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At Least Nine Dead After Severe Storms in North Carolina; Democrats Meet to Decide Leadership Positions; Lives in the Balance

Aired November 16, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You're with CNN. You're informed.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming in to the NEWSROOM, and we are watching them today, this Thursday, November 16th. Here is what's on the rundown.

A twisted mess across the South. North Carolina hit hard by tornadoes this morning. Nine deaths that we know of in the Wilmington area.

HARRIS: Detroit shooting spree. A young man walking the streets, apparently firing at random, and he's still on the loose.

COLLINS: History in the House. Democrats make Nancy Pelosi the speaker-elect. We'll tell you about the unanimous vote coming here in the NEWSROOM.

Straight to Riegelwood, North Carolina, now, where a massive tornado there has claimed the lives of nine people.

We want to head out to Meghan Torjussen. She's with WWAY, our affiliate there on the scene.

Meghan, what's the very latest that you can tell us? We know that some rescue efforts and search efforts are actually going on at this time.

MEGHAN TORJUSSEN, REPORTER, WWAY: Yes. Actually, I'm looking at North Carolina Urban Search and Rescue right now. I mean, particularly, we've been let a little further in to 87 North, you know, which is right where the tornado hit here in Riegelwood. And to my left, I'm looking at basically houses that have been leveled.

We're looking at, you know, fiber glass insulation sort of blowing in the wind here, and lumber and 2x4s, just debris where houses used to be. There is fallen tree branches, power lines down. I mean, boats, to the point where they are touching the ground here. We have Progress Energy, which is out energy company out here, presumably working on trying to get power up and restored and any kind of danger at bay.

We did see a body recovered from the rubble here and into an EMS vehicle. And, you know, there's a mailbox that's completely bent to the ground. So the damage here is pretty severe, and that's kind of the situation right now.

We haven't really been able to talk to anybody. They haven't really appointed a public information officer. That's kind of where we get our information from and that's how we know what's going on. So we really haven't been able to talk to any officials.

We did talk to some witnesses, though, and they said that they had two family members that have died, that have passed because of this tornado. And like I said, we did see another body recovered from the rubble.

So I can confirm that I know of three fatalities so far. And, you know, that's really the scene we're looking at. They're not really -- they're not letting any bystanders here, it's really just emergency personnel, like I said. The mood, you know, it's eerily quiet here.

COLLINS: Yes. I was going to ask you, Meghan, if you had had an opportunity to talk with anyone. I imagine spirits are really down. What an incredibly upsetting situation as those rescue efforts go on.

We're looking at some live pictures now of police standing by and some people just moments ago coming, I believe, probably from their homes in that area.

Meghan, what will happen next? These search efforts, as you speak with officials there, will continue on for approximately how long? I mean, what is the situation with the denseness of that forest area that I know is so nearby the trailer park?

TORJUSSEN: You're right. I mean, it is pretty dense.

We have EMS crews from all over here, and we just saw one coming in from Raleigh. So, I imagine that the search and rescue effort will be pretty extensive, although, like I said, I can't really talk to any officials right now because they're, you know, concerned about getting any victims, any injuries, or anybody that is hurt out of that area.

COLLINS: Sure.

TORJUSSEN: So, unfortunately, I can't really confirm, you know, how long it will go on, but I do -- I can tell you that, you know, there are multiple EMS crews from different counties across the state.

COLLINS: Wow.

TORJUSSEN: So they're doing their best to make sure everybody is safe.

COLLINS: Absolutely. And I'm sure that because of all the devastation there it does not make for an easy task, certainly.

TORJUSSEN: No.

COLLINS: Chad Myers, we're watching the situation with you as well.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: OK. At this time we'd like to update the other -- another story that we're following and have been for most of the morning. It actually began unfolding at about 6:00 a.m. this morning in Detroit.

Five people shot. Two dead. The others have been transported to hospitals and are said to be recovering at this time. And they don't appear to have life-threatening wounds at this point in time.

But police are looking for a gunman still on the loose. And it is shaping up to be something of a shooting spree. All of the people shot within a 10-minute span of time.

One woman, 48 years old, was killed as she was exiting her car. A 58-year-old man was also shot and killed. The attacks taking place in a three to four-block radius in the city's west side.

So we're talking about the west side of Detroit. And police have set up a command center. They are looking for any kind of information that the public can provide.

You see a number there at the bottom of the screen -- 313-596- 2260 is the number if you have any information that might help police apprehend the suspect who is described as still being on the loose and as someone who has just been randomly walking through the streets of Detroit and shooting people.

That is the information that we have right now. We are continuing to follow that information, trying to get more information from James Tate (ph), who is the public information officer for Detroit police.

COLLINS: All right, everybody. Try to stick bus. Another completely unrelated story.

We want to get back to Carol Lin in the NEWSROOM for this one.

Carol, a gas leak at Georgia Tech right here in Atlanta?

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: A propane leak from a tank that you're looking at the scene right there. This is on the Georgia Tech campus. Buildings within two blocks have been evacuated.

It's a thousand-gallon tank. The propane is leaking. There are response teams on the ground.

However, because the weather is so cold, the propane is actually freezing. However, here's the danger. If it gets in contact with anything that flammable, that could blow. All right? A huge explosion potentially.

So they're trying to isolate that area, evacuating people, Heidi. That's what we know so far. We're going to stay on top of this. COLLINS: Boy, and as you look at those pictures you can certainly see the urgency. You said evacuated a two-block area near Georgia Tech?

LIN: Buildings within two blocks of Georgia Tech. It's a very high-density area, essentially midtown, downtown Atlanta.

COLLINS: All right.

Once again, looking at those pictures coming in to us from our affiliate here, WAGA.

Carol Lin, thank you. We know you'll keep your eye on it.

HARRIS: A political maverick takes a step toward another presidential run. Arizona senator John McCain setting up an exploratory committee. He files the paperwork today.

McCain was President Bush's top rival in the 2000 Republican primaries. Polls show the senator and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani leading the pack of possible GOP contenders.

Add another name to the list of possible Republican candidates. Former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson says he is considering a run for the White House. Thompson served as Health and Human services secretary under President Bush. He is expected to form an exploratory committee after the first of the year.

COLLINS: They beat the Republicans. Now they're battling amongst themselves.

House Democrats meeting today to pick their new leaders. Nancy Pelosi chosen speaker-elect just a short time ago. The first woman in the job, as you well know. But now representatives John Murtha and Steny Hoyer are locked in an ugly battle to be her deputy.

Live to Capitol Hill and Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash.

Dana, what's the latest on this feud? Is it fair to say feud?

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's definitely fair to say, and it's going on as we speak, Heidi. Right now, you mentioned that Nancy Pelosi was elected by her caucus to be the speaker. She, of course, won't officially be the speaker until January, when the entire U.S. House of Representatives elects her.

But she, just moments ago, formally nominated the man who she wants to be her number two. That, of course, is John Murtha, the congressman who became known to many because of his early opposition to the Iraq war. But that has caused a major fracture inside the Democratic caucus just days really after they had this big victory in the polls.

She is running -- he is running against, I should say, one of Nancy Pelosi's longtime rivals, and that is Steny Hoyer. He is somebody who has -- is slated for the number two slot, has been her number two for quite some time. And he has been rounding up the votes. John Murtha has been rounding up the votes.

Both of them say that they have the votes. In fact, Steny Hoyer came in just a short while ago.

Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STENY HOYER (D), MINORITY WHIP: I'm confident.

QUESTION: Do you have the votes?

HOYER: I think I do. But then again, I think probably almost everybody in these elections thinks they do. The issue is do they? We'll find out soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, this has really caused some -- frankly, some ugliness inside the Democratic Caucus here in the House of Representatives, Heidi, because what we have heard from -- from many who have been sort of -- part of those who have been lobbied is, on the side of John Murtha, that he and Nancy Pelosi have tried to make it very clear, even to some of the incoming freshmen, that they should support John Murtha even if, in the past, they had said they were going to support Steny Hoyer.

And Nancy Pelosi, we're hearing, is really trying to make this a test of loyalty. She is making -- she is loyal, she says, to John Murtha. That's why she has chosen him and backed him, but on the other side, Steny Hoyer has many of the ranking Democrats, ranking chairmen, people who will be chairmen of the committees who will also be Nancy Pelosi's deputies locked up, many of the conservative Democrats locked up.

So there really is a tug of war. Many people say that they're very upset about this, what they call a family feud.

And some people, Heidi, say that this could be a lose-lose for Nancy Pelosi. Why? Because if John Murtha does win this position and people feel really strong-armed because of it, then it could leave a bad taste in the mouth of many here.

On the other hand, if Steny Hoyer wins, he's going to win and really have perhaps some even more bad blood towards Nancy Pelosi than they've had in the past. So it's certainly not the kind of way many of the Democrats here wanted to start.

And I just want to give you a little bit of color before we go. This is really quite an operation here.

I'm in the Cannon Building in the House. And just to my left -- I think we have another camera to show you -- is where they are inside and actually meeting.

But there are a lot of -- there are a lot of people running around. There are people with "Steny" buttons. There are people with "Jack" buttons.

COLLINS: Really?

BASH: And it's quite an operation. And I can show you, you know, this kind of ear piece that I'm wearing right now, there are Steny Hoyer supporters and staffers running around with their ear pieces, with cell phones, with Blackberrys, coordinating with a war room that they have somewhere. There aren't very many staffers in the room, but this is an operation really that I've never seen before when it comes to a leadership election.

COLLINS: Yes. I mean, it's interesting when you make a parallel between what happened for minority whip on the other side of the fence between Trent Lott, Lamar Alexander -- not a feud, but certainly a surprise there.

And Dana, let me ask you, what sort of conversations are being had, if any, about the history, the ethical concerns with ABSCAM and John Murtha?

BASH: Well, certainly that has been something -- been something that has emerged in the last several days. You mentioned that -- that John Murtha has had some problems in the past. We have seen the FBI sting tape run many, many times now over the last several days, reminding people that he didn't end up taking a bribe, but perhaps could have done so.

And, more importantly, in the last couple of days, he has made clear that he doesn't think what Nancy Pelosi wants to do to clean up lobbying reform is something that he supports. In fact, three members of the Democratic Caucus who are Steny Hoyer supporters, told CNN that he said in a private meeting that that kind of legislation is "total crap."

He said he's going to support it because Nancy Pelosi supports it. And, of course, they are very close. But that is something that has not left a good taste in some people's mouths here, especially, of course, since the Democrats made such a big deal on the campaign trail about coming to Washington, cleaning it up, and campaigning on what they called the culture of corruption when it came to Republicans.

COLLINS: Probably not left a good taste in some English teachers' mouths either.

BASH: Right.

COLLINS: Dana Bash, we know you will have it for us once it happens.

BASH: Thank you.

COLLINS: Thank you.

HARRIS: And still to come, nine people reported dead in the wake of powerful storms in North Carolina. The small town of Riegelwood devastated. Recovery efforts ongoing. And police search for a gunman in Detroit they say shot five people, killing two. We will update that story in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And how soon will Intrepid float free? Intrepid Museum president Bill White updating us on a new and precarious situation here in New York.

We'll have it in the NEWSROOM.

Also, life-and-death decisions made in just seconds using experimental drugs to save lives. A medical controversy to tell you about in just a moment in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: What a scene. What a scene.

Grief and anger turned to violence in an Ohio courtroom. A man accused of killing a woman and her three children attacked by relatives of the victims.

Suspect Jason Howard was in court for a routine hearing on another matter. After deputies pulled one of the victim's relatives off Howard -- you saw just a moment there -- another began throwing punches. Both were arrested.

Howard denies fatally shooting the victim, strangling her daughter and smothering her two sons.

Man, what a story here.

Authorities say the woman was Howard's girlfriend.

COLLINS: Smokers, it is here, the day you have likely been dreading all year. Well, maybe it's the one your family, though, has been looking forward to.

The Great American Smokeout, the annual event rooted in the belief there is strength in numbers. It encourages smokers to give up cancer sticks for just one day, and then maybe another and another. The event began back in the 1970s.

Doctors work to save lives, and in an emergency they often make some tough and controversial calls about treatment without your consent.

CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta with a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You're rushed into an ambulance or an emergency room. Decisions are made at a dizzying pace about your treatment, about life and death.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it arrest? GUPTA: And without your consent, you may be treated using drugs or equipment that are basically unproven.

Dr. Sara Goldkind with the FDA says it happens in the absence of any other treatment options.

DR. SARA GOLDKIND, FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION: You're dealing with a very perilous situation, a situation where there are no good alternatives.

GUPTA: It's called waived consent, and it's used to test new medical products in cases of extreme trauma, like stroke or heart attack. Some patient advocates say it's dangerous.

VERA SHARAV, ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION: They are using patients as animals.

GUPTA: Vera Sharav is with the Alliance for Human Research Protection.

SHARAV: How do we feel about the idea that, when we are taken to a hospital, unconsciously, that we might be simply put into some kind of experiment that we know nothing about, that would cause us to die? It's that simple.

GUPTA: Waived consent is rare, applied to about 2,700 patients since 1996, 700 of those in a trial for a controversial artificial blood product called Polyheme. The makers of Polyheme believe it may be a better alternative than the traditional emergency treatment, saline solution.

But here's the rub: Unless a family member objected, Polyheme was continually given, even when a real blood transfusion was available in the emergency room.

DR. ROBERT KLITZMAN, COLUMBIA UNIV. BIOETHICIST: And the problem with that is that when you're in the hospital, the hospital could give you your blood. They could give you blood which matches your blood type, which we know is a very good treatment for most people.

GUPTA: And a "Wall Street Journal" article earlier this year cites internal documents obtained from Northfield Laboratories, the makers of Polyheme, suggesting Polyheme may not be safe. They report that a trial of Polyheme, before it was tested under waived consent rules, was "quietly shut down" and that ten of 81 patients who received the fake blood suffered a heart attack within seven days. Two of them died.

There were no heart attacks in the group that received real blood. Northfield Laboratories posted a response to the article on their Web site, saying they "disagree with the characterization that (they) did not disclose the results of this clinical trial."

Northfield insists that the full study results were reported to the FDA. KLITZMAN: These are big problems. According to the FDA, you can waive consent if there are minimal risks. Well, if there are reports of people dying from the drug, that's not a minimal risk.

GUPTA: Hillary Williams, a singer from Nashville, was enrolled in the Polyheme trial after a serious car accident. Her blood pressure plummeted. Almost no blood was reaching her brain.

HILLARY WILLIAMS, SINGER: They said I'd died for a second. And I do remember having an aerial view of everything. And I saw the car and, you know, the ambulance and the helicopter and the stretcher and everything.

GUPTA: Williams believes Polyheme helped save her life and hopes her accident can to further medical research.

Experts say although there are major hurdles, waived consent may be the only way to peer into the future of emergency medicine.

GOLDKIND: The waiving of informed consent is not taken lightly, and the primary responsibility of the FDA, while it does have a public health mission, is to really protect the subjects who are enrolled in trials.

GUPTA: Just how the trials are conducted and whether products being tested are safe remains the subject of serious debate.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You will find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. That address is CNN.com/health.

HARRIS: And still to come, nine people reported dead in the wake of powerful storms in North Carolina. The small town of Riegelwood devastated.

We're following the recovery efforts.

And police search for a gunman in Detroit they say shot five people, killing two. We will update that story here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We want to update you directly in Detroit, this frightening situation that we've been telling you about. In case you are just joining us, here is the situation. Five people were shot, two of them now dead in a crazy shooting spree with a gunman who is still on the loose, according to police there.

This all happened within the space of about 10 minutes, we're told. This was random shootings, happened in three different locations. A 48-year-old woman dead, a 58-year-old man dead. We have a tip line down at the bottom of your screen in case you may have any information about the suspect. Once again, on the loose. That number: 313-596-2260.

HARRIS: And let's take you now to Riegelwood, North Carolina, and show you some of these pictures of a town absolutely devastated today. At least nine people killed when a tornado ripped through that community this morning, starting early this morning.

Several mobile homes ripped from their foundations. Others demolished.

The latest now from Ilin Chen of News 14 Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ILIN CHEN, NEWS 14 CAROLINA: I'm standing at the shelter at Acme Delco Elementary school right now. This is a staging area that emergency workers have set up, because right now, as you can see, police are not letting anyone in except medical personnel, emergency workers, law enforcement agents, and some construction cleanup crews.

Now, if you can see further down the line there, we are just about a half a mile from where the tornado touched down. And it's a mobile community that was hit.

Folks that have gone down there have described that scene as mobile homes being torn from their foundation. In fact, one woman who went down there to check on her family said that she saw rescue workers pulling bodies out of the woods. She says that it's a scene that she's never going to forget.

Now, all of the roads that are going into Riegelwood right now have been closed off because, again, they're not letting anyone in there except rescue workers. In fact, we were driving down Highway 87 and we were stopped about five, 10 miles away, and we were routed to this staging area here.

Now, right now, the Red Cross has opened up a shelter here. They're not sure if it's going to be opened all night, but the Red Cross worker says he expects it will be because there are going to be some folks without homes.

And later on, we are going to hear a briefing from the sheriff. So far, he has confirmed there have been nine fatalities but rescue workers are still in there trying to find more people and they are cleaning up the scene right now.

So later on, we are going to try to talk to the sheriff and see what else he can tell us, but that briefing is probably not going to be later on until this afternoon. Reporting in Riegelwood, this is Ilin Chin, for CNN.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: We want to get over to Carol Lin now. She's been following this story that we told you about just a few moments ago. There has been a propane leak near Georgia Tech. We know that at least two blocks around that area, Carol, have been evacuated. What is the situation now?

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, they managed to get it under control, Heidi. This was a thousand-gallon propane tank, huge, really. I mean, just even a small propane tank in your backyard could be explosive. This was leaking. The situation was that the weather was so cold that it -- the propane actually froze as it leaked. It may have bought rescue squads more a little more time. But, the evacuation order is over. The leak has been contained. The situation, glad to report, has been resolved.

COLLINS: Very good. We always like to report the end of the story. Carol Lin, thank you for that.

COLLINS: Intrepid -- in trouble. It has been ten days now since the floating museum being mired in mud. Should have been an ordinary trip down the Hudson. Now a plan to free the ship. Bill White is the president of the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum. He is joining us now live from New York with the ship just behind him.

Bill, update us on the situation. We know that scuba divers went below the surface yesterday, wanted to check out the bottom of the ship to see if there was any damage in all that happened last Monday. What's the situation now?

BILL WHITE, USS INTREPID MUSEUM PRESIDENT: Well, thank you, Heidi. As America looks behind us to see Intrepid's ship. It is America's ship, so we send our condolences to the people with the tornado and in Detroit. I actually wanted to show everybody that we have a model of the Intrepid, which shows where the underneath of the prop areas that has been stuck in the goo, as they call it, the hard concrete sediment that is keeping this 924-foot aircraft carrier stuck in the mud in New York City.

It's actually a very precarious position. These propellers are almost 25 feet high and its potential, if we don't continue this dredging over the next couple of weeks, that we might have very serious problems to face with regard to the structural integrity of the hull. So, as you can see behind us, this is a military operation -- 24/7. United States Navy. The United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard. Our friends in New York City government, Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn have been terrific. Our two senators from New York, Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer called in the military and they're there right now probably going to be dredging for a couple of weeks so that we can safely get the ship over to Bayone.

COLLINS: Yes, I don't think Bill that people realize this could become a precarious, dangerous situation. You were showing that model. There are four propellers on the bottom of the ship that ended up getting stuck as they were spinning,, trying to move this humongous vessel away from the pier. Talk to us about the pier. The condition of this pier that she's parked at right now, not good to begin with? WHITE: Yes, Heidi, that's a very, good point, actually. The pier that this ship is attached to is a thousand foot long. it's one of these glorious piers along the west side highway of Manhattan on the Hudson River behind us. A thousand foot long. The marine boreworms have gotten in there over the years and have damaged the pier consistently and she's in very precarious position right now so that's one the reasons why we were supposed to get the ship out last Monday. That's one of the reasons why the military is here now to ensure we release that stress from the pier, release that speed bump from underneath the ship that could be causing potential damage there. That's something very important that we look at. So we get the ship over to Bayone and America can rest easy the ship is in good shape.

COLLINS: Right, because I know that she's sitting sort of out of the water a little bit because of that speed bump that you mentioned. What about the cost, Bill? I mean, this is certainly a very big project financially. I know the tugging company is going to come back for a second go at this when it happens after all dredging has cleared the bottom of the ship. They're going to do that for free. But, overall, what is cost here?

WHITE: Well, you've hit the nail on the head. You know we're a 501c3 non-for-profit organization helping the families of the troops that have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan and those who have been wounded, so this is going to be millions of dollars. And so, we're reaching out to America, to corporations, and foundations who want to help us get the Intrepid out of the mud and help us with our educational mission. They can go to our website, at intrepidmuseum.org and see how they can join the battle today and help us out.

COLLINS: Get her out of the mud. I know the U.S. Navy and the Army Corps of Engineers obviously working to do just the same. Bill White, thanks for the update on the Intrepid. We appreciate your time here today.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: And let's get to the Pentagon now and Barbara Starr. Barbara is reporting news of an increase in the force strength in Anbar province.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Tony, what we have now confirmed is details that General Abizaid first talked in his Hill testimony yesterday -- up to 2200 additional U.S. Marines will now be going to shore in Anbar province in western Iraq. Of course, that is where much of the violence is occurring, as well as in Baghdad. Anbar province, Fallujah, the Ramadi area, all of that. General Abizaid yesterday on Capitol Hill, made a passing reference to the situation, but now more details coming up.

These 2,200 Marines or so, they are part of what is called the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit out of Camp Pendleton, California. MEU -- M-E-U, Marine Expeditionary Unit, that usually includes anywhere between 1,700 and 22 Marines. Centcom officials working with General Abizaid, now confirm the decision has been made. These Marines will be moved, they've been in the Persian Gulf region, but they will be moved and go ashore in Iraq and they will go to Anbar province to it try and assist with the security situation there. Of course, Anbar, as well as Baghdad, are the two areas where most of the violence is occurring -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. Barbara, thank you.

COLLINS: Quickly want to remind you there's two stories that we've been following all day here on CNN. Huge tornadoes going through the south part of our country, in particular, these pictures coming to us from Riegelwood, North Carolina. Where we can confirmed here at CNN, at least nine deaths. We had five and then we learned from officials there on the ground that four more bodies had been found, so that count up to nine now.

Rescue efforts still going on. Look at some of these pictures we've gotten in from our I-report. People there gracious enough to take these pictures after that tornado went through. The devastation, Chad Myers reporting at an F-3, F-5 being the worst, F-3, you see damage like this from a tornado.

We are going to take a quick break. We'll be back here on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: So, it has been an incredibly busy day following the weather in the South and the shootings and a gunman on loose in Detroit. We're following all that for you. But for a moment, we want to talk about something entirely different and that is happiness, believe it or not. The remarkable mind tricks of Buddhist monks have something to do with this.

HARRIS: I'm stressed. I need this right now.

COLLINS: Yes.

HARRIS: Their special ability to meditate is leading to surprising discoveries about happiness. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has today's report from his series on happiness and your health.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Few exert more power to shape their emotional state than Buddhist monks.

BARRY KERZIN, AMERICAN BUDDHIST MONK: There's so much happiness and joy and bliss, you almost don't know what to do with it.

GUPTA: Inside this MRI scanner, American Buddhist monk Barry Kerzin meditates with such focused attention that he can actually generate his own bliss. His good feelings show up in an area of the brain where researchers think happiness lives. The left pre-frontal cortex. Negative emotions such as fear and anxiety show up on the other side of the brain.

Now, any of us can try to elicit happiness like his. But the feelings we typically generate disappear in less than half a second. Kerzin meditates up to 12 hours a day. Somehow, he and others well practiced at meditation can manipulate the feelings to last for minutes, and minutes, and minutes sustained over time.

KERZIN: It kind of has a little bit of a blissful feeling. It feels nice. It feels lovely.

RICHARD DAVIDSON, MIND-BODY CONNECTION EXPERT: They will tell you that they are in a state of deep and genuine happiness all the time.

GUPTA: Kerzin, who was a doctor before becoming a monk, is collaborating with Dr. Richard Davidson, one of the world's leading experts on the mind/body connection. Davidson calls Buddhist monks the Olympic athletes of meditation, making them ideal candidates for research on how a positive disposition affects our health.

Already, Davidson has found that people who are upbeat have a stronger immune response when they are given a flu vaccine. That means a positive outlook actually makes you less likely to get the flu. And population studies have shown that optimists live about seven years longer on average.

DAVIDSON: In general, there are data showing better health outcomes among optimists compared to pessimists on a number of different measures.

GUPTA: Meditation won't make you happier necessarily Davidson says, but even beginners can reduce the levels of stress hormone in the body and improve their immune response. Perhaps like the monks, all of us should think of happiness as a skill.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Sunday night now -- Sanjay has a full hour long special you're not going to want to miss. "Happiness and your Health." Who doesn't want to know about that.

HARRIS: Yes.

COLLINS: It's going to be taking a closer look at the surprising mind/body connection.

HARRIS: Now that's starting at 10:00 p.m. eastern on CNN. In the meantime, you can go to our website at CNN.com/happiness.

COLLINS: Also, we want to take you back to North Carolina. The tornado that hit there, we are able to report nine deaths so far. Rescue operations under way. And my mistake, I want to clear this up. Look at these pictures. These pictures were not sent in by our I- report, but we are still welcoming those of course from our viewers. This was taken by Renee Floyd from the television station there -- WWAY.

So once again, Renee Floyd taking those remarkable pictures of this F-3 tornado, according to our Chad Myers, that touched down in Columbus County just west of Wilmington, North Carolina, just absolute devastation there today.

HARRIS: 200 emergency personnel on the ground right now. Dogs being used to search for people who may still be trapped in the rubble of the scene. We'll take a quick break and give you a complete update on this story. You're in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Want to update you on this. The situation in Riegelwood, North Carolina. We are looking at some stunning pictures of the devastation that was found once daybreak came. These pictures taken by Renee Floyd, who we are going to speak with in just a moment here. We know nine people dead at this point. That information coming to us from the Columbus County sheriff's department.

Still looking for possibly more bodies in the area because of the area that was hit, this Riegelwood, particularly a trailer home there that is surrounded by a wooded area. So there are cadaver dogs and rescue teams in the area checking through those woods to make sure no one was, quite frankly, thrown from their homes. So we are trying to follow that story as you would imagine.

We do have this photographer who took these incredible images. You see that car overturned there. Renee Floyd on the line with us now, working for WWAY, a CNN affiliate there in the area.

Renee, my goodness, what incredible images you have captured here. Tell us the thoughts going through your mind as you took them.

RENEE FLOYD, PHOTOGRAPHER: It was absolutely the most devastation that I have ever seen. I can't even describe the devastation. I've never even seen anything like it on storm stories on the Weather Channel. It might be comparable to that, but it was just a lot of chaos, homes that were just completely gone. You could see a flat foundation that the walls were not even around, anywhere around the slab foundation; they were thrown, you know, several hundred yards away.

COLLINS: I know, Renee, that you have lived in the area on and off all your life. You have already mentioned never, ever seeing anything like this before. Have you had an opportunity to talk with any of the people in the area?

FLOYD: Yes, I've spoken with several people, because it's a small community. My family, all my family, lives here. And that's the main reason why I was out. My grandmother lived about a mile from the devastation.

COLLINS: Oh really? Is she OK, Renee?

FLOYD: Yes, she was fine. Her house was fine. She even had power. So I went to check on her, and you know, I had heard about what had happened and went to check on her and then went down to the scene.

COLLINS: You bring up a good point. It is remarkable, is it not, how a tornado can hit one side of the road or one house special the house right next to it perfectly fine. Did you see any evidence of that?

FLOYD: Yes, absolutely I did. Driving there, I live about two miles from where it happened, and even driving there, I would go a little ways and see a pack of trees or even somebody's yard that would have stuff thrown, and then you would go a little ways and it would -- you know, everything would be fine, and so I've seen several spots like that with downed trees, where it looked like it touched down and then would pick back up. But the area over in Riegelwood, on Highway 87, where the fatalities are at is just absolutely nothing I've ever seen before.

COLLINS: Well, we can tell by the tone of your voice...

FLOYD: Horrible.

COLLINS: ... certainly, that you are very shaken. We certainly appreciate your time.

FLOYD: It is. And the pictures really don't even describe the amount of devastation that is over there.

COLLINS: I'm sure they don't.

Renee Floyd, we appreciate your time here. We are continuing to follow this story closely at CNN. We will have more on the damage in the North Carolina area with our own Chad Myers right after this.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: And this just in, word of a verdict in a high-profile Cape Cod murder trial. Carol is following it for us in the NEWSROOM.

Hi, Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Tony. It's coming down right now as we speak. You're looking at the suspect, Christopher McCowen, who has just been convicted of first degree murder, rape, and the incoming charge right now, burglary. Let's see what it is.

2002 murder of a slain fashion writer. She was found in a pool of blood in her home. Tragically, her 2 1/2-year-old daughter was found clinging to her body. There were indications that this toddler had tried to take care of her mother in her dying hours. Christopher McCowen was known as someone who was dating this fashion writer, Christa Worthington.

I'm just listening in to see if there are additional comments by the court.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As to indictment number 05-109-02, the defendant is charged with aggravated rape.

HARRIS: OK, Carol, we appreciate it. Thank you for that update on that story.

LIN: OK.

COLLINS: Quickly, here, we want to get this news just in to CNN to you. We are hearing that Democrat Steny Hoyer has been elected as majority leader for the Democrats. If you remember, there was quite a bit of drama, if you will...

HARRIS: Interparty squabbling.

COLLINS: ... between Steny Hoyer and John Murtha. We have Dana Bash standing by to tell us the very latest.

Dana, we have an answer here.

But we can't hear you.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: OK.

COLLINS: There you go! OK, go ahead.

BASH: There we go. OK, try this one more time.

As you just mentioned, Steny Hoyer was just moments ago elected the No. 2 Democrat in the House after a very contentious fight. The vote was 149-89, so it wasn't even close in the end. He handily, it looks like, beat the backer, the person who the speaker-to-be, Nancy Pelosi, has picked, John Murtha, so Steny Hoyer has handily beat John Murtha to be the number-two Democrat.

Now this is going to be -- we're going to hear from the Democratic -- new Democratic leadership team momentarily. But there has been a lot of talk, a lot of feelings about whether or not it was an appropriate thing for Nancy Pelosi to be picking John Murtha. In the end, she lost, her person lost and Steny Hoyer, somebody who she has not had good relations with, has won. Steny Hoyer is going to be the number two here.

COLLINS: All right, Dana Bash. We will be watching that once very closely over the next couple of days, I'm sure.

HARRIS: Absolutely. YOUR WORLD TODAY is next. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins. Have a great day, everybody.

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