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CNN Saturday Morning News
New Zawahiri Tape; Miami Terror Arrests; Patsy Ramsey Dies; North Korean Missile Test
Aired June 24, 2006 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone.
This story just in. Patsy Ramsey is dead. Patsy Ramsey was the mother of JonBenet Ramsey, the little girl whose mysterious 1996 murder in Boulder, Colorado remains unsolved. Mrs. Ramsey died early this morning of ovarian cancer at the age of 49.
We will have more on this in a moment.
The investigation continues into an alleged domestic terror plot. Six of the seven suspects appeared in court yesterday. Most of the arrests took place Thursday. The Miami-based group is accused of plotting war against the U.S. government, including an attack on Chicago's Sears Tower.
We will have a live report coming up.
The Navy is trying to figure out how information about 28,000 sailors and their families made its way to a civilian Web site. The information included names, birth dates and Social Security numbers. But officials say there's no sign the information was used illegally.
A collection of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s documents will not be sold at auction. An Atlanta coalition will buy the papers and house them at Morehouse College, King's alma mater. The collection had been expected to sell for $15 million to $30 million at auction. It includes drafts of King's "I Have A Dream" speech.
Saturday, June 24th.
Good morning, everyone.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Tony Harris.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
I'm Melissa Long in for Betty Nguyen.
And making headlines this morning, straight ahead, emotions are on edge in Miami. We will hear from the mothers of two men who now face terror charges. The two women are defending their sons and one of them is calling on President Bush for help.
In this age of terror attacks, how safe do Americans feel and can the government really keep us safe? We're going to check out what some new polls are saying. Plus, they're soldiers defending America and now they're celebrating something special -- American citizenship.
Those stories straight ahead.
But first...
HARRIS: Aspirational rather than operational -- that's what the FBI is saying about a Miami-based group accused of plotting a war against the government. That included plans to blow up the Sears Tower. Even though the alleged plot was a long way from being carried out, authorities say this was the right time to act.
CNN's Kyung Lah is standing by in Washington with the latest on the arrests -- Kyung, good morning.
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
We certainly do have two conflicting images of these suspects emerging.
The family describes them as religious men who joined an organization to get their lives on track.
Well, in the indictment, the federal government says this group of men wanted to wage war against the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBERTO GONZALES, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Individuals here in America made plans to hurt Americans. They did take some overt acts. They did request materials. They did request equipment. They did request funding. They took an allegiance -- swore an allegiance to al Qaeda.
We clearly believe there's sufficient information, sufficient facts, to support this prosecution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: The government says they came to view their home country as the enemy. What the indictment clearly indicates, though, is that they were disorganized and didn't have any weapons yet. Five of the seven suspects appeared in a U.S. district court in Florida, the other in Atlanta. They said that they had no money, not even enough to pay for an attorney.
Neighbors in the Liberty City area describe the men as odd, but visible, marching around their warehouse for anyone to see. So if they were planning an attack, they certainly did not hide it.
They called their group the Seas of David. Federal agents raided the warehouse on Thursday. The indictment states the group was plotting to attack fellow Americans by acquiring weapons and bombs. They wanted to blow up the government offices in five cities, and, according to the indictment, the Sears Tower in Chicago. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUPT. PHIL CLINE, CHICAGO POLICE: What this investigation illustrates is that law enforcement officials at the federal and local levels have taken aggressive steps to thwart and disrupt the potential for a terrorist attack to be executed. The bottom line is none of these plans materialized.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: The Sears Tower is open this morning for tourists. Arraignment for the suspects is set for June 30th -- Tony.
HARRIS: CNN's Kyung Lah in Washington.
Kyung, thank you.
All but one of the seven accused terror conspirators appeared in court yesterday. The one who didn't, Stanley Grant Phanor, was taken into custody three days ago on a concealed weapons charge. His mother insists he's innocent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZENE PHANOR, MOTHER: My son never make nothing once. Nothing. Nothing. I have 63 years, 63 years I have now. My son never make nothing wrong. My son just go to work, go with bible. After that, every Friday he have the money, he just give it to me, mommy, make to pay, to eat, to pay (UNINTELLIGIBLE), to take of yourself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Elizene Phanor talking about her son in an interview with CNN's Drew Griffin.
We will have a full report from Drew coming up at the half hour.
LONG: And now focusing on international terrorism concerns, there's yet another videotape from al Qaeda's number two man, Ayman el-Zawahiri. In this one, he reacts to the recent deaths of al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
CNN national security correspondent David Ensor takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a slickly produced tape with a photo of al Qaeda's dead leader in Iraq behind him, al Qaeda's deputy leader expressed grief over Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death in an American air strike and called him the prince of martyrs.
Ayman al-Zawahiri warned Americans on the tape that killing Zarqawi and the like will not stop attacks on the West. AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI, AL QAEDA SECOND IN COMMAND (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Bush is lying to you when he tells you that you will win when you kill Osama bin Laden, Mullah Omar and the members of al Qaeda and Taliban. He is hiding a lot behind his lies. He's hiding the true catastrophe that you're facing.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The tape looks to me like an attempt by Zawahiri to remind the world that al Qaeda central is still in charge. This is the third tape in a month. And, for the first time, Zarqawi's no longer dominating the headlines.
ENSOR: McLaughlin and other analysts point to the letter captured by U.S. intelligence written by Zawahiri to Zarqawi in which he advised him to stop beheading foreigners -- too bloody -- and especially to stop killing fellow Muslims. The latter advice Zarqawi ignored.
MCLAUGHLIN: In fact, if you could put one of those sort of subliminal bubbles over his head like in a cartoon, it would probably say, "Good riddance."
ENSOR (on camera): But Arabic translators say they were struck by the anger and frustration they heard in Zawahiri's voice -- anger at the U.S.; frustration, perhaps, that all he may be able to do from hiding is issue tapes.
David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LONG: Do remember to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
HARRIS: The North Korean missile threat could come to a head this weekend. Military sources tell CNN that the weather conditions right now provide an excellent window for Pyongyang to launch a long range ballistic missile. And Washington is poised to shoot down the missile if it comes anywhere near U.S. soil.
Details now from CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. military believes North Korea has completed preparations for the test launch of its Taep'o-dong 2 long range ballistic missile. The Pentagon has completed its preparations, as well. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has signed orders detailing how the U.S. would try to shoot down the missile if it appeared on an attack trajectory for the U.S. U.S. spy satellites and radars are already watching. If there is a North Korean launch, there will be just minutes to tell President Bush.
DONALD RUMSFELD, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The president would make a decision with respect to the nature of the launch and whether it was threatening to the territory of the United States or not. STARR: The president will have to almost instantly decide whether to order a shoot down. The U.S. has 11 missiles it could use to try to intercept the Taep'o-dong. Only North Korea knows if it will conduct the launch and whether the missile will carry a warhead.
In a CNN interview, Vice President Cheney offered a clue that the missile may have enough boosting power to launch a satellite.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a first test of this particular Taep'o-dong 2 missile. We believe it does have a third stage added to it now, but again, we don't know what the payload is.
STARR (on camera): The Bush administration has already drafted three versions of a public statement to be used if there is a North Korean missile launch. One says there was a launch and it was just a test. Another statement says there was a launch, it was an attack and the U.S. felt it had to shoot the missile down. The third statement says there was a launch, it was an attack and the U.S. failed to shoot it down.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LONG: This just in to CNN this morning.
The death of a woman who spent years in the legal spotlight after the death of her daughter, JonBenet. Patsy Ramsey died this morning of ovarian cancer. The body of her 6-year-old daughter was found in the basement of the family home in Boulder, Colorado.
We heard from Patsy Ramsey's lawyer a short time ago.
LIN WOOD, PATSY RAMSEY'S ATTORNEY: I think people will remember Patsy as being someone who was falsely accused in connection with the daughter of her daughter when she should be remembered for being an incredibly loving mother, a wonderful wife and a person who showed great courage in fighting a vicious disease over the last many years. She should be an example to others who face cancer that there can be a win, a victory, because she lived for over 10 years with the disease and I think was able to accomplish a lot in your life and to spend her most valuable time with her family and her friends.
LONG: The JonBenet Ramsey murder, 10 years later, is still unsolved.
HARRIS: Now to News Across America.
A seriously ill baby boy has been found alive in Washington State. Police say the baby's mother took him from a Seattle hospital right before scheduled surgery Thursday. Nine-month-old Riley Rogers was in state custody and the mother did not have permission to take him. Police arrested his mother on kidnapping charges.
A wild ending to a high speed car chase. This motorist stood up through the sun-roof of his SUV after being cornered by California Highway Patrol. The suspect appeared to be shouting at the cops. The officers used taser guns to subdue the man. They were then able to haul him out of the vehicle and take him into custody. Man.
LONG: Captured on home video, a Kansas youth basketball game which you'll see turn violent.
HARRIS: Oh!
LONG: A player from the Wichita team there...
HARRIS: Oh! Oh!
LONG: ... knocking down an opponent and pummeling him. Dale Vestal says his 14-year-old son was beaten unconscious and he wants charges filed against the teen who did it. The local district attorney's office says it is not commenting because this case is involving minors.
Dramatic rescue pictures from Idaho. It took hours but rescuers were able to yank the three men off the top of that vehicle. The van they were riding in careened into a river. The driver was thrown from the vehicle and then swam to shore.
HARRIS: Feeling safe at home? Well, this week's terror arrests made us ask Americans how worried they are that there will be another attack inside the United States.
LONG: Plus, portraits of sacrifice -- we will show you one young man's emotional gift to the families of fallen U.S. troops.
And this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it isn't really your property, is it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mrs. Jennings.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Miss. Ripple (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes, that was good. That was good. Remembering the life of the man who brought us this, Aaron Spelling, when CNN SATURDAY returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning on this Saturday.
The top stories, news coming into CNN this morning that Patsy Ramsey has died in Atlanta of ovarian cancer. She was 49. Ramsey was the mother of the slain 6-year-old beauty queen, JonBenet Ramsey. Her 1996 murder was never solved. Family and friends deny that seven men indicted in Miami are homegrown terrorists. The FBI disagrees. Officials accused this group of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago.
President Bush is urging Congress to give him more budget powers. The president used his week radio address to push for a line item veto. He says too many good bills have bad spending attachments. Many lawmakers from both sides say a line item veto would shift too much power to the president.
HARRIS: Raging wildfires still on the move in Western parts of the country. Among the biggest, this blaze near Sedona, Arizona. It has scorched about 4,000 acres and right now it's only 20 percent contained. Hundreds of homes in the area are still evacuated.
Parts of Colorado also feeling the heat. This wildfire near Fort Garland has burned more than 13,000 acres.
LONG: Extremely dry, as you mentioned, in Colorado and Arizona.
As you look to that long-term forecast, Reynolds, do you see any break from the dryness?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Unfortunately, not much of a break at all for them in the Four Corners. And, you know, they -- it's just been, it has not been a lucky time for them, to say the very least.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Still ahead, Arnold Schwarzenegger puts his foot down. Why the California governor is saying no to the president.
LONG: And this young man is using his talent to honor those who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will look at his work, his art and what the families of the fallen troops say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tom Taylor built his career from the ground up. At age 16, he was approached to work for Home Depot part-time and turned it into a 22-year career.
Taylor began as an associate in the outside garden department and quickly climbed up the ranks, becoming executive vice president of marketing and merchandising.
His philosophy about getting to the top?
TOM TAYLOR, EVP, MARKETING & MERCHANDISING, HOME DEPOT: The best advice that I can give is to slow down and to learn as much as you can in the current job that you have. The time will come that you'll move ahead and I think if you take the time to learn as much as you can about what you're doing, then you're going to do it that much better.
(END VIDEO TAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning on this Saturday.
To Iraq now, where there's no letup in the bloodshed. Among today's deadly attacks, a roadside bombing in Kirkuk. This blast killed the intelligence chief for Kirkuk and two of his guards.
In Baghdad, an expression of outrage from Sunni political leaders after American troops detained a Sunni sheikh and his sons. The three have now been set free. Authorities say the sheikh was detained after U.S. troops raided his home in Tikrit and they say the U.S. military has now apologized, calling the detention the result of bad intelligence.
Also today, another American dead in Iraq. The Pentagon says a bombing killed a U.S. soldier who was on patrol south of Baghdad.
HARRIS: Well, the families of three American soldiers are in mourning this weekend after their loved ones were killed in Iraq.
Sounds of sorrow in Madras, Oregon, where a memorial service was held for Private First Class Thomas Tucker. He and a fellow soldier were captured by insurgents last week in an attack on a checkpoint in Baghdad. Their bodies were found a few days later. A third soldier was killed in that attack. Oregon's governor calls Tucker a true American hero. All three soldiers were stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
The body of the other American soldier captured and killed by insurgents, Private Kristian Manchaca, is scheduled to arrive home in Brownsville, Texas Monday. The American soldier killed at the checkpoint was Specialist David Babineau. His burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery.
They are portraits of sacrifice. A young man from Illinois is using his artistic talent to honor the memory of troops who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
CNN's Jonathan Freed first reported the story for CNN's AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): These are the hands of a 22-year-old college student sketching the portrait of a soldier killed in Iraq. Cameron Schilling has made it his mission to draw every fallen soldier from his home state of Illinois. It's a mission motivated by a sense of duty and a measure of guilt.
CAMERON SCHILLING, ARTIST: These are guys that could be doing exactly what I'm doing. They could be going to class. They could be living a normal live in their hometowns, but they're in a foreign country, you know, sacrificing a lot.
FREED: So Cameron is sacrificing his time and giving his sketches to the soldiers' families.
SCHILLING: I started posting on different Web sites that this is what I want to do. I just got some responses back. And they'd send me a picture and I'd draw the picture and I'd send it to them in the mail. So that's how the first six of them got done.
FREED: But the project grew from six to 126, at last count. Once Illinois' lieutenant governor discovered Cameron's work and invited him to sketch all of the state's fallen soldiers. Cameron had to post the soldier's names on his wall to keep track of his work.
(on camera): Is it difficult for to you come in here and look at that list?
SCHILLING: It's difficult to see it grow.
FREED (voice over): The state displayed the portraits at a Memorial Day event in Chicago. More than 30 families were there.
Marine Lance Corporal Sean Maher was killed in an ambush in February, 2005.
(on camera): When you look at the sketch, is it giving you something from your son that you didn't have before?
DANIEL MAHER, FATHER OF FALLEN SOLDIER: Comfort. The fact that you could see his eyes, the fact that he was looking at you. Even though it was a sketch and it wasn't in color, it was a warm feeling, the sketch itself. And...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For someone who didn't know him.
SCHILLING: His eyes are covered a little bit by his hat. And I kind of moved him up a little just to show more of his eyes, because, you know, that is the most important part of the sketch.
MAHER: He's staring right at me, telling me not to worry about him.
SCHILLING: He was just, I think, a couple years younger than I was. So it's kind of just hard to, you know, grasp that.
FREED: Cameron feels his sketches highlight what he calls the definition of sacrifice.
Jonathan Freed, CNN, Charleston, Illinois.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And that story comes to us from AMERICAN MORNING.
Join Soledad and Miles weekday mornings, bright and early, 6:00 a.m. Eastern. And you don't want to miss this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: They died at the hands of terrorists. They were brutally murdered. It's part of the brutal warfare the U.S. is up against.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Ramadi, people really are wondering what's going to happen next.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was meant to be a message for the entire defense team -- do not come to Iraq.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With Democrats who are, for the most part, on the defensive.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: The same old thing is part of the problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: That's "IRAQ: A WEEK AT WAR."
CNN brings you the only in-depth look at major events in the war on terror.
Join John Roberts and our team of global correspondents tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern.
LONG: Seven men arrested, accused of plotting an attack on the Sears Tower in Chicago. We go to the neighborhood where two of the suspects grew up.
Plus this story...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, I now present to you the newest citizens of the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: They fought for our country. Now, they can vote. One very special naturalization ceremony straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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