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American Morning
Missing Girl Found; Signs on Saturn Moon
Aired March 10, 2006 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush avoids a veto fight after Dubai Ports World changes course, but the decision to pull out of the port deal may not provide a lot of political cover.
Police come up empty with a person of interest in the brutal murder of a New York honors student.
A disaster declaration in the Southeast. Strong storms leave behind a trail of destruction.
And possible signs that at least the ingredients for life could be in a very far away place. I'll take a closer look at Enceladus and those tiger stripes, as they call them.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: That's a fascinating story.
M. O'BRIEN: Who knew about Enceladus?
S. O'BRIEN: Who knew?
M. O'BRIEN: You know? Who knew?
S. O'BRIEN: No one.
M. O'BRIEN: The Enceladamians (ph), I guess.
S. O'BRIEN: And only they.
M. O'BRIEN: And only they, exactly. Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Lots to get to.
In fact, let's get right to Carol. She's got a look at our top stories this morning.
Hey, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hey.
Good morning, everyone.
It was a slow death, but it is a dead end for that controversial ports deal. The United Arab Emirates company at the center of the political firestorm says it is pulling out. All operations at U.S. ports are expected to be transferred to an American entity. Reaction has been swift in Dubai and the other Emirates. Some newspapers blame anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States for the collapse. Abu Ghraib is being handed over back to the Iraqis. The U.S. military says it will transfer the 4,500 detainees from Abu Ghraib prison to a new facility at Baghdad's airport. The move should take about three months.
Bird flu may be coming to America this summer. That's the warning from Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff. But he says the U.S. is prepared.
The deadly strain of bird flu is spread by migratory birds. So far, no cases have been discovered in North America and no human cases have been documented outside of Asia.
And take a look at this. It's a rodent. It was thought to be a new species, but scientists now say it's been around a very long time, like 11 million years. Only rodents could live that long.
This is the so-called Laotian Rock Rat. It has the face of a rat and the tail of a skinny squirrel. It was caught in time in a remote part of Laos. The creature's identity is revealed in today's issue of "The Journal Science."
So, yes, yes, yes, Soledad, this is indeed a rodent.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, but it looks like what you see running through Central Park all the time.
COSTELLO: Well, squirrels are rodents, too, aren't they?
S. O'BRIEN: I think.
COSTELLO: Aren't they cute rats with cute tails?
S. O'BRIEN: Maybe Miles would know that.
Are squirrels rodents?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, sure. Yes, they're in the rodent family.
S. O'BRIEN: It looks like -- it looks like a big old New York City squirrel.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, kind of ugly. Kind of ugly, mean, you know?
S. O'BRIEN: Kind of ugly and kind of nasty.
M. O'BRIEN: Like it would take your wallet if it had a chance. You know what I mean?
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Carol.
A happy ending in the case of a missing New Jersey teenager whose mother -- remember we told you this story yesterday? She just received some really disturbing messages from here daughter's cell phone after the little girl went missing. Police are going to be talking to the 13-year-old girl again today to find out exactly what happened.
AMERICAN MORNING'S Alina Cho brings us up to speed on this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Less than 24 hours ago, no one knew if this 13-year-old girl would come home again. Why she disappeared for three days is still a mystery. Here's what we know.
Police say the girl, a good student, skipped class Monday to meet with a 20-year-old boy she had met at the mall.
ROBERT BROWNE, FATHER: Even though your -- your daughter is a good student in school, she -- and you trust her, you raised her well, oh, my kid wouldn't do that, you know, you have to be aware -- who, what, where, when, why? Ask them where they're really going and who they're going to meet.
CHO: Later that morning, her mother tried to reach her. The girl responded with a desperate cell phone text message to her mom.
STELLA BROWNE, MOTHER: "Help. I'm scared. I don't know where I am. I know I'm in a house. Someone was following me and I just don't remember what happened."
CHO: There were several more, including this one sent later that day.
S. BROWNE: "He is making me do disgusting stuff I don't want to do."
CHO: Her mother lost contact with her until Thursday morning, when the girl called home from New York City, dazed. A cab driver brought her to police. She told them she had been raped.
Even before she was found, authorities had been questioning three young men, including the 20-year-old she met with Monday. Police say the girl voluntarily went with him and that all of the young men were cooperative when questioned. Were the text messages then merely a hoax?
CHIEF ROBERT TROY, JERSEY CITY POLICE: The credibility to what has occurred here is in doubt, and -- but we'll -- we'll give her every benefit of the doubt to make sure that if anything did occur, that -- that she gets the help she needs.
CHO: Her mother is standing by her.
S. BROWNE: We don't doubt anything. So, right now, she's fine. That's the most important thing.
CHO: Police say the girl was examined at a New York hospital. The results are not yet available but could put many of the questions to rest. For now, authorities are advising parents to learn from what happened. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's make it a wakeup call. You know, let's make it a wakeup call to parents relative to computers, relative to cell phones, relative to who your teenage kids hang out with, who they meet, who are they with at the mall. Know it all. Know it all.
CHO: The girl's father vows life around here will change.
R. BROWNE: Here computer days are over. There's no more computer for her, because I'm taking it out of her room. Her cell phone is -- I'm getting a cell phone that has -- you know, you can contact on the parents on it. That's the one she's going to get now. I'm going to be extra strict.
CHO: Hard lesson learned in this home.
Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: The man who was described as a person of interest in the rape and killing of a New York graduate student has passed a test in the probe in a separate rape investigation. Darryl Littlejohn appeared in a police lineup on Thursday, not identified, though, by the victim.
Littlejohn is being questioned about the killing of Imette St. Guillen last month. Littlejohn worked at the Manhattan bar as a bouncer where St. Guillen was last scene.
Kevin O'Donnell, who is Littlejohn's court-appointed attorney, says he does not think his client can get a fair trial in New York. He spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN O'DONNELL, ATTORNEY FOR DARRYL LITTLEJOHN: His demeanor is he's confused, he understands that he's the logical suspect here. And he's in a position now where he's got to prove that he didn't do it, which goes against our Constitution.
Unfortunately, he was one of the last people to see him, from what I understand, if you believe what you read in the papers. But because of his criminal background, he's the first target, he's the likely target because of his parole violation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: You can catch "ANDERSON COOPER 360" weeknights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Lots of storm damage and at least two dead in the South today. Arkansas probably got the worst of it. A tornado ripping through the town of Morton. Damage and power out in Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee, as well.
One died in Arkansas when lightning struck a man's house, set it on fire. A woman died in Tennessee when she crashed into a tractor- trailer in the midst of heavy rain.
And take a look at these pictures snagged by a quick-thinking weather watcher with a camera phone. This is Sacramento, and this is a funnel cloud, which, of course, is not a tornado, as you know...
S. O'BRIEN: Right.
M. O'BRIEN: ... because it has to have one key specific event happen? You know what that is.
S. O'BRIEN: Hit the ground.
M. O'BRIEN: There -- very well done. Ding, ding, ding.
S. O'BRIEN: I've spent a lot of time covering tornadoes.
M. O'BRIEN: It makes up for the Martian issue.
S. O'BRIEN: Right. I'm weak on my Martian -- Martian info.
M. O'BRIEN: Chad Myers, were you listening? She just did very well on her weather -- Chad.
S. O'BRIEN: Chad, if you need any help from me, you call me, man. I got your back.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I got this. There you go.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: This red one on the right side, that's the only one you really need to know.
M. O'BRIEN: You are so out of here on a Friday, aren't you?
MYERS: The other five, you don't even need to know what those are.
Good morning -- it's an ejection button.
Good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, that is such great news. I mean...
M. O'BRIEN: I think you hit a weather dinger there.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: That's a good one. That's a good one.
MYERS: Right.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm looking forward to that.
All right. Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: Sure.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, Donald Trump not quite ready to kiss and make up with his foe...
M. O'BRIEN: No, he's not.
S. O'BRIEN: Martha Stewart. Remember, they were having a lot of that he said-she said, blah, blah, blah. A couple of weeks ago we were talking about that. It was over her failed version of "The Apprentice."
Well, last night, Donald Trump spoke to Larry King about his side of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, "THE APPRENTICE": Martha frankly didn't do well in "The Apprentice" and she sort of took shots at Mark Burnett and myself and tried to blame us. I said, "What did we have to do with it?
I mean, you have a show. It didn't have the temperament.
I haven't spoken to her. I feel a little guilty about that because I like Martha. Look, you like her and I like her. I haven't spoken to her but I didn't like being blamed for her failure.
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": So you're not going to call her?
TRUMP: I'm not going to call her, you know. It's like just one of those things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: You like her, I like her, I'm not calling her, though. You call her.
S. O'BRIEN: It's just one of those things. I'm not going to call her.
"LARRY KING LIVE" on every night from 9:00 to 10:00.
I like when Larry King tried to bring them together.
M. O'BRIEN: I think counseling with Larry King on the program would be awesome. You get the two of them together and just talk it out.
S. O'BRIEN: You like her, I like her. Not going to call her.
M. O'BRIEN: I mean, I think we'd all watch that one, for sure.
S. O'BRIEN: Really.
Ahead this morning, what if the New York Yankees became the New York Pepsis (ph)? It doesn't have the same ring, does it? Andy this morning on word of another team's sort of bizarre name change. We'll talk about that
M. O'BRIEN: Also, the elixir of life. No, it's not vodka, Soledad. No, it's water.
They have found what appears to be water on the tiny moon that is in the shadow of Saturn. Could Enceladus offer a cushy berth for life?
S. O'BRIEN: And the failure of the Dubai port deal a big loss for President Bush. We're going to take a look at the political impact on the rest of his term.
Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: NASA's Cassini spacecraft has apparently hit some rather interesting pay dirt as it continues its long tour of the Saturn system. Take a look at this.
These are -- this is animation of the moon called Enceladus. First of all, let me show you Saturn. You've seen that before.
Enceladus is a tiny moon you haven't heard of. It's about 300 miles total in diameter. If I were to put it next to Saturn, that would be actually too big, that little red dot right there.
Let me show you what they found out about a year ago as Cassini flew by Enceladus. Check out these features. We're going to give you a close-up in just a few moments.
Look at those lines. What are those fractures all about, you may wonder?
Next picture please, Michael.
They're calling these things tiger stripes. And it becomes rather evident that what we're talking about are cracks or fissures in an icy surface. An icy surface implies maybe something liquid beneath.
Take one more look at what we're talking about here. And this is the image that has scientists so excited.
This is the south pole of Enceladus, and this is evidence of plumes of water. This has been highlighted with what they call false color to show you the kind of midst that has been created by that. Actually, it's frozen. A frozen mist, if you will.
These are geysers, not unlike what you would find at Yellowstone Park, Old Faithful. In this case, we'll call them Cold Faithful. So the question is, why is there liquid water so near the surface of Enceladus? What's heating it up beneath? And perhaps the most important question, how long have those conditions been there? Because if in fact there is a heat source underneath and it is causing the liquid water to bubble forth, that could be a cushy berth for life, maybe tiny microbial life, but life, nonetheless.
So, suddenly, Enceladus, this tiny little planet, this satellite of Saturn, has become perhaps the number one most interesting place in the solar system to look for signs of life outside of this place -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: That's kind of cool.
Andy, can you match that with business news, earth-shattering news like Enceladus?
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": Soledad, I can.
S. O'BRIEN: Really?
SERWER: I mean, I'm up to the challenge this morning.
S. O'BRIEN: OK. What you got?
SERWER: How about this: energy drink Red Bull charges into the sports scene and buys a major league team.
And forget plastics. We'll tell you which job sector is hot, hot, hot.
How did I do?
S. O'BRIEN: Very well.
SERWER: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
M. O'BRIEN: Is that Big Boy?
S. O'BRIEN: No, that's our girlfriend, Queen Latifah, who was guest on this very show not long ago. We loved to talk to her.
M. O'BRIEN: I didn't mean to diss her. I was just being silly.
S. O'BRIEN: I know. I know.
M. O'BRIEN: There's Fort Lauderdale.
Good morning, Fort Lauderdale.
And that's courtesy of our affiliate...
S. O'BRIEN: Take the glasses off.
M. O'BRIEN: WFOR.
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Lots happening this morning.
Let's get right to Carol. She's got a look at our top stories.
Hey, Carol. Good morning.
COSTELLO: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
A series of bombings throughout Iraq again this morning. Five are dead.
We're also getting new pictures of what appears to be a U.S. tank on fire. You see it there, just flames pouring out of that tank. We have no word on injuries, but of course if we find out any more about this, we'll keep you posted.
The attacks come one day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged that secular violence in Iraq is getting worse. He says Iraq is not, however, on the brink of civil war. But if it were, Iraqi forces would handle it.
The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, could be soon be facing corruption charges. The public prosecutor's office in Milan confirms to CNN there is a request to indict the prime minister. Charges will include obstruction of justice, false testimony and bribery. We could know more later this morning.
The government's case could be in trouble at the sentencing trial of the 9/11 conspirator, Zacarias Moussaoui. A federal judge is raising questions about the case. Was Moussaoui legally obligated to tell investigators what he knew about 9/11 when he was arrested a month before the attack?
Kelli Arena has more from Virginia. That will come your way at the top of the hour.
And a terrifying case of what can only be called extreme road rage. Two pregnant women rammed and trapped in their car. You see that video from a police dashboard camera. It shows the suspect sped up so hard to hit the women's car, that smoke is from his tires. That's burning rubber smoke.
The suspect is 50-year-old Earl Boyd. Police say they still don't know what set him off.
And thankfully, Chad, both women are doing OK this morning.
MYERS: Yes, babies as well. Or, you know, babies to be.
COSTELLO: Yes. MYERS: Good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Numbers we like.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Chad.
So a -- the name of the team? What did we say in the tease? The New York...
SERWER: Pepsis (ph).
M. O'BRIEN: Pepsis (ph).
S. O'BRIEN: That's not the name.
SERWER: That's not happening.
M. O'BRIEN: That's not happening, Yankee Fans.
SERWER: No.
S. O'BRIEN: But it could.
SERWER: Right. I mean, this could be the shape of things to come, which is a company buying a major league sports franchise and sticking its name on it.
We're talking about energy drink Red Bull buying Major League Soccer New York City team the MetroStars and renaming the team Red Bull. Red Bull New York, that's what it's going to be called. They bought the team and they're going to name it Red Bull New York.
S. O'BRIEN: That's kind of -- I like that name.
SERWER: Why not?
M. O'BRIEN: It's not a bad name. MetroStars isn't so great.
SERWER: No.
M. O'BRIEN: You know.
SERWER: They're not a great team either.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Well, there's that, too.
SERWER: We'll get to that in a second.
SERWER: Red Bull is an Austrian company, and they own actually a soccer team in Salzburg over there. They paid reclusive business mogul Philip Anschutz $100 million to buy the team, which is a lot of money because MetroStars, they're kind of mediocre, maybe a little better than New York Knicks.
And here's the interesting thing -- I like to pick on the Knicks.
M. O'BRIEN: The bar being set very low there.
SERWER: Yes, I'm picking on...
S. O'BRIEN: Which means absolutely nothing.
SERWER: But how but this, though, Red Bull's colors are blue and white.
M. O'BRIEN: That is so confusing. That is a little confusing.
SERWER: I never quite got that.
M. O'BRIEN: I haven't quite gotten that either.
SERWER: Now...
S. O'BRIEN: The Red Bull's highlighting the colors.
SERWER: Yes. I guess that's it.
Now, we want to do this other story here about what job your high school or college graduate should get into.
S. O'BRIEN: Plastics.
SERWER: No, not plastics anymore. That was the '50s...
M. O'BRIEN: Ships.
SERWER: No, that was the '80s and '90s. Health care.
S. O'BRIEN: Really?
SERWER: Maybe this isn't such a big surprise. Growing like crazy. Continuing to grow.
The demographics are incredibly strong. Eight out of the next 20 fastest-growing occupations over the next decades will be in health care. You know, sectors like health care aides, dental pharmacists, physical therapists.
The baby boomers are bombing baby geezers. So that's what that's all about.
M. O'BRIEN: Not doctors. Doctors are omitted from that.
SERWER: Yes, it's interesting.
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: It's interesting.
SERWER: I saw the doctors were not in that list...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: ... and that's because they're being squeezed big time...
S. O'BRIEN: By insurance costs.
SERWER: ... by insurance costs. Not the profession it used to be.
S. O'BRIEN: HMOs, right.
SERWER: You ask any doctor about that.
S. O'BRIEN: That's interesting.
SERWER: So interesting stuff there.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. I wouldn't -- I wouldn't have picked health care.
SERWER: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Andy. Thank you.
SERWER: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: A look at our top stories ahead this morning. That controversial U.S. port deal is dead. We'll tell you about that.
Plus, the U.S. is going to move prisoners out of Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
We're going to catch up with former hostage Ashley Smith one year after those terrible Atlanta courthouse shootings.
And Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch shut down. We'll tell you why.
Severe weather rips through the south. Two people are dead. We're going to have today's forecast just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Getting close to the top of the hour. Let's check the forecast one more time -- Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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