Marine Massacre in Haditha?; Evacuation Plan for New Orleans; Congressional Investigation
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kathleen Koch at the Pentagon. CNN speaks with a Marine injured in that -- in that Haditha Humvee attack. We'll have his memories of that day coming up.</s>CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And I'm meteorologist Chad Myers in Atlanta. We're anxiously awaiting the new hurricane forecast. No one really expects the number to go down. We'll have that forecast for you when it comes out.</s>JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jeanne Meserve in New Orleans. I had a chance to interview Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. It's something you will see only on CNN, and it's coming up in just a few minutes.</s>SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Dangerous duty in Iraq. How do soldiers deal with the stress of being in harm's way all the time on a daily basis? We're going to talk to a former general who served in Iraq.</s>MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And Humongosaurus. The remains of a giant armored dinosaur unearthed in Utah. We've got some bones to show you ahead on</s>AMERICAN MORNING. S. O'BRIEN: And welcome, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.</s>M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks for being with us. A guarantee of full disclosure from the White House on the Haditha investigation. Press Secretary Tony Snow saying details of the military's investigation will be made public when it's all over. Sources are telling CNN several Marines could face murder charges in the alleged massacre of two dozen Iraqi civilians in November of last year. CNN's Kathleen Koch at the Pentagon this morning with more -- Kathleen.</s>KOCH: Good morning, Miles. And the Pentagon, the U.S. Marine Corps is not commenting on any of the evidence that they have obtained in the investigation thus far. They say they really want to take no chance of jeopardizing it in any way, shape or form. So they're withholding, really saying anything about it. But apparently more hard evidence is emerging that does support the claims of civilians in the area that the 24 victims were intentionally shot by the U.S. Marines. And this from "The New York Times," information that it has obtained from a senior military official in Iraq. And he tells them that the death certificates on the 24 civilians show that they were all victims of gunshot wounds, mostly to the head and chest. This is corroborated by information that CNN has already obtained from congressional sources who told us that on the 24 victims, seven were women, three were children, most of them shot in their beds. There were also five victims, five unarmed men in a taxi who were also shot. And sources say that this investigation is substantially complete and could result in murder charges as soon as next month. Back to you.</s>M. O'BRIEN: All right. Kathleen, tell us -- I understand that we spoke with one of the Marines who was actually there, he was in the Humvee. He had some things to say about this.</s>KOCH: We did, Miles. Of course this whole incident started when the Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb. One Marine was killed. One was injured. And he shared with us his memories of that day.</s>CPL. JAMES CROSSAN, U.S. MARINES CORPS.: It just happened like -- the last thing I knew, we were driving back, and we were -- me and K.J. (ph) were just talking crap to one another. And the next thing I knew, I was down on the ground, and then passing out again. That day haunts me, because when we were at the top, I was going to switch positions with him and drive back. And I don't know, I just didn't go through with it.</s>KOCH: Now, Corporal Crossan's Humvee was actually split in two by the force of that roadside bomb. He suffered numerous injuries, including a broken back. And as you heard, he said he passed out several times. So he really has no memory, he claims, of what the other Marines did after the incident. Back to you, Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Kathleen Koch, thank you -- Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: We are expecting to get a new hurricane forecast in less than an hour or so. Let's check in with Chad Myers, our severe weather expert, to see what that new forecast might look like. Hey, Chad.</s>MYERS: Good morning, Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Chad.</s>MYERS: You're welcome.</s>S. O'BRIEN: And just in time for the new hurricane season, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff was in New Orleans to see how the city's evacuation plans are coming. CNN's Jeanne Meserve got an exclusive chance to ride along with the secretary, something you're going to see only on CNN. Hey, Jeanne. Good morning.</s>MESERVE: Good morning, Soledad. Secretary Chertoff came here to find the answer to one question: Is New Orleans ready for hurricane season?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I.D., please? OK. Your last name?</s>MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Chertoff,</s>C-H-E- R-T-O-F-F. MESERVE (voice over): Secretary Chertoff plays an evacuee to get a firsthand taste of what will happen if another big storm beelines for Orleans. CNN was given exclusive access to Chertoff's visit to the city. He is looking for potholes, roadblocks, unexpected obstacles in hurricane planning, and he finds them. There is the city's emergency communications system.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can communicate to the surrounding parishes and up the state, but we have to do it through a system of patches.</s>MESERVE: The system is gerry-rigged, far from perfect, but workable, says Chertoff. A local hospital shows off three new emergency generators, but acknowledges it may have staffing problems in a big storm.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the big issues that we have to worry about this year is people are afraid.</s>MESERVE: Riding a city bus, just as an evacuee would, Chertoff says there's one glaring problem.</s>CHERTOFF: I think the biggest outstanding challenge for us is shelter for people being evacuated.</s>MESERVE: Chertoff is working with the governor to find more shelter space in Louisiana, but it is a thorny issue. Some communities experienced problems with Katrina evacuees, and are reluctant to open doors next time around.</s>CHERTOFF: At the end of the day, we're all in this together, and we can't have a situation where people throw people out of a lifeboat, because they say, well, not in my lifeboat.</s>MESERVE: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin brings the secretary another problem. The Regional Transit Authority will run out of money the very month hurricane season starts.</s>MAYOR  RAY NAGIN (D), NEW ORLEANS: That will mean that drivers will be laid off, and we won't have enough people to implement our evacuation plan.</s>MESERVE: Chertoff says the federal government will pay if it has to keep the drivers on the job.</s>MESERVE: A great unknown, whether or not storm-weary New Orleanians will get out of the city when they are told to. Chertoff says that could undercut some of the planning that's been done. Back to you, Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Jeanne, a quick question for you. Chertoff, in a nutshell, does he feel that the government is prepared or not prepared, or not as well prepared as they could be?</s>MESERVE: Well, he talks about what's been done here in very positive terms, he talks about what's been happening at the federal level, that they've improved logistics, improved communications, they've taken steps to improve customer service. But is it enough? He always says you just don't know what nature is going to throw at you. So I guess the first big storm will be the first big test -- Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Unfortunately, yes. You're probably right about that. Jeanne Meserve for us this morning. Jeanne, thanks -- Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: More debate on Capitol Hill over that FBI raid on a congressman's office. The House Judiciary Committee holding a hearing today. The attorney general in the hot seat, among others. Lawmakers say that search of William Jefferson's office was unconstitutional. Jefferson, a Democrat representing New Orleans, the target of a bribery probe. Sean Callebs live now from New Orleans with more -- Sean.</s>SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles. Really, the congressman has kept a very low profile the past few months. He has been sending out his regular newsletter that comes from Congress. That's not unusual. A lot of congressional members do it. In it, it talks about everything he's doing for this area in the aftermath of Katrina. But that's not what people are talking about here. Not with the cloud of suspicion hanging over Jefferson's head.</s>CALLEBS (voice over): William Jefferson is the most prominent African-American politician in Louisiana. He's also the target of a federal investigation into alleged bribery. An FBI affidavit says $90,000 was found in the freezer of his D.C. apartment. Jefferson has denied wrongdoing, but won't talk about the allegations. But his constituents are more than willing to weigh in on the accusations.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks pretty bad. Don't you think? I mean, money in the refrigerator? You know, that looks truly bad.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was disappointed, but I understand that these are just allegations. And until they've proven otherwise, I'll just accept them as an allegation.</s>CALLEBS: Jefferson lives in the uptown area of New Orleans. A neighbor and city worker who didn't want his identity revealed said he believes the congressman was trying to hide the cash.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it's a shame that he's doing something like this when the city's in shambles as it is. Yes, he should be doing more for the city than himself.</s>CALLEBS: Jefferson has been a trailblazer. The first black from Louisiana elected to Congress since reconstruction. He's a member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, a great place to help New Orleans residents punished by Katrina. After the search of his Capitol Hill office, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi asked Jefferson to resign the committee post. He says he won't. Silas Lee is a New Orleans political consultant and isn't surprised Jefferson is digging his heels in.</s>SILAS LEE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Not really. William Jefferson is a fighter. And when you tell him that something is going to be very challenging, he will not run from it.</s>CALLEBS: Jefferson is up for re-election, and running for office under a cloud of suspicious won't be easy.</s>LEE: It's going to be a very tall political mountain for him to climb. However, voters still respect him, and they respect his level of accomplishments and what he delivers for constituents.</s>CALLEBS: It could be a very tense several months heading up to the November election, if, indeed, Jefferson does proceed and run for re-election. Also, Miles, Silas Lee says don't be surprised if in the coming weeks the race card doesn't become key to this ongoing investigation, if not on Capitol Hill, then by people here in his predominantly African-American district -- Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Give us a sense, Sean, prior to this all happening, how much support did he have among his constituency?</s>CALLEBS: He is wildly popular down here, not only among his constituents, but also among the power brokers in this area. And we really saw that trying to put this story together. We called a number of leaders in civic and political areas, and a lot of people simply didn't want to talk about this story.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Sean Callebs in New Orleans. Thank you very much. Sean's story first aired on "THE SITUATION ROOM," which you can see weekdays, 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN -- Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: How do you spell anxious? How do you spell nervous? How do you spell worried? Oh, yes, it's the spelling bee. The Scripps National Spelling Bee gets under way. It got under way about an hour ago in Washington, D.C. It's being held at the Grand Hyatt. About 275 children grades eight -- fourth through eighth, rather, are taking part. The written portion of the exam just wrapped up, so you can see that they're starting the oral portion of the spelling exam. They whittled those 275 down to 90, and then they get to the finale. And for the first time ever, it's going to be broadcast live in primetime. Oh, there's some pressure for you, if these little kids weren't nervous already. The winner is going to walk away with, of course, being the winner, and also $37,000 in cash and prizes.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Not bad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: That's not bad at all if you're in fourth grade. That's pretty darn good for a couple day's work.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Not -- yes, not B-A-D. I can do that one.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Do you know what the winning word was last year?</s>M. O'BRIEN: Oh, I'm sure it was hard. What?</s>S. O'BRIEN: Appoggiatura. What does it mean? Spell it, and what does it mean, Miles?</s>M. O'BRIEN: Well, you don't have to define it. You just have to spell it.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Oh, that's true.</s>M. O'BRIEN: But either way, I'm 0 for 2. So it doesn't matter. All right. Coming up, a jumbo-size dinosaur. Talk about -- spelling dinosaur names, that's a tough one. And spell paleontologist. That's P-A-L-E-O-N-T-O-L-O-G-I-S-T. Studying one of the heaviest dinosaurs ever found. He'll tell us how it could teach us a few things about climate change. Stay with us on that.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Also ahead this morning, it's a marriage crunch. It you're a woman older than 40, could you really be out of luck when it comes to finding a soul mate? We'll take a look at that, look at the stats.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Willie Nelson is coming to visit in just a little bit. He has a guide to happiness. We'll ask him about his book, "The Tao of Willie." That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.