Suicide Bombing in Iraq; Academy Awards Recap
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: In the past hour, the Vatican releasing a new medical bulletin on the condition of the pope. What doctors are doing for him this morning. A horrific attack today in Iraq, more than 100 are dead, 200 wounded by a suicide bomber. And a huge winter storm bearing down in the Northeast. Later today, you will need a shovel. At the Academy Awards last night, one beautiful baby.</s>CLINT EASTWOOD: I'm just a kid.</s>HEMMER: Clint Eastwood, at age 74, and his "Million Dollar Baby" film is a knockout last night. We'll have all the winners in a moment here on this</s>AMERICAN MORNING. ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.</s>HEMMER: Good morning, good to have you along with us today. I'm Bill Hemmer.</s>CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: I'm Carol Costello, in for Soledad because Soledad is in a much more exciting place.</s>HEMMER: That she is. And probably tired at this hour as well. She scored tickets to see the Academy Awards in L.A. A whole lot of Oscar coverage coming up this morning. Jamie Foxx feeling good today. Winning for best actor for his performance in "Ray". Soledad talked to him last night. We'll have that interview today. Also a special edition of "90 Second Pop." All Oscars, the winners, the surprises, Chris Rock, everything from last night in a few minutes.</s>COSTELLO: I hope we can see Soledad's dress.</s>HEMMER: I think we will.</s>COSTELLO: Really? I'm excited.</s>JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Let's hope she's wearing it.</s>COSTELLO: Some may hope not. A lot of other news this morning. Let's move right along. We're looking at the suspect of the BTK serial killings. Let's start to get serious now. We'll be talking to people who knew him well. Also, today's the opening of the Michael Jackson trial. We'll also talk to the father and grandmother of Jessica Lunsford, she is that missing nine-year-old girl in Florida.</s>HEMMER: It's a busy Monday morning. Also, Jack, what's on your mind? Good morning to you.</s>CAFFERTY: A little over a week before Dan Rather steps down as the anchor of the "CBS Evening News" after 24 years in the chair. In conjunction with that, some well-known, high profile colleagues at CBS are saying some very unflattering things about Mr. Rather. We'll take a look.</s>HEMMER: All right. Jack, thanks for that. First, let's get to Iraq. A suicide car bomb killed more than 100 today in Iraq. The target was a group of police recruits in Hilla. That's about 55 miles south of Baghdad. Straight away to the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and Nic Robertson. Nic, what do you have for us there?</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bill, it's the deadliest attack since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Iraqi police tell us 125 were killed, more than 200 wounded. Police recruits are were lining up outside a medical center to get medical checks, as part of the recruitment process. The medical center, we're told, in the middle of Hilla, surrounded by a very busy market area. The blast occurring at 9:30 when the suicide bomber drove his car laden full of explosives right into the line of police recruits. At this time, police do not know they say, exactly how many police recruits, how many people in the market were among the dead and wounded. They do say, however, the figure of 125 dead, more than 200 wounded, is expected to climb -- Bill.</s>HEMMER: Nic Robertson from Baghdad, we'll have more of that story as we continue through the morning. Now, Carol back here -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: We do have word on Pope John Paul II, quote, "He continues to be good," that is the word from the Vatican this morning. In a press statement handed out a short time ago, the Vatican says he's eating regularly, he's sitting up in a chair, and starting rehab. Dr. Sanjay Gupta live from the CNN Center to tell us more. Good morning, Sanjay.</s>SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, those are all the things you look for in the first couple of postoperative days following an operation like this. The pope is now postoperative day number four, four days since his operation. Concerns that doctors will continue to have for several days still are the concerns about infection. Is he going to develop an infection of his lungs, in particular. It doesn't look like that's developed. That's good news. Also, rehab when they talk about rehab, just getting him up and about. You can see him waving there. That is also a good sign. Then the rehab that begins for his voice, his phonation, they call it. To try and figure out if he'll be able to breathe with the tracheotomy device in place. That may take a few days still but that is possible in the days to come, Carol.</s>COSTELLO: When you talk about him speaking again, when might he be able to do that?</s>GUPTA: Well, it's a -- I have one of these devices here. Just a couple things to point out. It takes a fair amount of exercise to learn how to use a device in the way you can speak with it. Again, this is sitting in his windpipe. Typically, what has to happen is air still has to go past this device when it's in the windpipe and back past the vocal cords and out the mouth. It takes just takes some practice, some rehabilitation to learn how to breathe that and learn how to speak that way. It varies from person to person. It could be several days still before he learns how to do that. Also, keep in mind, Carol, part of the reason he had this in place was because of inflammation of the upper airway. Doctors are saying let's continue to give the upper airway a rest. Part of giving it a rest means not speaking. That could add to it as well, Carol. Sanjay Gupta, live in Atlanta this morning. Bill?</s>HEMMER: The man suspected of the BTK serial killings could appear in court later today and will hear up to 10 charges of murder against him. Police in Wichita, Kansas, very tight-lipped again today on the investigation, what led them to arrest Dennis Rader on Friday. Here's Bob Franken live this morning in Wichita. Bob, good morning there.</s>BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONENT: Good morning, Bill. As you can imagine, the community is trying to cope now with these startling new developments. The story of Dennis Rader, perhaps in the legal proceedings could start unfolding as you pointed out somewhat later today. It could be tomorrow. They're trying to sort everything out. They're shooting for later today.</s>FRANKEN (voice over): Now, he awaits his first appearance before a judge. Accused of brutal, sadistic murders that span decades. Arrested Friday. Just two days before that, Dennis Rader had stopped off before Lenten observances at Christ Lutheran, where he's president of the church council.</s>PAUL CARSTEDT, CHURCH MEMBER: He brought spaghetti sauce and a salad, and he said, "Here, this is for the congregation." To go from Wednesday to Friday, and to have that conversation with him on Wednesday night, it's 48 hours of just disbelief.</s>FRANKEN: It has been widely reported that Rader antagonized many neighbors. But at church he was seen as a loving member of the congregation, a family man. The pastor says he has spoken with the family.</s>REV. MICHAEL CLARK, PASTOR, CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH: At the present time, the family is in a bewildered stage, totally. Trying to make sense and to understand what is happening in their lives right now.</s>FRANKEN: Which is what members of the Christ Lutheran Church are trying to do. Every Sunday, Bob Smyser and Dennis Rader passed collection plates together. Smyser spent lots of time with Rader, so did his children.</s>BOB SMYSER, CHURCH MEMBER: They saw the picture on the news. My five-year-old said, "Daddy, that's the guy who collects money with you, in the plates." I said, "Yes. That's Dennis and we usher together." He was fairly quiet and I'm not sure w hat to tell him. I'm not sure what to tell myself. And he said, "Daddy, he tricked us, didn't he?"</s>FRANKEN: The church is bringing in professional crisis counselors as the congregation, the entire community, and the justice system, Bill, try to unravel the story of Dennis Rader.</s>HEMMER: Unravel indeed. Thank you, Bob. At the half hour, we'll talk with members of the church community coming up here on AMERICAN MORNING> Here's Carol.</s>COSTELLO: I'm looking out the window, Bill, waiting for it to start snowing, because we're expecting another major snowstorm in New York City. And there's still snow on the ground and they have to take the gates down too from Central Park. Let's go to the forecast center in Atlanta and talk to Chad about just how much snow we're expecting. Make it stop!</s>HEMMER: It is hard to put a price on winning an Oscar, but the 77th Academy Awards were definitely worth about a million. "Million Dollar Baby" took home four major he awards, include best actress for Hilary Swank. It was also named best picture and Clint Eastwood won for best director. Morgan Freeman won for his supporting role in "Million Dollar Baby". And Kate Blanchett won for her role in "The Aviator". Also, Jamie Foxx last night, another big victory for him for his portrayal of the late, great Ray Charles. Foxx was the heavy favorite. He gave a heartfelt acceptance speech that we've heard time and again over the past two months, thanking Charles and paying tribute to his late grandmother. Soledad is out in L.A., she sat down with the best actor winner late last night.</s>SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: So congratulations.</s>JAMIE FOXX, ACADEMY AWARD WINNER, BEST ACTOR: Thank you.</s>SOLEDAD: That's exciting.</s>FOXX: Thank you. It's beautiful.</s>SOLEDAD: It is beautiful. How does it feel?</s>FOXX: Feels absolutely incredible. I'm going to tell you what. It really is a cherry on top of everything that's happened to me in the past 12 months. I'll give you a scenario, you tell me how you'd feel. Oprah Winfrey tells me I'm throwing a party at Quincy Jones' house for Sidney Poitier. The guest list is Samuel Jackson and Louis Gossett, Jr. and you just go what? You get in there and Sidney Poitier knights me.</s>SOLEDAD: What did he say to you?</s>FOXX: He knights me. I walk in, and is all the big Hollywood there. And he go see, I saw you one time and our eyes connected. You remember that? I was like, yeah. All these people around him said Sidney, Jamie. And he classic Sidney "I am not finished." And everybody left. And he said, "I'm gonna tell you something about this. I give you a responsibility. The responsibility that if you do win, be responsible for it. Be grown-up about it."</s>SOLEDAD: Which means what to you?</s>FOXX: It means exactly what went on, on stage tonight, the speech.</s>SOLEDAD: A meaningful speech.</s>FOXX: A meaningful speech. Oprah Winfrey came by my chair.</s>SOLEDAD: Did you see her go like this to you?</s>FOXX: Yeah. Came by my chair before, and my little girl was there. Came by the chair with a tissue. I said what is that? She said put the gum in the tissue. Don't have gum on stage. Do not let us look back at this night with you on stage and not be able to be proud about the words that you say on stage.</s>FOXX: My daughter shares my grandmother's name. Marie. My grandmother's name is Estell Marie Talley. And she's not here tonight, and this is going to be the toughest part. But she was my first acting teacher. She told me "Stand up straight. Put your shoulders back. Act like you got some sense."</s>FOXX: So when you have somebody like that and Sidney Poitier and Quincy Jones and those people. You have to go up and you have to grow up. No matter what, you want to be very young, and young it off. Grow up. I tell you a story about me. I was 15 years old, and I was playing on the varsity team in Texas, football. We were at the bi- district final and we lost that game. We came in and these singers were crying. I was like, look at them crying. We'll be back. And I younged (ph) that moment off. My junior year and senior year, we didn't win a game. Never got a chance to get back to that. We may never get back to this point ever in our life. So I don't want to young it off. I wanted to share it with that lady right over there.</s>SOLEDAD: Your beautiful daughter and your family. You mentioned --</s>FOXX: Come in and sit in.</s>SOLEDAD: Yeah, you want to come in and sit in?</s>FOXX: You have to hear what she tells me just before they're calling out the names.</s>SOLEDAD: Tell me, what did you tell your dad?</s>CORINNE FOXX, DAUGHTER: If you don't win the award that you don't need it to tell you that you're a good actor.</s>FOXX: Wow. Can you imagine that? Your own seed telling you, hey, hey, all this is great but if it doesn't happen, everything's still good.</s>HEMMER: What a year he has had. A bit later this hour, Soledad talks to our "90 Second Pop" panel, they were all watching the Oscars last night in Southern California. We'll discuss the winners and losers, that is coming up a bit later this hour. How about the 'do on Soledad? Straight? Flat iron.</s>COSTELLO: Yes, she was looking swanky. Did you see her dress?</s>HEMMER: Very nice.</s>COSTELLO: Very daring. I'm going to have to talk to her about that. In other news this morning, coming up, a dispute outside the house once shared by Scott and Laci Peterson. We'll tell you what happened when Laci's mother ran into Scott's family.</s>HEMMER: Also, from California again today, the Michael Jackson trial gets underway. The defense sounds like it's ready to put someone else on trial. We'll explain that. And the ongoing search for Jessica Marie Lunsford. What are police telling her family? We'll talk to Jessica's father and grandmother. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.