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American Morning

Ramsey Murder Case; Deadly Texas Shootout; Iraq Attacks; New Hussein Trial; Iran's Defiance; Minding Your Business

Aired August 21, 2006 - 07:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's Hillary Clinton, what's not to love.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't like her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her personality, I guess. Not really sure, but she's kind of repelling in a way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Will it be President Hillary Clinton in '08? We'll take a look at the chances.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Also, check out these amazing pictures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my Lord!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And listen to what they're saying about it. A twister cutting through Colorado. It's all caught on tape. Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez filling in for Miles on this day.

O'BRIEN: Thank you. Appreciate it very much.

SANCHEZ: Good to be here.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

John Mark Karr. He is the JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect and he is back in the United States. He arrived in Los Angeles on a flight from Bangkok, Thailand, overnight. Details, though, of what happened on board is what's making headlines this morning. Let's get right to CNN's Ed Lavandera. He's in Boulder, Colorado. Drew Griffin is outside the jail in L.A. where Karr's being held. Let's begin with Drew.

Drew, good morning.

You sat right behind the guy. What was the flight like?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was just one of those most bizarre flights I've ever been on. Imagine, Soledad, you're at Bangkok International Airport, about to board a 15-hour flight, and up comes this guy escorted by Thai immigration officials that you know from reading the paper in Bangkok is accused in a murder case and he's getting on your plane. That's what most people found out, that this guy, John Mark Karr, was going to be on their flight.

He sat in the very last row of business. He was sitting next to a very muscular immigration agent from the U.S., another immigration official was there with him, as well as a district attorney's investigator from Boulder, Colorado. All three of them staying up all 15 hours. It was the toughest part of the flight for them, to keep an eye on this person who was just somewhat enjoying the flight, saying very little to anybody else other than his handlers and eating the three meals they provided on board.

But the people around him, the people who had no idea until their flight that this guy was going to be on their flight, were not happy when they found out about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't feel anything. I mean, obviously, because he's just as human as we all are. We all made our own mistakes. But I do feel that being that it is the United States of America, this is a -- I wouldn't blame the United States of America, but I do blame Thai (INAUDIBLE) for allowing it to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: John Mark Karr would not talk to any of the media on board, and there were a lot of us up there. He did chat with his guards, as I said. But interestingly, Soledad, before we landed, he insisted on combing his hair, brushing his teeth. He wanted to change his shirt. The guards brought him to the bathroom where he could change his shirt, get himself cleaned up and then put on a tie.

And then they opened the door when he was released and he went right into the hands of customs officials and we didn't see him anymore. So I think he was expecting more of the media kind of frenzy to surround him here in the United States that surrounded him, certainly, in Bangkok. Right now, no media frenzy at all. He's just inside this huge jail here in Los Angeles waiting extradition to Colorado.

Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Drew Griffin with an update for us. Drew, thanks.

What's next for Karr? Let's take you right to Ed Lavandera. He's in Boulder this morning.

Hey, Ed. Good morning.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well here prosecutors in Boulder are expecting to have John Karr back here in Colorado within a couple of days. There's an extradition hearing that they're waiting to hear the outcome of. If John Karr does not fight extradition, he could be back here in Boulder, Colorado, in the next couple of days.

If he does fight it, that could slow the process down considerably. And, of course, what prosecutors are working to figure out is if John Karr's first landing here in Boulder this week, will it be the first time he's ever been in Boulder or was he here 10 years ago? Prosecutors and investigators have been working throughout the weekend, trying to piece together the history of John Karr and working out all of the angles.

Remember the last public statement they made in this case was last Thursday where they said they had a lot of work to do and a lot of investigation still to be done and urging everyone not to jump to any conclusions about John Karr's involvement in this case. So that was significant because we were told yesterday by a spokesperson for the DA's office who said that once he's here in Colorado, they have 72 hours, three days, to charge John Karr. So just exactly how far along they are in their investigation is hard to tell.

They've been tight-lipped about any of those kinds of details. But we do know they have been working throughout the weekend. So we'll see how this plays out in the next coming days.

Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Ed Lavandera, of course, you'll be watching it. Thanks, Ed.

Lots of questions about what Karr was doing in Thailand. CNN has obtained a copy of Karr's hotel bill in Bangkok. Found calls that had been made to a clinic specializing in cosmetic surgery and sex-change operations. Doctors there confirmed, in fact, that Karr visited the clinic. Wouldn't reveal, though, what treatments he's received.

Tonight, Larry King's going to have an exclusive interview with Ramsey family attorney Lin Wood and the Colorado professor, Michael Tracey, who lead police to Karr. That's tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Rick.

SANCHEZ: Texas police are looking for a motive this morning in a deadly standoff just outside of Dallas. Listen to this.

That's gunfire. This is the scene outside an apartment complex yesterday afternoon. The popping sound of bullets. Hours later, one person was dead, four others injured. Here is how it happened. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ, (voice over): It started about 2:50 in the afternoon with a call about a broken window. Police responded to the apartment complex near Dallas. There they found the window with a bullet hole. They found where the shots apparently came from. They went to investigate.

Then, a barrage of gunfire. More police responding. More gunfire. Then the news. Four officers were down, three from the Midlothian Police Department. One, a state trooper. The suspect still holed up in an apartment. Twenty-five-year-old Richard Wayne Miles (ph).

OFC. BRITT SNIPES, MIDLOTHIAN, TEXAS, POLICE: We know very little about the suspect except in May of this year Midlothian police questioned him in relation to a criminal mischief or vandalism call. He was not charged. He certainly was not convicted.

SANCHEZ: The standoff went on and on. At times, gunfire peppering the Texas air.

SNIPES: We attempted to put -- insert into the apartment, since he has no phone in that apartment, no cell phone, we attempted to insert what's known as a throw phone. Fully self-contained phone so we can make communications in these types of situations. He has not responded to that.

SANCHEZ: Finally, quiet. At about 10:00, with no response from the suspect, police fired tear gas into the apartment. No response. Police moved in and found the suspect dead. Police say he had apparently ended it all by shooting himself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: But before it was over, three police officers and a state trooper were shot and wounded. We understand that one of the men is in serious condition this morning. We'll check on that for you.

Also, to Missouri now where police this morning are searching the property of a man who says he killed, dismembered and burned seven people. Thirty-three-year-old Michael Shaver (ph) is charged with first-degree murder. Police said he told them about the human remains while he was being taken into custody for a failed carjacking. So far bone fragments from two people have been found.

Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, he was defiant again. Saddam Hussein back in court today facing a second genocide trial. The former Iraqi dictator refused to enter a plea in the case, so the judge entered a not guilty plea for him. Hussein and six other defendants are being tried in connection with the deaths of as many as 100,000 Kurds back in the late 1980s. A verdict in the first trial is expected in October. Streets of Baghdad returning to normal this morning, traffic resuming, after a two-day lock-down for massive Shiite religious ceremonies. But during the ceremonies, gunmen opened fire on some of the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. As many as 20 people were killed. CNN's Michael Holmes in Baghdad.

Michael, good morning to you.

There is praise for security during those ceremonies, in spite of the numbers who were killed.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Soledad. Good morning to you, too.

Yes, it's extraordinary that this place where the deaths in Iraq average about 100 a day, that just 20 dead is a cause for some celebration by security officials. And when you think of last year, too, this very same pilgrimage, a Shiite pilgrimage, 1,000 people were killed when a rumor spread through the crowd that there was a suicide bomber among them and there was a stampede on a bridge.

Well, this time around there was pleasant of security, Iraqi security, although there were U.S. helicopters in the air. But that did not stop attacks by gunmen. Some of them firing from rooftops and from inside houses. They killed about 20 people and wounded about 300. Not all of them by gunfire. Many of the people were wounded in the panic and crashed as they ran for cover.

So an extraordinary day. But the march went ahead. These pilgrims were very determined to complete it, despite these attacks which took place in Sunni areas of Baghdad as these Shiite marchers made their way to the mosque.

Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a question about this second trial for Saddam Hussein. The number of times that we have said in the first trial, he was defiant, his demeanor was sort of in your face to the judge. The same thing this time around?

HOLMES: Yes, exactly. Day one of trial two and it's the same old Saddam, if you like, refusing, are as you said earlier, to give his name. He said to the judge, "you know me," when he was asked for his name. And when he was asked to enter a plea of guilty or innocence, he refused to do so. He said that the court was one of occupation and so the judge put in the plea for him.

A bit of background. He's one of seven people on trial here, including his cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, which many people will remember as "Chemical Ali." They face charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes. And in the case of Chemical Ali and Saddam Hussein, genocide, blamed over the deaths of tens of thousands of Kurds in north of Iraq in 1898 during what was known as "Operation Anfal." Already the prosecution has said 182,000 Kurds were killed, men, women, and children. Three thousand villages destroyed.

This trial has just adjourned for now. It will recommence later.

Soledad.

O'BRIEN: And it's only just beginning. All right, Michael Holmes for us this morning. He's in Baghdad. Thanks, Michael.

SANCHEZ: Out of the Middle East, Lebanon's defense minister this morning is threatening to stop deploying Lebanese troops to the country's south if the U.N. does not ensure that Israel does abide by the cease-fire. Israel raided a town in Lebanon over the weekend. Now Israel has claimed they did so because arms transfers to Hezbollah are violating the U.N. resolution and justify that type of military response.

British police this morning are moving forward with their investigation into the alleged plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners. And they're reportedly close to charging some of the 23 suspects in custody.

Meanwhile, British home secretary, John Reid, says substantial material has already been gathered in this investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN REID, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: The police and the authorities are convinced that there was an alleged plot here. They have intervened. And in the course of the next few days, we'll wait and see what happens in terms of charges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Investigators say they have until today to question two of the suspects and they have until Wednesday to question 21 others.

Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Senator Joe Lieberman says the criticism is purely political. Senator John Kerry blasted Senator Lieberman for running in the Connecticut senatorial race as an independent. He even accused Senator Lieberman of towing the Republican line. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: I am concerned that he is making a Republican case and he is uttering almost the same words as Vice President Cheney. And I think it's inappropriate. And to adopt the rhetoric of Dick Cheney, who has been wrong about almost everything he has said about Iraq, shows you just exactly why he got in trouble with the Democrats there.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN, (D) CONNECTICUT: I am a Democrat. Look at my voting record. I've voted 90 percent of the time with the majority of Democrats in the United States Senate. But when I disagree, I'm going to have the courage of my convictions to say so.

(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: Senator Lieberman decided to run as an independent, as you well know, after he lost the Democratic primary in Connecticut earlier this month.

Rick.

SANCHEZ: Let's do this now. Let's check the forecast. Chad Myers at the CNN Center in Atlanta to bring us the very latest on this and tell people what's going to be happening in their parts of the country.

What's going on, Chad?

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: The man behind one of America's most famous photographs has died. Joe Rosenthal was a young photographer for the Associated Press when he snapped a picture of Marines on Iwo Jima. It was a picture that would define his career that lasted nearly 50 years. He often told the story about how he almost didn't climb the hill to see the flag raising, which took place on February 23, 1945. Joe Rosenthal died of natural causes. He was 94 years old.

SANCHEZ: And coming up, Iran's military muscle on display. Is that country gearing up for a fight with the west? We're going to go live to Tehran.

O'BRIEN: Also, love her or hate her, it looks like Hillary Clinton is preparing a run for the White House. We'll take a look at why one of her biggest strengths could also be one of her biggest weakness.

SANCHEZ: And an 81-year-old former Sunday school teacher. She says she was let go after 54 years on the job just because she's a woman. Her story ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.

With a shaky cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, Iran is showing its force, launching massive military exercise this weekend. CNN's Aneesh Raman is the only U.S. network reporter in Iran. He is joining us now from Tehran to bring us up-to-date.

Aneesh, we just heard from Iran's supreme leader. Now what did he have to say?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, good morning.

The top figure in Iran saying that the country would pursue its civilian nuclear program. They say here it is for peaceful purposes. That is the highest official to preview what we expect tomorrow, which will be an official rejection of any plan that would require Iran to suspend that program. It comes, as you say, amid new signs that Iran sees itself as a growing force in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAMAN, (voice over): It is meant to leave little doubt. In Iran there is a readiness for war. Over the weekend, the armed forces launched massive military exercises, set to continue over the next five weeks in half of the country's provinces and set to showcase key assets, including this surface to surface missile, dubbed in Farsi (ph), thunder. Iranian military officials say it can travel up to 155 miles. Short range, perhaps, but this is all, they say, part of a new defensive doctrine.

"The war games are in operation across the country in a large scale," says the chief commander of the Iranian army, "and they are aimed at encountering all sudden attacks from enemies. The threat of sudden attacks is a not so veiled reference to potential air strikes Iran could face from the west against its nuclear facilities. A prospect being urgently planned for here ahead of a U.N. deadline for Iran to suspend its nuclear program.

As early as Tuesday, Iran could officially give its decision on that. But on Sunday came a preview.

"Suspension is moving back to the past," said Iran's form ministry spokesman, "and it is not on Iran's agenda and we will not suspend our nuclear activities."

Iranian officials have, from the start, maintained theirs is a peaceful, civilian nuclear program. That they have the right to pursue it. But with suspension off the negotiating table, Iran will almost certainly face action by the U.N. Iranian officials say they are ready for sanctions. And as these scenes are meant to reinforce, ready for any military strike by the west.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAMAN: So, Rick, why tomorrow will Iran give its official response when it has till the end of the month? Tomorrow a very auspicious Muslim holiday. The country's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a very religious man. Experts here on the ground say anything could happen tomorrow despite this preview of rejections. We'll have to wait and see.

Rick.

SANCHEZ: Do you get a sense, Aneesh, that Iran is emboldened right now because of what many consider to be a victory by Hezbollah in that part of the world?

RAMAN: No doubt. Iran is emboldened. Iran's president has earlier said that Hezbollah had won the battle against Israel and that the war of the insurgency essentially against Israeli aggression would go on. We have seen Iran grow closer with Syria. When Iraq was taken out, when Saddam Hussein was essentially taken out of power, there was no balancing act in the region. So Iran has filled that void and it is speaking, its president says, for all of the disenfranchised Muslims. From Indonesia, to Malaysia, to Iran, to Pakistan. They feel emboldened by the day.

Rick.

SANCHEZ: Aneesh Raman with an exclusive, live report from Tehran. We thank you for that, Aneesh.

Soledad, back over to you.

O'BRIEN: Obviously the White House is watching what Iran is doing with great interest. Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House for us this morning.

Hey, Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX: Good morning, Soledad.

Of course the Bush administration is approaching this end game with good news and bad news. The good news here is that the Bush administration is not alone in this. It's with the U.N. Security Council. This international body that is ready to impose a series of economic and diplomatic sanctions for Iran not cooperating.

Now the bad news, of course, is that the Bush administration has not achieved its ultimate objective, to get Iran to comply, to give up its enriching uranium program. It has offered, after much pressure from European allies, to sit down under conditional talks with Iran. They have refused to do so. We have heard from the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in several public pronouncements saying that they would not cooperate. That this is a civil program.

So the Bush administration, essentially, is left with one thing to do, that is to push forward and to continue to try to make the case that the Iranian regime is a dangerous one. That it deserves the toughest sanctions. It was just yesterday a spokesman from the White House saying, "Iran sits at the nexus of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism. We know that Iran is producing and developing delivery systems that could threaten our friends and allies in the Middle East and Europe and evenly the United States itself."

So, Soledad, it's unclear at this point whether or not the White House considers this an official response from Iran. They have normally dealt with the nuclear negotiator through the U.N. Security Council. We'll see if that comes up today or perhaps tomorrow. Or they may just wait this out another couple weeks until the official deadline.

Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us this morning. Thanks, Suzanne.

Ahead this morning, a big drug lawsuit. It's about to go to court. Did a popular menopause drug cause cancer? We're "Minding Your Business" right after the short break.

Plus, Busta Rhymes gets busted by police. We'll tell you why he was arrested after a concert in New York City. Those stories and much more just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: A drugmaker trying to deal with lawsuits over a diet drug facing more legal entanglements today. Carrie Lee is here. She's "Minding Your Business."

Carrie, thanks for being with us.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Rick.

Well, jury selection starts today in the first of as many as 4,500 lawsuits against Wyeth. Now, the company here is -- the drug, rather, is called Prempro. This is a hormone replacement therapy. It's used to treat pre-menopausal symptoms. As many as 6 million women took this drug before the product was linked to cancer in a 2002 study. Some women basically alleging that they developed breast cancer after taking this drug.

Now Wyeth -- this all comes on the heels of another big settlement. Wyeth settled, reaching a $21 billion settlement for lawsuits over Fen-Phen. You might remember that. That was a big diet drug. So more troubles here for Wyeth.

Wyeth says it did not willfully ignore the dangers of the drug and that the therapy's warning label does mention breast cancer risk. But, still, over 4,500 lawsuit. Doesn't mean they'll all going to go to trial. But depending on how these first couple go, well, that will probably dictate how this all plays out. So that's the latest on Wyeth.

Also Citadel is looking to renegotiate some terms of its $2.7 billion deal to buy the bulk of Walt Disney's radio assets. This is an industry that's been some what troubled. Citadel stock down 27 percent. Disney's radio assets not doing so well either. So basically want they want to do is renegotiate the terms that they reached in February because the stock isn't worth as much.

SANCHEZ: Why would the radio sector be down if everything else seems to be up?

LEE: Well, you know, mergers and acquisitions have been very strong on Wall Street this year. But what we're seeing in radio, same thing we're seeing with print magazines and newspapers, advertisers keep taking their money to the Internet. So they're having to come up with some other ideas.

SANCHEZ: Carrie Lee, thanks so much.

LEE: OK. Sure.

O'BRIEN: A look at the top stories straight ahead this morning, including the very latest from the Middle East. Why the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah might be in jeopardy.

Then later, an 81-year-old woman is dismissed after teaching Sunday school for 54 years. She says it's because she's female. Her story and much more is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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