians who lost their homes are receiving $12,000.
Our Anthony Mills is in the Lebanese capital of Beirut to tell us more about all of this.
Anthony, hello.
ANTHONY MILLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello there.
The deployment of the Lebanese army has really gathered pace in the last 24 hours. Thousands of troops have headed to the south of the country, south of the Litani River.
They crossed over that river. They've also been arriving at the port city of Tyre in the south. And they've actually made it all the way up to the Shebaa Farms frontier. That's a village right on the border which has seen a lot of violence not just in this conflict, but also throughout the six years since Israeli troops withdrew. It's a parcel of disputed land currently controlled by Israel but claimed by Lebanon.
Now, those troops, we saw the pictures. They were greeted with jubilation by Lebanese residents down there, obviously happy that there was a semblance of security coming to that area. And key, as well, stability. They're tired of violence down there. They've seen a lot of it, especially over the last few weeks.
Meanwhile, as you mentioned as well, Hezbollah has been distributing compensation in the southern suburbs. Starting two days ago, they've been distributing flyers telling people who had had their homes damaged or destroyed in the violence that they could pick up compensation at one of eight bureaus, effectively, set up in those devastated southern suburbs.
Now, people who have completely had their houses destroyed will be picking up $12,000. And according to Hezbollah, 600 cases have been processed today, 250 yesterday, and the whole procedure continues.
That's not an insignificant sum of money here in Lebanon, where an annual -- annual income is roughly $5,000. So very important for those Shia Muslims who are supporters of Hezbollah who have seen their homes destroyed to get this compensation. KAGAN: Well, important for the people, but I would imagine embarrassing for the Lebanese government. And definitely a setback for those who are trying to disempower Hezbollah.
MILLS: Absolutely. Just yesterday, we heard the leader of the parliamentary majority, Saad Hariri, saying that the government would no longer accept a weak state -- a weak state. And yet, here, we have what many would say is a state within a state.
It's distributing millions of dollars, not just a few thousand dollars, but millions of dollars. It's really eclipsed the government when it comes to the reconstruction, or at least compensation aid effort, and would indeed appear to be running entirely counter to the desires of anyone who at the very least would like to see Hezbollah become a force that is really under the authority of the government, as opposed to overshadowing entirely that government.
KAGAN: Anthony Mills, live from Beirut.
Thank you for that.
And now to the alleged plot to blow up airliners with liquid explosives, British investigators are searching several sites for evidence. They're also questioning nearly two dozen suspects. Meanwhile, senior Pakistani government officials are disputing a report that al Qaeda's No. 2 man had a connection to the terror plot. The officials say Pakistani intelligence has found no such link.
9/11 justified, according to a British cleric, who also says the U.S. should be struck again. He spoke with CNN's Dan Rivers.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
RIVERS: What was your reaction, for example, on September the 11th?
ABDULLAH: Every sincere Muslim was pleased because America deserved a punch in the nose. You know, as a measure (ph)...
RIVERS: But 3,000 people died that day.
ABDULLAH: Three thousand people was like a drop in the ocean compared to the millions of Muslims that have been killed.
RIVERS (voice-over): Abu Abdullah calls himself a cleric, but his extremist views may be repugnant to the vast majority of Muslims; in fact, anyone who believes in god.
One of the most outspoken Muslims in Britain, he's an associate of convicted terrorist Abu Hamza, who's serving seven years in prison for inciting racial hatred and soliciting murder and is wanted in the United States for trying to establish terror camps in Oregon.
But Hamza's friend, Abu Abdullah, is still free, despite expressing views that come very close to inciting and glorifying terrorism. But he hasn't been charged with any crimes. ABDULLAH: My Honorable Sheikh Osama bin Laden and Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri, I love these people dearly for the sake of Allah. I couldn't express how much I love these people.
RIVERS (on camera): You love Osama bin Laden?
ABDULLAH: Oh, yes. I love him more than myself.
RIVERS (voice-over): Abdullah tries to use the Koran to justify terror.
ABDULLAH: The Muslims that have the -- obviously want to take up arms against the West, it's their Islamic right to do so. Islam is a peaceful religion, but at the same time, Islam is allowed to defend itself.
RIVERS (on camera): It's allowed to defend itself, you'd say.
Is it allowed to attack the West?
ABDULLAH: Absolutely. If this person is killed by the West, then we have our rights to take it out on the West, those mainly, the army, the British or the American Army, government buildings, where they legislate from, banks...
RIVERS: So it's -- they're fair game?
ABDULLAH: Well, it's absolutely -- of course it's fair game for the Muslim.
RIVERS: So Tony Blair is a legitimate target?
ABDULLAH: Absolutely.
RIVERS: George Bush is a legitimate target?
ABDULLAH: Absolutely. Yes.
RIVERS: Do you think that America and Britain will be subjected to further attacks?
ABDULLAH: They should be.
RIVERS: A lot of people will be horrified by what you're saying, that they think that you are bringing nothing but chaos and death and destruction and misery.
ABDULLAH: Hmm, well, I'm not here to please the West or to please people's understandings.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And we're going to cut into this piece to go live to Camp David.
Here's President Bush. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you all for coming.
We've just finished a really informative meeting with my economic team. I want to thank them for their service to the country; really proud to be serving -- and the American people -- alongside of them. Put together a really good team of people -- smart, capable, decent, honorable people who are serving America with great distinction.
We discussed the state of the economy. We discussed where our economy is headed. And we discussed the steps that we're going to take to ensure that our economy continues to lead the world.
The foundation of our economy is solid and is strong. Because of the tax cuts we passed, American workers and families and small businesses are keeping more of the money they earned. And they're using that money to drive this economy of ours forward.
The economy grew at a 4 percent annual rate during the first half of 2006. And this means that our economy is maintaining solid growth in performing in line with expectations.
Our solid economic growth is creating real benefits for American workers and families and entrepreneurs. Since August 2003, we've added more than 5.5 million new jobs. The unemployment rate is 4.8 percent. Productivity growth is strong.
Behind the numbers are stories of hardworking Americans who are realizing their dreams. The entrepreneurial spirit in this country is strong, and that's good for America.
Was in Miami a couple of weeks ago, and I met a fellow named Nelson Gonzales (ph). Ten years ago, he and a friend started a computer business in a garage with $10,000. Their revenues are $192 million today. They employ about 750 people around the world.
I visited a fellow in Wisconsin named John West (ph). He runs a manufacturing company. Over the past two years, John's factory has expanded from 65 employees to 90 employees. He told me he's receiving more orders than he can fill and he's looking for more workers.
The other day, I went to York, Pennsylvania, to visit the Harley Davidson plant. They're selling motorcycles all over the world. Harley has doubled its workforce in the past decade.
In other words, things are good for American workers and good for the entrepreneurs, and that's good for the country.
Economic growth has had a positive impact on the budget. And that's good for the taxpayers. Last year, economic growth pushed up federal tax revenues by 14.5 percent. That's the largest increase in 24 years.
This year, tax revenues are projected to increase by another 11.4 percent. And at the same time, we're working with Congress to restrain federal spending. We're meeting our priorities and we're restraining federal spending.
We recently learned that this year's deficit is projected to be 30 percent lower than we initially thought. And that means we're on track to cut the deficit in half by 2008, a full year ahead of the original goal.
We've got to keep this economy growing through pro-growth economic policies. Taxes need to be kept low. We'll work with Congress to restrain spending.
Congress needs to pass the line-item veto so we can work together to cut out wasteful and unnecessary spending.
We're going to work to make sure health care is more affordable for our businesses and our families.
We will continue to invest in new energy technologies so we can promote alternative sources of energy and be wise stewards with the environment.
We will continue to stop -- to work to stop the spread of junk lawsuits. And we'll continue to open up markets for American products.
We also discussed ways to keep this economy of ours competitive, flexible and dynamic into the future. We discussed ways to make sure we improve education and job training.
It's really important for our workers to have the skills necessary so we can remain a competitive country.
It's really important for Congress to fully fund the American Competitiveness Initiative to make sure this country remains the economic leader we want it to be.
We also talked about the need for this administration to work with Congress to really deal with the biggest challenge facing our budget, and a huge challenge for our economic growth in the future, and that is the unsustainable growth of spending on programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
These programs need to be reformed so that they will be available for our children and our grandchildren.
It's a difficult issue. I know for members of Congress, people here with me clearly see the problem. And we look forward to working with both Republicans and Democrats to do our duty. And that's to solve the problem.
All of us here are confident about the future of this country. Over the past five years, our economy has faced unprecedented challenges from recession to corporate scandal to terrorist attack to natural disasters. And through it all, our free enterprise system has proved to be the most resilient and responsive in the world.
With hard work and wise policies, we'll meet every challenge that comes. And in so doing, we'll help more Americans realize their dreams; continue to make this country a grand -- a land of great opportunities.
Now I'll answer a couple of questions. QUESTION: Mr. President, on Lebanon, how can you say that Hezbollah has suffered such a bad defeat when it's helping rebuild in southern Lebanon and it remains intact?
And, secondly, are you disappointed at all about France's decision to scale back its support of the international force?
I think when people take a sober look at what took place in Lebanon, they'll realize that the destruction was caused by Hezbollah.
Hezbollah caused the crisis. It was Hezbollah's kidnapping of Israeli soldiers as well as Hezbollah's launching rockets that caused Israel to defend herself from an action that the Lebanese government didn't support. Hezbollah acted as a government within a government, and the world came to that recognition very quickly.
I remember -- I don't know if you traveled to St. Petersburg with us, but one of the first things that happened in the G-8 after this crisis occurred was that we all sat around the table and came to the conclusion very quickly that this type of a behavior from a state within a state is intolerable for peace.
The first reaction, of course, of Hezbollah and its supporters is to declare victory. I guess I would have done the same thing if I were them.
But sometimes it takes people a while to come to the sober realization of what forces create stability and which don't. Hezbollah's a force of instability.
I appreciate the Siniora government's efforts to make it clear to the Lebanese people that they are the legitimate government of Lebanon and they will work to rebuild that country.
Prime Minister Siniora gave a very -- I thought a very interesting speech the other night, and a powerful speech, about how it's now time for the duly elected government of Lebanon to do its duty and help rebuild, and they're getting help from around the international community to do so.
The other part of your -- oh, the peacekeepers -- diplomacy takes a while, as you know. You watched the unfolding of the U.N. resolution necessary to get a cease-fire in the first place. It took awhile.
And we will continue to work with friends and allies to make it clear to them now's the time to address the root causes of the problem; that being Hezbollah's state with in a state, particularly in southern Lebanon.
And we'll work with nations to step up to the plate and do what they voted to do at the United Nations, and that is to provide robust international forces to help the Lebanese army retake the south.
Hezbollah, you know, were pretty comfortable there in south Lebanon. They're now going to find themselves not only the -- that which caused the destruction, but they'll find themselves in, with now a Lebanese army with U.N. help making it clear they won't have the safe haven necessary, that they think is necessary, to launch attacks.
The issue is broader than just Hezbollah. The issue is also Syria and Iran, two nations that supported Hezbollah in its attempts to create enough havoc so that, I guess, people feel like they could take political advantage of the situation. We just can't let them do it.
QUESTION: But what about France, though?
BUSH: France, they said they'd send some troops. We hope they send more. And there's been different signals coming out of France. Yesterday they had a statement; today they had a statement.
We're working with France. is a friend. France is an ally. France has got a great stake in the future of Lebanon. President Chirac has made is very clear that he believes that democracy in Lebanon is very important. Has been supportive of the Siniora government like we have.
France and the United States co-sponsored 1559. That's the U.N. resolution that was the beginning of the end of Syria's involvement in -- or Syria's occupation in Lebanon.
So we have common interests with France. And it's a very -- they're a very important part of the international scene and will be a very important player in Lebanon.
QUESTION: Mr. President, are there indications that North Korea is preparing to conduct its first nuclear bomb test? And if that were to occur, how would the United States respond?
BUSH: It's a hypothetical question. And you're asking me to divulge any intelligence information I have, and I'm not going to do that, as you know. I'm not going to break tradition.
If North Korea were to conduct a test, it's just a constant reminder for people in the neighborhood, in particular, that North Korea poses a threat, and we expect there to be -- we expect our friends and those sitting around the table with us to act in such a manner as to help rid the world of the threat.
QUESTION: Mr. President, the federal ruling yesterday that declared your terror surveillance program unconstitutional, the judge wrote that it was never the intent of the framers to give the president such unfettered control. How do you respond, sir, to opponents who say that this ruling is really the first nail in the coffin of your administration's legal strategy in the war on terror?
BUSH: I would say that those who herald this decision simply do not understand the nature of the world in which we live. You might remember last week, working with the people in Great Britain, we disrupted a plot. People were trying to come and kill people.
This country of ours is at war. And we must give those whose responsibility it is to protect the United States the tools necessary to protect this country in a time of war.
The judge's decision was a -- I strongly disagree with that decision. Strongly disagree. That's why I instructed the Justice Department to appeal immediately. And I believe our appeals will be upheld.
I made my position clear about this war on terror. And by the way, the enemy made their position clear, yet, again, when they -- when we were able to stop them.
And the American people expect us to protect them. And, therefore, I put this program in place. We believe -- strongly believe -- it's constitutional. And if Al Qaida is calling into the United States, we want to know why they're calling. And so I made my position clear. It'll be interesting to see what other policymakers -- how other policymakers react.
Listen, thank you all very much.
KAGAN: Short news conference there at Camp David from President Bush, talking about the economy, talking about what's happening in Lebanon in the Middle East, and also a final comment and question on the NSA wiretapping situation. He still believes that is constitutional.
While the president was speaking, we learned some more details about the JonBenet Ramsey case and the suspect that's been taken into custody. Here's Fredricka Whitfield.
WHITFIELD: That's right, Daryn. Well, another twist in this case of lots of twists and turns. This time, remember how the suspect, the murder suspect, John Mark Karr, said he reached out to Patsy Ramsey, the daughter of -- I mean, the mother of JonBenet, and tried to extend his condolences to her and say that he apologized, he was sorry for what happened?
Well, now, apparently, the attorney who had been representing the Ramsey family, Lin Wood, is saying while John Mark Karr may have thought he was corresponding with Patsy Ramsey, he actually wasn't really. While he may have extended some correspondence in the form of e-mails or letters about the death of JonBenet, apparently that correspondence was handed over to another person and then eventually to the police.
Lin Wood is saying that the authorities had asked Patsy Ramsey in late May whether she was willing to meet with John Mark Karr. She said that she was, but that she had never heard back from authorities again before she would then die in June of ovarian cancer. Now, all of this taking place as we're still trying to discern a lot of questions that have been raised about whether this confession of John Mark Karr is, indeed, believable. He's still in custody there in Thailand before he is transported to the United States, where, here, in Colorado,, authorities say they continue to try to get answers to a lot of questions. They say they still have a lot of work to be done in their investigation.
And the attorney, Lin Wood, had also said that he was being very critical of the media for trying to punch holes, as he puts it, in the case against Karr. He says that the reporters globally and in this country have spent years trying to discredit the parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, as investigations continued about the death of their daughter.
Meanwhile, Susan Candiotti in Miami has had some correspondence with her own with a number of law enforcement authorities. And you have some new information as well, Susan?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fredricka. Yes. You remember that in the past few days, CNN has been reporting that John Karr told authorities some information, information about parts of the crime that only the killer might have known. Well now we have some additional detail about that.
A U.S. law enforcement official tells CNN that the detail was this -- that Karr offered graphic, gruesome details about the physical condition of JonBenet Ramsey's body that, for years, for a good ten years, has been kept secret, secret from the public. Information that was known only to the medical examiner and to investigators. Again, no one has known this information, and it is not clear to investigators how John Karr would have had access to this secret piece of information about the physical condition of her body.
It is not uncommon, however, for authorities in a very intense murder investigation to keep certain aspects of it secret and away from the public, naturally, so that they could keep that information away from perspective people who might be confessing to a crime, in fact, that had nothing to do with it at all, or information only a killer would know.
So this is a small additional detail that we have learned and, of course, will continue to follow up on it. We might, might possibly learn what this detail is, when Karr is brought back to the United States, he'd have to make a first court appearance. Naturally, everyone is wondering what will be contained in the arrest warrant and affidavit that is attached to it, and we might get those details as they're revealed in court.
But remember we also have some aspects of the case that people have been questioning. For example, the claim that Karr made that he had drugged JonBenet. This is something that a law enforcement official has said he told authorities in Thailand. And if you remember, that the autopsy shows she had no drugs in her system.
Also, there have been questions raised about his whereabouts at the time of the murder. Remember, his ex-wife said that, to the best of her recollection, he was with her and the children in Alabama in December of 1996. These and other questions have been raised -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And so now, Susan, authorities are asking that ex- wife to produce some sort of photographs to help them be able to document his whereabouts in December of 1996. Thanks so much.
CANDIOTTI: That's right.
WHITFIELD: Well, Daryn, this story just gets more and more bizarre by the moment, but that's the latest we have.
KAGAN: It does. It get stranger and stranger. Thank you, Fred.
We'll take a break. More news after this.
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KAGAN: Two stories developing late in the hour, one on John Karr, the suspect in custody in the JonBenet Ramsey murder. We're learning from Lyn Wood, the Ramsey family attorney, that John Karr thought he was corresponding with Patsy Ramsey, the late mother of JonBenet, but indeed he was not. He was talking to -- it was correspondence that had been handed over to police instead. And yet Patsy Ramsey, before she died, had agreed if it was going to help the investigation that she would meet with this man in person. She died before that could be arranged.
Also our Susan Candiotti is reporting that John Karr has provided some key details that were not public, that very few people knew about, including physical evidence and information about the state of JonBenet's body at the time of her death. More on that ahead.
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KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan. Keep watching CNN. "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is up next, with news happening across the globe and here at home.
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