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CNN Saturday Morning News

Suspect In JonBenet Murder Case Will Return To U.S.; Israeli and Hezbollah Forces Tangled in Deadly Battle in Bekaa Valley;

Aired August 19, 2006 - 07:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Whoa, did you see that? A demolition demonstration, ahead our Kelli Arena blows up a truck to show you what U.S. troops often have to face in war.
It is Saturday, August 19th, 10:00 a.m. in Atlanta, 9:00 p.m. in Thailand where John Mark Karr awaits deportation. Good morning everybody, from the CNN Center right here in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning everyone, I'm Tony Harris, thank you for starting your day with us. Let's get you started with headlines now in the news. New information this morning about deportation plans for the suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. Thai officials say John Mark Karr is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on a flight from Bangkok tomorrow evening. He will then be taken to Boulder, Colorado, to face charges. We'll have a live report from Boulder in about two minutes.

NGUYEN: A report today says Karr may have been suspected in the Ramsey case five years ago. "The Washington Post" quotes an attorney who represented Karr on child porn charges back in 2001. Now she says law enforcement officials in California told her they were looking at Karr for possible involvement in the Ramsey case.

HARRIS: From Afghanistan this hour, we're getting word that three coalition soldiers have been killed, not much additional information is available. We do know the deaths occurred in the Kunar Province in northwestern Afghanistan. We're working to learn the nationalities of the soldiers.

In Lebanon's southern port of Nakura, about 50 French troops came ashore today to take up U.N. security duties. They are the first reinforcements of some 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers expected in the region. Their job will be to enforce the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel launched a raid today in the Bekaa Valley that it says was successful at stopping weapons being transferred to Hezbollah. The Israeli military says one of its officers was killed and two others wounded in that operation. Now the Lebanese prime minister denounced the raid as quote, "naked violation" of the U.N. cease-fire.

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

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: We do run down the top stories every 15 minutes right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING, with in depth coverage all morning long. Your next check of the headlines coming up at 10:15 eastern.

HARRIS: New details this morning about the JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect and when he'll be returning to the United States. John Mark Karr has a ticket on a Bangkok to Los Angeles flight due to arrive tomorrow evening. From there, it's off to Boulder, Colorado.

CNN's Peter Viles joins us live from Boulder. Peter, good morning.

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Tony. As you point out, John Karr expected to fly from Bangkok to Los Angeles tomorrow, arriving in Los Angeles late tomorrow night, and on here to Denver first and then Boulder either late, late Sunday or early Monday.

Now this will give prosecutors a chance not just to bring the charges against him formally but to continue the investigation that they have started into his involvement in this case. You'll remember that what little prosecutors have said about this case is that they are still investigating it.

And that, as you know, has brought a lot of criticism on the prosecutors. If they are still investigating, why didn't they finish the investigation before they arrested this guy and specifically why don't they have an answer to the question of does the DNA match.

And in this case in particular, a 10-year-old murder, which has been really a cottage industry, books have been written about this case. There are so many experts or so-called experts on the case who have an opinion of what's going on now, there has been quite a bit of criticism. Here's a sample of some of the criticism of the way prosecutors are handling the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYRIL WECHT, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: The DNA. Why wasn't the DNA tested before they went into all of this? They could have picked up a specimen from John Karr, same thing with writing exemplars for the questioned documents people and for the forensic linguistics people to look at the language, the grammar, the punctuation, the phraseology of that letter. There are things that can and should be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VILES: The letter he's talking about, of course, is the ransom letter left 10 years ago, the night that JonBenet Ramsey was killed. There is handwriting on that letter. Of course, they do have handwriting samples or should by now from John Karr. Do they match and does the DNA from John Karr match the DNA taken from the crime scene 10 years ago? Questions we don't know the answer to today. We hope to have answers in the coming days. But remember, as Jeff Toobin said early in this case on CNN Tony, it's not the prosecutor's job to inform the public about the case. The prosecutor's job is to try the case and convict criminals. But we may not get these answers as quickly as we want. Tony?

HARRIS: We always listen to Jeffrey Toobin, that's for sure. OK, Peter Viles for us, Peter thank you. And that brings us to this morning's e-mail question. What do you think about developments in the Ramsey case? E-mail us your thoughts, weekends@CNN.com and we will read some of your responses a little later in the newscast.

NGUYEN: But first, a stunning admission but was it really a confession? The legal ladies weigh in on the rambling suspect's ramblings. You know that's going to be good. That is coming up in 10 minutes.

HARRIS: And on Monday, Larry King will have an exclusive interview with the Ramsey family attorney, Lin Wood, and the Colorado professor who led police to Karr. That's Monday, at 9:00 eastern.

NGUYEN: Well, if you are just tuning in this morning, Israeli and Hezbollah forces tangled in a deadly battle early this morning in the Bekaa Valley. That much is certain. Now, the exact circumstances of the clash, that's in dispute.

Meanwhile, in southern Lebanon, the first contingent of international peacekeepers arrived today to begin security duty. CNN's Anthony Mills is covering the ongoing crisis for us this morning in Beirut. Anthony let's start with the clash, talk to us about the circumstances.

ANTHONY MILLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Betty, according to the Lebanese army, in the early hours of the morning an Israeli helicopter landed close to the village of Budai, that's right next to Baalbek, the Hezbollah strong hold in the Bekaa Valley east of Beirut, about 15 miles from the Lebanese/Syrian border. That helicopter, according to the Lebanese army, was carrying two vehicles, which began to move with Israeli troops inside them.

They were intercepted by Hezbollah fighters, a battle ensued and then the wounded Israeli troops were evacuated by helicopter from that area. Now, we don't know more than that. We know that the Israeli Defense Forces are saying that they were fighting an attempt to transport weapons. We do know that Baalbek is a Hezbollah strong hold. In fact, it's where Hezbollah was created back in 1982, and that entire stretch of the frontier is notorious for its smuggling routes, its secret smuggling routes. Betty?

NGUYEN: All right. And then as the international peacekeepers start making their way into southern Lebanon, how many peacekeepers are we talking about? What other countries are lending a hand here because I understand the Europeans are a bit reluctant still.

MILLS: Well, yes, absolutely Betty. And in fact, we really see a manifestation of that today. Today, we had about 50 French troops arriving, a few days ago, a week ago, it had been hoped that France would provide thousands of troops, but there now appears to be hesitation. Why? For a couple of major reasons. First of all, France is concerned about the mandate.

What exactly are its troops going to be doing down in the south and what will the mode of operation be. Will they be allowed to fire, under what circumstances will they be allowed to fire and whose permission will they need to fire. This is particularly sensitive for France because just like the United States, they were part of a pretty disastrous peace-keeping mission back in the early 80's when civil war was raging here, and they were perceived to be part of the problem, to have taken sides by Hezbollah or at least Shia militants back then.

And both France and the United States withdrew their contingents after attacks on their barracks which left, in the case of the United States, 241 marines dead. And in the case of France, 58 soldiers. So, there are negative memories there and France doesn't want those same circumstances to be repeated.

NGUYEN: CNN's Anthony Mills joining us live from Beirut. Anthony, thank you for that.

HARRIS: Still ahead, so many questions, so little clarity from the sensational claims by John Mark Karr. Will the case against him hold up in court? We will ask our legal ladies straight ahead.

Plus ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's got lots of teeth, they're very mean, so I have to hold him by the head in case he bites me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Oh, imagine working with these slithery stars. This animal trainer does it every day, even Samuel L. Jackson wanted in on this action. So, in about 30 minutes we will talk with the man behind this charmed cast, shall you. Good morning Veronica.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty. I am looking forward to that. What are users clicking on at CNN.com this morning? I have the countdown to the most popular stories. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DE LA CRUZ: Well good morning. What are people clicking on at CNN.com? We're taking a look on our dot com countdown, starting with number 10. Could the moon some day be known as a planet? Researchers say if earth and its moon survive long enough, the moon will have to be reclassified as a planet. The new definition proposed basically says every round object, orbiting the sun is a planet unless it orbits around another planet. And one of the definition's caveats could some day be applied to the moon. A little news from the world of baseball for number nine. If you are a Yankees fan, listen up, you're going to be very happy to hear that they beat out the Red Sox 14-11 to complete a sweep of Friday's doubleheader, and gives New York a season high three-and-a-half game lead in the division. Go Yankees!

HARRIS: What?

DE LA CRUZ: And now number eight -- I've got some people very mad at me. An update on that foiled alleged terror plot to blow up planes en route from Britain to the United States. British officials are saying they have found several martyr videos on at least six laptops owned by the 23 suspects being held for questioning.

And number seven, what do you think is the top university in the United States?

NGUYEN: Texas, Longhorns.

DE LA CRUZ: Thank you, Betty. Princeton actually takes the top spot in the latest U.S. News and World Report college rankings, breaking a three-year tie for number one with another Ivy League school, perhaps you've heard of it, Harvard University.

NGUYEN: Oh that school.

DE LA CRUZ: Not the Texas, Longhorns, sorry Betty. We'll have number six, five, and four when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns. I'm Veronica de la Cruz for the dot com desk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Now in the news. Plans are in place this morning to bring JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect, John Mark Karr, back to the U.S. Karr is scheduled to leave Bangkok, Thailand, in about 18 hours. Now, authorities say he is expected to arrive in Los Angeles tomorrow evening. Questions though, still linger over Karr's stunning admission that he was with JonBenet when she died.

HARRIS: In Lebanon's southern port of Nakura, about 50 French troops came ashore today to take up U.N. security duties. They are the first reinforcements of some 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers expected in the region. Their job will be to enforce the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

NGUYEN: In Iraq, a large Shiite religious observance this weekend has Baghdad under tight security. The "Associated Press" reports that seven Shiites were killed last night while walking through a Sunni neighborhood. The "AP" also reports at least 13 people killed today in various attacks around the country, including four killed by a roadside bomb south of the capital.

HARRIS: A Chicago church is providing sanctuary for an illegal immigrant facing deportation to Mexico. For now, the government officials say they won't enter the church to get the woman who is hiding there with her son. The son is a U.S. citizen, the mother was supposed to turn herself over to authorities to be deported.

NGUYEN: Dish subscribers, keep on watching and recording. There's been a lot of legal maneuvering this past week concerning dish, and what its subscribers can do, but it boils down to this, folks. While the courts try to determine if some of Dish's offerings infringe on TiVo patents, Dish subscribers can keep recording one show while they watch another, so stay tuned.

Well we do run down the top stories every 15 minutes right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING with in-depth coverage all morning long. Your next check of the headlines, coming up at 10:30 eastern.

Well in the western Caribbean, a cruise ship comes upon nine Cuban rafters. I want to show you this photo from I-Reporter Finola Jacobucci, a passenger aboard the Carnival Glory. She tells CNN that the rafters refused the cruise ship's offer to come aboard, so the crew handed down fresh water, food and life jackets and the ship waited until the Coast Guard arrived. Well Finola is with us on the phone, and I understand your ship just came into port. We appreciate you joining us. Tell us what happened.

FINOLA JACOBUCCI, I-REPORT: We were leaving from Casamia (ph) on our way to Nassau and the captain came over the loud speaker and said they had spotted a raft with Cuban refugees, and we couldn't just leave them there, we had to stop and see if we could help, which we did, and the closer we got, they were throwing some things overboard. I don't know whether that would make them go faster or whatever. But some incredible people went down with water and they just wouldn't get on board. They refused.

NGUYEN: Why? Did they say why they didn't want to get on board?

JACOBUCCI: Well, the captain didn't tell us, but we just surmised it was because they -- they just knew they would have to go back.

NGUYEN: Right.

JACOBUCCI: So, we waited until the Coast Guard came, and after the Coast Guard came, the captain took off for Nassau, but it was just -- there were -- I saw two women, I used a zoom lens on my camera, and like we were explaining to our grandchildren, how sad that is.

NGUYEN: Well we're looking at the photo right now. There were quite a few people on board this. I'm trying to count very quickly.

JACOBUCCI: Nine, I think. Eight, I think. I think one of those was a Carnival guy at that time. There were eight of them.

NGUYEN: OK, but none of them seemed to be injured in any way, I mean we have no idea how long they'd been on this raft, correct?

JACOBUCCI: Well we were about 80 miles off the coast of Havana.

NGUYEN: OK.

JACOBUCCI: But they must have been on there for quite some time.

NGUYEN: And do you know -- I know that you just got to port. Do you have any idea what has happened? I know that you waited for -- at least the cruise ship did, wait for the Coast Guard to get there. Do you know what they had done with these refugees?

JACOBUCCI: That we don't know. I was going to try and find that out when we came back home.

NGUYEN: Well I have to tell you, this is a great opportunity for people just like you to report for CNN, and as you can see, it is working. You have reported. How does it feel to say that you report for CNN?

JACOBUCCI: It feels pretty good.

NGUYEN: I bet it does. Hey, well, keep those pictures coming. If you see anything news worthy.

JACOBUCCI: I absolutely will.

NGUYEN: We'll try to get you on. Finola thank you so much for your time.

JACOBUCCI: Thank you.

NGUYEN: And we do want to remind you, the public, if you've got a picture like the one that we just saw, just go to CNN.com. Send in I-Report and join the world's most powerful news team. You can do it, just like she did.

HARRIS: And still ahead, training for war. This is not your ordinary school that's for sure. It is the latest lesson for troops heading to Iraq and Afghanistan. We will show you how the FBI is helping them stay safe.

NGUYEN: Plus, more than 400 of these. Ooh. Reptiles, charged their way onto the big screen. It just gives me the creepy crawlies looking at them. So, who handled all these slithery stars? Well, the snake wrangler, of course, and we are going to speak with that very person, live, in about 20 minutes. And guess what, he's bringing snakes. Get ready.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MARK KARR: I am so very sorry for what happened to JonBenet, and it's very important for me that everyone knows that I love her very much, and that her death was unintentional and it was an accident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Hmm. John Mark Karr talking this week about the 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey, but if this was a confession, it was one that raised more questions than it answered. Our legal ladies have been following the dramatic developments in this 10-year mystery. Lida Rodriguez-Taseff joins us from Miami, and Nelda Blair joins us from San Antonio, Texas. Ladies, welcome.

Thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: Nelda, what is it that you think the prosecution really has here?

NELDA BLAIR, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, that's just it, Tony. All we really know is what we've seen from Karr on television. We don't really know what these investigators ...

HARRIS: No, no, no.

BLAIR: ... and the prosecution has.

HARRIS: Right, you're right. You're a former prosecutor, Nelda.

BLAIR: Absolutely.

HARRIS: What does this prosecutor have?

BLAIR: A lot more than we've seen.

HARRIS: What's your guess?

BLAIR: Absolutely a lot more than we've seen. Number one, they know this case, this 10-year old case in and out. They know the evidence. They know the other people involved, and they know that what this man is telling them, whether or not it actually matches up and they are going through piece by piece over the last 10 years and before that, in his life, to try to match him or not match him to this murder.

HARRIS: Lida be patient, I'll get to you in a second. Nelda ...

BLAIR: Tony.

HARRIS: E-mails. Is there a confession in the e-mails? What's your guess?

BLAIR: You know, there could be. We don't really know because we don't know how well it matches up to the case. It could be wishful thinking. It could be a grab for attention. It could be both. And until we do a full investigation and which we have to do, then we won't know.

HARRIS: Are you at all concerned about the professor who tipped the authorities off to this guy? I mean, apparently, there are facts about this case that Karr was talking about that wasn't -- that weren't known to the general public, but I'm wondering, did the professor have knowledge of these facts that weren't known to the general public?

BLAIR: Absolutely. And don't you think that the prosecutors have noticed that, too? Again, they're professional prosecutors, investigators. Everyone is under suspicion, everyone is under investigation. In their minds, until they wipe them clean from their slate. So, yes, I think, absolutely, they're probably looking at this professor as well. Sure.

HARRIS: Oh, Lida.

LIDA RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Oh thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: All right, what do you think, do you buy this confession?

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: No, absolutely not. Here's what's happening and Nelda being wishy-washy, Nelda our former rabid prosecutor being wishy-washy.

HARRIS: I can't believe that Nelda, but Lida go ahead.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: It ought to be an indication that, you know, one of the things Nelda said is really troubling which is, oh, we still have an investigation to conduct. Wait a second. There's been an arrest. You conduct an arrest after you've done an investigation. What is this? No DNA has been tested yet from this man. His handwriting hasn't been tested.

So, we don't know what is really going on here, whether this is an attention-seeking person or whether or not this is a true, cold blooded killer who killed a little girl. And that's why what's dangerous here, what's troubling here is that people are speculating in the same way they were speculating that the Ramseys were guilty. We have nothing yet and we need to admit, we have nothing and there should not have been a disclosure without at least a DNA test.

HARRIS: Well why not at least do that Nelda?

BLAIR: Tony, when Lida talks about we, Lida, when you say we, we're talking about we the public. We don't have any business knowing anything about this case except for what's in the open records. The "we" should be prosecution and the prosecutors are the ones that have access to everything. They're the ones that make the decision. I wholeheartedly and not wishy-washily support their decision to arrest.

HARRIS: Nelda, Nelda, Nelda, but you are not telling me what you think they have that would lead to this arrest and ultimately to this prosecution. You're a former prosecutor. What do they have? Do they have a DNA match or do they just have a spooky guy and e-mails that they want to get off the Thai streets and back here, what do they have?

BLAIR: No. Number one Tony, they have a confession. And whether it's a bizarre weird confession or not, you have to take it seriously. That's number one.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: But Nelda you know that every day people confess who have done nothing wrong, who simply want attention. Attention.

BLAIR: And let's add to it Lida, they've also got information from this guy that obviously matches the crime scene that was not information that was in the public.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: What could that be?

BLAIR: They may well have a DNA match.

RODRIGUEZ-TASEFF: Let's think clearly here. What could that possibly be? This case has been in the public eye for 10 years. What could this guy know that nobody else knows?

BLAIR: Lida, have you ever read the investigation, have you ever read the description of the public -- the investigators' description of the crime scene? Have you ever read every detail of what went on in this case and how the victim looked? No, because it's not public record. And there are -- if you don't -- you can't tell me that you don't think there's things that the investigators know that the public doesn't because you know there are, there's pages and pages and pages.

HARRIS: Yes I have been trying to ask you to help us build this case, and I don't know. It's inconclusive, Betty.

BLAIR: And I just did.

HARRIS: OK. I'm out of time, I'm out of time. I'm out of time. I'm a terrible host. I'm out of time. Good to see you both, Nelda Blair, our former prosecutor and Lida Rodriguez-Taseff, our Civil Rights attorney. Our legal ladies this morning, thank you both.

NGUYEN: I don't know. It just seems like we're even more confused now. You know, we don't know the information. We'll see how it all plays out.

In the meantime, check this out, this is what we do know. Tiger on the prowl at the PGA championship on Friday, Woods holed out a 20 foot birdie putt on number 18.

HARRIS: That's good, that's good.

NGUYEN: Very good. That puts him one shot behind the leaders for round three. CNN's Larry Smith is live at Medinah Country Club, just outside Chicago. Not a bad place to be on a Saturday. Hi, Larry.

LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Good morning to you. Very nice day. Some rain overnight, but no rain in the forecast, that's what they're telling us right now. And so we are looking forward to a couple of good days of golf.

Seventy golfers made the cut to play this weekend in the PGA championship, but 69 of them should be very concerned, and here is why. Six times before this week, Tiger Woods shot back-to-back rounds in the 60's to open a major championship. He won all six times. Now as you mentioned, Tiger is lurking in close pursuit of his 12th major championship at 7 under par, one shot behind the leaders after rounds of 69 and 68 here at Medinah Country Club, just outside Chicago. But with 17 golfers within three shots of the lead, Woods knows that nothing is guaranteed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, : You have to go out there and understand that there's going to be a bunch of guys within probably four or five shots to the lead and go out there and try to put your round out there, make some birdies here and there, not try to give anything back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's not many times when he is on the leader board with two rounds to play and he's not winning it, you know what I mean. So obviously you appreciate that it's going to be a harder thing to do than if he's not there. But I don't think it affects the way you play. I mean I don't get scared, I don't know if anyone else gets scared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Well, Woods tees off at 2:25 Eastern time this afternoon, his playing partner is Chris Riley. I mentioned a four way tie, at the top of the leader board at eight under par. None of the four have won a major before. In fact, all four leading in a major for the first time. Let's go back to you.

NGUYEN: As you said, they're not scared, right. It will be a good one today. Joining us from Medina Country Club there outside of Chicago. Larry, thank you.

HARRIS: Still ahead, blowing up trucks as a learning experience.

The FBI tries to help troops prepare for war by making vehicle bombs of its own. Our Kelli Arena sets one off.

NGUYEN: All right and a title with a bite. "Snakes on a Plane" slithers into theaters this weekend. Ahead, we are going to talk to one of the most valuable players in this cast of characters and, no, we are not talking about Samuel L. Jackson.

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