Chicago High Rise Burns; 41 Homes Damaged by Suspected Arson in Maryland Neighborhood
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead, was this huge fire the work of a terrorist organization? Plus... (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "CHAMBER OF FEAR," COURTESY NIKE) LEBRON JAMES: You think you're super bad? I'm super bad!</s>COSTELLO: Ah, one of America's hottest hoop stars won't be getting any air time in another part of the world. Also, a convenience store clerk takes matters into her own hands. You will hear why she did it. And which do you use more often, credit or cash? Ali Velshi explains the real deal you're getting for your money. It is Tuesday, December 7. You are watching DAYBREAK. And good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us. I'm Carol Costello. Let's get right to the headlines, shall we? Streets are closed off this morning around a Chicago high rise. A fire at the LaSalle Bank building injured more than 30 people, most of them firefighters. No word yet on what caused this fire. Congress now poised to reshape the intelligence community. Negotiators have reached a deal on the stalled intelligence reform bill. Votes in the House and Senate could come today and tomorrow. Vice President Cheney says it's an historic moment for Afghanistan. Just a few hours ago, he watched as Hamid Karzai was sworn in as the nation's first popularly elected president. No agreement is near on the steroids issue in baseball. Players union officials say discussions are continuing at their annual executive board meeting, but not to expect any movement soon. Commissioner Bud Selig has called for more stringent testing. To the forecast center now and Rob, who's in for Chad this morning -- good morning.</s>ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.</s>COSTELLO: We have a bit of breaking news now to pass along to you. Charles Jenkins, the man who deserted to North Korea during the Vietnam War, has reunited with his wife in Japan. That's his wife speaking now. Let's listen in a bit. Well, as you can hear, she's speaking in Japanese. That's Charles Jenkins, the white gentleman sitting there between those two people that you see there. Charles Jenkins defected to North Korea during the Vietnam War because he was afraid to actually go to the battle lines in Vietnam. He's been living in North Korea for a very long time and finally he was allowed out of the country, and now he's been reunited with his wife. They also have two daughters. We're going to have much more on this when we get a translation going for you, so we're going to step away. We'll come back a little later. It is still smoldering. Firefighters in Chicago are looking for active hot spots after a high rise building goes up in flames. The fire was so intense and smoky, it took until early this morning for firefighters to finally determine they got everyone out of the LaSalle office building. It's 45 stories high. At least 34 people are hurt this morning, many of them, including at least a dozen firefighters, are in serious condition. And there are questions. CNN's Jonathan Freed has more for you.</s>JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A perimeter went up around the core of the city's financial district here around 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Now, the fire broke out on the 29th floor of the LaSalle Bank building, which is a 43-story structure. And the 29th floor houses the bank's trust operations. A full one third of the city's firefighters and firefighting equipment responded to the fire. It was declared a five alarm fire, which is as big as it gets in Chicago. Now, the building was evacuated, ordered evacuated, and soon after, people started describing what they witnessed inside.</s>JIM RUBEN, BUILDING EMPLOYEE: Everybody was trying to, you know, get out and stay low, covering up their mouths. But at one point it was almost impossible to breathe and they just kept screaming, "Keep going! Keep going!" and everybody kept going.</s>COSTELLO: We're going to have to step away from this package, and we apologize. Let's go back to Japan. Charles Jenkins, who deserted during the Korean War, is now speaking emotionally. Let's listen.</s>CHARLES JENKINS: This is my first visit to Seidel (ph), of course. But over the past 20 years I spent in North Korea, I saw the beautiful and quiet of this land, this island, which many times before were in my mind, long before today. I am speaking of the memories of Seidel that my wife shared with me on many occasions during our life together in North Korea. This island is as beautiful as she described and I am honored to be here with you, honored that you are allowing me to live with my wife and children among you.</s>COSTELLO: We're going to step away once again. As you can see, it's an emotional time for Charles Jenkins and his wife. Four decades ago, he deserted to North Korea while fighting the Korean War, from the U.S. Army. And finally he is reunited. His daughters are also in Japan. We're going to have much more on this story in the hours to come on CNN. In Maryland, is it arson or eco-terrorism? That's what investigators are trying to figure out. Listen to this. A total of 41 homes were damaged in this subdivision. There it is. The Washington Post reports that at least 20 of the fires were deliberately set. The planned community has been at the front lines of a debate between builders and local environmental groups. CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena has more details for you.</s>KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Residents living in this Washington suburb say they've never seen anything like it.</s>DAWN PHILLIPS, RESIDENT: The sky was really bright, I mean lit up like the sun. And I thought it was too early for it to be that light.</s>ARENA: Officials say it appears dozens of separate fires were set. Investigators say there were incendiary devices found at the scene. Some didn't go off and could provide investigative clues.</s>FARON TAYLOR, DEPUTY STATE FIRE MARSHAL: In each of those fires, we were also able to determine the cause, and that was incendiary. In other words, that was arson.</s>ARENA: The damage is estimated at about $10 million. Dozens of state, local and federal investigators are looking into whether this was an act of eco-terrorism.</s>TAYLOR: We have discovered no evidence at this point to give us an idea as to who may or what, if any, organization was responsible for these fires.</s>ARENA: Environmental activists claimed construction would damage a nearby wetlands area and some took legal action to try to stop the development. But at least one group involved in the lawsuits says that's where the protest ended, in court.</s>BOB DEGROOT, ASSOCIATION FOR GREENWAY IMPROVEMENT: The environmental groups in Maryland just aren't into things like terrorism, which is what this sounds like happened down there.</s>ARENA: There have been no claims of responsibility, no signature spray paintings that have been used before in eco-terror attacks. Still, law enforcement officials say it bears the marking of such an attack, as groups like the Earth Liberation Front have claimed responsibility for attacking housing developments before. In fact, out of all homegrown terrorist groups, the FBI says eco-terrorists pose the greatest threat. Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.</s>COSTELLO: And here are some other stories making news across America. A Florida woman is being held on attempted murder charges after allegedly running down two teenage brothers with her SUV. One of the boys was critically injured. The incident comes after the boys accidentally hit her car with a bouncing golf ball. Police say the woman sped through a parking lot to hit the boys and even chased a third brother through the lot before crashing into a ditch. It took a Houston, Texas jury two hours to clear basketball Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy of sexual abuse charges. Murphy was accused of molesting five of his 10 daughters more than a decade ago. He contended that the allegations were based on a dispute over money. A New Jersey appeals court hears arguments today on legalizing gay marriage. Seven couples sued the state for the right to marry back in 2002. The case is expected to move from the appeals court to the state supreme court for a final decision on the issue. The Scott Peterson jury trial is expected to begin deliberating his sentence today. Actually, the jurors are expected to do that. But before they do, another 10 witnesses will take the stand for the defense during this penalty phase. Family members testified about charitable acts done by Peterson and said they didn't believe he could have planned the murder of his wife and unborn child. His uncle also told stories about the rough childhood of Scott Peterson's mother, Jackie. This is a quote. He says: "I can remember a Thanksgiving or a Christmas where my sister and I split a TV dinner." Peterson could face the death penalty or just life in prison. One tragedy or two? A jury has decided. Now the families of the victims react to the latest post-9/11 ruling. Plus, Nike says its new ads are a way to pay homage to the kung fu flicks of the '70s. But some people in China don't agree. Now an NBA star is caught in the middle. Then, why did this woman take the law into her own hands? But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.