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American Morning

Grand Jury Convened on Duke Rape Charges; Man, 26, Arrested for 10-Year-Old Girl's Murder; Gay Parents Participate in White House Egg Roll; Discovery Channel Documentary Asks if Jihadists Can Get Nukes

Aired April 17, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alina Cho in Durham, North Carolina, where the grand jury is convening at this hour and could issue the first indictments in the Duke University rape case. I'll have that story coming up.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Ed Lavandera in Purcell, Oklahoma, where police say a 26-year-old man who murdered a 10-year-old girl had visions of cannibalizing his young victim. I'll have that story coming up.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, where Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is under attack and being defended for his management of the war. That story coming up.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Bob Franken at the White House where the Easter egg roll has turned political. Why? That's coming up.

MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: And school segregation in Nebraska, that is the charge from some people, unhappy with the redistricting plan that cuts along racial lines. We'll take a closer look ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning to you. Welcome to another week. I'm Miles O'Brien.

Good to have you with us.

BETTY NGUYEN, CO-HOST: Morning. Glad to be here. And I'm Betty Nguyen sitting in for Soledad O'Brien today.

O'BRIEN: In Durham, North Carolina today, there's a lot of emotion still. The prosecutor is expected to present his case to the grand jury in that Duke University rape investigation. It means there could be charges and arrests very soon.

AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho live now from Durham with more on this. Alina, what do we know about what's going to unfold today?

CHO: Well, Miles, as always, the grand jury will be meeting behind closed doors. Jurors are convening at this hour. We have learned that the district attorney, Michael Nifong, has just arrived at his office.

Certainly, it is going to be a very big day in this investigation. Defense attorneys believe that at least one, if not two of the players will be indicted in this case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Eighteen anonymous jurors will listen as prosecutors present their case. What they won't hear is anything from the defense attorneys. Lawyers for Duke lacrosse players call it a one-sided process, one that more often than not results in an indictment.

BILL THOMAS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That is a very frightful process for these young men who would have to suffer and endure through a charge and trial.

CHO: The alleged victim is a 27-year-old mother of two and student at North Carolina Central University. On the night of March 13 she and another woman were hired as strippers by Duke lacrosse players. She then accused three players of raping her in a bathroom.

Last week, lawyers for the players announced there was no DNA match linking any of the 46 players tested to the accuser. The D.A. is waiting for more test results and says even without DNA he still has a case.

MICHAEL NIFONG, DURHAM DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It doesn't mean nothing happened; it just means nothing was left behind.

CHO: Late last week according to the university, Durham police went to the dorm rooms of some of the players without a search warrant and tried unsuccessfully to interview them. One defense attorney said he was shocked police would try to speak to the students without notifying their attorneys.

With feelings on both sides running high, about 50 members of a local church turned out Sunday at the house where the alleged rape occurred to pray for justice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Alina, give us a sense -- we're talking about now a month since these allegations were first leveled, and while I think internally there in the campus, names are known and that sort of thing, externally we really haven't put any faces with any of those who are accused. This could change matters significantly today.

CHO: That's right. People are calling it a turning point, Miles, and that's because all it takes is 12 jurors. If 12 of the 18 jurors come back and find probable cause, the district attorney can move forward with criminal charges. There will be arrest warrants issues, and the player or players will be hauled off to jail.

As you mentioned it is a turning point, as well, because this will be the first time that names and faces, Miles, are attached to this case.

O'BRIEN: Alina Cho in Durham, North Carolina. Thank you very much -- Betty. NGUYEN: A 26-year-old Oklahoma man expected to be formally charged today with killing his 10-year-old neighbor. Police say he had a chilling plan, possibly including cannibalism. The girl, killed in Purcell, and here's the latest on that story. Ed Lavandera joins us now from Purcell, Oklahoma.

Ed, this story, not only is it tragic, but it's gruesome.

LAVANDERA: Yes, and many people here in this town have been struggling to come to terms what with what they've been hearing over the last couple of days.

The suspect in this case is 26-year-old Kevin Ray Underwood. He's expected at this courthouse in just a few hours to make his first court appearance, but prosecutors say this is the most heinous, gruesome crime this town has ever seen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The people of Purcell are trying to come to terms with the brutal murder of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin at this apartment complex just yards from her front door.

Police say Kevin Ray Underwood, who lived in the floor below, confessed to the girl's murder soon after his arrest on Friday, telling FBI agents, "Go ahead and arrest me. She's in there."

Investigators say that earlier in the week, Jamie Rose had used Underwood's phone to order pizza, and on Wednesday she appears to have entered his apartment voluntarily.

CHIEF DAVID TOMPKINS, PURCELL POLICE: It does not appear that this crime was a spur of the moment crime of opportunity, but it appears that this was a well thought out, premeditated act.

LAVANDERA: An online diary that Underwood appears to have kept for several years reveals a man frequently depressed, angry and with violent thoughts. In a question posted prominently on the blog, he asks, "If you were a cannibal, what would you wear to dinner?"

In February of this year, he wrote about antidepressants he'd been taking, saying, "I've been really bad lately. I need to have the doctor write me a prescription for more Lexapro or something and start taking that again."

But perhaps most disturbing is an entry from late in 2004. "My fantasies are getting weirder and weirder. Dangerously weird. If people knew the kind of things I think about anymore, I'd probably be locked away."

The 26-year-old seems to have had a few friends. A co-worker at this hamburger restaurant where he recently worked says he was quiet and reserved.

BILL BERDAN, FORMER CO-WORKER: He wasn't a happy person. You could see it, you know. It just -- it was hard to get him to smile, but you know, other than that he was all right.

LAVANDERA: At Easter services, members of the Mission Assembly of God church remembered young Jamie Rose Bolin. The reverend Duane Elmore said his congregation is struggling to understand how something so evil could happen so close to home.

REV. DUANE ELMORE, MISSION ASSEMBLY OF GOD CHURCH: It's very painful and I think there are a lot of people, teachers and everybody, we all have the question what could we have done? You know, did I do enough? And that's -- you know, that's tough.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Ed, what's the prosecution saying in this? Are they seeking the death penalty?

LAVANDERA: They are. Later today he will -- Kevin Ray Underwood will be formally charged with first-degree murder, and they say they will seek the death penalty in this case. The prosecutor also says that he's looking at filing other charges, but he's still looking into what those charges could be.

NGUYEN: How well did this little girl, this 10-year-old, know her alleged killer?

LAVANDERA: You know, it's hard to say. Her family has been saying over the last couple of days that they didn't really know him, even though he lived right across the hallway from them in the apartment. She lived in this apartment with her father. Her mother lived in Arizona. But you know, given that given that Jamie Rose Bolin probably walked in and out of her apartment, played in the little area around her apartment, it's probably someone she was familiar with.

NGUYEN: So tragic. Ed Lavandera in Purcell, Oklahoma. Thank you, Ed.

LAVANDERA: Sure.

O'BRIEN: Developing story out of Israel we've been telling you about. A little more than two hours ago a suicide bomber set off explosives in a restaurant in Tel Aviv, that restaurant at the old central bus station. At least six plus the bomber were killed. At least 49 taken to hospitals, eight of them in critical condition. The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad claiming responsibility. That same restaurant was bombed January 19, injuring 20 at that time.

Donald Rumsfeld picking up support today from four retired generals writing an editorial in the "Wall Street Journal". That coming after a memo from the Pentagon challenging Rumsfeld's critics.

Live now to Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, it's getting rather political isn't it?

STARR: It really is, Miles. It's becoming somewhat of a boiler room operation around here, very political. There are TV appearances, editorials, memos from the Pentagon about facts, about what they say Don Rumsfeld did or didn't do.

But what's really interesting to watch, the number of recently- retired generals, those who served in Iraq, or on that timeframe calling for the secretary's resignation still at six, but now really the lid appears to be off. Many people weighing in on all sides of this question.

Retired Brigadier General James Marx was the intelligence chief for the ground forces in the time leading up to the war and the initial land invasion. He spoke earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. JAMES MARX (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Frankly, I think it's appropriate to make comments that provide some objective observations about the secretary. I mean, that's fair game, but to call for his resignation does nothing to move the challenges forward and to try to come up with a solution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So General Marx is actually reflecting a lot of what many generals are saying. They're stopping short, calling for the secretary's resignation, but what we are finding it very interesting to watch is many of these generals who served in the war in Iraq now appearing publicly, talking about what they feel are the mistakes that were made.

And most of it, Miles, centers around the question of whether or not there were enough ground forces for the invasion and for the ensuing operation in Iraq. Even General Marx saying there should have been more ground troops -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: It really has struck me, almost to a person, no matter what you say about the secretary, they say that the number of forces on the ground were inadequate.

Let's talk about the campaign inside the Pentagon to try to turn things around politically and on a public relations front. They're going to meet with the TV generals, as we call them, the analysts you see on TV today, to brief them. What's going to happen at that?

STARR: Well, actually, Miles, we now think that meeting is probably scheduled for tomorrow. It was decided last Friday, the day President Bush put out his endorsement of Don Rumsfeld, to call all these analysts in and have a meeting with them tomorrow, Tuesday.

They certainly expect this issue to come up. They want to offer their view of things, but there are other people out there who are saying what the Pentagon operation is simply doing keeping this story alive for yet another day. So we'll wait and watch it and see how it all plays out.

O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr, I think this story has legs either way. Thank you very much.

Let's go to Betty.

NGUYEN: Time now to check out the forecast. It is a Monday morning. Chad Myers is at the CNN center.

Chad, over the weekend we really saw remarkable video of tornadoes, true? Severe weather still going to pop up this week?

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Hey, Chad, I'm sorry I kind of gave you a hard time about the marathon.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, yes, yes. That's OK.

NGUYEN: Chad's used to it, right?

O'BRIEN: I said, hey, I don't care about the marathon. You'd just given a marathon briefing. I was busy doing my taxes.

MYERS: You -- trying to work the AMT is like doing a Sudoku (ph) puzzle.

O'BRIEN: So confusing! Hope you understand.

All right. Thank you very much, Chad Myers.

We're watching the White House, South Lawn. We just missed the national anthem and that was a couple of Disney Channel favorites, Allie and -- who is it?

NGUYEN: You're asking me?

O'BRIEN: Allie and A.J. I'm not asking you that. It's the little voices in my head.

NGUYEN: I haven't watched the Disney Channel in awhile, Miles.

O'BRIEN: In any case we expect to hear from Laura Bush. The president is not going to speak. And there you see the anxious egg rollers getting ready on a rather rainy day on the South Lawn.

NGUYEN: Don't they look nice, though?

O'BRIEN: Here's the first lady. Let's listen to the first lady. And the Easter bunny. He's there, too.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, everyone. Welcome to this happiest of traditions at the White House. I'm so thrilled you all are here. In Washington we know that spring has arrived when the White House lawn is filled with children for the Easter egg hunt.

I want to thank all of the children here today who brought their parents with them. Thank you for bringing the adults. Have a wonderful time today, and thank you for bringing so much joy to the White House grounds. We hope all of you have a great time. I also want to thank our special guests today. All of the entertainers that you'll be seeing all afternoon, the readers, the famous athletes, the magicians, everyone who's coming to entertain you today. I want to thank them.

And then I especially want to thank the volunteers. There are a lot of young volunteers here who are spending their time and their talents to help their fellow citizens. You represent the very best of America and thank you for representing all of your friends, all of the other volunteers that serve across our great country today at the White House Easter egg roll. The president and I wish everyone very good...

O'BRIEN: There's the first lady, Laura Bush, addressing the egg rolling crowd there with her husband beside her, the Easter bunny looming behind, not making any reference to the controversy, the tempest of the Easter basket that's been going on over same-sex couples involving their kids and being a part of the Easter egg roll.

CNN's Bob Franken has words to say about that, and we'll hear from him shortly. Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Check this out. The White House Easter egg roll is going on right now at the South Lawn. You see the president there, milling about, speaking with some parents. He just blew the whistle, which starts this entire event. As you can see, the kids are getting ready to roll those little Easter eggs down the hill. They are so cute. Look at them.

Well, here's the issue today. Gay and lesbian parents have made a point of being there at this year's event to make a statement. AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken is live at the White House with the latest on all this.

Hi, Bob.

FRANKEN: Well, you can see that they roll the eggs using big spoons. Do not try this at home. It's a tradition that began in 1878. But this is not your great-great grandfather's Easter egg roll, times have changed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): They waited in lines that stretched for blocks all night and into the morning. They were waiting for the chance to get tickets for the traditional Easter egg roll at the White House this morning.

DANIEL GRI, GAY PARENT: We got here last night about 8.

FRANKEN: They included James Abbott and Daniel Gri, who would not be considered traditional parents. They are gay parents, joining the thousands of straight couples in line. They planned to bring their two adopted children, ages 8 and 10. JAMES ABBOTT, GAY PARENT: We thought it would be good for them and a good chance to participate in the White House and see maybe the Bushes.

FRANKEN: They wore pink leis around their necks to make sure everyone knew who they were, and that concerned some of the other parents.

TRISCH AUST, MOTHER: That's my only issue, making something like this that should just be a fun occasion around a holiday like this into a political issue.

GWEN WILLIAMS, MOTHER: It's something that's for kids, an event for kids, an event for families, and using it as a political platform.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Which I hope they don't do.

WILLIAMS: It's like everyone can just mingle together. I don't want anyone to just stand out.

FRANKEN: It's ironic that some adults wearing bunny ears don't stand out, but those wearing pink plastic flowers do.

GRI: You know, I think it's important for people to be able to see that gay parents do exist and gay people have families, long-term relationships and children.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Bob, the first lady just spoke with the crowd. She didn't make any mention of this issue, but the White House, what's its position on this controversy?

FRANKEN: Well, the first lady had said that any and all are welcome. Some of the gay protesters are saying that they were kept out until noon long after the president and first lady left. But the White House says that traditionally they start with volunteers from organizations and their children, which is what we're seeing now.

NGUYEN: Bob Franken live at the White House stage right (ph). Thank you, Bob.

O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, if Iran wanted nuclear weapons, how long it would take to get them? We'll take a look at the frightening answers on that.

Plus, a new law some call state-sponsored segregation. It divides a school system into separate districts, all along racial lines. We'll talk to the lawmaker behind the measure ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Growing concern about Iran this morning as it apparently ratchets up efforts to pursue nuclear ambitions. Take a look at some recent satellite photos released by a watchdog group. I know that's confusing, but what that does show, we're told is increased levels of activity at one of the country's main nuclear facilities, perhaps suggesting Iran is continuing onward in its effort to enrich uranium.

So the question we have here -- let's take a step back -- is how did Iran get so far along in a bomb-making program? A lot of it has to do with the name A.Q. Khan. Remember that name? The former head of the Pakistani nuclear program launched a black market nuclear proliferation effort. He's now under house arrest in Pakistan.

And wherever he went he left a trail, sort of a -- sad to say a nuclear Johnny Appleseed, left behind a tremendous problem for the rest of the world.

"Nuclear Jihad: Can Terrorists Get the Bomb?" is the name of a new documentary premiering tonight on the Discovery Channel in conjunction with "The New York Times". David Sanger is a big part of that documentary. He writes for "The New York Times" on these issues, among other issues.

Good to have you with us, David.

DAVID SANGER, "NEW YORK TIMES": Thanks for having me, Miles.

O'BRIEN: The -- A.Q. Khan and his proliferation efforts, well known now. North Korea, Iran, Libya, the countries that really come to mind initially. Are there other countries out there that we're not necessarily focused on that may have benefited from Khan's desire to spread nuclear technology?

SANGER: We suspect so, Miles, but coming up with the proof has been very difficult for American intelligence agency, for the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Khan traveled very widely. He spent a lot of time in Saudi Arabia. He spent some time in Egypt. He spent a lot of time in Africa, perhaps looking for supplies. In each of these places, investigators have gone and tried to figure out if he's sold to them, what he sold on to Iran and North Korea and Libya. So far, they haven't found much evidence.

O'BRIEN: All right. So let's focus on what we know for now. You, in this documentary, talk to the son of Moammar Gadhafi, heir- apparent there, and asked him, in the course of things, how easy it was to come across this technology and specific technology that would make it possible to build a bomb. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAADI GADHAFI, LIBYAN HEIR-APPARENT: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Draft how to manufacture a nuclear bomb.

SANGER: Were you surprised how much you were able to get?

GADHAFI: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Are you surprised at how much is out there?

SANGER: You know, to have done this investigation was to be constantly surprised about how much one found. But I spent many years covering the North Korean program and it constantly astounded us that a country that broke could buy so much. So I guess we shouldn't be surprised.

O'BRIEN: You also talked to the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and she's essentially saying that the fact that Khan was in Iran should make us come to the conclusion that Iran has more than civilian nuclear applications in mind. Let's listen to what she had to say briefly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: A.Q. Khan was not in the business of civil nuclear power development. And so when the Iranians say this is just for civil nuclear purposes, you have to ask questions about intent here. Why would you have had dealings with A.Q. Khan?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Well, except for one thing, that the process of enriching uranium, whether it's for a bomb or whether it's for a nuclear facility, is the same. It's just how pure you make that uranium. So is that -- is that a valid point to make, that if Khan was there, we have to assume that they're after a bomb?

SANGER: They bought everything through this illicit network. Their answer about why they had to do it that way was that the world not have tolerated it seeing them buy it on the open market. But at the same time, for 18 years they hid many elements of their program.

We report in the "Times" this morning that the program that they had been declaring that they ended three years ago, a faster way of enriching uranium, the president of Iran announced the other day is now an active research program.

So there's this constant set of questions and denials and discoveries that would at least raise your suspicions.

O'BRIEN: And one of the things you have to bear in mind here is that you have to be concerned that this could be bluster. After all, Saddam Hussein tried to make it very clear that he had this kind of thing, and it turns out it was mostly bluster. Is it possible that is the case in Iran, or is there more to it?

SANGER: It is very possible that they're overstating their capabilities, that they have some equipment, they bought some things from Khan, and they're not entirely sure how to use it.

But it is a very confusing run. A.Q. Khan went to the Iraqis, offered them what appears to be basically the same package of goods, and he thought he was being faked out by the west and turned them down.

O'BRIEN: Very interesting. Final thought here. President Musharraf of Pakistan, this has always amazed me how much he should or should not have known or would have known. Let's listen to what he says when he was asked how much he knew about A.Q. Khan's nefarious activities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN: Nobody in Pakistan knew except him, his organization and other (ph) organizations were totally anonymous. Autonomous financially, autonomous in development, autonomous in security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: You believe that?

SANGER: Well, he was autonomous in that he was running a very secret operation. He also had the Pakistani military acting as his Federal Express. They were doing cargo shipments, including a very famous one to North Korea. It would seem difficult to just be able to call up and get a military cargo plane.

O'BRIEN: You would think. All right. Thank you very much. We'll leave it at that. David Sanger with "The New York Times". Fascinating documentary. It's called nuclear jihad, can terrorists get the bomb? How's that for a question that would scare you a little bit? It premieres tonight 8 p.m. Eastern Time on the Discovery Times Channel. Check your local listings.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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