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Chemical Plant Fire Leads to Evacuations; GOP Turns Tables in Foley Scandal; Slain Amish Girls Called Heroes; Landmark Memphis Church Burns Down

Aired October 06, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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


KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: And I'm Don Lemon.

PHILLIPS: Seventeen thousand people evacuated, a HAZMAT situation burning out of control. We're live from the scene in Apex, North Carolina.

And...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're offering themselves, that they were trying to -- they were hoping maybe he would let the younger girls go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: As the girls are laid to rest, we honor their legacy. What went on in a one-room Amish schoolhouse? Family and friends tell their heroic stories.

PHILLIPS: And if anybody ever told a story better than R.W. Apple, we never read it. He was the man of the world of paper of record. His friends call him Johnny. And we'll remember his life at the "Times" and the times of his life.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Explosions, a plume of smoke, someone knocking at the door in the middle of the night. That's how things played out in North Carolina after fire broke out at a hazardous waste plant. Thousands of homes were evacuated.

CNN's Amanda Rosseter joins us from Apex, North Carolina, with the latest -- Amanda.

AMANDA ROSSETER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon.

That explosion and massive fire broke out at the E.Q. Industrial Services plant here in Apex. This is a small town about 20 miles southwest of Raleigh. Now, the initial concern was over noxious fumes and smoke that came out of that plant. The plant held everything from pesticides to oxides to chlorine. All grades of materials were in that fire. That led to 16,000 people in Apex evacuated overnight. So far, 13 police officers treated and released and 100 nursing home residents who were taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure.

Just a few minutes ago, we heard from the mayor of Apex.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR KEITH WEATHERLY, APEX, NORTH CAROLINA: They're all on site. The hazmat people indicated that the building's collapsed, just as I said. And they are undergoing a more extensive review of the site. But the fire's still under way and that -- so a full evaluation of the chemicals that may, you know, be -- may still be so potential hazard involved has not been fully developed yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSSETER: Now, as the mayor mentioned, there were initial air quality tests that were taken this morning by the EPA. They just happened to be in the area testing other sets at the time. They ran some initial tests on the air quality. There were plumes of smoke and fumes that were in the air that people could see from miles away.

Those initial tests came back that everything was so far OK. Nothing alarming, as the officials put it.

The rain has moved in at this point. That is helping with the smoke. But now the concern goes from air quality to runoff. They don't exactly know what kind of runoff, what kind of contamination there might be in the Apex area and in the surrounding area.

As far as the residents go, they are still evacuated. They're going to stay that way until they decide exactly what was in that building and what kind of dangerous situation might still be waiting for them at home.

There have been several hundred people taken to local elementary schools this afternoon. They are being bussed by city bus over to a local high school where they will stay in a shelter there until they can return home.

Back to you in the studio.

LEMON: All right, Amanda Rosseter reporting live from Apex, North Carolina.

And the First United Methodist Church has been a downtown -- in downtown Memphis, a landmark there, since 1893. But it was no match for the flames that toppled its steeple and sent the roof caving in.

The cause of the fire is not yet determined but no one was hurt. Sparks from the fire ignited two buildings nearby, including the 22- story Lincoln American Tower, once the tallest building in Memphis. A developer who was covering the tower into -- converting the tower into condos is hoping that it can be salvaged. Now if you're on the scene in Apex or in Memphis and have always wanted to say "I report for CNN" send us your videos or your photos from the firs and tell us your story. Just go to CNN.com/report -- ireport.

PHILLIPS: What a week. This time seven days ago, could you have put a face to the name Mark Foley? Not likely if you're outside the state of Florida or the U.S. Congress. But we certainly know him today.

His story doomed at least one career, his own, and cast a harsh light on the top layers of House Republican leadership. CNN congressional correspondent Andrea Koppel live at the Capitol with more -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, what a difference a day makes even. This time yesterday, we were waiting for that press conference with House Speaker Dennis Hastert, which many people were expecting that he might come out and announce that he was going to step aside, resign, perhaps even announce that others on his staff were going to resign. No such thing.

But what Speaker Hastert did that Republicans are telling me today they feel really has helped them turn a corner in this scandal, is that he said he was deeply sorry. It was the second sentence out of his mouth, in fact.

He also quoted Harry Truman and said that the buck stopped with him. That's one thing that they feel sort of helped to really lower the temperature here, certainly in terms of the speaker's future.

Another thing was that House Ethics Committee coming out and having its press conference in a bipartisan fashion. There was both the Republican and Democrat, four, in fact, in total, who were standing there, saying that they were going to investigate, they were going to get to the bottom of who was responsible who knew what when, and they were going to do it sooner rather than later.

You look at the whole picture of this, and what you see now is that Dennis Hastert is feeling a lot of relief today. He made clear during yesterday's press conference that he has no intention of stepping aside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Ultimately, any time that a person has to -- is a leader, on the hot seat and he is detriment to the party, you know, there ought to be a change. I became speaker in a situation like that. I don't think that's the case. I said I haven't done anything wrong, obviously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Now, a very good indicator that the pressure was relieved on Secretary -- on Speaker Hastert was the fact that you saw President Bush, for the first time since this scandal broke last week, reach out and actually call Hastert to offer his support.

And also, Kyra, you saw three of the top Republican leaders in both the House and the Senate write a letter that they released, of course, to the public, expressing their support for Speaker Hastert. So at the moment, the temperature is lowered -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, and you bring up a good point. Now that it seems that Hastert's job is safe for the moment, what is the Republican strategy to get this scandal behind them before it really hurts them at the polls next month?

KOPPEL: Absolutely. Well, as you know, we're just over four weeks away now. And no one knows it better than the Republicans. They are trying to pivot off being on the defense, which they have been for the last week now.

And they have -- we've heard this -- rumblings of this over the last week. But they're really trying to hit hard today. And that is, who is behind this who else knew about this, and questioning the timing of the leak to the news media last week and pointing the finger of blame at Democrats.

And, in particular, you have, today, members of the House Republican Caucus sending this letter off to members of the Democratic leadership, Nancy Pelosi in the House and them Ram Emmanuel, who heads up the House run for Congress, as well as Howard Dean, who heads up sort of the overall national committee.

And what they're saying is, "We want you guys to come and go under oath and tell us what you knew and when you knew it." So trying to shift the focus off of them and what Republicans knew, and say to Democrats, "We think there's something more behind this," trying to put them now on the defense, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Andrea Koppel, live from the Hill, thanks so much.

LEMON: A Louisiana family wants no more attention from the media. Their son is a former House page who first reported what are described as sick e-mails from then Congressman Mark Foley.

Now here's a family statement in which they refer to their own representative in Congress who hosted their son as page. "In the fall of 2005, as soon as Congressman Alexander became aware of the e-mails received by our son, he called us. He explained that his office had been made aware of these e-mails by our son, and that while he thought the e-mails were overly friendly, he did not think, nor did we think that they were offensive enough to warrant an investigation. Rather, we asked him to see that Congressman Foley stop e-mailing or contacting our son and to otherwise drop the matter in order to avoid a media frenzy."

PHILLIPS: Mark Foley has been a private citizen for a week now, but his past keeps bubbling to the surface. A sound bite here, some IMs there, now an Oklahoma connection, as we hear from CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): June 2002, then Congressman Mark Foley steps up on the House floor to address the departing class of pages.

MARK FOLEY (R), FORMER FLORIDA REPRESENTATIVES: Above all, cherish your families. Let them know how much you appreciate them giving you this chance. And let them know how much you appreciate their love to make you the people you are.

TODD: He goes on to name about a dozen pages he'd gotten to know during that term. One of them may be at the very center of the unfolding scandal.

On its web site, ABC News reported a lurid instant message exchange between one senator, identified as Foley, and another person, whose moniker was redacted. Redacted except on one line that ABC mistakenly left up but we have blocked out.

From Maf54, I.D.'d by ABC as Foley, "You're in the boxers, too?"

The reply, "Nope, just got home."

Maf54: "Well, strip down and get relaxed."

Once a blogger found that conversation, various news organizations, including CNN, traced the young person's moniker through Internet search engines and matched it with the name of a former House page who now says he works for the gubernatorial campaign of Republican Congressman Ernest Istook of Oklahoma.

Istook's office would not confirm that the young man works there. But Istook later said this to a CNN affiliate.

REP. ERNEST ISTOOK (R), OKLAHOMA: Now, media reports have claimed that someone who is currently on my campaign staff is a victim of Mr. Foley's misconduct. Whether that is true or not, the point is, we're talking about a victim, not an offender. This is a young man who is bright. He is hard working. He does not deserve the public embarrassment that he's facing right now.

TODD: CNN is told the FBI wants to interview this young man. If and when he is interviewed, the young man may have a high-profile lawyer by his side. "The Daily Oklahoman" newspaper reports he's hired Steven Jones, the attorney who represented Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

(on camera) Our repeated calls to Steven Jones were not returned. Jones did confirm to the newspaper that he had been hired, but he did not say why.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And later on this program, we're going to speak with another former congressional page for Representative Foley.

And make sure you get your dose of daily political news from CNN's new "Political Ticker". Just go to CNN.com/ticker.

LEMON: And still ahead here in the newsroom, heartache in Pennsylvania. Another burial today in Amish country, the fifth victim of Monday's school shooting, laid to rest.

PHILLIPS: And in Iraq, chasing ghosts, U.S. troops on the trail of snipers in Baghdad. Their mission straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Straight to the newsroom and Carol Lin with a developing story out of Washington -- Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Don, Kyra, the Justice Department, the DOJ, up in Washington, D.C., has been evacuated, including our staff up there. You know, this might be a false fire alarm. But a producer on the ground says that he doesn't see any smoke. It's a developing situation, so we'll keep you posted.

LEMON: All right, thank you, Carol.

PHILLIPS: Well, a glimmer of hope amid the grief in Pennsylvania's Amish country. The last of five girls killed in Monday's schoolhouse massacre buried today. Mourners of 12-year-old Anna Mae's Stoltzfus were met with a steady rain and a bit of encouraging news. One girl who survived the shooting but was not expected to live is showing what are called signs of hope. Her family, who had taken her home to die, have taken her back to the hospital.

Four other girls also are hospitalized. Ten students in all were shot by the 32-year-old gunman, who killed himself as police moved in. There's talk the one-room schoolhouse may be knocked down.

LEMON: The faith of the innocent. The Amish community is still reeling from Monday's tragedy. But grieving families may take solace in the strength of their children's compassion and conviction in their final moments. Just listen to midwife Rita Rhoades, who helped deliver one of the 10 girls shot by Charles Carl Roberts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RITA RHOADES, WITNESS: When it became obvious that he was going to kill them, Marion said, "Shoot me first." The gunman did ask for the girls to pray for him before he killed them.

I mean, that's -- I mean, to me, that was just real significant. I mean with his twisted mind and the evil things he had planned, he still recognized the need for prayer and recognized that these girls had a line to God.

Their parents can be really, really satisfied with the way they raised their children. Christ shines through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The funeral processions actually pass the home of the gunman's family. His wife was invited to one of yesterday's funerals. We do not know whether she accepted that.

A relief fund has been set up to help the victim's families. If you'd like to make a donation, take down the address or toll free number you see right there on your screen. The fund-raiser is a joint effort of the Mennonite Disaster Service and the Anabaptist Foundation. Half a million dollars has already been pledged by one corporate donor.

PHILLIPS: Got a hazmat situation going on, a chemical fire. Thousands of people had to evacuate. The latest from North Carolina straight ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Plus, the Foley fallout. How bad is the damage to Republicans? Who's being called a hero today? And who's the president supporting? All the latest still to come in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's head straight to the newsroom now and Carol Lin with new details on a developing story in Washington -- Carol.

LIN: That's right, Don. Well, the DOJ, the Department of Justice, was evacuated. But the all-clear signal has been given just moments ago. We don't know exactly what happened, but we're working on that story. So the all-clear at the Justice Department up in Washington, D.C. Cause of the alarm, unknown so far.

LEMON: All right, that's good news right now. Thank you very much, Carol Lin.

PHILLIPS: Well, General Motors may be on a collision course with its largest shareholder. Cheryl Casone live at the New York Stock Exchange with the latest.

Hey, Cheryl.

CHERYL CASONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A pun intended there, Kyra. Hey, guys, how are you?

PHILLIPS: You always catch those, don't you?

CASONE: All right. Well, you know, there has been a change of heart by GM's largest shareholder. In an SEC filing, Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda investment company says it has dropped plans to buy another 12 million GM shares. Kind of a big deal here.

Kerkorian's representative on GM's board says that he is resigning as a director. GM would not comment on Jerome York's resignation. This news coming just days after GM said it had broken off alliance talks with Nissan and Renault. Kerkorian is the one who had originally pushed this deal to go through. He still owns a nearly 10 percent stake in the automaker, but he may be souring on that investment.

GM shares went into a skid on this news. They're now down about seven percent or so -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: That has to be affecting the rest of the markets. Do investors have anything else on their minds?

(STOCK REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The First United Methodist Church has been a downtown Memphis landmark since 1893, but it was no match for the flames that toppled its steeple and sent the roof caving in. The cause of this fire has not been determined, but no one was hurt.

And sparks from the fire ignited two buildings nearby, including the 22-story Lincoln American tower, once the tallest building in Memphis. A developer who was converting the tower into condos is hoping that it can be salvaged.

Our reporters pretty busy this morning, working that fire in Memphis, Tennessee. First, a look at what i-reporter Charles Down sent us from Scottsdale, Arizona. This is a before picture of the First United Methodist Church. Downs told CNN he took this photo while on a recent business trip to Memphis.

And then i-reporter Ian Jones looked out his condo window around 4:30 this morning. He saw smoke and flames across the park, just hundreds of feet away, and he captured this image. You don't see the burning church, but you can see a couple of the buildings that caught fire right next to it.

Jones says the burning building was being renovated for condos and the building on the left is the Lincoln American tower.

You can see more video and pictures just like these on our web site or send in your own ireport and join the world's most powerful news team. Just log on to CNN.com, find out how.

LEMON: Those are good photos. Take a look at that.

They're clearing the air in North Carolina. Preliminary tests on the air around that huge chemical fire outside Raleigh, show nothing alarming. And authorities hope rain will further scrub out any impurities.

The fire broke out last night at E.Q. Industrial Services, which handles hazardous waste, including chlorine. No one was there at the time, but dozens of the plant's neighbors reported breathing problems and nausea. And the fire's cause is unknown right now. And of course, the winds can always be a problem with fires like that. Let's check in now with our very own Reynolds Wolf and give us an update on that and all the other weather stories happening.

Hey, Reynolds.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: It's already been a very bad month for Americans in Iraq. Just six days in, at least 19 U.S. service members have died, nine from small arms fire. Joining us now in Baghdad, CNN's Arwa Damon.

Give us a feel for whether life is like, Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it's incredibly difficult. It's an incredibly challenging environment that these troops operate in. The security situation here is only deteriorating.

In fact, over the last few hours, we just heard that in Kirkuk, that is north of Baghdad, that oil-rich city, a strict curfew is being imposed, that is banning both vehicle and pedestrian movement. If you remember, last Friday, a weekend ago, the same kind of curfew and movement ban was placed on the capital of Baghdad, and the troops that are operating here in Baghdad are operating in an incredibly challenging environment.

So far, across Iraq, six days into October, 21 U.S. troops have been killed, nine of those in small-arms fire instances that happened in Baghdad alone, a very difficult environment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The troops call it chasing the ghosts of small-arms fire. They used to laugh at these ghosts and their poorly aimed potshots. Now they take them very seriously.

Lieutenant Daniel Quinn (ph) and his men move with caution, still trying to engage the people, but these streets are both friendly and deadly. One minute, a child is waving. The next...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just two rounds, the same direction we heard that one round from.

DAMON: The ghost fire shots, then fade away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no way to I.D. where it came from.

DAMON: The men move through the dusty, trash-filled back alleys, hunting for clues, eyes scanning rooftops. Around them, life on the streets seems to continue as normal. Some of the ghosts are just taking potshots. Others, well-trained snipers who lay deadly traps. Another call, another ghost. Quinn's platoon responds to another unit's call for backup, just a short distance from the other incident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One wounded in action, they're still engaged.

DAMON: But by the time they arrive on site, the ghosts have slipped away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was coming from this house.

DAMON (on camera): But no weapons were found in there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not yet.

DAMON: This clearly nervous man is the only person in the house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sound -- there. Yes.

DAMON: Upstairs, the men look for clues and possible escape routes.

(on camera): The soldier was shot right on that street corner, taking a bullet through the arm. U.S. forces immediately medevaced him and searched this home, finding shell casings littering this rooftop.

(voice-over): The Iraqi man is detained for questioning and gun powder tests.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it was us up here, we would shoot and then scurry down a couple rooftops before going down and have a predetermined -- like one of these doors opened to get out. There's a good possibility that's what he did.

DAMON: It seems the ghost shooter is long gone. The Army says the wounded soldier will recover. But the soldiers say every time they hit the streets, they roll the dice. And with each step, the stakes seem to go higher.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DAMON: And when you ask these troops how it is that they're able to continue to go out, day after day, knowing just how dangerous these streets can be, and bear in mind that many of these troops have seen their fellow soldiers wounded or even killed in front of them, they say that it is very tough, but it is the job they were given -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now, Arwa, you know, we're talking about the troops and what they're up against, how violent and how dangerous it is. But just a bit a reality check, just the normal, everyday routine for Iraqi people, even for you, covering a story, it can sometimes be even more dangerous.

DAMON: It is -- exactly what you just said, it's the normal routine here. And it is utterly tragic. This is what everyone who lives in Iraq is confronted with on a day to day basis. The U.S. troops that go out there every day. The Iraqi civilians that live with this violence, be it the devastating bombing, the potshots, the targeted assassinations. I mean, you name it, it's a very difficult environment to live in. The despair that right now exists in Baghdad is really overwhelming, especially for the Iraqi people. This is their country, and they're watching it deteriorating right in front of their very eyes. Many of them say they're actually still in shock at how rapidly the situation is getting worse all the time -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Arwa Damon, always appreciate your insight, thanks.

LEMON: Iraqi oil, yet another sticking point in the drive to build a unified, Democratic nation. Secretary of State Condoleezza rice traveled north today to ask Iraq's Kurdish leaders to share their region's oil wealth with the rest of the country. Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani didn't make any pledges, at least not in public. His regional government has threatened to split from the rest of Iraq over oil.

Coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM, CNN's Anderson Cooper from the heart of Africa. A special look at two African nations battling poverty, violence and ghosts of the past.

PHILLIPS: And a dispute over e-mails. When (INAUDIBLE) turned over Congressman Foley's computer messages, was something? A closer look from the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, presidential props and a family's plea for privacy. New developments in the Mark Foley scandal. We've heard from the family of the teenager whose messages from Foley brought the whole sordid matter to life. Well, they're asking the media to let the boy remain anonymous. The parents say their son bravely reported what they call "sick messages" from Foley. Their statement honors their son as a hero.

President Bush, meanwhile, has phoned his support to the speaker of the House. Dennis Hastert says, as House leader, he takes responsibility for how the Foley case was handled, but he also says he won't step down. The House Ethics Comitte is investigating. Yesterday, the panel approved almost four dozen subpoenas for witnesses and documents.

LEMON: Well, regardless of who knew what on Capitol Hill, it's a fact that somebody tried to make a federal case of the Foley affair back in July. A watchdog group says the FBI blew it off, but Feds say it's the watchdogs who blew it.

CNN's Drew Griffin takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): According to government sources, the FBI says the now infamous exchange between a Congressman and a page didn't rise to the level of a crime. And those sources say the FBI investigation was hampered because the group that provided it the email on July 21st of this year wouldn't name the page and edited the messages.

That group's president, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie Sloan says the FBI is wrong.

MELANIE SLOAN, CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS: I would call that a lie, in fact. On July 21, 2006, I sent to the FBI the emails. They were not redacted in any way like they're claiming now. The kid's name is on the email. His full name and his email address, as well as the name of the Congressional staffer to whom he was sending the emails.

GRIFFIN: Sloan is president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a group that has been criticized for being anti- Republican. Conservatives charge that crew and it's Democratic supporters held back the memo until just before November's elections.

Sloan, a former prosecutor, says she sent the email to the FBI as soon as she got it because she was concerned for the safety of the pages.

Did this rise to the level of something you thought needed to be investigated?

SLOAN: It absolutely did. The statement that the emails themselves didn't contain criminal activity right on the face of them, that's true. There's nothing sexually explicit in the emails themselves. The problem with the email is that they suggest criminal activity. They suggest that this is man who might be involved in making improper sexual advances towards minors.

We thought it was very important that the FBI take a look at these and start investigating. But then we found out this past Monday, because the FBI announced it was going start a preliminary investigation that they must not have engaged in any investigation over the past couple of months.

GRIFFIN: CNN asked other law enforcement agencies what action they might have taken based on the initial emails.

The New York police told CNN, "In principle, a complaint such as the one that was lodged against Representative Foley -- for example, from a parent -- would result in an online investigation. That might have included having a police officer pose as a minor to set up a sting online.

The Peachtree City Police Department in suburban Atlanta specializes in tracking down suspicious e-mails adults send to children, aiming to arrest would-be predators.

CHIEF JIM MURRAY, PEACHTREE CITY POLICE: We issue subpoenas for their email address and who they are and who they're registered with. And then we find them.

GRIFFIN: The FBI declined comment on camera to CNN, but government sources tell CNN the email was sent to three separate FBI squads, including the cyber squad. And CRE President Melanie Sloan says there was no follow up with her.

(on camera): Did you send it to some inbox that you knew would not get attended to?

SLOAN: No. And I'm going to tell you for the first time exactly who I sent it to because now that the FBI has been deciding to lie about what I sent and what they received, I sent it to an agent, a special agent in the Washington field office.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Melanie Sloan gave us the name, and we called that FBI agent in question. So far she has not returned our call.

Drew Griffin, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And you can see more of Drew Griffin's reports on "PAULA ZAHN NOW," tonight and every weeknight at 8:00 Eastern. To get the latest on this story and your daily dose of political news from CNN's new political ticker.

Let's go to CNN.com/ticker.

PHILLIPS: Even the secretary of state can't escape travel delays. Condoleezza Rice was due at a meeting in London today on whether to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program. But a mechanical problem on Rice's plane delayed her flight from Iraq by two hours. The five permanent members of the Security Council, plus Germany, say they had to start without her, but a State Department spokesperson says no agreement on Iran is expected until the group meets again by phone early next week.

LEMON: And back in New York, the Security Council is taking a stand on North Korea's nuclear threat and the secretary-general sounds a new alarm on Sudan.

Our senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth is watching and listening.

Hi, Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Hello. The United Nations Security Council has just passed a statement aimed directly at North Korea. Now, nobody knows if a printed statement adopted by 15 countries here is going to be enough to stop any type of nuclear test, but they're trying.

And they're warning North Korea, don't do it. And they're raising the possibility of unspecified consequences. That's the president of the Security Council, the ambassador from Japan who read out the statement. And the statement warns about the deep concern at the Security Council if North Korea goes ahead with conducting a nuclear test. And the statement tells the government there, don't proceed and come back and return to those six-party nation talks.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton says there's going to be a lot of implications if North Korea goes ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We think that the main point is that North Korea should understand how strongly the United States and many other council members feel, that they should not test this nuclear device. And that if they do test it, it will be a very different world the day after the test.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: The Japanese ambassador just saying it's a very clear warning to North Korea. Also, the Russian ambassador. There was a few days of delay here. Ambassador Bolton says the council still needs a grand strategy on how to deal with the unpredictable, isolated regime in North Korea -- Don.

LEMON: And Richard, we're getting word that we may very well -- very soon know who Kofi Annan's replacement will be, his successor.

ROTH: Monday morning, the U.N. Security Council is very likely to anoint the current South Korean foreign minister, Ban Ki-moon, as the next secretary-general. He would take over January 1st. He's already talking about getting more involved in the North Korea dispute. It's unknown if the great powers on the Security Council would like that. It's going to be a secret vote inside the Security Council. Many of the other candidates have dropped out.

And it was widely predicted, Don, earlier this year, there would be a lot of big names getting into the race as it got closer, according to custom. It never happened. The South Korean, soft- spoken, firm, diligent, behind the scenes. He's the new man starting January 1st at the helm of the United Nations.

LEMON: Hmm, secret vote. All right, Richard Roth, thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: The crisis in Darfur. Collecting food for Sudan's refugees isn't the problem. Delivering it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Abubaka Badique (ph) feels a sitting duck every time he makes deliveries along Darfur's dangerous highways. He says he's been hijacked more than a dozen times and knows who the bandits are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: CNN's Jeff Koinange reports from Darfur. See it in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's go straight to the newsroom. Carol Lin, what are you working on for us?

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Kyra, I think we're talking about the Louisville, Kentucky story. We just wanted to update people who haven't been tracking the story this morning, that four young children were found in a public housing complex in Louisville, Kentucky, and according to the mayor's spokesperson there, apparently a woman was found injured after a man walked into police headquarters and said that he had killed his family.

He told detectives that he had killed his family. So that is the latest out of Louisville, Kentucky. Apparently these children who were killed were all under the age of 10. They were thought to be from a Somali family who lived in the southern part of the city, a place where several African immigrants live. So such a sad story there, and you're looking at video at that housing complex.

Also, we're working on a couple of other stories. So, Kyra, as soon as I get more on those, we'll get right back to you.

PHILLIPS: You got it. We'll check in. Carol Lin, thanks so much.

Well, there was a bomb threat in a small town, no weapons found, but a sense of innocence lost.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve has the story from Northern Virginia.

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JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Explosive detection dogs sniffed through every public and private school in Culpeper County, Virginia, Thursday. They found nothing. But the search continues for the person who made bomb threats against the schools.

SHERIFF LEE HART, CULPEPER COUNTY, VIRGINIA: We want to bring this person to justice. We want to prosecute. We take this serious.

MESERVE (on camera): Late Wednesday night, a man called the sheriff's department more than once talking about bombs and schools. Because he did not name a specific school, county officials decided to close them all.

(voice-over): Culpeper, about 75 miles outside Washington, D.C., is the kind of place people go to escape crime and violence, but officials insisted they had not overreacted.

HART: If I were to use the attitude it can't happen here I'd be fooling myself.

MESERVE: Why? Because it's happened so many other places just in the last couple of weeks -- school shootings in Colorado, Wisconsin, and most recently, in an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania. Culpeper officials said those tragedies were a factor in their deliberations, but not a decisive one.

SUPT. DAVID COX, CULPEPER SCHOOLS: Without the knowledge of the recent events of this past week, I think the decision would have still been the same to close schools. MESERVE: At the Frost Cafe downtown, Christi King (ph) said the rash of shootings and now the bomb threat had her considering whether to home school her three boys.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I worry that they think that everything is going to be scary or that there's danger everywhere. Of course, they have to be aware of it, but I don't want the fear to consume them in their day-to-day life.

MESERVE: The county sheriff believes the schools here are safe but acknowledges there are no guarantees. And even though nothing violent happened here -- there was only a threat -- some people are feeling a little less secure, a little less innocent.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Culpeper, Virginia.

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PHILLIPS: And you can see more of Jeanne Meserve's reports on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" weekdays beginning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.

LEMON: Carol Lin mentioned moments ago she was working on several breaking stories.

Which one do you have for us now, Carol?

LIN: Yes, Don, this is out of West Des Moines, Illinois (sic). There is a lockdown at two elementary schools, while police say they are looking for a drug felon who is wanted for violating his parole. He is considered armed and dangerous. His name is Stephen McNeeley. He is 41 years old. They describe him as a white male with blonde hair, standing about 5 feet, 11 inches tall.

The two schools, in case you're in this neighborhood, Westridge and Crossroads Elementary School, in a lockdown. They say that students are free to move inside the buildings for classes. Parents are being asked, though, not to show up at the schools. So a search is continuing. These are scenes from one of the schools outside as police look for this wanted drug felon, Don.

LEMON: All right, Carol. Thank you very much for that.

Up next, outrage over a $20 million appropriation to celebrate the end of wars that aren't over yet. That story ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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LEMON: Well, you can file this one under wishful thinking or maybe putting the cart before the horse: $20 million taxpayer dollars earmarked for a victory in Iraq and Afghanistan party.

PHILLIPS: Congress just rolled the money over to 2007, having found little to celebrate in either country this year. CNN's Paula Zahn takes a look.

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PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Tucked inside the military spending bill just approved by Congress is a line that's getting lots of attention. It set aside $20 million to be spent next year on what the bill calls a commemoration of success in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lawmakers originally intended to spend the money this year, but things in Iraq and Afghanistan haven't quite worked out that way. No problem, Congress simply moved the 20 million from this year's defense budget into next year's.

Of course, while everyone's waiting for the commemoration to begin, the military could be spending the $20 million on other more immediate needs. For example, based on U.S. Army estimates, the $20 million will buy 12,500 bulletproof vests for our soldiers to wear, or 55,555 fully padded helmets, or it could buy more than 80 fully armored Humvees for them to ride in. $20 million would pay disability benefits for at least 454 wounded soldiers for one full year.

At a time when the Bush administration is proposing cutting $13 million for research into artificial limbs, that $20 million could greatly improve the quality of life for soldiers returning home. The Defense Department estimates its spending $100,000 a minute in the Iraq conflict. So $20 million would keep the war effort funded for only about three hours and 20 minutes.

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