Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

5 Students Shot; Search for Abigale; Found in Bunker Alive!; Deadly Weekend; Ticket to Ride

Aired September 18, 2006 - 06:00   ET

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


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, it's Monday, September 18. I'm Miles O'Brien.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Carol Costello in for Soledad.

Here's a look at what's happening this morning.

O'BRIEN: In Pittsburgh this morning, police are searching for a gunman who shot and wounded five Duquesne University basketball players. It happened early Sunday after an on-campus dance. No word on the suspect's identity, but school officials say he is not a student.

In eastern Missouri this morning, the search resumes for a newborn baby girl and her kidnapper. Police say a woman took Abigale Ochsenbine from her home on Friday after slashing her mother's throat. The mother has been treated and released from the hospital.

COSTELLO: Across the country today, officials expanding a recall of bagged spinach linked to E. coli. It now includes Farmers Market, Hy Vee and Fresh and Easy brands. So far, 109 E. coli cases in 19 states have been traced to bagged spinach.

In South Carolina this morning, a man accused of keeping a 14- year-old girl in an underground bunker for 10 days is behind bars. Vinson Filyaw is charged with kidnapping and rape. The girl was rescued after text messaging her mother on his cell phone while he slept.

O'BRIEN: In just a few hours, President Bush heads to New York City to get ready for tomorrow's speech at the United Nations. The focus expected to be Iran and Iraq. He'll also meet with several world leaders, including the president of Iraq.

Overnight, the first-ever female space tourist blasted off into space. Iranian-American Anousheh Ansari will -- is aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule. She paid about 20 million bucks for that seat. She'll spend most of her 10-day mission at the International Space Station.

COSTELLO: The life of Patricia Kennedy Lawford being remembered this morning. The sister of John F. Kennedy and the wife of actor Peter Lawford died last night of complications from pneumonia. She was 82.

And just outside of Minneapolis this morning, people in Rogers, Minnesota still cleaning up from a deadly tornado. The twister swept through town Saturday night, damaging hundreds of home. A 10-year-old girl died when the house she was in collapsed.

Rob Marciano in for Chad this morning with more.

Good morning.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Strong thunderstorms, as you mentioned, Carol. That went down as an F2, and they go from 0 to 5, so a moderate tornado, but serious amount of damage there. This is the radar reflectivity mode, meaning this measures the amount of rain. Resin orange heavy rain, green not so heavy. But what we typically look for in this mode is this kind of hook right here, and that's what we saw at 10:00 p.m. Saturday. And that is the radar signature, at least in this mode, for a tornado, and they had one, F2 there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

All right, here's Tropical Storm Helene. Just kind of see this northerly turn now. It is a Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Scales, Miles, and it looks to become a Category 4, so a strong storm. But at this point, it looks like it wants to stay in the ocean. We hope that track continues, -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: That has been an encouraging pattern so far this year. Thank you very much, Rob Marciano.

This morning, police in Pittsburgh are searching for a man they say shot five players from the Duquesne University men's basketball team. One of them is in critical condition this morning.

AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho live from Pittsburgh and on the Duquesne campus with more, -- Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, good morning to you.

That suspect is not believed to be a student. Nevertheless, Duquesne University officials have stepped-up security on campus just in case.

Now to what happened. Now all of this started a little more than 24 hours ago, five Duquesne men's basketball players were apparently leaving an on-campus dance at a student union building around 2:00 a.m. That's when they apparently encountered a man who the university believes attended the dance. And there was a verbal exchange.

Now at that point, according to the university, the players started to walk away from the man. They thought that the issue had been resolved. And that is when the gunman opened fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES DOUGHERTY, DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT: We're shocked because an event of this sort has never happened before on Duquesne University's campus. It's a safe campus. It's known to be a safe campus. We're sad because our students have been injured, other students have witnessed the injuries, families are concerned, parents are concerned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Now three of the five players injured are said to be in the hospital this morning, two of them with serious injuries. And the most critically injured player is said to be a cousin of former Houston Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon.

Now parents and students are said to be very concerned about this, understandably. There was a packed prayer service on campus last night. And, Miles, the university is offering crisis counseling to anyone who needs it.

O'BRIEN: Alina Cho in Pittsburgh, thank you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: A desperate search this morning near St. Louis for a kidnapped infant just 1-week-old. This is Abigale Lynn Woods. Police say a woman walked into a rural home on Friday, slashed the mother's throat and then took off with the baby.

CNN's Jonathan Freed has more for us from Union, Missouri.

Tell us more, -- Jonathan.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

We are waiting for the sun to come up here today and the search is expected to continue today, go into full swing, after it was slowed a bit yesterday because of rain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREED (voice-over): Police, the FBI, members of the Missouri National Guard and community volunteers are all trying to find any clue to the whereabouts of little Abigale Lynn Woods. The baby was just a week old when her mother was attacked on Friday and Abby was snatched from her home in rural Lonedell, Missouri, about an hour southwest of St. Louis. Police say the mother, 21-year-old Stephanie Ochsenbine, was stabbed with a knife and had her throat slashed by a woman who knocked on her door.

SHERIFF GARY TOELKE, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI: She asked to use the phone. And she came in and attempted to make a call, but apparently their long-distance service wasn't working. And then I think she asked to use the bathroom, but -- and then at one point she told her she was there to take the child, and that's when there was an altercation inside the house.

FREED: The mother was unconscious for a short while and then managed to walk 300 yards to her nearest neighbor's house for help. The baby's father was at work at the time. Police issued an Amber alert. The infant weighs barely six pounds and was wearing a pink dress with a flowered collar. She has a birthmark between her eyes.

Family members are pleading for the child's return. RAYLENE OCHSENBINE, ABBY'S GRANDMOTHER: We just want her to give her to a church so we can get her, or a hospital so we can get her, just give her back. My daughter is torn apart. The whole family is torn apart. It just hurts.

FREED: The suspect is a white female between 30 and 40 years old, about 5'8" and weighs around 200 pounds. She had dark hair pulled under a baseball cap.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now there was some encouraging news over the weekend. First of all, the mother was finally released from the hospital and is back home. Family is caring for her there. And investigators did find a knife nearby the family's home. Not clear whether there's a direct connection to this case, but they did say that they found a knife -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So as far as we know, this suspect is a complete stranger to the family?

FREED: That is what -- that's the assumption that police are going under now. One of the questions is do authorities believe the story as it was told to them by the mother, the nature of the attack, the fact that she says she did not know this person at all? And police say based on interviews with the family, they have no reason to doubt the mother's story as of now -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jonathan Freed, thanks so much.

If you have any information, police want you to call 888-265- 8639.

In South Carolina, a man suspected of kidnapping a 14-year-old girl and then holding her in an underground bunker is facing rape and other felony charges. The suspect, 36-year-old Vinson Filyaw, was captured Sunday morning. The victim, Elizabeth Shoaf, was rescued on Saturday after she managed to send a text message to her mother.

CNN's Drew Griffin has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): What's coming out of this is an incredible story about a 14-year-old girl who, after 10 days in captivity held in an underground bunker, was able to grab the cell phone of her captor as he slept, text message her mother on a cell phone. And that mother was able to use that, along with the police, to determine exactly where that girl was.

Where was she? Just about a mile from her house in an underground bunker dug by this suspect. The suspect now in custody. The girl, 14-year-old Elizabeth Shoaf, is home and doing well, says her parents, but just trying to get over this tremendous ordeal.

Drew Griffin, CNN, near Lugoff, South Carolina. (END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Violence is spreading to oil rich northern Iraq. An especially bloody weekend in Kirkuk on the border of Kurdish territory.

CNN's Cal Perry following things from Baghdad, -- Cal.

CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles.

As you said, an especially bloody weekend in the oil rich city of Kirkuk. In a period of less than three hours, four car bombings exploding causing devastating effect. We understand from police at least 23 people killed yesterday, at least 66 other people wounded.

And, Miles, as you and I have discussed many days that the barometer of sectarian violence here really is bodies found. In the last 24 hours, at least 14 bodies found, bringing the total from the past week to 198 bodies found strewn across the capital, a devastating sign of sectarian violence here once again -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Cal, tell us a little bit more about this proposed plan we heard about over the weekend to build a trench around the city of Baghdad, as a security precaution.

PERRY: Well, Miles, the key word in the trench plan is of course the word plan. We do understand from interior ministry officials that this is just a plan, something they have put forward to security officers here on the ground who will actually have to implement this plan.

We also, in our minds, sort of envision a massive amount of trenches surrounding the capital. We heard yesterday from Iraq's national security adviser that actually it would just be a few trenches tied in using natural resources, mainly the rivers that run through the city. But the idea, funnel insurgents through 1 of 28 checkpoints into the city, ensuring that every car from the countryside is checked by security officials -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Of course that presumes the insurgents are coming from outside the city.

PERRY: Correct. And it's -- that's a serious concern. In fact, we do know that much of the homegrown insurgency here on the ground relies within Baghdad. That is what the military calls the Sunni insurgency. They would, of course, be already, as you said, within that trench plan.

O'BRIEN: Cal Perry in Baghdad, thank you very much.

The Associated Press is going to battle over the military's detention system. The U.S. military has held an AP photographer, Bilal Hussein, for five months now without charges. The Pentagon says the Iraqi national has ties to insurgents, but The AP says there's no concrete evidence against him. They say Hussein is one of 14,000 people held by the U.S. military around the world and few are charged or see a courtroom. The Army says every detainee is -- it is holding is a security threat -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Happening in America.

In Las Cruces, New Mexico, kids are heading back to school after a weekend of stepped-up security. On Friday, city officials announced they had received letters threatening random shootings in Las Cruces if a large sum of money was not paid. Most people went about their business over the weekend despite the threats.

A final farewell in Austin, Texas today to former Texas Governor Ann Richards. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and columnist Liz Smith among the speakers at her funeral. Richards died last week after a battle with cancer. She was 73.

Five years ago today, the U.S. was facing a deadly anthrax attack. Anthrax-laced letters were sent to "The New York Post" and to "NBC News" anchor Tom Brokaw. Later, anthrax was sent to a congressional office building in Washington. Five people were killed. No one has ever been charged.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens, did you hear about this, he could be in a little bit of pain this morning, and so are the Dallas Cowboys. He broke his right ring finger during Sunday's 27-10 win over the Washington Redskins. Because of surgery, Owens expects to be out for up to a month.

The hot, dry Santa Ana winds are fanning the flames of three wildfires in southern California. The Day Fire is the biggest. It's burning along the Los Angeles-Ventura County border and nearly doubled in size to more than 60,000 acres on Sunday. It's only about 15 percent contained.

O'BRIEN: Still to come, she's the first woman to pay her way into outer space. There she is on the left there, waving. Find out why she almost didn't make the trip though.

Also, an apology from the pope, will it be enough to ease tensions in the Muslim world?

And Senator Barack Obama serving up a side order of presidential politics with his barbecue. We'll explain.

And Carrie Lee with some Monday business headlines.

Carrie, good morning.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Toyota moving to unseat General Motors as the world's largest automaker and also widen its lead against Ford. We'll have that story and more coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Happening this morning. Pittsburgh police searching for a gunman who shot and wounded five Duquesne University basketball players. It happened early yesterday after an on-campus dance. No word on the suspect's identity.

In eastern Missouri, the search resumes this morning for a newborn baby and her kidnapper. Police say a woman took Abigale Woods from her home Friday after slashing her mother's throat. The mother has been treated and released from the hospital.

And check out this view from the space shuttle Atlantis. This is from undocking the other day. The shuttle is now about 50 miles away from the International Space Station. The crew is conducting one last check of the heat shield to ensure it wasn't damaged in orbit. Atlantis is scheduled to return to Earth on Wednesday.

A Russian rocket is headed for the now empty driveway at the International Space Station. The Soyuz spacecraft blasted off early this morning in Kazakhstan. It's carrying a fresh crew to the space station and the world's first female space tourist.

CNN's Ryan Chilcote live from Moscow with more, -- Ryan.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, I know what you may be thinking, she is not the first space tourist. We were there at the Baikonur Cosmodrome when Dennis Tito became the first space tourist back in 2000. But nonetheless, she is making history on several fronts here, at least two.

She is -- she, this morning, became the first woman ever to pay her way into space. And she is the first person ever of Iranian descent to go to space. Interestingly, she wasn't even supposed to be on this flight up until about a month ago. That's when the Japanese would-be tourist that was scheduled for this flight got bumped because of some undisclosed medical reasons. She jumped at the opportunity.

Now she is on board that Soyuz spacecraft bound for the International Space Station with two professional astronauts, one from the United States and one Russian cosmonaut. When they get to the International Space Station, about 220 miles above the Earth, they will all be together for a few days. And then she will join with a crew that's been up there for about six months, back in the Soyuz and come back down.

The crew that she's going up with is replacing that two-person team up there right now. So, this will all wrap up in about 11 days' time for Anousheh Ansari. And she will land in the very same place she began in the steps of Kazakhstan -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Tell us a little bit more of Anousheh Ansari.

CHILCOTE: She's a fascinating woman. She was born in Iran, in northeastern Iran. And in 1982, at the age of 16, she fled with her family to the United States, primarily because her parents wanted her to be able to pursue her passion for the sciences to the fullest extent. She arrived not knowing any English. And within five years, she had graduated from university and taught herself English.

She then ran up her credit cards with her husband to open a telecommunications company, which she sold in 2000 for more than $500 million. In 2001, "Fortune" magazine said that they believe she's worth about $180 million. She was also one of just two women that were on their list of the 40 most wealthy -- for the wealthiest Americans under the age of 40. She, obviously, has the $20 million that she's believed to have paid for this flight. Obviously she can afford it -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Obviously. She's also the one who funded that X-Prize bounty the other -- a year or so ago.

Thank you, Ryan Chilcote in Moscow -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, let's head to Atlanta now for a check of the forecast, Rob Marciano in for Chad.

Good morning, -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Back to you guys.

COSTELLO: I'm sure you'll keep an eye on it. Thank you, -- Rob.

MARCIANO: You bet.

COSTELLO: Still to come, the amazing story of a young girl who used a text message to escape an underground prison and an alleged sexual predator.

And Hewlett-Packard's chairwoman is gone because of that spying scandal. New details out this morning say the company was spying on its own spokesperson.

Stay with us on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Some of the most popular stories on CNN.com.

The parents of 14-year-old Elizabeth Shoaf say a text message led police to the underground bunker where she was held for 10 days after being kidnapped. A suspect in custody facing kidnapping and rape charges.

People on Mexico's Pacific Coast are faced with a massive cleanup after Hurricane Lane cut a path of destruction this weekend. The Category 3 storm washed away roads and collapsed homes.

At least 109 people have now become sick after eating contaminated fresh spinach. The FDA is still warning you not to eat fresh spinach or products containing fresh spinach until further notice.

O'BRIEN: Carrie Lee is here with a look at business news, and we're talking about the HP leak scandal today. It's getting even more interesting. And then Ford, after a tough week last week,...

LEE: A very tough week for Ford.

O'BRIEN: ... hearing the competition is not going to take this one lying down, are they?

LEE: Well, we're really seeing a change here as far as the biggest companies, the ones that are successful. Toyota is now set to unseat General Motors as the world's largest automaker, and it will also likely widen its lead over Ford in the number two spot.

According to a Japanese newspaper, Toyota is planning to increase overseas production by 40 percent by 2008, and 20 percent of that is going to be in North America. So of course this is pretty much the opposite of what we've seen out of Detroit. DaimlerChrysler, Ford, also GM, all cutting costs, cutting labor and trying to save money and streamline operations. But Toyota pretty much doing the opposite, keeping expanding and growing.

O'BRIEN: And worth pointing out they make an awful lot of their cars in North America.

LEE: They do and they're going to make 20 percent even more going forward.

O'BRIEN: All right.

LEE: So that's the latest there.

Moving to Hewlett-Packard, an HP spokesperson, his name is Michael Moeller, was one of two employees targeted in the pretexting scandal. You've all heard about this impersonating HP workers and journalists trying to get their home records, trying to find out who leaked information to the media. Well the company did obtain his private phone records.

The one question that remains outstanding here, and "The Wall Street Journal" posing this, they're saying that Mark Hurd, the company's chief, did receive results about this in March but then let the investigation continue into April and May.

Why did that happen? We don't know. Is this definitely illegal? Well we don't know that yet.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

LEE: Probably it's not going to look very good. And then of course the company's chair, Patricia Dunn, is stepping down in January as a result of this whole scandal.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. But they say they didn't know the tactics. LEE: They didn't know exactly what the tactics were.

O'BRIEN: Right.

LEE: Well you can bet they do now.

O'BRIEN: Yes, they do now.

LEE: Because we were -- because we've all been talking about it.

Quick check on stocks, the Dow Jones industrials not too far away from their all-time high set back in January of 2000. About 102 -- 162 points shy of that goal. You can see green arrows across the board last week. Looking like a slightly higher start, perhaps, for stocks today. And then we have the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday, so all eyes and ears will be on Ben Bernanke and team.

O'BRIEN: All right, Carrie Lee, thank you very much.

LEE: Right. Sure.

O'BRIEN: The morning's top stories straight ahead, including the latest on that shooting at Duquesne University.

Our Alina Cho live in Pittsburgh.

CHO: A manhunt is under way for the suspect who shot five college basketball players, and one of the injured is said to be a cousin of a former NBA star.

O'BRIEN: And the pope apologizes, but many Muslims want more. What will it take to end the protests?

Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening this morning, President Bush heading to New York City in just a few hours to get ready for tomorrow's speech to the United Nations. The focus expected to be on Iran and Iraq. He'll also meet this week with several world leaders, including the president of Iraq.

Just outside Minneapolis this morning, people in Rogers, Minnesota, still cleaning up from the deadly tornado that swept through town on Saturday night. A 10-year-old girl died when the house she was in collapsed.

And the life of Patricia Kennedy Lawford being remembered this morning. The sister of John F. Kennedy and the wife of actor Peter Lawford died last night of complications from pneumonia. She was 82.

Good morning to. I'm Miles O'Brien.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Carol Costello, in for Soledad. This morning police in Pittsburgh are searching for the man they say shot five players from the Duquesne University men's basketball team. One of those players in critical condition this morning.

AMERICAN MORNING'S Alina Cho live in Pittsburgh on the Duquesne campus.

What's the latest, Alina?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning to you.

Three of the five players injured in this shooting are said to be in the hospital this morning. Two of them with serious injuries. And the most critically injured player is said to be a cousin of form Houston Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon.

Now, the shooting happened in the early morning hours of Sunday, around 2:00 a.m. Five Duquesne men's basketball players apparently left an on-campus dance event at a student union building just after 2:00 a.m. They were close to one of the dorms when they apparently encountered a man who the university says attended the dance.

There was some sort of verbal exchange. The players apparently started to walk away because they thought the issue had been resolved. And that is when the gunman opened fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES DOUGHERTY, DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: The suspect, who is not believed to be a student here at Duquesne, is still at large this morning. Police are still searching for him.

This has understandably shaken the Duquesne University community. Parents have been calling the university, students are understandably concerned. There was a packed prayer service here on campus last night. Many of the players attended that service.

And Carol, this morning the university is offering crisis counseling to anyone who needs it.

COSTELLO: Do we know any more about the suspect? Because, you know, they know who this guy is. What were they arguing about, and who is this man?

CHO: Well, police will only say that the suspect, they have some sort of information about the suspect. And the university will say -- will only say that the suspect was not a student. What I can tell you about the fight, or the verbal exchange, as the university is characterizing it, is that it happened somewhere near one of the dorms. There was some sort -- some sort of words exchanged, and the students apparently started to walk away. And it is when they turned their back on the shooter that that gunman, Carol, opened fire.

COSTELLO: Alina Cho reporting live from Pittsburgh this morning.

O'BRIEN: Police in eastern Missouri hunting for a 10-day-old baby and the woman who kidnapped her mother after slashing the mother's throat. Excuse me, who kidnapped the baby and then slashed the mother's throat.

It happened Friday in Union, 50 miles west of St. Louis. Police say an unidentified woman attacked Stephanie Ochsenbine with a knife at her home, then snatched the little baby, Abby, who weighs only 6 pounds. The kidnapper came to the home asking to use the phone.

Stephanie Ochsenbine now in the hospital. Investigators have asked hospitals to notify them if anyone comes in with a new baby.

Police issued an Amber Alert. If you have any information, call their missing child taskforce at 888-265-8639.

This morning a South Carolina man facing kidnapping and other felony charges. He's accused of abducting 14-year-old Elizabeth Shoaf. The suspect, 36-year-old Vinson Filyaw, allegedly held the girl for 10 days in this underground bunker less than a mile from her home. And police say the teenager essentially rescued herself by sending a text message to her mother that helped police track her down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MADELINE SHOAF, ELIZABETH SHOAF'S MOTHER: I had seen that it said one message received. I don'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 name would have popped up.

We called the police. They came out, they did the search, and this guy just had everything well hidden and they couldn't find him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: And we'll hear more from Elizabeth Shoaf's parents and her aunt in our next hour -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about the big spinach scare. Health officials now expanding the recall of spinach products contaminated with the E. coli bacteria.

The FDA now saying a certain kind of assorted bagged lettuce, the spring mix, is no good. Spring mix under the brand names Farmers Market, Hy Vee and Fresh and Easy should be thrown out immediately. The E. coli outbreak has spread now to 19 states. So far, 109 people have gotten sick and the numbers are expected to go up.

Federal health officials are helping state health departments conduct tests. Fifty-five people still in the hospital, 16 with a form of kidney failure. The outbreak is being blamed for one death in Wisconsin.

O'BRIEN: Happening "In America," in Wichita, Kansas, today, the BTK killer, Dennis Rader, could decide if he'll pursue an appeal. Rader pleaded guilty to killing 10 people between 1974 and 1991. The lawyer responsible for reviewing his appeal to meet with Rader today.

Thousands rallying Sunday in New York's Central Park to protest the violence in Darfur. On Saturday, the president of Sudan rejected the deployment of U.N. peacekeeping troops. At least 200,000 have been killed in Darfur since 2003.

The hot, dry Santa Ana winds are fanning the flames of three wildfires in southern California. The so-called Day Fire is the biggest. It is burning along the Los Angeles-Ventura County border and nearly doubled in size to more than 60,000 acres yesterday. It's only about 15 percent contained.

Cleanup today in the Minneapolis suburb of Rogers, Minnesota, after an F-2 tornado ripped apart dozens of homes. A 10-year-old girl was killed, six others hurt. Anywhere from 200 to 300 homes damaged. At one point yesterday, 10,000 customers were without power in that area.

Let's go to a check of the forecast, Rob Marciano in for Chad Myers today.

Hello, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Miles.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.

MARCIANO: You bet.

COSTELLO: Still to come, 50 days until the election. And Republicans -- are Republicans any closer to a compromise over new detainee rules?

And pictures coming in from a deadly typhoon in Japan. The damage very heavy. It covers a wide area.

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: We have reports just coming in to CNN of an explosion, or perhaps two large explosions, in Somalia, at the seat of the government there in the parliament during a presidential address. Once again, two explosions or at least one large explosion at the meeting of the parliament, during a presidential address in Somalia.

We're working on getting you more details. We'll have them for you as we get them -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Now here's a look at what CNN correspondents around the world are also working on today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jim Bittermann, in Paris, where we had the opportunity for an exclusive conversation with French president Jacques Chirac just before he left for the U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York and a breakfast with President George Bush. In a wide-ranging interview, Chirac stressed the need for concerned action to solve the problems of Darfur and Lebanon, and to stand up to terrorism and Iran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ryan Chilcote in Moscow.

Iranian-born American Anousheh Ansari has become the first woman ever to buy her way into space and the first person ever of Iranian descent to go. She and two professional astronauts from the United States and Russia took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome earlier this morning.

The professional astronauts are going up to the International Space Station to change out the crew that has been there for six months. She reportedly paid an estimated $20 million for her 11-day round-trip ticket.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Atika Shubert in Tokyo.

Typhoon Shanshan has weakened to a tropical storm, but it's left a trail of destruction in the southwest of Japan. At least nine people were killed, hundreds injured. Thousands were evacuated from their homes, and thousands more were left without electricity.

Japan's meteorological agency reported winds of up to 62 miles an hour. That was strong enough to flip over cars, even derail an express train. It is the most devastating storm to hit Japan this typhoon season.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: For more on these or any of our top stories, head to our Web site, CNN.com. O'BRIEN: An apology from the pope not ending anger in the Muslim world. Muslims demonstrating in several cities, including this one you see here in Basra, Iraq. And churches in Nablus and Gaza were attacked, as well.

The pope apologized yesterday. He was quoting a 14th century emperor who referred to Islam as "evil and inhuman" the other day. We'll get more on this in our next hour with our CNN faith and values correspondent, Delia Gallagher.

Still to come on the program, shock on the campus of Duquesne University. Five basketball players are shot. We have the latest on that investigation.

Also, a massive search under way for the woman who kidnapped this little girl. Police need your help on that one.

Plus, Barack Obama may be setting himself up for a presidential run in 2008. It's one of our hot political topics this morning ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As people can really get more in touch with their emotions they'll have a better workout.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Dr. Eric Fisher (ph) is a sports psychologist. So what workout does he recommend if you're feeling angry?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to go and kickbox or go and take your anger out on other people. For some people that might work well, but for others they might need to do something more meditative.

COSTELLO: Dr. Fisher (ph) says try running or lifting weights, or aerobics, boxing, or take a walk to reflect, or yoga to relax. When you're depressed or have the blues, do something that empowers yourself, such as taking a walk in nature so you can reflect.

If you're bored...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boredom, you want to do something to spice things up. So you might get out there and take a new class.

COSTELLO: If you're feeling stressed out, Fisher (ph) suggests working out on a treadmill or doing pilates, tai chi or yoga. When you're feeling happy, extend yourself. Try a new aerobics class. Lift more weights. This will help you feel even more uplifted.

So no matter what mood you're in, there is no good excuse for not working out.

Carol Costello, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Happening this morning, Pittsburgh police searching for a gunman who shot and wounded five Duquesne University basketball players. It happened early yesterday after an on-campus dance. No word on the suspect's identity.

In eastern Missouri, the search resumes this morning for a newborn baby and her kidnapper. Police say a woman took Abigail Woods from her home Friday after slashing her mother's throat. The mother has been treated and released from the hospital since.

And how about a shuttle eye view of the International Space Station, complete with its new solar wings? The shuttle undocked yesterday. Right now the crew conducting one last check of the heat shield to ensure it was not damaged in orbit.

Atlantis scheduled to land on Wednesday -- Carol.

COSTELLO: A Barack Obama sighting in Iowa. What could that mean?

And an air of compromise between President Bush and Republican senators on detainee legislation.

John Mercurio, senior editor of the "National Journal Hotline" joins us from Washington with more on these political hot topics.

Shall we start with the battle royale between the president and GOP senators? Voila, there's a compromise. What might that be?

JOHN MERCURIO, SR. EDITOR, "HOTLINE": Well, I mean, that's the big question I think everybody is asking. There was a lot of talk yesterday on the Sunday talk shows about the need for compromise, for Republican -- for specifically for -- I think for Republican political reasons.

Republicans at this point, 50 days away from the election, don't want to create this distraction, don't want the story line to be about Republican divisions. They want to be able to paint the Democratic Party as weak on national security. So they want to come up with a compromise.

Unfortunately for them, both sides, the Bush administration and the Senate Republicans who passed -- who supported the Democrats in the Senate last week, look like they're pretty dug in. So I personally don't see how they do that.

The problem, though, I think, for Democrats, though, who've been sitting back and sort of watching this story play out, is that I think the American public, what they see at this point is a debate about national security being led by Republicans. So if they're looking at national security and terrorism as the top issue going into the elections, all they see are Republicans debating while Democrats sit back.

COSTELLO: So why don't -- why doesn't -- why don't the Republicans in the Senate just put off the vote and just, like, wait to see what happens?

MERCURIO: Yes. Well, that's exactly what I think we could end up seeing. I think that's what happens a lot of times when there's a lot of division within the Republican Party, they delay. We saw that with immigration reform earlier this year.

COSTELLO: Yes. And nothing ever happens.

MERCURIO: Right, exactly.

COSTELLO: All right. Let's talk about Barack Obama.

He was in Iowa at a big barbecue for Senator Harkin. And everybody says, "Oh, we know what that means, he's a real presidential candidate in 2008."

MERCURIO: Yes. I mean, I was pretty skeptical about this little Barack Obama boomlet that started earlier this year. A lot of people saying that he's the only sort of Democrat who can -- who can unify the party, with Hillary Clinton being the likely front-runner going into 2008.

I was skeptical, and yet more and more you're hearing a lot of credible Democrats, a lot of top, prominent Democratic strategists and party, you know, officials saying that he could be the real thing. He has started to assemble a pretty credible team of campaign strategists, consultants who are working with him. He traveled to Iowa yesterday with Steve Hildebrand (ph), who is a former aide to Tom Daschle, known to be a pretty savvy political -- political operator.

I still think he's a little ways away from actually knowing whether or not he's going to run. But I think that he goes into this being the sort of likely only viable alternative to someone like Hillary Clinton, who can jump in...

COSTELLO: Yes, but doesn't it all boil down to how much money he can raise? And he could raise some big-time cash, couldn't he?

MERCURIO: That's what I was just going to say. He's the only Democrat at this point that I can see, other than Hillary Clinton, maybe John Edwards, but more likely so than John Kerry, who I think can go into this race and sort of instantly or at least quickly try to raise money.

That's a big deal.

COSTELLO: Yes, but if he doesn't -- if he doesn't run for president, don't you think he'll be somebody's vice presidential candidate?

MERCURIO: You know, and that's sort of what the other game that's going on here, is I think, yes, if he doesn't run for president, he, the other sort of candidates who are running I think are looking at the possibility of not just him, but other potential candidates running for vice president.

COSTELLO: "Hotline" senior editor John Mercurio.

Thanks, as always.

MERCURIO: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Up next in the program, Andy, "Minding Your Business."

Hello, Andy.

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": Good morning, Miles.

Good morning, Carol.

Who will be the anchor tenants of the new Freedom Tower?

And there's an alternative currency out there called liberty dollars that's raising hackles of the feds. Are they legal? We'll talk to you about that.

O'BRIEN: All right.

Also ahead on the program, tainted spinach making more people sick. The government has expanded its warning. There are more brands that you need to know about and to throw away.

Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The state and federal government looking to invest in freedom. That is, the Freedom Tower, which would be on the site of Ground Zero.

Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business."

Hello, Andy.

SERWER: Hello, Miles.

And, of course, the Freedom Tower, 1,776 feet tall. That is the plan. And obviously, as we all know, extremely controversial.

It's proposed to be $2.3 billion. Supposed to be done in 2008. That's not going to happen. It's going to take longer than that.

O'BRIEN: Is that design even finalized?

SERWER: No, it's not completely finalized. But another problem has been finding tenants. You know?

And a lot of private companies have been scared off, quite frankly, because they think it might be the target for terrorists. And now the federal government and the state government of New York have stepped up and announced that they will be the anchor tenants. They say they're going to take one million of the 2.6 million square feet of this building. So that should jump-start it. Ironically, of course, this is the same sort of thing that happened with the original World Trade Center, that the government had to take up the space because they couldn't find the tenants. And then that was too much space and it depressed the downtown New York City real estate market for years and years.

Still more wrinkles here, because Governor Pataki has signed on to this. But his term expires, and it's likely, or possible, I should say, successor Eliot Spitzer has called this a white elephant.

So...

COSTELLO: Oh. Well, isn't cost another factor? Because a lot of companies moved out into the burbs and they're paying a lot less for rent and taxes, and the whole bit.

SERWER: Yes, and it's unclear how much they pay here because it would be subsidized. But, you know, back and forth we go.

Want to tell you another interesting story here about liberty dollars. And I wasn't aware of these. This is currency sold by an organization called the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and the IRS, called NORFED.

They make these coins that are almost pure silver and they're out in circulation. Here they are.

They look a lot like, you know, silver dollars, or other currency. They're -- but they're illegal. They're not legal. They come in various denominations.

O'BRIEN: A little detail.

SERWER: Yes. And...

O'BRIEN: They look like...

SERWER: ... you know, people -- these people are...

O'BRIEN: That's a $20 piece?

SERWER: Yes. And these people are out spending them. Certain stores accept them.

COSTELLO: Really?

O'BRIEN: Is this to just completely bypass the federal government?

SERWER: Yes. It's sort of making a point, showing that money is arbitrary and why should the government have a monopoly on making money? There's a guy who spent money at a Buffalo Sabres game, knowingly using them to buy beer, of course. And that's the test case that's going on in this.

Interesting stuff, though. O'BRIEN: Well, maybe we should do our own currency. AMERICAN MORNING dollars we'll call them.

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: Worth about, what, 53 cents?

O'BRIEN: Well, yes, because of deflationary issues. But that's OK.

SERWER: That's kind of an interesting conceptual thing going on, though.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: Yes.

Let's head to Atlanta now to check on the weather.

Good morning, Rob.

MARCIANO: Hi, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Shock this morning at Duquesne University. Five students shot while leaving a school dance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: And now the search is on for a suspect and a motive.

COSTELLO: Police looking for your help right now as they search for a newborn girl violently stolen from her mother.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Drew Griffin, live in Camden, South Carolina. A 14-year-old girl held in an underground bunker for 10 days rescues herself when she steals her captor's cell phone.

That story coming up.

O'BRIEN: A powerful tornado leaving a path of destruction and death in Minnesota.

And the pope offers an apology, but will it be enough to calm anger in the Muslim world?

COSTELLO: And remembering an inspirational woman. The life of Patricia Kennedy Lawford ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.

COSTELLO: And I'm Carol Costello, in today for Soledad.

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