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Dismembered Wife Case; Veterans' Care Crisis; Afghan Civilian Deaths

Aired March 05, 2007 - 14:00   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.

Walter Reed under the microscope. A House panel makes a House call to get to the bottom of the shoddy conditions for wounded U.S. troops.

LEMON: Is your portfolio still under fire on Wall Street? Another brutal day in Asia gives way to a mediocre Monday in New York.

NGUYEN: And it is a new day in North Korea's relations with the outside world, we think. In the NEWSROOM this hour, diplomatic window of opportunity and a dramatic peek into the world's most secretive state.

Want to get you some more information now on a developing story out of Signal Hill, California, a workplace shooting where three people are in critical condition, one person dead at this hour. We understand from authorities that a fired employee walked into this menu printing operation there in California and opened fire, killing himself and critically wounding three people.

This occurred at the Kenyon Press at 9:00 a.m. Again, it's a menu printing facility.

According to S.W.A.T. team members, the shooter, a fired employee, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. It appears the shooter was about 60 years old. We don't have any names at this time, but all of the victims are men.

Those who were critically wounded are about 50 years in age. And again, this occurred around 9:00 a.m. California time at a menu printing plant called Kenyon Press in Signal Hill, California, where a fired employee walked in, critically wounded three people by shooting them, and turned the gun on himself.

As soon as we get more information we'll bring it straight to you.

LEMON: Another developing story happening. This one from Macomb County, Michigan. The coroner speaking about that dismemberment case that's happening there right now.

Let's take a listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

RR. DANIEL SPITZ, MACOMB COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: Yes, the examination showed bruising, externally visible on her neck, as well as injuries to the deeper structures in the neck and the cartilages in the neck, all very indicative of a manual strangulation.

QUESTION: Doctor, is it possible to tell the time of death, the state of death? Was it in fact February 9th? Are you able to pinpoint that at all?

SPITZ: Well, it does appear that her death occurred very close to February 9th. And that's based on the examination of the remains, which is consistent with that time frame, but also with some other information that has been uncovered in the course of the investigation.

QUESTION: Because her body was outside in that extreme cold so for long, that must have made it easier for you to reach the findings, right?

SPITZ: Well, there's no question that because the remains were in a cold environment -- and obviously February was very cold -- that that did preserve the remains to a point where a determination as to cause of manner of death was quite apparent.

QUESTION: When you were saying manual strangulation, you mean you believe it was with his hands?

SPITZ: Yes, we separate manual strangulation from ligature strangulation, manual strangulation being a strangulation or an asphyxiation compression of the neck with another person's hands as opposed to some type of instrument or ligature.

QUESTION: And are you able to tell post-death on this analysis things that might have happened, things that the sheriff's department shared (ph) with us?

SPITZ: Well, the dismemberment of the body occurred postmortem, and as far as other things that have occurred to the body, there is evidence of some animal activity, but again that occurred all postmortem.

QUESTION: And has all the body been found?

SPITZ: The majority of her body has been recovered.

QUESTION: Is there any need to recover more of the remains in order...

SPITZ: Well, the goal certainly would be to recover any and all remains that -- that exist. As far as determination of cause and manner of death, I'm not in need of additional remains to make that determination, but for the family's sake and for the sake of the entire investigation, I'm hopeful that the sheriff's office can recover additional remains. But due to the nature of the circumstances and the fact that the body was out in a wooded area with animal activity, it may be very difficult to recover every -- every bit of her.

QUESTION: Do you think she was dismembered at home or taken somewhere?

SPITZ: My investigation really doesn't allow a determination of that. I know her dismemberment occurred postmortem. Where it occurred and exactly when it occurred in relation to her death is very difficult to determine. Her body would have been in a cold environment relatively soon after her death in order for it to be as preserved as it is.

QUESTION: You inspected the wounds. And does it tell you anything about how she may have been dismembered?

SPITZ: Well, certainly a sharp instrument was used to cut the tissue and the bone.

QUESTION: You mentioned that she had (INAUDIBLE) before she was strangled. Can you go into any details of any of the injuries?

SPITZ: Well, she had some blunt-force injuries that are indicative with an altercation.

QUESTION: Where were those on her body?

SPITZ: They were predominantly located on the head and face area.

LEMON: That was -- that is Macomb County coroner Dr. Daniel Spitz talking about the circumstances surrounding 34-year-old Tara Lynn Grant. According to police investigators there in Michigan, Stephen Grant, her 37-year-old husband, has confessed to killing her and then later dismembering her body.

The coroner there holding a press conference talking about the conditions surrounding her body when they found it. There were bruises. They believe she was strangled. They also believe that she died February 9th, which was quite a while ago, and then he dismembered her after that.

Stephen Grant was in the hospital for a while after police found him in the woods. He had been hiding from them for a bit. They were concerned about frostbite and other conditions. They took him to the hospital. He was released a short time ago, and now he is on his way, if not already there, to the Macomb County Jail, where he will be charged in the death of his wife.

We'll continue to follow this story for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Are wounded U.S. veterans being neglected instead of nursed at the Army's premier medical hospital? Now a House panel has gone into the field today to find out. It's holding hearings at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where wounded veterans say their treatment left them traumatized.

Let's go to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, for the latest on that -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Don, it's been quite a day. We're in the third panel of testimony now before that congressional panel at Walter Reed. The Army chief of staff, General Peter Schoomaker, bristling at some of the questioning, asking week General George Weightman, the commander at Walter Reed, was relieved and others are still in their job. General Schoomaker saying very passionately that this is not a case of the Army not caring.

The day began with a panel of some of the outpatients who had horror stories to tell, including Specialist Jeremy Duncan, who called his room in the notorious building 18 unlivable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPEC. JEREMY DUNCAN, U.S. ARMY: The conditions in the room, in my mind, were just -- it was unforgivable for anybody to live -- it wasn't fit for anybody to live in a room like that. I know most soldiers have -- they're just coming out of recovery or have weaker immune systems. The black mold can do damage to people, and the holes in the walls, I wouldn't live there even if I had to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Specialist Duncan, injured in an IED attack in Iraq, was told when he complained about the conditions to put in -- have him put in a work order. He said he did that, months went by, weeks went by. Finally, he said the article appeared in "The Washington Post," he was moved the next day.

Those "Washington Post" articles, by the way, that first shed light on the problems were the issue of some tough questioning for Lieutenant General Kiley, who is now the Army's surgeon -- who's the Army surgeon general and a former commander at Walter Reed, accused of perhaps minimizing the problems by complaining about those stories. He said today that he wasn't talking about the original articles, but some of the articles have suggested that he might be responsible, because he commanded Walter Reed back in 2002 to 2004.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. KEVIN KILEY, U.S. ARMY SURGEON GENERAL: My concern that the issues in building 18, which were clearly unacceptable, clearly unacceptable, and were a failure of leadership at the junior level in that building, my concern for the American people and for the Army and for soldiers was that -- that some of the descriptors in the larger articles would be construed is that the entire Walter Reed system was a failure and that soldiers were being left to languish, were forgotten and lost.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: One of the more dramatic moments in a day of dramatic moments was when General George Weightman actually turned around and faced the family members and personally apologized for what he called his personal failures in failing to recognize in six months as commander the extent of the problem and to take faster action. But a lot of people are questioning the actions of General Kenneth Farmer (ph), the immediate predecessor to General Weightman. Some of the testimony today suggested family members went to General Farmer (ph) with their concerns and they were unable to get his attention.

LEMON: You know what, Jamie? You've been on top of this story, so you would know the answer to this. Many veterans say these problems aren't unique to Walter Reed.

How widespread are the conditions being highlighted in these hearings?

MCINTYRE: Well, you know, they're referring to the bricks and mortar problem, which is the living conditions in a particular building. That's going to be fixed fairly quickly and is fairly easy. But the other problem that's really coming to light is really this crushing bureaucracy that can sometimes seem really insensitive to the wounded soldiers, and that's a much harder problem to fix.

Army officials admitted today that they were overwhelmed, that they -- that they didn't anticipate the number of wounded soldiers they're going to have to deal with, and that they were struggling to keep up. And in many ways, that much larger problem of the bureaucracy which is faced not just at Walter Reed, but virtually everywhere, is something that's really going to take a lot of effort to try to improve.

LEMON: Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

Thank you so much for that report.

Underfunded and overloaded, critics say that's been the state of Veterans Affairs, of that department for years now. The V.A. is facing unprecedented growth in its healthcare or workload.

The number of vets in its medical system has been rising about 5 percent a year. The V.A. expects to treat 263,000 from Iraq and Afghanistan next year. Under the Bush administration's budget projections, the department could face back-to-back funding cuts in 2009 and 2010.

If you want to watch the full hearing live and commercial-free, just go online to CNN Pipeline, where it's being streamed. That's only on CNN.com.

NGUYEN: The U.S. military is investigating two attacks that may have killed 17 civilians in Afghanistan. Now, in both, the military is blaming insurgents for putting civilians in danger, but Afghan officials are pointing the finger at U.S. troops.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson reports now from Kabul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The very latest incident occurred in Kapisa Province overnight, Sunday into Monday. According to U.S. military officials, enemy combatants fired a rocket at a U.S. military in that province just north of Kabul. The rocket missed.

They then saw enemy combatants go into a compound. They called in air support, two 1,000-pound bombs were dropped on a building there. They can confirm that there were nine deaths in that bombing. But according to the deputy governor of Kapisa Province, he says that the dead include five women, three boys and one man.

The Interior Ministry here also confirmed nine civilian casualties in that particular strike. And that comes hard on the heels of the information about -- at least comes hard on the heels of President Hamid Karzai condemning the incident that took place at Jalalabad Airport, where a suicide bomber attacked a U.S. military convoy. A gunfight ensued during what U.S. military officials describe as a complex ambush in a civilian area, killing at least eight Afghans, wounding more than 30 others who were taken to the hospital.

It is a very sensitive political time. There is widely expected to be a Taliban offensive, a step-up in action, a spring offensive right now.

The political stakes are high because it is widely expected the Taliban will capitalize, in propaganda terms, on those civilian casualties, trying to build support. U.S. military, NATO here, very concerned. They say they take every step to avoid civilian casualties, and they say these two incidents are indicative of what they see the Taliban trying to do, which is conduct operations where there are civilians and where there may be -- where there's every likelihood of being civilian causalities.

And they blame the Taliban for taking -- taking offensive actions where civilians can be caught up. But it is of deep concern, not only to NATO, but also to the Afghan government.

They want NATO to be supported. They want NATO to be supported because they want to see the reconstruction here that will build support for President Hamid Karzai and, therefore, diminish support for the Taliban.

These two incidents, however, not conducive for that at the moment. Not conducive for continuing to build support for NATO and for President Hamid Karzai.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, she went undercover for a rare glimpse at highly secretive North Korea. National Geographic Channel correspondent Lisa Ling shares her findings and her experience, ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Also, booked on a US Airways flight today? Well, here's some advice. Saddle up and get to the airport early. There are travel problems.

We'll explain ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

NGUYEN: A panicked scream, "It's not the highway!" The memory of one Bluffton baseball player right just before the team's bus smashed through an overpass and landed on Interstate 75 below. It lends credence to speculation that driver Jerome Niemeyer was confused by the left-side HOV exit.

The National Transportation Safety Board says there have been 82 accidents at that Atlanta off-ramp, and this morning, CNN's Miles O'Brien discussed the exit design with a spokesman from the Georgia Department of Transportation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I want to take people a little farther up the ramp here.

Now, imagine, first of all, if this truck was going, say, 65 or 70 miles an hour. Let's freeze it right here, if we could.

And I apologize that you can't see. I thought you were going to be able to see, Mr. Spear.

If we look over here on the right, the exit sign there, the actual exit sign right there, has the black diamond indicating HOV. And it also has an exit on it. But if you're looking at it kind of quickly, you might see that diamond and see the arrow and say, oh, that's the HOV lane, I should continue to the left in order to stay in the HOV lane.

DAVID SPEAR, GEORGIA DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION: I assume, Miles, your visual now is down -- is it below the ramp?

O'BRIEN: Yes, just below the ramp, at the base of the ramp, exactly.

SPEAR: OK. All I can say without exactly seeing what you're looking at is that it requires a very distinct and deliberate movement to the left to get on that exit ramp. The HOV lane is clearly delineated by the double white lines. There is a clear sight of vision directly ahead of that HOV lane and exit, and it simply requires a deliberate movement to the left to get off on that HOV ramp.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's -- let's move along up the ramp a little bit here. And as we roll the tape and go a little bit closer, you have two signs there which indicate a stop sign ahead.

Let's stop it right now, if we could.

That's very clear. I'm curious, though, given the fact that, you know, people are coming at such high speed off Interstate 75 there, particularly if they're in the left lane, they're going fast and in that HOV lane, have you ever considered, have you thought about, and might you include those so-called rumble strips which would kind of wake up a driver, that they're headed for an area that they should slow down?

SPEAR: We're certainly going to take a look, Miles, at anything we can do and anything the National Transportation Safety Board recommends to prevent something like this. The issue with rumble strips is, the normal driver expectations, as we talk about in the industry, are that rumble strips indicate to a driver that they strayed out of their lane of traffic and...

O'BRIEN: Well, no, no. Actually, they use rumble strips at toll booths all the time. They're used frequently on exit ramps to get -- to tell people it is time to wake up and slow down and pay attention.

Let's go to the end of the ramp here for just a moment, if we could. I want to make one final point here.

We'll just roll up to the top here and we'll stop it right there, if we could, John (ph). Thank you.

You see the stop sign there. What about the possibility -- have you looked into this -- shouldn't there be a blinking light up there somewhere to give -- you know, just make it very clear? Because you're going into -- it's a busy intersection as it is, might even require a street light, I don't know.

Have you looked at that, as well?

SPEAR: I'm sure we've looked at traffic signals there before. I'm sure we're going to look again, Miles.

What I would say in defense of that is that if the driver -- and in this particular instance, we don't know why, but we do know it happened -- if the driver ignored or didn't see four specific stop indicators, what's to say a traffic signal is going to make any more difference?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, that spokesman, David Spear, did confirm the state would consider NTSB recommendations.

LEMON: He was in the public eye for more than three decades, perhaps best rembered as a vice presidential candidate for a very brief time. Remembering former senator Thomas Eagleton ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Next hour in the NEWSROOM, Nationalee Geographic correspondent Lisa Ling offers a rare glimpse inside the secretive state of North Korea, a land of restrictions, hardships and unwavering devotion to their "dear leader."

That's a little later here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, in the big book of U.S. politics, Thomas Eagleton is a footnote. A long-time senator, but best known for the 18 days he spent as George McGovern's running mate in 1972. Yesterday, at the age of 77, Thomas Eagleton died.

CNN's Andrea Koppel looks back at a life and career marked by glittering highs and debilitating lows.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Thomas Francis Eagleton considered it only one chapter in a long and active political life, but it was a chapter many Americans will remember best.

In the sweltering and politically chaotic summer of 1972, the newly chosen Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern chose Missouri senator Tom Eagleton to be his running mate, a selection made only after several other prominent Democrats had turned McGovern down.

The Vietnam War was still raging. Watergate was yet to emerge. And George McGovern believed he had the perfect partner to challenge Richard Nixon. But only days later, word began to leak that Eagleton had been hospitalized three times for nervous exhaustion, and, in fact, had twice received electric shock therapy, facts that made it impossible for McGovern to keep him on the ticket. Even though at one point Senator McGovern claimed he was behind Tom Eagleton 1,000, Eagleton withdrew on the last day of July and was replaced by Sergeant Shriver.

Thomas Eagleton served more than three decades in public life. After he left the Senate, he practiced law in St. Louis, taught at Washington University of St. Louis, and was instrumental in negotiating the transfer of the NFL's Los Angeles Rams to St. Louis in 1995.

Late in life, Eagleton was also instrumental in convincing Senate Democratic leaders to recruit Claire McCaskill to run against Missouri incumbent Jim Talent in last year's elections. When she won, she told supporters that Tom Eagleton deserved a great deal of the credit.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Let's take a look at the big board. The Dow is up almost 12 points -- almost 12 points there. The Nasdaq, 12,000. So there you go.

We're going to check it -- the markets with Susan Lisovicz in just a short time, straight ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello, everyone I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Inside North Korea, a new documentary exposes some of the secrets inside the closed society. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: A meeting that seemed improbable or even impossible just weeks ago, just hours away. U.S. and North Korean diplomats talking one on one about normal relations after generations of suspicion and sanctions. This will be the highest-level meeting between the two on American soil since 2000. Just two years after that President Bush labeled North Korea part of an axis of evil. Kim Jong-Il rules North Korea with an iron fist. No one is allowed in our out without his say-so. "National Geographic Channel's" Lisa Ling managed to get in with a camera and capture the cult-like devotion that North Koreans have for the man they call their dear leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA LING, NGC CORRESPONDENT: Why do you want to see the supreme leader so much so bad?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My children and I live happily due to the honor of our Great Leader, so I want to see him, even a glimpse of him, so I can thank him.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Lisa Ling joins me from New York with more on her documentary, "Inside North Korea" which airs tonight. This particular family, Lisa, just a normal family, fairly well to do for North Korean standards. It took you, what, six officials and minders to get in to see this family?

LING: We had between six and eight government officials with us at all times. The woman you just saw was blind because of cataracts for over 10 years, and I asked her what's the first thing you want to see after 10 years of being blind, what do you want to see most? She instantly said I just want to see a photograph of the dear leader. I haven't seen him for over 10 years.

LEMON: It's just amazing to me because some of the conditions they're in, especially the cataracts are partly due to Kim Jong-Il and their lack of healthcare and medical care there. Don't they understand that?

LING: Well, going in with this cataract surgeon was a really unique entree into North Korea. In the United States and in the western world if you get a cataract, you can have it removed immediately. It's very easy and cheap. But in North Korea, we operated on over 1,000 people, some as young as seven years old, who had extremely mature cataracts. That was directly a result of malnourishment and lack of resources, so it gives you an idea of the humanitarian situation there.

LEMON: I've heard from your report that the South Korean counterparts are maybe five to eight inches taller or bigger than the folks in North Korea, and the children are small. Why this unbridled loyalty to Kim Jong-Il from this family?

LING: Honestly Don I don't think that they know otherwise. From the day you are born in North Korea, you are fed nothing but propaganda. The only thing you learn in school is the history, the North Koreans' history of their country and their region. It's a very skewed set of education there, and that's really all they know.

LEMON: What I also found interesting too, you asked them, you said can the leader do no wrong and they either didn't understand or pretended not to understand your question. There was also one point, Lisa, when you were out taking pictures with your cameramen of a statue of Kim Jong-Il, and you almost got kicked out of the country. Let's take a look, and then we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LING: Back on the streets of Pyongyang, our cameraman wants to take a photograph of a statue of the great leader. It's huge, so he lies on the ground to make it fit in the shot. But the minder lets us know, this is a mistake. A big one.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Just for lying down to take a picture.

LING: Yeah, fortunately we weren't kicked out immediately after profuse apologies on our end. But yeah, this statue was the biggest thing I have ever seen, it was as tall as any skyscraper. And in order for him to get a proper shot, he had to lay down so that the image could fit in the frame, but that was hugely insulting to our escorts.

LEMON: I wanted to get to this, because this video is just amazing. You went there with a doctor, you told me an eye doctor who was fixing people's cataracts, giving cataract surgery there. Once they were fixed and they could see, all hail to Kim Jong-Il, let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[Speaking foreign language]

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And Lisa, every single person who had these bandages taken off and who could see did the exact same thing, if not more fervent. Do you think that these -- I have to ask you this before I let you go. Do you think that these talks, having been on the ground, do you think that they will make a difference? Will they penetrate that hard shell in North Korea? LING: I'm hopeful and I don't think that it can do anything but help, at least to get the parties to the table. The situation in North Korea is dire, and it's vital that I think both sides come to the table, because obviously this harsh rhetoric has not been working for either side.

LEMON: Lisa Ling, "Inside North Korea," airs tonight on the "National Geographic Channel." Thank you so much for joining us.

LING: Thanks for having me.

NGUYEN: A car bomb at a book market, at least 28 people are dead, dozens more wounded in Baghdad. It is the worst bombing in the Iraqi capital in three days. That blast set off raging fires, as you can see in the video. Envoys from China are headed to Baghdad tomorrow over oil. Iraq approved a plan last week that would open the country's oil industry to international investment. The world's top oil companies have been trying for years to win stakes there. Iraq has the world's second highest known oil reserves behind Saudi Arabia.

And the world's largest army is on a spending spree. Boom times in China mean a major boost in military spending. CNN's John Vause reports now from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The all new made in China, (INAUDIBLE) 10 armed with Chinese precision-guided missiles is leading a way in a top to bottom makeover of the people's liberation army. Paid for by a booming economy, China's defense budget according to official figures is set to grow by almost 18 percent this year to close to $45 billion. The Pentagon has long believed it could be much more, two, even three times higher.

JIAN ENSHU, CHINESE GOVT. SPOKESMAN: China has neither the means nor the intention to have an arms race with any other country, says this government spokesman.

VAUSE: The U.S. deputy secretary of state visiting Beijing, diplomatically called for a please explain.

JOHN NEGROPONTE, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: There have been some discussions, some previous discussions between Pentagon officials and Chinese military authorities, but we would like to see those intensified so that we can have a better grasp of what exactly the Chinese have in mind.

VAUSE: China is reportedly buying and building more submarines, as many as eight of the diesel-powered kilo class are coming from Russia. Others are being built locally, adding to an aging fleet of around 50. Just part of an overall naval upgrade from a mostly old and obsolete coastal force, to one able to project power far from home, but essential to that an air craft carry. China doesn't have one, but publicly admits it's trying to build one. The communist government maintains a no first strike nuclear policy, but it's believed to be investing in more mobile faster-launching nuclear missiles with a longer range. And in January China announced it has a weapon able to knock out satellites in low earth orbit. Experts say in any potential conflict with the U.S., dozens of American satellites could be disabled within hours. The White House had concerns even before this latest military budget increase was announced by Beijing. Last month Vice President Dick Cheney said, "China's continued fast paced military buildup is less constructive and not consistent with China's stated goal with a peaceful rise." Latest official figures put the people's liberation army currently at 2.3 million troops, more than any other country, but some analysts warn not to overstate China's capability.

DAVID LAMPTON, CHINA ANALYST: China is certainly the biggest actor in terms of manpower, but China technologically is substantially behind several militaries in Asia, not to mention the United States.

VAUSE (on camera): Chinese officials insist this biggest increase in military spending in more than a decade will be mostly used for better training and better pay for troops. John Vause, CNN, Beijing.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: A horrible crime, a wife, a mother killed, then dismembered. We're hearing from her loved ones this hour, that story is straight ahead.

And this is no laughing matter, police say what happened to these little boys is deeply disturbing. Video you have to see to believe. Straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: There are new developments in the case of a Michigan man accused of killing and dismembering his wife. We want to take a listen now to the sister of the victim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALICIA STANDERFER, SISTER OF SLAIN MICHIGAN WOMAN: My family and I would like to take this opportunity to express how deeply saddened at the loss of Tara. A genuinely beautiful mother, daughter, sister and wife whose life was needlessly and abruptly ended the night of February 9th. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all law enforcement, media members, volunteers and the general public, and especially God, for never giving up and allowing our family to bring this first phase of this difficult situation to closure. Our family would especially like to thank the entire Macomb County Sheriff's Department for its professional approach and dedication during this difficult time. To the many local media outlets, we appreciate your perseverance and your sincerity as well. As Tara's only sibling I feel passionately about maintaining my sister's voice since it's become impossible for her to speak herself. Tara loved her two beautiful children with all her heart and did everything in her power to provide for her family.

Those truly close to Tara remained confident throughout this whole ordeal, as she would never desert her children or her employer. While this outcome represents the worst-possible scenario imaginable to any one, we take comfort in the fact that Tara is now in a better place. We are filled with grief and are horrified by the manner in which Tara's life was needlessly taken, and are filled with many, many unanswered questions. We hope and believe that Tara's murderer will ultimately be brought to justice. Tara's death leaves behind two beautiful children whose lives are going to be forever affected by this gruesome act. Her children will certainly need your continued support. Again, we are thankful for the outpouring of prayers and support from neighbors, friends and complete strangers. We know the road ahead is going to be a difficult one, but our memories of Tara and our faith in God will remain the cornerstone in providing our strength to endure. Thank you.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: And 37-year-old Stephen Grant has confessed to killing his wife while their two children were home at the time. Stephen Grant was captured yesterday in a wilderness area about 250 miles away from their home. He is behind bars today awaiting those charges.

LEMON: Very sad story. It's been a rocky, rocky time for Wall Street. And we had all the chaos happening here last week and captured on the cover of this magazine, "Business Week", check it out, none other but the intrepid Susan Lisovicz. That's a great picture, you look good.

NGUYEN: So commanding in it, too, Susan.

LEMON: But you know what, you were commanding, you had it all going on, you had the right information, and then you look good on top of it Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ: You're kind. Well you know actually I had no idea that picture was taken. And that's just talk about timing and being in the right place at the right time, I suppose. Where that camera, it's a locked camera position, I can't move or I'm out of the picture. And there's a gallery, really the gallery is right behind me from the sky booth where I am right now and that's where still photographers can take pictures. Now I assume that most of the time they're shooting the traders, so I had no idea that picture was taken.

NGUYEN: It's cool, it's very cool.

LEMON: It is, but you know what, it brings back memories, because it was really scary. We were all sitting here going, what in the world is going on? We haven't seen anything like this without a reason for it. So what's going on with the markets today Susan Lisovicz?

LISOVICZ: Well, you know, I mean there's volatility and that's not surprising. I mean you know this is not bad compared to what we have seen. I remember my first day at work actually 10 years ago when the Dow dropped 500 points when I first started solo anchoring on CNNfn. Can you believe it, 500 points was a big difference in the Dow market 10 years ago, the Dow was at a much lower level, so you know we've seen worse, and it happens. The market doesn't only move up and that's just another example of that.

So what we're seeing right now is volatility, the three major averages today have been flirting in and out of the plus column all day. Many on Wall Street advising to hang on tight, the ride is only just beginning. Right know the Dow Industrials are on the plus side. They were down 75 points at their low today. Not too bad considering the fact that Asia and Europe sold off pretty severely today. The NASDAQ by the way down 7 points or about a third of a percent. And that's a quick look at what's happening on Wall Street. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

A.J. HAMMER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm A.J. Hammer in New York. We're going to tell you which one of Hollywood's power players is trying to make up with Tom Cruise. And how one of the world's largest TV networks is joining forces with Youtube. All that is coming up next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well Redstone recants, so is the Viacom chair ready to make nice? The BBC is branching out with an online phenomenon. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT'S" A.J. Hammer joins me now with all these juicy details. Hi there A.J.

HAMMER: Hi there Betty. Yeah, the British Network BBC and the website Youtube teaming up. The BBC just signed a major deal with Google, they're going to be launching three branded channels on Youtube. Youtube's going to feature clips from the broadcaster's entertainment shows, as well as advertising funded news from the BBC's global outlets. It's not going to cover any of their long form programming, but it will allow users to link through the BBC's own web portal if they want to download BBC content. So a pretty big merger going on there.

It seems that an old friend turned foe wants to be friends once again with Tom Cruise. Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone had said that the actor's behavior over his romance with Katie Holmes and his aggressive defense of scientology were the reasons that he broke ties with Cruise last year after a long and lucrative relationship with Viacom owned Paramount Pictures. Well, Redstone hasn't spoken with Cruise since that falling out happened, but the Viacom chairman did tell "People" magazine that he hopes the two can resume their friendship. He also said that Cruise was a great friend. The chairman said he was surprised his comments were viewed in a negative light after an interview that he gave to the "Wall Street Journal."

And the box office went wild over "Wild Hogs" this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN TRAVOLTA: There are no rules on this trip, remember? We're just heading for the pacific and there ain't no plan. Who knows where we're going to be? TIM ALLEN: I know where we're going to be. Dudley hooked me up. Check out this thing, it's a GPS in my phone now. Just look at that thing.

TRAVOLTA: Let me see, that's cool, look at that.

ALLEN: What did you do that for?

TRAVOLTA: For the good of the trip. You don't need a GPS to discover America. You need a bike and you need the road, ok, freedom. And if we have an emergency, I got a cell phone.

ALLEN: No, you don't!

TRAVOLTA: Hey, why did you do that? I've got all my data in there.

ALLEN: Well how does that feel Woody?

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Big numbers for this film, the biker buddy comedy debuted at number one taking in $38 million. Martin Lawrence, William H. Massey, Tim Allen and John Travolta as you see, all starring in the flick. It was Walt Disney's biggest March opening ever. Also the largest ever debut for 53 year old John Travolta. And besides winning at the box office, the actor decided to donate $15,000 to Central Florida tornado victims at the premier of his film. A really nice thing to do obviously. A string of tornadoes had killed 21 people and destroyed hundreds of home as they skipped across Central Florida back on February 2nd. The actor says he just wanted to do something to help the victims out.

Now coming up tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," the mysterious death of Anna Nicole Smith. Tonight we are going one on one with the Florida medical examiner who will be revealing the results of Anna Nicole's autopsy. It's the interview you will not want to miss and it's tonight on TV's most provocative entertainment news show, at 11:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on "Headline Prime", we will see you then.

NGUYEN: We'll be watching A.J. Thank you.

HAMMER: You have it.

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