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NBC Defends Choice to Air Video of Virginia Tech Killer; Jury Debates Fate of Preacher's Wife; Defense Secretary Visits Iraq; Father of Mentally Ill Son Critiques System; Hospital News Conference

Aired April 19, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Hello. I'm Don Lemon live at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CO-HOST: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Phillips, who's on assignment in Iraq.

Tracking a killer. New details about the troubled young man behind the Virginia Tech massacre. Did he slip through a system that doesn't seem to support the mentally ill as much as it should?

LEMON: And a TV network in defense mode after a special delivery from the gunman himself.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

But first, we're standing by for the president to begin a town hall question and answer session with an audience in Tipp City, Ohio. The president is visiting Congressman John Boehner's district this afternoon to talk about the war on terror. As soon as that begins, we will bring it to you live.

And now three days after a shooting spree that shocked the world, here's the very latest from the Virginia Tech campus massacre.

The university provost has announced all the students killed in the rampage will receive posthumous degrees. And we now know that, between the shootings at the campus dormitory and the massacre in a classroom building, the gunman mailed a written statement, video clips, and photos to NBC News.

WHITFIELD: The network is defending its decision to air some of that material, saying, quote, "It provides some questions to the critical question why did this man carry out these awful murders."

LEMON: And Fredricka, Cho Seung-Hui's so-called manifesto has provoked plenty of talk, but police say it has provided no real leads for their investigation into the Virginia Tech massacre.

CNN's Brianna Keilar is standing by in Blacksburg, Virginia, with the very latest for us.

Hi, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Don. Yes, they said that some of what -- or all they received from NBC News was pretty much redundant with what they already recovered in terms of evidence for this case.

We did learn a little bit from a U.S. postal inspector, a little bit more about the package that was sent. They confirmed it was sent on Monday, April 16, 2007, at 9:01 a.m. That would have been between the two shootings. And confirming it was an express mail parcel.

Now, apparently, there was a problem with it. It has six digits for the ZIP code. Obviously a problem, because there only should have been five. And this is why the postal worker remembers it. Because she had to correct it and delete one of those numbers.

Of course, there was also another problem with the address. And that is why NBC thinks that it took so long to get to their offices.

As you mentioned, NBC under some -- some fire for this, because they're the ones who put this out in the public domain. And they actually did put a statement out there, Don, saying that they went through careful consideration before putting this to air, that they didn't rush it to air.

They also said they were consulting with local authorities here and that they had made the editorial decision to limit this to 10 percent of their airtime -- Don.

LEMON: NBC releases new video that -- what can you tell us about a new video besides the video that was released on "Nightly News" last night? There was something that was released today on "The Today Show"?

KEILAR: That's right. Some more of what they received on "The Today Show" today. And you know, some of the themes are really just the same. We heard Cho in some of this new video saying, "I didn't want to do this." And essentially he said what he said before, which is that he -- his hand was forced in this, that he was forced to go on this rampage.

Yesterday, though, you'll recall we did hear Cho compare himself to Jesus. Today there was another biblical reference. He was talking about Moses in one of these video clips, Don.

LEMON: And I imagine that folks have been reacting there on the campus to all of this, this so-called manifesto, Brianna. What are they saying to you?

KEILAR: Well, you know, really, Don, they're just sick of seeing all of these images on TV. That's really the overarching thing that students have told me.

But I did speak with one. And he told me that he thought Cho knew exactly what he was doing, that as he sent these images to NBC, that he knew this would get airtime, especially after what happened with Columbine, that he was well aware that this was just his chance to sort of create fear all over again. Now this one student said, you know, a lot of students are talking and they're don't -- they're not happy with all of the networks for airing this video. But this particular student in particular was upset with NBC, because he felt like that was the origin where this video came into public domain -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Brianna Keilar, thank you. And we can see folks still at that makeshift memorial behind you, still looking at things and saying their condolences. Thank you so much for that report.

And I should add here, should Cho's videos be shown? We'll discuss the media's role in these images later on in the CNN NEWSROOM with Howard Kurtz of "The Washington Post" -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, we still have not heard directly from the parents of the Virginia Tech gunman. But Cho Seung-Hui's great-aunt in South Korea is speaking out. She describes him as cold and withdrawn, even as a child.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM YANG-SOON, CHO SEUNG-HUI'S GREAT-AUNT (through translator): In Korea, he was very quiet. When they went to the United States, they told me it was autism.

From the beginning, he wouldn't answer me. Cho doesn't talk. Normally, sons and mothers talk. There was none of that for him. He was very cold.

Every time I called and asked how he was, she would say she was worried about him. She says she couldn't do anything (ph) with him. She didn't know what to do. Cho's grandfather and grandmother worried about that. Who would have known he would have caused such trouble? The idiot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And a note of caution here, there is no confirmation for that claim of autism. None of the mental health documents we have seen so far assesses Cho as autistic. And even if Cho was autistic, experts say people with autism are no more likely to go on killing sprees than anyone else.

LEMON: It is all up to 12 jurors. Will they convict Mary Winkler of intentionally killing her husband, her minister husband? CNN's Susan Candiotti in at the courthouse in Selmer, Tennessee, for us.

Susan, how long has the jury been out?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon.

The jury's been out for about three hours now. And this followed an intense day in court yesterday when the murder defendant, Mary Winkler, took the stand herself. Now, it's not surprising that the defense tried to do this, made this decision. Because after all, they had to do something to battle a very potentially damning statement that she made police after the arrest. It was a risk the defense was willing to take.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Swear to tell the truth, the whole truth...

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): It's rare when murder defendants take the witness stand. Mary Winkler did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you intentionally, purposefully, kill your husband?

MARY WINKLER, ON TRIAL FOR MURDER: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you love your husband?

WINKLER: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You still love him?

WINKLER: Yes, sir.

CANDIOTTI: The minister's wife tried to convince the jury her husband, Matthew, may have been loved by his flock, but abused her verbally and physically.

WINKLER: Matthew was ranting and raving about something, and he knocked something over. And I bent down to pick it up, and he kicked me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He kicked you?

WINKLER: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where did he kick you?

WINKLER: In my face.

CANDIOTTI: Winkler told the court her husband made her wear short skirts, wigs, and high heels to get him in the mood.

WINKLER: Just liked to dress up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dress up?

WINKLER: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dress up for what purpose, Mary?

WINKLER: Sex.

CANDIOTTI: She testified the day he was killed, Matthew Winkler tried to suffocate her daughter by pinching her nose and covering her mouth to stop her from crying.

WINKLER: I just wanted him to stop being so mean.

CANDIOTTI: While her daughters were sleeping, she told jurors she recalls having a shotgun in her hands, but not much more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You remember ever pointing a gun?

WINKLER: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you remember ever pulling the trigger?

WINKLER: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you pull the trigger, Mary?

WINKLER: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How can we know that, Mary?

WINKLER: Because I'm telling you.

CANDIOTTI: Winkler was arrested the next day in Alabama at a hotel with her daughters. Under cross-examination, prosecutors wasted no time arguing abuse is no excuse for murder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Matthew Winkler, in fact, did not deserve to die, did he?

WINKLER: No.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: If Mary Winkler is found guilty, the jury is considering a range of options, anywhere from first degree murder, where she would face a minimum of 51 years in prison, a possible life sentence there, all the way down to lesser charges that could give her only one to two years behind bars.

Back to you, Don.

LEMON: All right, Susan Candiotti, thank you so much. And Susan, we'll check back with you in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks again.

WHITFIELD: Well, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is defending himself on Capitol Hill today. He says partisan politics wasn't a factor in firing eight federal prosecutors.

Gonzales was summoned to explain under oath whether U.S. attorneys were sacked for keeping the law above politics and to clear up inconsistencies in how he has described his role in the matter and that -- or whether the White House was involved, as well, directly.

He conceded right off, he has handled things poorly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Those eight attorneys deserved better. They deserved better from me and from the Department of Justice, which they served selflessly for many years.

Each is a fine lawyer and dedicated professional.

I regret how they were treated, and I apologize to them and to their families for allowing this matter to become an unfortunate and undignified public spectacle. I accept full responsibility for this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Gonzales has gone from denying any role in the firings to portraying his involvement as limited.

Let's go now to CNN's Andrea Koppel.

Pretty tough day for Gonzales, because they came out swinging right away.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They absolutely did, Fred. And going into today's hearing, we know from Republican strategists, Republican lawmakers, as well as Democrats that they saw this as really a make-or-break day for Gonzales to prove that he should keep his job.

They wanted him to clear up inconsistencies and statements that he's made as to why eight out of 93 U.S. attorneys were singled out to be fired. They wanted answers. They wanted evidence.

And to give you a feel for just the tone and tenor of today's hearing -- you mentioned that they came out swinging -- just listen to the exchange between the top Republican on the committee, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, and Gonzales.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GONZALES: Senator, I don't want to quarrel with you.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R), PENNSYLVANIA: I don't want you to either. I just want you to answer the question.

GONZALES: Sir, I guess it's -- I had knowledge that there was a process going on. I don't know all the...

SPECTER: You didn't understand there was a process going on?

GONZALES: No, I had -- sir, I had knowledge that there was a process going on.

SPECTER: Well, were you involved in it?

GONZALES: Senator, with respect to Carol Lam, for example...

SPECTER: Were you involved in the process? GONZALES: I was involved in the process, yes, sir.

SPECTER: Were you involved to a limited extent only?

GONZALES: Yes, sir.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: Carol Lam is one of the eight prosecutors who was fired last year by the Department of Justice, saying that she just -- her performance was not up to snuff.

So far in this hearing, Fred, I think that the reaction that we're getting from senators, with the exception of probably one or two Republicans, is extreme skepticism and the sense that they are just not buying what the attorney general is telling them, that there were real solid reasons for firing those eight prosecutors.

WHITFIELD: All right, Andrea Koppel, thanks so much on Capitol Hill -- Don.

LEMON: Defense Secretary Robert Gates says violence in Baghdad won't keep U.S. troops off the street. Today, he's seeing those streets for himself.

Gates is wrapping up an overseas trip with a stop in Iraq today, unannounced, as VIPs do for security reasons. Now he's meeting U.S. troops and Iraqi political and military leaders.

CNN's Kyra Phillips joins us now, live from Baghdad with more on that.

Hi, Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Don.

Well, he's just one of the heavy hitters that is here. He also came with the commander of U.S. Central Command, Admiral William Fallon, and in addition to that, joint chiefs chairman Peter Pace.

And like you said, they've been traveling around Iraq. They went to Anbar province. They went to Fallujah. They're going to continue to meet with the troops and with various leaders here in Iraq to talk about the problems in addition to the progress.

Now one individual they're going to meet with, basically the Bob Gates here in Iraq, and that's the defense minister. And I had a chance to sit down with him today for his first interview, an exclusive interview. And I asked him, what are you going to talk with U.S. leaders about? One of them: the threat of Iran. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL-QADER AL-OBEIDI, IRAQI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): There would be a big adverse affect because one of the biggest challenges that we face is logistics. The multinational forces support us enormously. For instance, helicopters like Apaches and Cobras help us with air support and close fire support. The strike fighter jets also help us with close air support, and the drones help with aerial surveillance.

Now I speak as an Iraqi citizen. We're not going to stand by idly if the multinational forces leave tomorrow. We will continue fighting terrorists by using any means necessary, even if it takes using our fingernails.

The terrorism will not last. The previous regime will never be back. The dictatorship will never return.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, actually, Don, that was the defense minister responding to my question if U.S. troops left tomorrow, could your country secure the Iraqis here? And as you heard, he said, no. It would make a tremendous impact, because he depends on the U.S. for all the various assets that he laid out right there in that sound bite.

He talked about the value, specifically about those helicopters, helicopters that he said that this country is buying, because it's worked so well, protecting the oil pipelines, protecting the power plants, because electricity is still a huge problem here. Extremists keep targeting the oil and the electricity so Iraqis can't move forward economically and can't move forward just to live an everyday life, enjoying electricity.

Now, back to Iran, and how he's going to address that threat. When I asked him how are you going to deal with Iran supporting extremists here, this is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL-OBEIDI (through translator): Iran will stop supporting the extremists in Iraq when it feels that it is not under threat and when Iran feels the regime in Iraq will not threaten the Iranian regime. At this point, Iran will stop supporting groups in Iraq. As long as Iran feels that Iraq is a threat, it will continue to defend itself and transfer the battle from its land to other lands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So bottom line, why does Iran see Iraq as a threat? Because of the U.S. presence here and the fact that the U.S. is trying to build a new Iraqi government to move forward in a democratic way. And that's something that Iran doesn't want, Don.

LEMON: CNN's Kyra Phillips in Baghdad. Thank you so much for that, Kyra.

WHITFIELD: Also, Don, something we're watching out of Ohio, where the war of terror is still the focal point for the conversation for President Bush. He's also about to take questions from members in the audience there out of Tipp City, Ohio. So while the conversation right now is directed to the war on terror, it really could go anywhere from here, especially once the president starts taking those questions from the audience. We're continuing to monitor that, Don.

LEMON: OK. And imagine hearing this, Fredricka. Come back if he tries to kill himself or someone else. That's what Pete Earley heard when he tried to get help for his psychotic college-aged son.

More on how the system may be failing the mentally ill, all of us. That's straight ahead, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Pictures you're looking at right now, live from Tipp City, Ohio. That's where the president is speaking now at Tippecanoe High School. He's expected to make some brief remarks on the war on terror there and then take some questions. We're awaiting that.

But in the meantime, just moments ago, the president spoke about the tragedy that happened earlier this week at Virginia Tech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the things I tried to assure the families and the students and the faculty of that fine university was that there are a lot of people around our country who are praying for them.

It's interesting here, in Tipp City, the first thing that happened was a moment of silence, a moment of prayer, to -- at least my prayer was please comfort and strengthen those whose lives were affected by this horrible incident.

It really speaks to the strength of this country, doesn't it, that total strangers here in Ohio are willing to hold up people in Virginia in prayer. And I thank you for that.

And I -- my message to the folks who still hurt in -- at Virginia Tech is that a lot of people care about you. And a lot of people think about you. A lot of people grieve with you. And a lot of people hope you find sustenance in a -- in a power higher than yourself. And a lot of us believe you will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The president speaking there in Tipp City, Ohio, in a town hall-type meeting. He's going to take some questions from the audience about the war or terror, the Iraq war, and as soon as that happens, we'll bring that to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Many people who knew Cho Seung-Hui were worried about his strange behavior. He was examined at a psychiatric hospital more than a year ago but was released in order to undergo outpatient treatment. Pete Earley is a former "Washington Post" reporter. He began investigating the mental care health system after his own son had a breakdown when he was a senior in college. The result is a book called "Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Illness". Pete Earley joins us now from Orlando, Florida.

Good to see you, Pete.

PETE EARLEY, AUTHOR, "CRAZY": Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And I understand that you have a son, Evan, who has been attending Virginia Tech. So while all this was taking place this week, what was that like for you as a parent?

EARLEY: Well, of course, it was horrifying. You know, we called Evan first thing the morning, and it was funny. He was asleep in his dorm, and he thought we were calling because he'd cut a class. And we told him what was going on, and he immediately locked the door.

And then my second thought was all the poor victims. Two of the girls who were murdered are from my home area and also the shooter is from my neighborhood.

And then my third thought was is this someone who has a mental illness? Is it a psychopath? Or is it someone who has a chemical imbalance like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or major depressions? Someone who is not responsible for his actions, because he's sick. The heart gets sick, the brain gets sick.

WHITFIELD: And so now we're all trying -- still trying to piece it all together. And we don't know all the details about Cho's problems. But clearly, there was some kind of mental instability going, some sort of mental illness that some were trying to get addressed.

And as you hear about all of this and the different steps that were taken prior to this shooting taking place and then knowing what you went through in the discovery and trying to get help for your son, are you seeing any real parallels when it comes to the difficulties, the challenges of trying to get someone who has a mental illness, especially when they're a young person, to try to get them the right kind of help?

EARLEY: Absolutely. The national mental health system in our country is abysmal. Fairfax County, where the shooter is from, has a two-month waiting list if you're in crisis to get any kind of treatment. Six months to get a case manager. Eighteen years to get housing. Can we expect someone who is in crisis, who needs help, to wait for two months?

In my case, my son became psychotic. He had a diagnosis, a bipolar disorder. He'd been hospitalized. He'd went off his medication.

I rushed him to the Fairfax County hospital. And when I took him in, and I explained the situation, the doctors said, "Look, he's not in imminent danger. Bring him back when he tries to kill you or kill someone else."

I took him home. And I can't describe the pain I went through watching him. He had -- he had tape, aluminum foil wrapped around his head. He thought the CIA was trying to read his thoughts.

WHITFIELD: And what pain as parent you're going through. You're seeing your son in trouble, your son, Mike, at this point. And you're trying to reach out to all the places and people that you would think have the resources to help address it, and you both got a blind's eye.

EARLEY: It was a civil rights argument. When do you intervene? When do you say someone's dangerous?

Now, my son slipped out of the house. He broke into a stranger's house to take a bubble bath. Luckily, no one was there. The police wrestled him down, and they took him and they said to me, "Look, Mr. Earley, your son is clearly psychotic. He's broken into a house. But we will not be able to help him. We can't put him in a hospital unless you tell the psychiatrist that he threatened to kill you."

And I said, "He hasn't." And then they said, well, we'll take him to jail. So I went in and I lied. And that's what got him into the hospital for 48 hours.

And then he was charged with two felonies. And this is what is happening. We've changed this from a medical problem, a chemical imbalance problem, into a criminal injustice problem. We have over 300,000 people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depression in jails and prisons, 500,000...

WHITFIELD: And so your point is instead of getting treated, they're getting punished?

EARLEY: Right. We have to change the barriers, the restrictive laws that prevent people from getting help.

Then the other side. Yes, this guy was deemed dangerous in 2005. I don't know what happened after that. But in Virginia, it's very hard to get good mental health services. There's no money. There's no programs. There's no hospitals. There's no hospital beds. There's no place to put someone as they get worse and worse and worse.

So we've set up a scenario where we have people who are walking around, who can't get treatment, even if they want it, and they are waiting for something like this to happen. And that's wrong.

WHITFIELD: Well, these discoveries are just mind boggling. But how courageous for you, as well as your son, Mike, to agree to you helping to tell this story, which you did so eloquently. And it really is so in your face when you read the passages from your book, "Crazy".

Pete Earley, thanks so much for sharing your story. And hopefully, everyone can learn something. And perhaps everyone will learn that something concrete really needs to be done to help address the problem that so many young people are facing. EARLEY: Well -- well, maybe if something had been done, 32 students would be alive.

WHITFIELD: Good point. Pete Earley, thanks so much for your time from Orlando today -- Don.

LEMON: Well, it's not just congressional Democrats versus a president over Iraq. Straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, what the public thinks about continued war funding and that troublesome timetable.

WHITFIELD: And a big music hit but a big miss for John McCain. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, we'll explain why presidential candidates should steer clear of pop music these days.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

It was off the cuff, but it was out of line? A presidential candidate makes a pop reference, striking a sour note for some.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: At the bottom of the hour we're keeping you on top of two live events happening today. Right now the president is in Tip City, Ohio. He's speaking at a town hall-type meeting at a gymnasium at Tippecanoe High School there. He's going to take questions from the audience soon. We'll bring that to you live.

Also, you see the microphone stand there and a producer getting ready for that. That is happening at Montgomery Regional Hospital. It's regarding the conditions of those who were injured in that shooting at Virginia Tech. So as soon as both of those events get under way, we'll bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(MARKET REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Not just congressional Democrats versus the president over Iraq. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, what the public thinks about continuing war funding and that troublesome timetable.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Right there in that live shot, you're seeing a team of medical professionals from the Montgomery General Hospital there in Blacksburg.

Let's listen in on the updates of those injured students.

SCOTT HILL, CEO, MONTGOMERY REGIONAL HOSPITAL: Just letting you all know we've got to be very careful to safeguard patient confidentiality as we talk through these issues with you. So please try to respect that as we go forward. Since our last report yesterday, eight patients remain at Montgomery Regional Hospital in Blacksburg. All are in stable condition. Four are in the intensive care unit. One is in the progressive care unit, and three are on the orthopedic unit. The final patient at Lewis Galmadic (ph) Center in Salem has now been discharged. All of the patients here are in stable condition, and three of the eight may possibly be discharged today or early tomorrow morning.

The families upstairs have requested that in lieu of flowers, the people could send donations to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. As you can imagine the outpouring of support for these individuals has been overwhelming, and we have a lot of flowers inside, and the families really appreciate it, but they would like for everyone, if they could, in lieu of flowers, to support the Hokie Memorial Fund if possible.

I'll answer a couple of questions, but we do have a physician here to speak with you here today. His name is Demian Yakel. He's a D.O., an orthopedic surgeon here at the hospital. His name is spelled D-E-M-I-A-N Y-A-K-E-L. As I said, he's a D.O, orthopod. Any questions I can answer for you before turning it over to Dr. Yakel?

OK.

DR. DEMIAN YAKEL, MONTGOMERY REGIONAL HOSPITAL: Hello? Are there any questions?

QUESTION: How are the patients doing? Have you had any contact with...

YAKEL: I treated multiple patients that were recipients of different orthopedic injuries as a result of this, and in general, they are making recovery and so far, in the early post-operative course things appear to be heading in the right direction.

QUESTION: Doctor, will the patients suffer long-term effects?

YAKEL: It's difficult now try to...

QUESTION: Could you speak straight ahead?

YAKEL: It's difficult now to try to predict it in long terms what may result from these injuries. That's something only time will tell. Right now, we're just navigating the postoperative courses, just trying to avoid early complications and things look positive.

QUESTION: Doctor, can you address the injuries that you did when victims starting pouring in?

YAKEL: Sure. The injuries I treated -- I'm an orthopedic surgeon, so I deal with extremities and the spine, and we've had multiple victims who've received gunshot wounds to the arms, to the legs, in the back. These are the patients that I focused on.

QUESTION: Talk a little bit more, though, about what the road to recovery will be like for them (INAUDIBLE) the long term effects. But what about the next months? YAKEL: Well, based on the specific injuries, rehabilitation does lie in some of their futures, physical therapy, occupational therapy, as well as just a general psychological healing. Their are many patients that are doing fine now and will not require as much therapy as the others.

QUESTION: You mentioned psychological healing. The wounds -- but what about -- what dimension does that add to (INAUDIBLE)....

YAKEL: With every traumatic event, there's a psychological event as well. And I think it has a large part to play in their attitude and how they're going to go through the rehabilitation. There's nothing but positivity given by the community, given by the fellow Virginia Tech students, by the families. It's been quite an accumulation of positivity and outreach, and it's been pretty special thing to be a part of national.

QUESTION: Did you treat (INAUDIBLE) gunshot wound to his leg? Can you comment on how he's doing?

YAKEL: I can't answer any specifics on anybody.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)

YANKEL: They all knew what happened to them when it was happening. They're all coherent enough to understand the road ahead. So, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are they angry? Are they shocked?

YANKEL: I haven't seen any anger. Haven't seen any shock, really. They've been calm, collect. Occasionally they become emotional. Many times they're happy. Some of them stated they feel lucky. I think having the family and the community outreach has been positive in this early time that they're dealing with.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you be more specific on that? You talked about the support of the family. What seems to cheer their spirits up? I'm sure there's a lot of other --

YANKEL: Flowers in every room. You walk in and there's five other students and it's a mini party in the room, that makes you feel better.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you talk about how challenging it was for you and the hospital itself?

YANKEL: There were challenges. I think the big challenge was in the number that they came in at the same time. So many of the physicians, all of the available staff came down to emergency room. Nursing staff, everybody. And really acted as a team. And those were the big challenges was really dealing with the number of patients at the same time.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How many of the victims were actually in surgery? All of them? YANKEL: I don't have a --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Commented on that already. We commented on that already. We did four major surgeries the day of the incident and we did a couple of minor surgeries after that. And, you know, we've given that already in the number of press briefings. I will also make a quick comment.

There's a lot of positivity inside. And these students are actually serving as a motivational force for our staff right now. You can imagine, there's a lot of stress associated with dealing with this type of event. And to go up and see these children, these kids smile and say things like we're not going let this one person beat us. We're going to recover. We're going to get through this. And we're going to be better for this.

I mean these -- I just can't speak enough to the strength of these students and their families. They're all very positive. They're smiling. And they're just, they're really working hard to recover. They don't want to be beaten in this. Their hokies tried and true and they're really fired up about getting healthy again and, they're dragging our physical therapists down the hallway right now. They're up, they're walking. They're doing really great.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What about -- (INAUDIBLE) -- watching their kids fight for their lives?

YANKEL: The families are there to support their children. They'll do anything for them. They wait on them hand and foot. And like you said, like Mr. Hill spoke, many of the patients are up, ambulating, walking, eating. The families are there for them the entire way.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you give us a sense of the injuries that are still in the ICU?

YANKEL: I'm unable to comment on that right now.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How many are there -- (INAUDIBLE).

YANKEL: Many of them are on the same floor and so they'll see each other in therapy and see each other down the hall. And many of them share common friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: You've been listening to one of the doctors at Montgomery General Hospital as well as the CEO of the hospital talk about the fact that there are eight students still being hospitalized, all in stable condition. But how much of a positive force these students who are being treated at the hospital have been on the staff in their recovery. They've been very upbeat and expressing their feelings of being lucky and at the same time they're going to band together.

LEMON: Yes. Very nice. It's good that they're getting better and getting back to normal. As much for them.

We're going to get you now to the president. President is speaking at Tip City, Ohio (ph) at a town hall meeting. Let's listen.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE U.S.: That's what they pass to become law. Here's where we are. I said, get a bill to me as quickly as you can.

I believe they committed to a bill late next week or week from next Monday, I think is what they're aiming for. And therefore, we will, you know, sit back and hope they get it done quickly. Time's of the essence. We need to get money to the troops. It's important for them to get the money.

However, I did make it clear that in exercising your authority, if you put timetables or if you micromanage or artificial deadlines or micromanage the war. Or insist upon using a war supplemental to load up with items that are not related to the global war on terror. I will exercise my constitutional authority. And then you will have the opportunity to override my veto if you so choose.

My point to the leaders, it was a very cordial meeting yesterday, by the way. People, the positive news is that we don't, the negative thing is we don't agree 100 percent. That's not, you shouldn't be surprised. The positive news is that there was a cordial discussion. The discussion was dignified, like you would hope it would be. And people were free to express their minds. And, so, my attitude is, if they feel like they've got to send us up there with the strings like they said, please do it in a hurry, so I can veto it. And then we can get down to the business of getting the troops funded.

Sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, how would you respond to the rather mistaken idea that the war in Iraq is becoming a war in Vietnam?

BUSH: Yes, thank you. The, there's a lot of differences. A first, the Iraqi people voted for a modern constitution. And then set up a government under that constitution.

Secondly, that's as opposed to two divided countries. North and south. The, in my judgment, the vast majority of people want to live underneath the constitution they passed. They want to live in peace. And what you're seeing is radical on the fringe, creating chaos and order to either get the people to lose confidence in the government or for us to leave.

A major difference as far as here at home is concerned as far as the military is it's an all-volunteer army. We need to keep it that way. By the way, the way you keep it that way is to make sure the troops have all they need to do their job and to make sure their families are happy.

And there are some similarities, of course. Death is terrible. There's no similarity, of course, is that Vietnam is the first time that a war was brought onto our TV screens to America on a regular basis. Looking around, looking for baby-boomers, I see a few of us here. A different, for the first time, the violence and horror of war was brought home. That's the way it is today.

Americans rightly so, are concerned about whether or not we can succeed in Iraq. Nobody wants to be there if we can't succeed, especially me. And these violence on our TV screens affects our frame of mind. Probably more so today than what took place in Vietnam.

I want to remind you that after Vietnam, after we'd left, the millions of people lost their life.

LEMON: Obviously, the war in Iraq, a big topic of discussion there in Tip City where the president is holding a town hall meeting. Four-hundred and fifty people attending this, including many students and the folks there from Tip City, Ohio. We're going to continue to monitor this. If the president breaks any news, we'll bring it to you live here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: The public wants to know in Ohio as well as congressional Democrats, who are now duking it out with the president, all about Iraq. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, what the public thinks about continued war funding and that troublesome timetable.

LEMON: A big music hit, but a big miss for John McCain. Ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, why presidential candidates should steer clear of pop music. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Senator John McCain speaks out on Iran, or perhaps more precisely, sings out. Here's a Republican presidential hopeful being asked a question at a campaign stop in South Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess my question is, how many times do we have to prove that these people are blowing up people now -- never mind if they get a nuclear weapon. When do we send them an airmail message to Tehran?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: That old -- that old Beach Boys song, bomb Iran. Bomb, bomb, bomb -- anyway ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Is that the brand of straight talk that has made McCain famous or perhaps another example of the senator's sense of humor getting the better of his judgment? Want to talk about that, answer those questions.

Our senior political analyst, CNN's Bill Schneider joins us now. And Bill, what's McCain up to?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: I don't know what he's up to. It was an unsettling moment, and an unfortunate subject to make a joke about bombing Iran, which of course is of concern to a lot of people on both sides of this debate.

His supporters say he may be trying to recover the Maverick image he had in 2000 where he often said things that people didn't want to hear. His critics will say with some good argument here, this year the McCain of 2007 and 2008 is a different candidate who will do anything, say anything to get elected and that he's pandering to his audience.

I'll just say this was a very unsettling moment.

LEMON: Yes, and unusual sternness from you, Bill Schneider, conveyed here. Let's talk about Iraq now. I wonder if -- it's been a very violent weekend. You have some poll numbers to show that. What's a pessimism among America, why so much?

SCHNEIDER: Well, what we found is that pessimism about Iraq has continued to mount. This poll was taken -- the latest one before the news of Wednesday's bombings in Baghdad. Sixty-nine percent of Americans in the most recent polls say things are going badly for the United States in Iraq. That's the most negative assessment that has yet been recorded. It's up from 54 percent who thought things were going badly last June. Sixty-two percent in October.

Very simply, the public's view is the policy is not working.

LEMON: And we saw yesterday -- the president -- we had actually it live here after their talk. The president met with congressional leaders yesterday, Democratic leaders, and also Republican leaders on funding and timetables. Who were the American people siding with? If anyone on this issue?

SCHNEIDER: Well, on that really it's not close. Sixty percent of Americans say that they side with congressional Democrats in this debate. Thirty-seven percent -- only 37 percent say they support the president -- President Bush in this standoff over funding and timetables.

Now, interestingly, that 37 percent is a persistent figure. Thirty-seven percent say if President Bush vetoes the bill, Congress should pass a bill with no timetable. Thirty-seven percent want the United States forces to stay in Iraq as long as they're needed.

Democrats who met with the president yesterday, the Democratic leaders of Congress, say they speak for the more than 60 percent of Americans who disagree with those positions.

LEMON: And -- and I can't let you go without mentioning this -- a big Supreme Court decision yesterday, Bill. Any political consequences because of that?

SCHNEIDER: Well, if the debate focuses on the issue that was raised by these particular law -- namely a specific abortion procedure that's usually performed in the second trimester, then I think most Americans believe that the polls have certainly shown this over the years. They believe that that procedure should be restricted if not banned. On the other hand, Democrats and abortion rights supporters have argued that this is another chip at Roe versus Wade. It's the court moving steadily and they think of this as a big shift in the direction of overturning Roe versus Wade which most Americans do not want to do. If they can make the point that this really represents a big step in the direction of overturning Roe, then the Democrats will be able to make a strong case that they should be elected to protect the Supreme Court and to protect Roe.

LEMON: CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider, thanks so much.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: In a moment, we're going to talk more about what took place in Blacksburg. Cho Seung-Hui got a red flag from a Virginia magistrate, but did anyone tell his parents? How about his school? Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, rethinking the line between civil rights and other people's right to be protected.

But first as we go to break, let's take a look at the big board right now, the DOW is at 12,826, that's up 23 points. That's quite encouraging as the end of this week. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello, I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Outrage at Virginia Tech. Students blast the media for showcasing a killer's twisted musings. Our Brianna Keilar has the story.

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