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AMERICAN MORNING

Mosque Raid; Al Qaeda Camps; Kobe Bryant Case

Aired August 5, 2004 - 9:00   ET

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


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. U.S. federal agents raiding a mosque overnight as a terror investigation of shoulder-fired missiles leads to Albany, New York.
Could prosecutors be forced to drop charges against Kobe Bryant? The accuser now considering backing out of that case.

And a lasting obsession.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VILI FUALAAU, HAD RELATIONSHIP WITH MARY KAY LETOURNEAU: I'm kind of nervous. I don't know what my feelings are right now. But I know I do love her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: That's the young man raped by Mary Kay Letourneau years ago. He's now 21, asking the courts to allow the two of them to reunite.

All ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

HEMMER: Good morning. Soledad is out. Heidi Collins is in.

Good morning to you yet again.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

HEMMER: Third hour, here we go, huh?

COLLINS: Yes.

HEMMER: We -- we'll get you caught up right away in a matter of moments here on developments in several terrorism investigations happening now. Kelli Arena has more on that mosque raid in Albany, New York, looking at who was arrested and what investigators were there for.

Also, information on al Qaeda training camps perhaps reactivated in the country of Pakistan. We'll get to that as well.

COLLINS: Also, what were the first words from Saddam Hussein when he was captured in Iraq? Well, we'll hear the story of the interpreter that was with U.S. troops on that day.

HEMMER: And this hour, if you're in over your head with credit card debt, you'll want to hear David Bach today, our personal finance coach, here to lay out the plan for getting out of the red forever. We'll get to that.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: The solution there is to pay your credit card debt.

COLLINS: Yes, that's a good solution.

CAFFERTY: That would -- that will solve that problem for you.

A lot of viewers writing in about the shallowness of the "Question of the Day." It has to do with Mary Kay Letourneau and this kid that she had sex with when he was only 12 years old. They did it a lot, apparently.

Eventually there were two kids born. They threw her in jail. She did seven years.

Now she's out, he's 21. They want to get back together. But a court order stands in the way of that. And so the issue we are soliciting your views on is whether or not they should be allowed to resume their relationship.

Some of you are right, actually. But what the hell are you going to do?

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.

I'm going to get back to this developing story here. Federal agents raided a mosque in downtown Albany, New York, arresting two men suspected of involvement in a terrorist plot there. Developing story. Our Justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, by telephone.

Kelly, good morning again. What do you have?

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Well, as you know, the Masjid As-Salam mosque in Albany, New York, was raided. And two men, the Imam at that resk, Yassin Aras (ph), who is 34, and Muhammad Hussein, who is the founder of that mosque, who's 49, were both taken into custody, according to federal law enforcement officials.

They are accused of trying to launder money to help another individual purchase a shoulder-fired missile. Now, that other individual was, we're told, an FBI agent. So this is a sting operation.

This incident is not connected in any way to the recent raising -- partial raising of the terror alert. This is an isolated incident as far as we know. But, Bill, the investigation is very much ongoing.

Law enforcement officials would not rule out further arrests. They say that this is a situation that they've been monitoring for some time. And it's not over yet.

HEMMER: All right, Kelli. Thanks for that.

Kelli Arena working that story. That story developing out of Albany, New York. Much more when we get it.

Kelli, thanks again for that.

Now the Pentagon. We're also learning new information about al Qaeda activities in Pakistan. To Barbara Starr there now.

Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Bill.

Well, defense and intelligence sources are now confirming to CNN that there is "recent intelligence that al Qaeda training camps inside Pakistan have recently been reactivated." The area these camps are in, as you see the map there, is that southeastern border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The intelligence, we are told, is based in part on imagery, overhead imagery gathered in the last month. Imagery that indicates there are both people and vehicles at these camp areas. Areas, it is believed, that were known to U.S. intelligence and to the U.S. military. But the changes, there is now recent activity at these camps, indicating that they have been reactivated.

Again, officials telling us they have no reason to believe this training camp activity in particular is linked to the current situation in the United States, the raising of the terrorist alert level. But nonetheless, intelligence, U.S. intelligence is watching all of this very closely. And they are also hoping at this point that the Pakistani military will eventually move against these camps.

News reports have been coming in all week, in fact, that the Pakistani military is moving through that border region. There's been a lot of activity, a lot of people rounded up. But these particular camps now are getting very close scrutiny -- Bill.

HEMMER: Barbara, thanks for that. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon -- Heidi.

COLLINS: The criminal case against Kobe Bryant appears to be in jeopardy. Attorneys for the woman accusing Bryant of rape say she may withdraw from the case because of recent court disclosures about her sex life. We begin our coverage now with CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): ... say the Kobe Bryant criminal trial is still on track. But they're being contradicted by the accuser's personal attorneys, who say there may be a detour on that track. CNN has been told the criminal trial might not occur. One of the personal attorneys of the alleged victim tells CNN it is up in the air whether she will go ahead with the criminal case against the basketball star, saying she has lost faith in the court system.

The attorney says a civil suit against Bryant is now an active possibility. John Clune's comments come after reporters gained access to what were secret transcripts in the case describing aspects of the woman's sexual history. On three occasions the court has made errors resulting in confidential information about the woman being made public.

CRAIG SILVERMAN, COLORADO TRIAL ATTORNEY: It's a little unfortunate that they're going to blame the judge and the court for the problems of this case. The judge indeed made mistakes. But the judge did not make up the facts, which are so damning to the prosecution in this matter.

TUCHMAN: The district attorney could pursue the case even if the woman did not want it to happen. But practically, it would be very difficult.

A spokeswoman for the district attorney does say, "We have no indications that this trial will not proceed forward after conversations with Mr. Clune and the victim." Clune does say that it's inappropriate to say she's definitely out, but adds a decision has to be made within days, with the trial scheduled to start in just over three weeks.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Jeanine Pirro is district attorney for Westchester County New York and author of "To Punish and Protect." She joined me earlier to discuss these developments in the Bryant case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: What happens next? I mean, if the accuser actually withdraws, what will that mean for the prosecution?

JEANINE PIRRO, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK: Well, you know, in a rape case, it's very difficult to go forward without the accuser. And although the prosecution can certainly subpoena that person, what is the sanction? Do you hold her in contempt and then revictimize her, or do you simply recognize that these kinds of cases can only be proved with the testimony of the victim? Unless there's some kind of videotape of the crime. I mean, we certainly don't have that here.

COLLINS: But whether or not she goes forward, she still says that she does stand strongly behind her claim if he raped her. If they do go ahead with this civil lawsuit, talk to us a little bit about what that will mean. I mean, a considerably less burden of proof here, right? PIRRO: Sure. In a criminal case, the burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt. Twelve people have to agree that she was raped.

In a civil case, the preponderance of evidence is the standard. It is a far less burdensome standard to the plaintiff in the civil case. And the damages and the remedy is money, as opposed to jail or lifetime probation in the criminal case.

But I think that what has happened here is that you have seen the criminal justice system almost at odds with the accuser. And it's almost as though we want to blame her. And a defense strategy succeeds when the public stops wondering, is the defendant bad and starts wondering, is the victim bad.

In this case, you almost expect people to stand up and say, "We, the jury, find the victim guilty." And that's what's going on here. And it is a very heavy price for her to pay.

And she's had death threats. There have been several people convicted of this. I mean, it has been horrible.

She's had to leave her home, her town. She's been trashed. Her life is an open book. It's open season. This isn't the way the system is supposed to work.

COLLINS: All right. I want to ask you quickly, before we let you go, there are some unconfirmed reports that Kobe Bryant may actually be considering a plea deal. Does this make any legal sense?

PIRRO: It doesn't make any sense at all to me, because if what we're hearing is true about the accuser in this case, that she may not come forward, why plead guilty to anything at all? Make the state prove their case. I can't imagine that that would happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Jury selection in the Kobe Bryant trial is scheduled to begin on August 27 -- Bill.

HEMMER: To politics now, Heidi. The presidential candidates heading back to the swing states today. What else is new, huh?

President Bush and John Kerry both begin the day, however, in Washington, D.C. From there, the Bush campaign heads off to Columbus, Ohio. Kerry's tour picks up in St. Louis, Missouri.

And the Bush campaign clearly sees Ohio as crucial. Both camps do, for that matter. The president has made 20 stops there since taking over the White House almost four years ago. And the governor there thinks he can deliver that state for George Bush again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BOB TAFT (R), OHIO: I can tell you, the intensity on our side is very strong. We've got about 50,000 volunteers lined up. We've registered 60,000 voters. We're organized at about half the precincts in the state of Ohio.

So the grassroots "turn out the vote" campaign is going to be key. And the president's visits here help to build our intensity. I and hundreds of thousands of other enthusiastic Bush supporters will deliver our state for the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Bob Taft. Bob Taft with us earlier here on AMERICAN MORNING. Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, with us now from D.C.

Bill, good morning there.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: Bob Taft talked about Ohio, one of these critical swing states. When we discuss politics in 2004 everybody focuses on the -- the undecided voter. How do you know who these people are?

SCHNEIDER: Well, they're very hard to find. You know, they're like the elusive Loch Ness monster. They're known to inhabit places like Columbus, Ohio, or Davenport, Iowa, where both candidates were yesterday.

Who are they? What we know about them is they tend to be more women than men. And even more important, they don't care about politics.

That's why it's hard to reach them. It's like trying to -- to interest someone who doesn't care about sports in the Super Bowl. They're just not paying attention, which is why you have to spend a lot of money and go to a lot of trouble to get through to them.

HEMMER: That, or you wait until October and the debate season, or two weeks before the election itself.

Go back to Davenport. Why is this area so critical?

SCHNEIDER: Well, it has a lot of swing voters. It's an area where registered Republicans slightly outnumber registered Democrats. But almost half the voters are unaffiliated with any party. It has a lot of conservative Catholic voters that President Bush believes he can reach on values issues.

But also, it's been hard hit by the economy. A lot of unemployment. And Kerry believes he can use the economic issue to win those voters over.

HEMMER: Even harder hit after three banks were robbed yesterday while the rallies were under way. Unbelievable.

A few things on the screen here. The Iowa poll shows neck and neck ,46 to 46. Move further west for a moment, Arizona. This is Barry Goldwater country; 48 to 45 is the latest number we have, Bush over John Kerry. Why at this point is this even discussed -- discussed in a way that the Democrats could win this year?

SCHNEIDER: Well, this is a great surprise. Arizona, since after it voted for Harry Truman in 1948, it did not vote for a Democrat for almost 50 years. The only Democrat to carry Arizona was Bill Clinton in 1996. And that raised eyebrows among political observers all over the country.

How in the world did Arizona, a rock hard-core Republican state like Utah, how did it vote for a Democrat? The answer in one word, Latinos.

It has a huge influx of Mexican-Americans who became citizens, registered to vote. And it tilted Arizona into the swing vote category. So this year, Arizona really is contested, although it seems to give the edge, as the poll just showed, to President Bush.

HEMMER: One other thing here, Bill. You talk about two different Americas here in two different campaigns, the Bush and the Kerry camp. What do you mean by that?

SCHNEIDER: Yes. Well, there's two different Americas in this sense: there is an America where the campaign is going on, places like Iowa, Ohio, Florida, where people see this campaign, they're going to have wall-to-wall ads, their mailboxes are going to be filled with fliers, telephone calls night and day. Either they're going to love it or they're going to hate it.

Then there's another America, like Atlanta, New York, Houston, Los Angeles, where they're not going to see any campaign. The campaign is going to be very far away, and some will be very grateful for that. But the fact is, the campaign is concentrated only in the areas where those undecided voters live.

HEMMER: Ninety-two days and counting, I think. We'll check that calendar. Right around there, anyway.

Thank you, Bill. Talk again.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

HEMMER: Bill Schneider in D.C. -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Thirteen minutes past the hour now. Time for a look at some of today's other news, and Daryn Kagan once again.

Hi, Daryn.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Heidi.

We begin in Iraq, where the fiercest fighting in weeks is under way in the Iraqi city of Najaf. U.S. and Iraqi troops are fighting guerrillas loyal to renegade cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. At least 10 people have been killed.

Amid the clashes, military sources say that a U.S. helicopter has been shot down by small arms fire. Two crew members were injured. Back here in the U.S., 2-year-old conjoined twins from the Philippines are doing well this morning after surgery to separate them ended overnight. Doctors gently pulled apart a section of their brains. The boys are strong and stable after the delicate surgery. The procedure was performed at a New York City hospital.

A Walt Disney World employee portraying Tigger has been cleared of groping a teenage girl. His lawyer convinced the jury it was impossible to fondle someone dressed as Tigger. And look what he did. He put on the Tigger costume himself. He stumbled around wearing the bulky costume to make his point, and apparently he did just that.

A different type of point to be made. Some overweight people in New Jersey say they've had enough. They have formed a group called the Overweight Association of America. The members say they are not ashamed of their large sizes. They've started a movement protesting the medical establish campaign against obesity.

And that does it for me. I'll be back in about a half-hour.

Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: OK, Daryn. Thanks. We'll see you then.

Want to get a check on the weather now. Chad Myers is standing by at the CNN Center with the very latest on this forecast.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Still to come this morning, an insider's view of the capture of Saddam Hussein.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "What's your name?" He said, "I'm Saddam." "Saddam what?" I had to really like yell at him and stuff. He said, "I'm Saddam Hussein."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: We'll hear from an Iraqi-American who was there when the dictator was caught.

HEMMER: Also, struggling to work your way out of credit card debt? If so, join the club. There is hope today, though. Some tips from our personal finance coach as we continue in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: With Americans on average accumulating more than $8,000 in credit card debt, it's not easy seeing green. A sea of red, that is. So what's the best way to shorten your stay in plastic purgatory? That's good.

David Bach, our personal finance coach, joining us now. He's also the author of "The Automatic Millionaire." He's got some tips in today's installment of "Live Rich Today."

OK. So, a couple of weeks ago we talked about good debt versus bad debt. Bad debt being this credit card debt.

DAVID BACH, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE COACH: Exactly.

COLLINS: But people who keep racking it up, I mean, are they just kind of stuck in this lifetime of bad debt?

BACH: A lot of people are giving up. And I'll give you a classic example.

On the way over here, I told my cab driver what I was coming on here to talk about. He said, "I'm $20,000 in credit card debt. I'm just going bankrupt."

I said, "No, stop and watch CNN." Because there are a lot of things that you can do to get yourself out of credit card debt quickly, but you need to have a specific plan on how to go do that.

COLLINS: What's that plan?

BACH: All right. First of all, let's look at what interest actually costs you on your credit card debt. We have a little thing here we can show.

$8,400 in credit card debt: if you make minimum payments -- and this is what most Americans do -- you will actually take 30 years and 5 months to pay that off. It will cost you $20,000. Now, there's a very quick tip that can cut 30 years' in interest payments down to five years.

COLLINS: OK.

BACH: Are you ready for it?

COLLINS: Yes, I'm taking notes.

BACH: All right. Here's the deal. I've talked about this before. You want to find your latte factor.

What's a latte factor? It's a society that we go out and spend $5 on coffee...

COLLINS: Right.

BACH: ... or bottled water or cigarettes. That amount of money, $5 a day, and that example, on $8,400, if you applied an extra $5 a day to the credit card debt, you would be out of credit card debt in less than six years. So you shaved 24 years off your credit card payments, and you saved over $10,000 in interest payments.

COLLINS: How do you talk people out of stopping with the lattes and the water and the cigarettes? Though maybe that's a question for another day. BACH: Well, it's laying out the math. What people don't realize with credit card debt is it's the interest rate that kills you. So there are some very specific things that we can do to help them get out of this high interest rate.

COLLINS: OK. And they are?

BACH: One of those is, call your credit card company right now and negotiate.

COLLINS: They will negotiate with you, won't they?

BACH: They will negotiate, because you're a very hard person to find. They send out a billion applications a year to get you.

They will lower your interest rate just by asking. Right now you should be able to call your credit card company, and just by asking, threatening to move your account, get your rate lowered to below 10 percent. You'll also find if you open your mail today, most credit card companies are offering zero percent interest for nine months. So you can actually just move your debt to a new credit card company and get zero interest.

COLLINS: Is there any limit on that? I mean, can you just keep doing that for all of eternity, that you never pay the interest?

BACH: The truth is, a lot of people are doing that. They are playing that game of what I call credit card roulette. But ultimately, it can cost you. And I'll tell you why.

People on average have over five credit card accounts. And they're making the minimum payments again, and then they're running late fees. You've got to really watch the late fees. The late fees are what are killing people right now.

HEMMER: David Bach with us every week here. We thank him for that.

In a moment here, the saga of Mary Kay Letourneau. Nine years ago she raped a 12-year-old boy and went to prison for it. Now her victim wants to be reunited with her. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: All right. Back to Jack now and the "Question of the Day."

CAFFERTY: Thank you, sir.

Mary Kay Letourneau, that schoolteacher from Seattle, Washington, who began having sex with one of her students when he was just 12 years old, eventually they had a couple of kids. She went to prison for seven-and-a-half year.

Now she's out. There's a court order in place prohibiting the two of them from resuming their relationship. He's 21 now and apparently wants the court to drop the court order because he wants to get back with her. The question is, should the courts keep Letourneau and her victim apart?

Janice in Waseca, Minnesota, "You and the other TV networks seem to be giving the story an inordinate amount of attention. Is it because the offender is a woman? I sure don't see all the male sex offenders, including other male teachers, being spread over the networks on a basis."

Give us some names, Janice, and we'll spread them for you.

Tashana (ph), "As disgusting as her act was at the time, Vili is of age now. There's no judge in the land who can tell me who I cannot see as a consenting adult, even if I as a parent decided today to register (ph) as a sex offender. Would I do it? No. But no one has the right to tell me I can't."

Pauline writes: "If the boy after seven years still wants to be with her, as a man, why should the courts have anything to do with his decision? They had seven years to think about the consequences their relationship caused. She served the time the courts dictated she spend."

"She's free now. He's a man. Let them have their relationship."

And Guy in Atlanta writes: "Lighten up, Jack. Everybody's better off if Mary Kay stays true to her 21-year-old instead of going to the little league games."

I like that one.

COLLINS: Wow.

HEMMER: One more batch. Thank you, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

HEMMER: As the candidates crisscross the country, there are bound to be mistakes along the way. "The Daily Show" and Jon Stewart found a funny one last night. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, TALK SHOW HOST: Last week, the Republican National Committee required everyone attending a Cheney rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to sign an oath of loyalty to the Bush-Cheney ticket before being allowed in. Now, in fairness, the oath was carefully worded.

As displayed in the "Albuquerque Journal," it read, "I (full name) do herby endorse George W. Bush for reelection of the United States."

(LAUGHTER)

STEWART: Uh, sound great. Where do me sign?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Jon Stewart from last night.

COLLINS: Oh, I love him.

HEMMER: We're going to get back to that developing story in Albany, New York. We're chasing that again today. We'll have the latest in a moment here.

Also ahead, Bruce Springsteen wading deeper into the political waters. Some "Political Pop" in the next 30 minutes as well.

Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Opening bell from Wall Street right now, kicking it off on a Thursday morning here. The Dow starts at 10126, up about six points in trading from yesterday.

Nasdaq market site 1855 is your opening mark. Off yesterday. Not too badly. Off about four points in trading.

Welcome back, everyone. 9:30 here in New York. Soledad is out. Heidi is in here on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Developing news, too, right now with an anti-terror investigation in New York. Agents raiding a mosque in Albany overnight. We'll have a look at that.

We'll also hear from former FBI assistant director, James Kallstrom, about hunting down al Qaeda agents active in the New York City area. We'll get to that also.

COLLINS: Also, the fascinating story of an Iraqi-American who found himself face to face with Saddam Hussein the day the former dictator was captured. A day he could never have imagined, that wound up with him punching Saddam Hussein in the face.

HEMMER: He has a story to tell, too.

COLLINS: That's right.

HEMMER: Federal agents, meanwhile, overnight raiding a mosque in Albany, New York, arresting two men there after the FBI approached them with the idea of laundering money in connection with a shoulder- fired missile. Separately, Pakistani sources telling CNN that there's evidence that suspected al Qaeda members have recently contacted operatives here in the U.S. and also in Britain.

Now, I talked about these matters earlier today with the FBI -- former FBI assistant director, James Kallstrom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HEMMER: The possibility of al Qaeda operatives working in the New York City area, if it is true that they have this information out of Pakistan, if it's true that they're getting now information that some contact has been made, why is it so difficult to track down those operatives today in the city of New York?

JAMES KALLSTROM, FMR. FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Just walk out of your studio and that will tell you. You know, the 19 that were here before 9/11 lived -- you know, lived in the open, hid by being just another person in the United States.

It's a -- it's a huge country. You can come and go at will. You can be anybody you want to be for $100. You can buy identification.

It's a formidable task for the FBI and law enforcement. That's why we have combined all the resources of state, local, federal agencies to work on this so we can put trip wires, Bill, around the state, around the region, and hopefully around the whole country, so we can see the indications and warnings of terrorism before the acts are carried out.

HEMMER: "The New York Times" reporting this week that the mayor, Michael Bloomberg, here in New York is reacting differently this time. Does that fall in line with the information that you have about this?

KALLSTROM: Well, the information is -- is chilling. I mean, to actually see something that you know is probably happening, but to see the specifics of it is a bit chilling. It's not that surprising.

I can tell you that there was tremendous dissemination of the information with the state and local police. We were involved in the assessments of what should be done and what shouldn't be done. There was no choice but to tell the people that run those facilities, the people that work in those facilities, and the first responders what we found.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Former FBI assistant director, James Kallstrom, now senior counterterrorism adviser to New York's governor, George Pataki -- Heidi.

COLLINS: When Saddam Hussein was captured last December, the first to see the fallen Iraqi leader face to face was an Iraqi-- American named Samir. His last name is being held for security reasons.

Pulling Saddam out of his hideout was a triumph for Samir, who was a translator for the United States. CNN special contributor Ron Young, a former POW in Iraq, has the story of Samir.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMIR, TRANSLATOR WITH SPECIAL FORCES: I look at him. I knew that was Saddam from his face. And I told them, "This is Saddam." They didn't believe me at first. They said, "Ask him his name." And I said, "This is Saddam." And they said, "No, ask him!"

And I asked him, "What's your name?" He said -- first he said -- I said, "What's your name?" And he said, "I'm Saddam." And then, "Saddam what?"

I had to really like yell at him and stuff. He said, "I'm Saddam Hussein."

And he called me a traitor and a spy. And he make me really upset. And I had to punch him, I was so angry. I don't know. I punched him a couple times in the face.

I grabbed him from his beard. And they told me to stop, that's enough.

Saddam spoke two words in English. When we pulled him out -- when we pulled him out, he spoke the word because he thought nobody speak Arabic with these forces. He said, "America, why?" He say it three times, "America, why? America, why?"

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And Ron Young joins me now to talk a little bit more about Samir.

So Ron, obviously, this was such a powerful, decisive moment for Samir. Tell us a little bit about how he actually came to be involved in the capture of Saddam Hussein.

RON YOUNG, CNN SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Samir was actually run out of the country in '91 after the first Gulf War. And he lived on the border for about three years, came to America. And, of course, when this war started ramping up, he wanted something to do with it. Because he still has family and friends over there. He cares a lot about the Iraqi people.

He went over with the Air Force the first time. And after he came back, he went over again as a translator a second time. And this time, he was actually stationed with the Special Forces guys there in Tikrit. He kind of got lucky.

COLLINS: Yes. Does he talk to you, or did he talk to you about how he feels about the occupation? And also, how the Iraqi people really feel about the U.S. occupation?

YOUNG: Well, he says that the people that he talks to, and the people that he's had a dialogue with, that they feel very strongly that America should stay there until -- until the security issues are resolved, that we need to see this thing completely through. He also says that, you know, one day he would like to return. Probably not now, because it's not safe, it's not secure.

He doesn't have the same opportunities over there that he has here in the United States. But he's -- he wants to go back and live with his family one day.

COLLINS: Just amazing to think about what he must have been feeling when he went to that spider hole and looked Saddam Hussein in the face.

YOUNG: Absolutely. And, you know, if you watch the piece, you can definitely tell that he didn't know how to contain his emotions.

And he ended up definitely -- he hit Saddam Hussein. And the Special Forces had to pull him of him. And that's the pent-up frustration that he had for years and years and years of watching his people be tortured by Saddam Hussein.

COLLINS: Well, he's an amazing man. And interesting that you got to know him so well. Ron Young, thanks so much for that this morning.

YOUNG: Thank you, Heidi.

COLLINS: Bill.

HEMMER: About 23 minutes now before the hour. Back to Daryn Kagan, watching the other news for us.

Good morning again, Daryn.

KAGAN: Good morning, Bill.

Less than a half-hour from now, President Bush will sign the Defense Appropriations Bill. That bill will deliver more than $417 billion to the defense budget over the next year. It's expected to improve national security and restabilize Iraq. CNN will bring you that live when it happens.

The search for a 9-year-old boy in California's San Bernardino Mountains enters its sixth day this morning. David Gonzalez was last seen on Saturday. Searchers are hopeful they'll find him. One heard a child's yell yesterday. The boy disappeared after leaving the campsite to get cookies from their car.

In health news, developments in a vaccine against the poison ricin, one of the most toxic substances known. Military researchers say they've produced a vaccine that protects mice. And now they're going to test it on other animals. If that works, the vaccine could become part of a new defense against chemical and biological weapons.

And finally, a woman is suing her former employee -- employer for firing her because she ate pork in her company's lunch room. She worked at a Muslim-owned telecommunications firm in Orlando, Florida.

The company's CEO says that his company has a policy against pork in the workplace for religious reasons. But the woman's lawyer says there is no written policy against pork, and that is why she is suing.

Apparently, Bill, she ate pizza with some meat on it, and also made bacon in the company microwave. And that's what got her tossed. HEMMER: I got you. What's coming up at 10:00, Daryn?

KAGAN: We have a lot. Of course, we're going to be watching what's happening with the president and the Defense Appropriations Bill, and a lot more news still ahead.

HEMMER: OK.

KAGAN: Two hours chockfull.

HEMMER: You got it. We'll see you in about 22 minutes.

Chad Myers watching the weather. Getting cooler for many of us.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Still to come, there are a lot of popular Web sites out there on alternative medicine for cancer patients. But how much of the information is bogus? Dr. Sanjay Gupta will talk about that.

HEMMER: Also, "Political Pop" ahead. Republicans say they have found their man to take on Barack Obama. We'll find out what our panel has to say in a moment as we continue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back. There's a new study suggesting a growing number of cancer patients are turning to the Internet for alternative therapies. We're told also, though, browser beware of misleading information. Sanjay is looking in this -- into this for us.

Good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

You know, it's really some amazing numbers here. There are 600 million people around the world that use the Internet. And about half of them get medical information off the Internet on a regular basis. Really remarkable.

People turning to the net for more and more information, which is why it's so important for that information to be accurate and credible. Some studies now coming out about this, trying to figure out just how accurate and credible are these Web sites.

Mind body connection, nutritional supplements, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) medicine, those are some of the big topics that are searched frequently. A study looked at actually 32 of most popular Web sites in the United States, trying to figure out how factual are they.

They asked questions like, "Do they discourage conventional medicine? Are they opinionated or are they factual? Do they have commercial interests involved as well? And how current are they?"

Some of the best Web sites they came up with were the following. They found that the National Cancer Institute Web site for cancer, Rosenthal Center, Columbia University, University of Texas, and the Anderson Cancer Center, and the University of Virginia Cancer Center. You can get a sense there, Bill, just looking at those.

Obviously, all university Web sites. Web sites that end in EDU or GOV are probably going to be better choices for you.

Also, if your interest is mainly complementary or alternative medicine, they had some choices there for some of the best Web sites. Quackwatch.org, holisticonline.com and oncolink.com some of the best Web site there, again. A lot of those Web sites, some of the things they liked about those Web sites was they certainly gave you information about the alternative and complementary approaches, but also encourage you to see your doctor if your problem was particularly serious.

HEMMER: So then, Sanjay, you have the Web sites there you recommend. How do you find the reliable information at those Web sites?

GUPTA: Yes. I mean, I think there are some good tips.

When you're sort of searching, I think a lot of people basically using common sense in terms of how the information looks to you. Discouraging conventional cancer treatment, that's not a good idea. Also, if it discourages you from going to your doctor, that's, for obvious reasons, not good as well.

Anytime they use extreme language, if you see words like "cures" or "breakthroughs," you'd be a little dubious of those Web sites as well. And certainly, look for product promotions. Are they trying to promote a product in getting you to come back to the site?

Also, things you want to look for, you want to make sure they have contact information, people you can actually call or e-mail about it. Good referencing footnotes, things like that.

Who are the authors that write these Web sites, the qualifications of them. And look for that current data.

Bottom line, Bill, is this: if it seems like it's too good to be true, it probably is, unfortunately. Do your research on the Internet, for sure. But make sure you back it up as well -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thanks, Sanjay.

GUPTA: Thank you.

HEMMER: Sanjay Gupta at the CNN Center.

A break here in a moment. Jeanne Meserve is working this story out of Albany, this mosque raiding overnight. At least two arrests have been made. We'll talk to Jeanne in a moment. The latest developments after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: Back to this breaking story we've been watching now for the past few hours. Federal agents raiding a mosque overnight in downtown Albany, New York. We're told two have been arrested. Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve tracking this now from D.C.

What do you have, Jeanne?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Bill, this is the result of an FBI sting operation. Agents, undercover agents approached members of this mosque and asked them to launder some money for them, money that they claimed came from the sale of missiles to terrorists.

Law enforcement sources say that two individuals at the mosque agreed to do this, and two of them are in custody. One is the Imam of the mosque, Yassin Arref (ph). He's described to me as being 34 years old, an Iraqi citizen who has asylum status in the U.S.

The second is Muhammad Musharraf Hossein (ph), 49 years old. He's described as a member of the board of directors. He is a native of Bangladesh and a U.S. citizen.

Law enforcement and government sources tell us that this raid started at about 11:00 last night. They raided the mosque itself, and also two houses in Albany, New York. It wrapped up just before 6:00 this morning.

These two individuals were taken into custody without incident. They are expected to be charged with -- with -- excuse me -- material support of terrorists, and also of money laundering. But once again, two arrests this morning.

This the result of a long-standing investigation. Sources with whom we've spoken this morning say this is not connected to the latest terror threat information and the information gleaned from computers in Pakistan.

Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: Jeanne, quick question here. Is this considered an ongoing matter, an ongoing investigation, more arrests to come, or do we know?

MESERVE: Sources have not indicated whether or not that is the case. We are expected to get more information on this as the day progresses.

HEMMER: All right. One more thing quickly. I'll try it here. I don't know if we have an answer yet or not. How long was this mosque being watched?

MESERVE: I don't know how long, Bill, or if the mosque was being watched. I'm told there is -- there was a long-standing investigation. No particular timeframe put on that by authorities. HEMMER: OK. Jeanne, thanks for that. We'll watch it throughout the morning here. When we get it more, we'll pass it along to our viewers. Jeanne Meserve in D.C. -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Buying fast food on plastic. Andy's here to tell us why fast food companies want you to charge it. He's "Minding Your Business" with that, and a check on the markets.

So we have actually a big jobs reported coming out tomorrow.

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: That's right. And because of that, kind of a blah day here in Manhattan as far as the weather goes, and as far as trading goes.

You can see here the Dow down about 12 points. Nasdaq was up a little bit earlier on. But again, should be kind of slow-going while we wait for that big July report tomorrow, Heidi.

What's moving today? Pier 1 is down 71 cents to $16.92. Kind of a weaker profit picture there. That had been a high flyer for years and years, but how many vases can you buy?

Then Sarah Lee is down a little bit, too. They reported this morning.

Let's talk about this fast food situation. Very interesting. For years and years, fast food companies have avoided credit cards for a couple of reasons.

First of all, it slows the lines down. And second of all, because of bad cards, the risks of bad -- risk of bad credit cards there.

But they've solved that a lot, especially the speed with debit cards and reloadable cars. Starbucks, of course, being the big leader here, having tremendous success with their reloadable gift cards. But now more and more of the fast food companies getting onboard. Wendy's, for instance, reporting -- and this is real reason why here -- Wendy's reporting that people who use credit cards and debit cards are spending 35 percent more on transactions.

COLLINS: Yes, I bet they are.

SERWER: And that's just like everything else.

COLLINS: Yes.

SERWER: You go into a store and use a credit card, it's not real money, and you're buying more stuff.

COLLINS: That's right. It's not really happening.

SERWER: Right. So now McDonald's is getting into the game. They've been kind of slow. But they're going to say that about 8,000 to 13,000 stores will be accepting credit cards by year end. Burger King following suit. I think soon you will see McDonald's gift cards and McDonald's reloadable cards. Maybe not for this Christmas, but you know that's coming. And you know Burger King is going to do it. And we're going to have all those credit cards, all those fast food companies right on there.

COLLINS: All the happy meals you can get.

SERWER: Yes, charge them up.

COLLINS: A little boy would be all over that.

SERWER: Yes. How much money can you spend at Burger King at one time?

COLLINS: Probably quite a bit.

SERWER: Yes.

COLLINS: All right, Andy. Thanks so much.

SERWER: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Coming up on CNN, for the most part, you've probably seen the presidential campaigns from an American perspective. But next hour, CNN's Richard Quest gives you a distinctly British point of view. That's coming up with Daryn Kagan on "CNN LIVE TODAY."

And AMERICAN MORNING will be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you all. Please be seated.

America and our allies are fighting a new kind of war against a different kind of enemy. This conflict places great demands on the men and women of our armed forces, including our Guard and Reserve. They've met every test; they've risen to every challenge.

The war also places demands on those of us in government. We took an oath to protect our country. We have a solemn responsibility to support the service men and women who defend us in the field of battle.

The defense appropriations bill I will sign today commits $391 billion toward meeting that responsibility.

With this legislation, America's military will know that their country stands behind them, as they fight for our freedom and as they spread the peace.

No enemy or friend can doubt that America has the resources to prevail, and we will.

I want to thank the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, for his steadfast and strong leadership of our Pentagon.

Mr. Secretary, thank you.

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECY. OF DEFENSE: Thank you, sir.

BUSH: I appreciate Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz for joining us today.

I appreciate the other members of the Pentagon team who are here.

I appreciate Jim Roche and Les Brownlee representing the Air Force and the Army.

General Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs is with us. I appreciate the chairman.

I want to thank all the military generals who are here who run their respective branches of the services. Thank you all for coming. Thanks for your leadership.

I appreciate Senator John Warner representing the United States Congress. Senator Warner is a strong leader when it comes to matters of defense. He's the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

This bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. I want to thank you for that, sir.

America's military is fighting in many theaters, yet always for the same cause: We seek to preserve freedom and peace for ourselves and our friends.

BUSH: In the last three years, our military men and women have struck a series of decisive blows against the enemy. They've relentlessly attacked the Al Qaeda network. They've killed or captured many of its leaders. They've destroyed its terror camps. We're disrupting its plans. We're doing our duty.

We've ended regimes in Kabul and Baghdad that supported and harbored terrorists and threatened America. They've helped to launch the nations of Iraq and Afghanistan on the path to lasting democracy and liberty. They've helped friendly nations build the strength and institutions necessary to fight terror.

At this hour, our troops are staying on the offensive against Al Qaeda. We're taking the fight to the enemies, those who can't stand the thought of a free Iraq and free Afghanistan.

Our troops are making America safer, and we're grateful for their sacrifices.

These great achievements have come at a cost of human life and grief. America is grateful for the families of those who mourn a loved one. We will honor their memory by completing the mission and making the world a more peaceful place.

We've made a commitment to the men and women of our armed forces. We will support them. We'll provide them fair pay and good treatment. We will continue to ensure they have the tools they need to defeat the enemies of today. We will develop the weapons and systems to meet the threats of tomorrow.

The bill meets these commitments, first by providing more than $103 billion to the greatest source of American strength, our service people and their families.

This appropriation is the fourth of my administration to include a pay raise for our troops. This year's raise of 3.5 percent brings the total pay raise over the last four years to nearly 21 percent. This money is well-earned, well-deserved and well-spent.

The bill also fulfills my pledge to eliminate the cost that too many servicepeople have had to pay for off-base housing.

BUSH: It's a real boost to the quality of life for our military families. The excellence and professionalism of an all-volunteer force has never been higher. America must do all we can to encourage these special Americans to stay in uniform, and that starts with taking care of their families.

Second, this bill meets our commitments by making sure that our armed forces have every tool they need to meet and defeat the threats of our time.

This bill provides $25 billion in emergency appropriations to support current operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the front lines on the war on terror. This money will buy more armored Humvees, more ammunition, more fuel, more spare parts. It will upgrade our helicopters with the latest equipment, allowing them to fly more safely in the dangerous theaters.

This bill helps America maintain the peace around the world and keep our commitments to our allies. It funds construction of three new state-of-the-art guided missile destroyers to patrol the seas, 42 new F-18 (ph) fighter aircraft to guard the skies; provides $4 billion for new C-17 strategic air lifters, which will increase our ability to move forces quickly over long distances. And $200 million will buy more Predator unmanned surveillance aircraft to track and hunt our enemies.

This bill provides $10 billion for systems to defend against the threat from ballistic missiles. Later this year, the first components of America's missile defense system will become operational. It will fulfill a pledge I made to the American people more than four years ago.

BUSH: America and our allies face a deadly threat from ballistic missiles armed with the world's most dangerous weapons. And we will deploy the technologies necessary to protect our people.

Recent history has shown that the threats to our shores can emerge from failing states half a world away. By acting early to end a crisis, we can make our world safer. That's why this bill provides $95 million to help the people of Darfur and western Sudan. Brutal militias there are causing human suffering on an immense scale. The new funding will provide famine- relief assistance for refugees and other humanitarian aid.

Yet, no amount of aid can substitute for true and lasting peace. The government of Sudan must stop the violence of the Janjaweed militias, and all parties must respect the cease-fire and allow the free movement of humanitarian workers and supplies.

Third, this bill meets or commitment to America's armed forces by preparing them to meet the threats of tomorrow. Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we. We must never stop thinking about how best to defend our country. We must always be forward-thinking.

Over the past few years, new ideas and new technologies have increased the precision of our weapons, reduced battlefield casualties and lessened the toll of war on innocent life. This bill continues that progress by funding the technologies that are changing the way we fight wars in order to keep the peace.

Technology, such as the Army's future combat system, which will give every soldier precise tactical information in the heat of battle; the littoral combat ship, which will increase the reach of our Navy into hostile shores and waterways; the versatile and cost effective Joint Strike Fighter; and wideband satellite laser communications that will improve the ability of our forces to communicate over great distances.

I appreciate the solid and bipartisan support of this bill. I appreciate both people -- people of both parties coming together to support our troops. We're doing our duty to the people who are out doing their duty to defend us and make the world a more peaceful place.

The message is clear: In a time of conflict and challenge, America stands behind our military. By taking care of our servicepeople in uniform, by addressing the threats of today, by preparing for the threats of a tomorrow, this bill will help make America a safer place.

And so, I'm pleased to sign the Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2005.

Thank you all for coming.

(APPLAUSE)

KAGAN: We've been listening in to President Bush. As he just said he is signing the Defense Appropriations Act, $418 billion for 2005 for the U.S. military. Twenty-five billion of that will go to Iraq and Afghanistan. Also the military -- the people in the military getting 3.5 percent raise in pay.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


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