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Florida Assesses Tornado Damage; Witnesses Place Jeffrey Dahmer at Scene of Adam Walsh Abduction; Bush Proposes Budget; Bird Flu Outbreak in Britain
Aired February 05, 2007 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Kyra Phillips today.
So how low will the temperature go? Well, Arctic cold is barreling into the northeast, temps dropping well below zero. CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras has the latest on these hardest hit areas.
LEMON: And cold case reexamined. Did Jeffrey Dahmer kill John Walsh's son, Adam? This is a question investigators are seriously taking. The answer for you this hour.
NGUYEN: And this hour in England, stopping the spread of bird flu. The first big outbreak there, the closest outbreak to the U.S. So what's being done to stop it from getting here? You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Baby, it is cold outside. And that may be an understatement. That could be the anthem from the northern plains across the Great Lakes today. An Arctic blast has sent the mercury plunging with temperatures hovering near zero in some places and winds making it feel even colder than that. Even Minneapolis, which is used to the cold winters, is struggling with this big chill.
NGUYEN: Our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras, is standing by with more on this from the weather center here at CNN. Jacqui, what do you have for us?
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: These temperatures are hard to believe, Jacqui. They're up there. They're there. We believe them.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Unless you've experienced it, it's really hard to put it in perspective. It hurts to breathe.
NGUYEN: Almost 50 below out there? All right. We'll talk to you much more about this a little bit later. Thank you, Jacqui.
LEMON: More weather related stories here. Twenty people are dead, dozens injured, damage in the millions of dollars. Just a fraction of the devastation in Central Florida from Friday's deadly tornadoes. Lady Lake is right in the middle of it all. And CNN's Susan Candiotti is there -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.
It is a dreary, overcast Monday here in Lady Lake. And I'm about 5 feet tall. You can see how high some of the debris is stacked in this particular spot.
Cleanup efforts are well under way in this four-county area that was hit hard by at least three tornadoes that killed 20 people.
In this particular area, we're on the property belonging to the Gatner family. They had both a home and a landscaping business here. As we walk through and show you a bit of it, there is just debris as far as you can see around here. All kinds of bits and pieces where the home, and trees, and plants used to be.
Over here, you see a hospital bed. That is where the elder Mr. Gatner passed way. They found them there -- excuse me. He survived. I -- pardon me. He is critically injured. His wife did not make it. Terrible tragedy for this family here.
There is a lot of cleanup work to be done. But understandably, this spot remains untouched.
That is not the case in neighborhoods nearby here, where cleanup efforts are going on. There are forklifts at work. People are picking through whatever they can to retrieve what they can of their personal belongings. There are tree cutters hard at work, as they try to pick up their lives and get going again.
Insurance adjusters are already all over the place, trying to help people and take in claims. FEMA has sent in at least four trailers, I'm told, containing water, ice and meals ready to eat as they are needed. And all kinds of volunteer groups are also offering help, food, water, ice, all kinds of things.
In terms of housing trailers, those are not on their way as yet. A FEMA spokesman told us what their plans are for that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES MCINTYRE, FEMA SPOKESMAN: At this time, the state hasn't requested any temporary housing units. What we try to do first, and the first option with the state is to use available resources within the state. So, rental properties or whatever is available that they can move people into, if necessary, will probably be the options they use initially. And then if there are other needs, then they will make that request and we will fulfill the need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: And only two shelters remain open in the four-county area. Those are in Volusia County, and they are housing only five people. They credit a lot of folks around here with taking people in. And that is why no one is in the shelters anymore.
Back to you, Don.
LEMON: All right. Susan Candiotti, we look forward to the next time you talk to us, see what information you have about that. Thank you so much, Susan.
NGUYEN: Well, he was convicted of 15 grizzly murders and confessed to two more, but could Jeffrey Dahmer have taken another life back in 1981? A new book suggests he might have killed Adam Walsh, the murder that sparked father John Walsh's crusade against crime.
Colleen Henry at CNN affiliate WISN reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARTHUR J. HARRIS, AUTHOR: The official line is he didn't kill him. The official line is what Jeffrey said. Should we believe that?
COLLEEN HENRY, WISN REPORTER (voice-over): Arthur J. Harris is a freelance writer who's published three true crime 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". His article puts Jeffrey Dahmer at the Hollywood Mall in the suspected getaway car on the day Adam Walsh disappeared.
HARRIS: One of the reasons why the police believed Dahmer, that he didn't kill Adam, because he said he didn't have a vehicle.
DARLENE HILL, WITNESS: This blue van had a crate for a passenger seat.
C. HENRY: Harris located Darlene Hill, the 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 says employees often took the blue van for personal use.
HILL: Somebody would take the van and not come back with it for two days.
C. HENRY: Harris then found Dahmer's boss at the restaurant, who Harris says shows Dahmer lied to Hollywood police.
HARRIS: When he said that he worked seven days a week at the sub shop and -- no. And, you know, all day and all night. So, there 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.
C. 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 share their stories on television.
WILLIS MORGAN, WITNESS: I had a sense that someone was staring at me.
C. HENRY: Willis Morgan says he was shopping when a dirty disheveled in his twenties started hitting on him. Morgan was a buff blonde 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. Then the smile went off his face and he had this, like, look of anger. And I was just like looking at him. I didn't know what this guy was up to. And then all of a sudden that look went to, like, rage. And it was just an unbelievable look. I had to look away.
C. 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. Ten 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."
C. HENRY: Around the same time, another man was shocked to see Dahmer's picture in the paper.
BILL BOWEN, WITNESS: That Sunday in 1991, when the picture of Dahmer came out, it hit me like a baseball bat.
C. HENRY: Bill Bowen says he'd 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."
C. HENRY: Adam's father, "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh, says Dahmer deserves a second look.
JOHN WASH, ADAM WALSH'S FATHER: Even though it's a cold case, people have come forward who are claiming one thing, who are saying, "We weren't taken seriously back 25, 26 years ago." So, I think that they have to look at this case.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And coming up next hour, we're going to talk to an investigative criminal profiler, Pat Brown, to get her take on this case. Could Dahmer have done it? Well, it's something that we're checking out here in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Developing story happening right now. Let's go to the news.
T.J. Holmes, what are you working on?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, tough start to the work day for a guy out in California. A worker is being rescued right now, because he is trapped in a trench. We're keeping an eye on this live picture out of Los Angeles, specifically the Hollywood Hills where a trench has collapsed and a worker has gotten stuck and is trapped there.
This is, if you're familiar with that area, 7800 block of West Fairholm Drive. He got stuck around 8:40 local time, is when they got the call, the Los Angeles Fire Department. You can see several firefighters here working to get the guy out, who is stuck up to his waist in this trench that has collapsed.
He is right now, apparently in pretty good condition. He's conscious. He's breathing. He's OK. Not sure how bad he might be injured waist down but trapped up to his waist in this trench. They're having to use some special hydraulic equipment to try to get him out, say it could take a while. But we're keeping an eye on this, and hopefully he can get out and he'll be all right -- Don.
LEMON: We hope so, T.J. We'll check back to see what happens.
HOLMES: All right.
LEMON: Thank you so much for that.
A major flap after deadly bird flu shows up in Great Britain despite great precaution. Details straight ahead right here in the NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: Also, it can stop a potentially deadly virus. But some say a vaccine to prevent a sexually transmitted disease sends the wrong message. Well, others disagree.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it no more encourages sex than a tetanus shot encourages you to step on a rusty nail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: So, if it helps save lives, is it worth a shot? More on the debate ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Not a blank check from Iraq, but a pretty big one. That's what President Bush wants from you and the Democrat-controlled Congress. He sent his $2.9 trillion budget to Capitol Hill just hours ago. It fills up four big books. You can bet it will be taken apart line by line.
And our Ed Henry is at the White House, where Mr. Bush has been huddling with his team. Hi, Ed. Very cold today there in Washington.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. He is huddling indeed. It is very cold outside. But he was inside for his cabinet meeting today to unveil that budget.
The president vowed that he'd continue -- he could continue heavy spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as spending here on the home front and not raise taxes but still somehow balance the budget by 2012.
Now, as you can imagine, Democrats on the Hill are already skeptical about that, especially because the president wants to extend his tax cuts in addition to this spending.
Now, with all these political charges flying around, it's easy to forget that this is real money. It's the taxpayer money our viewers are sending in to Washington. Where is that money going?
Well, a big chunk of it, as you noted, Iraq and Afghanistan: $1 billion more this year on top of what has already been spent; $145 billion for those wars next year; $50 billion allocated for 2009 already, a couple of years out. All of this ballooning the costs of war to about $700 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan over the last few years, a staggering sum.
And the budget chief, Rob Portman, told me a short time ago he realizes it's just a prediction. It could even go higher.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB PORTMAN, WHITE HOUSE BUDGET DIRECTOR: I'm not saying that this won't change. It will. We know that the commanders in the ground will change tactics and therefore, some of this will have to be altered. But at least it gives Congress the ability to take a careful look at a very specific proposal on war funding over the next six years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
E. HENRY: Now the other big place where viewers' tax money is going would be entitlement programs: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. Rob Portman, in a briefing I just got out, pointed out in 1962, 26 percent of taxpayer money was going to those entitlement programs. Today it's about 53 percent of that entire $2.9 trillion budget.
By 2040, the year 2040, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, as well as interest on the debt, will take over the entire budget. It wouldn't fund defense, homeland security, nothing else.
Obviously, this Congress currently, the White House putting off some big problems. And as Rob Portman himself noted, there's going to have to either be massive spending decreases down the road or massive tax increases to somehow deal with that budget shortfall -- Don.
LEMON: All right, Ed. Where's your hat and your scarf, because it's really cold there?
HENRY: I need to get a hat. You're right.
LEMON: Yes, you do, my friend. Thanks, Ed Henry.
And we want to tell you, coming up at the bottom of the hour, we're going to talk to our very own Candy Crowley about the politics in all of this budget talk. That's coming up at the bottom of the hour.
NGUYEN: In the meantime, it's curtains for thousands of turkeys, a red alarm for British farmers, but a mystery for U.K. health officials. Alphonso Van Marsh is in Holten, England, where a new bird flu outbreak has sparked an uproar and a determined investigation.
Alphonso, what do you have? What's the latest?
ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. That process continues, the culling of some 159,000 turkeys at this one farm behind me. It's one of Europe's biggest turkey producers.
That comes as investigators try to figure out how that strain of the H1-N5 virus did make it to this farm. They want to know, was it possibly a wild bird that was infected that made its way into the farm or possible an employee, perhaps on his or her shoes, who perhaps had contact with an infected bird or the feces of an infected bird?
Now this all comes as officials here are trying to get the public not to get too worried about this, reminding the public that the H5-N1 virus affects mostly birds, not humans. It's very difficult for humans to catch and contract the virus.
And that said, they want people to know that bird sales, this shouldn't be affected. We talked to one of the local butchers here who says that he hasn't noticed any decrease in poultry sales.
Lastly, to mention to you, in order to try to contain the virus, they've set up some zones out here. One of the zones, which covers much of the region, is encouraging poultry owners to keep their birds separate from wild birds. And in the smallest radius, which is about two miles, they're saying that all birds must be kept inside and all birds must be tested for H5-N1 -- Betty.
NGUYEN: So with these precautions being taken, the fact that you say it really hasn't affected sales as of yet. Does that mean there's no public safety threat at this point?
VAN MARSH: Well, sadly, fears of bird flu, I should say, have come up so often that people are quite used to it. You've heard everybody from the United Nations' coordinator for bird flu to E.U. representatives to government ministers and the health ministry here reminding people that H5-N1 has been here in the area and it will be here for a number of years. And it is very difficult for humans to contact -- or to contract this virus from birds.
So, in terms of public fears, people that say, well, you know, let's just wait and see. Let's see what people are doing. This culling process, as we mentioned, has started, government officials reminding the public that it is very, very hard to get this virus from birds themselves.
NGUYEN: Alphonso Van Marsh, reporting for us. We thank you.
LEMON: She told her doctor something was wrong. They said she just needed to lose weight. Well, 12 years later, her tumor was almost 100 pounds.
NGUYEN: Oh, my.
LEMON: Look at that. You will not believe this story, coming up.
JERAS: And you won't believe the cold wind chill temperatures across the Midwest, extending into the northeast. The latest on the Arctic blast. And our i-reporters helping us out to tell the story. They will shock you, these pictures and some will make you laugh. You won't want to miss it.
NEWSROOM continues after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Of course, we follow the day's breaking news here in the CNN NEWSROOM, and a developing story T.J. is following us.
What do you have for us?
HOLMES: Yes, still stuck, Don. The guy's day didn't start too well out in California, specifically Hollywood Hills, California, where there's a rescue going on. A worker at a residence there in Hollywood Hills got stuck when a trench collapsed -- collapsed at this home. He is now stuck up to his waist in this trench.
We've been watching the firefighters -- we seem to have lost the close-up shot. Taking a live picture here now. We're not in control of this camera, using our affiliate, KTLA, for this picture.
But the gentleman is stuck up in his waist. Firefighters are having to use hydraulic equipment to try to get him out of there.
But again, he's said to be doing all right. He's conscious. He's breathing. He's just stuck and he would like to get out of there.
So keeping an eye on this. They say it could take quite some time. Could be an extended operation, is how they -- how they phrased it. But I believe that may be him. We're not sure, but the guy there in the white shirt there in the middle. He hasn't moved much. So we're assuming that's the guy. We're keeping an eye on it and hoping they get him out and he comes out unharmed, Don.
LEMON: All right, T.J. Keep monitoring and as soon as it happens, we'll check back in with you. HOLMES: All right.
LEMON: Thank you so much. Hope he's OK. Thanks.
NGUYEN: Well, there was the auctioneer conducting a wedding ceremony, a couple arguing over whether to pick up a scary hitchhiker and crabs worshipping an ice chest filled with beer? Those are the more popular Super Bowl ads in what Madison Avenue says was a mediocre lineup at best.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with details on this.
And Susan, I have to tell you, talking about these commercials this morning, the word that kept popping up was lame. People thought they were pretty lame.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, critics have really been unsparing in some of the words to describe this. This, after all, is the Super Bowl for Madison Avenue, Betty.
Words like boring, poorly executed, not memorable, some of the words being used to describe last night's Super Bowl ads.
Critics did not like Revlon's spot featuring Sheryl Crow, in which the rocker took the company's hair color on tour. Some critics said it seemed like it was a very long tour.
Also getting a thumb's down, Nationwide's funny ad featuring would-be rapper Kevin Federline. The punch line, it's all just a day dream for K. Fed. The problem, according to critics, was that the soon to be ex-Mr. Britney Spears is unknown to millions of older viewers who watch the game.
As for the winners, Budweiser more than just the king of beers. It's also once again the king of Super Bowl ads. "USA Today" asked a number of viewers for their reaction, and Budweiser's crab commercial came out on top. The spot shows crabs bowing down to an ice chest filled with beer.
And Anheuser-Busch, Bud's brewer, also walked off with seven of the top 10 rated commercials. They usually are in the top ten, Betty. They know what the viewer -- they know who's watching the game, and they know what they like.
NGUYEN: Year after year. You know, there's another commercial that I think a lot of people like. We were talking about it this morning, that Doritos amateur commercial.
LISOVICZ: How about that?
NGUYEN: Yes.
LISOVICZ: Yes, I mean, this one is really eye raising for, you know, a few reasons. TV viewers liked the spot. It featured an accident-prone couple and emphasized qualities associated with Doritos.
There was little doubt Doritos liked the commercial, too. "USA Today" says it only cost $12 to do it. That's short of THE $2.6 million price tag for placing a 30-second ad in the Super Bowl.
Part of the reason it cost so little to make, Doritos did not hire a big ad firm. Instead, the company launched a contest that asked consumers to submit spots for the big game.
Also, G.M. did the same thing with a user generated spot, the one in which a bunch of guys take off their shirts just to wash a Chevy in midtown Manhattan. I don't know if you remember that one, Betty. Caught my eye, as well.
NGUYEN: Oh, yes, I remember it very clearly. Maybe they should just rerun some of the better commercials. What do you think?
LISOVICZ: I also liked the connectile dysfunction. Do you remember that one?
NGUYEN: No.
LISOVICZ: Making fun of...
NGUYEN: I don't know what you're talking about, Susan. But can we talk about that on television?
LISOVICZ: It was -- I guess that's one of the more adult- oriented commercials.
NGUYEN: I'm blushing.
LISOVICZ: Let me get back to Wall Street now, because I know Don is a big Bears fan. We do have some bears on Wall Street today.
LEMON: Aw.
(STOCK REPORT)
LISOVICZ: That's the latest from Wall Street.
Coming up, lawyers have been working eight days a week. Now, Apple Inc. and Apple Corps. says we can work it out. I'll have details next hour.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Let's get you straight to the NEWSROOM now. And CNN's T.J. Holmes. I T.J., understand they're getting close on this rescue operation.
T.J. HOMES, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: They could be. We haven't gotten an official word. We're just keeping an eye on it. We'll show you what we're keeping an eye on here, this live picture. Again, this is out in Hollywood Hills, California. Where a guy has gotten stuck. We believe that's him there in the middle, in that white shirt. You can make out there. Firefighters have been around him. What happened a trench collapsed at this residence, a home, he was working on. He got stuck, stuck up to his waist is what we were told.
But they said he was conscious, breathing, doing all right, just stuck. So, it looks like they had to use some hydraulic equipment, trying to shore up that trench and maybe make enough space to pull him out, is what's happening.
We're keeping an eye on this. They thought this might take a little bit. It happened local time at about 8:40 this morning. Firefighters were called to the scene. We're keeping an eye on it. We believe that's him there in the middle. That looked like a white T- shirt. He has a rope or something right now, it appears, to be around him. It looks like he could possibly be about to be hoisted up. You see firefighters up top there as well, looks like their possibly about to receive him. We do believe that's him.
You see that hydraulic equipment there we were talking about as well right in the middle of the screen that's going, it looks like, from the side of the wall to a wood plank or something there, on the right side as well, trying to squeeze out enough space there to get him out. Again, no word here that he was injured at all. Don't know how bad off he might be.
But, again, said he was conscious and breathing, just stuck up to his waist. We've been keeping an eye on this. And firefighters have been pretty busy in this area; there have been several of them. You can count at least five, six seven, eight or so on the screen here. We're hoping to keep an eye on this and thought we might be able to bring you that rescue here live, and him actually getting out.
But we're going to keep an eye on it. Hopefully, he's not injured. Keeping the firefighters busy. Certainly not the way he wanted to start his work day -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Oh, not at all. But the good news is we can see right there, in the middle of the screen that he is moving around. At least the upper portion of his body. Like you said, they're getting close. As soon as that happens, T.J., we'll be coming straight back to you.
HOLMES: All right.
LEMON: Let's talk about the big story happening in the country today, the weather. Denver is snowed in. So much snow that they need help before another snow storm rolls in there. This hour, the city is taking steps to give nature a little help. Greg Nieto, from our affiliate, KWGN, joins me with that part of the story.
Pretty cold there, huh, Greg?
Obviously, we're having a little problem. We'll try to get back to Greg in a moment. We'll go to our resident Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. She knows everything she might even know more than Greg, there.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Uh-oh.
LEMON: CNN Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras joining us now to tell us about that.
Did you say one place today 49 degrees below zero? What does that feel like?
JERAS: Well, it's brutal. Have you ever been in -- well, you lived in Chicago, didn't you?
LEMON: Yes, I did, but after about 10 below it all feels the same.
JERAS: It does.
LEMON: You just don't want to go outside.
JERAS: Right, exactly. You really don't want to, because you want to cover up any exposed skin that you have. Even some of the schools have been closed, by the way, because they don't want the kids waiting out at the bus stop. Because even your face, you know, you want to wear a face mask in these kind of conditions, because you could get frost bite very, very quickly. It's just too cold to be outside if you don't have to across parts of the Upper Midwest.
But onto the Denver story, the big deal that's going on there. I know you haven't had a lot of snow as of late. But I think this is really interesting to a lot of people who don't live in parts of Colorado. You remember the huge snow storms they had, particularly back into Denver. I guess we've got into December, rather.
I guess we have the Denver reporter, Don, back?
LEMON: Yes, Greg Nieto.
JERAS: Let's hear from him.
LEMON: We'll check back in with you, Jacqui. But we are on the ground in Denver. To tell us about this cold snap.
Greg Nieto, how are you, what's the latest, sir?
GREG NIETO, REPORTER, KWGN: I wish I could tell you we had microphone problems because of the cold. That's not the case. Actually it's 49 degrees here in Denver, which actually I'd say is the warmest day we've had in probably a couple of months.
Obviously, there's plenty of snow to melt, plenty of problems to report. Namely some of the snow removal behind me here. We've got a number of -- people, residents here in the greater city and county of Denver that have been complaining, because, in their view, the city has not done a good enough job of coming in here and actually clearing out the snow. Now is the time Denver has brought in a number of contracted companies that include a number of those front loaders, also some loader-graders and a number of dump trucks to remove the huge amounts of snow that have built up over the past couple of months here on the city streets and also the city's side streets.
Once again, it's a process that's been a tough one for crews here, simply because we've gotten snow storm, after snow storm, after snow storm. Also, those cold temps. So, the snow that would build up on the street, would then build on top of each other, or itself, and then it would turn into ice. And it would be very difficult, of course, for folks to get around. We're seeing number of those threats on the side streets that have been a problem for folks the past couple of months or so.
Again, the snow you see here actually will be taken from this location here and taken to 12 different locations throughout the city and county of Denver. Most of it though will, more than likely, will go over to Coors Field, where the Rockies play. Sunshine, Mother Nature, a great big help. We're live in Denver. Back to you.
LEMON: Greg Nieto, you know, we wouldn't have known. You could have told us it was for weather reasons. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for telling us about that. We'll get back to Jacqui Jeras, now.
Jacqui, Greg says it was one of the warmest days. So, they really are up against the clock to get -- they've had a ton of snow, they have to get it out while it's warm, right?
JERAS: You want to do it before you have any flooding problems, too. That could be a problem. It's a hazard to drive around, too, with those big piles. You get up to an intersection and you can't see around it. You can't see other vehicles, maybe, that are heading that way. Plus, the parking lots have -- I mean, snow stacked up, you know, just feet and feet and feet and feet. So, you've got to do something with that, move that.
By the way, another thing they're doing there in Denver, Denver Public Works is now renting some melting machines from a company out of Oregon. These machines are going to help to melt the snow. It can melt 200 tons of snow in just one hour. Can you imagine that? And it will take that melted snow, that water and put it right into the sewer drains. It will go right into the system. So, they won't have flooding problems with that at all.
Of course, Denver had all those snows, particularly at the end of December, 62.1 inches, is what they've had so far this season since July 1st. That's more than they typically have in an entire season. Here we are only February. Certainly, you can get snowfall in Denver, in March and even on into April. The windchill's still a little bit nippy. But the forecast over the next couple of days in Denver looks like this.
You'll kind of have the freeze/thaw thing going on. So temperatures well above the freezing mark right through the week. Overnight, temperatures will ice things up again. So any of that snow that melts, remember, that will freeze on the roadways and cause some rather slick conditions. You can see sunshine across the board, too. No storms expected to move in. But maybe late Friday, into Saturday they could get a little bit more snow back.
LEMON: Jacqui Jeras, while you were -- right in our monitor, there was a picture of someone getting ready in like, Portland. It was somewhere really warm.
JERAS: I missed it.
LEMON: Thank you so much for that. We'll check back with you throughout the newscast. Thanks.
NGUYEN: Let's take you to Baghdad now, where signs of a crackdown. The first possible steps in the long awaited push to bring peace to a troubled city. Iraqi troops erected road blocks as a new Iraqi general took command of the city's security.
Also, General David Petraeus is headed to Iraq as a newly installed Allied commander. His U.S. reinforcements? Well they are still flowing in. Some Iraqis say the crackdown is coming too slowly. After Saturday's massive market bombing the government announced that 1,000 Iraqis died in acts of violence last week alone. At least 31 were killed today in Baghdad.
U.S. forces have a new potential worry on top of all of this. Are Iraqi insurgents suddenly getting better at shooting down U.S. helicopters? That is the question. With this part of the story, we'll take you live now to the Pentagon and CNN's Barbara Starr.
A lot of questions now, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Betty, you are absolutely right. The question is, are the insurgents getting better at shooting down U.S. helicopters? There have been any number of shoot downs in the past, but what worries commanders the most in a two-week period, four U.S. helicopters brought down.
And the top spokesman in Baghdad has now confirmed the reason is what everyone suspected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE: The investigation of each of those is ongoing, but it does appear that they were all the result of some kind of anti-Iraqi ground fire, that did bring those helicopters down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: What is confusing to commanders at this point, Betty, all these incidents taking place, of course, in different parts of the country. The helicopters all brought down apparently by different methods. Surface to air shoulder fired missiles, small arms fire, heavy machine gunfire. So, there isn't necessarily a common thread. It gets to the point that you raise, tactics. General Caldwell, going on to say that helicopters have adjusted their tactics in the face of this apparent rising threat. He's not talking about specifics. But, of course, helicopters fly very much to try to stay out of the way of enemy fire. So, they're going to have to adjust those tactics, and try to see what they can do -- Betty.
NGUYEN: So, Barbara, because they're using different types of equipment to shoot down these helicopters, it's not an issue of are they being better equipped, but an issue of are they getting better at it?
STARR: It appears at this point, that that's right. There's no indication that there's some brand new weapon in insurgent hands that the military has been unaware of. It does seem to be on the issue of tactics at this point. But it also may well be the military flies hundreds and hundreds of helicopter hours.
Tragically, unfortunately, the reality is that there are going to be some attempts of shoot downs that tragically wind up being successful. Is this a statistical anomaly or is there something in insurgent tactics that U.S. forces have to now deal with? They're making some adjustments they say, just to make sure -- Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. We appreciate that, Barbara.
LEMON: Two of the famous crime cases of the 19th century, the murder of six-year-old Adam Walsh and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Could they be linked?
A new book suggests they are. The author puts Dahmer at the Florida mall where Walsh was snatched back in 1981, the day the boy was abducted. And he claims discrepancies between Dahmer's alibi and witness accounts. Adam's father, John Walsh, of "America's Most Wanted" fame, says Dahmer deserves another look. Dahmer was killed in prison in 1994.
Coming up next hour, we'll talk to an investigative criminal profiler, Pat Brown, to get her take on the case. Could Dahmer have done it? Something we're tracking and checking right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: Also, inside an Iranian nuclear facility, CNN's Christiane Amanpour is among those given a tour. We have her report ahead in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Well, she told her doctor something was wrong. And they said she just needed to lose weight. Well, 12 years later, her tumor was almost 100 pounds.
NGUYEN: Look at that!
LEMON: We'll tell you about that, coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: All right, so how many of us have gone to the doctor with a mysterious symptom, only to be told take an aspirin, or maybe even exercise more? That's what one Oklahoma woman heard for years. Reporter Adrian (ph) Bryant, of CNN affiliate, KOTV in Tulsa, follows up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Taquela Hilton believes she literally owes her life to her doctor, Jennifer Cameron. It was Doctor Cameron who finally believed Taquela had something that was making her gain weight.
DR. JENNIFER CAMERON, HILTON'S PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: The first summer I meter her, her legs were so tight, and so cracked, and so huge in diameter that they would just actually crack and weep.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hilton's problems including diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity are all connected to a single problem that was undiagnosed for at least a dozen years.
TAQUELA HILTON, HAD 93-POUND TUMOR REMOVED: I quit going to doctors. I got tired of every doctor I was going to, telling me to go on a diet. I had tried every diet that you could think of.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just 20 days ago, that doctors operated and removed the problem, a benign tumor, ovarian cyst that weighed 93 pounds.
CAMERON: This was just like a big balloon, like a big beach ball.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one is sure how long the cyst had been going, but Taquela believes her weight hasn't matched her diet since childhood. She is 32 now. Both she and her doctor are optimistic about the future.
CAMERON: I truly believe that all these complications just kind of cascaded. That's why it is my hope that in the future, it's possible that during the transformation, we expect to see in the next year or two, she may not need a whole lot more intervention.
HILTON: I know it really affected my marriage. It affected a lot of things. I had faith that something would be found, and it happened.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Boy, was something found. OK, we know you want to see it again. If you're squeamish in any way, you might not want to look at what we're about to show you. It's a closer look at that 93-pound tumor. Here it is.
Keep in mind, ovarian cysts are quite common and usually not cancerous. But looking at it, it's really hard to believe she had that inside of her. Of course, ovarian cysts most likely will be smaller than this. Thankfully, they found it and found it just -- I wouldn't say quickly. It took them 12 years.
LEMON: You said that to me during the break. It doesn't even look real, does it?
NGUYEN: Uh-uh. And the shape of it, as round as it is. I'm no expert on tumors, but my goodness -- 93 pounds.
LEMON: Glad she's OK, too. And sure she's glad that that is --
NGUYEN: Out of her.
LEMON: Out of her.
Moving on now, hitting the dance floor in the battle against childhood obesity. West Virginia plans to put the popular video "Dance, Dance Revolution" into every school in the state. A recent study found that the kids who used a dancing game for at least 30 minutes, five days a week, maintain their current weight. They also had a reduction in some risk factors for diabetes and heart disease. That's good news. They felt more confident, and willing to try new types of exercise. Always good.
NGUYEN: Have you tried it? It's not that easy.
LEMON: No.
NGUYEN: I have a little 14-year-old sister who just loves to play that game. She would do it all day long if she could.
LEMON: Dancing in my living room dancing to the NEWSROOM music.
NGUYEN: Yes, I can envision that.
All right so running against the wind, and trying to learn more about how tornadoes work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One here was basically at least an EF-3.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A strong one, with winds over 160 miles an hour.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Just imagine that. A storm's fury and the anatomy of a tornado by the experts ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: There's still no sign of give from Iran and its ongoing nuclear efforts. That's after U.N. sanctions and other threats still on the table. CNN's Christiane Amanpour reports for us now to convince the rest of the world that it isn't seeking nuclear weapons, a tour of one of its nuclear plants.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The Iranian government has invited hundreds of journalists as well as six ambassadors from the so called non-allied movement. They are ambassadors from Malaysia, Egypt, Sudan, Bolivia, Cuba, Slovenia; countries which are not in the Security Council and there are no Western countries represented here.
Nonetheless, the Iranian government is saying that this is a transparency visit, designed to show the world what it claims to be its peaceful nuclear program.
ALI ASHGAR SOLTIANIEH, CHIEF IRANIAN DELEGATE, IAEA: As you notice, the whole system is closed system. It means input is calculated by IAEA. Every gram of yellow chalk inside, when the input is measured, and outside it could be measured. Therefore, they can't have accountancy very easily.
We agreed to put two additional camera so that you are sure that this capsule are not moved during this process when the inspectors are not here. And 250 tons of UF-6 have been produced here and everything is under the IAEA.
AMANPOUR: This uranium conversion facility, at Isfahan, is not the current showpiece in Iran's nuclear program. That's at Natan (ph), about an hour away from here where Iran has already conducted some experimental uranium enrichment.
The Iranian officials have been saying that at sometime in the next 10 days, while they're celebrating the anniversary of the Islamic revolution, they may have a major new announcement on their nuclear program. Some have speculated that they may announce a 300,000 centrifuge cascade, which could dramatically increase their ability to enrich uranium, move the experimental enrichment of uranium up to a more industrial scale.
Iran, however, says it has not started that yet. It also insists that IAEA surveillance cameras remain at Natan (ph). Christiane Amanpour, CNN, at the uranium enrichment facility, in Isfahan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, they know you name, they have your number, but should the feds also get a crack at your personal genetic code? Ahead in the NEWSROOM, the DNA debate.
NGUYEN: Remember this, the cash that claimed New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle. How did a small plane wind up smashing into a New York skyscraper? That's a head in the NEWSROOM, an NTSB report on this very accident.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, tornado experts are reading the landscape in Lake County, Florida. The deadly tornado that struck there on Friday left some telling, and frightening, information in the twisted metal and splintered wood. CNN Meteorologist Rob Marciano takes us inside a tornado.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, METEROLOGIST (voice over): The debris fields that litter a tornado's path may look chaotic, but to the trained eye each piece tells the true story of the storm.
(on camera): Are we in the center of the vortex, right now?
JIM LADUE, NOAA METEOROLOGIST: Literally in the center of the vortex at this point.
MARCIANO: Jim Ladue works in weather forensics, surveying damage to determine what happened and how.
LADUE: I see confluence coming in and debris coming into the northeast on the south side of the track, coming in from the northwest, to the southeast here, on the north side of the track.
MARCIANO: Wedging in.
LADUE: That literal confluence.
There's about 28 different damage indicators that we look at.
MARCIANO: And what do those indicators tell you about this twister?
LADUE: This one here was basically at least an EF-3.
MARCIANO (voice over): A strong one, with winds over 160 miles an hour.
(On camera): It isn't so much the wind that's dangerous. It's the debris flying through that wind. Look how this 2X4 was literally launched like a missile, impaling the side of this home. On the other side of this wall a woman was asleep, as a tornado literally went overhead.
But there are researchers at Texas Tech, that can actually replicate this event, in their lab.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, one.
MARCIANO (on camera): The front side here completely -- almost surgical impact.
LARRY TANNER, TEXAS TECH: Absolutely.
MARCIANO: But the back side just completely demolished.
TANNER: And even if you had brick veneer instead of the siding, the missile would behave exactly the same. It goes straight through.
MARCIANO (voice over): Investigators like Ledue put the data to the test, analyzing the integrity of all sorts of structures. LADUE: This has a weak link right here. Notice the nails are sticking straight up, out of there. That says to me that this was a straight nailed from the bottom in a prefab.
MARCIANO: Nailing studs diagonally is better, using L-braces would be best.
(On camera): How much more money does it cost to put those straps on, to put those braces on?
LADUE: It would probably cost on the order of maybe 150 bucks.
MARCIANO: That's it?
LADUE: Yes.
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