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CNN Saturday Morning News

Ramsey Suspect John Mark Karr Faces Deportation Tomorrow; Israel Launched Raid Today In Bekaa Valley To Stop Transfer of Weapons To Hezbollah; Violence Continues in Iraq

Aired August 19, 2006 - 09:00   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, now in the news. Next stop Los Angeles for the suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. New this morning, we've learned that John Mark Karr is scheduled to arrive in the United States on a flight from Thailand tomorrow evening, details and a live report from Bangkok in less than three minutes.
Lebanon's prime minister is denouncing an Israeli raid today in the Bekaa Valley as a quote, naked violation of the U.N. cease-fire agreement. Israel says it was preventing smuggled weapons from reaching Hezbollah. An Israeli diplomat adds that Israel reserves the right to conduct such operations as needed until an international security force is in place.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: In Lebanon, southern port of Naqoura, about 50 French troops came ashore just a few hours ago to take up U.N. security duties there. They are the first of the international forces whose job it will be to enforce the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah. France announced that it will deploy 200 additional soldiers to that region.

In Iraq, wire services report at least 13 people killed today in various attacks around the country. According to the "Associated Press" a roadside bomb south of Baghdad killed four people. A large Shiite religious observance this weekend has the capitol under tighter security. The "Associated Press" reports that seven Shiites were killed last night while walking through a Sunni neighborhood.

Safe haven in a Chicago church were a woman wanted by immigration officials. For now government officials say they won't enter the church to get the woman who has taken up refuge there with her son. The woman entered the church Tuesday after failing to turn herself over to immigration to be deported to Mexico. Her 7-year-old son is a U.S. citizen. Now, to Reynolds Wolf for a quick check of the morning forecast.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Another reminder that we run down the top stories every 15 minutes here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING with in depth coverage all morning long. Your next check of the headlines is coming up at 9:15 a.m. Eastern time.

Sit and be fit.

NGUYEN: Really, can that work?

HARRIS: I hope so. Coming up in 10 minutes, we'll tell you how you can sneak in some exercise while sitting at work.

And from the CNN Center in Atlanta, good morning everyone I'm Tony Harris and this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: Yep, we're exercising right now, can you tell?

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: Sitting here and just exercising away. Good morning, everybody. We'll tell you how that works because it really does. Thanks for starting your day with us.

About 18 hours from now the suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey case is scheduled to leave Thailand, headed for the United States. John Mark Karr returns to face murder charges and lingering questions about his alleged involvement in the 6-year-old's death. We begin in Bangkok now where Karr is being held. CNN's Atika Shubert is following the developments there. Good morning to you.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Betty. Behind me is the detention center where John Karr is spending his last night in Bangkok before he is transferred back to the U.S. We have confirmed that there is a ticket booked in his name flying directly from Bangkok to Los Angeles on Sunday night. That means he's likely to arrive in Los Angeles on Sunday evening.

We've also confirmed, interestingly, that he has an especially- reserved business class ticket aboard that. And of course, security officials will be traveling with him. Meanwhile, today U.S. officials were in to see him briefly. The lead U.S. official here on the case here, Ann Hurst, actually came in, spoke to him for a little while. She did come out a little while later in the afternoon. She didn't have any comment but she did say he was in good condition. Betty?

NGUYEN: All right. So he's at this detention center. He's going to head to the U.S. shortly, be here tomorrow evening. But meanwhile, at this detention center, what's he been doing?

SHUBERT: Well, from what we understand he's really been keeping to himself, rather quiet. There are two English-speaking Thai guards watching over him. But what we understand from Thai officials is that he's been reading a lot of books. He had a meal of Kentucky Fried Chicken the other day and he's been watching a lot of the news on television, apparently keeping track of what the reporting is about him.

NGUYEN: That's an interesting clue right there. OK, we're going to see how all of this plays out. We appreciate that report this morning. Tony?

HARRIS: Well the report this morning says John Mark Karr's name was mentioned in connection with the Ramsey case five years ago. "The Washington Post" quotes an attorney who represented Karr on a misdemeanor child pornography charge in 2001. Marie Case tells the paper what she says members of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department told her that, quote, "there was possibly some involvement" in the Ramsey slaying 1,200 miles away in Boulder, Colorado. "Just saying, hey, we're looking at this guy." "Case says she was not contacted by law enforcement officials from Boulder and that no one sought to test her client's DNA to determine whether it matched evidence from the case."

Now, family members say John Mark Karr was fascinated by another high-profile case, the 1993 murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas in California. Richard Allen Davis is on death row in San Quentin for Klaas' murder. Prison officials say they questioned Davis about any connection with Karr, they also searched his cell and checked phone records and visitor's logs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VERNON CRITTENDON, PRISON SPOKESMAN: Warden Robert Harris (ph) felt it was his responsibility to follow up on this information that had been received to see if we were able to substantiate the allegation that John Karr and Richard Allen Davis were, in fact, in correspondence. And at this point we are now feeling safe to say that there is no physical evidence that we have seen that will indicate that they were corresponding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: That's interesting. In early 2000, Karr lived in Petaluma, California where Klaas was killed.

NGUYEN: Now, it's time to hear what you think about the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. E-mail us your thoughts and observations. What do you think about the situations that have been going on, especially the Karr involvement. Is it an involvement or is it just something that this man thinks he was a part of? E-mail us, weekends@CNN.com.

And this programming note for you. Larry King will have an exclusive interview with the Ramsey family attorney Lin Wood and the Colorado professor who led police officers to Karr. That is Monday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

HARRIS: If you're just tuning in this morning you may be under the impression that the cease-fire in Lebanon has ended the Israeli- Hezbollah conflict. Well, not exactly. Israel says it launched a raid today in the Bekaa Valley to stop a transfer of weapons to Hezbollah. The Lebanese prime minister denounced the raid as a, quote, "naked violation," unquote. And Hezbollah has a different version of the ensuing gun battle.

CNN's Anthony Mills is covering the on going crisis for us this morning from Beirut. Anthony good morning.

ANTHONY MILLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Tony. According to the Lebanese army what happened in the Bekaa Valley east of Beirut about 15 miles from the Lebanese-Syrian border in the village of Budai, that's close to Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold. According to the Lebanese army in the early hours of the morning an Israeli helicopter landed there. It had two vehicles aboard which then began moving with Israeli troops in them. They were intercepted by Hezbollah fighters. A battle ensued. And then wounded Israeli troops, according to the Lebanese army, were airlifted out of there.

Now, the Lebanese army is denying reports earlier today that as many as three Hezbollah fighters may have been killed in that attack. Now, it should be noted that Baalbek is a Hezbollah stronghold, in fact it's where Hezbollah was founded back in 1982 and it is, as I say, close to the Lebanese-Israeli border about 15 miles. That whole stretch of the border is actually notorious for cross-border smuggling roots. But it's not clear Tony at this stage whether or not there were actually rockets on the ground being moved at that time. Tony?

HARRIS: Anthony, just a quick question. How much disappointment, if that's the word, is palpable there where you are that this international peace-keeping force is coming together so slowly?

MILLS: Well I suppose, Tony, it depends who you talk to. Now on the one hand this is really a fragmented society. So the fact that there appears to be reticence on the part especially of European troops, notably France, may be causing some concern among the Christians in this country who are traditionally much closer to European countries and especially to the former colonial power here, France, then let's say the Shia Muslims who are the supporters of Hezbollah.

Certainly the Christians would have hoped that there would be a strong European presence. They might be somewhat unnerved by a troop force that was primarily Muslim in nature. There had of course been offers from other countries, such as Turkey and Indonesia and Pakistan to name three. Tony?

HARRIS: OK, CNN's Anthony Mills for us in Beirut. Anthony thank you.

NGUYEN: Well Tony, you can forget the gym and the workout because you can do it all from your desk, believe it or not. Our fitness guru Jerry Anderson explains how to do just that in five minutes.

HARRIS: So I can release the grease from this desk.

NGUYEN: Your desk.

HARRIS: Really, OK Jerry.

NGUYEN: Well be very careful about that because I am sitting next to you.

HARRIS: And still ahead, he is taking on the insurance industry in the fallout from hurricane Katrina. "OPEN HOUSE" talks with him at the bottom of the hour about how it could change the way you insure your most valuable asset. NGUYEN: And coming up in the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING, how the serpents got their slither on in "Snakes on a Plane." I'll talk with the man behind the slippery villains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got lots of teeth and he's very mean so I've got to hold him by the head in case he bites me.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Good morning, everyone. Now in the news, new information this morning about plans to return the JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect to the United States. Authorities say John Mark Karr is expected to arrive in Los Angeles tomorrow evening on a flight from Thailand. He will then be taken to Boulder, Colorado, to face charges.

With the French flag waving behind them, boats brought French troops to the shores of Lebanon today. The soldiers are the first contention of reinforcements for the U.N. peace-keeping force. Their job is to enforce the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah. France announced it will deploy 200 soldiers to the region.

NGUYEN: Well Israel says a raid today in the Bekaa Valley was successful at stopping the transfer of weapons from Syria and Iran to Hezbollah. Hezbollah says its fighters intercepted Israeli troops and a gun battle broke out. Now the Lebanese prime minister denounced the raid as, quote, naked violation, unquote, of the U.N. truce between Israel and Hezbollah.

A big man in big trouble creates a huge mess for drivers on the Arizona freeway. You got to watch as this brief but bizarre standoff unfolds. OK, so after a chase in Mesa, Arizona, a 350 pound man with a 3-month-old baby holds off police. You see it right there, police shoot a diversionary device that makes a loud noise, puts out some smoke. Oh look at the attack dog! Yes. They set the police dog on him and finally, they got their man. I would say so. What an attack. Wow!

HARRIS: What is going on?

The "Associated Press" reports U.S. sprinter Marion Jones failed her drug test at the U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis back in June. "AP" sites sources familiar with the results. Another test will be performed to determine whether Jones is looking at a doping violation.

We run down the top stories every 15 minutes here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING with in-depth coverage all morning long. Your next check of the headlines is coming up at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time.

NGUYEN: "Jerry's Jump Start," getting fit, staying fit. Advice for a longer, healthier life. And it takes two things, inspiration and encouragement. And that's where our fitness guru Jerry Anderson jumps in. Good morning to you, Jerry. Oh, got the shirt on this time! Are you feeling all right?

JERRY ANDERSON, FITNESS EXPERT: This is a ...

(CROSSTALK)

NGUYEN: I am very afraid. Oh, my goodness. All right. Before you start pulling off clothing ...

ANDERSON: There you go.

NGUYEN: ...let's get to the information, shall we. We're going to get to how you can work out by sitting at your desk at the end. But first, I want to ask you this. If you work out without losing weight, do you lose muscle instead of fat?

ANDERSON: You know it's a question everybody thinks about. It actually -- if you lose weight without doing resistance training, 60 percent of the weight loss comes from the source of muscle. The weight training preserves and increases the lean muscle mass, Betty, as you burn off the fat. A lot of people do it, especially women. They end up calling skinny fat. You have low fat, low weight, high fat weight. So you're not really doing anything. The key is to increase your lean muscle mass because the muscle is what burns the calories.

NGUYEN: So you have to lift weights to keep from losing muscle.

ANDERSON: Definitely. What it does is preserves the lean muscle mass as you burn off the fat. So now you still have that muscle tone because what happens is most people they lose the weight and they lose their muscle and they end up being skinny fat and they're kind of soft like a marshmallow. You don't want to do that.

NGUYEN: No, no, no, that's not what I want. I want to see, you know, the little curves, the muscle there.

ANDERSON: There you go, girl power.

NGUYEN: All right, I got to get that weight, girl power. You know all about that, don't you Jerry? All right. All right. So say you gain, what, 10 pounds, right? Each time that you gain 10 pounds can you risk developing arthritis by 10 percent?

ANDERSON: Well, what happens is that's actually fiction. Every time you gain two pounds you increase your risk factor for developing arthritis by 10 percent. This is why it's very important to maintain a healthy body weight. So if you gain 10 pounds you increase your risk factor to 50 percent, 20 percent almost 100 percent chance of getting arthritis. Betty, what's amazing to me is when people lose weight the damage that was caused at the higher weights are still there.

I saw a guy who weighed 750 pounds. Amazing, he want down to 250 but then he had to have two hip replacements, two knee replacements, the damage that was done at the weight. So that's why it's very important to maintain a healthy weight throughout your life span. Don't just lose weight and feel good about it, but keep it healthy.

NGUYEN: Right, which means you've got to develop a plan. So let's get straight to it. Folks out there who want to lose the weight but build the muscle. How do you get on that plan? Because you say not only is it about a plan but you have to add value to it. So talk to me about that.

ANDERSON: Definitely. You have to plan your workouts and add value because most people say Jerry, I don't have time to work out, I'm too lazy. Here's the thing to do, set the days of the week you're going to work out, the time of the day and you stick to it like you would any other appointment with your doctor or dentist. And the way you add value is your workout is your 401(k). That's your retirement plan. Hello!

NGUYEN: That's true. OK, but how many days of a week and how long should you work out per day?

ANDERSON: Well, what the key is, if you don't work out at all, 60 seconds is good. So the key is -- you know what I mean.

NGUYEN: Just get moving, would you?

ANDERSON: Yes, you have to create a habit. Because the major thing is Betty, is the habit, because the habit is what keeps you going. No one's going to start, you know, you say well you should exercise 60 minutes a day, two years ago they recommend people should exercise 30 minutes a day. Why would I ask you to exercise 60 minutes a day when you wouldn't even do it for 30 minutes.

NGUYEN: That's a good point, that's why people aren't doing it.

ANDERSON: Exactly. So you have to set them up for success. What I do is I master at setting you up for success, baby steps, baby steps and lead you on to it. Once you get there, voila, done deal.

NGUYEN: There's where you add the value, you keep building on to it. All right.

ANDERSON: Right.

NGUYEN: So let's get to it. For those who don't have the time, if you know I'm working all the time, Jerry, would you get off of me. I don't have time. But they do. Right? Because at work you can actually work out.

ANDERSON: Right, you can sit and get fit. If you're sitting in a lazy-boy just like a couple of these water bottles, you can grab them here, lean back, incline bench press, one, two, this works your chest, your shoulders and your triceps. And lean forward and you straight back here. This works your back and your biceps. Hello!

NGUYEN: And if you get those weird looks from your co-workers.

ANDERSON: Hey!

NGUYEN: You're getting fit, right.

ANDERSON: The bottom line is, you know what, if you close the door to exercise you just open the door to the hospital. You don't want them to come visit you and you do some curls and then you drop it like it's hot into a squat. You've got 600 muscles, 200 bones worked in less than 60 seconds. Three times a week.

NGUYEN: I don't know if I'm going to drop it like it's hot into a squat at work, Jerry, I mean you're really -- OK, women, we wear skirts, we can't do that.

ANDERSON: You can do it. Just slow it down. See, we can always get new clothes but we can't get a new body.

HARRIS: There you go.

NGUYEN: That's true.

ANDERSON: We have to put the value where it counts. That's the thing to do.

NGUYEN: Forget the embarrassment. You've just got to drop it, right?

ANDERSON: There you go, drop it like it's hot into a squat. Don't worry about the embarrassment. You've got to be healthy and fit for a lifespan. That is the key.

NGUYEN: That's true.

ANDERSON: And you know what's amazing is, I'm working on something for next week. The topic is supplements, the good, the bad and the ugly. This is going to be crazy, so lookout!

NGUYEN: That's good stuff. So are you going to rip it off? Where's the tear away? We're waiting.

ANDERSON: You're waiting? Stay tuned.

NGUYEN: OK, next weekend, how about that. Put the Velcro on, it's next weekend, me and you baby, right there. Jerry Anderson.

ANDERSON: All right.

NGUYEN: Fitness expert.

ANDERSON: Have a great day.

NGUYEN: Thanks for joining us.

ANDERSON: All right.

NGUYEN: Look at Tony. Tony's here doing his sit and get fit exercises. HARRIS: Well I'm just trying to follow -- this is me.

NGUYEN: Why do you have the remote in the other hand?

HARRIS: Because I'm tied to the remote. This is life for me.

NGUYEN: You're not at home, you're at work.

HARRIS: Oh I'm sorry. All right.

NGUYEN: All right. That was Jerry. He gets you excited, doesn't he? Gets you up, ready to work out.

HARRIS: Next week.

All right, still to come, recapturing your youth, as if that didn't do it. Coming up in the next ten minutes, "OPEN HOUSE" shows you how tree houses aren't just for kids anymore.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well the arrest of John Mark Karr in Thailand this week shocked the nation that's for sure. After all, it was an arrest in a brutal killing more than a decade old.

NGUYEN: So we've been asking people to weigh in with their thoughts through our new online service, I-Report. So we have a few of those responses, this is our Veronica de la Cruz. I can only begin to imagine what you're getting, but go ahead.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh inundated, inundated. That is an understatement. You know guys more than six million people visit CNN.com on a daily basis. So like Betty was just saying, we set up an online community where people can share their thoughts, their stories, pictures and video. We've been asking what do you think of the latest developments in the JonBenet Ramsey case. I'm going to read a few.

This first e-mail is from Patricia Romero in Phoenix. She says, "I think this guy is mentally ill and obsessed with JonBenet Ramsey. This confession is like bragging about his obsession to the public. He needs help. I don't think he killed her."

And this one from Audrey in Rhode, Island, she asked, "Why would the district attorney's office in Boulder have this man arrested in Thailand unless they had some pretty compelling evidence that he was indeed the killer? Boulder police took a great deal of heat for botching this investigation 10 years ago. Wouldn't they proceed very cautiously and only make an arrest if they were pretty certain they had the right person? I'd hate to think that they made this arrest on flimsy evidence, particularly after so much time has passed." And again, that one was from Audrey.

This one from Cheryl in Connecticut who wraps it up nicely by saying, "DNA and handwriting tests should have been given before any announcements were made to the general public." She does have a point there.

Now if you would like to weigh in with your thoughts and see what others are saying, you can always log on to CNN.com/ireport. That is that new online community we were just mentioning. That community is called I-Exchange and that's where you can share your stories, opinions, pictures and your video. You can find it all online at CNN.com/ireport or you can also e-mail us directly at ireport@CNN.com.

NGUYEN: Easy as that.

HARRIS: Good emails.

NGUYEN: Yes.

HARRIS: Let me save some of those. You've got the legal lady ...

DE LA CRUZ: Those?

HARRIS: Three of them there?

DE LA CRUZ: Yes I have three.

NGUYEN: The point is very good.

HARRIS: Yes the legal ladies are coming up in the 10:00 hour.

DE LA CRUZ: See what they have to say about that. I'm curious.

HARRIS: Thank you, thank you, thank you. All right Veronica, thank you.

NGUYEN: Thanks Veronica, see you soon.

DE LA CRUZ: Good to see you.

NGUYEN: Well "OPEN HOUSE" that is straight ahead. Then we are back at the top of the hour with a live report, speaking of from Boulder, Colorado. We're going to bring you the latest developments in the JonBenet Ramsey case.

HARRIS: And more movement in the Middle East. We will go live to Beirut for details on today's arrival of French re-enforcement troops to the region. We leave you with a look at some of the destruction left behind by the month long conflict. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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