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President Bush's Budget; The Fight For Iraq; Bombing In Iraq; Boating Accident Charges; Picking UP the Pieces; Gerri's Top Tips; Bird Flu In Britain

Aired February 05, 2007 - 10:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Showdown on the president's war plan.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Show them the money. President Bush sends Congress a budget plan with a whole lot of zeroes. More war spending, less for Medicare and Medicaid.

HARRIS: Florida tornado victims cleaning up and trying to get back on their feet today. Starting over on Monday, February 5th. You are in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: The cost for war in Iraq, a key component to the president's new budget plan. That plan sent to Congress this morning. CNN White House correspondent Ed Henry joining us now.

Ed, will the president get what he wants from the troops in this budget fight?

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very likely to get that, though Democrats are vowing to go through it line by line. The president, behind closed doors here at the White House, right now with his cabinet. Obviously topic a, all about this federal budget to the tune of $2.9 trillion. That budget, as you noted, arrived on Capitol Hill this morning, welcomed by Democrat John Spratt. He's the budget chairman in the House.

In terms of cost of war, as you noted, what the president is asking for is $100 billion more this year for the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. And then for next year he wants another $140 billion. Is he going to get? Well, it's going to be tough for Democrats to block funding for troops in the field. We know about that political debate that's been going on, on The Hill.

But where you're going to see Democrats sort of biting into this and digging in real hard is going through it line by line. In previous years, the president would low ball these numbers in February and then come up with emergency spending in the summer. What the White House is vowing this time, is that they've heard that criticism, so they put the numbers up higher up front and they are promising that when we see this budget today, they'll go through with more accounting details so Democrats will know, as well as Republicans, exactly how the money is being spent.

Heidi.

COLLINS: And when you say that, Ed, a lot of people are talking about -- well, as we said in our tease, Medicare and Medicaid getting less. Is that a fair comparison to talk about those dollars up against war dollars?

HENRY: Oh, sure. It's going to be all part of this debate. It's one big kitchen sink. When you have $2.9 trillion of a budget, it's all going to get talked about. What the president is proposing on the domestic front primarily is cuts of about $100 billion of Medicare and Medicaid. That's going to help him try to balance the budget by 2012. That's his goal. But, obviously, it's going to be very tough to reach that goal because Democrats are likely to try to block a lot of these Medicare and Medicaid cuts, number one, and, number two, the president wants to extend his tax cuts. That's another big part of this budget. Again, Democrats don't want to do that.

Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Ed, we know you'll be covering it and watching it closely. Thank you.

HENRY: Thank you.

HARRIS: The fight for Iraq. The Pentagon scrambling right now to implement a new security crackdown in and around Baghdad. And many see it as the last opportunity to reign in the sectarian violence. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is at her post with a closer look.

Good morning to you, Barbara.

Let me ask you, how might this new security crackdown change the situation on the ground in and around Baghdad?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Tony, this is what they hope is, that it will change the security situation. Of course, we saw a very tragic weekend in Baghdad. Hundreds of people killed in a variety of attacks and car bombs across the city.

This morning, however, not scrambling, but very carefully, very deliberately, getting that security plan underway. General David Petraeus, the new U.S. commander for Iraq, this morning wields up, making his way from the United States over to Baghdad. Due to security concerns, of course, they are not announcing when exactly he will arrive on the ground. But now, today, making his way to the region.

The new security plan, the 21,000 U.S. troops making their way into Baghdad, some of them already there working side by side with Iraqi forces. All of that underway. It will phase in over the next many days and weeks. But even still, from the top spokesman in Baghdad yesterday, a note of caution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE SPOKESMAN: Although there is reason to be optimistic that this plan will succeed, it is important to acknowledge that it will not turn the security situation overnight. In order for this plan to be successful, it is important for both the people in Iraq and in America to be patient.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So what will be different? Well, Iraqi and U.S. forces will be working together on the streets of Baghdad in a much more tied together, if you will, command structure. They hope that will help.

And U.S. forces will stay. They will stay and secure and hold the areas of Baghdad where they establish security. They believe that is vital to assuring the people on the streets there is security in their neighborhoods. Whether it will all work remains a much more difficult question.

Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. And, Barbara, thank you for the clarity on General Petraeus. I mentioned that he was wheels-up last hour on his way to the country and immediately thought, wow, is that something I should have said given how precarious the security situation is there. So thanks for that clarity on that.

Back to the crackdown now. Do we have any idea of how long it might last?

STARR: Well, that is really the key question. I mean, from the point of view of U.S. military strategy, it's going to last until Iraqis can -- security forces can really take hold and take care of all of this themselves. And that is really going to depend on the political surge, if you will. Everyone agrees there is not a military solution to this. The political surge, that's going to have to be political progress. That's going to have to be the Iraqi government, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki surging their political and economic capability to really bring security to Iraq.

Tony.

HARRIS: CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr for us this morning.

Barbara, thank you.

COLLINS: An Army officer on trial. The court martial of first lieutenant Ehren Watada begins today in Fort Lewis in Washington state. Watada spoke out against the war in Iraq and refused to ship out with his unit. He says the war is illegal. The Army says Watada betrayed his fellow soldiers. If convicted of the charges, he faces up to four years in prison.

Violence thunders across Baghdad. Bullets, bombs and mortars. At least 10 attacks in a matter of several hours. Dozens dead and wounded and a capital still reeling from a horrific weekend bombing. CNN's Arwa Damon is in Baghdad with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): "What did we do," this man asks standing amid the rubble of the deadliest single bombing since the started of the war. It's a question many are asking. Innocent victims shopping when a suicide bomber drove a truck packed with one ton of explosives into a crowded marketplace.

Entire building facades gone. The emotional devastation clear in the survivor's voices. "They're all gone, they're all gone," she says, breaking down into tears.

A day after Saturday's blast, frantic efforts to rescue anyone who might still be alive. But workers found only more bodies. Families rummaged through the rubble, trying to salvage whatever personal belongings remain. Shop owners tried to save their livelihood as body parts and chunks of flesh were collected. Scenes too gruesome to show. "They brought this body with no head," this woman wails.

The sounds of war never far away, reminders that this could happen again at any time. Deep frustration, some directing their anger at the government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (through translator): al-Maliki says there will be a new security plan. Where is the security plan? Yeah, right, there will be security plan.

DAMON: This street once again packed, not with wall to wall shoppers, but with those trying to find their remains.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Arwa Damon joining us now live from Baghdad.

And, Arwa, with the violence in Iraq on the weekend and more bloodshed today, as we just heard from our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, they're saying that, of course, implementation of this new security plan is going to take some time. But for people on the ground there, I imagine, it just couldn't happen soon enough.

DAMON: That's right, Heidi.

In fact, what we heard in the wake of that devastating bombing, that that story you just ran was on, was a lot of criticism coming from the Iraqi street that implementation of this plan was taking just too long. In fact, we also heard from Sunni vice president, Tariq al- Hashemi, also criticizing the U.S. administration for taking too long to send in those additional troops.

In the beginning, this plan sounded great on paper. And it still does. But it is, when it comes down to the implementation of it, bearing in mind, though, that it is not necessarily a new security plan. It is a modification of an old plan that was known as Operation Together Forward that was launched by the Iraqi government and the U.S. military here over the fall and was actually largely unsuccessful. That plan was built on the premise of clear, hold and rebuild. And what the U.S. and Iraqi administrations have done, along with their U.S. military advisors and Iraqi advisors, was try to pinpoint the weaknesses in that plan. And what they found was that one of the main weaknesses lay in the hold phase. Basically there were not enough U.S. troops to ensure that the hold phase succeed, nor were there enough capable Iraqi security forces. They also found significant weaknesses amongst the Iraqi command and control structure.

Moving forward with this new plan, they look to correct those mistakes that were made, hence the addition of U.S. troops that we're seeing. And what we can expects to see over the next few days is sort of this plan being implemented with a certain level of increased intensity. Since we do right now have a brigade of the 82nd Airborne in country. And a these new U.S. troops begin to arrive, we will begin to see this plan being put forward, moving throughout different neighborhoods.

But we are being told time and time again by the military here that this time they are not going to rush to failure and they will wait until they believe they have enough troops to get the job done.

Heidi.

COLLINS: So fair to say, in a sense, it is a new plan with several different modifications being made, especially to the training of Iraqi soldiers and so forth. So as we see that move forward, there are many other questions to ask. And specifically this one. Insurgents. And the four U.S. helicopters that went down in just about two weeks time. Do we know by now what exactly caused those crashes?

DAMON: Well, the U.S. military did come out in a press conference yesterday held by Major General William Caldwell, who is the main spokesman for multi-national forces here. And he did confirm that the causes of crashes, those choppers, all four of them came down by some sort of enemy ground fire. And this does raise a concern level of concern amongst the U.S. military.

The insurgency is constantly remodifying its methods of operations, coming up with new tactics to target the American troops that are here and the Iraqi security forces and that they respond in turn by modifying their tactics and by modifying their methods of operation. We can probably expect to see the U.S. military modifying the way that it is flying its aircraft and again bringing it back to this Baghdad security plan, a modification based on the insurgency.

Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Arwa Damon reporting for us live this morning from Baghdad.

Arwa, thanks.

HARRIS: Picking up the pieces. A daunting, daunting task in central Florida, to be sure. Cleaning up after severe storms in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: On the streets of Gaza City, a shaky cease fire between Hamas and Fatah. And on the horizon, a summit between the opposing factions. That's all coming up ahead in a live report from the region.

HARRIS: Are there new clues in a 26-year-old murder case?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then the smile went off his face and he had this like look of anger. I was just like, look at him. You know, I didn't know what this guy was up to. And then all of a sudden that look went to like rage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The death of Adam Walsh and why some believe there is a link to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. That story ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And we have word of charges now in connection with a terrible story from 2005. A tour boat capsizing in upstate New York. A number of people killed in that. T.J. Holmes following that for us in the NEWSROOM.

T.J., good morning.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning to you again, Tony.

A lot of folks will remember this story from October of 2005. Again, upstate New York. This was on Lake George. Twenty people died when this tour boat capsized and sank. But right now the word is that the captain and the company that owns that boat have been indicted. Now what they've been indicted with here is failing to have enough crew members on board.

Again, this was October 2005. There were 48 people on this tour boat, taking this tour. It was a pretty calm, nice, about 70 degree day that day. And there were elderly. You can see from this file video we've pulled up here, that there were elderly folks. Some in them were in wheelchairs, had canes, and need assistance and what not. But that boat capsized, dumping a lot of them into that water.

Well, there was one crew member on board at the time, the captain. Now that captain, Richard Paris, along with the company, Shoreline, have now been charged with failing to have enough crew members on board. There should have been, according to New York state law, at least two crew members on board for that many people who were on board. Also, federal board actually, this has nothing to do with the charge, but also ruled that the boat was dangerously unstable and should not have been carrying that many people anyway. However, the charge that came today against the company and the captain had nothing to do with that. It just had to do with not having enough crew members on board. But it was, Tony, again, folks remember, a pretty horrible story of 20 people killed. A lot of them elderly folks who were just having a nice day on a nice fall foliage tour and turned out to be a horrible story. But there has been a charge and the company, which was Shoreline, and the captain, Richard Paris, have been indicted.

HARRIS: OK. T.J., thanks for that update. Appreciate it.

COLLINS: Tough times in central Florida. Hundreds of people across four counties now trying to put storm shattered lives back together. The toll from Friday's outbreak of severe weather, 20 people killed, at least 1,500 homes, churches and businesses damaged or destroyed. CNN's Rob Marciano with us now from Lady Lake, Florida.

And, Rob, I loved hearing you say that they've made quite a bit of progress over the weekend. It always makes people feel better. But, boy, with the pictures behind you, obviously still so much more work to be done.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of work to be done. It's a huge task at hand. But, yes, there's some positive news. There's been a lot of debris at least cleared from the roadways so people can at least get around. All the schools here in Lady Lake are open.

There have been two disaster recovery centers that have been opened. One here in Lady Lake and one up the road in Deland, where the other twister hit very badly. Those centers are set up so that people can go there and kind of get informed into how they should go about doing their business, going to the next level, getting their insurance claims in, maybe getting some FEMA assistance as well.

Up the road, as I mentioned, in Deland, that's where we were yesterday. We went out to speak with a storm surveyor who showed me around, showed me what he looks at to determine how strong twisters are. And that one up there, at least 1,000 feet wide and he thinks the winds were in excess of 160 miles an hour. In some case, it looked literally like a bomb went off.

But this has been unprecedented, Heidi, as far as the scope of the disaster here in Lake County. They're calling it the worst this county has ever seen. And it's the second worst tornado outbreak that Florida has ever seen. So this one is definitely going to go down in the history books.

COLLINS: No question about that. I wish it was for a much better reason, obviously.

Hey, Rob, tell us about what's going on in the rest of the country. I know we have some chilly, chilly temperatures in places where they're not so used to being so chilly, chilly.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Gerri Willis is with us, CNN personal finance editor.

Gerri, as we take a look at those pictures behind Rob, and I know you were there in Lady Lake over the weekend with "Open House" live on the ground, on the scene there.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

HARRIS: I'm wondering if we should all go find our homeowner's insurance policy and take a good, long look at it?

WILLIS: Good idea, Tony. And coming up next, we're going to show you what you need to know about your homeowner's insurance if you're faced with a disaster, next on "Top Tips."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: What do you say, Heidi, we check the big board?

COLLINS: Yes.

HARRIS: The Dow down six, almost seven points an hour into the trading day. We will check all of the business highlights, hopefully not to many lowlights on this day. Susan Lisovicz, a little later this hour in the NEWSROOM.

Central Florida's devastating tornado. $68 million of damage and counting. And a remember, your life's belongings can disappear in the blink of an eye. So Gerri's "Top Tips" today, homeowners insurance. What you need to know before tragedy strikes.

Gerri, great to see you.

WILLIS: Good to see you.

HARRIS: Hey, Gerri, first of all, kudos for taking the "Open House" show on the road and going down to Florida, to Lady Lake, and being on the ground to help those folks, talk to those folks and to give us great advice an tips on what we need to do to prepare in our own lives for this kind of tragedy, which can happen anywhere.

WILLIS: That's right, Tony.

You know, it was really heartbreaking on the ground and you realize just how much is at risk. But I have good news for people who were out there or who are worried that maybe they would face a tornado. Look, unlike hurricane and flood insurance, tornado coverage is pretty uncomplicated. That's because wind damage is usually covered under your homeowners policy.

But you should still review your policy, even if you live outside tornado alley. And, of course, that is the area which runs north from Texas through eastern Nebraska. Remember, even if you aren't in that area, you are still vulnerable to tornadoes. But you can make a claim on your homeowners and they really have to pay up.

HARRIS: Yes. All right. So let's say something like this befalls you. A tragedy like this happens to you and you find yourself with all of your belongings, your house, your home and everything that means everything to you. Hey, you're safe, you have your family, but everything else is gone. What's your first step?

WILLIS: Well you've got to get on the phone and, right away, call your insurance company. Get ahold of your agent as quickly as policy. Some insurance policies, remember, place a time limit on filing claims. That's right. So you need to let that company know about the severity of your damage. Insurance cases are prioritized. So if your home was completely destroyed, you'll get more attention than a home with minor damage. And make sure you give the insurance company all of your contact information because it's often difficult in these situations for people to reach each other. And, remember, the claims process could take months, so you have to be really patient. It's just frustrating.

HARRIS: You know, I've got to ask you, Gerri -- yes, it is. And as we look at these pictures here, I'm wondering, it seems to me it would be important to be able to sort of document your losses. So we do this thing in television where we call them walk and talks, where we basically get a camera and we walk through all the devastation and we point out what was here, what's now gone. And would that be helpful in a way of documenting . . .

WILLIS: Absolutely.

HARRIS: It would be? OK.

WILLIS: Yes, get that -- if you can find the camera, get the camera out and substantiate your loss. After a storm, you need to photograph any damage and then make a list of items you may have lost. Keep any receipts and records of people you speak to because, you know, you're in a heightened emotional state. It's going to be hard to remember everything. The better organized you are, the fewer problems you'll have. And if you don't remember the value of some items that's been destroyed, you can contact your credit card company and they can send you a list of your purchases. That's another way to get information if you don't have it at your fingertips.

HARRIS: Should we be worried about scammers?

WILLIS: Oh, boy. You know, this is really the dark side of this story. If your home was destroyed by a tornado or any other kind of disaster for that matter, you really need to be cautious about service providers who prey on disaster victims.

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: Look, don't be rushed into signing a contract with any roofing or building company because the bad guys come out pronto. Instead, what you do is you collect business cards from people who are coming around and wanting to do the work and get written estimates for the posed job. Because if you're a scam artist, you're not going to take the time to write out a written estimate of your cost. Investigate the track record of any roofer, builder or contractor that you consider hiring.

And, of course, as always, if you have a question for us, send us an e-mail to toptips@cnn.com. We love hearing from you. And we answer the questions right here every Friday.

HARRIS: Boy, I anticipate you're going to get a lot of e-mail questions from folks . . .

WILLIS: We'll be watching. You know, we really want to help out on this one.

HARRIS: Yes. OK. Gerri, appreciate it. Have a great day.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

COLLINS: How much online pornography are your children eying? Forty-two percent of Internet users between the ages of 10 and 17 say they've seen upon on the net in the past year. That finding from a survey by the University of New Hampshire. Overall, about a third of kids say they were not looking for porn when it just popped up on the screen. Experts say filtering and blocking software can help keep kids away from online pornography, but it is not 100 percent effect.

HARRIS: And, Heidi, in Pennsylvania, an autopsy planned today on the body of a missing child. The girl just under two years old, missing for two days, when her body was found at an abandoned playground near Pittsburgh. The site just blocks from the girl's home. Searchers braved bitterly cold temperatures to try to find her.

COLLINS: British authorities scrambling to stop a bird flu outbreak from spreading and right now they think they are winning. The outbreak of the deadly strain of the virus at a turkey farm killed hundreds of birds. That farm now under quarantine. Here's the latest from CNN's Paula Hancocks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Officials are hoping they have successfully contained Britain's first outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in domestic or commercial poultry, but it's too early for them to be sure. They have to wait 21 days before giving the all-clear.

The grueling task of destroying up to 160,000 turkeys -- every last bird gassed, then brought here to be incinerated. Authorities still aren't sure how the birds got infected.

CLIFFORD WARWICK, DIRECTOR, BIOVETERINARY GROUP: It could have gotten in on the soles of somebody's feet who perhaps visited a foreign country where bird flu is common, or it could have come in on the clothes of somebody who visited a parrot show in the north of the country. It could also have come in feces and viral particles on a wild bird that happened to have nested near an air vent of the facility and simply got sucked in.

HANCOCKS : Experts believe the main risk of spreading the disease comes from wild birds infecting domestic poultry.

JILL KORWIN, SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL: There's no movement (ph) of birds. The only thing you need to is actually bring your birds indoors. The bottom line is, you need to isolate them from any potential contact with wild birds, because, you know, at this stage, that's the risk of spreading disease, through wild birds.

HANCOCKS: Officials are at pains to reassure the public the risk to humans at this point is very low, but the government says it is preparing itself.

PATRICIA HEWITT, U.K. HEALTH SECRETARY: We're preparing very, very seriously and thoroughly for the possibility of a pandemic flu. In fact, just last week we were taking part in the biggest planning exercises ever been on pandemic flu. So we are preparing for it, and the NHS is part of those preparations. It's a very remote risk, but if it did happen it could be very serious, indeed.

HANCOCKS: So far, 164 people have died after contracting the disease in Asia and the Middle East, where bird flu has been by far the most widespread. The majority of those infected were in close proximity to infected poultry.

Last month, thousands of birds were slaughtered in Hungary after an outbreak among geese on a farm. And a year ago, hundreds of turkeys died after the H5N1 strain was detected at a farm in east France.

(on camera): Turkeys here began falling ill on Tuesday. By Thursday, the government's environment department had been informed and the area had been cordoned off.

Now, some British Media is questioning why that took two days. But officials insist that as soon as they diagnosed the disease their reaction was swift. There had been plans in place for such an outbreak for some time, as it was widely assumed that it was always a matter of when and not if the disease came to Britain. .

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Paulton, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: On the streets of Gaza City, a shaky cease-fire between Hamas and Fatah, and on the horizon, a summit between the opposing factions. We'll have a live report from the region coming up in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Adam Walsh kidnapped and murdered in 1981, why his father says it may be time to take another look at the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM WALSH: Even though it's a cold case, people have come forward claiming one thing, who are saying we weren't taken seriously back 25, 26 years ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Witnesses linking serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to Adam Walsh, that incredible twist in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Scores of Palestinians have been killed since fighting broke out between Hamas and Fatah more than a month ago. Today, a shaky cease-fire holding. Tomorrow, a summit in Saudi Arabia between the leaders of the competing factors.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is joining us now live from Jerusalem.

Ben, first things first, what is actually the reason for a recent escalation in all this violence between Hamas and Fatah?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Basically, Heidi, it's been the inability of both sides to reach any sort of political agreement on the formation of a national unity government, which is something they've been trying to achieve for quite some time. Neither side seems to be willing to talk much longer. They seem to be spending most of their time fighting recently. Certainly since last Thursday, the fighting has been the most intense Gaza has seen yet, almost 30 people killed, more than 200 wounded. It's really taken a toll on just ordinary life there. Today, it does seem to be somewhat quieter.

I understand from my sources in Gaza, that some of the gunmen have left the streets, some of the barricades have been removed, and some of the residents of that very crowded area are beginning to venture out of their homes, but really it all is hinging on this meeting tomorrow in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, between the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and his archrival, the head of the Hamas movement, Khaled Meshal. So we'll see how that turns out, and that's obviously going to have a direct impact on the situation in Gaza. -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Certainly, what can the Saudis actually do to curb the violence in Gaza? Can we assume that their action, in one way or another, has the blessing of the United States?

WEDEMAN: Well, certainly, given that Saudi Arabia is a very close ally of the United States, they're probably consult quite closely. The Saudis, traditionally, their diplomacy is not about bashing heads together, it's about giving out the cash, basically giving as much money to both sides to settle their differences. What's interesting, Heidi, in this case, the Saudis are giving equal time and prestige to both Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the -- president of the Palestinian Authority, and Khaled Meshal, the head of Hamas, so it does appear that they're trying to pay off both sides to get them to put down their guns, at least for now -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, CNN's Ben Wedeman coming to us live from Jerusalem. Ben, thank you. HARRIS It was a sensational kidnapping. In 1981, 6-year-old Adam Walsh, grabbed at a Hollywood, Florida mall and murdered. Twenty-six years later now, this question -- did serial murderer Jeffrey Dahmer murder Adam Walsh?

Colleen Henry of our CNN affiliate WISM looks at the possible link.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARTHUR JAY HARRIS, AUTHOR: The official line is he didn't kill. And the official line is what Jeffrey said. Now should we believe that?

COLLEEN HENRY, WISN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Arthur Jay Harris is a freelance writer, who's published three true crimes books. Harris started looking at the Walsh case back in 1996 after a landmark legal ruling opened the 10,000 page Walsh file to the public. The Dahmer angle intrigued him. He started digging. Harris just finished a book about Dahmer and recently laid out his case in "The Miami Daily." The (INAUDIBLE) book puts Jeffrey Dahmer at the Hollywood mall and the suspected getaway car on the day Adam Walsh disappeared.

HARRIS: One of the reasons the police believe Dahmer that he didn't kill Adam because he said he didn't have a vehicle.

DARLENE HILL, DAHMER'S FORMER BOSS: This blue van had a crate for a passenger seat.

HENRY: Harris located Darlene Hill, a former owner of the restaurant where Dahmer worked. Hill tells 12 News the business had three delivery vehicles. One was a blue van. Several witnesses reported seeing a blue van speed from the mall that day. Hill said employees often took the blue van for personal use.

HILL: Somebody would take the van and not come back with it for two days.

HENRY: Harris then found Dahmer's boss at the restaurant, who Harris says shows Dahmer lied to Hollywood police.

HARRIS: He said he worked seven days a week at the sub shop. No and no. All day and all night. So that was another reason he wouldn't possibly have had an opportunity. Well, the guy who hired him said that he worked maybe 20 hours a week. Late morning to late afternoon, five days a week. So that's not true.

HENRY: Also buried in the Walsh file, Harris found two statements, witnesses who say they saw Dahmer at the mall the day Adam disappeared. For the first time, both men shared their stories on television.

WILLIS MORGAN, DAHMER WITNESS: And I had a sense someone was staring at me.

HENRY: Willis Morgan says he was shopping when a dirty disshelved guy in his 20s started hitting on him. Morgan was a buff blond in 1981, the Chippendale dancer type Dahmer repeatedly told cops was his type.

MORGAN: I didn't answer him. And he says hi, there, nice day, isn't it? And I still didn't answer him. And then the smile went off his face and he had this like look of anger. And I was just like looking at him. You know, I didn't know what this guy was up to. And then all of a sudden, that look went to like rage. I mean, it was just an unbelievable look. I mean, I had to look away.

HENRY: Morgan says he followed the man into the Sears store and lost him in the toy department, the last place Adam was seen alive.

10 years later, Morgan was at his printer job at "The Miami Herald" proofing the morning paper.

MORGAN: When the papers came in, I saw this picture of Dahmer and I started freaking out. I said this is the guy, this is the guy I saw in the mall.

HENRY: Around the same time, another man was shocked to see Dahmer's picture in the paper.

BILL BOWEN, DAHMER WITNESS: That Sunday in 1991, when the picture of Dahmer came out, it hit me like a baseball bat.

HENRY: Bill Bowen says he just pulled into the Sears parking lot that day in '81 when he witnessed an explosive scene.

BOWEN: There was a man holding a little boy by one arm up in the air. And the boy was struggling. And the little boy was saying, I don't want to go. I'm not going.

HENRY: Adam's father, "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh, said Dahmer deserves a second look.

JOHN WALSH, ADAM WALSH'S FATHER: Even though it's a cold case, people have come forward who are claiming one thing, who were saying we weren't taken seriously back 25, 26 years ago. So I think that they have to look at this case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: And still to come, the Colts won the Super Bowl. But who won the Super Bowl ad wars? We're going to talk about that a little more. My vote is for godaddy.com. We will check...

COLLINS: And the crabs, too.

HARRIS: The best of the bunch coming up in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: But next, we're going to take you back to Lady Lakes, Florida, where Rob Marciano is. He's going to join us live and have more on the aftermath of this weekend's storms.

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HARRIS: You already know to catch us weekday mornings. I want to see that little podcast. No, what is it? It's an iPod, the iPod. You know to catch us every morning, 9:00 to noon Eastern. Hah, there you go. Now you can take us anywhere on your iPod. The CNN NEWSROOM podcast available 24/7, right there on your iPod.

COLLINS: As you know, tough times in Central Florida, hundreds of people across four counties now trying to put storm-shattered lives back together. The toll from Friday's outbreak of severe weather, 20 people killed, at least 1,500 homes, churches and businesses, damaged or destroyed.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: And this information just in to us here now -- CNN has confirmed a settlement in Boston. The Attorney General Martha Coakley there said Turner Broadcasting and the marketing company called Interference Inc. has agreed to a $2 million dollar settlement in restitution, and other compensation for the video you're watching here, last week's bomb scare in Boston. If you'll remember, there were 38 different devices placed all throughout the city of Boston, apparently done by two guys we saw, Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens.

You're looking at the Boston mayor. This is Thomas Menino. He is talking more about this settlement. He had announced over the weekend that his An estimation from the city's cost of damage would be about $500,000, and then for the local transit system, about $500,000 as well. So this settlement of $2 million is, fair to say, probably a little more than they would have expected.

But according to Governor Deval Patrick, who was also announcing over the weekend, said that Turner Broadcasting should reimburse local and state expenses for that stunt, if you will, that was done in order to promote that show, called "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," on the Cartoon Network, where they placed all those devices, with lots of lights and wires to scare people a little bit.

So there you have it, a settlement $2 million for Turner Broadcasting and the marketing company involved.

HARRIS: And still to come, the war in Iraq, a battle in the Senate, fighting words ahead in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Faith in the face of tragedy.

I felt compelled to come back and just support the church that this is where I got saved right here.

HARRIS: Returning to rebuild and worship after the storm, that's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

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