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U.S. Ratchets up Search for Missing Soldier in Iraq; Your Political DNA; Two People Shot in Workplace Shooting Near Phoenix; Target: Sexual Predators
Aired November 02, 2006 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And now to Columbia, South Carolina, where police there are investigating this scene you see on your screen. Three bodies found in a drainage ditch that's near an apartment complex there. These people have not yet been identified.
The call came in about 5:00 a.m. this morning. So, once again, investigators trying to identify the bodies. They have no suspects at this time, but they have roped off that area there, obviously trying to really look at the scene and get any clues that they possibly can from it.
We'll follow this one as well.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And this breaking news out of Roanoke, Virginia, this morning. The Henry County Sheriff, Frank Cassell, and 12 of his employees have been indicted on federal charges in an alleged drug-related racketeering conspiracy.
The scheme, apparently, according to the indictment, alleges that drugs seized by the sheriff's office were sold to citizens for distribution. The DEA says 13 of the 18 charged are either current or former employees of the Henry County Sheriff's Office. And the officials allege that Cassell was advised by authorities of the drug transactions going on in his department but took no action. Authorities are also alleging that the sheriff covered up several illegal activities by lying to the federal investigators.
We expect to get some live pictures from the scene shortly. When we do, we will bring those to you.
OK. I'm getting information that we're expecting, anticipating a live news conference from the scene there in Roanoke, Virginia. When that happens, we will take you there live.
The U.S. ratchets up its search for a missing American soldier in Iraq. Earlier this morning, the U.S. military identified the Iraqi- American who vanished a week and a half ago. And they confirmed suspicions that he was kidnapped while visiting his Iraqi wife.
Let's get the very latest now from CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.
Good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. The U.S. military now, for the first time, publicly offering details about this missing soldier. He is identified as 41-year-old Iraqi-American Ahmed Qusai al-Taai, a man who apparently moved to the United States as a teenager, then joined the military, was married -- is married to an Iraqi woman.
He vanished on October 23rd. The U.S. military confirming he left the base to apparently visit his wife in Iraq, in Baghdad. At that point, the reports are that he was at relative's home, three cars pulled up, and they say he was kidnapped.
General Caldwell, at that Baghdad briefing, offering some details about the search.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: Iraqi security forces and coalition troops are working around the clock to return him to safety and to return him back to his family. And also, to catch the perpetrators of this crime.
Search operations are based on actionable intelligence, and there has been a particular focus in areas east of the Tigris River. Elements of five brigade combat teams, more than 2,000 coalition forces, and more than 1,000 Iraqi security forces are directly involved in this search operation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Heidi, General Caldwell going on to say the military has conducted some 40 raids and it received some 240 tips about this missing American soldier, but still, the search goes on -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Wow. All right. I'm sure they'll continue to follow that very closely.
CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
Thanks, Barbara.
STARR: Sure.
HARRIS: Iraqi security forces, they're expected to someday assume control of Iraq so U.S. troops can return home. But that transition may be farther out of reach than expected.
In an article in "Military Review," a lieutenant colonel gives his frank assessment of Iraqi troops forces he has trained. And that review is not good.
Let's get the latest from Baghdad and CNN's Aneesh Raman.
What was that assessment, Aneesh? Good morning.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, we should say this lieutenant colonel was an adviser to an Iraqi army brigade for a year. The year ended just this past June. And he cited specific examples that raised some disturbing questions about the training of Iraqi security forces and about how quickly they will be able to stand up on their own.
In one instance he says members of the unit, essentially when fired upon by single sniper shots, dispensed all of their ammunition. At other times, they continued firing for 90 minutes after that initial shot.
He describes moments after one of their colleagues, other soldiers were killed where they went on rampages, sometimes through civilian areas. Other times, again, shooting all of their ammunition for extended periods of time.
There are other incidents where after paychecks are delivered 20 percent of the unit doesn't show up. They go home once a paycheck is there. There are people avoiding the tough exercise, people running from danger, poor planning.
He talks as well about communication between the military commanders on the ground, what needs to be done to try and get the Iraqi security forces to be more effective. And a larger point that is raised is eroding confidence, he says, between the military commanders on the ground and their civilian counterparts, the civilian leadership in Washington.
The point of this all in the way that it's written is to raise these issues in a way that they can be resolved and start to be grappled with, that the status quo simply cannot go on. And this is the only hope.
Now, what this means overall for the U.S., just to quote this, Iraqi officers with whom he spoke agree unanimously that a U.S. presence in Iraq is absolutely essential to prevent catastrophic collapse of the government, Tony, in civil war.
HARRIS: Yes, I get that, but Aneesh, I have to ask you, what does this reporting tell us about the will of the Iraqi -- the will of the Iraqi security forces to defend their own country? At some point they have to want to defend their country.
RAMAN: Exactly. The mindset has to be there.
Two interesting points that he raises. The first is that the mindset right now of the soldiers hearkens back to the Iran-Iraq War, really the only context they have for conflict, which is a very sort of traditional warfare, an emotional one. Civilians weren't on the battleground.
And there's the allegiance to some bigger identity, to what it is to be Iraqi, that you mentioned. In it, in the report, he says, "As of this writing, the only power holding them" -- the Iraqi security forces -- "is the promise of a paycheck (not always delivered) and a sense of duty."
So that is a huge issue on the ground. Given the sectarian strife that exists outside of the security forces, given the allegations of Shia militias infiltrating these security forces, figuring out an overarching identity is key to all of it -- Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, it absolutely is.
Aneesh Raman for us in Baghdad.
Aneesh, thank you.
COLLINS: Big brother is watching, and he may be a Democrat or a Republican. Political campaigns know more about you than you might think.
CNN's Randi Kaye with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kovanna and Vic Tandon have two children, drink gourmet coffee, shop online and drive a Toyota Camry. May not mean much to you, but to Republicans and Democrats, knowing that could mean the difference between a victory and a loss.
KOVANNA TANDON, PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT: I don't know if it's necessarily such a good idea to categorize people and to say that they're Democrats or Republican based upon how many people are in their households or what they have a tendency to purchase.
KAYE: But the Tandons are categorized. They live in Folcroft, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia, one of the most microtargeted areas in the country, according to consultant Alex Gage.
ALEX GAGE, TARGETPOINT CONSULTING: It's a way to manage your voters as individual customers.
KAYE: The Republican Party pays Gage millions to figure out voters' political DNA. The Democrats spend millions, too. The parties buy your personal data, just like any other company, but then cross reference it with your voting habits, such as which elections you voted in. Their computer spits out a voter profile, your political DNA.
TANDON: Big Brother may be matching.
KAYE: Microtargeters know what you read, what kind of coffee you drink, even if you have caller I.D. These tidbits help political parties customize their business and bring it to your front door. Did I mention microtargeters know where you live, too?
(on camera) Here in Folcroft, Pennsylvania, how do microtargeters know which house is Democrat and which house is Republican? Well, a Republican household's DNA includes a playset in the front yard, a minivan in the driveway, a computer that's a PC and more dogs than cats. Republicans also, according to microtargeters, watch football, not basketball. Oh, and they don't smoke. Their neighbor, the Democrat, has a very different political DNA. They're more likely to have a hybrid car, an Apple computer and a platinum credit card. They shop at upscale stores, buy gourmet wine and cheese and own both dogs and cats.
(voice-over) Armed with tiny electronic databases, canvassers from both parties go door to door, pushing issues your political DNA tells them you care about.
If you've been identified as a likely opponent of the Iraq war, Republicans may target you with messages about other issues, while Democrats may focus on the war.
GAGE: We can build all sorts of models. And we can build models that say, well, here's some Democrat voters that happen to be socially conservative and are high turnout voters. So if you want to go in and try and pull out and generate some defection, you can do that.
KAYE: In a sense, the politician is choosing you instead of the other way around.
After the canvassers get a sense of which way you're leaning, they rush that information back to the computer, so you can be sliced and diced some more. Sound like dirty politics?
JACK HORN, PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT: I think it's dirty, I really do.
KAYE (on camera): Is it dirty? Is it disingenuous?
GAGE: I don't think so. It's about getting information. Now, is it propagandized? Absolutely. Is it, you know, put together and argued in the most persuasive possible way from each side? Absolutely.
KAYE (voice-over): Privacy rights advocate Lillee Coney argues microtargeting manipulates voters instead of sticking to the issues.
LILLEE CONEY, ELECTRONIC RIGHTS GROUP: It's an undermining of the fabric of personal information, literally buying and selling lives.
KAYE: Voters like the Tandons think politicians should spend a little more time examining their own DNA.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Folcroft, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: CNN primetime next Tuesday night, beginning at 7:00, Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Paula Zahn and Lou Dobbs lead the bet political team on television as your votes are counted. The races and the results, Tuesday night, beginning at 7:00 Eastern.
HARRIS: And we are following what sounds like a brutal workplace shooting in Arizona. Two men shot, police say sniper-style. Let's get the latest now. We have someone on the line. I'm not quite sure who.
Who -- who am I speaking with.
MIKE SANDULAK, PHOENIX FIRE DEPT.: Yes, this is Mike Sandulak, the division chief of the Phoenix Fire Department.
HARRIS: Mike, beautiful. Thanks for your time.
SANDULAK: Certainly.
HARRIS: Mike, these -- these are the details that we have: two men shot this morning at the Pitney Bowes business complex.
What can you add to the story so far?
SANDULAK: Yes, sir. Good morning.
It came in about 7:35 Arizona Time, a report of two men down in a parking lot next to a convention center and the Pitney Bowes commercial building right alongside a major freeway, the I-17, that runs north-south through the valley. Our fire department stayed until police made sure -- the Phoenix Police made sure the scene was safe. When they determined it was safe, the shooter was still on the loose but the victims were down in a parking lot separated by the major parking lot in the big commercial area.
We found two victims, a 37-year-old male who had been shot numerous times, and a 29-year-old male that was shot in the arm. The fire department transported both of them to a trauma facility, John C. Lincoln Hospital, where they're at this time being treated.
HARRIS: Mike, were they targeted?
SANDULAK: Sir, I can't really tell that you right now. The PD is still investigating.
As reported just a couple of minutes ago, the assailant is still on the loose. So we have the area secured.
There are no schools in the area that we have to worry about children. There is a freeway right next to the building, and there's also a lot of commercial buildings. So the Phoenix PD is doing a great job making sure that scene's safe.
HARRIS: And our reporting is that a former Pitney Bowes security guard entered the complex. Is that correct?
SANDULAK: I can't really confirm that. I did hear some reports of an ex-security guard or a past security guard was in the building. It was possible a couple employees were the ones that were involved. But I can't really confirm that, sir.
HARRIS: So, have you secured that area? No question that you -- that there is no one else in the area posing a threat to that community, that complex, or any of those surrounding building right now?
SANDULAK: At this time, Phoenix PD, the last report I got, they have not got the shooter yet. So the area is still unsafe. The shooter is still reported to be armed. Report of a possible automatic weapon.
So, until we get reports from PD and make sure the shooter is caught, the area is still unsafe.
HARRIS: Do you have the fire department on standby?
SANDULAK: Yes, our fire department is what we call in a lockdown, where we let all our stations know in the immediate area they need to stay in stations. We don't respond into that area without police escort.
HARRIS: Beautiful.
Mike Sandulak with the Phoenix Police Department.
Mike, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
SANDULAK: My pleasure. Have a good day.
COLLINS: Coming up next in the NEWSROOM, sexual offenders who prey on children. Beware. Police are on the hunt for you. Operation Falcon after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A developing story here in Columbia, South Carolina, as you see that blue tarp there, which looks to be covering three bodies that have been found in a drainage ditch just near an apartment complex there. Police working very hard to identify those bodies. That has not been done yet.
But we do have a little bit of sound coming in to us now from the police chief there. This is Dean Crisp.
Listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: What time was the call for the gunshots?
CHIEF DEAN CRISP, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, POLICE: Well, right now -- and I'm still confirming that -- but it's around 4:45, 5:00 a.m., somewhere in that timeline is what we're talking about.
QUESTION: The gunshot wounds...
CRISP: Well, that's still under investigation right now. And we're still early in the details about what may have happened. So that's where we are.
QUESTION: Tell us what crews are doing down there right now. CRISP: Well, right now we're extricating the bodies. The coroner, the medical examiner is on scene. And so we have got a full team, including the assistant solicitor is there. We've got a full team of persons there evaluating possibly what happened.
QUESTION: Tell us about the drain.
CRISP: The drain is just the final point of where some of the bodies were. And so that's, as you can imagine, part of the crime scene right now. So that's where we're at.
QUESTION: Were all the bodies there, or just some?
CRISP: Right now, we're still searching. It's early on, but we have -- I am confirming that we found bodies in the drain.
QUESTION: Are any of these bodies children?
CRISP: No.
QUESTION: Do you know if those bodies were moved from any locations to that area?
CRISP: Well, right now the investigation is ongoing. And remember, putting the facts together. We received a call regarding seeing persons move or persons in a drain. So you have to put those details together.
QUESTION: Do you believe it's gang related?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: So there you have it, still very much working on the situation in Columbia, South Carolina. No identification on the bodies, no suspects at this point. A lot of work to be done. Not even sure at this time how those people were killed or ended up in that drainage ditch.
So we'll follow it for you.
HARRIS: And Heidi, police in Phoenix are working on a workplace shooting there. Two men were shot this morning at the Pitney Bowes business complex. The two men were actually shot in the parking lot. One man shot multiple times, both men taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Police know the name of the suspect they're looking for. There are reports that a former Pitney Bowes security guard may be responsible. But police telling us that they do know the name of a suspect based on witness testimony.
We will continue to follow developments in this story.
COLLINS: Target, sexual predators. We're watching live pictures -- we were going to. Not sure if we still have them. There we go. The news conference in Washington. Moments ago, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced a new federal crackdown on criminal fugitives, particularly those who commit sex crimes. So far, the Justice Department says it has nabbed almost 11,000 fugitives. Of those caught, 1,659 are sex offenders.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick got this behind-the-scenes look at Operation Falcon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His original charge is rape. He failed to register as a sex offender. Any questions? Excellent.
Break.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's cold and dark, and the coffee is just kicking in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking for somebody that might be living here.
FEYERICK: The man at the door tells the fugitive team the guy they want is his son-in-law.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We left the team in there.
FEYERICK: He gives them another address. And it pays off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So far, one for one.
FEYERICK: That's how Operation Falcon works, one by one by one. Teams of federal and local investigators led by U.S. marshals hunt down criminal fugitives. At the top of their priority list, sexual predators. A new federal law passed this summer will soon make failure to register a felony in many states.
GREG HOLMES, U.S. MARSHAL: Once they stop showing up for parole, they feel they don't need to let, you know, the precincts know where they're living.
FEYERICK (on camera): So it's almost at that point that they can just disappear?
HOLMES: Pretty much, yes.
FEYERICK (voice over): We're with U.S. Marshal Greg Holmes and his team, targeting criminals in Brooklyn. They're after a man who served time for raping a teenager, then failed to register once he got out of prison. His last known address is across from a daycare center but neighbors say he's staying at a girlfriend's.
HOLMES: He's going to be a little harder to find, you know. A 22-year-old kid, and he's running around. And, you know, he's gotten in trouble before. And he'll probably get in trouble again.
FEYERICK: As we wait outside, deputies inside are getting as much information as possible, sorting the truth from the lies.
(on camera): The team says when it comes to sex crimes, neighbors tend to cooperate more easily. It's one thing to be living next to somebody who is dealing drugs or even selling guns, but to put your own kid in jeopardy with a sexual offender, that's a whole different story.
(voice over): A lot of times people move to try to get a new start where no one knows them.
HOLMES: Sometimes they say that they thought they were done, they didn't need to register anymore. Others just, you know, shake their head. They know that they thought they would get away with it.
FEYERICK: The sun is finally up and the arrests go on. Day by day, one by one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Deb Feyerick is joining us now from New York with more on this.
So, Deb, why aren't the local police departments doing this? Is it that necessary to bring in the feds?
FEYERICK: Well, in a lot of cases, local police departments simply don't have the resources to go after these guys. Once you bring in federal agents, what they can do is they bring all different agencies together. They know how to find them, where to find them, and so it's a really collective effort, especially with these fugitive task forces to get these people.
COLLINS: The priority, though, sex offenders and gangs. Why was that?
FEYERICK: Well, the Adam Walsh Act was passed over the summer, and basically it charged the U.S. Marshal Service, the fugitive task force to go after these particular people who do not register, the sexual offenders. And one of the things that we discovered is that a lot of them really do feel that once they served parole, they can get out and they can just effectively disappear into society again. They can just hide out.
But that's not the case, and that's why they're going after them. And as for the gangs, gangs is now just a major problem across the country.
COLLINS: Yes. And it's interesting to think about the sexual offenders, you know, on the heels of Halloween. A lot of parents kind of thinking about that as their children go and knock on the doors around this country.
What about New York, New Jersey, though? How did the region there do?
FEYERICK: The region did very, very well. They actually led the number of arrests.
And what's fascinating is, being on these operations, is you realize that this is something that happens. They go after people one by one by one. And it's just a cumulative effect.
There are about a million people who are fugitives out there across the country. Usually they get about 1,000 arrests every week. But with this kind of operation, they did 10 times that amount. So it's a really concerted effort, and this particular case certainly paid off.
COLLINS: Wow. All right.
Deb Feyerick.
Thank you.
HARRIS: The politics of attack ads. Ad who's behind some of the most negative spots?
CNN investigates.
You're in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And Carol Lin is following a developing story for us out of Roanoke, Virginia.
And Carol, this is a pretty eye-popping development, to say the least...
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: It certainly is.
HARRIS: ... from the Henry County Sheriff's Department.
LIN: It certainly is. And we just found out how far reaching this drug and racketeering investigation involving the Henry County Sheriff's Department has gone.
We are monitoring this news conference by John Brownlee, the U.S. attorney for the western district of Virginia. He named just some of the players who are going to be charged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BROWNLEE, U.S. ATTORNEY, WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA: The grand jury has alleged that David Keen (ph), who was once the supervisor for the vice unit and a school resource officer for the Henry County Sheriff's Office, illegally took drugs seized by the sheriff's office and then falsified destruction orders for the drugs. The stolen drugs were then sold to Wilbur Brown (ph), Ronald Trantham (ph), William Reed (ph) and others.
It is estimated that multiple kilograms of cocaine, ounces of crack cocaine and hundreds of pounds of marijuana were stolen by these officers and then resold for further illegal distribution. Also, the K-9 handler for the Henry County Sheriff's Office, Walter Harriston (ph), periodically received seized narcotics in order to train the county's drug-smelling dogs. The grand jury has alleged that on approximately 10 occasions, Harriston (ph) took the seized cocaine and marijuana, and rather than using it for legitimate training purposes, gave the drugs to (INAUDIBLE), who then gave it to others for further illegal distribution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: The allegations go all the way up to the sheriff's office.
You're looking at a picture of Sheriff Harold Cassell, who was accused in this scheme of trying to cover up the actions by the officers.
Tony, this started eight years ago, according to federal officials.
HARRIS: Yes.
LIN: It dates back to 1998, when apparently, according to the indictment here, that sworn officers were engaging in selling crack cocaine and other drugs, stealing weapons from the evidence locker, and selling them or using them for personal use. It started back -- it actually started with what was a much smaller drug investigation. They had traced this drug ketamine, which is a form of a date rape drug, Tony...
HARRIS: Yes.
LIN: ... to this rental property that was owned by one of the sheriff's deputies.
HARRIS: Wow.
LIN: That deputy -- yes, that deputy, in turn flipped. Decided, OK, I'm going to work with you federal officers to try to avoid these charges and bring all these guys down. So this goes way back.
HARRIS: And part of the reason -- yes. And Part of the reason Cassell is in trouble here is because he had an opportunity to do something about it and didn't.
LIN: Right. Yes, the feds actually contacted the sheriffs...
HARRIS: Right.
LIN: ... and said, look, you know, we think this is going on. and there are drugs being found in places that are linked to your sheriff's deputies. Help us look into this.
He didn't allegedly do anything. That i9s what led to the investigation of the sheriff himself.
HARRIS: OK, Carol. What a story. LIN: Yes.
HARRIS: Appreciate it. Thank you.
COLLINS: We want to check back on the situation in South Carolina that we've been telling you about, where there have been three bodies found in a drainage ditch. Apparently, it took quite a while to get those bodies out of the drainage ditch because it was so deep.
We have heard from Police Chief Dean Crisp from Columbia, South Carolina, Police Department. Let's go ahead and listen in one more time to what had he to say about this investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUESTION: What time was the call for the gunshots?
CHIEF DAN CRISP, COLUMBIA, S.C. POLICE: Well, right now, and I'm still confirming, but it's around 4:45 a.m., 5:00 a.m., somewhere in that timeline is what we're talking about.
Well, that's still under investigation right now. And we're still early in the details about what may have happened.
QUESTION: Tell us what crews are doing right down there right now.
CRISP: We are extricating the bodies. The coroner, the medical examiner is on scene. And we have got a full team, including the assistant solicitor is there. We've got a full team of persons there evaluating possibly what happened.
QUESTION: Tell us about the drain.
CRISP: The drain is just final point of where some of the bodies were. And so that's, as can you imagine, part much the crime scene right now, so that's where we're at.
QUESTION: Were all the body there, or just some?
CRISP: Right now, that's -- we're still searching. It's early on. We have -- I am confirming we found bodies in the drain.
QUESTION: Are any of the bodies children?
QUESTION: Have any of the bodies moved...
CRISP: No.
QUESTION: ... to that area?
CRISP: Well, right now, the investigation is ongoing. And remember, putting the facts together, we received a call seeing persons moved or seeing persons in a drain.
QUESTION: Do you believe it's gang related?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Well, as you just heard, quite a bit of work to complete here on this investigation. But once again, three bodies found in a drainage ditch in Columbia, South Carolina. Investigators working to identify the bodies and figure out exactly how this happened. They are in fact saying that it is a homicide. We'll bring you more when we learn it.
HARRIS: And there's this, Heidi. Police in Phoenix, Arizona are working the scene of a workplace shooting. Two men shot this morning at the Pitney Bowes business complex in Phoenix. You can see all the activity. Police and fire on the scene as well. The two men were shot in the parking lot this morning. Don't know if the men were targeted, but there's at least one report suggesting that a former Pitney Bowes security guard may be responsible for this. One of the two men shot multiple times, and police say they know the name of the suspect they are looking for, based on witness testimony so far. So we will continue, obviously, to follow developments in this story as well.
COLLINS: Vote once, vote often. A voting machine button invites fraud. But getting it way with it won't be easy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the machine starts beeping at you and you have your arms wrapped around the thing, I think poll workers will be pretty suspicious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: You'd hope. The story coming up in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And the politics of attack ads, and who's behind some of the most negative spots? CNN investigates. You're in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Political attack ads 2006. Some are nastier than ever, but more effective than ever? Maybe I should pose that as a question. Who's responsible for the most radioactive spots?
CNN's Tom Foreman investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Implications of sexual impropriety in New York.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, sexy. You've reached the live one-on- one fantasy line.
FOREMAN: Accusations of rampant sexism in Virginia, and in Tennessee the muck rake is buried in immigration. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The INS found illegal workers on Bob Corker's construction site.
FOREMAN: Attack ads are blanketing the country. And those ads are often the work of tax exempt groups called 527's, organizations that are formed around political issues or points of view rather than candidates.
They're not officially part of any candidate's campaign. But 527's and the groups that operate them have become powerful forces known for the devastating ads some of them roll out right before elections.
Evan Tracey studies such things.
EVAN TRACEY, TNS MEDIA INTELLIGENCE: There's been a lot of cases, these 527's put messages out that might be too radioactive for the campaigns themselves. I mean, the best example of this is what Swift Boat Veterans and Progress for America did in 2004.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I served with John Kerry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Kerry has not been honest about what happened in Vietnam.
FOREMAN: The swift boat ads questioned John Kerry's Vietnam War record, his honesty, even his patriotism. And because the ads were backed by a 527, not George Bush's campaign, it was harder for any backlash to hit him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Caught red-handed again.
FOREMAN: Five twenty-sevens can seem like attack dogs that no one controls. Five twenty-seven's raise money through contributions like candidates but don't have the same rules on how much they can take or what they have to tell you about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he took money from porn movie producers. I mean, who hasn't?
FOREMAN: Five twenty-sevens cannot directly coordinate their ads with candidates or parties. Such ads may be paid for my national political parties but, and this is important...
KEN MEHLMAN, RNC CHAIRMAN: I can't have anything to do with creating it, can't figure out when it's going to be on television, can't figure out when it's going to stop.
FOREMAN: ... and can't be directly blamed for what any of these ads say. And both Democrats and Republicans are doing it.
(on camera) People in both parties have said they really don't like all of these dirty attack ads. But of course, that seems to depend on whether or not they are being attacked at the moment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got a problem. FOREMAN (voice-over): And that means the 527 attack dogs may be loose for a long time indeed.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: One voter, multiple votes. Just push a button on some touch screen machines. Should candidates be concerned about voter fraud?
Well, Eric Johnston from affiliate KRON has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIC JOHNSTON, KRON REPORTER: Most voters probably wouldn't know about it, but some of the electronic voting machines in use in the bay area have a button on the back of the machine that could allow someone to vote more than once, if they know how. And that's got some people worrying about voter fraud.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Using the touch screen, make selections from each category.
JOHNSTON: The machines in question are made by Oakland-based Sequoia voting systems.
PROF. DAVID WAGNER, UNIV. OF CALIF.: I think the fears are overblown.
JOHNSTON: UC Berkeley computer professor David Wagner is an expert on electronic voting machines. He says it would be almost impossible to cheat without getting noticed.
WAGNER: You'd have to reach your arms way around the back of the machine, hold down the yellow button at the back for three seconds, come back to the front and press something on the menu. You have to do it again. And meanwhile, the machine's beeping at you three times. If the machine starts beeping at you and you've got your arms wrapped around the back of the thing, I think poll workers are likely to be pretty suspicious. And you'd have to be crazy to tamper with these machines right under the noses of pole workers. That's a felony, and you'll go to jail if you get caught.
JOHNSTON: We weren't able to reach anyone at Sequoia to comment. For now, state election officials are warning poll workers to keep a close eye on the machines next Tuesday.
In Oakland, Eric Johnston, KRON 4 (ph) News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Another reminder, be sure to tune in every night until the election for a special expanded edition of THE SITUATION ROOM. Join Wolf Blitzer and Paula Zahn at 7:00 p.m. Eastern all week. We're following what appears to be a brutal workplace shooting in Arizona. Two men shot, police say, sniper style. The latest in the NEWSROOM.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We're following what appears to be a brutal workplace shooting in Arizona. Two men shot, police say sniper style. The latest in the NEWSROOM. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
And health news next, eat up, then drink up, red wine, your health and a new study. But, before you pick up a glass, get the full story from our Dr. Sanjay Gupta in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Certainly breaking developments. Let's get you the latest we have on the workplace shooting in Phoenix, Arizona. Two men shot this morning at the Pitney Bowes business complex. The two men were shot in the business's parking lot. Don't know if the men were targeted at this point. One report says a former Pitney Bowes security guard may be responsible. Police know the name of the suspect they are looking for based on witness testimony. And they also know the report is that the suspect was last seen leaving the scene in a black Honda. We'll continue to follow developments in this story.
COLLINS: You've probably heard red wine can be good for you, but now something new . A study shows that a substance found in red wine had big health benefits for overweight mice. What does it mean for men and women? Well, I talked with Dr. Sanjay Gupta a little bit earlier this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA: A lot of people are paying attention to this because it is the red wine. An interesting study though talking about a substance known as resveratrol -- people have to remember this name because it's going to become something people talk about alot. Here's the study -- they looked at mice who ate 60 percent of their diet was fat, which unfortunately, approximates a lot of human diets as well. And they're trying to figure out if they gave this substance resveratrol to them, could they somehow reduce some of the effects like diabetes, liver problems, actually increase their life span and what they found was in fact they could do those things. The mice stayed fat, they stayed obese, but some of the risks, health risks associated with being obese went significantly down. They lived longer as well. Obviously a lot of excitement, but just in mice right so far Heidi.
COLLINS: What is this resveratrol? Is this something that's used in the fermentation process of the wine or is it something that naturally occurs? GUPTA: It naturally occurs. It really interesting actually. The was they grow grapes is they grow them under stress -- that's how you grow this particular fruit. And resveratrol they believe is a substance that helps grapes actually accommodate to that stress. There's been a lot of interest in the scientific community if you could take this stress-busting substance, isolate it, and give it to the mice, might you reduce the effects of some of the effects of a stressful life, like our bad diets, sun exposure, smoking, whatever.
COLLINS: So, it is working in mice at this point. But then, how does that translate to how much red wine you should drink as a human being?
GUPTA: Well, you'd have to drink a lot.
COLLINS: How did I know you were going to say that?
GUPTA: 100 glasses actually a day is what they're talking about.
COLLINS: Good lord.
GUPTA: Which is obviously impractical for most people. What they're talking about is being able to take the actual substance, maybe some way, turn it into a supplement or injection of some sort and give that instead. I have to pint out as well, it's important that the lead author of the study in mice is also a stakeholder in the company that might make the supplement. We have to point that out. I don't know if that makes a difference in the research, but important to say.
COLLINS: You never know. So, here's where we are with the mice, how long before we might see benefit to human beings?
GUPTA: Right now, there is testing going on, specifically with resveratol looking at diabetics. Could you somehow give this stress- busting substance to diabetics and decrease their need for insulin? They're looking at that -- probably end of next year you'll start to see data and a few years after that you might see a supplement of some sort.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: To get your daily dose of health news online, just log- on to our website where you'll find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. That address is CNN.com/Health.
HARRIS: YOUR WORLD TODAY coming up at the top of the hour about 13 minutes from now. Jim Clancy standing by with a preview. Good morning, Jim.
CNN ANCHOR JIM CLANCY: Hi there, Tony and Heidi. Well, it's no secret, the number one issue for Americans going to the polls next Tuesday, Iraq. Should we stay or should we go? We'll look at the latest details from the polls and also from the front lines in Baghdad. Plus, the secret world of an Asian military hunt. The wedding was all over the celebrity news pages, and it's wonderful but human rights groups say behind the scenes in this country, people are being forced into labor gangs. It's a reality of life.
Plus, Britain's wondering how much of their lives are on camera. The British live in a world where there is one security camera, get this, for every 14 people. There's a story, Heidi, Tony, you can really watch on television.
COLLINS: Yes, that's true. All right. Jim Clancy, we'll watch for it. Thank you.
CHERYL CASONE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Cheryl Casone at the New York Stock Exchange -- more money than ever before is being poured into campaign ads. I'll tell you just how much more. When NEWSROOM returns. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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HARRIS: News just in to CNN. Let's get to you Carol Lin in the NEWSROOM with new developments from Ground Zero. Carol?
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Tony, you remember the story where remains were found a couple of weeks ago in a manhole near the World Trade Center attack site. Well, there are now reports, official reports that the remains have been identified, one of a flight attendant and another of a passenger that were on the first plane to hit the north tower on that fateful day. The flight attendant's name is Karen Ann Martin. She's the 40-year-old head flight attendant on American Airlines flight 11. And also passenger Douglas Joel Stone, 54 years old, he was a passenger on that same flight.
Now, as you know, this has been very controversial because since these remains have been found, Tony, families are rallying at the site, saying there has to be a more comprehensive search of Ground Zero in order to identify more than 1,000 people who have yet to be confirmed to have been killed in those attacks. And it's an emotional issue. The mayor of New York still stands by the cleanup effort and the rebuilding effort, but these families want that the process stopped so that more remains can be identified. They can get the confirmation that they so desperately want to know that their loved ones were in fact killed in that attack.
HARRIS: You're so right about that, Carol. The families want the construction at that site stopped.
LIN: Completely.
HARRIS: Completely stopped.
LIN: Right.
HARRIS: And the mayor says that the work will continue but that we will do a more comprehensive search, even as that work continues.
LIN: Exactly. These remains were found in a manhole cover area that was covered up by a temporary road after those attacks. So, there wasn't really access to that area. But, as the cleanup continues and the recovery continues, they are finding more remains. In fact, just in the last couple of weeks since those remains were found, more than 200 body parts actually have been found at Ground Zero. So it raises a lot of questions for the families.
HARRIS: Sure does. All right, Carol, thank you.
(MARKET REPORT)
COLLINS: Ahead in the NEWSROOM, cheating death with the famous Art Buckwald. You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Kyra Phillips here now, talking about CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: Got, alot of things coming up. Cops and allegations of corruption, a major case breaking in Virginia today -- a sheriff and his deputies arrested on drug charges. We're going to have the latest in the CNN NEWSROOM. Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you find it funny that you check into a hospice and your doctors actually say you're doing better?
ART BUCHWALD, HUMORIST: Well, I don't find it funny. I find it funny about all the things that have happened to me since I lived there
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Pulitzer-prize-winning writer and humorist Art Buchwald proved doctors wrong when they told him he only had weeks to live. He's written a new book about cheating death, living each day to the fullest, and laughing along the way. If you have a question you'd like to ask Art Buchwald, e-mail us CNNNEWSROOM@CNN.com. His story coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM live from his home tomorrow -- you won't want to miss it. Join Don Lemon and me this afternoon in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: What a great idea. That is so cool.
PHILLIPS: He's an amazing man and an incredible mentor.
HARRIS: And thanks for fixing my jacket.
COLLINS: Thank you Kyra. YOUR WORLD TODAY is coming up next with news happening across the globe. I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS. And I'm Tony Harris. Have a great day.
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