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CNN LIVE SUNDAY

Pope Apologizes for Offending Muslims; Four Car Bombs Go Off in Kirkuk; Pittsburgh Police Searching for Duquesne University Gunman; FDCA Expands Spinach Warning to Consumers

Aired September 17, 2006 - 16:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifteen feet deep, nearly twice as long. Authorities say this is the tunnel Elizabeth Shoaf was forced into.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: How could anyone survive that? A 14-year-old text messages her mother to get to safety.

Also, the pope apologizes for upsetting Muslims. Was it enough?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All three of us fell out, crashing through the window, the screen, and we landed on the back patio.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: They messed with the wrong guy. An 80-year-old tangles with two teenage intruders and wins. Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All that and more after this check of the headlines.

Pope Benedict XVI has publicly apologized for offending Muslims after a speech he gave last week. He says a controversial passage he quoted doesn't reflect his personal views. More in a live report from Delia Gallagher straight ahead.

The Iraqi city of Kirkuk terrorized today by four car bombings in three hours. At least 23 people were killed, and 66 wounded. The victims included both police and civilians and a grisly find to the south. In Baqubah, 24 bodies dumped around the city, many showing signs of torture.

Pittsburgh police are searching for the gunman who shot five Duquesne University basketball players overnight. Two of them remain hospitalized in critical condition. The other three were treated and released.

The FDA is expanding its warning to consumers in the face of an E. coli outbreak. It now says people should avoid all fresh spinach, not just prepackaged greens. One woman has died, and 102 people have been sickened in the outbreak, with many of those cases linked to bagged spinach.

They're calling it a day for Darfur. You're looking at live pictures right now out of New York with actress Mira Sorvino among the speakers. Peace activists around the world are also staging rallies today to highlight the crisis in western Sudan. Ethnic violence there has claimed many thousands of lives and driven two million people from their homes. Shanon Cook will have more on this story in world news straight ahead.

To our top story right now, a 14-year-old girl allegedly kidnapped by a man posing as a police officer, then held against her will in a booby-trapped bunker. The shocking crime was uncovered after the girl got hold of the alleged captor's cell phone. It turns out Elizabeth Shoaf was being held less than a mile away from her South Carolina home. Dan Tordjman from affiliate WIS has more on this bizarre story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN TORDJMAN, WIS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fifteen feet deep, nearly twice as long. Authorities say this is the tunnel Elizabeth Shoaf was forced into by kidnapper Vinson Filyaw.

STEVE MCCASKILL, SHERIFF: We found of, course, food and clothing, you know, propane cylinders.

TORDJMAN: Complete with cooking appliances and a makeshift pantry. WIS getting an inside look at what deputies say it one of four bunkers built by Filyaw.

Officials also finding hand grenades and flare guns. Each underground home camouflaged by leaves and branches. But when authorities found Shoaf, she was above ground, standing frozen at the top of the bunker.

GERALDINE WILLIAMS, AUNT: She's doing and I really have no details as to where they found her or anything like that, but she is fine. She's alive and God did bring her home, and she was not a runaway.

TORDJMAN: A point stressed by family for nearly 10 days, wanting to know why authorities wouldn't put out an Amber Alert.

(on camera): Why wasn't the Amber Alert issued?

MCCASKILL: Well, it did not meet the criteria. Number one, they did not leave the house. They had been within a half mile of her house the whole time. You know, there's, you know, we had absolutely nothing to lead us to believe that she had left this area.

TORDJMAN: How about the fact there was a known sex offender in the area?

MCCASKILL: Well, we've had several in here and we've cleared them out, you know.

TORDJMAN: OK. I mean, do you feel OK about the way the case unfolded? I mean, do you...

MCCASKILL: Sure, I do. We all hate it that we couldn't have done it quicker, but we worked as fastly and quickly as we possibly could.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Suspected kidnapper Vinson Filyaw was arrested early this morning after he allegedly tried to carjack someone. He already faces unrelated child sex charges involving a 12-year-old girl.

Well, this missing child case in east central Missouri still unsolved. A baby allegedly stolen right from home. The mother now recovering from injuries. In this case, an Amber Alert has been issued for Abby Woods. Police and National Guardsmen are searching for the 8-day-old infant, after officials say the alleged kidnapper stabbed the baby's mother, then took off with the infant on Friday. The child's grandmother made this plea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAYLENE OCHSENBINE, GRANDMOTHER: We want her to step up to the plate. We want our baby back. I mean, we don't want to go after this woman or nothing. We just want her to give her back or, if somebody knows, to help us get her back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: If you have seen Abby Woods, this baby, you're asked to call your local police or Franklin County officials there in Missouri.

A gunman who shot five Duquesne University basketball players overnight is still at large. The shooting happened around 2:15 this morning after an on-campus dance.

Pittsburgh police say the players had gotten in an argument with the suspect, who later pulled out a gun and started shooting. Two of the players are hospitalized, reportedly in critical condition. The three others were treated and released.

Well, now to the latest on the controversy involving the Vatican and Pope Benedict XVI's first public comments on it. The pope outraged many Muslims last week when he cited a medieval text in a speech. The passage reads, quote, "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Today the pope tried to defuse the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE BENEDICT XVI (through translator): And I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensberg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims.

These, in fact, were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Our faith and values correspondent Delia Gallagher is here with some insight on these latest developments. So we've heard a few things from the pope trying to explain, as well as apologize.

But, first, his explanation on his real intent on why he even used that quote.

DELIA GALLAGHER, FAITH AND VALUES CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think to understand the real reason why he brought in that text is to look at the whole of his speech, which is really an argument about the modern world and how faith is perceived in that as something which is subjective and kind of willy-nilly and, you know, whoever believes in God just arrives at it by whatever means they do, but certainly it's not rational.

And his main argument, has been for a long time, is to bring back this idea of faith being a rational thing in the modern world. And as an example of why he thinks reason is so important in faith and in religion, he says because if you don't have it, then it is possible that you might even believe that violence would be pleasing to God, i.e., Jihad would be pleasing to God.

And so this is one of the ways in which he brings in this text, sort of saying, you know, we have to examine what sort of a God we believe in and how we arrive at our understanding of God.

And, of course, he believes that Christianity with this Greek philosophical influence is one of the religions which uses philosophy and reason to arrive at faith.

So it's an argument, at the same time, against kind of modern secular society which says, you know, faith really isn't all that rational.

WHITFIELD: So he apologized not for using the text, but apologized because of the outrage that it has incited. Might we hear more of an apology, as many in the Muslim community are asking from him?

GALLAGHER: No, I think this is done. I think this is done as far as the Vatican is concerned, because they have gone now several times to the same argument. The pope has come out today and said he is sorry for the reactions and for offending Muslims.

And I think that, you know, that's as much as you're going to get from a pope, and, certainly, I think he feels he's been misunderstood and that this has to be, if anything, just a lesson of how he can better sort of get his thoughts out there without creating this kind of a thing, because, listen, this is a tough text.

This is not something which is easy to take if you're really reading it as a Muslim. It is a challenge still to Muslims to engage in dialogue. And the last line of the text is, you know, let us engage in this in a truthful way and really understand what is it about each of our religions that is good. WHITFIELD: I have a feeling this is not over, even though he doesn't choose to apologize further. I have a feeling that this is going to be something that we'll be talking about and others will be talking about for a while now.

GALLAGHER: And that might be his intention, too.

WHITFIELD: All right, Delia Gallagher, thanks so much.

Well, might the killing of an Italian nun and her bodyguard in Somalia be related to the pope's controversial speech last week? The woman was shot several times in the back as she entered the Somalian children's hospital where she worked. Police arrested one suspect and they're looking for another.

Straight ahead on CNN "LIVE SUNDAY," a string of car bombings rocks the Iraqi city of Kirkuk. We'll have the very latest on the fight for Iraq.

Hundreds of thousands killed in Darfur, rallies around the world today to help stop the murders.

Plus, three intruders got more than they bargained for when they broke into this 80-year-old's home.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here are some of the most popular stories on CNN.com. A scarlet elephant in Los Angeles has animal lovers seeing red. The elephant was given a nontoxic paint job as part of an art exhibit by the British artist known as Banksy. The city agency that issued the permit to spray paint the elephant says it won't be doing that again.

Well, what would war with Iran look like? A "Time Magazine" cover story examines the ramifications of war with Iran and it asks the question, is the cost of confronting Tehran greater than the dangers of living with a nuclear Iran?

A pretend slap got the wife of British prime minister Tony Blair in trouble with police. Child protection officials reported Cherie Blair to police after she pretended to slap a 17-year-old boy who was clowning around in a photo op. Police dismissed the case after getting all the facts.

And now to the fight for Iraq. Car bombs in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk killed nearly two dozen people. The violence caps a bloody week in Iraq, as we hear now from CNN's Cal Perry in Baghdad.

CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The week here in Iraq ended just as it began, with the two major concerns for authorities, insurgent and sectarian attacks taking their bloody toll.

Sunday brought a series of car bomb attacks to the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk. Four bombs in less than three hours kill at least 23 and wound some 66 others.

The week began Monday with a suicide attack on the al-Muthana airfield, 13 dead here, all Iraqi army recruits. Tuesday brought the grim discovery of over 60 bodies. The stunning total for the week, more than a 180 bodies found, all showing the signs of sectarian violence, according to police.

Wednesday, back to the al-Muthana airbase for another insurgent attack. Plus, a car bomb and a roadside bomb kill more than 20 and wound more than 80. Thursday, it was the American military that was hit hard. An insurgent blows up a truck outside a fixed position of the 4th Infantry Division in Baghdad. Two dead, one missing, 25 wounded.

Friday, two more U.S. troops die, one in the al-Anbar province, another south of Baghdad from a roadside bomb. And on Saturday, two separate explosions kill three, leaving more than 25 wounded in the capitol.

(on-camera): The situation so dire, in fact, that earlier this week, the interior ministry floated an idea to dig trenches around Baghdad, part of the overall security plan for the capitol.

The idea, limit entry points into the city from the countryside, a move many see here as dramatic, but perhaps necessary due to the current level of violence.

Cal Perry, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Major protests around the globe over Darfur. Humanitarian conditions are getting worse in the remote Sudanese region and there is talk of a genocide.

Shanon Cook is tracking today's rallies. And, Shanon, does it look like a significant turnout?

SHANON COOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It absolutely does. It's pretty much been an international day of action, Fredricka, across Europe, Africa, Asia, here in the U.S., as well.

Activists are really stepping up in a massive attempt to draw attention to the Darfur region of Sudan.

Three years there, their three years of ethnic conflict have killed more than 200,000 people there and driven more than two million others from their homes.

At this demonstration in London, we see here, protesters took their message to the Sudanese embassy, calling for immediate action to stop the conflict in Darfur. You see the participants are wearing blue berets, similar to the ones worn by U.N. peacekeepers.

The pressure is really mounting on Sudan to admit U.N. peacekeepers. As yet, they have not. That rally was followed by an interfaith prayer outside Prime Minister Tony Blair's residence in London.

Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders said prayers for the millions of people affected by the conflict.

And in Toronto, Canada, another rally taking place there. Among the participants there, a senator and retired general who led an ill- fated U.N. mission during Rwanda's genocide. The U.N. says people are still being terrorized and killed in Darfur, despite a peace deal.

Now, take a look at this. In Cambodia, students held a candlelight vigil to remember the victims. The event Phnom Penh is particularly emotional as the country is still haunted by the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge. So a lot of sympathy there from those folks.

And we're now looking at live pictures from a rally in New York taking place. That's been going on since about 2:00 p.m. Eastern time at Central Park, New York City. Some 50,000 people expected to show up here, Fredricka. It looks like it's been quite a big turnout.

As you can see, there are some musical acts. We heard earlier from actress Mira Sorvino, also, Olympic gold medalist speed skater Joey Cheek, who is there, speaking to the crowd, rallying them.

And the whole event was kicked off, Fredricka, by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright. Just some of the high-profile people lending their voice to the cause.

WHITFIELD: All right, pretty significant turnout and folks of all walks up there to spread the message. Shannon Cook, thanks so much.

COOK: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And Shanon just mentioned, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright is among the speakers and has been at the event, at today's Darfur concert and rally in New York.

Well, coming up at 6:00, CNN's Carol Lin will talk to Albright about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

Also, straight ahead, here on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, a Maine couple is arrested for kidnapping their own teenage daughter. How does that happen? We'll tell you just in a minute.

A deadly storm rips through a Minnesota town. There is major devastation. We have the latest.

And webcams, they can keep an eye on things when you're not home. Technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg take a peek in this edition of "Technofile."

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Having a webcam can be a great way to stay in touch with friends and family, but what about when you're not at home? Well, there are now ways you can use it remotely.

Joining us now to talk about that is Brian Cooley, editor-at- large for "CNET."

So, Brian, first of all, what could you use this camera for when you're not at home?

BRIAN COOLEY, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "CNET": These are used primarily by folks who want to watch the kids when they get home from school, watch the pets, watch a vacation home, watch a business. There are a lot of ways to use these.

The beauty of them is you can watch them on any Web browser. It's not a typical television monitor connection.

SIEBERG: All right, now, there's a couple of different tiers of cameras, right?

COOLEY: Yes.

SIEBERG: Some more expensive than others.

COOLEY: This Linksys is a really good example of a nice, inexpensive camera, for about a 100 bucks. It'll give you a 320-by- 240 resolution. That's a decent Web image. It doesn't pan or tilt or zoom. It just looks at one picture all the time, unless you physically move it. And it's also wireless.

This Panasonic camera is an example of a higher tier, for a few hundred dollars. This guy is also wireless, but gives you pan and tilt and some models can also zoom in.

So, for example, on this live image we're watching here, if I go touch a part of the picture with my mouse, this Panasonic camera we're using right now will actually tilt and swing the picture, as you just saw, over to that part of the room that I clicked on.

It also is available with zoom. So I can hit a button that will take it to a zoomed-in location that I've predefined in this case.

SIEBERG: Very entertaining for the cats, too.

COOLEY: That's a big, big difference in the usability, because this allows you to cover a lot of the house with a single camera, whereas a less expensive camera, it doesn't cover as much.

SIEBERG: Now, what about recording these videos, say, for security purposes?

COOLEY: Good question, you can do that, because a lot of folks aren't going to sit around and watch all day to catch someone who's vandalizing a property or what have you.

So you can get software inexpensively for these, sometimes it comes with them, that lets you record on motion detection. So when the camera sees something moves, it starts to record it and saves it to the hard drive of your computer in your house. If nothing's moving, it doesn't record anything.

SIEBERG: And the resolution of these, pretty good?

COOLEY: Anywhere from 320-by-240, which is, you know, that's like a small Web stream image, up to a more sizeable 640-by-480, and some cameras even go above a mega pixel now.

SIEBERG: Wow, pretty cool stuff. Thank for helping us out. Brian Cooley, editor-at-large at "CNET." We appreciate it.

COOLEY: You bet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A killer storm in eastern Minnesota has left entire neighborhoods in shambles. A 10-year-old girl was killed, seven others injured. Hundreds of homes are damaged. A few funnel clouds were even spotted in South Dakota, but caused no damage. The severe weather threat has now shifted southward.

Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras has more on all of that. Jacqui?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Fredricka, yes. This is a very large, very potent storm system. The good news is we think the worst of the weather is over with. We still may see severe weather today, but we don't expect the outbreak of tornadoes and damaging winds that we did have last night across the upper Midwest.

Here you see the storm system as a whole. This basically signifies where the cold front is. And there's that cold air wrapping around the backside of this system.

And we've had that big clash of the air masses, very warm, unstable air ahead of this system and back behind it comes in that very cool, dry Canadian air. And you put those two together and it spells a big mess.

Some of the heaviest rain, which has been coming down across parts of Texas today, believe it or not, the remnants of what was Hurricane Lane is getting caught up in the jet stream and bringing in tropical moisture across parts of Texas.

So we are concerned about some flooding here. There you can see the showers and thunderstorms across Oklahoma, extending on up to the north, even pushing into eastern Iowa and Chicago should be getting some wet weather and a few of those storms may be on the strong side.

We'll have more weather coming up in the next hour.

WHITFIELD: Across America, in California, a huge wildfire is raging, 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The flames are being fanned by offshore winds. A voluntary evacuation is in effect for parts of the nearby town of Fillmore. The fire has scorched more than 125,000 square miles and is about 15 percent contained.

A Maine couple has been arrested, charged with kidnapping their own daughter, who happened to be pregnant and 19 years old. Police say the couple was taking their daughter to New York state for an emergency abortion. The teenager untied herself and escaped in the parking lot of a New Hampshire K-Mart.

Las Cruces, New Mexico still under siege. An extortionist is threatening to shoot people randomly in the city unless a substantial ransom is paid. The FBI has joined the investigation. Police say they are taking the threat very seriously.

Next on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, more on the arguments over how to treat detainees. Midterm elections are just around the corner. We'll have the latest on the fight for Congress.

And once a cop, always a cop. Three intruders get a nasty surprise when they break into this former detective's home.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: "Now in the News," a missing South Carolina teenager has been found in this booby trapped underground bunker after text messaging her mother from a cell phone. Police say the 14-year-old girl was kidnapped 11 days ago by a man who posed as a police officer. They say she used the suspect's cell phone to send that message to her mom. Officers then tracked her down, the suspect is under arrest.

Terror in the streets of Kirkuk, Iraq at least four car bombs went off in that city today in the space of three hours. Police say at least 23 people were killed, 66 wounded.

More anger in the Muslim world over the pope's remarks on Islam. These protests in Indonesia. Last Tuesday, the pontiff referred to a medicine evil text that calls some of the prophet Mohammed's teachings evil. Today the pope said he is deeply sorry that Muslims were offended but some Muslims say the pope needs to be more contrite.

Raising awareness of the violence in Darfur, Sudan. That's the goal of rallies today. You're looking at a live right now of a rally- taking place in New York. Rallies are taking place across the world in 32 countries.

In addition to hearing from speakers, there are a number of musicians playing there in New York, as well activists are calling on the Sudanese government to allow U.N. peacekeepers into the war-torn region of Darfur, something Sudan's president continues to reject.

Pennsylvania police are on the lookout for a man who shot and injured five basketball players at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Police say the students were returning from a campus party last night when a gunman opened fire. Two of the players are in critical condition.

Terror suspects and CIA interrogators, what exactly should happen when the two come together? That's the subject of a heated debate this week in Washington. President Bush and a group of powerful Republicans are at odds over just how tough interrogations should be. But a compromise could now be in the works. More now from Kathleen Koch.

Really?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When it comes to the secret CIA prison program for terrorists, President Bush has been adamant.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If Congress passes a law that does not clarify the rules, if they do not do that, the program's not going forward.

KOCH: But top Senators in his own party remain just as insistent that reinterpreting Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions to define what CIA interrogators can and can't do could free all nations to do the same and endanger U.S. operatives.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: Suppose the Iranians captured an American and they decided that they would modify the common Article 3 to suit their purposes.

KOCH: The White House is now voicing flexibility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to find a way so that we can do this without changing or modifying what's called common Article 3. That is what Senator McCain thinks is so important.

KOCH: And Republican Senators who challenged the president now say they want to give him clear rules for U.S. interrogators.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will give him all the tools that I know how to give him that are constitutional, that will make a say, but I don't want these tools to become clubs to be beaten against us.

KOCH: Rather than tweaking an international treaty balking Senators propose to change U.S. law. McCain suggests amending the War Crimes Act of '96. Which defines war crimes and the penalties for committing them. Still some aren't convinced that will give CIA interrogators enough protection in a court of law.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do think it's going to take more than amending the War Crimes Act because when the Department of Justice passes judgment on whether an interrogation technique is lawful or unlawful; they're going to look at the whole range of laws.

KOCH: Even if both sides are willing to compromise, the house has already passed its own bill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: Differences have to be worked out not only between the administration and the Senate, but also the House. And that's a near impossible task to complete in just the two weeks remaining before Congress leaves to go campaigning for the midterm elections.

Back to you, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Kathleen Koch at the White House.

Well we're just seven weeks away from the crucial elections that Kathleen was talking about. And from here on in, we'll focus like a laser on the fight for control of Congress. Every Sunday at this time, television's finest political team will break down the field of competition as we count down to November. We'll also look forward to 2008. Why not? In the early primary states, it's already getting crowded.

Today rising Democrat Barack Obama is in Iowa. You're looking at live pictures now as he is speaking to supporters there. And Republican hopeful Bill Frist is scheduled there next week. New Hampshire plays host to John McCain today, and then fellow Republican Mitt Romney. Democrats Joseph Biden and Tom Vilsack will visit New Hampshire next week.

Well, no one breaks down politics with the flair of Bill Schneider, our senior political analyst. He's standing by for us in Washington. And Bill, before we talk about the '08 races, let's talk about the GOP infighting right now. It's fierce. Is the treatment of detainees the only reason why such high-profile Republicans are fighting?

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, that's the main reason. They're also fighting over renewal of the wiretap authority or giving the president the wiretap authority he needs. Some civil libertarian Republicans, conservative, as well as moderate Republicans object to that. But the big fight right now, the showdown is between John Warner and John McCain, both prestigious, high-ranking Republicans who object to the procedures that the president is asking for.

There's a very serious spate. It wasn't supposed to be this way. The president expected Republicans to rally to his position and would enable him to draw the line with Democrats, but the Democrats are sort of standing by and letting the Republicans have this fight among themselves right now.

WHITFIELD: And now let's talk about the midterm elections. How Bush is standing, whether it's on Iraq or whether it's on the interrogation practices, how is this influencing the races? Are Republicans trying to make some distance between them and the president?

SCHNEIDER: Well, this morning "The New York Times" reported that they had reviewed a lot of campaign ads going on from coast to coast. They've started very early this year. And they couldn't find any ads run by Republican campaigns in which President Bush is featured. There are a lot of Democratic ads trying to associate Republican candidates with President Bush. What they did find and this is very interesting, is that Republicans are running a lot of ads featuring John McCain. He seems to be the favorite leadership figure among Republican candidates this year, not the Republican president. WHITFIELD: Wow! And interesting, when we talk about some of the hot races that are being watched here in the midterm elections, talk about Rhode Island, we talk about Lincoln Chaffee and Sheldon Whitehouse, love those names. Couldn't have designed a better script.

SCHNEIDER: Senator Whitehouse, is he destined for something? He claims it looks good for him because he was virtually unopposed in the Democratic primary last week in Rhode Island, but he got more votes in that primary than Lincoln Chaffee and his very serious challenger together got in the Republican primary. That was a fascinating primary because the national Republican party sent operatives to Rhode Island to try to save the seat, the nomination for Lincoln Chaffee, figuring that was the only way they could possibly have a hope of holding that seat Republican this fall.

How did they do it? They had to pull out a lot of anti-Bush voters, anti-Iraq war voters in that primary to support Lincoln Chaffee who disagrees with Bush on the war. So you have-h pro-Bush voters pulling out anti-Bush voters to save the seat for Chaffee who may not be able to hold it against the Democrat.

WHITFIELD: Wow! Still weeks away from learning any results from all of this campaigning. Yet the emphasis right now is on '08. Already so many potential candidates are positioning themselves. Is it particularly early, or is this about the way it usually is?

SCHNEIDER: It's a little earlier than usual. Usually the thing to do is to wait until after the midterms. And then, you know, that election is done. Then you say you're going to run you're not going to run. You start openly raising money. But nobody has declared yet. They're still being coy about that. But they're out there in Iowa and New Hampshire. You mentioned all the candidates, McCain is in New Hampshire today, grand marshal of the NASCAR race there is Barack Obama he is in Iowa. He's a real celebrity, a star among Democrats. He's at the Tom Harkin Steak Fry today in Iowa, very important political event, that steak fry.

WHITFIELD: Got to have a ticket to that.

SCHNEIDER: Iowa is the first contest.

WHITFIELD: So I guess the idea is they really are putting out there's feelers, though, aren't they?

SCHNEIDER: Oh yes, it's the most wide-open race in over 50 years. No incumbent president running for re-election. No vice president, unless we're very surprised. Dick Cheney says he's not running. So it's wide open, and everybody has a chance.

WHITFIELD: Interesting political season. At least for another couple years, at least.

SCHNEIDER: That's right.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot, Bill.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: And this programming note, Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m., Wolf Blitzer interviews President Bush on "The Situation Room." It's all brought to you by the best political team in television.

Still to come on CNN LIVE SUNDAY are tight budgets affecting your security at some of the nations most popular park sites?

Plus, three intruders get more than they bargained for when they broke into this 80-year-old man's home. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider with a look at your allergy report for Sunday. For those of you sensitive to pollen or air pollution, the center of the country will be quite uncomfortable. The heat will be soaring here as well. We'll be looking at very dry conditions with little rain with the exception of areas where we'll see thunderstorms later this afternoon. You'll also find a low risk in Florida, parts of Texas due to the moisture coming through and especially into the northern Rockies. That is a look at your allergy report for Sunday; I'm meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In our "CNN Security Watch" today, guarding some of America's national treasures. Five years after 9/11, park police numbers are still pretty thin. In fact, their levels are at their lowest point in a decade. And that has some lawmakers furious. Gary Nurenberg takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Statue of Liberty in New York, Golden Gate Park and the Presidio in San Francisco, the National Monuments in Washington, D.C.

LT. SCOTT FEAR, U.S. PARK POLICE: We are the most important uniformed federal law enforcement agency in the country.

NURENBERG: The United States park police has about 600 officers, 25 percent less than the national park service recommended to Congress in 1999.

TERESA CHAMBERS, FMR. U.S. PARK POLICE CHIEF: It seems to me that we're operating on hope. We've got our fingers crossed. And we hope that something bad doesn't happen.

NURENBERG: Teresa Chambers was fired from her job as park police chief after she warned of the dangers of understaffing in 2003.

CHAMBERS: I would rather have been candid with the media and with the American public and Congress than to wait until I was standing among the rubble of a fallen American icon. NURENBERG: Other police agencies got bigger after 9/11. The U.S. capitol police force, for example, grew by hundreds of officers. So did the FBI. But the park police force is now smaller than it was.

DEL. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, (D) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: There are 30 cops fewer than they were on 9/11. That's a disgrace.

NURENBERG: Eleanor Holmes Norton represents in Congress the city of Washington.

NORTON: The park police are clearly spread too thin on the mall.

NURENBERG: She was particularly upset earlier this summer when tourists on the traditionally safe national mall suffered a series of criminal attacks including robbery, assault and rape. Park police played a key role in finding and arresting suspects.

KENNETH WEINSTEIN, U.S. ATTORNEY: I want to just give them the credit where the credit's due.

NURENBERG: Proof the park police says it can respond quickly.

FEAR: We increased our patrols, and we stopped the crimes from taking place.

NURENBERG: Additional funding in the 2007 budget should allow the park police to train new officers, training that was canceled because of funding shortages this year.

FEAR: We're expecting to hire three to four classes of officers. So at the end of that year, our numbers will probably be up.

NURENBERG: In the meantime --

FEAR: I think our agency has the resources to maintain the security we need.

NURENBERG: Visitors to the country's national monuments hope he's right.

Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. Stay tuned to CNN for the latest information day and night.

Well, this story out of Miami proves once a cop, always a cop. Two teenage intruders tried to break into Carl Muscarello's home Tuesday, but they likely didn't know he was a former NYPD detective. Carl took on the men who were armed with a golf club and a screwdriver. He didn't care. He says he survived the fight thanks to his peak physical condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CARL MUSCARELLO, FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE: Just tried to take care of myself, try to keep my weight down. I still want to be attractive to younger women, you know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And be able to fight off the bad guys. Carl's son, a national guardsman was visiting, and he helped tackle the suspects as well.

Straight ahead, smooth sounds from the Monterey Jazz Festival. You knew that sound and that man, Chris Botti? We'll have him live coming up.

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WHITFIELD: Ah, what a day in Monterey. Clear skies, comfortable temperatures. And the 49th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival. Don't you wish you were there? Among the lucky ones, perched high above with a ticket and a front-row seat, all of that, Brooke Anderson. You're so lucky.

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am very lucky, Fredericka. And you know, jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, I'm lucky enough to talk to him today as well. He's toured and collaborated with Paul Simon and Sting, but he's an accomplished solo artist in his own right, he is making his Monterey Jazz Festival debut in less than an hour and he is taking a little of time to chat with us. Hey Chris good to see you.

CHRIS BOTTI, TRUMPETER: How are you?

ANDERSON: I'm doing well. We were talking; it's Monterey Jazz TRL.

BOTTI: Sure. We're in midtown Manhattan-hi, everyone!

ANDERSON: You're like a rock star. You've embraced your fans. You immediately started signing autographs and taking pictures. Fans are important to you, aren't they?

BOTTI: It's really beautiful that they like my music, you know? And I'm so appreciative of that. That's why we usually go out after every show and meet everyone and say thank you for coming. It's really part of it. A lot of artists are doing that nowadays.

ANDERSON: But you don't always see that, so that's very nice of you.

BOTTI: It's something that I've always done my whole career, you know? And you make fans that way and you make friends along the way. That's really important. It sustains you through the, you know, long bus rides and everything. You say, well, at least I met some nice people.

ANDERSON: Let's talk about something else that's really important to you, and that is encouraging younger generations to really appreciate jazz and get excited about it. Worldwide you're doing that, aren't you?

BOTTI: Well, I've been going around a lot of help through the public broadcasting system here in the United States and worldwide trying to get parents to recognize the fact that kids these days have sort of what I call social A.D.D. in other words, they're going to all these different events. They have the game boy, they have the Internet. They have a lot of things that don't really expose them to classical music or jazz or dance.

You know, VH1 and MTV don't really cater to that sort of thing. And if you want to play the cello like yo yo man, you have to make that decision when you're 9 10 or 11, 12. You can't wait till you're 19 or 20.

ANDERSON: You have to devote time to it.

BOTTI: You have to devote time. When you play as a kid, you pick up the trumpet as a kid, you sound like that, right? What you want to do is get a kid you know, enamored with going into a room and being very proud or just going, simple stuff. It's the most simple stuff has arguably the meat and potatoes of music and the thing kids overlook because they want the instant gratification of bells and whistles.

ANDERSON: We're watching the Monterey Jazz Festival next generation. High school kids from all over the country competed for a slot to perform. That's one of the missions of the festival. It's incredibly encouraging.

BOTTI: It's wonderful to see young players all playing, you know, these ancient instruments, trumpets and trombones.

ANDERSON: Keeping the music alive. You've had mainstream success, which is rare for a jazz artist these days. Oprah had you on her show. You were one of "People" magazine's 50 most beautiful people a couple years ago, and I can see why. What has surprised you most that has happened to you since you released that first album more than a decade ago, back in '95?

BOTTI: I guess for lack of a better word, I'm just kind of always grateful that I'm in this situation every day. And it sounds cliche, and I know we've talked about this before, that, you know, the fact that these people are taking time out of their weekend and coming from long-distances to come to my shows, it just makes me feel unbelievably fortunate.

ANDERSON: You're so humble.

BOTTI: If I was a 21-year-old pop star, it would be a different thing, but I've been through ten years of, you know, bad hotels, driving around in a rain.

ANDERSON: So incredibly obvious. Chris Botti thanks for taking time with us. His latest album is "To Love Again," and it is fantastic.

WHITFIELD: That's so great, Brooke. Of course, we love that he's so gracious, you know, and so giving there, too. We appreciate it.

Well, as they are perched high above with the best seat in town, how about a bird's-eye view of skid row? In the next hour of CNN LIVE SUNDAY, we'll show you why new technology just might help clean up this part of downtown L.A.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE, EDITOR AT LARGE: Jim Buckmaster is the CEO of Craig's List. He's kind of a very interesting story right from the get-go. He posted his resume on Craigs List, the online classified ad website. And the founder saw the resume and hired him. He's constantly working on the company's Website, fixing customer complaints, answering questions.

JIM BUCKMASTER, CEO, CRAIG'S LIST: I'm a programmer by trade. And despite the fact that my primary role is as CEO, I tried to do programming tasks every day because I find it makes my job more fun, and it also keeps me kind of focused, unemotional and in a creative mindset.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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