Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Missouri Police Release Composite Sketch of Suspect in Murder/Kidnapping Case; Five College Basketball Players Shot in Pennsylvania

Aired September 18, 2006 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up: commander in chief in the crosshairs. A new video game available online, who is behind it? The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
We're following two developing stories for you right now out of Southern California. You're seeing videotape from our affiliates KABC on one side, KTLA on the other. These are the two situations that are going on right now, wildfires -- firefighters battling a pretty stubborn two-week-old wildfire. It has scorched more than 116 square miles of wilderness along the Los Angeles-Ventura County line.

Right now, the winds are shifting. They have only got about 15 percent of this wildfire contained -- $15 million so far to fight this fire.

Now, what else we have got going on via KTLA is that a call was made to 911 about the smell of chemicals in El Monte, California. And fire -- police and fire have responded to this business. Not sure what business it is. We are told that there were solvents -- a smell of certain solvents were detected used in this business in this area. The police department does not have immediate information of what type of business it is or what type of solvents.

We just know that the ambulances are here on the scene, as well as hazmat personnel suiting up, getting ready to go in and find out exactly what is being tracked.

So, we are following those two developing stories right now, the wildfires in Southern California, as well as the hazmat responding to some type of smell, possibly linked to some solvents there in a business area in El Monte, California. We will keep you updated.

Now, a baby girl snatched from her rural home, her mother's throat slashed, and it happened three days ago. But only now are police in Missouri putting a face on the crime.

CNN's Jonathan Freed has the latest from Union, Missouri.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After several days of working with a sketch artist, police here finally unveiled a composite sketch of the suspect in this case.

She is described as a white female between 30 and 40 years old, weighing approximately 200 pounds and having dark hair that was pulled back. And the mother says that the suspect was also wearing a baseball cap which appeared to be somewhat tattered.

Now, police say the mother is not entirely satisfied with what the sketch looks like, but they say that it's taken long enough for them to get it together at this point, that they feel it needs to be put out there for the public to comment on, and perhaps generate some more leads in this case.

When asked at a news conference mid this morning whether or not the family involved here is completely beyond suspicion, police said that everything, all possibilities, are still on the table.

GARY TOELKE, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI, SHERIFF: As we have said prior, it's an open investigation right now. Nobody is ruled out. We're -- we're, you know, investigating any lead that comes in, any possibility. There's -- there's no concrete lead that we're following right now that says, this is what happened.

FREED: Police continue to say that, if the baby, Abby Lynn Woods, is to be returned safely to her family, that they are relying heavily upon tips from the public.

Jonathan Freed, CNN, Union, Missouri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Quick mind and modern technology, a live-saving combination of this 14-year-old South Carolina girl. Elizabeth Shoaf is back home, after being held captive for 10 days in an underground bunker. Police tracked her after she used her alleged kidnapper's cell phone to text-message her mother.

An Amber Alert was never posted, because police didn't know for sure that she was abducted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERALDINE WILLIAMS, AUNT OF ELIZABETH SHOAF: We knew she didn't run away. We just hope that, you know, somebody out there would have seen her or a thing -- but the -- 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Suspect Vinson Filyaw is facing now kidnapping and sex crime charges. Police say he dug several bunkers near his home, and used himself, to elude arrest on prior charges.

Meantime, the local sheriff says that Amber Alert rules should be loosened to cover cases like this. But some say an Amber Alert wouldn't have mattered, because Elizabeth was hidden in a huge hole.

Wanted in Pittsburgh and beyond: the gunman who opened fire on members of Duquesne University's basketball team. One of the players is still in critical condition. The whole campus is on edge.

CNN's Alina Cho has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (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.

CHARLES DOUGHERTY, PRESIDENT, DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY: Other members of the basketball team, other members of our student body performed as a team, in some cases heroically, pulling people out of the line of fire, getting them assistance, rendering first aid, and making sure they got the medical care they needed as quickly as possible.

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

DOUGHERTY: We're sad, because our students have been injured. Other students have witnessed the injuries. Families are concerned. Parents are concerned. We are a community of faith. And so our first instinct, our first response, is prayer for those who have been wounded, prayer for their families.

CHO: Alina Cho, CNN, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right.

We're getting more information now on that hazmat situation in Southern California. This is El Monte, California -- these pictures coming to us from our affiliate KTLA. It looks like we are able to confirm that 18 people are now being treated for respiratory problems. This is what we are getting from the fire department.

Ten gallons of bleach has spilled and mixed with muriatic acid. It's an acid that is sold in hardware and paint stores. This all happened at a dry cleaning facility in El Monte, where 18 people were attending a church that was -- that is just next to the facility. And they are now being treated for respiratory problems.

Hazmat was called out, along with police and fire. We will keep you updated on the situation there in El Monte, as we get new information.

Now Maurice Clarett is going to prison. The former Ohio State football star agreed today to serve at least three-and-a-half years behind bars to settle two cases against him. The deal comes as Clarett was set to stand trial on an aggravated robbery charge. It also covers a concealed weapons charge that arose in the wake of a vehicle chase involving police.

By the bag or by the bunch, don't buy spinach, and don't eat it if you see it at a salad bar. Twenty-one states are now reporting cases of E. coli linked to fresh spinach. More than 100 people have gotten sick. One person is known to have died. And now the Food and Drug Administration is warning against all fresh spinach, packaged or not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROBERT BRACKETT, CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY AND APPLIED NUTRITION DIRECTOR, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION: In the produce industry, we find that a processor may purchase their product, whether it be spinach in this case or lettuce, from many different sources, that is, many different farms. So, you have to track down to each one of those farms to find out where they were sourcing.

And, on the other side, each of the farms may also sell to a variety of different processors, so you have to go back up. So, it's a very mixed industry, in terms of direct line from the product that you buy in a supermarket to specifically where it came from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, at this point, spinach producers are voluntarily recalling their products. The FDA can't seize any products until they figure out the exact source of that contamination.

Waiting for gas, bombed by terrorists -- 20 people were killed today in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar when a suicide attacker set off a bomb-filled vest. The victims were waiting in line for propane gas cylinders at an open-air market. Almost 20 other Iraqis are hurt.

Somalia's president unscathed, but 11 other people, including the president's brother, were killed today in a suicide car bomb attack just outside the Somali parliament building in Baidoa. Baidoa is the temporary seat of the U.N.-backed transitional Somali government. And it has limited authority, at best, in the face of violent challenges from Islamic militias.

Desperate in Darfur -- 200,000 people killed, millions of people forced from their homes in the war-torn region of Sudan. That will be a huge topic this week at the U.N. General Assembly. Sudan has rejected a U.N. plan to send in peacekeepers. And French President Jacques Chirac is among the world leaders urging Sudan to relent.

He spoke exclusively with CNN's Jim Bittermann about the crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUES CHIRAC, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): Well, Darfur has become a tragedy, as it is already. And this tragedy is getting ever greater.

I have the gravest fears with respect to Darfur, where the rainy season is coming to an end. People are going to be on the move once again. And I'm very much afraid that we may see millions of displaced persons and possibly even hundreds of thousands of dead, as we have seen in the past. This is the reason why -- and I will say this in New York -- I would call upon -- and, in fact, I am entirely on the same wavelength as President Bush in this connection.

I would like to make a solemn appeal to all countries, and in particular to the president of Sudan, to accept the mediation of the U.N., in other words, to replace present African forces, who cannot stay much longer in this situation by a U.N. force, perhaps 20,000 men strong, who could try and find a solution to this ghastly problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: A U.N. Security Council meeting on Sudan is taking place today.

Well, they won't be talking to each other, but they will be sure to be talking about each other. President Bush and the president of Iran heading for a showdown at the U.N. this week? We are going to talk with the experts -- straight ahead from the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: They will be talking to the rest of the world, but not to each other. President Bush and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad both scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly this week and potentially taking each other's name in vain.

Vali Nasr is an expert on Iran. He's also author of "The Shia Revival."

He joins me now from San Diego, nice place to be.

Let's talk about what is happening at the U.N. Are you expecting any fireworks, any surprises? Or do you think that these gentlemen will be respectful of each other?

VALI NASR, AUTHOR, "THE SHIA REVIVAL": Well, they're -- they're going to be giving their respective speeches against the background of negotiations that are ongoing between Iran's chief negotiator and the European chief negotiator, Javier Solana.

We -- many people are hoping that those negotiations would yet produce a breakthrough for Iran and the United States in the nuclear negotiations that Iran may suspend voluntarily for two months. So, it -- one has to see whether the speeches of President Bush or Ahmadinejad will suggest any kind of a hopefulness in that regard.

PHILLIPS: What kind of message does this send, Vali, not only to Americans, but also those overseas in the Middle East, even to Ahmadinejad himself, about the relationship, or the respect, shall we say? I mean, the -- the president hasn't held back to say how he feels about Ahmadinejad. He calls him as -- his country part of the axis of evil. Now he is on U.S. soil.

NASR: Well, he was on the U.S. soil last year as well, when -- when he gave a very big speech at the United Nations. And -- but Ahmadinejad has been trying to reach out in his own way. He had an interview with Mike Wallace of CBS, "60 Minutes." He has called -- asked the president to engage him in a public debate. He suggested that they meet in New York. He wants to sort of get his point across to the American people. And I think he's going to use his visit to New York to do so.

PHILLIPS: But this is also that says he wants to wipe Israeli off the face of the Earth and that the Holocaust didn't exist. I mean, he has said a lot of controversial and shocking things since the last time he was here.

NASR: Yes. And he hasn't been able to square that with the desire to reach out to the American people. And that was very evident in the interviews that he has been giving.

He has been trying to sort of create nuance in his rejection of the Holocaust and his attacks on Israel. But, in many ways, that now defines him. And he has a very tough time getting past that.

PHILLIPS: What do you think of his visit, Ahmadinejad, also, to Venezuela, and meeting with Hugo Chavez? Hugo Chavez, another leader who has talked poorly about the president of the United States, said some pretty controversial comments as well. Does this relationship concern you?

NASR: No, it's not a major concern to the U.S.

First of all, the Iran-Venezuela relationship has been going on for some time. And Ahmadinejad has met with Chavez before. And there was the nonaligned meeting in Havana, which provided the occasion for them to meet.

In some ways, Ahmadinejad wants to make the point that Iran is going to be defiant, but, yet, it wants to have negotiations with the United States from a position of power and without preconditions. And the trip to Venezuela is designed to underscore his -- his attempt to show his independence.

PHILLIPS: Even within all of this, there is still speculation the U.S. may be preparing for military action against Iran, in the form of airstrikes. What do you think about that scenario?

NASR: Well, that has been on the table. And now that the -- Iran has -- the deadline at the United Nations came and went, and Iran did not suspend enrichment, and that it now looks like the United Nations would not do -- come through with sanctions -- France today mentioned that it does not want to see sanctions -- the possibility is there, and the rhetoric on the side of the United States has become more heightened. So, I'm sure the Iranians will take that threat very seriously.

PHILLIPS: Vali Nasr, thanks for talking with us.

NASR: Thank you. PHILLIPS: And a program note: President Bush will talk one on one with our Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM." You can see it Wednesday night, 7:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

Coming up from the NEWSROOM: a video game with a sinister goal. We are going to tell you what we found and where we found it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hewlett-Packard has been the center of a scandal that has cost the company's chairman her job.

Cheryl Casone tells us, from the New York Stock Exchange, though, the controversy may be far from over?

What do you think?

CHERYL CASONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well...

(LAUGHTER)

CASONE: ... I'm going to go ahead and bet, after covering Martha Stewart and Enron, that we have not heard the last of this story.

Kyra, hey there.

You know, this all started because Hewlett-Packard wanted to find the source immediately from its board of directors. The problem is the tactics the company used to find the source of a leak. Investigators hired by the company used a process call pretexting, which is basically pretending to be someone you're not, in order get phone records or other personal data.

H.P. has admitted to getting information on some of its directors and employees, as well as nine journalists, this way. H.P. chairman Patricia Dunn will give up her job early next year. She became the fall guy -- or, OK, fall gal -- after the tactics came to light a couple of weeks ago.

Now, "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting, that Mark Hurd -- he's the company's CEO and Patricia Dunn's replacement as chairman -- may have allowed the investigation to continue, even after they found the source of the leak.

So, Kyra, we may be hearing more about this story.

PHILLIPS: Well, did he know about the tactics they were using?

CASONE: You know, it's a good question. And that is the question at the center of this story. And it could determine Mark Hurd's future.

H.P. says he didn't focus on how the evidence about the leaks was obtained. And it's unclear whether the investigation continued to violate people's privacy after he found out about it.

So, those are things I really can't tell you. But one thing is for certain, Kyra: developments in this story not over.

PHILLIPS: Well, are H.P. shares having any reaction to the news?

CASONE: You know, right now, H.P. is slightly higher, actually. The stock is actually trading up about 60 cents or so.

You know, this stock, remarkably, has remained steady throughout this entire episode. And, again, after watching what Martha Stewart went through and Enron, that's pretty surprising.

But let's go to the markets overall, edging lower right now. We did some evidence earlier that the housing bubble has burst. And we're going to go ahead and send it back to you. There are the numbers for you, though, Kyra: Dow down 13 points -- sending it back to you in Atlanta.

PHILLIPS: Terrific. I will talk to you in a little bit, Cheryl, at the closing bell. Thanks so much.

More now on that developing story out of El Monte, California. We were telling you about this hazmat situation, where 18 people are being treated for respiratory problems.

Ed Lozano, L.A. County Fire, on the phone with me now.

Ed, why don't you tell me about what kind of business this was and what exactly spilled and mixed to make the air toxic?

ED LOZANO, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: OK.

This is a dry cleaning facility, where we had 10 gallons of bleach spill, and mixed with some muriatic acid. It created a -- a vapor cloud, where we had 18 patients initially complain of respiratory problems. That has now gone up to 21 patients. And they're all being treated at local area hospitals.

PHILLIPS: So, it looks like everyone is going to be OK?

LOZANO: Well, they're at the hospital right now being treated. We have our hazmat units on scene, getting ready to make entry to neutralize the situation.

PHILLIPS: OK. And do we know how this happened?

LOZANO: Apparently, they were loading a 55-gallon drum, and they had some type of spill, an overflow problem. And that is when it mixed with the acid.

PHILLIPS: Could this cause -- well, let me ask you this. Can you give me an exact location? Folks might be tuning in. They might be at work. They might want to know exactly where this is, and if, indeed, it's OK to come home and come back into this neighborhood.

LOZANO: Well, the exact location is 11312 Orchard Street in the city of El Monte. We have no evacuations at this time. Local area residents are being sheltered in place. PHILLIPS: OK. Is it OK to come home from work into this area, or are they being asked to kind of stay out of the location?

LOZANO: Yes. The area -- the situation is static at this time. It's not dynamic. It's not going anywhere. We're just going to go ahead and neutralize the situation now.

PHILLIPS: Any other people that could be affected? Or is it just those 18 right now being treated, Ed?

LOZANO: Well, there's 21 people total being treated right now. And that is the only victims we have at this time.

PHILLIPS: Got it.

Ed Lozano, L.A. County Fire, appreciate it.

LOZANO: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Coming up: commander in chief in the crosshairs. A new video game available online, who is behind it?

More from the CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, an SUV rams a barricade. The armed driver runs into the building the barricade was protecting -- a security breach, to be sure, but this building was the U.S. Capitol. And you're not the only one wondering how such a thing could happen post-9/11.

CNN's Andrea Koppel was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a remarkable daylight breach of security here on Capitol Hill. It happened about 8:00 this morning, when most lawmakers were not inside. Congress doesn't get into session until later this afternoon.

It happened between the Capitol, right behind me, and this construction site, which is right on the east front of the Capitol. Just on the other side are the Supreme Court and the library of Congress.

Now, according to eyewitnesses, the man who was driving the car came right onto the construction site. He was being chased by police. He came onto the construction site. And that is where this eyewitness, who is an electrician working on the site, picks up the story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were working here on this east side, east front side of the Capitol. And we were installing underground utility pipe for electrical conduit. And, all of a sudden, I -- I had looked to my left, and I just saw this white Chevy blazer just moving really fast. And I thought it was very unusual. And then there was a Capitol police car behind it. And he had actually went over a wall and crashed into another wall, and got out of the truck and started running. That -- by that time, I had -- trying to take some cover. I thought, you know, somebody was going to start shooting or something. And, then, by that time, it was like -- the Capitol Police were on him like ants. He ran up into the Capitol and they got him now.

KOPPEL: From there we have conflicting eyewitness reports. One eyewitness tells CNN that the man actually ran up the stairs, the front stairs right there of the Capitol, and went into the building. His car was parked about a hundred yards away when he came racing up those steps.

Another eyewitness says the man actually got into the building by going through the construction site just underneath those stairs. Either way, the man made it into the Capitol. He crossed the width of the Capitol Rotunda and then was being chased through the corridors underneath the Capitol by Capitol police, before according to one police source, he was tackled outside the flag office. That's where American flags are packaged and then shipped to Americans all around the country.

Now, according to one federal law enforcement source, who spoke to CNN, the man appeared to be on drugs and was deranged. He is not believed to have any links to terrorism. And he was also, according to Capitol police sources, armed. We don't believe that any shots were exchanged. The area that the man came into the Capitol is the very same place, in fact, the very same stairs and corridor, that President Bush himself walked through just last week when he met with members of the House Republican Party.

Either way, it is an incredible breach of security, something that hasn't been seen on the Capitol grounds for years.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Another night of Bush capturing. The name's a little awkward, but the aim is all too clear. It's a video game on radical Muslim web sites who's players are invited to virtually assassinate President Bush. Here to tell us more about it is CNN Arab affairs editor Octavia Nasr.

Wow, well start telling me about the game and how you sign up and how you play this game.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN ARAB AFFAIRS EDITOR: First of all, this was announced last Friday, that there is this game coming up. They had a trailer on Islamist websites. We've been monitoring for that. It showed up over the weekend. As you said, Kyra, it's a full-fledged game with elements just like any other video game.

In this case, weaponry, all kinds of weaponry. You're looking here at different levels that you can play and different stages that you have to go through to basically assassinate President Bush. The video starts with a location, it looks like a desert. You're looking at it here and a sign that says secret meeting for George, for Bush Jr. and then it says that VIP agents are in attendance of this meeting.

So, basically, the different stages are to take you through different levels of the game, to finally find President Bush and I have to tell you, going through the game, which you're looking here at parts of, you know, you see someone actually playing that game, you have here different weaponry, for example. You have pictures of some Iraqi leaders, basically they're treated as agents of the U.S., as you can see in the video. And you see U.S. soldiers basically showing up in different stages and every one of those soldiers has the face of President Bush on them.

At the end of the game, you see the president and the only differentiating mark between the soldiers and the president is that he's wearing a red necktie. Basically, he puts out a fight. There you go. He's killed here. And that is how the game basically ends.

PHILLIPS: Now it's produced by the Global Islamic Media Front, which is described by the site institute at the Jihadist Mouthpiece Organization site. I'm being told it's an acronym for the Search for International Terrorist Entities. Can you tell me anything more about who produced this and this organization?

NASR: Yes. This organization is very well-known for any observer of Islamist, radical Islamist sites. They produce all kinds of videos for al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgency groups. They show them basically, they have claims of responsibilities for IED attacks. They produce the videos of actual attacks. So they're very well known. And for them to post this kind of video is not surprising to people like myself and other observers of terrorism and especially Internet terrorism.

But, basically, they just put out this video and it's free. All you need to do is just log into the website and download the game and then start playing it.

PHILLIPS: And once again, this affects the mind sets of young kids that get in and are encouraged to play this.

NASR: Absolutely and in the Middle East, you know, these games are very popular and this one, in particular, is going to draw a lot of attention. It is drawing a lot of attention already. As you can see, it's very easy to play and, you know, young kids, regardless of whether they support terrorism or not, are drawn into these games. So something like this free on the Internet is going to get a lot of play.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. Octavia Nasr, appreciate it.

NASR: Any time.

PHILLIPS: Well coming up, a unique club where membership has life saving privileges, but there's the issue of ethics. The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. You're watching the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Granted it's better to give than to receive, but should a willingness to give be a requirement for receiving? Ethicists wonder in light of a group that has been formed to improve the odds facing people who need organ transplants. Every 90 minutes someone on a transplant waiting list dies. Here is CNN's Kareen Wynter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER ZWETTLER, LIFESHARERS MEMBER: It's terrifying to wake up knowing whether to go in the surgery but am I going to get this surgery? is my life going to be saved?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jennifer Zwettler was in the prime of her life when she was stunned by a sudden health scare five years ago. She thought she would need an liver transplant and joined the National Organ Transplant Registry, but was afraid it wouldn't come through in time. Luckily, she didn't need it.

ZWETTLER: It was the scariest thing that, I mean, you can't even imagine what it feels like.

WYNTER: Terry Wallis has had no such health scare but was concerned about her chances of receiving a live-saving organ. Both Wallis and Zwettler belong to a unique donor club where membership has potentially life saving privileges. Members agree to donate their organs within the group before making them available to the general public.

TERRY WALLIS, LIFESHARERS MEMBER: If anybody in the group needs body parts. I know that sounds awful, doesn't it? But if anybody needs them, we get first dibs on it.

WYNTER: There were 28,000 transplant operations performed last year, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing but some would-be recipients never made it to the operating room.

(on camera): Nearly 90,000 people are on the National Organ Transplant Waiting List. Thousands die each year waiting on organs.

DAVE UNDIS, EXEC. DIRECTOR, LIFESHARERS: It occurred to me, if you tell people that you're going to put them at the front of the waiting list, if they donate their organs when they die, more people will die.

WYNTER (voice-over): Not everyone WHO receives an organ on the national transplant waiting list, Undis says, has agreed to donate an organ.

UNDIS: Giving a transplant to someone who won't donate their own organs is like giving the Powerball jackpot to someone that didn't buy a ticket. It just doesn't make sense.

WYNTER: Bryan Stewart with California's state donor registry disagrees.

BRYAN STEWART, ONE LEGACY: Any time you work outside of the established allocation process, you're not necessarily giving the organs to people that are most in need.

WYNTER: Stewart says there are 600,000 registered organ donors in California, whereas LifeSharers only has 6,000 members nationwide. Since no members within LifeSharers have died since its inception four years ago, no one has received a transplant.

STEWART: The likelihood that someone in LifeSharers is going to benefit from a donor that is part of LifeSharers is extremely low.

WYNTER: Carolyn Fagundo was given 18 months to live when she was placed on the established national waiting list for a lung transplant. She got a new lung 28 days later.

CAROLYN FAGUNDO, TRANSPLANT PATIENT: I counted on the system to work for me and it did, so I do believe the system does work. It's just a matter of, you know, time.

WYNTER: But Jennifer Zwettler feels LifeSharers gives her an advantage.

(on camera): You've been faced with life or death decisions in the past. How much faith do you have in LifeSharers?

ZWETTLER: I have a lot of faith. I probably would have been dead if I would have thought negatively and not put any trust or faith in anybody.

WYNTER: Kareen Wynter, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now the dress, the flowers, the ceremony. Many girls dream about their wedding day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ever since I was a little girl, I always dreamed of getting married and it was always something I wanted since I was a little girl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: But this teen is not an ordinary bride. Her moving story coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tonight on "360," after a long and punishing war, how is the cease-fire in Lebanon going? Are Hezbollah fighters disarming, is the Israeli government keeping its side of the deal? And what about the hostages? A "360" special report tonight, 10 Eastern. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Following pictures now out of southern California. Pretty incredible pictures of the huge wildfire that has devastated more than a hundred acres here. This blaze is actually in Los Padres National Forest just near the Los Angeles/Venture County line. It started on Labor Day, electively by someone just burning debris and now the strong winds have caused this fire to double in size.

More than 74,000 acres have burned and despite efforts by more than 2,000 firefighters, the blaze is still only about 15 percent contained. Now, we're told that we're going to get more information now on the situation of this wildfire. Joining us -- we're going to Reynolds first. OK, let's get to Reynolds Wolf. We're also working the branch director, Reynolds, for the firefighting efforts there in the Los Padres national forest. But maybe can you give us an update on how the weather is continuing to affect this.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Keith Gurrola, branch director of firefighting efforts in the Los Padres National Forest, joining me on the phone now as we continue to follow these pictures. Keith, can you bring us up-to-date on the number, 15 percent contained? Is it getting better, worse? What can you tell us right now?

KEITH GURROLA, BRANCH DIR., LOS PADRES NAT'L FOREST (on phone): Well, at this point in time, it's kind of staying stable. We are getting more control over the parts of the fire that have been burning for a few more days but as you can probably see in your video, we are also expanding the fireline. It is continuing to grow and expand on us. So we're kind of holding at about the same amount of containment.

PHILLIPS: Can you tell us about the planes that we're seeing, these live pictures, what kind of firefighting capabilities do you have? I'm seeing helicopters and aircraft.

GURROLA: Sure. I'm not able to see your picture but we have several types of helicopters. We have the larger helicopters than can haul several thousand gallons of water and they can also dip into portable retardant tanks that we have that is carried in the air tankers.

The air tankers themselves we have different sizes of those. Again, we have the larger size aircraft can drop up to 3,000 gallons in one shot and we have the smaller single engine aircraft that can drop 700 or 800 gallons. So we have a wide range of aircraft and it's based upon the terrain. In your pictures, you can probably see that this is really, really steep country and at certain points it burns into some flat land. So it's on the steeper areas we have the smaller aircraft, more maneuverable. And on the areas that are on ridge tops and the areas that are more flat, the larger aircraft.

PHILLIPS: Go ahead, Keith, I'm sorry.

GURROLA: As far as the helicopters go, again the wide variety of helicopters. The helicopters now are being used primarily to drop water and retardant and try to keep the fire in check. Once we get an area that's safe to insert, our crews because the road system is primarily wilderness, the road systems are far and few in between, sometimes we have to fly the ground forces in. So some of the helicopters will fly those ground forces in once we have an area that's safe for them to go into.

PHILLIPS: So right now, it's an issue of -- that it's spreading and the cost to fight the wildfire, but with regard to people and structures, it doesn't seem to be a threat right now?

GURROLA: Well, the fire actually as far as to people is limited. That all depends again on how fast this fire spreads and how fast we can get the word out ahead of time. We don't want to cry wolf and there is a lot of commerce around that we are impacted if we close down things prematurely.

But everybody in the area is aware there is an wildfire. They know that the wildfire can run fast at any time. In fact the other night with the winds, the fire did run many miles in just a few hours. So it has that potential still. We try to get the word out and notify all those folks. It is wilderness, but there still are a few cabins and a remote community that are still in the impact zone.

PHILLIPS: Keith, stay with us.

Reynolds Wolf, you've been monitoring, of course, the weather conditions. You've been watching these live pictures as well. Anything you want to add or jump in on here?

REYNOLDS WOLF: Just what I see what this is is, unfortunately the lack of rainfall. What you want in a situation like this, if you could have it that way, you could have some scattered showers that would just pop up and stay over this region for a while.

They've been dealing with this for well over a week. And unfortunately, this is not something that is unusual for this part of the country. It's part of the climate.

You have trees up there that, again, the seeds of them are actually fire resistant. So after a situation like this, they begin to populate and then they'll respread and you'll have -- the forest will eventually come back. But this is not unusual in this kind of climate.

Mother nature really has not been helping them much. Again, as I've mentioned, you got a lot of dry air that is filtering into the area, and as it comes in it compresses and warms up and helps dry out the vegetation, creating more fuel for this fire.

So certainly not working out well for them, but they are getting a little bit of moisture that is coming in from the Pacific. So hopefully that will give them a little bit of break. They need all the help they can get. It's a tough road, no question.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Reynolds. Keith Gurrola, Branch Director of Firefighting Efforts in the Los Padres National Forest, thanks to you, too, Keith. We will keep in touch.

GURROLA: You're welcome. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: We're going to continue to cover those live pictures on the fires, but we'll also talk about no peace for Pope Benedict right now.

Muslim protesters are back in the streets today in Indonesia, Kashmir, Iraq and other places over a lecture last week in Germany in which the pope quoted a medieval text that linked Islam to violence. Over the weekend he offered an olive branch of sorts, saying that he is deeply sorry for the reaction of his comments.

CNN's Alessio Vinci reports from Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In an unusual move, the Vatican expressed regret three times in three days for a quote Pope Benedict referred to in a speech, a sign, perhaps that Vatican's concerned not to jeopardize and already difficult dialogue between Muslims and Christians. Followers of Islam were outraged last week when the pope quoted a Byzantine emperor who described some of the teachings of the prophet Mohammed as "evil and inhuman".

POPE BENEDICT XVI: I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to the few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims.

VINCI: Benedict said the quote did not reflect his personal thoughts and Vatican officials explained it was taken out of context. The second highest ranking official at the Vatican, meanwhile, has instructed Vatican ambassadors in Muslim countries to explain the Church's position to political and religious leaders, especially keeping in mind the context of the speech.

However, no Vatican official has yet explained why that specific controversial quote was chosen.

Speaking from his summer residence outside of Rome on Sunday, the pope said he hopes to appease hearts and clarify the true meaning of his address, an address, by the way, in which he called on believers of the faith and to open a frank and sincere dialogue.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I find it very sad that religion causes so many problems. I'm sorry for Catholicism and for Islam.

VINCI: From Cairo, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said it was not a sufficient apology after first saying it was. The pope has tighter security than usual as both Italian and Vatican officials raise the alert level around Vatican sites.

(SPEAKING IN ITALIAN)

VINCI: There is fear over what is going on, says this local. The police presence is almost three times heavier than usual. The pope is due to make a trip to Turkey in late November, his first pilgrimage to a Muslim country. For the time being, Vatican officials say the visit is still on.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Till death do us part. A wedding vow that has poignant meaning for a high school senior in Ohio. Seventeen year-old Nicole Hastings has a rare form of cancer that her doctors say is terminal. Her dying wish was to marry her longtime boyfriend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLE HASTINGS, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: Ever since I was a little girl, I always dreamed of, you know, getting married and it was always something I wanted since I was a little girl.

CONNIE DIDONATO, NICOLE'S MOTHER: Mom, you know, I know I'll never be able to have kids, but can I have my wedding day?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Nicole got her wish this weekend. She exchanged vows with her boyfriend during a commitment ceremony. A traditional marriage would of forced her off her family's health insurance. The Make a Wish Foundation made the day possible.

Well the "Closing Bell" and the wrap on the action on Wall Street straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: You're looking at one bold bovine.

Take a look at this. It fell into a well this weekend after breaking through a line of railroad ties in Oregon. Bad mooo! Sorry. Had to do it.

Rescue crews had to send down a firefighter to give the cow a tranquilizer, then a crane pulled it out, all 600 pounds. It woke up an hour later and appears to be doing A-OK.

Time to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, standing by in the Situation Room to well us what is coming up at the top of the hour.

Hey, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Not such a bad moo, Kyra. Thank you very much, good line.

President Bush at the United Nations. Friends, foes, enemies and allies gathering right now in New York City. At stake, war and peace.

Also, my exclusive in-depth interview with the commander in charge of the all the U.s. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Among the question I'll ask General John Abizaid, is the U.S. making plans to attack Iran?

Plus, Capitol Hill gunman. An armed man gets past security. We'll find out how in the world that could happen.

And the spinach alternative. Americans looking for green find a lot of empty shelves at the grocery store. Jeanne Moos on the salad solution -- Kyra. All that coming up in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. Great excuse not to eat salad. Thanks, Wolf.

Well, the closing bell about to ring on Wall Street, and a special guest is about to ring it. Cheryl Casone standing by with a final look at the trading day. But tell us about the VIP.

CHERYL CASONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'll tell you, Kyra, I've never seen the traders on Wall Street on such good behavior. The first lady of the United States, Laura Bush, is going to be ringing this closing bell.

This is a first, really. It's the first time that a sitting first lady has actually rung the bell here at the New York Stock Exchange. A very historic day. The women around her, part of this international global conference she's hosting here in New York. They are from several countries -- South Africa, Brazil, of course.

Global literacy is the first lady's message and she is hoping to get global literacy more in the spotlight throughout the world and to, of course, accompany her husband, of course, President Bush.

There is the closing bell and there is Laura Bush standing there at the podium, right here at the New York Stock Exchange.

All right, Kyra, I will talk to you tomorrow. Here are the numbers. The Dow is closing down by about five points, the Nasdaq up just barely a fraction.

Well, that is the latest from Wall Street. Now let's go to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com