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Found In Bunker Alive; Stolen Baby; Capitol Intruder; Spinach Confusion; President Bush At U.N.

Aired September 18, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the NEWSROOM, everybody. The news unfolds live on Monday, the 18th day of September. I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

Capitol breach. A man with a gun dashes past security guards and gets inside. How can this happen post 9/11? Live to Washington.

COLLINS: Kidnapped. Held in a bunker. A young girl is saved by the cell. We'll go live to South Carolina.

HARRIS: And, man, that's some vacation. This woman becomes the first female tourist in space. You are in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Horrifying and all too real. It is every parents's nightmare. A 14-year-old girl snatched after stepping off a school bus. She spends the next 10 days as a hostage held in an underground bunker. South Carolina police say her quick thinking led to her own rescue and the arrest of her alleged kidnapper. Joining us with details now, CNN investigative reporter Drew Griffin. He is in Camden, South Carolina.

Drew.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, that man under arrest, Vinson Filyaw, is facing five felony counts, including kidnapping and rape. We just heard from the solicitors office this morning, he most likely will not be in court today as authorities still try to sort this whole crime out.

But much congratulations given to this girl, 14-year-old Elizabeth Shoaf, for basically, Heidi, rescuing herself. After 10 days in this underground bunker, eight feet deep, 20 feet long, she was able to grab the cell phone of her captor as he slept and slip a text message out to her mother, basically telling her mother generally where she was and this is the message that came in Friday night to her mother, Madeline Shoaf, and how rejoiced they were just to learn that Elizabeth was alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MADELINE SHOAF, ELIZABETH SHOAF'S MOTHER: I seen that it said one message received. I didn't know who it was. What I did was look at the text and I ran straight to him and told him -- it's Elizabeth. Nobody else has my cell phone number except for my friends and their names would have popped up. We called police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: And police used the signal from that cell phone to basically fine out generally where she was. They searched the woods and found that girl yelling for help from inside the bunker, Heidi. Inside because she was told it was booby-trapped.

The suspect had taken off. He was arrested on the side of a road here in South Carolina early yesterday morning. He, and his common law wife, both being held in this bizarre crime. But again, this strong-willed girl, who didn't lose her cool after 10 days, is being congratulated for getting herself out of captivity.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Boy, it is quite a story, that's for sure.

Let me ask you, we know that this suspect has not been very cooperative with police. I wonder, was he a suspect -- he lived very, very close to this little girl -- before that text message was sent?

GRIFFIN: The family didn't know him. They swear they didn't even -- I asked them, did you even know about a cookie guy who lived in the woods? No. They had no idea he was there. Police did want this person. He was accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl earlier this spring, but they thought he had fled the area, fled to North Carolina.

They had a list of four registered sex offenders that they were circulating and they checked out all four of them. But this man's name never really came up on the radar screen until his name actually appeared on that text message phone call. So, no, he was not really considered a suspect even though he was wanted in the suspected rape of a 12-year-old.

COLLINS: It's unbelievable.

All right, Drew Griffin, thank you for that.

Also we want to remind everybody, we do have a live news conference coming up with the sheriff in this area. His name is Steve McCaskill. He's going to be telling us more. Exactly about how the whole situation went down and why there was not an Amber Alert that was put out.

In fact, police do say the most crucial part of any investigation is in those earliest hours. But in the case of this kidnapping, authorities never issued an Amber Alert for the missing girl. That is because each case is considered individually and it's not an easy decision.

Listen to this. Law enforcement agencies from local to state have to determine the child was, indeed, abducted. Only then can the case get an Amber Alert. And once it is issued, Amber Alerts are often broadcast on radio and television. You'll also see them on electronic highway signs found mostly in major metropolitan areas.

But any measure, though, the national program has been extremely effective. Amber Alerts are credited with the return of 200 missing children. At the bottom of the hour, we are going to hear more about the decision to forego an Amber Alert in the case of Elizabeth Lizzie Shoaf. We'll hear from the girl's family and the sheriff who oversaw the search.

HARRIS: To Missouri now and police are hoping an Amber Alert will help them out. A newborn ripped from her mother's arm. The mother's throat slashed. The search is now in its fourth day. CNN's Jonathan Freed joins us now from Union, Missouri.

Jonathan, good morning.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.

And compared to yesterday, today investigators are saying they're hoping it's going to be a better day for them as far as the search goes. Rain kind of hampered that yesterday. So far we're not seeing any of that today. Had a chance to talk to the sheriff earlier. And aside from checking the grounds in and around the family's home, they really need people to call in, they're saying, with any leads or tips that they may have.

Sheriff told me, Tony, that since Friday, they had about 160 tips called in. They say that their investigators have pretty well eliminated about 60 percent of those. But they're getting a range of information, a range of leads. And a number of people saying, Tony, for example, that, well, maybe they saw the baby at a local convenience store. So investigators have been going through a lot of security surveillance video. That kind of thing.

Tony.

HARRIS: OK. And, Jonathan, how's the mother?

FREED: Well, we're talking to the grandparents. And they were successful, they said, in getting her home from the hospital, perhaps a little bit earlier, because they felt that for her emotional well- being she really needed to be out of the hospital and at their home surrounded by family. Surrounded by the baby's father and so on. And they're saying that -- what they said to me was, they put it this way, because I asked them the same question. They said, imagine the worst possible case of how you think she might be doing in a case like this, and they said that doesn't even come close to her frame of mind right now. They're saying that she can only speak a couple of words and that they're really just trying to love her and support her and help her get through this

HARRIS: Jonathan Freed for us in Union, Missouri.

Jonathan, thank you.

COLLINS: Unauthorized visitor. A man crashes the Capitol complex this morning, literally. Despite the post-9/11 security blanket wrapped around the Capitol building, the man still got inside. CNN's Andrea Koppel joining us now from Capitol Hill with details on this.

How did it happen, Andrea?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, it is remarkable story. It's something you find hard to believe in this post-9/11 era. But according to eyewitness, a man in a -- basically in like an SUV, a car, broke through the construction wall that is just beyond where I'm standing right now. In front of the Supreme Court.

What happened is, there was another construction vehicle that got onto the construction site and he burst on, traveling at a high speed. He made it all the way to about probably 100 yards in front of the south side of the Capitol, just behind me. He jumped out of his car and he ran up the steps, right there, in the center of the Capitol, in the exact same location where a number of years back two Capitol Hill police officers were shot and killed by an armed gunman.

The man ran up those center steps and he got into the Capitol. He made it down the steps, in the Capitol Rotunda, near when is known as the Flag Office. That's where American flags packed and then shipped off to constituents around the country.

According to two Capitol Hill police officers I spoke with, the man had a small caliber weapon. I don't know what kind of weapon. We have heard reports, Heidi, that we have not been able to confirm, that the man has been taken to a hospital but we don't know his condition. We don't know if Capitol Hill police officers fired on him or if he used his weapon inside the Capitol.

But we do know that this is an incredible breech of security. Every day, for anyone who wants to get into this building, including someone like myself who has a Capitol Hill badge, we have to go through manometers, we pass through multiple levels of security to get into it. We believe that the reason the man was able to make it into the Capitol itself is that there's construction going on here.

Right up the steps, there's -- I don't know if you can see that orange crane. There's construction going on. So whether or not he broke through a construction wall or whether or not the door was open we do not know. But we know the fact that that is not a normal entrance for visitors, Heidi.

COLLINS: And, Andrea, we see behind you armed guards. Is that always the case, standing right out there where they are behind you now?

KOPPEL: I'm so sorry, Heidi. Could you repeat that, please?

COLLINS: You bet.

Right behind you we see in the shot armed guards standing outside of the Capitol. Is that always the case, or is this just because the latest incident? KOPPEL: Most Capitol Hill police officers -- in fact, all of them have weapons. But that kind of weapon is not one that you usually see. That's, obviously, something that you take out when you have a high level of alert that's on the Capitol grounds.

Just beyond here, just walk right over here, there's this retaining wall. That is where there is this multi, multi million dollar Capitol visitors center that's been under construction for years. It is beyond this wall that the man was able to get onto the construction site and then travel at high speeds, we're told, to then crash his car over just beyond 100 yards from the Capitol steps and make his way up those steps into the building.

COLLINS: All right, Andrea Koppel. It certainly brings up the security questions which, in fact, some may be answered. Want to let everybody know a news conference will be coming up from that location and Capitol police in the next hour. We will have it for you and let you know if anything comes of it.

Meanwhile, this, too, looks pretty impressive. Sixty-thousand acre wildfire burning in southern California this morning, in the Los Padres National Forest. It may not look like it, but crews are actually getting a break today. The Santa Ana winds are not as fierce. High winds on Sunday spread the flames quickly, doubling the size of the fire. But today, cool, most winds have turned the blaze back on itself. About 15 percent contained right now, which really kind of means it can go either way.

HARRIS: It can go either way, absolutely.

Still ahead, fresh advice this morning about that E. Coli outbreak linked to spinach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't have any suspicion that this was a cavalier action, but we are going to make sure that we learn from this episode to make sure it never happens again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Coming up, we will help you sort out what's safe to eat and what you should avoid.

COLLINS: Shots ring out on a quiet campus. Five basketball players are hit. The search for the begun man is on.

COLLINS: And a scare in space. Coming up, alarms sound on board the International Space Station. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Anxious moments aboard the International Space Station this morning. You hear about this? A foul smell prompted the crew to sound the alarm and put on protective gear. It turns out chemical vapors were leaking. A filtering system is now cleaning the air. NASA says the situation was never life-threatening. Things are getting back to normal.

And questions and confusion this morning over spinach. More spinach products are being recalled and more people are getting sick. The culprit, a type of E. Coli that can be deadly. Our senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has the details you need to know.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The FDA (INAUDIBLE) a significant outbreak. The numbers increasing over the weekend. A hundred and nine cases now of E. Coli, infections in people who ate spinach. Nineteen states now affected. A 77-year-old woman has died in Wisconsin. There's also unconfirmed reports that a 23 month old toddler may have also succumbed to an infection by the E. Coli bacteria. FDA officials also acknowledge that because many state departments were closed over the weekend, the numbers may increase substantially today, Monday, as though cases start to roll in.

The FDA also expanding its warning. As you may remember, it was just refreshed bagged spinach, fresh packaged spinach. Now it's all spinach, including spinach in salad mixes as well.

I want to explain something about how this investigation takes place. What the FDA specifically is looking for is the DNA match. A DNA between the E. Coli that got people sick and E. Coli on specific spinach. They have not found that yet, prompting the company, Natural Selections, which is at the heart of its investigation, to release this statement. "Based on our work with the U.S. FDA and the California Department of Health Services, we have confirmed that no organic products of any kind, including Earthbound Farm spinach or other products, have been linked to this outbreak at this time." Now, still, there is a voluntary recall in place to try and take that product off the shelves.

If you've been watching this coverage, you ate spinach and you are confirmed that you, in fact, might have an E. Coli infection, some of the things to look out for include diarrhea, vomiting, anemia, which you can't really look for but you just might be pail and have kidney failure.

Also, many of you might be wondering, why don't they simply take all this product off the shelves? I had a chance to ask a spokesman from the FDA that same question. Here's how he responded.

DR. ROBERT BRACKETT, FDA: The FDA does not have the authority to just mandate that something is withdrawn. What we do is work with the companies and ask them to withdraw or have a recall and that's what's happened in this case as well.

But the second thing is, you have to know what to withdraw from the market. That is, what to have a recall about. At this point, our knowledge of specifically where the product is actually originating or where the contamination is occurring is still unknown to us. GUPTA: And this investigation is likely to take several more days, if not weeks. I should point out that this particular strain of E. Coli does appear to be a very serious one. A very severe one. Out of the 109 cases, about half of those people are hospitalized, and 16 of them have a very serious complication called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. That can cause kidney failure. And in rare cases, it can cause death as well.

This is a story that we're going to be keeping up with. We'll keep you posted as details come in.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: OK. You've got a couple of ways to go here. You can go to Dr. Sanjay Gupta. You can go to the FDA. Or you can go to the CDC for the information that you need to know about this outbreak.

COLLINS: It's all over the website, too.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

COLLINS: In fact, we're going to be, in the next hour, be talking to Dr. Patricia Griffin. She's from the CDC. An expert in E. Coli. We'll be talking just a little bit more about what Sanjay said was a very severe outbreak. So we're going to keep our eye on it for you as always.

Now to the Middle East and conflict there. Iran's nuclear ambitions just part of the agenda for President Bush at the U.N. this week. He will be in New York this morning. And CNN's Kathleen Koch is standing by at the White House with more.

Hi, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi.

President Bush, as you can hear his helicopter coming in right now, he is getting ready to head north in just about 10 minutes up to New York City. He has quite a full agenda there. First of all, he's going to be speaking at the New York Public Library, at the White House conference on global literacy. And then it's on to a series of meetings with world leaders. Among them, leaders from Malaysia, El Salvador, Honduras, Tanzania. But absent from that list is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who will be speaking at the U.N. on Tuesday, just a few hours after President Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, I'm not going to meet with him. I have made it clear to the Iranian regime that we will sit down with the Iranians once they verifiably suspend their enrichment program. I meant what I said.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KOCH: Now the U.S. has pushed for sanctions against Iran for ignoring the August 31st U.N. deadline for suspending its nuclear enrichment program. However, far from stopping it, (INAUDIBLE) Ahmadinejad is expected this week to lobby at the U.N. for Iran's right to proceed with enriching uranium for peaceful power generation. So, obviously, this is expected to be one of the key issues that President Bush will have to grapple with this week at the U.N. Also expected to be high on the agenda, the war in Iraq and the conflicts in the Sudan and the Middle East.

Back to you.

COLLINS: Kathleen, it is fascinating to us, at least in the NEWSROOM, and I bet the American people too, of whether or not President Bush will actually encounter Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Will they cross in the hallways? In the restroom? I mean, you know, it's interesting to think about.

KOCH: I'm certain that that possibility exists, Heidi. However, one can certainly assume that the entourage that will be surrounding both the president and President Ahmadinejad will be likely making their best efforts to keep the two gentlemen separated for the very reasons that the president stated

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely.

All right, Kathleen Koch, thanks so much for that. And we are going to be heading to the U.N. next hour with Richard Roth. He's going to talk to us a little bit more about the logistics of that day. We'll be watching it very closely.

Also, President Bush will be coming Wolf Blitzer's way. He's going to be talking one-on-one with Wolf Blitzer in "The Situation Room." You can catch that Wednesday night, 7:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

HARRIS: Well, it's not your average vacation that we're talking about here. Then again, she's not your average traveler.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's the first person born in Iran to make it into space and she's the first female space tourist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Find out who she is and what she hopes to accomplish for America.

COLLINS: And Gerri Willis is going to be talking to us in just a couple minutes here about buying a new car.

Hey, we're all in the market for that. You always want a new car.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Hi there, Heidi.

Are you looking for a deal on a new car? We'll tell you why the latest may not necessarily be the greatest. "Top Tips" are next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Want to take you to the big board now. Looking at the numbers there. Looks like the Dow is up about 13 points. The Nasdaq up about 4. We're going to get more information from Wall Street coming up in just a few moments. Cheryl Casone is on duty. We'll check in with her in a few minutes.

Tony.

HARRIS: Well, even before the trees start dropping their leaves, car dealers start dropping prices. It's the change of seasons in the automotive world. Next year's cars roll in and savvy car buyers line up. CNN's personal finance director Gerri Willis joins us now with tips on how you can get the best deal on new wheels.

Gerri, good to see you. Good morning to you. Happy Monday.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. Happy Monday to you.

HARRIS: Well, here we go. I have to make a deal. I'm ready to make a move on a new car. How do I prepare myself? How do I better get the information that I need to be smart when I walk into the showrooms?

WILLIS: Well, Tony, first of all, you've got to find the deal out there. And right now the best deals are not the 2007 models that are arriving right now, it's the 2006s. Look, these guys want to get rid of these cars. They're dragging them down. They want to get rid of them. They're putting special deals on them, so that's where to start.

So, now, if you're in the market for an '06, you'll definitely want to know your stuff and check out what kinds of rebates and incentives are out there for you. You can get the low down on this at edmunds.com. You'll also want to have three pricing numbers on your mind. That's the sticker. You know what that is.

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: The invoice. That's what your dealer paid. And then the number that people are actually paying for this car. Go to Kelly Blue Book, their website, kellybluebook.com for this information.

HARRIS: So, Gerri, should I go to the net? How about the Internet? Is there help for me there?

WILLIS: I'm telling you, it's all about the Internet. If you're buying a car, it is the number one place. There's so much information, in fact. You can check dealer inventories online at individual car makers' websites. Also, get in touch with the Internet department of the dealers where you want to buy that car. Experts we talked to said you'll get a better deal by going to that Internet department. HARRIS: OK. So, Gerri, now is the time, we've established that September, this is the time, the '06 are there now, the ''07s are coming in. Is there a time -- can we pin point that even better as to when is the best time to try to make a deal?

WILLIS: You bet. The best time to shop is early on weekday mornings. And the earlier in the week it is, the better. That's because you'll get the full attention of the salesperson. And if you're the only customer in sight, salespeople are more likely to give you what you want so they can put another sale on the board, if you know what I mean.

HARRIS: Yes. So, Gerri, is the price the price or is there room to sort of maneuver, to negotiate?

WILLIS: Well, if you're buying the '06s, there's lots of room. As we move into autumn, discounts on '06s will become more common and buying becomes more of a negotiator's game. Remember, you have the upper hand. It's also crucial that the salesperson is aware that you know your stuff. So make it clear that the price you're negotiating is for before incentives are applied. But keep in mind, the later in the year it gets, the less likely that the leftover '06s will be there that you want. So now is the time to really move if you're going to buy one of these '06s and get a really -- I think a really decent deal out there.

HARRIS: Outstanding. Gerri Willis, "Top Tips" of the day.

Gerri, good to see you.

WILLIS: Good to see you, Tony.

HARRIS: Have a good day.

WILLIS: You, too.

HARRIS: Still to come, dark, dank and foreboding. A 14-year-old girl escapes her underground prison. Oh, we have a press conference.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Let's go ahead and get straight to -- we believe this is the Kershaw County Sheriff, Steve McCaskill, giving a news conference about that situation with the 14-year-old girl there. Let's listen in for just a moment.

SHERIFF STEVE MCCASKILL, KERSHAW COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA: It's his common law wife.

QUESTION: And this not the one who was arrested (INAUDIBLE)?

MCCASKILL: Yes, this is the woman who was arrested.

QUESTION: What (INAUDIBLE)?

MCCASKILL: She was picked up on a bench warrant that we had. She's also going to be charged with aiding and abetting him simply for the fact that she knew that he wanted. He was a wanted felon and she continued to aid and assist him.

QUESTION: What's her name?

MCCASKILL: Cynthia Hall Filyaw.

QUESTION: Age?

MCCASKILL: I'm not sure of her age. She's in her 30s.

QUESTION: Sheriff, last we talked, this Mr. Filyaw was not being very cooperative and certainly not showing any remorse. Have you had a chance to re-interview him or has he changed his tune at all?

MCCASKILL: No, we have not tried to re-interview him and have not tried to talk with him again.

QUESTION: When was the last time you (INAUDIBLE).

MCCASKILL: We spoke with him Sunday morning around -- probably around 5:30, 6:00 a.m.

QUESTION: And at that point he wasn't giving you any information?

MCCASKILL: No. Captain Tomly (ph) was talking with him and, of course, after mirandizing was showing no remorse for what he had done and he also was just trying to play down the charges against the stepdaughter. That's more or less what he had to say.

QUESTION: What did he say about those charges specifically?

MCCASKILL: Well, I'm not going to say exactly what he said. But he said they were false and they wouldn't hold water.

QUESTION: And what makes you have that information? Why do you feel like you have the information to charge him with that CSD (ph), second degree (INAUDIBLE)?

MCCASKILL: The past one? One of the investigators investigated the case, and he came up with the probable cause to sign the warrant. If that's answering your question, the way I understand it. OK.

QUESTION: And (INAUDIBLE) the wife be brought these charges, the girlfriend who brought these charges forward?

MCCASKILL: No. Like I say, it was reported to the sheriff's office and investigator Steve Kanasfos (ph) investigated it and he signed the warrant against Filyaw for this case.

QUESTION: Sheriff, whose property were these tunnels on? I know -- was it Cynthia Hall's (ph) trailer? Was she renting that trailer? And were -- the tunnel where they actually found Elizabeth, was that on private land or public land? MCCASKILL: Yes, that was on -- there were the two that were on Cynthia and Vinson Filyaw's property, the two original tunnels that we went to. The one where the victim was being held was on property owned by Hanson Mining Company, which is -- well, it's just a wooded area, very thick, wooded area.

HARRIS: OK. Just want to wrap this up very quickly and also let you know that once Sheriff McCaskill finishes this news conference, he will join us in the NEWSROOM and we'll get to ask him some more of our own questions. That's coming up shortly.

But let's give you more details, some of the back story here. Elizabeth, Lizzie, Shoaf, back home today, safe and sound, the most important aspect of this story. The suspected kidnapper in custody. The teen was held ten harrowing days in an underground bunker. South Carolina authorities never issued an Amber Alert in her disappearance.

On CNN's this morning we heard from Lizzie's aunt and the sheriff's captain who helped lead the search.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERALDINE WILLIAMS, AUNT OF ABDUCTED TEEN: We knew she didn't run away. We just hoped that, you know, somebody out there would have seen her or -- but the Amber Alert does need -- there needs to be some kind of change in that law, that, you know, when a child is missing they need to put an alert out there, period.

CAPT. DAVID THOMLEY, KERSHAW CO. SHERIFF'S OFFICE: We do not issue amber alerts. It's actually issued through the state. And the state criteria for this case was not met. And as we said in the beginning, this is a missing person. We do not have evidence of a runaway. We do not have evidence of an abduction. We maintained that she was missing, and we had few clues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Lots of questions about that Amber Alert. We're going to be answering some of those for you coming up in the next hour, with a couple of guests on that subject. What it is, when it can be issued and so on -- to clear up those details.

Meanwhile, another story we're keeping a close watch on in the NEWSROOM. Still no luck in a desperate search for a kidnapped baby in Missouri. The newborn snatched from the family's home on Friday. Her mother says a woman attacked her with a knife and ran off with the baby. Little Abby Woods' family is heartbroken.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RALENE OCHSENBINE, GRANDMOTHER: Oh, please help, please help. Help and pray. Any information is what we want. That's why we're here. We got to have her back. We need her.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Manhunt in Pittsburgh. Police are looking for the person who shot five college basketball players over the weekend. CNN's Alina Cho reports from Duquesne University.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Duquesne's athletic director is calling this a traumatic time for the university and for its basketball team. Many students here are expressing disbelief this morning, and Duquesne is responding by stepping up security.

(voice over): Police say the five Duquesne basketball players had just left an on-campus dance early Sunday morning around 2:00 a.m. Not long after that, there was apparently a verbal exchange with a man who is not believed to be a student. Shots were fired, and the suspect is still at large.

GREG AMODIO, DUQUESNE UNIV. ATHLETIC DIRECTOR: It's general concern for all of our student athletes, but especially the men's basketball team. This has been very traumatic for them. They're -- some of their teammates are directly affected by this. And it's an issue where they're wrapping themselves around the team, they're trying to act as one and be family for each other.

CHO: The university president says the community is still in shock because the Duquesne campus is known as a safe place.

CHARLES DOUGHERTY, DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT: The whole campus is in grief. Our prayers are with the families and our students, the students who witnessed some horrible things. We're also still stunned, because this is a very safe campus. Nothing like this has ever happened here before. We actually sell the campus as a safe place.

CHO (on camera): The most critically injured player is a cousin of former Houston Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwo. Many of his teammates and other students attended a prayer service on campus last night, and the university is offering crisis counseling for anyone who needs it.

Alina Cho, CNN, Pittsburgh.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Tortured bodies, back-to-back car bombings, atrocities in the streets of Iraq, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Well, as war zones go, it's been relatively quiet in Iraq today.

HARRIS: But that wasn't the case over the weekend. Back-to-back blasts killed dozens.

CNN's Cal Perry wraps up a week of bloodshed in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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 Mathana (ph) Airfield. Thirteen dead here, all Iraqi army recruits.

Tuesday brought the grim discovery of over 60 bodies. The stunning total for the week, more than 180 bodies found, all showing the signs of sectarian violence, according to police.

Wednesday, back to the Al Mathana Air Base 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 Fourth 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 capital.

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

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HARRIS: Pictures just in to CNN just moments ago of the president disembarking off of Marine One to hop onto Air Force One for the trip to New York, the much-anticipated trip to New York, for his speech tomorrow in front of the United Nations.

COLLINS: Going to be talking about the Middle East, we certainly know that much. And sort of the sidebar story to that is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also going to be there, within hours of each other, addressing the U.N.

HARRIS: I love your question. Are they going to pass each other? Will their paths cross?

COLLINS: In the hall or other places. We'll find out. We're going to talk with Richard Roth some more about the logistics of that visit, coming up here in just a little bit.

Meanwhile, southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province, another deadly for NATO troops. Four were killed when a suicide bomber on a bicycle took aim at Canadian soldiers. The troops reportedly were handing out candy to children. Dozens of civilians were injured. The Taliban says it was behind the attack.

Somalia's president escapes an apparent assassination attempt, but eight others were killed today in the car bomb attack. The blast targeted transitional parliament Abdullahi Ahmed. It went off outside Somalia's parliament in Baidoa. Ahmed was inside the building, but was not hurt. Baidoa is the temporary seat of the U.N.-backed transitional government. It has limited authority, though, facing persistent challenges from Islamic militants.

Still to come this morning, fresh advice about that E. coli outbreak linked to spinach.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't have any suspicion that this was a cavalier action, but we are going to make sure that we learn from this episode to make sure it never happens again.

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HARRIS: Coming up, we'll help you sort out what's safe to eat and what you should avoid. You're in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Protesters return to the streets today. They demand a full apology from the pope, straight ahead, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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COLLINS: President Bush and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, they don't exactly see eye to eye, but will they come face to face tomorrow?

HARRIS: And it's not your average vacation, that's for sure. Then again, she's not your average traveler.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Reporter: She's the first person born in Iran to make it into space, and she's the first female space tourist

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HARRIS: So find out who she is and what she hopes to accomplish for America. You're in the NEWSROOM. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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COLLINS: And we have Rob Marciano with us today, talking about some nasty weather in Minnesota. We're looking at video here from a tornado. How big was this thing?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This was an F-2 tornado. At one point it was about 100 yards wide, it stretched for six miles across central and southern Minnesota. This was over the weekend, so this damage is actually from Saturday night, touched down around 10:00, 11:00 p.m. Saturday night.

COLLINS: Yes, these pictures exactly from Rogers, Minnesota, where I know a young girl was killed. The roofs just ripped right off these buildings, homes.

MARCIANO: You know, it's -- an F-2 tornado, they go on a scale from zero to five, five being the worst, so F-2 would be a moderate. I don't want to say weak. But they can have winds over 150 miles per hour. And when you think about that, that's a major Category 4 or 5 hurricane,

COLLINS: Oh, man.

MARCIANO: And obviously enough to do structural damage.

COLLINS: Isn't it kind of late? I mean, it's getting cold in Minnesota.

MARCIANO: Well, you know, when you think of that tornadoes -- you know, spring is really the hot spot for it. But we also get a secondary severe weather season in the fall. So we do get it in October and November. It's kind of early for the fall season, but it's kind of an indication that we're starting to see a change in the season. I think associated with that, everyone is going to feel a little bit of a chill in the air come the next couple days.

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COLLINS: Lingering questions, open debate. A teenager missing.

HARRIS: Why no Amber Alert? one-on-one conversation with the sheriff who oversaw the search, straight ahead.

COLLINS: And a 1-week-old baby stolen from her home, her mother viciously attacked. Three days later, no sign of this little girl.

Bizarre case, ahead in the NEWSROOM.

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