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American Morning
Latest Developments with Former Hostage Thomas Hamill; Latest Developments in Trials of Jayson Williams, Michael Jackson
Aired May 03, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Severe reprimands handed out for some of the soldiers connected with the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
The prosecution covering the bases in the case against Michael Jackson.
And a taste of danger.
Those stories are all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning.
Welcome back, everybody.
Bill Hemmer off today but Miles O'Brien sitting in.
Thank you very much for being with us.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's good to be here.
Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: We certainly appreciate it.
M. O'BRIEN: Other stories we're following this morning as we track the story of Tommy Hamill, his escape and impending reunion with his wife, an American pilot who was taken prisoner during the invasion of Iraq a year ago will give us some idea of how Hamill may be feeling this morning. We think in a word it would be good, I think. But, anyway, we'll get more than that.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I think.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
S. O'BRIEN: Also, forget about Air Force One. President Bush decides to take the bus. We're going to hear about President Bush's new grassroots campaign tour.
And, Cafferty, yes, I'm done.
CAFFERTY: OK. Well...
S. O'BRIEN: Did you fall asleep?
CAFFERTY: It's a three hour show. It's not...
S. O'BRIEN: Time to recover.
CAFFERTY: It's not letter perfect each and every day, you know. It's just not easy what we do here.
Coming up in the Cafferty File, former presidential candidate Howard Dean thinking about a career change. And somebody actually has done a study that has determined that BMW owners get more action than other car owners. We'll tell you what kind of action in less than an hour when we open up the Cafferty File. Things to look forward to.
S. O'BRIEN: Is it the kind of action we're all thinking you're talking about?
CAFFERTY: Yes, probably.
M. O'BRIEN: Pleasant viewing. There's a pleasant viewing right there.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: OK.
All right, Jack, thank you very much.
The top stories this morning, the U.S. military reprimanding at least six senior commissioned and non-commissioned officers in connection with the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. Photos released last week show what appears to be U.S. soldiers abusing and humiliating prisoners inside Abu Ghraib Prison outside of Baghdad. Six other soldiers are being criminally investigated for their involvement in the acts. We've got much more on this story coming up in our program.
U.S. forces on alert in Najaf, responding to mortar fire there. These images -- take a look -- just in to CNN, of U.S. troops on a roof in a compound in Najaf. Military officials say shelling began overnight. Followers of the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr believed to be behind the attacks in the Iraqi holy city. No casualties have been reported.
In New York, a suspected Osama bin Laden aide faces sentencing today. Mamdouh Mahmud Salim pleaded guilty to stabbing a prison guard during a failed escape attempt back in 2000. Salim still faces trial and conspiracy charges in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. Embassies in East Africa.
And mothers who breast feed their babies, well, they might be preventing them from becoming obese later in life. New research shows that breast milk contains high levels of a protein that affects the body's processing of fat. And the obesity risk appears to be lower the longer the child is breast fed. The study was done out of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. In sports, some NBA action now. The San Antonio Spurs have taken a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. They clobbered the Los Angeles Lakers 88-78 yesterday. And the Miami Heat hosts the seventh game of their NBA first round series tomorrow. The New Orleans Hornets avoided elimination on Sunday by downing the Heat 89- 83.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: American contractor Thomas Hamill has now arrived in Germany after making a daring escape from his Iraqi captors over the weekend. Hamill was held hostage in Iraq for more than three weeks. Hamill's wife, Kellie, is expected to be reunited with her husband in Germany soon.
Chris Burns is there live now from Landstuhl, Germany -- Chris, what's the latest?
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, a struggling dairy farmer from Mississippi who went to Iraq to try to pay off his debts working in a convoy that was attacked and ambushed just three weeks ago. He was held hostage by we don't know whom, but they had this dramatic footage that we've seen in the last three weeks of Thomas Hamill being held by his captors and being threatened by his captors if there wasn't the pull back from Fallujah.
This man managed to escape dramatically, just yesterday, inside Iraq, by forcing open a door and running after a U.S. patrol. And the patrol picked him up and he has since been -- he's been brought here to Ramstein Air Base and is on his way over here to Landstuhl Medical Center, where he'll be looked at. He does have a gunshot wound in his left arm and military officials say that he does -- there is evidence of perhaps some infection. So he will be looked at here. This medical center is where countless U.S. servicemen and women pass through here on their way back to the States after being wounded in Iraq and other conflicts. So he's going to be in very, very good hands here.
What we do want to find out is his story directly from him. And we hope to get that update from him in the next day. We do hope to get a medical update from him later today. And we'll get that back to as quickly as we can -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: He does have quite a story to tell, Chris.
Can you just give us an idea of how long he's expected to be there. And his condition generally is pretty good, in spite of the wounds you just talked about.
BURNS: Well, yes. He's listed in stable condition. We'll see if there's anything else that he suffered from. But he did manage to run, reportedly, about a half a mile to that U.S. military patrol. So he must have been in fairly good shape to do that. He's a 43-year-old man. We'll have to see. He does -- he will go through a battery of tests. Doctors will be giving us an update later today. It is believed he'll be here a day or so, not very long. He is expected to go back to the States quite soon -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Chris Burns...
BURNS: Oh, by the way, Miles...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes?
BURNS: There's one other thing.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes?
BURNS: Lest I forget, lest I forget, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California governor, is coming through here today, as well, this afternoon. He'll be visiting and congratulating the California reservists who work here at this medical center tirelessly -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: OK.
Is he going to visit with Hamill? Do you know?
BURNS: That's a good question. We're going to find that out. They're being very quiet about that. Mr. Hamill has yet to give any press availability. So we hope to find out later today.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Chris Burns in Landstuhl.
Appreciate it -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, the folks back home in Macon, Mississippi are happy that Thomas Hamill is safe in Germany now.
And joining us this morning to talk a little bit more about that is Hamill's aunt, Coleene Higginbotham; and, also, his cousin, Jason Higginbotham.
Nice to see you both.
Thanks for being with us.
We certainly appreciate it.
COLEENE HIGGINBOTHAM, AUNT OF THOMAS HAMILL: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: And congratulations -- look at the smiles on your faces.
Well, I guess that really does say it all.
Why don't you tell us first, when you first heard the news that Tommy, in fact, was safe and that he was on his way home.
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: We were so happy we were just crying.
JASON HIGGINBOTHAM, COUSIN OF THOMAS HAMILL: Just overwhelmed. S. O'BRIEN: We know that Kellie is on her way to meet up with her husband. She had gotten a phone call, really, pretty much just after he was rescued by American forces there.
What did she tell you about the phone call that she had with her husband, from whom she hadn't heard word one for three weeks?
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: Just that he was just concerned about how everybody was doing. He wanted to know about his kids. He wanted to know how she was doing, how his mother was doing, how his grandmother was doing.
S. O'BRIEN: He was concerned about everybody else when, of course, it's everybody in Macon who's concerned about him.
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: That's right.
S. O'BRIEN: Did he give any details about his escape? I mean it sounds like a pretty amazing and incredibly brave escape. Did he give any of those details or in those kinds of phone conversations is it just I love you and I'll see you soon?
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: It was more I just love you and I'll see you soon. He didn't talk about any of the details.
S. O'BRIEN: Some of the reports that we have heard, Jason, I guess this is a second attempt, a second escape attempt, apparently. And it really, I mean when you read the descriptions, if it happened as these descriptions say it did, incredibly brave.
Tell me a little bit about Tommy.
Is that the kind of guy you know, I mean just an incredibly brave guy and so it sort of sounds like him when you hear it?
J. HIGGINBOTHAM: Yes, he's all -- he always thinks of other people before himself. He'd give anything for to help somebody out.
S. O'BRIEN: But to be able to break out of a house, to then run a half mile to flag down a convoy, identify yourself as an American, instead of just getting out of there, going back so you can arrest your captors, I mean really sounds pretty incredible.
Coleene, tell me a little bit more about Thomas Hamill and the kind of guy that he is.
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: He's a Mississippi country boy, you know, and he...
S. O'BRIEN: Now, for those of who are New York City city girls, what does that mean exactly?
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: He's tough as nails.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. I like that. When you saw pictures, those terrible pictures when he was inside the car and you could see his masked kidnapper holding that weapon up to his head and to his body, what went through your mind? I mean did you ever think that three weeks later you would be standing around talking about this fantastic news?
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: Well, our faith never wavered. We always believed god was going to bring him through this. And through it all, he has given us strength to know that he was going to bring him through.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, I've got to tell you, there in Macon and everywhere else, as well, we are so thrilled for your good news and your good fortune. It's nice to have something very positive to report today in the midst of all the bad news.
I understand there's a big old parade. They say a never ending parade. So you go out there and enjoy it and the best to you and your family.
Thanks for being with us.
J. HIGGINBOTHAM: OK.
Thank you.
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles?
M. O'BRIEN: So, what's it like to go through an ordeal like Hamill has just endured?
Army pilot Ron Young was a prisoner of war last year in Iraq. He was held 22 days after his Apache helicopter went down during a battle near Baghdad.
He's with us now, joining us from the CNN Center.
Ron, good to see you.
RON YOUNG, FORMER IRAQ POW: Good to see you.
How are you doing?
M. O'BRIEN: Give us a sense of escape. When you're going through military training and they tell you, you might be captured, do they tell you to try to escape?
YOUNG: Absolutely. I mean that's your, that's really the only plan of action you have at that particular time is to try to escape. We tried to escape one night. A bomb actually landed inside our compound while the 3rd I.D. was rolling up through Baghdad. And it landed so close it actually blew bricks in on top of us, blew the peephole open on my door. And I stuck my arm out and, of course, they'd left the keys in the locks. And I unlocked it and threw it on the ground and I started talking to the other prisoners, because, I mean, we were getting very heavily bombed and I was afraid that they were just going to kill us like that.
So I asked them if they were ready to get out of there. And about the time I got out of my cell and started working on somebody else's cell, the Iraqis came back in with fully automatic weapons. And so I just turned around and kind of walked back in the cell.
M. O'BRIEN: So, one of the important things if you're going to escape, you escape with everybody, if you can, right?
YOUNG: Absolutely. I felt like if I escaped on my own and took off, they would probably kill the other six POWs. So I didn't feel like that was a reasonable chance to take given that we may make it all out of there alive.
M. O'BRIEN: Now, we don't know precisely what kind of training Tommy Hamill had before he went into Iraq. But I think it's probably safe to presume he probably didn't get the level of training the military does to be prepared for this kind of event.
What kind of training did you have and how difficult do you think it would be to go through such an ordeal without it?
YOUNG: Well, I think it would be pretty difficult. The thing about a situation like that is that it's a lot of common sense. You want to try to befriend your captors. You want to try to escape. You want to do things that are going to keep you alive. So a lot of that's kind of common sense to a lot of people, especially if you're from the South, where you grow up in the woods doing things like that.
But the military training definitely prepared me for a level of how to deal emotionally with going through something like that and kind of how to harden yourself against it. You know, I spent four days in the woods walking, you know, eating bugs and things like that with nothing to eat, no water, just to simulate those types of conditions.
M. O'BRIEN: So being a Mississippi country boy does have its advantages, doesn't it? In your case, a Georgia country boy.
Let's, a final thought here. What do you think is going -- I know you don't know Tommy Hamill -- but what do you think is going through his mind right now? You've been through this whole experience of sudden freedom and the joy that must go along with that.
YOUNG: Well, I know he's just thanking god to be alive right now and I think that he's right now making memories that will last him the rest of his life. He'll be a deeply emotional person, probably at least for the next six months, I mean just hugging your kids. Things like that are going to be so much more special to him now.
For me, I broke down the first time I got a shower. And that's a fairly small event for normal people.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow. YOUNG: So, it's just -- he's ecstatic, I guarantee you.
M. O'BRIEN: Little is taken for granted after an experience like that, I'm sure.
YOUNG: Nothing's taken for granted.
M. O'BRIEN: Ron Young, former POW in Iraq.
Good to have you with us.
YOUNG: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: It's always fascinating to hear from him and his insight on that.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow, it's incredible.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, he's looking good. S. O'BRIEN: What an incredible -- and he looks fantastic.
M. O'BRIEN: Looking good.
S. O'BRIEN: It's always nice to talk to him.
Still to come this morning, President Bush prepares to take his reelection campaign on the road through some troubled territory. The Bush bus tour just ahead. We'll explain.
M. O'BRIEN: Jayson Williams acquainted of manslaughter, but could the former NBA star still serve some time? We'll get a legal analysis from Jeffrey Toobin, up next.
S. O'BRIEN: And how do they do that? Dr. Sanjay Gupta on living life beyond limits. Let's see it.
M. O'BRIEN: That would be giving it away. You can't do that.
S. O'BRIEN: To see the videotape?
M. O'BRIEN: Does he do it or not? Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: At least six people in Texas were killed over the weekend after heavy thunderstorms. The rain sent creeks over their banks in Fort Worth. A mother and her two children swept away in the flood waters after trying to drive across a flooded road. One rescuer waded through waist deep water toward the car.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNNY CAMPBELL, RESCUER: I touched her hand, but the force of the water was too much. It flipped the car. It went on down to the creek.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: The other three deaths occurred when another car carrying two toddlers and a 33-year-old was swept away after stalling on a bridge -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Major developments in two high profile legal cases. It was a split verdict on Friday in the trial of former NBA star Jayson Williams. He could get some prison time. He also could face retrial on one charge.
On the same day, Michael Jackson in court pleading not guilty to expanded charges that now include child abduction.
CNN's senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin joining us this morning to cover all of this.
Let's start with Jayson Williams this morning first.
A victory for the defense or was it that the prosecution really just didn't do their job? I mean was the defense just brilliant in their strategy or the prosecution less than brilliant?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, one of my mantras in talking about these cases is the lawyers generally don't matter much. It's usually the evidence.
This, I think, was an exception to that rule. I think you had a really bungled prosecution effort, in many respects. The delay at the end due to the failure to turn over certain important documents, I think, really hurt the prosecution. Plus, you know, you had a very aggressive, successful defense effort led by Billy Martin, who's a terrific lawyer. The lawyers really played a big part in why Jayson Williams -- I think you have to say he won this case.
S. O'BRIEN: But is the jury -- they've convicted him of covering up something that they didn't actually accuse him -- find him guilty of the crime. I mean, and they had a split decision on part of it.
TOOBIN: Right. That's not necessarily contradictory. I mean you can think you're doing right. But the same thing happened in the Martha Stewart case. They didn't find her guilty of insider trading. She wasn't even charged with that. But they did find her guilty with lying about it. People often think they did something wrong even if they didn't and can commit crimes in the course of covering it up.
S. O'BRIEN: They found him not guilty in aggravated manslaughter but could -- were a split decision, eight to 12, eight-four, I guess, on the reckless manslaughter charge.
TOOBIN: In favor of acquittal, eight to four.
S. O'BRIEN: In favor of acquittal. So basically they didn't come forward with any verdict on that.
So the prosecution could retry him, right?
TOOBIN: They could. It strikes me as unlikely given the enormous expense. This is a small prosecution office. The enormous expense of trying -- of a case that lasted 15 weeks, doing it all again when the jury really has evaluated the evidence closely and I think finally. I doubt we'll see it again.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Michael Jackson.
Ten counts now -- conspiracy, alleging 28 individual overt acts involving child abduction; counts two through five, allegedly committing a lewd act upon a child; count six, another attempted lewd act on a child; counts seven through 10 alleges the administration of intoxicating agents to assist in commission of a felony.
Anything in those 10 charges that stand out to you as a big problem for him?
TOOBIN: Yes, one -- the most interesting development in the evolution of the charges, to me, is the conspiracy count, because it suggests that other people were involved in criminal behavior, presumably based on what's been written, what's in the charges -- people, investigators, helpers who tried to cover this up.
What that suggests to me further is that the prosecution will be looking to make deals with some of those people and try to turn them into witnesses. That's a big development in the case.
S. O'BRIEN: The judge said there were "special allegations that relate to possible sentencing," which to me, like what does that mean?
TOOBIN: Well, under California law, there are various kinds of misconduct involving children that can enhance the sentence, make it longer. So he's looking at a world of trouble for himself if he's convicted.
S. O'BRIEN: What do you think a special allegation would mean?
TOOBIN: You know what? I don't know. How's that for...
S. O'BRIEN: Then I guess we won't know...
TOOBIN: How's that for a...
S. O'BRIEN: You know, I believe...
TOOBIN: A...
S. O'BRIEN: I believe in honesty. I'll take that.
TOOBIN: A clear answer?
S. O'BRIEN: And the judge hasn't released it.
Will he at some point? TOOBIN: Yes, he will. By the time this case goes to trial, the jury will have to evaluate this and they'll have to evaluate the indictment itself, whether it's been proved. So it will have to be public by the time the case goes to trial. It's just that by disclosing the individual allegations now, it'll just give it more chance to taint a jury pool and he wants to hold it back.
S. O'BRIEN: Big developments in both of these cases.
Jeff Toobin, as always, thanks.
TOOBIN: more to come.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm sure there will be, of course.
Thank you very much, as always.
TOOBIN: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles...
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, former Iraqi prisoner Thomas Hamill out of Iraq, waiting to be reunited with his happy family. And former officials under Saddam Hussein making their way back into the political fray in Iraq. We'll take a closer look at that just ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Here's Jack with the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Why, thank you.
Every week brings something new. The death toll of U.S. soldiers increasing in Iraq, photos of abused Iraqi prisoners now circling the globe. The U.S. is recruiting between 1,000 and 2,000 officers from Saddam Hussein's Baath Party. One former general, wearing his old uniform, is now leading a 1,000 member Iraqi contingent in the city of Fallujah. They're supposed to go in and get control of that town, as opposed to our Marines doing that.
The question is this: are things in Iraq so bad that Saddam's former generals should be put back in charge?
David in Michigan writes: "As a former U.S. peacekeeper in Kosovo, nothing surprises me with the events in Iraq, after Iraq military control is handed back to the Baathists, how long before they begin to target U.S. troops and demand Saddam be released and be put back into power? This would complete the Iraq fiasco."
Dennis writes: "The possibility of using former Baathist military officers in Iraq is not only troubling, it's not very intelligent. If the United States wants to drive what remains of this country into a full blown civil war, then place these people back in charge and watch the Shiites explode. I'm convinced this is proof the Bush administration's grasping at straws for anything that looks like a way out of this mess."
Dan writes: "If you think it's bad now in Iraq, you ain't seen nothing yet. Wait a year from now. There'll be a full blown civil war to decide who will control Iraq and its billions in oil. The worst thug wins and the United States will be blamed for everything."
Jack writes about the photos of those Iraqi prisoners from Alexandria, Virginia: "I've heard a lot about the world's outrage at those nude Iraqi photos. Where was the world outrage when our people were burned and hung on Iraqi bridges?"
Am@cnn.com.
S. O'BRIEN: Maybe there's enough outrage to go around for everybody.
CAFFERTY: It's just a nightmare, this whole thing.
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come, one of Saddam Hussein's most notorious prisons, as we were just telling you, the focus of a prisoner abuse scandal. We'll have the latest on the controversy just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired May 3, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Severe reprimands handed out for some of the soldiers connected with the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
The prosecution covering the bases in the case against Michael Jackson.
And a taste of danger.
Those stories are all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning.
Welcome back, everybody.
Bill Hemmer off today but Miles O'Brien sitting in.
Thank you very much for being with us.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's good to be here.
Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: We certainly appreciate it.
M. O'BRIEN: Other stories we're following this morning as we track the story of Tommy Hamill, his escape and impending reunion with his wife, an American pilot who was taken prisoner during the invasion of Iraq a year ago will give us some idea of how Hamill may be feeling this morning. We think in a word it would be good, I think. But, anyway, we'll get more than that.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I think.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
S. O'BRIEN: Also, forget about Air Force One. President Bush decides to take the bus. We're going to hear about President Bush's new grassroots campaign tour.
And, Cafferty, yes, I'm done.
CAFFERTY: OK. Well...
S. O'BRIEN: Did you fall asleep?
CAFFERTY: It's a three hour show. It's not...
S. O'BRIEN: Time to recover.
CAFFERTY: It's not letter perfect each and every day, you know. It's just not easy what we do here.
Coming up in the Cafferty File, former presidential candidate Howard Dean thinking about a career change. And somebody actually has done a study that has determined that BMW owners get more action than other car owners. We'll tell you what kind of action in less than an hour when we open up the Cafferty File. Things to look forward to.
S. O'BRIEN: Is it the kind of action we're all thinking you're talking about?
CAFFERTY: Yes, probably.
M. O'BRIEN: Pleasant viewing. There's a pleasant viewing right there.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: OK.
All right, Jack, thank you very much.
The top stories this morning, the U.S. military reprimanding at least six senior commissioned and non-commissioned officers in connection with the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. Photos released last week show what appears to be U.S. soldiers abusing and humiliating prisoners inside Abu Ghraib Prison outside of Baghdad. Six other soldiers are being criminally investigated for their involvement in the acts. We've got much more on this story coming up in our program.
U.S. forces on alert in Najaf, responding to mortar fire there. These images -- take a look -- just in to CNN, of U.S. troops on a roof in a compound in Najaf. Military officials say shelling began overnight. Followers of the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr believed to be behind the attacks in the Iraqi holy city. No casualties have been reported.
In New York, a suspected Osama bin Laden aide faces sentencing today. Mamdouh Mahmud Salim pleaded guilty to stabbing a prison guard during a failed escape attempt back in 2000. Salim still faces trial and conspiracy charges in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. Embassies in East Africa.
And mothers who breast feed their babies, well, they might be preventing them from becoming obese later in life. New research shows that breast milk contains high levels of a protein that affects the body's processing of fat. And the obesity risk appears to be lower the longer the child is breast fed. The study was done out of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. In sports, some NBA action now. The San Antonio Spurs have taken a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. They clobbered the Los Angeles Lakers 88-78 yesterday. And the Miami Heat hosts the seventh game of their NBA first round series tomorrow. The New Orleans Hornets avoided elimination on Sunday by downing the Heat 89- 83.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: American contractor Thomas Hamill has now arrived in Germany after making a daring escape from his Iraqi captors over the weekend. Hamill was held hostage in Iraq for more than three weeks. Hamill's wife, Kellie, is expected to be reunited with her husband in Germany soon.
Chris Burns is there live now from Landstuhl, Germany -- Chris, what's the latest?
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, a struggling dairy farmer from Mississippi who went to Iraq to try to pay off his debts working in a convoy that was attacked and ambushed just three weeks ago. He was held hostage by we don't know whom, but they had this dramatic footage that we've seen in the last three weeks of Thomas Hamill being held by his captors and being threatened by his captors if there wasn't the pull back from Fallujah.
This man managed to escape dramatically, just yesterday, inside Iraq, by forcing open a door and running after a U.S. patrol. And the patrol picked him up and he has since been -- he's been brought here to Ramstein Air Base and is on his way over here to Landstuhl Medical Center, where he'll be looked at. He does have a gunshot wound in his left arm and military officials say that he does -- there is evidence of perhaps some infection. So he will be looked at here. This medical center is where countless U.S. servicemen and women pass through here on their way back to the States after being wounded in Iraq and other conflicts. So he's going to be in very, very good hands here.
What we do want to find out is his story directly from him. And we hope to get that update from him in the next day. We do hope to get a medical update from him later today. And we'll get that back to as quickly as we can -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: He does have quite a story to tell, Chris.
Can you just give us an idea of how long he's expected to be there. And his condition generally is pretty good, in spite of the wounds you just talked about.
BURNS: Well, yes. He's listed in stable condition. We'll see if there's anything else that he suffered from. But he did manage to run, reportedly, about a half a mile to that U.S. military patrol. So he must have been in fairly good shape to do that. He's a 43-year-old man. We'll have to see. He does -- he will go through a battery of tests. Doctors will be giving us an update later today. It is believed he'll be here a day or so, not very long. He is expected to go back to the States quite soon -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Chris Burns...
BURNS: Oh, by the way, Miles...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes?
BURNS: There's one other thing.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes?
BURNS: Lest I forget, lest I forget, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California governor, is coming through here today, as well, this afternoon. He'll be visiting and congratulating the California reservists who work here at this medical center tirelessly -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: OK.
Is he going to visit with Hamill? Do you know?
BURNS: That's a good question. We're going to find that out. They're being very quiet about that. Mr. Hamill has yet to give any press availability. So we hope to find out later today.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Chris Burns in Landstuhl.
Appreciate it -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, the folks back home in Macon, Mississippi are happy that Thomas Hamill is safe in Germany now.
And joining us this morning to talk a little bit more about that is Hamill's aunt, Coleene Higginbotham; and, also, his cousin, Jason Higginbotham.
Nice to see you both.
Thanks for being with us.
We certainly appreciate it.
COLEENE HIGGINBOTHAM, AUNT OF THOMAS HAMILL: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: And congratulations -- look at the smiles on your faces.
Well, I guess that really does say it all.
Why don't you tell us first, when you first heard the news that Tommy, in fact, was safe and that he was on his way home.
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: We were so happy we were just crying.
JASON HIGGINBOTHAM, COUSIN OF THOMAS HAMILL: Just overwhelmed. S. O'BRIEN: We know that Kellie is on her way to meet up with her husband. She had gotten a phone call, really, pretty much just after he was rescued by American forces there.
What did she tell you about the phone call that she had with her husband, from whom she hadn't heard word one for three weeks?
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: Just that he was just concerned about how everybody was doing. He wanted to know about his kids. He wanted to know how she was doing, how his mother was doing, how his grandmother was doing.
S. O'BRIEN: He was concerned about everybody else when, of course, it's everybody in Macon who's concerned about him.
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: That's right.
S. O'BRIEN: Did he give any details about his escape? I mean it sounds like a pretty amazing and incredibly brave escape. Did he give any of those details or in those kinds of phone conversations is it just I love you and I'll see you soon?
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: It was more I just love you and I'll see you soon. He didn't talk about any of the details.
S. O'BRIEN: Some of the reports that we have heard, Jason, I guess this is a second attempt, a second escape attempt, apparently. And it really, I mean when you read the descriptions, if it happened as these descriptions say it did, incredibly brave.
Tell me a little bit about Tommy.
Is that the kind of guy you know, I mean just an incredibly brave guy and so it sort of sounds like him when you hear it?
J. HIGGINBOTHAM: Yes, he's all -- he always thinks of other people before himself. He'd give anything for to help somebody out.
S. O'BRIEN: But to be able to break out of a house, to then run a half mile to flag down a convoy, identify yourself as an American, instead of just getting out of there, going back so you can arrest your captors, I mean really sounds pretty incredible.
Coleene, tell me a little bit more about Thomas Hamill and the kind of guy that he is.
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: He's a Mississippi country boy, you know, and he...
S. O'BRIEN: Now, for those of who are New York City city girls, what does that mean exactly?
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: He's tough as nails.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. I like that. When you saw pictures, those terrible pictures when he was inside the car and you could see his masked kidnapper holding that weapon up to his head and to his body, what went through your mind? I mean did you ever think that three weeks later you would be standing around talking about this fantastic news?
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: Well, our faith never wavered. We always believed god was going to bring him through this. And through it all, he has given us strength to know that he was going to bring him through.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, I've got to tell you, there in Macon and everywhere else, as well, we are so thrilled for your good news and your good fortune. It's nice to have something very positive to report today in the midst of all the bad news.
I understand there's a big old parade. They say a never ending parade. So you go out there and enjoy it and the best to you and your family.
Thanks for being with us.
J. HIGGINBOTHAM: OK.
Thank you.
C. HIGGINBOTHAM: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles?
M. O'BRIEN: So, what's it like to go through an ordeal like Hamill has just endured?
Army pilot Ron Young was a prisoner of war last year in Iraq. He was held 22 days after his Apache helicopter went down during a battle near Baghdad.
He's with us now, joining us from the CNN Center.
Ron, good to see you.
RON YOUNG, FORMER IRAQ POW: Good to see you.
How are you doing?
M. O'BRIEN: Give us a sense of escape. When you're going through military training and they tell you, you might be captured, do they tell you to try to escape?
YOUNG: Absolutely. I mean that's your, that's really the only plan of action you have at that particular time is to try to escape. We tried to escape one night. A bomb actually landed inside our compound while the 3rd I.D. was rolling up through Baghdad. And it landed so close it actually blew bricks in on top of us, blew the peephole open on my door. And I stuck my arm out and, of course, they'd left the keys in the locks. And I unlocked it and threw it on the ground and I started talking to the other prisoners, because, I mean, we were getting very heavily bombed and I was afraid that they were just going to kill us like that.
So I asked them if they were ready to get out of there. And about the time I got out of my cell and started working on somebody else's cell, the Iraqis came back in with fully automatic weapons. And so I just turned around and kind of walked back in the cell.
M. O'BRIEN: So, one of the important things if you're going to escape, you escape with everybody, if you can, right?
YOUNG: Absolutely. I felt like if I escaped on my own and took off, they would probably kill the other six POWs. So I didn't feel like that was a reasonable chance to take given that we may make it all out of there alive.
M. O'BRIEN: Now, we don't know precisely what kind of training Tommy Hamill had before he went into Iraq. But I think it's probably safe to presume he probably didn't get the level of training the military does to be prepared for this kind of event.
What kind of training did you have and how difficult do you think it would be to go through such an ordeal without it?
YOUNG: Well, I think it would be pretty difficult. The thing about a situation like that is that it's a lot of common sense. You want to try to befriend your captors. You want to try to escape. You want to do things that are going to keep you alive. So a lot of that's kind of common sense to a lot of people, especially if you're from the South, where you grow up in the woods doing things like that.
But the military training definitely prepared me for a level of how to deal emotionally with going through something like that and kind of how to harden yourself against it. You know, I spent four days in the woods walking, you know, eating bugs and things like that with nothing to eat, no water, just to simulate those types of conditions.
M. O'BRIEN: So being a Mississippi country boy does have its advantages, doesn't it? In your case, a Georgia country boy.
Let's, a final thought here. What do you think is going -- I know you don't know Tommy Hamill -- but what do you think is going through his mind right now? You've been through this whole experience of sudden freedom and the joy that must go along with that.
YOUNG: Well, I know he's just thanking god to be alive right now and I think that he's right now making memories that will last him the rest of his life. He'll be a deeply emotional person, probably at least for the next six months, I mean just hugging your kids. Things like that are going to be so much more special to him now.
For me, I broke down the first time I got a shower. And that's a fairly small event for normal people.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow. YOUNG: So, it's just -- he's ecstatic, I guarantee you.
M. O'BRIEN: Little is taken for granted after an experience like that, I'm sure.
YOUNG: Nothing's taken for granted.
M. O'BRIEN: Ron Young, former POW in Iraq.
Good to have you with us.
YOUNG: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: It's always fascinating to hear from him and his insight on that.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow, it's incredible.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, he's looking good. S. O'BRIEN: What an incredible -- and he looks fantastic.
M. O'BRIEN: Looking good.
S. O'BRIEN: It's always nice to talk to him.
Still to come this morning, President Bush prepares to take his reelection campaign on the road through some troubled territory. The Bush bus tour just ahead. We'll explain.
M. O'BRIEN: Jayson Williams acquainted of manslaughter, but could the former NBA star still serve some time? We'll get a legal analysis from Jeffrey Toobin, up next.
S. O'BRIEN: And how do they do that? Dr. Sanjay Gupta on living life beyond limits. Let's see it.
M. O'BRIEN: That would be giving it away. You can't do that.
S. O'BRIEN: To see the videotape?
M. O'BRIEN: Does he do it or not? Stay tuned.
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M. O'BRIEN: At least six people in Texas were killed over the weekend after heavy thunderstorms. The rain sent creeks over their banks in Fort Worth. A mother and her two children swept away in the flood waters after trying to drive across a flooded road. One rescuer waded through waist deep water toward the car.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNNY CAMPBELL, RESCUER: I touched her hand, but the force of the water was too much. It flipped the car. It went on down to the creek.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: The other three deaths occurred when another car carrying two toddlers and a 33-year-old was swept away after stalling on a bridge -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Major developments in two high profile legal cases. It was a split verdict on Friday in the trial of former NBA star Jayson Williams. He could get some prison time. He also could face retrial on one charge.
On the same day, Michael Jackson in court pleading not guilty to expanded charges that now include child abduction.
CNN's senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin joining us this morning to cover all of this.
Let's start with Jayson Williams this morning first.
A victory for the defense or was it that the prosecution really just didn't do their job? I mean was the defense just brilliant in their strategy or the prosecution less than brilliant?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, one of my mantras in talking about these cases is the lawyers generally don't matter much. It's usually the evidence.
This, I think, was an exception to that rule. I think you had a really bungled prosecution effort, in many respects. The delay at the end due to the failure to turn over certain important documents, I think, really hurt the prosecution. Plus, you know, you had a very aggressive, successful defense effort led by Billy Martin, who's a terrific lawyer. The lawyers really played a big part in why Jayson Williams -- I think you have to say he won this case.
S. O'BRIEN: But is the jury -- they've convicted him of covering up something that they didn't actually accuse him -- find him guilty of the crime. I mean, and they had a split decision on part of it.
TOOBIN: Right. That's not necessarily contradictory. I mean you can think you're doing right. But the same thing happened in the Martha Stewart case. They didn't find her guilty of insider trading. She wasn't even charged with that. But they did find her guilty with lying about it. People often think they did something wrong even if they didn't and can commit crimes in the course of covering it up.
S. O'BRIEN: They found him not guilty in aggravated manslaughter but could -- were a split decision, eight to 12, eight-four, I guess, on the reckless manslaughter charge.
TOOBIN: In favor of acquittal, eight to four.
S. O'BRIEN: In favor of acquittal. So basically they didn't come forward with any verdict on that.
So the prosecution could retry him, right?
TOOBIN: They could. It strikes me as unlikely given the enormous expense. This is a small prosecution office. The enormous expense of trying -- of a case that lasted 15 weeks, doing it all again when the jury really has evaluated the evidence closely and I think finally. I doubt we'll see it again.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Michael Jackson.
Ten counts now -- conspiracy, alleging 28 individual overt acts involving child abduction; counts two through five, allegedly committing a lewd act upon a child; count six, another attempted lewd act on a child; counts seven through 10 alleges the administration of intoxicating agents to assist in commission of a felony.
Anything in those 10 charges that stand out to you as a big problem for him?
TOOBIN: Yes, one -- the most interesting development in the evolution of the charges, to me, is the conspiracy count, because it suggests that other people were involved in criminal behavior, presumably based on what's been written, what's in the charges -- people, investigators, helpers who tried to cover this up.
What that suggests to me further is that the prosecution will be looking to make deals with some of those people and try to turn them into witnesses. That's a big development in the case.
S. O'BRIEN: The judge said there were "special allegations that relate to possible sentencing," which to me, like what does that mean?
TOOBIN: Well, under California law, there are various kinds of misconduct involving children that can enhance the sentence, make it longer. So he's looking at a world of trouble for himself if he's convicted.
S. O'BRIEN: What do you think a special allegation would mean?
TOOBIN: You know what? I don't know. How's that for...
S. O'BRIEN: Then I guess we won't know...
TOOBIN: How's that for a...
S. O'BRIEN: You know, I believe...
TOOBIN: A...
S. O'BRIEN: I believe in honesty. I'll take that.
TOOBIN: A clear answer?
S. O'BRIEN: And the judge hasn't released it.
Will he at some point? TOOBIN: Yes, he will. By the time this case goes to trial, the jury will have to evaluate this and they'll have to evaluate the indictment itself, whether it's been proved. So it will have to be public by the time the case goes to trial. It's just that by disclosing the individual allegations now, it'll just give it more chance to taint a jury pool and he wants to hold it back.
S. O'BRIEN: Big developments in both of these cases.
Jeff Toobin, as always, thanks.
TOOBIN: more to come.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm sure there will be, of course.
Thank you very much, as always.
TOOBIN: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles...
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, former Iraqi prisoner Thomas Hamill out of Iraq, waiting to be reunited with his happy family. And former officials under Saddam Hussein making their way back into the political fray in Iraq. We'll take a closer look at that just ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Here's Jack with the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Why, thank you.
Every week brings something new. The death toll of U.S. soldiers increasing in Iraq, photos of abused Iraqi prisoners now circling the globe. The U.S. is recruiting between 1,000 and 2,000 officers from Saddam Hussein's Baath Party. One former general, wearing his old uniform, is now leading a 1,000 member Iraqi contingent in the city of Fallujah. They're supposed to go in and get control of that town, as opposed to our Marines doing that.
The question is this: are things in Iraq so bad that Saddam's former generals should be put back in charge?
David in Michigan writes: "As a former U.S. peacekeeper in Kosovo, nothing surprises me with the events in Iraq, after Iraq military control is handed back to the Baathists, how long before they begin to target U.S. troops and demand Saddam be released and be put back into power? This would complete the Iraq fiasco."
Dennis writes: "The possibility of using former Baathist military officers in Iraq is not only troubling, it's not very intelligent. If the United States wants to drive what remains of this country into a full blown civil war, then place these people back in charge and watch the Shiites explode. I'm convinced this is proof the Bush administration's grasping at straws for anything that looks like a way out of this mess."
Dan writes: "If you think it's bad now in Iraq, you ain't seen nothing yet. Wait a year from now. There'll be a full blown civil war to decide who will control Iraq and its billions in oil. The worst thug wins and the United States will be blamed for everything."
Jack writes about the photos of those Iraqi prisoners from Alexandria, Virginia: "I've heard a lot about the world's outrage at those nude Iraqi photos. Where was the world outrage when our people were burned and hung on Iraqi bridges?"
Am@cnn.com.
S. O'BRIEN: Maybe there's enough outrage to go around for everybody.
CAFFERTY: It's just a nightmare, this whole thing.
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come, one of Saddam Hussein's most notorious prisons, as we were just telling you, the focus of a prisoner abuse scandal. We'll have the latest on the controversy just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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