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American Morning

Schiavo Appeal Denied; Comments Caught on Tape; School Shooting

Aired March 23, 2005 - 08:59 ET

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

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

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.

We've got much more on the Terri Schiavo ruling coming up in just a few moments.

Also, a little bit later this morning we're going to talk with safety expert Bob Stuber about that shooting in Red Lake, Minnesota. He's written a book on school safety, and he's got some new ideas about how to prevent tragedies like this one.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also this hour, Kelly Wallace is on campus this week, looking at young people today and the religious choices they are making. Keeping the faith not always easy to do. And we'll look at the reasons a bit later.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Cafferty's got the "Question of the Day."

Good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Talking about hate sites on the Internet, Soledad. The young man, Jeff Weise, involved in that school shooting spree in Minnesota, spent a year posting messages on a Nazi Web site on the Internet.

I looked at that thing this morning. It's like looking into an open sewer. Is there something that ought to be done about these hate sites on the Internet? AM@CNN.com.

O'BRIEN: You know, for the folks who say yes, it's like, but then how?

CAFFERTY: But then how and what. I know. It's a huge problem. Apparently there is some software that will allow you to filter and limit what your kids have access to.

O'BRIEN: Which has its own problems.

CAFFERTY: But -- yes, I mean, it's a very complex question. But these kids who are looking for someone to listen to them -- and I'm no shrink, but they reach out to losers like these Nazi Web sites because no one else is hearing what they have to say.

HEMMER: People they have never met.

CAFFERTY: They get somebody to answer them back then and that begins the journey into some sort of madness that ends perhaps with the kind of thing we saw in Minnesota. Very unfortunate.

O'BRIEN: It's an interesting question.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack. Thanks.

Carol Costello's got the headlines this morning as well.

Hey, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I do. Good morning. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News," the Vatican denying reports pope John Paul II's health is taking a turn for the worse. Perhaps to prove it, the 84-year-old pope made a brief appearance this morning, waving to hundreds of people gathered below in St. Peter's Square. But the pope did not speak to the crowd, he just waved. And his regular general audience was again canceled this week.

A major strike against an insurgent post northwest of Baghdad. Iraqi troops, backed by U.S. helicopters, battled militants for at least two hours. A U.S. military official says there were between 80 and 120 rebels at the camp. It's not clear how many were killed. American troops have been working to drive out insurgents in the area.

And more predictions on the fate of Social Security. New numbers are expected today. Less than three hours from now, in fact. The Treasury secretary, John Snow, will discuss the findings of the report from the trustees of Social Security and Medicare. Included, some interesting stuff, like projections for when the programs are expected to go broke.

And some incredible video to show you now from Seattle. An out of control semi-truck -- semi-truck, I should say, you see it there? It comes to a crashing halt. There it is.

Take a look at that. The truck's brakes went out. Amazingly, the driver was able to steer clear of pedestrians and other vehicles. I think a lot of that was luck.

The tuck flipped over, as you saw, crashed into a number of unoccupied parked cars. All of this caught by surveillance cameras from nearby business. And get this... after all of that, no one was injured, except for the driver, and he only had minor cuts and bruises.

HEMMER: Wow.

O'BRIEN: That thing was flying, too, because you could see the speed of the car that goes in front of it. That's amazing. COSTELLO: Yes, and its back was whipping around. But he did a good job.

O'BRIEN: Sure did. Good for him. All right. Carol, thanks.

What's the next step in the Terri Schiavo case? We're looking at that this morning, now that a federal appeals court has denied her parent's case to have her feeding tube reinserted.

Tony Harris is at the federal appeals court in Atlanta for us this morning. Bob Franken is at Terri Schiavo's hospice, which is in Pinellas Park, in Florida.

Tony, let's begin with you. What did the latest court decision say about her case?

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, a number of things, Soledad. Good morning to you.

First of all, there's a 32-page decision that came down from a three-member panel of this circuit court of appeals here in this building just behind me in downtown Atlanta. And what it does is it lays out the thinking, the reasoning, behind this denial of a temporary restraining order that would have restored the feeding tube to Terri Schiavo.

Getting right to some of the thoughts in the majority opinion now, "The plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate a substantial case on the merits any of their claims." It goes on to say "The district court's carefully thought out decision to deny temporary relief in the circumstances is not an abuse of discretion."

"There is no denying the absolute tragedy that has befallen Mrs. Schiavo. We all have our own family, our own loved ones and our own children. However, we are called upon to make a collective, objective decision concerning a question of law."

The majority opinion there. At least a bit of it from Judges Ed Carnes and Frank Hull.

Now, just yesterday, members of the disabled community were on hand to make clear their support of Terri Schiavo herself, and also the stand that the parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, are taking on behalf of their daughter. They're back this morning to register their strong disagreement with the decision from this court.

Wanted to shake some of the placards that they've been holding up. You may not be able to read them, but I'll read them to you.

"Terri is not terminal, except for court order." And "What crime did Terri commit? Her disability sentence: death."

So what is next for the Schindlers? Well, we are fully expecting that they will appeal this decision from this court to the U.S. Supreme Court. And we're also expecting that they will seek some kind of relief from the Florida state legislature. And just a short time ago on AMERICAN MORNING Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz talked about the options available to the Florida legislation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PROF. ALAN DERSHOWITZ, HARVARD LAW SCHOOL: This is a state case. And states have enormous power, and they could pass a statute to presumably -- keeping her alive. And then it would have to go back into the state courts to decide whether that statute is constitutional under Florida law. And the courts generally have sided with the husband in this case, and the legislature conceivably could side with the parents...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. So we'll be watching the events in Florida very closely today to find out if the legislature can muster up the members' support to craft the legislation and then pass the bill. Soledad, we'll be keeping an eye on that.

O'BRIEN: You'll be keeping an eye, and everyone else as well.

Let's get right to Bob Franken. He's outside Terri Schiavo's hospice in Pinellas Park, in Florida.

Bob, good morning to you. Give me a sense of the reaction there this morning.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reaction is one of disappointment, of course, and resignation. But the family is going to be holding a news conference within about a half-hour, we're told. Don't know which figures are going to be there to tell us their plans for the next couple of days.

The question is, which is the next legal appeal? And they have not completely decided, we're told, which option they're going to take, appealing to the full appeals court or going right to the Supreme Court.

Just about every legal expert we've discussed this with says that the Supreme Court is almost an imperative, because that's the fastest way to try to get this resolved if they have a chance to. And if they don't go the quicker route, they would undermine their preliminary argument that time is of the essence.

So while they do that, as Tony pointed out, they're going to be trying to lobby the legislature, come up with some sort of bill, some sort of new law which would result in her having her feed tube reconnected, Terri Schiavo, who is inside this hospice. But the legislature and state government and Governor Bush have been down this road before, and the options are beginning to slip away for the family that is fighting desperately to try to change what now looks like the slow death of Terri Schiavo -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Bob Franken reporting for us from Pinellas Park, in Florida. Bob, thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: We have a new survey out, too, a CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll conducted just yesterday about this matter. Fifty-five percent say they are very sympathetic toward Terri's parents. Thirty-one percent say they are somewhat sympathetic.

Those polled were also asked about Terri's husband Michael Schiavo and whether or not he's telling the truth about his wife's medical wishes. Sixty-four percent say they believe him. Twenty-five percent say they do not. And the majority of the polls seem to disapprove when it comes to the involvement of politicians in this case.

Fifty-two percent disagree with the way the president handled it. Thirty-one percent say they approve. And the rest say they are unsure of the whole thing.

On a related matter, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay thought he was talking off the record this week. His comments have given the story yet another wrinkle.

To Capitol Hill now and Ed Henry.

Ed, good morning. What happened?

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Tom DeLay is the man who muscled through that emergency legislation, trying to get the feeding tube reinserted. And he has repeatedly said that he was operating and motivated by principle, not politics. But CNN has obtained an audiotape of a speech Mr. DeLay delivered to a conservative group on Friday.

And in this closed-door meeting, he said that god has sent Terri Schiavo to help the conservative movement. This speech was secretly recorded by a liberal group, Americans United for Separation of Church and State. And they say this tape actually shows that Tom DeLay was motivated by politics.

Here's -- let's take a listen. Here's the tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R-TX), MAJORITY LEADER: One thing that god has brought to us is Terri Schiavo to elevate the visibility of what's going on in America. That Americans would be so barbaric as to pull a feeding tube out of a person that is lucid and starve them to death for two weeks. I mean, in America, that is going to happen if we don't win this fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, Mr. DeLay has been under fire for various accusations of ethical lapses, and there have been whispers that he was motivated in this case to try to win some chips with conservative activists who could help him save his job. And it turns out that in this speech on Friday, just hours before the feeding tube was removed, Mr. DeLay tied the Schiavo case to his own ethics charges.

Let's listen in again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DELAY: This is exactly the issue that's going on in America, that of attacks against the conservative movement, against me and against many others. The point is, is the other side has figured out how to win and to defeat the conservative movement. And that is to go after people personally, charge them with frivolous charges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, Tom DeLay went on to say that George Soros and other liberals are part of this effort to try to destroy the conservative movement. CNN tried last night and this morning to get comment from DeLay's office about this audiotape. So far, no response from DeLay's office.

But I want to stress that over the weekend, when a memo leaked out suggesting that Republicans were trying to get political gain out of this case, Tom DeLay was very frank in saying that if anyone on his staff wrote that memo he would fire them immediately. And he said once again this is a matter of life and death, not politics -- Bill.

HEMMER: Ed Henry from Capitol Hill -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: A Minnesota high school is still a crime scene this morning. Sixteen-year-old Jeff Weise is suspected of killing nine people in Red Lake on Monday before he turned the gun on himself. Police are still checking out a motive, but the FBI says that Weise's alleged postings on a neo-Nazi Web side might offer some clues.

The FBI says Weise killed his grandfather, who was a police officer, and his grandfather's companion. Then he drove the police cruiser to school. And wearing his grandfather's bulletproof vest and the police holster, shot seven more people.

It is the deadliest school shooting since the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Fifteen people, including the two gunmen, were killed.

Well, teachers and staff of the high school were called to a meeting earlier this morning. Chris Dunshee is the principal of Red Lake High School joining us this morning.

Thanks for your time. We appreciate it.

Let's talk a little bit more about the young man who is now suspected in these shootings. We are told that his grandfather, a member of the law enforcement community, was also a prominent member of the community as well. Can you tell us anything about their relationship?

CHRIS DUNSHEE, PRINCIPAL, RED LAKE HIGH SCHOOL: Between Jeff and his grandfather?

O'BRIEN: Yes, that's right. DUNSHEE: You know, I'm not -- I don't know what the relationship was for sure. I did know both of them. I knew Dash (ph), his grandfather, well.

He worked with the school quite often. And he was well thought of. Kids liked him. And he was just a real great guy to work with.

O'BRIEN: The reason I asked the question about the relationship is because now it seems as if the grandfather and his companion were the first in this lengthy string of people who were killed. And there's many questions today about the motive, what would have possibly set this young man off. Any indication about what was going on in his mind?

DUNSHEE: Well, I think there are some things coming to light, but I'm really not at liberty to speak about that at this time.

O'BRIEN: Things in addition to what we hearing now about postings to the neo-Nazi Web site?

DUNSHEE: That's what I'm being told as well, yes.

O'BRIEN: There are students at the school who say that Jeff Weise was teased by the other students, that he was a loner, he didn't get along with people well. Was he in any kind of treatment at the school, just getting some kind of help?

DUNSHEE: Well there, again, I am not at liberty to say.

O'BRIEN: Does your school...

DUNSHEE: I'm sure these things will be coming out as the investigation proceeds.

O'BRIEN: Yes, one would imagine. Does the school have -- I know it's a pretty tiny high school. We were told yesterday only about 250, 300 students. Does the school have systems in place to find and help troubled students? I mean, I think a lot of schools put these things in place in the wake of the Littleton, Colorado, shootings.

DUNSHEE: Yes, we have a lot of support staff, a lot of community support staff as well. We're a small high school, and we have community relations people that work with our kids a lot. And I think we do as good a job, if not better, than most schools...

O'BRIEN: There was...

DUNSHEE: ...in trying to track those...

O'BRIEN: There was security, we're told, at the school. The security guard obviously was one of the first shot and killed. And we were told yesterday there was a security plan in place, put in place, again, in the wake of the Littleton, Colorado, school shootings. But the security guard didn't have a gun.

Do you look back now and say the plan we had in place was obviously completely ineffective?

DUNSHEE: I don't believe that's the case at all. We've discussed whether or not, you know, our security guards should have some type of armament, but we're a public school. And we didn't feel that would be appropriate at all.

O'BRIEN: What happens to the students now? What kind of help do you give them before they return to class?

DUNSHEE: Well, I think that's one of the things that has been the most heartwarming, is all the support that we are getting from across the state and across the nation. We've had many, many agencies come through and offer their support, clergy, counselors, law enforcement, of course, medical personnel, professional colleagues. And they are all running to our side to help us. And so we will have adequate resources when we get the kids back in school to hopefully be able to address their needs.

O'BRIEN: It's good to hear that you are getting lots of help. Obviously, this is incredibly devastating to your very small community. We thank you for your time this morning.

DUNSHEE: Well, yes, I think anytime -- anytime there's the death of a child it's a death out of season. And it ages us all.

O'BRIEN: No question about that. Thank you, again. Appreciate it.

Chris Dunshee is the principal at Red Lake High School joining us -- Bill.

HEMMER: A death out of season. Well stated.

Fifteen minutes past the hour now. Back to the weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, they seem to have vanished without a trace. An update on that missing couple that we told you about several weeks ago.

HEMMER: Also, the deadly shootings at that Minnesota high school raising new questions about kids' safety. What schools can do and what you can do to prevent future tragedies in a moment.

O'BRIEN: And our special series, "Faith in America," it is a hot topic on college campuses. We're going to meet three friends with three very different beliefs but one fear. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: This morning, we begin a special three-part series on faith in America. We'll look at religion's impact on politics and music. And this morning we look at the impact on young people. As Kelly Wallace has discovered in a visit to one college campus, the subject of faith is on a lot of young minds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the campus of tiny Elizabethtown College in southeastern Pennsylvania, we met three students, best of friends, but very different when it comes to religious. Brea, on the left, is Christian. Laura, on the right, is Catholic. And Rebecca, in the middle, was baptized Catholic but says she doesn't believe in religion or god.

(on camera): Is it ever sometimes you feel like odd man out or odd woman out?

REBECCA BOWLING, 21-YEAR-OLD STUDENT: Sometimes. I mean, yes, it's always kind of hard when people around you think different things or believe different things.

WALLACE (voice-over): Hard, too, for Brea and Laura, because Rebecca is constantly playing devil's advocate.

(on camera): What is it like when Rebecca's questioning you, why do you believe this, why do you think this?

LAURA SARDONE, 23-YEAR-OLD STUDENT: It's scary because it makes me realize -- well, it makes me question, and it makes me responsible for my own faith. And it makes me stronger.

WALLACE (voice-over): And Brea says she understands how Rebecca, a nonbeliever living with two believers, must feel.

BREA MCCAULEY, 22-YEAR-OLD STUDENT: I came from a high school in a town where I was the weird one who liked to go to church.

WALLACE: They're from different world. Two are from small towns. Laura is from Staten Island, New York. But they have a lot in common: sharing the same goal, a master's degree in occupational therapy, and sharing an interest in discussing religion. A UCLA survey last year found that 78 percent of juniors said they talked about religion with their friends.

SARDONE: Maybe it's just become more acceptable, or more things that you can talk about it. Like more things that I can sit down with Reb over lunch and talk about. And I think maybe that's the cool part.

WALLACE: The survey also showed 77 percent of juniors say they pray. That makes sense even to Rebecca.

BOWLING: I do pray. And I find myself -- I'm like, "Why am I praying? Who am I praying to?" And I do believe in some sort of, like, I don't want to say -- I want to say like divine spirit, if you will.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have mercy upon...

WALLACE: Brea and Laura say they get their inspiration from bible study and church.

BONO, U2 (SINGING): All because of you...

WALLACE: And in Brea's case, also from the singer Bono.

MCCAULEY: His convictions are just strewn out all through his music, all through everything he's doing politically. It just speaks exactly to what I feel god would want hear on this earth.

WALLACE: Spend some time with these strong, confident women and you find they have something else in common, a fear of being judged.

BOWLING: Well, I assume I'm going to meet people one day who are going to not like me because I'm a nonbeliever or question why I don't go to church or why I don't believe in a god.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Judgment happens like every day whether you know it or not. And it can work for both sides.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know sometimes I'm ashamed of the church, I'm ashamed to call myself Christian sometimes from what I hear on the news, from the stereotypes that I get. I don't want people to know sometimes because it's, you know, immediately, right away, I'm labeled.

WALLACE: And their message, look at what students can get if, instead of judging, they are accepting.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: And tomorrow, our series continues with a look at the black church and its role in politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The black church has never played in the American -- in the political sphere in both parties. And for the first time, both parties are needing to take seriously the votes, the aspirations and hopes of the black church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Again, that's tomorrow in part two of our special series "Faith in America," here on AMERICAN MORNING.

O'BRIEN: Well, faced with a world full of fast food and fatty snacks, how can we teach our children to earth healthfully? Coming up, tips for parents in the war on childhood obesity. That's when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The "Question of the Day" involves Web sites of hate. Jack's got that. Good morning.

CAFFERTY: Good morning, Soledad.

One year before the shootings in Minnesota at the high school, Jeff Weise, the student who allegedly did this, began posting on something called the Libertarian National Socialist Green Party Web site. I went there this morning. And in addition to swastikas, you find stuff like this... "National socialists are willing to engage in eugenics, racial separation and removal of elements hostile to a healthy society."

And then you're given links to places like White Revolution, the Only Solution; The National Alliance, which advocates an Aryan society; and a place called overthrow.com, which "pushes the boundaries of free speech."

The beauty of the Internet is its openness. You can find anything there. But that may also be its curse, as in a case like this.

And the question we're looking at this morning is whether or not it's time to regulate these hate sites on the Internet. I have no idea how you do it. But I suppose if it became a priority a way could be figured out.

Susan in Texas writes: "Young teens who are not bullied in school don't turn to hate Web sites for emotional validation. Regulate bullying in the schools, not Internet hate sites. It can be tackled successfully, as has been done in Sweden."

This is from Brent: "Let me see if I have this correct. It's legal in the U.S. to own an AK-47 but illegal to own a Cuban cigar. You can dance around it all you want, but it always comes back to the guns. Have you ever heard of a kid going crazy with a butter knife? It's the guns, stupid."

And Melanie writes this: "Music, movies and television are all regulated, so why can't they regulate sites like that on the Internet? Those sites prey on young people who are looking for acceptance any place they can find it."

And Melanie adds a postscript... "Oh, and pass the tissue," she write, "it sounds like Barry Bonds is going to cry us a river."

O'BRIEN: No love for Barry Bonds this morning.

CAFFERTY: Well, I wonder why.

O'BRIEN: Well...

CAFFERTY: Thank you, Jack.

AMERICAN MORNING continues in a moment. More coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HEMMER (voice-over): Ahead on "90-Second Pop," "American Idol" may be tops in the ratings, but it got the wrong numbers Tuesday night.

And NBC tries a new version of an old hit. Will a British comedy get lost in translation, though, with American viewers?

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired March 23, 2005 - 08:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING, with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.

We've got much more on the Terri Schiavo ruling coming up in just a few moments.

Also, a little bit later this morning we're going to talk with safety expert Bob Stuber about that shooting in Red Lake, Minnesota. He's written a book on school safety, and he's got some new ideas about how to prevent tragedies like this one.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also this hour, Kelly Wallace is on campus this week, looking at young people today and the religious choices they are making. Keeping the faith not always easy to do. And we'll look at the reasons a bit later.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Cafferty's got the "Question of the Day."

Good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Talking about hate sites on the Internet, Soledad. The young man, Jeff Weise, involved in that school shooting spree in Minnesota, spent a year posting messages on a Nazi Web site on the Internet.

I looked at that thing this morning. It's like looking into an open sewer. Is there something that ought to be done about these hate sites on the Internet? AM@CNN.com.

O'BRIEN: You know, for the folks who say yes, it's like, but then how?

CAFFERTY: But then how and what. I know. It's a huge problem. Apparently there is some software that will allow you to filter and limit what your kids have access to.

O'BRIEN: Which has its own problems.

CAFFERTY: But -- yes, I mean, it's a very complex question. But these kids who are looking for someone to listen to them -- and I'm no shrink, but they reach out to losers like these Nazi Web sites because no one else is hearing what they have to say.

HEMMER: People they have never met.

CAFFERTY: They get somebody to answer them back then and that begins the journey into some sort of madness that ends perhaps with the kind of thing we saw in Minnesota. Very unfortunate.

O'BRIEN: It's an interesting question.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack. Thanks.

Carol Costello's got the headlines this morning as well.

Hey, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I do. Good morning. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News," the Vatican denying reports pope John Paul II's health is taking a turn for the worse. Perhaps to prove it, the 84-year-old pope made a brief appearance this morning, waving to hundreds of people gathered below in St. Peter's Square. But the pope did not speak to the crowd, he just waved. And his regular general audience was again canceled this week.

A major strike against an insurgent post northwest of Baghdad. Iraqi troops, backed by U.S. helicopters, battled militants for at least two hours. A U.S. military official says there were between 80 and 120 rebels at the camp. It's not clear how many were killed. American troops have been working to drive out insurgents in the area.

And more predictions on the fate of Social Security. New numbers are expected today. Less than three hours from now, in fact. The Treasury secretary, John Snow, will discuss the findings of the report from the trustees of Social Security and Medicare. Included, some interesting stuff, like projections for when the programs are expected to go broke.

And some incredible video to show you now from Seattle. An out of control semi-truck -- semi-truck, I should say, you see it there? It comes to a crashing halt. There it is.

Take a look at that. The truck's brakes went out. Amazingly, the driver was able to steer clear of pedestrians and other vehicles. I think a lot of that was luck.

The tuck flipped over, as you saw, crashed into a number of unoccupied parked cars. All of this caught by surveillance cameras from nearby business. And get this... after all of that, no one was injured, except for the driver, and he only had minor cuts and bruises.

HEMMER: Wow.

O'BRIEN: That thing was flying, too, because you could see the speed of the car that goes in front of it. That's amazing. COSTELLO: Yes, and its back was whipping around. But he did a good job.

O'BRIEN: Sure did. Good for him. All right. Carol, thanks.

What's the next step in the Terri Schiavo case? We're looking at that this morning, now that a federal appeals court has denied her parent's case to have her feeding tube reinserted.

Tony Harris is at the federal appeals court in Atlanta for us this morning. Bob Franken is at Terri Schiavo's hospice, which is in Pinellas Park, in Florida.

Tony, let's begin with you. What did the latest court decision say about her case?

TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, a number of things, Soledad. Good morning to you.

First of all, there's a 32-page decision that came down from a three-member panel of this circuit court of appeals here in this building just behind me in downtown Atlanta. And what it does is it lays out the thinking, the reasoning, behind this denial of a temporary restraining order that would have restored the feeding tube to Terri Schiavo.

Getting right to some of the thoughts in the majority opinion now, "The plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate a substantial case on the merits any of their claims." It goes on to say "The district court's carefully thought out decision to deny temporary relief in the circumstances is not an abuse of discretion."

"There is no denying the absolute tragedy that has befallen Mrs. Schiavo. We all have our own family, our own loved ones and our own children. However, we are called upon to make a collective, objective decision concerning a question of law."

The majority opinion there. At least a bit of it from Judges Ed Carnes and Frank Hull.

Now, just yesterday, members of the disabled community were on hand to make clear their support of Terri Schiavo herself, and also the stand that the parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, are taking on behalf of their daughter. They're back this morning to register their strong disagreement with the decision from this court.

Wanted to shake some of the placards that they've been holding up. You may not be able to read them, but I'll read them to you.

"Terri is not terminal, except for court order." And "What crime did Terri commit? Her disability sentence: death."

So what is next for the Schindlers? Well, we are fully expecting that they will appeal this decision from this court to the U.S. Supreme Court. And we're also expecting that they will seek some kind of relief from the Florida state legislature. And just a short time ago on AMERICAN MORNING Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz talked about the options available to the Florida legislation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PROF. ALAN DERSHOWITZ, HARVARD LAW SCHOOL: This is a state case. And states have enormous power, and they could pass a statute to presumably -- keeping her alive. And then it would have to go back into the state courts to decide whether that statute is constitutional under Florida law. And the courts generally have sided with the husband in this case, and the legislature conceivably could side with the parents...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. So we'll be watching the events in Florida very closely today to find out if the legislature can muster up the members' support to craft the legislation and then pass the bill. Soledad, we'll be keeping an eye on that.

O'BRIEN: You'll be keeping an eye, and everyone else as well.

Let's get right to Bob Franken. He's outside Terri Schiavo's hospice in Pinellas Park, in Florida.

Bob, good morning to you. Give me a sense of the reaction there this morning.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reaction is one of disappointment, of course, and resignation. But the family is going to be holding a news conference within about a half-hour, we're told. Don't know which figures are going to be there to tell us their plans for the next couple of days.

The question is, which is the next legal appeal? And they have not completely decided, we're told, which option they're going to take, appealing to the full appeals court or going right to the Supreme Court.

Just about every legal expert we've discussed this with says that the Supreme Court is almost an imperative, because that's the fastest way to try to get this resolved if they have a chance to. And if they don't go the quicker route, they would undermine their preliminary argument that time is of the essence.

So while they do that, as Tony pointed out, they're going to be trying to lobby the legislature, come up with some sort of bill, some sort of new law which would result in her having her feed tube reconnected, Terri Schiavo, who is inside this hospice. But the legislature and state government and Governor Bush have been down this road before, and the options are beginning to slip away for the family that is fighting desperately to try to change what now looks like the slow death of Terri Schiavo -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Bob Franken reporting for us from Pinellas Park, in Florida. Bob, thanks -- Bill.

HEMMER: We have a new survey out, too, a CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll conducted just yesterday about this matter. Fifty-five percent say they are very sympathetic toward Terri's parents. Thirty-one percent say they are somewhat sympathetic.

Those polled were also asked about Terri's husband Michael Schiavo and whether or not he's telling the truth about his wife's medical wishes. Sixty-four percent say they believe him. Twenty-five percent say they do not. And the majority of the polls seem to disapprove when it comes to the involvement of politicians in this case.

Fifty-two percent disagree with the way the president handled it. Thirty-one percent say they approve. And the rest say they are unsure of the whole thing.

On a related matter, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay thought he was talking off the record this week. His comments have given the story yet another wrinkle.

To Capitol Hill now and Ed Henry.

Ed, good morning. What happened?

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Tom DeLay is the man who muscled through that emergency legislation, trying to get the feeding tube reinserted. And he has repeatedly said that he was operating and motivated by principle, not politics. But CNN has obtained an audiotape of a speech Mr. DeLay delivered to a conservative group on Friday.

And in this closed-door meeting, he said that god has sent Terri Schiavo to help the conservative movement. This speech was secretly recorded by a liberal group, Americans United for Separation of Church and State. And they say this tape actually shows that Tom DeLay was motivated by politics.

Here's -- let's take a listen. Here's the tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R-TX), MAJORITY LEADER: One thing that god has brought to us is Terri Schiavo to elevate the visibility of what's going on in America. That Americans would be so barbaric as to pull a feeding tube out of a person that is lucid and starve them to death for two weeks. I mean, in America, that is going to happen if we don't win this fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, Mr. DeLay has been under fire for various accusations of ethical lapses, and there have been whispers that he was motivated in this case to try to win some chips with conservative activists who could help him save his job. And it turns out that in this speech on Friday, just hours before the feeding tube was removed, Mr. DeLay tied the Schiavo case to his own ethics charges.

Let's listen in again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DELAY: This is exactly the issue that's going on in America, that of attacks against the conservative movement, against me and against many others. The point is, is the other side has figured out how to win and to defeat the conservative movement. And that is to go after people personally, charge them with frivolous charges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, Tom DeLay went on to say that George Soros and other liberals are part of this effort to try to destroy the conservative movement. CNN tried last night and this morning to get comment from DeLay's office about this audiotape. So far, no response from DeLay's office.

But I want to stress that over the weekend, when a memo leaked out suggesting that Republicans were trying to get political gain out of this case, Tom DeLay was very frank in saying that if anyone on his staff wrote that memo he would fire them immediately. And he said once again this is a matter of life and death, not politics -- Bill.

HEMMER: Ed Henry from Capitol Hill -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: A Minnesota high school is still a crime scene this morning. Sixteen-year-old Jeff Weise is suspected of killing nine people in Red Lake on Monday before he turned the gun on himself. Police are still checking out a motive, but the FBI says that Weise's alleged postings on a neo-Nazi Web side might offer some clues.

The FBI says Weise killed his grandfather, who was a police officer, and his grandfather's companion. Then he drove the police cruiser to school. And wearing his grandfather's bulletproof vest and the police holster, shot seven more people.

It is the deadliest school shooting since the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Fifteen people, including the two gunmen, were killed.

Well, teachers and staff of the high school were called to a meeting earlier this morning. Chris Dunshee is the principal of Red Lake High School joining us this morning.

Thanks for your time. We appreciate it.

Let's talk a little bit more about the young man who is now suspected in these shootings. We are told that his grandfather, a member of the law enforcement community, was also a prominent member of the community as well. Can you tell us anything about their relationship?

CHRIS DUNSHEE, PRINCIPAL, RED LAKE HIGH SCHOOL: Between Jeff and his grandfather?

O'BRIEN: Yes, that's right. DUNSHEE: You know, I'm not -- I don't know what the relationship was for sure. I did know both of them. I knew Dash (ph), his grandfather, well.

He worked with the school quite often. And he was well thought of. Kids liked him. And he was just a real great guy to work with.

O'BRIEN: The reason I asked the question about the relationship is because now it seems as if the grandfather and his companion were the first in this lengthy string of people who were killed. And there's many questions today about the motive, what would have possibly set this young man off. Any indication about what was going on in his mind?

DUNSHEE: Well, I think there are some things coming to light, but I'm really not at liberty to speak about that at this time.

O'BRIEN: Things in addition to what we hearing now about postings to the neo-Nazi Web site?

DUNSHEE: That's what I'm being told as well, yes.

O'BRIEN: There are students at the school who say that Jeff Weise was teased by the other students, that he was a loner, he didn't get along with people well. Was he in any kind of treatment at the school, just getting some kind of help?

DUNSHEE: Well there, again, I am not at liberty to say.

O'BRIEN: Does your school...

DUNSHEE: I'm sure these things will be coming out as the investigation proceeds.

O'BRIEN: Yes, one would imagine. Does the school have -- I know it's a pretty tiny high school. We were told yesterday only about 250, 300 students. Does the school have systems in place to find and help troubled students? I mean, I think a lot of schools put these things in place in the wake of the Littleton, Colorado, shootings.

DUNSHEE: Yes, we have a lot of support staff, a lot of community support staff as well. We're a small high school, and we have community relations people that work with our kids a lot. And I think we do as good a job, if not better, than most schools...

O'BRIEN: There was...

DUNSHEE: ...in trying to track those...

O'BRIEN: There was security, we're told, at the school. The security guard obviously was one of the first shot and killed. And we were told yesterday there was a security plan in place, put in place, again, in the wake of the Littleton, Colorado, school shootings. But the security guard didn't have a gun.

Do you look back now and say the plan we had in place was obviously completely ineffective?

DUNSHEE: I don't believe that's the case at all. We've discussed whether or not, you know, our security guards should have some type of armament, but we're a public school. And we didn't feel that would be appropriate at all.

O'BRIEN: What happens to the students now? What kind of help do you give them before they return to class?

DUNSHEE: Well, I think that's one of the things that has been the most heartwarming, is all the support that we are getting from across the state and across the nation. We've had many, many agencies come through and offer their support, clergy, counselors, law enforcement, of course, medical personnel, professional colleagues. And they are all running to our side to help us. And so we will have adequate resources when we get the kids back in school to hopefully be able to address their needs.

O'BRIEN: It's good to hear that you are getting lots of help. Obviously, this is incredibly devastating to your very small community. We thank you for your time this morning.

DUNSHEE: Well, yes, I think anytime -- anytime there's the death of a child it's a death out of season. And it ages us all.

O'BRIEN: No question about that. Thank you, again. Appreciate it.

Chris Dunshee is the principal at Red Lake High School joining us -- Bill.

HEMMER: A death out of season. Well stated.

Fifteen minutes past the hour now. Back to the weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, they seem to have vanished without a trace. An update on that missing couple that we told you about several weeks ago.

HEMMER: Also, the deadly shootings at that Minnesota high school raising new questions about kids' safety. What schools can do and what you can do to prevent future tragedies in a moment.

O'BRIEN: And our special series, "Faith in America," it is a hot topic on college campuses. We're going to meet three friends with three very different beliefs but one fear. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: This morning, we begin a special three-part series on faith in America. We'll look at religion's impact on politics and music. And this morning we look at the impact on young people. As Kelly Wallace has discovered in a visit to one college campus, the subject of faith is on a lot of young minds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the campus of tiny Elizabethtown College in southeastern Pennsylvania, we met three students, best of friends, but very different when it comes to religious. Brea, on the left, is Christian. Laura, on the right, is Catholic. And Rebecca, in the middle, was baptized Catholic but says she doesn't believe in religion or god.

(on camera): Is it ever sometimes you feel like odd man out or odd woman out?

REBECCA BOWLING, 21-YEAR-OLD STUDENT: Sometimes. I mean, yes, it's always kind of hard when people around you think different things or believe different things.

WALLACE (voice-over): Hard, too, for Brea and Laura, because Rebecca is constantly playing devil's advocate.

(on camera): What is it like when Rebecca's questioning you, why do you believe this, why do you think this?

LAURA SARDONE, 23-YEAR-OLD STUDENT: It's scary because it makes me realize -- well, it makes me question, and it makes me responsible for my own faith. And it makes me stronger.

WALLACE (voice-over): And Brea says she understands how Rebecca, a nonbeliever living with two believers, must feel.

BREA MCCAULEY, 22-YEAR-OLD STUDENT: I came from a high school in a town where I was the weird one who liked to go to church.

WALLACE: They're from different world. Two are from small towns. Laura is from Staten Island, New York. But they have a lot in common: sharing the same goal, a master's degree in occupational therapy, and sharing an interest in discussing religion. A UCLA survey last year found that 78 percent of juniors said they talked about religion with their friends.

SARDONE: Maybe it's just become more acceptable, or more things that you can talk about it. Like more things that I can sit down with Reb over lunch and talk about. And I think maybe that's the cool part.

WALLACE: The survey also showed 77 percent of juniors say they pray. That makes sense even to Rebecca.

BOWLING: I do pray. And I find myself -- I'm like, "Why am I praying? Who am I praying to?" And I do believe in some sort of, like, I don't want to say -- I want to say like divine spirit, if you will.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have mercy upon...

WALLACE: Brea and Laura say they get their inspiration from bible study and church.

BONO, U2 (SINGING): All because of you...

WALLACE: And in Brea's case, also from the singer Bono.

MCCAULEY: His convictions are just strewn out all through his music, all through everything he's doing politically. It just speaks exactly to what I feel god would want hear on this earth.

WALLACE: Spend some time with these strong, confident women and you find they have something else in common, a fear of being judged.

BOWLING: Well, I assume I'm going to meet people one day who are going to not like me because I'm a nonbeliever or question why I don't go to church or why I don't believe in a god.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Judgment happens like every day whether you know it or not. And it can work for both sides.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know sometimes I'm ashamed of the church, I'm ashamed to call myself Christian sometimes from what I hear on the news, from the stereotypes that I get. I don't want people to know sometimes because it's, you know, immediately, right away, I'm labeled.

WALLACE: And their message, look at what students can get if, instead of judging, they are accepting.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: And tomorrow, our series continues with a look at the black church and its role in politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The black church has never played in the American -- in the political sphere in both parties. And for the first time, both parties are needing to take seriously the votes, the aspirations and hopes of the black church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Again, that's tomorrow in part two of our special series "Faith in America," here on AMERICAN MORNING.

O'BRIEN: Well, faced with a world full of fast food and fatty snacks, how can we teach our children to earth healthfully? Coming up, tips for parents in the war on childhood obesity. That's when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The "Question of the Day" involves Web sites of hate. Jack's got that. Good morning.

CAFFERTY: Good morning, Soledad.

One year before the shootings in Minnesota at the high school, Jeff Weise, the student who allegedly did this, began posting on something called the Libertarian National Socialist Green Party Web site. I went there this morning. And in addition to swastikas, you find stuff like this... "National socialists are willing to engage in eugenics, racial separation and removal of elements hostile to a healthy society."

And then you're given links to places like White Revolution, the Only Solution; The National Alliance, which advocates an Aryan society; and a place called overthrow.com, which "pushes the boundaries of free speech."

The beauty of the Internet is its openness. You can find anything there. But that may also be its curse, as in a case like this.

And the question we're looking at this morning is whether or not it's time to regulate these hate sites on the Internet. I have no idea how you do it. But I suppose if it became a priority a way could be figured out.

Susan in Texas writes: "Young teens who are not bullied in school don't turn to hate Web sites for emotional validation. Regulate bullying in the schools, not Internet hate sites. It can be tackled successfully, as has been done in Sweden."

This is from Brent: "Let me see if I have this correct. It's legal in the U.S. to own an AK-47 but illegal to own a Cuban cigar. You can dance around it all you want, but it always comes back to the guns. Have you ever heard of a kid going crazy with a butter knife? It's the guns, stupid."

And Melanie writes this: "Music, movies and television are all regulated, so why can't they regulate sites like that on the Internet? Those sites prey on young people who are looking for acceptance any place they can find it."

And Melanie adds a postscript... "Oh, and pass the tissue," she write, "it sounds like Barry Bonds is going to cry us a river."

O'BRIEN: No love for Barry Bonds this morning.

CAFFERTY: Well, I wonder why.

O'BRIEN: Well...

CAFFERTY: Thank you, Jack.

AMERICAN MORNING continues in a moment. More coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HEMMER (voice-over): Ahead on "90-Second Pop," "American Idol" may be tops in the ratings, but it got the wrong numbers Tuesday night.

And NBC tries a new version of an old hit. Will a British comedy get lost in translation, though, with American viewers?

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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