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American Morning
Pastor Shot Dead; 'Sleepless in America'
Aired March 24, 2006 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Police have questions for the wife of a pastor gunned down in Tennessee. She was found a day later in Alabama. We'll bring you that story.
Plus, a massive protest in Milwaukee, a protest over tough new immigration laws. Some very angry workers. We'll tell you why they're protesting.
And dreaming the perfect dream, what would that be? We've got a look at the to picks in our "Sleepless in America" series.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: You know, that whole immigration debate is shaping up to be quite a battle in the Senate and in the House...
O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: ... between, you know, Republicans in Capitol Hill and the White House.
O'BRIEN: It's going to play a big role in the midterm elections, no question. And the national elections, too.
ROBERTS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about this other story we're really looking at today, which is a story out of Tennessee, the pastor who was killed in his home. Questioning is scheduled for today. Police want to know why she was in Alabama with their three children and if she knows anything about her husband's shooting.
CNN's Rick Sanchez has our story this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Wednesday nights here at the Fourth Street Church of Christ in Selmer, Tennessee, parishioners gather for midweek services with their preacher. But on this Wednesday night, the preacher was missing.
CHIEF NEAL BURKS, SELMER POLICE: We received a call that the church members of the Church of Christ here in Selmer were concerned about their pastor.
SANCHEZ: Those same church members went to his house, knocked on the door, didn't get an answer, so they used their key to get in. And when they reached the bedroom, they found their pastor, 31-year-old Matthew Winkler, murdered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was shot in the back. No signs of struggle, no signs of forced entry or anything.
SANCHEZ (on camera): Of course, as in any homicide, police immediately sought out the victim's family to break the news to them, or perhaps get some information from them. In this case, though, strangely enough, the family was nowhere to be found.
JOHN MEHR: We're trying to find the wife and the children. I think you have that information, but they're driving a 2006 Toyota van.
SANCHEZ (voice over): Police issued an Amber Alert, describing the van. It also describes the minister's wife, Mary Winkler, 32 years old, 5'3", 120 pounds, and her three daughters who are 1, 6, 8, and probably confused.
KEGAN HATLEY, NEIGHBOR: The girls were very nice and just sweet, the sweetest girls you would ever meet. Great attitude, "Yes, ma'am, no, ma'am. Yes, sir, no, sir." Just raised very well. Taught very well.
SANCHEZ: Twenty-four hours later, after a dragnet that included six states, police, FBI, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the mother and daughters were found in Alabama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The news is that they have been found in Orange Beach, Alabama.
SANCHEZ: And then the police announced they now have new suspicions about the murdered preacher's wife.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say she is a suspect at this time just due to the nature of this, that she's alive and well, of course. But she does have the children, she was in the van. So we would consider her a suspect at this time.
SANCHEZ (on camera): And now it's a matter of questioning, really. Authorities are telling us that Mary Winkler is going to be questioned by FBI, TBI and even locals there in Alabama. As for what she's going to be asked, they say they will ask her if she had something to do with her husband's murder.
As for the church members here, they say they're just happy that those children have been found. And as for Mary, they say they also would like to ask her some questions.
Rick Sanchez, Selmer, Tennessee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Ahead in our next hour, we're going to talk with a spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Investigation about this case.
Lots of other stories making news. Let's get right to Carol in the newsroom for a look at those.
Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.
Good morning to all of you.
More violence in Iraq. Gunmen in Baghdad attacking a bakery this time. Police say insurgents gunned down four bakery workers and left behind a bomb that killed a police officer who had rushed to the scene to help.
Hours later, gunmen attacked a police patrol. And we're now hearing of an explosion outside of a mosque north of Baghdad. At least seven people killed.
We're going to try to get more information in. We'll keep you posted about that one.
New details to tell you about, about that horrific bus crash in Chile. Officials say they're looking into reports that the bus was not licensed to carry passengers and that the driver may have fallen asleep behind the will.
Many of the 12 Americans killed were neighbors. They lived in the same retirement community in New Jersey. Family members are set to arrive today in Chile.
President Bush setting the scene for next week's Senate debate on immigration. The president, in a White House briefing, calling for a civil respectful discussion on what could be the most sweeping immigration reform plan in years.
In the meantime, thousands of protesters in Milwaukee criticizing that proposed plan. It would make it a felony to live or work in the United States illegally. The protesters wearing T-shirts that read, "I am not a criminal." The march was billed as "A Day Without Latinos." Protesters are expected in Chicago and Los Angeles tomorrow.
Darryl Littlejohn would not look at them. The former New York City bar bouncer pleaded not guilty in connection with the rape and murder of Imette St. Guillen. The woman's mother and sisters sat just feet away from him in the courtroom. Investigators say cell phone records, fibers and DNA link Littlejohn to St. Guillen's murder.
The Enron case starting to wrap up now. The prosecution called its last major witness to the stand, former treasurer Ben Gleason (ph). But he backpedaled under cross-examination. Gleason (ph) had earlier testified that former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling approved a plan to sidestep accounting rules. Court resumes on Monday.
And going, going, gone, the ill-gotten goods of jailed former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. On the block, oriental rugs and fancy furniture that Cunningham took as bribes from defense contractors. The auctioneer puts the gross from the sale at $95,000. And you'll recall Cunningham tearfully apologized in November before beginning an eight-year prison term.
Well, there'll be no fancy rugs there -- John.
ROBERTS: It sounds like people got a pretty good deal, because some of those rugs, I understand, were originally valued at about $40,000 a piece. So...
COSTELLO: Oh, they were gorgeous. Gorgeous.
ROBERTS: Yes. Carol, thanks very much.
COSTELLO: Sure.
ROBERTS: Not only is Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld defending the U.S. military strategy in Iraq, he's also defending himself. At a Pentagon briefing on Thursday, Rumsfeld said he has no intention of resigning and he dismissed recent criticism in an exchange with CNN Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Do you feel at all embattled at this point in your tenure given the fact that...
RUMSFELD: No.
MCINTYRE: Aside from the retired two two-star general calling you "incompetent" and asking you to step down in an op-ed over the weekend, you also had a call from Maureen Dowd, in which she quoted an unnamed administration official saying that you don't hold the same sway in meetings and that you're treated as "an eccentric old uncle who's ignored."
RUMSFELD: You like to repeat all that stuff don't you -- on camera? Did you get it? Let's make sure you got it. He love that is stuff. It's a sure way to get on camera.
He'll be on the evening news.
MCINTYRE: I know you like to have the facts in the premise of the question.
RUMSFELD: Yes, I do. And you did it very well. No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can do one-arm pushups and put all this to rest.
RUMSFELD: The answer is no.
MCINTYRE: Do you hold the same sway in meetings?
RUMSFELD: Oh, come on. I'm not going to get into that -- Pam.
QUESTION: Sir, in your opening statement you said...
RUMSFELD: If you believe everything you read from Maureen Dowd, you'd better get a life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: I'm not going to get into that, but let me get into that. Rumsfeld also said calls for his resignation are "prompted by politics."
As things heat up for the secretary of defense, unfortunately our temperature is a little below normal. Time for a check of the forecast. Reynolds Wolf in for Chad at the CNN Center.
Good morning to you, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning to you..
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, one lawmaker is trying to brand drunk drivers with a scarlet letter of sorts. We'll tell you about that this morning.
ROBERTS: Kind of a scarlet tag, actually.
Also, Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes us to dreamland in our special series, "Sleepless in America." He'll show us what some of the most common dreams actually mean.
O'BRIEN: And later, we all love pandas. They don't come cheap, though. We'll take a look at why some zoos have pretty tough decisions to make.
ROBERTS: Dang. I wanted to buy one.
O'BRIEN: They're cute, but not cheap.
That's ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: A look at what's happening "In America" this morning.
A Batavia, Ohio, man now being held on $2 million bond in the shooting death of his neighbor. Charles Martin admitted to a 911 operator that he shot the teenage boy when he walked across his lawn. The judge has set next Thursday for his arraignment.
California's drunk drivers may soon be marked, literally. A lawmaker wants to require special red license plates for convicted drivers. The plates also have the letters "DUI" on them. Anyone with two drunk driving convictions over a 10-year period would be required to sport the badge of shame.
In Salt Lake City, they celebrated Herb Russell Day at University Hospital. He's been volunteering at the hospital for 50 years now, doesn't plan to stop any time soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERB RUSSELL, 50-YEAR VOLUNTEER: I just enjoy it. I get to meet nice people, people up here. And I think it keeps me young.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The 82-year-old Russell says he's also a frequent blood donor. How much, do you ask? Twenty-two gallons of blood is what he's given over his 50 years of volunteering.
That's a lot of blood -- John.
ROBERTS: That's a real gift of life.
In today's "Sleepless in America," did you have a bad or troubling or weird dream last night? Maybe you were being chased and couldn't run, you were falling, perhaps naked in public? A lots of people have that dream.
If you did, you're not alone. In fact, you may be surprised to learn just how common those dreams really are.
Here's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Each night as we dream, what we experience may seem uniquely person. But how unique are our dreams really?
PATRICIA GARFIELD, AUTHOR, "THE UNIVERSAL DREAM KEY": Whatever we have in common with other human beings, I think in part form what I have called the universal dream themes.
GUPTA: Author and Psychologist Patricia Garfield has spent most of her career studying dreamers and dream cultures around the globe. She says the people who may be worlds apart in their waking life, share a common culture while sleeping.
GARFIELD: It's both universal and particular in the sense that everyone has dreams about being chased, for instance. It is the most common negative dream theme around the world of any age, bar none. Little kids dream more often about wild animals after them. Adults dream more often about wild people after them.
GUPTA: Garfield says it's the particulars that vary from culture to culture.
GARFIELD: I did a study of children in India, and there were -- in their dreams, many vultures were attacking the dreamer, compared to American kids who had more super heroes and no vultures at all. But if they had seen the movie "Jaws," there were many shark dreams.
GUPTA: According to her research, the other most common universal dream themes include flying, transportation trouble, natural disasters, menacing spirits, falling, and being naked in public.
GARFIELD: Dreams of falling or drowning which often occur when we feel disappointed by someone or like our emotional ground has fallen out. The dreams of being naked are frequently when we're feeling particularly vulnerable. Dreams of taking a test, being back in school, being examined. That kind of dream often occurs when we feel we're being tested right now by something.
GUPTA: Testing us, in perhaps more ways than we realize.
GARFIELD: Our dreams are more negative than positive in general. It's because, I believe, that we are attempting to solve our problems and we always have new problems, so, you know, we have to keep coping in the best way that we can.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: That's the great thing about life, you always have new problems to dream about. Dr. Gupta's story first aired on "ANDERSON COOPER 360," which you can catch weeknights at 10:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
And be sure to catch Sanjay's primetime special, "Restless Nation." That's this Sunday night, 10:00 Eastern.
And later on, on AMERICAN MORNING, a $14 nap, a $21,000 bed. How much are you willing to pay for a good night's sleep? We'll take a look.
O'BRIEN: Also ahead this morning, the most beautiful place in America might also be the best place to find a job. We'll explain as we mind your business ahead this morning.
And controversy at the American Red Cross to tell you about. Some of the group's volunteers under the microscope this morning.
Those stories are ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Fashion Friday, huh?
O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Happy birthday, Tommy.
Let's get right to our top stories this morning. Carol's got that. She's in the newsroom. Hey, Carol.
ROBERTS: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Wow, that song was bringing me back to the day.
Good morning to all of you. A look at the headlines now.
A meeting that could stop days of violent protests in France. The French prime minister and other top officials now meeting in Paris, considering changes to a new labor law. This after days of protests by students and union workers. Groups set dozens of cars on fire overnight, leaving the streets full of ash and broken glass this morning.
Here in the United States, the Red Cross looking into claims that some of its Hurricane Katrina volunteers stole millions of dollars worth of relief supplies, stole them. The goods taken include rental cars, computers, and even air mattresses. Sources cited by "The New York Times" say the probe started weeks ago when the Department of Homeland Security got a tip from a former volunteer.
Remember all those FEMA trailers left outside of -- left outside in the mud after Katrina? Well, it seems FEMA has found a use for them after all.
Some will be used for people who lost their homes in the wildfires in Oklahoma. More than 300 homes and businesses were destroyed there, another 800 damaged.
And remember the remains of a World War II airman found in the Sierra Nevada mountains? Well, we've been following this story since October. The body has now been positively identified as that of Leo Mustonen.
He was just 22 years old when he died, when his Air Force plane crashed in 1942. He will be buried today with full military honors in his hometown in Brainerd, Minnesota.
And perhaps, Reynolds, it's fitting that it's snowing there today.
WOLF: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Yes.
WOLF: Absolutely.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Reynolds, thanks very much.
And straight ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING, we'll tell you which island paradise is also a paradise for job seekers. We're "Minding Your Business" for you this morning. Plus, pandas are popular but they come at a price. Coming up, a look at why some of the nation's zoos may one day have to spend -- or send their furry friends packing.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: No surprise, Hawaii a great place to visit, as Andy Serwer knows. He's there on vaca.
ROBERTS: Ah, but maybe he's there for something else.
O'BRIEN: Oh, maybe he is.
Carrie's got a look at that this morning. She's "Minding Your Business."
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, he could be there to make a few extra bucks on the side. Who really knows.
We are talking about Hawaii. The state has the lowest jobless rate in the United States. Everything from banks to fast-food restaurants offering nice paychecks, as well as offering gym memberships, tuition reimbursement. A lot of extra perks trying to get people to come over.
Let's take a look at the rate. Hawaii's unemployment rate stands at 2.4 percent. The next lowest, Florida and Virginia, at 3 percent. But the Hawaiian rate -- the national average, 4.8 percent, and Hawaii's rate half of that.
Mississippi, by the way, has the highest unemployment rate in the country, 8.4 percent.
Of course a lot of other costs in Hawaii are expensive as well. Unless you're going from island to island, it can be very expensive to travel elsewhere. Rent, property values also very high.
So it kind of all averages out.
O'BRIEN: Good news, bad news.
LEE: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: Interesting.
LEE: Speaking of inter-island travel in Hawaii, there's a new airline called Go! airline. This is from Mesa. And they're really giving Hawaiian and Aloha Airlines a run for their money, so to speak with one-way fares selling last night as low as $39.
Hawaiian and Aloha have dominated this market for decades, but no more.
ROBERTS: Interesting. Thanks, Carrie. LEE: OK.
ROBERTS: As we approach the top of the hour, let's get a check on the forecast. And here's Reynolds Wolf at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
Good morning, Reynolds.
WOLF: Hey. Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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