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CNN Newsroom
A Day of Mourning; Baldwin Message
Aired April 20, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everybody I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown. Thirty-two people from all walks of life, from all corners of the planet, today a day of mourning for those gunned down on the Virginia Tech campus. Churches around the country plan prayer services.
COLLINS: Some plant bombs, they plant flowers. Restoring beauty to Baghdad hoping nature can help bring calm.
HARRIS: Actor Alec Baldwin can show intense anger on the screen, we all know that. He can also do it on the phone. The call to his daughter that will rock you, shock you, this Friday, April 20th. You are in the NEWSROOM.
At the top of this hour, a week of terror and grief. Today a day of mourning. The spotlight shifting from the gunman who launched the massacre at Virginia Tech to his many victims. Across the country, churches will hold vigils and services across Virginia. A moment of silence. CNN's Brianna Keilar is on the campus this morning. Brianna, we just received a statement from the president of Virginia Tech. Just a bit of it here, "During the horror of the last few days the one bright light in the darkness has been the strength and spirits so prevalent across the campus." What is planned today for the students, alumni on that campus to remember the victims?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well we're certainly going to be seeing a display of strength and spirit from many people here on the campus. As we have during the last few days, since Monday. Now this is a day of mourning. It was declared by Governor Kaine and he's asked for a moment of silence at noon to honor those 32 student who died here on Monday. He's asked for that moment of silence across Virginia, but obviously now that the House of Representatives is also having a moment of silence at noon, it's going far beyond Virginia at this point. It's also being called Hokie Hope Day. This is being arranged by alumni. What you're going to see today is a lot of people wearing these colors, the official colors of Virginia Tech, burnt orange and Chicago maroon. A chance for people to show their solidarity with all of those people here who are still just beginning to cope with this tragedy. No doubt this has been the most difficult week in the history of Virginia Tech. At that point the investigation we're told evidence has largely been gathered. The crime scene has been cleaned. Authorities tell us, Tony, at this point the information coming forth about this investigation is going to be slowing to a trickle. HARRIS: Ok Brianna that brings me to another question. Who will investigate the university's handling of the events of this tragic week?
KEILAR: This is going to be a panel. We're certainly going to be looking for results from this review in the coming months. This was a review requested by Virginia Tech University President Charles Steger, Governor Kaine. We're learning about some of the people who are going to be on that panel. Among them, the former head of the Virginia State Police, Colonel Gerald Massengill, and also a name you'll certainly recognize, Tom Ridge, former and first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, also former governor of Pennsylvania. They will be joined by experts in mental health, law enforcement, and higher education. All looking at the events before the shootings, during the shootings and after the shootings. Of course, Tony, this comes as the university's police has been under criticism because some people have said that they should have either alerted students more quickly about the first shooting or they should have shut down the campus entirely after the first shooting.
HARRIS: More of that criticism from folks in that on-campus community or from people outside of that community?
KEILAR: I think it's coming a lot from outside of the community. At this point people, as you can imagine, are just beginning to cope here. And I think they're not ready to play the blame game. There's just a lot of -- when I speak with students, they're trying to reach out to each other. They're trying to just get through this and cope with this the best they can. And in this point, they're not really interested in pointing fingers.
HARRIS: CNN's Brianna Keilar for us on the campus of Virginia Tech. Brianna thank you.
COLLINS: Also this morning, a message from the father of murdered Virginia Tech student Mary Read. He is pleading with the media to shun the hate-filled rantings left behind by the killer. Instead, he wants the news coverage to celebrate the lives of the victims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER READ, SHOOTING VICTIM'S FATHER: I can tell you without any question that we're united in one sentiment and I want to make a direct personal plea to all the major media, broadcast, print, doesn't matter, for the love of God and our children, please stop replaying and replaying that audio and video that you're playing. It's the second assault on us. It's a second assault on our children.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Media analyst Howard Kurtz joins us live in just a few minutes. We're going to be talking with him about the criticism the media is getting for airing the killer's videos. Mary Read was a freshman. She was killed in Norris Hall while attending French class. Still reeling from the Virginia Tech tragedy, the nation today marks the eighth anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre. Twelve students and a teacher killed when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold opened fire at the Littleton, Colorado School. Columbine is closed today, as usual, just as it has been every April 20th since the 1999 shootings. The governor has asked residents to join a national moment of silence for the Virginia Tech victims.
HARRIS: Baghdad a balancing act. U.S. officials reassuring Iraq the U.S. military won't pull out while pressuring Iraqi groups to come together. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is trying to get that message across. He is in the second day of an unannounced trip to Iraq. His third visit in four months, Gates is checking on the U.S. troop build up and calling on Iraqi officials to step up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I'm sympathetic with some of the challenges that they face, but by the same token, to pick up General Petraeus' theme, the clock is ticking.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Gates says Iraqi lawmakers must promptly approve bills to reconcile warring factions and share oil profits. The fight for Iraq, one leading lawmaker suggests it's being lost. A colleague responds here in minutes in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Meanwhile, raging wildfires burning in southeast Georgia right now. Homes destroyed, evacuations ordered by the thousands. Live now is Nikki Preede of our affiliate station WJXT. Nikki, tell us what's the situation right now? Do firefighters have any sort of handle on this?
NIKKI PREEDE, WJXT: Well, they have it about 35 percent contained, Heidi. But really today may be their toughest. This is the fifth day that they've actually been fighting this blaze. The winds are picking up today around noon we're expecting maybe the strongest gusts yet since this fire broke out around 20 miles an hour. To add insult to injury, while the humidity is going to drop it's going to really provide firefighters with two very tough challenges. You're looking at some video that was actually shot yesterday. Just video of firefighters out there. They're attacking this from the air and from the ground. Now they're trying to strengthen those fire breaks this morning. They have also been working on that overnight to prevent this from spreading. But the damage report already very significant. Over 25,000 acres here in Ware County, 19 homes. Evacuations, there were 2100 mandatory evacuations at the beginning of the week, on Monday and Tuesday. And then last night the wind shifted. And it wasn't so much a threat of fire but the problem was smoke. And 5,000 more people were told to evacuate. Those were voluntary, but many of them filling local shelters here. So definitely very significant and firefighters have a very tough day, a very long day ahead of them today.
COLLINS: Yeah, you know, it just doesn't look like Georgia. You think of Georgia, especially the southern part of the state, to be humid and just really not this dry. Clearly we need so much rain. I wonder, Nikki, are people going to be allowed to go back to their homes any time soon?
PREEDE: Well you know some have been able to go back and check. And actually if you take a look over here, we want to show you live, you can see the Chinooks they are heading over with buckets full of water to try and battle this blaze. I think they have five helicopters, two airplanes that have been taking part. But to answer your question Heidi about folks going back home, they've let a couple people go back in and check on their houses. But for the most part, they are being told they are not even allowed back in the area. They're having a town hall meeting tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the middle school, which is also the shelter here where people can go and they can hopefully find out a little bit more about the status of their homes and properties and also find out a little bit more about when they may possibly be allowed to go back and actually sleep in their own beds.
COLLINS: Yeah, boy that would be nice, wouldn't it? Nikki Preede from our affiliate WJXT. Thanks so much Nikki.
HARRIS: Planting flowers, not bombs. A Baghdad beautification project brings color to a bleak war zone. That story coming up for you in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Also a killer's tirade sent to the media. Now the media under attack for airing it. We'll talk to our own media expert Howard Kurtz.
HARRIS: And Alec Baldwin's angry rant. Is this anyway for a father to talk to his daughter?
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ALEC BALDWIN: I'm going to let you know just how I feel about what a rude little pig you really are. You are a rude, thoughtless little pig.
(END OF AUDIO CLIP)
HARRIS: Ok, a bitter Hollywood custody dispute goes public. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The horrific shooting at Virginia Tech, as you know there has been worldwide media coverage and now criticism. Viewers angry that news outlets aired the disturbing videos the gunman sent to NBC News. Howard Kurtz of "The Washington Post" and host of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES" is here now with his thoughts. Howard, thanks for being with us. This was a tough one. You know we've aired this video on CNN of course as well. We are not exempt. But I want to go ahead and show you a sound bite from one of the fathers of the victims. This is from Peter Read, father of Korean American freshman Mary Read who was killed Monday. Listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER READ, SHOOTING VICTIM'S FATHER: I can tell you without any question that we're united in one sentiment and I want to make a direct personal plea to all the major media, broadcast, print, doesn't matter, for the love of God and our children, please stop replaying and replaying that audio and video that you're playing. It's the second assault on us. It's a second assault on our children.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: You know, it just breaks your heart.
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN'S RELIABLE SOURCES: I have heard so many people, Heidi, echoing that criticism of Peter Read. People with no connection to the Virginia Tech campus just angry, really furious at not just NBC but all the networks that quickly picked up this video. In their view, they don't look at it as a journalistic question, we can come back to that. They look at it as here is television, allowing this psychopathic killer exactly what he wanted.
COLLINS: It's a platform.
KURTZ: It's a platform. Does it inspire others? Is it caving into allowing him to frame his final moments on the air just the way he wanted it? Now I know the argument because NBC News president Steve Capus and others have made it to be and that is, this was newsworthy, this is a huge story, the biggest gun massacre in American history. Of course we had to air some of it, but a lot of people not buying it.
COLLINS: And that's the question, isn't it? I mean who decides if it's newsworthy or not. This is part of the craft of journalism. It's subjective. We have to decide when we make these decisions whether or not they are going to add to the story, add to, you know, in this case, the investigation. We heard directly from the police to say, you know what, we didn't really see much in this video that's going to help us.
KURTZ: Right. What NBC tried to do and others as well is to kind of thread the journalistic needle to say we will show you some of this but not that much of it and the argument that NBC in particular made was, this -- everybody wants to know what was the motivation, why did he do this, how could this possibly have happened. This gave you some insight they say into the mind of a psychopathic killer but you had to balance that with the fact that you were going to offend many of your viewers. And newspapers did the same thing, ran those images on the front page. So I do think that maybe a better path would have been to put it on the internet and let people who wanted to see it click on it. Maybe just show a few seconds on TV. The problem, Heidi, is that on Wednesday night and yesterday morning, it was video wallpaper.
COLLINS: It was.
KURTZ: It was on every network all the time and that's why Peter Read, the father we just saw there, felt assaulted by these images. COLLINS: You can see how he would. Another question, though, was any other U.S. network going to act any differently?
KURTZ: No, every single network made the same decision. Of course sometimes a certain pact journalism instinct that takes place here if it's already on NBC and CBS and ABC, are CNN and FOX and others going to behave any differently. But you know, where I do think that the networks heard the intensity of this negative reaction was after the morning shows yesterday. I talked to a number of executives at all the networks including CNN and they all say we're going to start using this a lot more sparingly. We're telling our people don't use it as wallpaper, don't play it in a constantly repeating loop, only use it when it's necessary, don't show that much of it. And by this morning I think it's virtually disappeared from the airwaves except for some still photos because in part the breaking news value of it has passed but also in part because I think the networks now realize that there's a lot of public anger out there at what they decided to do by giving Cho this kind of video platform.
COLLINS: And you know Howard, when we look at the overall coverage of this story, I think there has also been at least from what I've heard, a little bit of concern about airing the video from the cell phone, Jamal Albarghouti was able to take these images for us of the gunshots that were fired and some people saying those were the last moments, could have been the last moments of life for some of those students and teachers inside. Sort of a comparison to 9/11, when the media stopped airing the footage of the planes hitting the buildings.
KURTZ: That took a couple of days, however. Look, I understood the reason that CNN which obtained that video ran it over and over again which it was the only pictures that we had. It's kind of in the Youtube age, it's a citizen, not necessarily a journalist who gets the pictures and it didn't show anybody, you couldn't identify anybody. At the same time I should say I think aside from the tape controversy and then perhaps even the controversy over that cell phone video, I think journalists by and large did a good job, a restrained job, a sensitive job in going to Blacksburg, Virginia and telling us the stories of those who lost their lives and in a way, maybe taking a step toward helping those with the healing process. But when something like the videotape of this madman gets the kind of air play that it has gotten in the last two days, it almost in many people's minds wipes away all the good efforts of journalism to show the sensitivity here. I think for many people that's what they're going to remember about this case, as with Columbine you know a year or two years, five years from now.
COLLINS: No question about it. All right, Howard Kurtz, with "The Washington Post" and of course CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES." Always nice to talk to you, thanks Howard.
KURTZ: Thank you.
HARRIS: The fight for Iraq, one leading lawmaker suggests it is being lost. A colleague responds in minutes right here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's take you to the New York Stock Exchange, take a look at the numbers on the big board. Wow! Look at these numbers. Man! Inside the first hour of the trading day, Heidi. Up 114 points. Take a look at that Dow. The NASDAQ, what, up 19 points? Did you jump on the Google train early? Man, Google's stock soaring probably after the company reported first quarter profits that blew away estimates and expectations from the Street. We will check in on all the business news. Susan Lisovicz with us this morning in the NEWSROOM.
Playgrounds in a war zone, some people in Baghdad are building parks not bombs. CNN's Kyra Phillips has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): This is a moment no one takes for granted in Baghdad.
HUSSEIN AL-TAHAN, BAGHDAD GOVERNOR: We all love beauty and you can see I'm comfortable talking to you because we're sitting in a nice garden, Baghdad's Governor Hussein Al-Tahan tells me. The environment creates relaxation. So if we increase the gardens and parks in Baghdad, this will help the Iraqi people.
PHILLIPS: In Iraq, in this war zone, a park, fresh flowers, new paint are considered gifts.
SAFA ALDIN, BAGHDAD RESIDENT: Instead of planting bombs, we plant flowers. It's beautiful. It makes me feel comfortable.
MANAL SHAKIR, BAGHDAD RESIDENT: Thank God for the flowers, grass, even cleaner streets. It just makes me feel better.
PHILLIPS: And that's exactly what Governor Al-Tahan wants. He's spending millions of dollars trying to replace the destruction of bombs with beauty. Now painted with the Iraqi flag, these columns used to be covered with quotes from Saddam Hussein. Hundreds of gardens are blooming. Fountains, art, street work, even blast walls are becoming beautiful murals. The security situation forces us to put up blast walls, the governor explains. Not everyone wants to accept this military environment, so we're changing colors, avoiding the ugly appearance and painting positive pictures. However, that ugly picture of war still makes these projects brutally difficult and deadly.
You've had 300 workers and engineers die trying to do this job. How do you keep workers coming back?
AL-TAHAN: We are trying to coordinate more security for them.
PHILLIPS: Their job is more dangerous than being a minister in Iraq. Dangerous for garden supervisors like Manaf Faroon(ph). I just want to defy the terrorists and add something to our country, Manaf tells me. This regains the beauty of our past. Beauty and bravery still hard for many Iraqis to believe in. PHILLIPS (on camera): This is (INAUDIBLE) park, it cost a half a million dollars to build this and it's the first recreation area of its kind since the fall of Saddam Hussein. It has two soccer fields, plus a volleyball handball and basketball court. It has a garden and a brand new restaurant. It's beautiful. The only problem is, Iraqis are still afraid of the terrorists, which means they're still afraid to come here. Today it's empty.
So how are you going to get the moms and the kids to the park?
AL-TAHAN: We believe that behind every man there's a great woman. Those women are led by their children. The children will convince the women to visit these parks and gardens.
PHILLIPS: Familiar sounds of sirens now combined with samples of new scenery. One more creative attempt at peace in Iraq. Kyra Phillips, CNN, Baghdad.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid making news with a controversial comment on the war in Iraq. Joining us from Capital Hill to respond, Republican Senator John Cornyn. Senator Cornyn thanks for being with us. Want to go straight to the sound and get your comment on the back side. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID, (D) MAJORITY LEADER: As long as we follow the president's path in Iraq, the war is lost. But there is still a chance to change course and we must change it.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: So, your thoughts?
SEN. JOHN CORNYN, (R) ARMED SERVICES CMTE.: Well, I don't know what Harry Reid's talking about. He says we must change course. He hasn't offered any kind of alternative plan. He's merely stated that we've lost the war under this plan. And I think if he really believes that, then he ought to bring the troops home immediately, not use this slow bleed strategy by tying the president's hands and impairing our ability to fight the fight and to take the last best chance, I believe we have, to prevail.
COLLINS: What does this do to troops in Iraq and perhaps even the leadership, trying to run the war when they hear comments like this from the senate democratic leader?
CORNYN: Number one, it's not a very effective way to run a war, 6,000 miles away, to be an armchair general, to try to dictate tactics on the battlefield. We ought to allow the people who are best qualified, people like General David Petraeus to do it. The fact is, Heidi, this most recent Baghdad security plan is only about halfway deployed. We have not yet even executed that plan. But I have to tell you, I think this is just crass politics. Senator Reid is playing to the worst elements of the anti-war left that's part of unfortunately his political base. But I think we need to be more responsible. We need to try to not make this a partisan issue. My hope would be that we could come together in a bipartisan basis as Americans and try to do what we can to try to be successful, not guarantee failure by this kind of irresponsible rhetoric.
COLLINS: That would be great, but you have to mention here that these comments came from the horrific violence that happened over the past couple of days in Iraq. Does it make a difference, his comments coming on the heels of that?
CORNYN: Well, we know that Al Qaeda remains in Iraq. They're perhaps doing 5 and 6,000 in Al Anbar Province alone. They are going to use the most horrific sorts of -- and spectacular attacks to try to continue the sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shias there and undermine our efforts, while Iran continues to supply things like explosively formed penetrators and other weapons to the insurgents. So it doesn't help. And we know it's going to continue to be tough, but frankly, Senator Reid hadn't offered any other constructive alternatives.
COLLINS: We also know that Defense Secretary Robert Gates is there in the country, reminding the Iraqi leadership to be fair that U.S. commitments are not open ended. We just heard some sound a little bit earlier on our program, him saying that he's sympathetic to the challenges of the leadership, but the clock is ticking.
CORNYN: I think that's an important message to send. Everyone understands that our commitment is not open ended. And the Iraqis have substantial responsibility. But they need a little time and space in order to do the political reconciliation in order to govern their own country. And that's when we'll be able to bring our troops home, when the Iraqis are able to defend themselves and to govern themselves.
COLLINS: Senator Cornyn before we let you go I want to switch topics real quickly because we do know, of course, that you were Texas' attorney general, just wondering your thoughts on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' testimony yesterday that we saw.
CORNYN: Well, Al Gonzales is an honorable and decent man but he finds himself in really a bad situation. Unfortunately some of his actions have contributed to that. I told him early on that it's very important to get all the facts out as soon as possible and not have this drip, drip, drip and have to explain apparent inconsistencies between a press conference statement and what comes out in e-mails later on. I thought yesterday he did about as well as he could under the circumstances. But ultimately the senators aren't going to vote on his continuation in office. There's two people that get to vote, the president and Al Gonzales himself. I think he'll stay on.
COLLINS: Do you think he should, though?
CORNYN: I think he should because, frankly, I don't think the Democrats are going to be satisfied with a resignation by Al Gonzales. Its base as a political fishing expedition and they're not going to be satisfied with the resignation by Al Gonzales. Its base is a political fishing expedition and they're not going to be satisfied with just Al Gonzales.
COLLINS: Republican Senator John Cornyn, certainly appreciate your thoughts here on all of these topics today. Thanks so much.
CORNYN: Thank you.
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: Origins of the Virginia Tech massacre. Clues found in a simple college dorm room. A closer look from our Chief National Correspondent John King.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The gruesome mystery begins at the end of the hall. Room 2121, the campus home of Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui. It is under lock and seal now after police seized materials they hope help answer the biggest of the many questions, why.
Cho shared this common area with five other students. Note the cinder blocks. A suite mate is convinced some of Cho's angry manifesto was recorded here while the others were at class.
KARAN GERWAL, CHO'S FORMER SUITEMATE: The backdrop of the video looks exactly like our -- the suites, white brick.
He spent a lot of time in the living area throughout the year. Maybe he just figured out our schedules.
KING: Karan Gerwal says Cho never talked or showed emotion and would look down when walking around the suite or down the hallways to avoid eye contact.
GERWAL: He never spoke at all during the nine months that he lived with us, I never saw him with anyone ever. I just thought he was really lonely.
KING: Investigating a silent loner is frustrating, with few helpful witnesses, the investigation is intensely focused on the gunman's own writings and campus movements. From his room, police records show investigators seized Cho's desktop and laptop computer, notebooks and compact disks, a digital camera, credit cards, checks and bank statements, hoping for clues on whether Cho communicated with or stalked any of his victims.
(on camera): It was here on the fourth floor of the west A.J. dorm that the first two victims were gunned down early Monday morning, Emily Hilscher and Ryan Clark. Cho's dorm is just over there, the building behind this one. Police say there's no known connection between the gunman and those first two victims but they do know that all three used this, the west end dining facility. You can't use cash in here. Students use their ID to get in and they pay using this magnetic stripe hooked up to their accounts.
What that allows police to do now is to go back through the computer records to see if perhaps the shooter and his first two victims might have crossed paths here.
(voice-over): Kevin Tosh lives in the west A.J. dorm and has listened to Cho's video-taped complaints about rich snobs on campus. He says neither Emily nor Ryan came anywhere close.
KEVIN TOSH, FRIEND OF VICTIMS: Of any two people, that would definitely not be -- fit his description of what people that were apparently inflicting him with pain.
KING: Days after the carnage, there are still reminders of how that day was supposed to unfold.
(on camera): Emily was a popular member of the equestrian team and this is the stable on the far end of the Virginia Tech campus. Hanging here on the wall, a bulletin board that tells you she was supposed to ride at 3:30 in the afternoon on Monday. That's about eight hours after she was shot and killed.
(voice-over): Shot and killed along with 31 others, by the troubled young man who lived here in 2121 Harper Hall.
John King, CNN, Blacksburg, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Korean-Americans sharing their concerns in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings. Details ahead, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Sadness and shame in the Korean community this morning in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre. Now, some are concerned that they may become targets of hatred.
CNN's Alina Cho reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the Korean community learned one of their own, Cho Seung-Hui, was behind the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, many said it was like a member of their own family had committed the crime.
THOMAS KANG: They feel a lot of shame, a lot of guilt. It's not because they've done it but they feel it that way because of -- it is a Korean person that has done it.
CHO: Thomas Kang was not much older than Cho when he moved here with his parents. His family, like Cho's, came for a better life. Hardworking parents who sacrificed everything for their children, in the same way, Kang is now doing for his daughter, a classic Korean American story. Why so many are connecting to this tragedy.
PROF. KYEYOUNG PARK, UCLA: It's Korean Americans that I talk to, they feel really uncomfortable and they're very embarrassed and trying to do anything. If there is anything that we could do.
CHO: Cho's sister graduated from Princeton, a source of family pride. Her brother is now a source of shame.
KIM YANG-SOON, CHO SEUNG-HIU'S GREAT-AUNT (through translator): Who would have known he would cause such trouble, the idiot.
CHO: They were weeping in Seoul and South Korea's president said his shock was beyond description. Here in the U.S., Korean-American leaders say they're scared of a backlash in the same way Arab- Americans felt after 9/11.
S.J. JUNG: Some parents, they are really afraid of sending their children to school and some Korean American convenience (ph), they decided to shut down their store early.
CHO: There is intense sadness, too. Just as the students of Virginia Tech are grieving for the victims by holding vigil, Korean- Americans are doing so as well.
Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And heavy rain moving into Oxnard now, into Santa Monica, eventually into L.A. Could slow down the airports out west. We'll tell you where all this rain is coming from and where it's going, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: U.S. drought monitor. Chad Myers in the -- well, it is -- the severe weather center. And it is hot and dry here in the south, out in the west. And I know you're following all of it for us, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Well, you probably remember, it wasn't even two months ago that the DOW industrials plummeted more than 400 points in just one day. But now, stocks are soaring into record territory for a third day straight.
Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us what's going on here. Susan, your thoughts?
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
HARRIS: Still to come, Alec Baldwin's angry rant, is this any way for a father to talk to his daughter?
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) VOICE OF ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: I'm going to let you know just how I feel about what a rude little pig you really are. You are a rude, thoughtless little pig.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COLLINS: I just -- I cannot believe that. I'm sorry.
HARRIS: The answer to the question is, no. Is there a back story? Of course. A bitter Hollywood custody dispute goes public, later in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The press has stopped this year for the patriotic cartoon "Captain America" after 66 years in print. But his creator Joe Simon is still kicking and drawing at 93. This morning he shares his secret to healthy aging.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE SIMON, CO-CREATOR, "CAPTAIN AMERICA": I'm Joe Simon, I created "Captain America."
Jack Kirby (ph) and I did the "Captain America" for the whole of 1941. And every issue was a sellout. We're movie directors. We were the script men (ph), we were the pencillers, we were the colors, the inkers. Look at this. And we had dirty hands.
"Captain America" died, he still had his principles and people loved him. I couldn't understand the amount of letters and e-mails, people telling me how disappointed they were that he's gone and when is he coming back. Still young. And he ages well, I think.
I was born in 1913. I've always been very active athletically. My secret is work. I think it keeps my mind going, my memory is very good. The secret to being here? I talk to my characters. It's true. You can do that. And they don't answer back a lot, but if one ever does, I know it's time to go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Wow, very impressive, 93-years-old.
And, hey, there's some answers to those questions that you may be having about your own life in this book "Chasing Life," the focus of Dr. Sanjay Gupta's new book. You can catch all of Sanjay's hour-long CNN special "Chasing Life" this Saturday and Sunday right here on CNN. You can also find more information on this special Web site at CNN.com/chasinglife.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: This is where we put the podcast. Catch us weekday mornings from 9:00 a.m. until noon Eastern. But did you know you can take us with you anywhere on your iPod? The CNN NEWSROOM podcast available 24/7. And it's very cool right on your iPod.
HARRIS: Do that.
A celebrity temper tantrum guaranteed to make your jaw drop. Actor Alec Baldwin lashes out at his 11-year-old daughter Ireland in a rambling, expletive-filled phone message obtained by the Web site TMZ.
The child is at the center of a bitter custody dispute between Baldwin and his ex-wife, actress Kim Basinger. On the tape, Baldwin is furious with his daughter for not picking up the phone for his scheduled call.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
VOICE OF ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: I'm tired of playing this game with you. I'm leaving this message with you to tell you you have insulted me for the last time. You have insulted me. You don't have the brains or the decency as a human being. I don't give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) that your 12-years-old or 11-years-old or that you're a child or your mother is a thoughtless pain in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) who doesn't care about what you do as far as I'm concerned.
You have humiliated me for the last time on this phone. This (EXPLETIVE DELETED). You cut (ph) on me with this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) phone situation but you would never dream of doing to your mother and you do it to me constantly and over and over again.
I am going to get on a plane or I'm going to come out there for the day and I'm going to straighten your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out when I see you. Do you understand me? I'm going to really make sure you get it. I'm going to get on a plane, I'm going to turn around and I'm going to come home so you better be ready Friday the 20th to meet with me. I'm going to let you know just how I feel about what a rude little pig you really are.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. Baldwin's spokesman released this statement, "In the best interest of the child, Alec will do what the mother is pathologically incapable of doing, keeping his mouth shut and obeying the court order. The mother and her lawyer leaked this sealed material in violation of a court order."
Kim Basinger's publicist tells TMZ the tape speaks for itself. OK, all right.
COLLINS: It sure does.
HARRIS: A moment here.
COLLINS: In the best interest of the child.
HARRIS: OK.
COLLINS: Maybe don't leave messages like that. I don't know.
HARRIS: CNN's continuing coverage of the massacre at Virginia Tech continues this weekend.
COLLINS: Here are Betty Nguyen and T.J. Holmes with a preview of CNN's Saturday and Sunday morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Responding to a crisis, the technology that's being developed to deal with a massive emergency, there's wide spread texting when there's trouble, and that's just one example. We're going to show you what other systems are already available.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Also, increasing your chances of survival if you're under attack. Practical skills that will empower people of all ages. One of America's most recognized safety instructors joins us live.
NGUYEN: And coming together in fate. We are going to speak with a reverend in Blacksburg who has spent the week listening and speaking to those closest to the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings.
HOLMES: Also on Sunday, Lance Armstrong with our Dr. Sanjay Gupta on getting fit. Also Sheryl Crow on her tour to stop global warming. We've got all that for you CNN Saturday and Sunday morning, that's at 7:00 Eastern.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: A day to mourn the 32 people who died at Virginia Tech. Church services around the nation and a moment of silence. We'll fill you in, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And good morning everyone, you're with CNN, you're informed. I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: And hi everybody, I'm Heidi Collins.
Developments keep coming into the NEWSROOM on Friday morning, April 20th. Here's what's on the rundown. Thirty-two people, the wrong place at the wrong time. Today, a day to mourn the Virginia Tech shooting victims. Church services nationwide, a moment of silence in one hour.
HARRIS: This week's horror documented by CNN's Special Investigations Unit, our Soledad O'Brien joins us to preview her special ...
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
