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Baghdad Bombing; Winter Weather Having Major Impact Across U.S.; Missouri Kidnappings; Testing for Heart Disease
Aired January 17, 2007 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.
For the next three hours, watch events as they come in to the NEWSROOM live on this Wednesday, the 17th of January.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Sidelined by winter. Plenty of drivers slipping and sliding on a Texas-sized ice storm. The big chill coming soon to your breakfast table.
HARRIS: An inside look, and our Dr. Sanjay Gupta finding early signs of heart disease. Doctor becomes patient to show us how.
COLLINS: Three girls arrested. This video turns up on MySpace and YouTube. Shocking Long Island beat-down in the NEWSROOM.
In Iraq today, unrelenting violence, still more bloodshed. It comes on the heels of yesterday's carnage at a Baghdad university. The latest attack, a deadly explosion at a market in the Sadr City section of the capital.
CNN's Arwa Damon joining us now live.
Arwa, what can you tell us about this latest explosion?
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, the death toll from that attack, again, as you just mentioned, in a marketplace inside Sadr City, a car bomb, only keeps rising. According to the Iraqi police, at least 15 Iraqis died in that attack alone. Another 33 were wounded. We have quite often seen tragically insurgents targeting Iraqi civilians in crowded marketplaces.
This follows an attack that happened this time in the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, where, again, a car bomb, this time parked outside an Iraqi police station. In that attack alone, 10 Iraqis were killed, another 42 were wounded.
According to the Iraqi police, the bomber drove the truck up, parked it right in front of the Iraqi police station, and then ran away as police officers on the ground were telling him to move his vehicle. They believe that he detonated those deadly explosives by remote.
All of this coming as the nation is really reeling from the aftermath of yesterday's devastating attacks that saw over 100 Iraqis killed in the capital alone and over double that number wounded -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. Curious to know there, Arwa, what is the reaction to those bombings at the university from yesterday?
DAMON: Heidi, really all of the Iraqis that we spoke to were utterly devastated and disgusted by this attack that was deliberately targeting students, university professors and employees at that location. Though some did say that they were not necessarily surprised. There have been direct threats made by some Sunni extremist groups.
For example, Ansar al-Sunna telling students and professors not to attend universities if they wanted to stay alive. We also saw, for example, in November that mass kidnapping at the Ministry of Higher Education. But perhaps to a certain level that attack is uniting both Sunni and Shia Iraqis.
There has been a massive blood drive at hospital where's the wounded were evacuated to. In fact, one of our Iraqi producers here said that he went to a hospital and there were 700 people that donated blood before he did -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Wow. All right. Arwa Damon coming to us live from Baghdad.
Arwa, thank you.
The war in Iraq and the battle on the hill. Two congressional hearings on Iraq get under way within the next hour.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee looks at options and diplomatic strategy. That hearing beginning at 9:30 Eastern. And on the House side, the Foreign Affairs Committee examines U.S. policy in Iraq beginning at 10:00 Eastern. Among the witnesses, former secretary of state Madeleine Albright.
Later today, 1:00 p.m. Eastern, a House Armed Services committee hearing begins, and we will watch all of those activities and, of course, keep you updated.
HARRIS: Misery coast to coast, and much of the country reeling from snow, ice, freezing rain or just bitter cold. Parts of the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, the Deep South, the East Coast, all a big wintry mess. Some of the worst weather is in Texas.
CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras now in San Antonio.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice over): It could still be days before it gets warm enough to melt all of the ice left behind by a nasty, deadly winter storm that clobbered parts of Texas, the Midwest, and New England. At least 50 people in eight states are dead. Most of them killed on dangerous, icy roads.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We try to get everybody to slow down, but I've seen people still speeding out here, and they just don't know. I mean, this slick ice, you can't see it.
JERAS: The ice, also snapping trees like twigs, downing power lines, leaving nearly half a million people without electricity. Officials say it could be next week before power is back in some places, and the mercury is dropping. Some of the coldest temperatures of the season expected in the Northeast tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, we're bundling up. We've got sweatshirts on, dressed in layers, trying to -- trying to stay warm. All staying in one room to keep the heat.
JERAS: In California, below-freezing temperatures expected for at least a couple of more days. The citrus industry on its knees. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger toured an orange grove and spoke with farmers who fear they've lost everything.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: We may lose, as I've just heard, up to 70 percent of our oranges, our lemons, and our grapefruit. That's, of course, really bad news.
JERAS: The bad news also extends to the Pacific Northwest, where snow and slush are making daily life a mess. Many schools are closed down.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Jacqui Jeras joins us in San Antonio.
Hard to believe I'm saying San Antonio, Jacqui.
All right. Now, I know that people need to sort of get around and get about their life here, and that the best advice is to stay off the roads for now. So how is this storm affecting travel on the road there's in south Texas?
JERAS: Well, people are actually getting around in this area where I am, downtown, just fine. There's a couple-block area where the roads are just wet, as opposed to seeing the ice on them. But you don't have to get too far away from here before you're looking at ice- covered roads.
Bridges and overpasses, particularly, are ice-covered and very slick. A huge portion of Interstate 10, Tony, which runs from here all of the way across into west Texas, 300 miles are shut down. So there are thousands of people who are stranded.
And, you know, this is day two that we're dealing with this for. And, you know, kids are out of school, a lot of businesses are closed. And it's really hazardous just to get out and walk around, because when you look -- if you can see behind me, we're here in the River Walk area.
HARRIS: Yes.
JERAS: I'm sure you've heard of the famous River Walk.
HARRIS: Oh, yes.
JERAS: Well, it looks fine. You look around, it just looks wet. But on closer inspection, check this out. All along this palm tree, see the ice is on there.
HARRIS: Oh, that is insane.
JERAS: See how it just kind of crumbles off? Yes, the weight of it just snapped it on over. And it's doing that to power lines too, now. The latest we've heard is there are about 22,000 people here don't have power today.
HARRIS: When might we get a warm-up?
JERAS: Well, a modest warm-up is possible here this afternoon. It could get above the freezing mark and help to, you k now, melt some of this ice. But then the problem is, temperatures tonight are going to be down below freezing, for sure, and that's going to create black ice on the roadway. So that can be a problem tomorrow.
HARRIS: Yes.
JERAS: The wet weather probably going to alleviate a little bit tomorrow and into Friday. But by the weekend we could be dealing with flooding problems as temperatures warm back up into the 50s.
HARRIS: Boy. Jacqui Jeras for us in San Antonio.
Jacqui, appreciate it. Thank you.
Let's get you right over now to Chad Myers in the weather center.
Maybe a modest warm-up this afternoon, but we need a real warm- up, don't we, Chad?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you need to get above 34, 35.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Very good, Chad. Thank you.
MYERS: You bet.
COLLINS: The Missouri kidnapping suspect, an alleged double life exposed. Prosecutors today building their case against Michael Devlin, the pizzeria manager accused of kidnapping two boys and making them his prisoners. One for four days, the other for more than four years.
CNN's Chris Lawrence outside the courthouse now in Union, Missouri.
Chris, tell us what the next step in the case against Devlin is.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, right around this time tomorrow Michael Devlin's defense attorney will plead not guilty when he's arraigned on a kidnapping charge. The actual hearing will be held in the courtroom behind me, but Devlin himself will be a few high miles away.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice over): The sheriff's office is concerned about safety and won't risk walking their prisoner into court. So Michael Devlin will be arraigned through a video camera near his jail cell.
SHERIFF GARY TOELKE, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI: And it's because of security reasons. The sheriff's office isn't connected to the courthouse. There's about a two-mile distance between the two.
LAWRENCE: In the next 24 hours, the Franklin County prosecutor will be talking with his counterparts in other counties that are involved in the case.
ROBERT PARKS, PROSECUTOR: And we will be pooling all of our evidence and then deciding what charges will come out of what counts.
LAWRENCE: At least one is certain. Devlin is charged with kidnapping Ben Ownby, who is trying to fit back in after four days away from home.
DORIS OWNBY, BEN OWNBY'S MOTHER: He wanted to go back to school today. He was ready. But we're not quite ready for him to go back to school yet.
WILLIAM OWNBY, BEN OWNBY'S FATHER: We assured him we'd get him some homework to do, though.
LAWRENCE: The transition could be tougher for Shawn Hornbeck, who was missing for four years. He lived with Devlin for some or possibly all of that time. Shawn didn't go to school, but he did go out, and he did have friends. One neighbor says she saw a young girl visiting Devlin's apartment over the past few months, and investigators are trying to figure out how many other children may have been there.
TOELKE: That's part of the legwork that needs to be done. Any contacts Shawn may have had, he may have had, that's what we're talking about, basically.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: Investigators have confiscated Devlin's home computer and are right now still looking at those files. Devlin's defense attorneys say there is still the possibility that federal charges may be filed either on the kidnapping charge, or if prosecutors have such evidence, child pornography -- Heidi. COLLINS: We'll continue to watch that.
And Chris, curious to know, in that video conference that they'll be doing with Devlin, will he be wearing civilian clothes or the orange jumpsuit, the jail clothes?
LAWRENCE: He was supposed to wear the orange jumpsuit, but his defense attorneys have filed a motion to try to get him into civilian clothes and out of those shackles. They're worried that how he appears, you know, could influence any potential jurors if this case indeed does ever go to trial.
COLLINS: All right. Chris Lawrence live from Missouri this morning.
Chris, thank you.
HARRIS: And still to come this morning, two missing boys found in Missouri inspiration for families who have lost so much.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, it gave us a lot of hope, a lot of inspiration to keep on searching for our babies, because we do want them back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The desperate search for two little girls. Their story coming up in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: And our doctor went to his doctors. Sanjay Gupta and a heart check. Information that could be good for your heart. He'll share it with us coming up next.
HARRIS: House Democrats back on the clock today. They're putting student loan interest rates on the chopping block -- 100-hour agenda in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: The Donald on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At the unveiling of his Hollywood star, Donald Trump got some advice he thought he'd never have to be told.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't cover up your name.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Boy, don't cover up your name.
CNN's Jeanne Moos reports straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Healthcare at the top of President Bush's agenda this morning. The president is heading to the National Institutes of Health next hour. He will take a tour of the NIH labs and take part in a roundtable on advances in cancer prevention.
COLLINS: Several studies show it is the case, South Asians at greater risk for heart disease.
Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, falls into this demographic. He is here now to tell us what he's done about it and how it could help you, which is the most important part.
But tell us what you did.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, I decided to get my own heart checked on the advice of my cardiologist. And it was a very interesting discussion we had ahead of time.
People focus so much on surviving illness. He really focuses on preventing it in the first place.
It is still controversial, who should get tested, what exact tests you should get. I decided to find out for myself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice over): You may wonder what condition your heart is in. I did. And for the first time ever, I got a chance to see my own beating heart.
The truth is, I'm 37 years old, pretty healthy, but a strong family history of heart disease makes me worry. So my doctors told me to have two types of testing done.
First up, drawing blood, lots of it, more than 10 tubes. Looking for all sorts of things, like genetic markers that might put me at especially high risk for heart disease. Also, markers of inflammation like C-Reactive protein. Too high a number and your risk skyrockets.
And finally, cholesterol and any other fat that might be accumulating in my arteries. That accumulation clogs up blood vessels which restricts the blood supply to the heart. It could lead to a heart attack.
(on camera): So most people get their blood work done. As you saw, I did. But another step might actually to be to get my heart looked at, actually looking at the blood vessels that go to my heart.
The question is, do I have some disease right now? And the more important question is, is there something that can be done about it.
I decided to have this done because of my own family history. Let's see what we find.
(voice over): What I'm about to undergo is called a CT angiogram, using this sophisticated x-ray machine that takes 10 pictures between each heartbeat. The test itself doesn't take very long, just about 10 minutes. But all these x-rays are used to check out different things in my heart.
DR. SZILARD VOROS, FUQUA HEART CENTER OF ATLANTA: What we're look for, is there any calcification in the arteries. So far there's no calcium.
GUPTA: And the health of the arteries. This is what the CT angiogram does so well. It provides a 3D image of the heart without having to use any invasive measure.
(on camera): When I walk out of here after everything you told me, how should I feel?
VOROS: I would be very reassured. There's absolutely no coronary calcium, there's absolutely no soft plaque in the coronary arterial bed. We really have no evidence for heart disease in the arteries at this time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: So somewhat reassuring. It's still going to take a little bit of time for that blood work to come back, but, you know, I mean, it's good to know that the heart vessels are actually pretty open.
COLLINS: Yes. Very good to know, certainly for your case, yes.
How readily available, though, are they the CT angiograms? And most importantly, I think everybody wants to know, what is covered by insurance?
GUPTA: Yes, and herein lies the rub. I mean, CTs are available in most major hospitals. But unless you have some sort of symptom already, chest pain or something like that it's probably not going to be covered by insurance.
And it's not cheap. It's over $1,000, just over $1,000 to get that test. But, you know, a lot of people say, well, should we become a culture of prevention, actually paying for these sorts of heart tests or not? I mean, it is a lot of money, but where do you sort of draw the line. But for a lot of people who do have symptoms, you might be able to get it covered by insurance.
COLLINS: OK. So you have to notice a symptom before you preemptively go in and try to make sure -- I mean, I don't know. I just keep thinking of these bizarre case where youngsters or athletes are falling down on the basketball court or the football field, and I know that's, you know, relatively rare, but, boy, if there was some sort of way to just check on that.
GUPTA: To screen, yes.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: And you hear about the 40-year-old marathoner whole suddenly drops down as well.
The guidelines may change, Heidi. And we're starting to see things change.
If you have a strong family history, for example, if you have high cholesterol, if you have other indicators, it may put you in a category of people that could actually get that test paid for. We're not there yet. Some insurance companies are slightly better than others about this, but we're not there yet as a nation.
COLLINS: So, let's say that the information that you got might have been bad -- I mean, you are obviously healthy, but if it had been bad, what do you do next?
GUPTA: That's the good news, because there are things that you can do. And we certainly talk about diet and exercise, and it may make you more likely to do that stuff if you find an abnormality on your own heart. It may make you want to go out and exercise.
But also, there are medications that can actually not only stop the growth of plaque, but actually reverse it. Say one of these gene markers came back positive saying that I'm at increased risk. Well, maybe I would get screened more frequently to try and stave off heart disease before it becomes a problem.
So, there is action you can take based on this test. And that's an important point.
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely.
All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks for the pictures.
GUPTA: Thank you. Yes, absolutely.
HARRIS: And this just in to CNN. Let's take you now to Sadr City, Baghdad, in Iraq. New pictures in to CNN now.
At least 15 people have been killed in this fresh violence. New carnage. Another round of explosions.
Thirty-three more have been wounded. A car bomb attack the culprit here in a marketplace in Baghdad's Sadr City.
This on the heels of yesterday's horrific attacks -- 107 killed, 285 wounded in multiple attacks. And yesterday -- these new pictures in to CNN just a short time ago of the new attack on Sadr City. Fifteen people now reported dead, 33 wounded. This car bombing in a marketplace in Baghdad.
We will continue to follow the story, these horrific pictures, and bring you more information and more context on this story as we get more information.
COLLINS: A beating videotaped, uploaded to the Internet for all the world to see. High school girls out of control in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And we are "Minding Your Business" this morning. Ali Velshi is here with a preview.
Ali, good morning.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
Oil prices are at their lowest in a year and a half. And it's going lower.
Let's take a look at what this does to gas prices. We're having a lot of cities across America where you can get gas for less than two bucks.
I'll have more on that in the NEWSROOM when I come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Fidel Castro's health depends on whom you ask. A Spanish surgeon who examined him last month tells CNN the Cuban leader is showing "progressive improvement."
No specifics, but the doctor made a point of contacting CNN to deny a Spanish newspaper's report. That account cited hospital sources and called the Cuban president's condition "grave." He has not been seen in public since last summer, when he handed power to his brother Raul.
HARRIS: It has been a year and a half since oil prices looked this good.
Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Ali, good morning.
How good is good?
VELSHI: Good is really good. We're almost at 50 bucks a barrel.
I mean, you remember, we talked about this many times. My big barrel of oil, and it was up to $78 a barrel. A year and a half now, and this is partially because of the warm weather in the United States and in other parts of the world. But the United States obviously is the single biggest consumer of oil in the world.
So, oil down to 50 bucks a barrel. How does that translate to gas?
Well, first of all, oil has dropped in the last month, let's say, from about $64 to $51, about a $13 drop. Gas has dropped in the last month from about $2.30 a gallon to about $2.22 a gallon. So that drop isn't complete if you believe that gas goes down with oil.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: But, you know, people we've talked to said that the next 10 days or two weeks, expect a further drop in the price of gas. And, you know, we were up on one of the sites, gasbuddy.com. I counted 16 cities where you can get a gallon of gas, self-serve regular, for less than two bucks right now.
HARRIS: Get out of here. Really?
Hey, but I have to ask you -- let's go back to a barrel now of crude.
VELSHI: Yes.
HARRIS: What happens? You've seen the weather maps here. We're locked in kind of a deep freeze around the country.
VELSHI: Yes.
HARRIS: What happens if we get a spike in demand for home heating oil? What happens to the price of that barrel?
VELSHI: I mean, here's the thing. There's two aspects to his.
One is how much oil we actually buy and use, and the other is how much the traders think we're going to buy and use. And, you know, the minute it gets cold, they start thinking, oh my god, it's going to be a deep freeze, the price of oil might go up.
But we were waiting for OPEC to see what OPEC is going to say about $50 a barrel.
HARRIS: Right.
VELSHI: And OPEC has said they've got a cut scheduled for February 1st, half a million barrels a day, a production cut. They don't seed a need for any more cuts in oil. So that has sort of stabilized it.
But you're right, it's cold now and we're going to start using our heating oil. The Northeast of the United States uses heating oil very heavily.
So we'll have to see where this goes. But for the time being, you might as well enjoy the price.
HARRIS: You might as well enjoy it. Hey, how about this? So, the national average, $2.22 for a gallon of gas. Might we soon see the return of the SUV?
VELSHI: Yes.
HARRIS: Or am I getting away ahead of myself here?
VELSHI: You'll probably see -- no, Tony, you don't. That's the funny thing about the American shopper. Nobody ever waits. I bet you they're selling today.
And the CEO of General Motors, Rick Wagoner, actually had something to say about this. It's sort of the refrain that we heard before. The one good thing about gas at $3 a gallon is it really made people think about getting a smaller car, buying a hybrid, carpooling, just conserving a little bit.
HARRIS: Right.
VELSHI: Back at under 2 bucks a gallon, we truly forget how dangerous and how expensive it can get. So, yes -- no, in fact the head of a major -- the world's biggest car company saying he's not sure it's a fantastic idea. High gas prices do make us invest in new alternative energies and think more about conserving.
HARRIS: Yes. Well, there he is "Minding Your Business" this morning, Ali Velshi.
Ali, great to see you.
VELSHI: See you, Tony.
COLLINS: For a second day, a poor Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad hit by a bomb blast. New details ahead in the NEWSROOM.
Also, oranges, lemons, limes. A tarty tang will soon cost you a whole bunch more. A wintry blast hits the groves, ahead in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And from the schoolyard to cyberspace, take a look at this. A teenage spat turns ugly. And Internet surfers flock to watch. But the story doesn't end there.
Details in the NEWSROOM.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MARKET REPORT)
COLLINS: Among top stories this morning, prosecutors say what you are about to witness is a crime. A school yard beat-down. Three teenaged girls accused of attacking a young rival.
Investigators say the 13 and 14-year-olds first traded assaults -- insults that is on the internet and that's where this videotape wound up. It drew a big audience, including school officials and police. The three girls now charged.
The girl who was beaten is fine. Incidentally her parents first declined to press charges, that is until the video hit the internet. Maybe that's the point here. More arrests could be coming.
Joining us now by phone, Lieutenant Robert Edwards of the Suffolk County Police Department. Lieutenant Edwards, thanks for being with us.
LT. ROBERT EDWARDS, SUFFOLK COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT: Good morning.
COLLINS: Could you please start at the top about what you know of this incident?
EDWARDS: On January 2nd, we became aware of the existence of this videotape, which the school authorities had received. They contacted us and at that time we initiated an investigation. Initially we interviewed the girl and her parents.
And at that time we followed through with the investigation and subsequent to this we were able to identify the people and in it at least a portion of the people in it and were able to make an arrest and arrest these three girls and charged them with attempted assault.
COLLINS: Attempted assault. When you spoke with the victim, what did she say about it? Was she upset?
EDWARDS: Well, the victim was obviously traumatized. Traumatized in really two ways. Initially from the assault itself and in a second way the fact that it was now -- the assault was videotaped and shown to the public and kind of traumatized her both ways and was very upset about it, her and her family.
COLLINS: She had not told her parents or authorities about this until it went on the internet?
EDWARDS: Yes, that's correct. The first time her parents, school, or us became aware is when the school authorities were able to obtain a copy of this and realized it's on the internet.
The first time she was aware of it, is when the police contacted. The first time her parents were aware of it is when the police contacted the parents and we informed them.
COLLINS: Lieutenant Edwards, you're a police officer. You see crimes all the time.
EDWARDS: Correct.
COLLINS: What does it feel like when you watch this?
EDWARDS: Well, as a police officer and as a parent I know that if it was one of my children, I would be really, really upset about this. I think that the police department, particularly the Suffolk County police department makes an extra effort to ensure the safety of our children and our community.
And anytime we have an assault involving children, even when the other people involved in it, the perpetrators of the crime, are children, we take it seriously and that's the way we went forward in this investigation. It is pretty graphic. Every time I watch it, I see it as graphic and shocking.
COLLINS: Yes, it is very difficult to watch, certainly. Do police monitor websites like YouTube or Photobucket or Myspace? EDWARDS: There's a unit in the police department that's called the computer crimes unit in our police department and they'll monitor the incident, primarily for child predators, but however when we become aware of situations like this, we, you know, -- the police department will conduct an investigation.
Do we actively monitor it at random situations like this, probably not. But if we become aware of it, we certainly go forward with it and conduct our investigation and see where it takes us.
COLLINS: It's pretty hard to watch everything that's out there.
EDWARDS: Yes, it would be impossible. As you know, there's a million things on the internet, so.
COLLINS: As you know the three girls have been charged. Do you expect any more arrests in any of this?
EDWARDS: We're still looking into certain aspects in the investigation. Certain other people that may or may not be participants in the investigation. Whether there will be an arrest, I can't really comment on that.
But, we're still actively investigating. As we speak the investigators are looking at it. It's a lengthy process to ensure that if we do conduct an investigation, we properly charge people and that we have an investigation that has everything tied in a bow to present to the attorneys for prosecution.
COLLINS: These three girls still going to school?
EDWARDS: I believe their school suspended them. I don't know the length of the suspension, but I believe they've been suspended from school.
COLLINS: OK, quickly before we let you go, I've been reading in here about -- they actually have a name for this, it's called hopping people. Are you aware of that?
EDWARDS: No, that's the first time I ever heard of it is you mentioning it now.
COLLINS: Yes, well, apparently according to one report, anyway, they may have a name for it and it sounds like it goes on maybe a little bit more than we're aware of. So that might be the positive side of it, bringing attention to it here.
EDWARDS: Yes, we'll have to monitor it a little closer now.
COLLINS: All right. Well, we certainly appreciate your time. Lieutenant Robert Edwards, he's with the Suffolk County Police Department. Thank you Lieutenant Edwards.
HARRIS: And some more pictures just into CNN now. We want to take you to Grant County, Kentucky and show you a school bus accident. The video just coming to us, into CNN a short time ago. Grant County, Kentucky.
Don't know at this time of any injuries connected to the school bus accident. Not sure right now, but apparently at least one, at least one injury. 17 on the bus. A number taken to the hospital.
As you can see, the bus apparently in pretty bad shape there, from that picture. Seven apparently taken to a local hospital. So 17 on the bus, 7 taken to a local hospital. Again, this is in Grant County, Kentucky. A school bus accident.
As you know, weather's been an issue throughout much of the country. Not sure if weather played a role in this accident. We'll continue to follow this. But, again those pictures to us from our affiliate WLWT of this school bus accident.
As you can see, that bus pretty mangled there. We will continue to follow this story. Seven children taken to an area hospital. 17 in all on the bus. We will bring you the very latest.
And back now to the weather story, slipping and sliding from coast to coast. Ice, snow, freezing rain and bitter cold making for another miserable day across a big part of the country.
Not much comfort in Comfort, Texas. That town and many others in the Lone Star State paralyzed by a blast of ice and snow. A 300-mile stretch of Interstate 10 was shut down after snow started falling on a layer of ice.
In the Pacific Northwest, schools and businesses across western Oregon shut down. The state legislature called off its session and the snow and ice caused a rash of traffic accidents.
More misery in the Midwest. Nearly a foot of snow has fallen so far on parts of Indiana and New Hampshire. A struggle just to stay warm. Thousands of homes and businesses are still without power after Monday's ice storm there.
Let's get an update on the situation in Missouri now. Susie Stonner is a spokesperson for the Missouri department of emergency management. She is on the phone with us. Susie, good to talk to you. Can you give us an update this morning?
SUSIE STONNER, MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well, we still have over 100,000 people without power. Especially in the southwestern part of this state, along the I-44 corridor.
President Bush issued expedited disaster declaration to help local communities with their public assistance for life safety, emergency measures, and debris removal. The trees are still encased in ice as the wind blows through, the limbs start coming down. We have power going up and down.
HARRIS: Are you getting some mutual aid in from other power companies to help with these power lines?
STONNER: The -- many of the power line contractors, we have some in Missouri, but many of them are still working other areas. As soon as they finish other areas they're coming into Missouri, we hope.
HARRIS: Susie, what's the prediction on when folks might start to -- it's probably going to be a faced approach to this. When people might start to see their power restored?
STONNER: Power has been pretty well restored in the eastern part of the state with the (INAUDIBLE) and in St. Louis and St. Charles our biggest concern continues to be the southwestern part of the state. They've been without power since Friday. Many of these people are on rural electric power cooperatives. And it's just a problem of getting the transmission lines back up and the power back on.
HARRIS: All right. So what's being done to help these folks? I would imagine shelters, some kind of shelter is being provided for them.
STONNER: We continue to run shelters throughout the area. We're getting generators in to assist with local governments, to help run those critical facilities, such as shelters, water-treatment plants, other things like that. It's an ongoing issue. We're still in the definite disaster response mode.
HARRIS: What do you need? What do you need help with?
STONNER: We need the power restored, basically.
HARRIS: OK. And a warmup would help. What's the forecast there on the ground?
STONNER: Today it's nice, but the weather service is calling for the possibility of more bad weather over the weekend.
HARRIS: Oh many, Susie Stonner, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Emergency Management.
Susie, thanks for your time.
COLLINS: The big winter chill could put a crimp in your grocery budget. Boy, that's for sure. Much of California's produce industry devastated by below freezing weather. Officials say prices for citrus fruit, avocados, even fresh flowers are expected to soar. Labor leaders say the freeze could cost thousands of jobs as well. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling for federal help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, CALIFORNIA: We don't know exactly what the financial damage is yet, but we know that it is probably close to -- just the citrus industry alone, close to a billion dollars. Now if you add all the others, the strawberries and avocados, this could be an additional few hundred million dollars of damage.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Still to come, the boys back home. Their alleged kidnapper headed to court. Prosecutors building their case today. We will update you on this story in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Laundry list of charges: A major indictment against a man called the Baseline Killer. Can people in Phoenix finally relax? That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.
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COLLINS: Back now to these pictures just coming in to us. This is a live shot of Grant County, Kentucky. There has been a school bus accident there. You can see the damage all along the top of that school bus. We are learning from our affiliate there in Kentucky that it is possible the bus may have hit a power pole. What we know at this time, you see on the bottom of your screen there, seven children taken to the hospital, along with the driver. Apparently there are 17 people on that bus when this incident happened.
So once again, Grant County, Kentucky, our affiliate there telling us that bus may have hit a power pole and hurt some people onboard. Seven children, including the driver, taken to the hospital. Don't know their conditions. But apparently this happened around 8:00 this morning local time there. So we will continue to follow it bring you any more information just as soon as we get it.
Meanwhile, prosecutor in Missouri today building their case against kidnapping suspect Michael Devlin. The pizzeria manager is due to be arraigned tomorrow. He is accused of kidnapping two boys in the St. Louis area. Police say he held Shawn Hornbeck captive for 4 1/2 years. He is on the right of your screen. Ben Ownby on the left was found with Shawn in that same apartment four days after he disappeared.
Yesterday Ben's parents spoke about their nightmarish ordeal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DORIS OWNBY, BEN'S MOTHER: Just that Ben's doing fine. We decided not to bring him here today. We think that he needs to get back to normal. We're going to try and get him ready to go back to school. Get him, you know, get him ready -- just trying to make his life a little bit more normal than it has been the last few days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: A prosecutor tells people in phoenix the reign of terror has ended. The alleged Baseline Killer now facing dozens of felony charges. The incident includes nine counts of first-degree murder, 15 counts of sexual assault. Mark Goudeau is accused of attacking more than 30 people over 10 months.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW THOMAS, MARICOPA CO. ATTY.: All 74 of the charged crimes are dangerous felonies. Sixteen of the charges are classified as dangerous crimes against children. These charges allege that Mark Goudeau brutally assaulted men, women and children throughout the valley in a spree of random violence. The reign of terror has ended. The quest for justice has just begun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And we expect to learn more today about last summer's fatal Comair crash. The National Transportation Safety Board releasing important files, including transcripts of the cockpit voice recordings. Also an interview with the air traffic controller. Forty-nine people died in the August crash in Lexington, Kentucky. Investigators have said the plane took off from the wrong runway and a control tower was understaffed. But the NTSB hasn't made a final ruling on the accident.
COLLINS: Toxic chemicals still smoldering this morning. We brought you this story yesterday on our program. This is the site of a train derailment near Louisville, Kentucky. Once again, you saw that massive fire burning right here in the NEWSROOM yesterday, and, boy, it took forever to successfully sort of progress with fighting those flames. Efforts to douse the flames, gallons of foam still haven't worked.
Now emergency officials believe the remaining fires may just have to burn themselves out. Investigators say it could take days to determine what caused the 80-car train to jump the tracks.
Here now, an invitation for you. You already know to catch us weekday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to noon Eastern. did You know you could take us with you anywhere on your iPod? Catch the CNN NEWSROOM podcast. You know you might get lonely. It's available 24/7 from the most trusted name in news, right on your iPod.
HARRIS: You might get lonely, OK.
The Donald on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At the unveiling of his Hollywood star, Donald Trump got some advice we thought he'd never have to be told.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't cover up your name.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: CNN's Jeanne Moos reports, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
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COLLINS: Well, he's virtually a household name with a new wife, a child and a hit TV show.
HARRIS: So what do you get a billionaire businessman who seems to have it all?
CNN's Jeanne Moos has the answer. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump!
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the unveiling of his Hollywood star, Donald Trump got some advice we thought he would never have to be told.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't cover up your name.
JAY LENO, TALK SHOW HOST: There's now no place in America that does not have the Trump name on it.
MOOS: But it was Trump's young son Barron who stole the show. Seemed to be Barron's first encounter with a velvet rope. His first encounter with a mike.
DONALD TRUMP, HOST, "THE APPRENTICE": That's Barron. He's strong, he's smart, he's tough, he's vicious, he's violent. All of the ingredients you need to be an entrepreneur. Uh-oh, he won't give up the mike.
MOOS: Like father, like son. And when dad got the mike back to do interviews, there was one subject he steered clear of. As "Saturday Night Live" has made clear...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems like you're obsessed with this Rosie thing. Are you still mad at her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gabby, I don't know how I could be any clearer. I'm taking the high road. Absolutely no questions about Jabba the Rosie.
MOOS: Rosie, by the way, doesn't have her own star yet on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
While the Donald wasn't dissing Rosie, he rose to the bait when asked about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
TRUMP: We need a negotiator. We don't need sound bites. We don't need people walking off planes, waving, sitting with the dictator, waving, getting back on the plane, waving, and nothing happens. We need negotiators.
MOOS: Could he do the job?
TRUMP: The answer is yes, I could do a very good job. But I know 20 people who would be fantastic at it.
MOOS: One thing Trump never turns is the other cheek.
TRUMP: Rosie O'Donnell is disgusting. She's a slob. Rosie is a loser.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Rosie, I think we should act like grown- ups. And here's how it's going to go: I'm made of rubber, you're made of glue. Whatever you say bounces off me because I'm classy, and sticks to you because you're ugly.
MOOS: Those who accuse the Donald of acting like a child can also say he looks like one -- his own.
TRUMP: Melania did Barron's little comb-over. She loves that. She goes like this, a little flick of her wrist, and Barron has a comb-over.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And still to come, power hungry, thousand of homes come unplugged on ice, from Texas to New England, in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: And covering conflict on the Horn of Africa. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr back stateside. She talks about her assignment in the turbulent region, in the NEWSROOM.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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