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American Morning
Massive Wildfire in Lake Tahoe; Murdered Ohio Mother; Sex Study: New Survey on Behavior From CDC
Aired June 25, 2007 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Breaking news. A massive wildfire forcing evacuations and threatening homes in Lake Tahoe right now. We have the latest pictures and a live report.
Plus, new clues in the murder of nine months pregnant Jessie Davis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said that there was more bleach in this house than they've ever seen anywhere.
CHETRY: Who are the two suspects now in custody and facing justice on this AMERICAN MORNING?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: And welcome back. It's Monday, June 25th. Thanks so much for being with us today.
I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rob Marciano, in today for John Roberts.
CHETRY: Good to see you, Rob.
MARCIANO: Nice to be here.
CHETRY: And we start off in California, where we have breaking news once again out of Lake Tahoe. A wildfire that has been raging out of control this morning is threatening even more homes right now.
There are 600 firefighters that are battling this blaze. There are more than 220 buildings, including homes already burned to the ground. And now more than 500 are at risk for burning as well. And about a thousand people have been force to leave their homes.
This fire is burning about five miles south of Lake Tahoe. That's where Ted Rowlands is right now, next to the fire. He joins us from Meyers, California, with an update.
Hi, Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. The scene here is just incredible and devastating. You see behind us a fire burning. This home, firefighters are just letting this home go down, along with the hundreds of other homes that they have lost. There is a home behind it that they are protecting, so they're just watching this, letting this burn, and then throwing water on it every now and then.
The bulk of the homes that face this fire look more like this one over here. If you go down this street, this is what you see house after house, completely leveled by this fire as it ripped through this area yesterday afternoon.
People, some of them, evacuating by foot because of the time situation. A lot of folks grabbed what they could, loaded their cars and got out. All of them hoping they would come back to good news, hoping that they would come back to their homes intact, but unfortunately, a lot of them are going to come back to this heartbreak that you're looking at right now.
In all, 2,000 acres have already burned, and as you mentioned, 220 structures have burned as well. Firefighters are hoping to get some help this morning from Mother Nature. Right now, the wind is very calm. That is expected to be the same as the sun breaks. And when that happens, they will be to attack this fire by the air.
Yesterday, they couldn't because of the heavy smoke and the heavy winds, forcing the firefighters on the ground to do what they could. They saved some structures, but they said they were just simply overwhelmed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The wind just pumped up a bunch of ash and stuff and sprinkled it through the neighborhoods and started a bunch of spot fires. And there just wasn't enough people to go around to put them out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just starts to build the heat and starts to smoke. We just want to keep it cooled down. That's about all we can do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: All they could do, and all they can do today, too, is cross their fingers for some help. But an incredibly devastating scene out here just outside south Lake Tahoe -- Kiran.
CHETRY: What's the most effective tool for the firefighters? Is it being able to do those big water drops and chemical drops from the helicopters, or is it just simply being on the ground with as many firefighters as possible?
ROWLANDS: Well, by far and away, the assault from the air is their most effective tool. They could pinpoint the head of the fire, the lead edge of it, and they can put incredible amounts of not only retardant, but water on it as well. The problem, they couldn't fly yesterday. That hopefully will change this morning and they'll be able to get a handle on this. But that, by far, is their greatest advantage, and it was taken away from them yesterday and this is the result.
CHETRY: Wow. And it really is. I mean, you cannot overestimate just how dangerous it is for all of the firefighters on the fire lines as they are doing this both from the air and on the ground.
Ted Rowlands, we'll check back with you. Thank you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: We're also following breaking news out of southern Kentucky. A bus crashed on Interstate 65 this morning. It happened about 20 miles east of Bowling Green. These are the pictures coming into us right now.
One person has been reported dead. As many as 40 others hurt. The coroner says the bus hit a concrete abutment. It's still not clear though what caused that accident.
MARCIANO: Now to developments in Ohio and the two people in custody in connection with the murder of a pregnant woman.
Today, Bobby Cutts, Jr. and Myisha Ferrell will appear in court. Cutts is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Jessie Davis, and her unborn baby. Her body was discovered over the weekend in a national park. Ferrell went to high school with Bobby Cutts. She faces obstruction of justice charges.
CNN's Jim Acosta is live in Canton, Ohio.
Jim, what are police saying this morning about the second arrest?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rob, both Cutts and his associate, Myisha Ferrell, are expected to appear in court later this afternoon. Word of her arrest came late in the day yesterday, after her home was searched.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice over): The arrest came less than one day after authorities smashed their way into the home of 29-year-old Myisha Ferrell, but investigators are so far revealing little about her involvement in the disappearance of Jessie Davis, the pregnant mother whose body was found on Saturday just outside a national park north of Canton.
CHIEF DEPUTY RICK PEREZ, STARK COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.: Myisha Lynne Ferrell was charged with obstructing deputies and agents in the investigation into the disappearance of Jessie Davis.
ACOSTA: Justin Lindstrom, who lives above Myisha Ferrell's apartment, says investigators were on the lookout for a comforter. JUSTIN LINDSTROM, NEIGHBOR: While they were here, the sheriffs were specifically asking about the comforter they found in my laundry in the basement. I mean, it was my comforter and all, but at the same time, you know, it doesn't take a genius to put that together.
ACOSTA: A comforter disappeared from Davis' home at the same time the pregnant mother vanished more than a week ago. Lindstrom says investigators also appeared to be hunting for a source of bleach found all over the crime scene.
LINDSTROM: I could hear them talking about a lot of bleach that they had found, said that there was more bleach in this house than they had ever seen anywhere.
ACOSTA: Investigators entered Ferrell's home just hours after authorities charged Davis' ex-boyfriend, Bobby Cutts, Jr., a police officer, with two counts of murder. A source close to the search told CNN Cutts directed investigators to the location of the body.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And the big question remaining in this case is just how Jessie Davis died. No word yet on when a local medical examiner will be able to release those findings -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Jim Acosta, live for us in Canton, Ohio.
Thanks, Jim.
CHETRY: And we're following more breaking news overseas, the deadly bombing at the Mansour hotel in Baghdad.
Iraqi police are saying at least 12 people have been killed. They say a man was able to get past several layers of security. In fact, two inner layers and an outer layer, wearing a belt of explosives, walked right up to the desk and then just detonated it. And there you see the aftermath. That's what is what it looks like now inside the lobby of that hotel, frequented by not only the Chinese Embassy, but Westerners as well, not far from the Green Zone.
Also, within the past hour, an audio recording released from a captured Israeli soldier. This audio comes from Corporal Gilad Shalit of the Israeli defense forces. It was posted on a Hamas Web site. He was captured exactly one year ago. On the recording he says his health is deteriorating, that he needs to go to a hospital.
MARCIANO: Reaction now to a video of a BBC correspondent who has been held hostage in Gaza since March. Alan Johnston's father says he is most concerned and distressed at the video that appeared on the Internet last night. It shows his son wearing what appears to be an explosives belt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN JOHNSTON, BBC REPORTER: Captors tell me very promising negotiations were ruined when the Hamas movement and the British government decided to press for a military solution to this kidnapping, and the situation is now very serious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Johnston says a military attempt to free him would cause his captors to set off those explosives.
And a Mideast summit is under way right now in Egypt. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for the first time since Hamas took control of Gaza. Israel plans to release frozen funds to Abbas' new government.
CHETRY: And some dramatic video of a fire rescue in Shanghai. Firefighters race to a burning apartment building. And there you can see on the right of the screen a man waiting on a ledge.
He was fitted with a safety harness. They were able to get it around his waist. And then as he tries to get to the firefighter's ladder, he actually slips and falls.
There you see it right there. But thank goodness for that harness he had on. Even though he fell two stories, he hit a metal pole, but he was saved by that rope. So he is going to be all right, despite a huge scare there. You see him dangling half on the rope and half off, and the firefighters are finally able to get to him and bring him down to safety.
MARCIANO: Nice.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
MARCIANO: Time to talk about sex. A new survey from the CDC tried to get people to answer honestly about their sexual behavior.
Here's a couple of things they found.
Men have more sex partners than women. Duh. And more people are having sex at a younger age.
Dr. Robert Fried is a psychology professor at Hunter College here in New York and the senior author of "Great Food, Great Sex". And he's here to talk with us this morning about this new survey.
I mean, it's pretty -- don't we all know that, that men kind of play the field a little bit more than women? What surprised you about this survey?
ROBERT FRIED, AUTHOR, "GREAT FOOD, GREAT SEX": What surprised me about the survey is that the numbers were so low.
MARCIANO: Really? OK. So it is a duh. It is (INAUDIBLE) kind of fact. The numbers, by the way, 29 percent of American men report having 15-plus -- over 15 females in a lifetime. Nine percent of women report having sex with over 15 men.
So, you think those numbers are a little higher. For the men, or for the women, or for both?
FRIED: For both probably, because what the CDC lists as the median number -- that means 50 percent of the number of people polled have less than the number that they give -- but they don't tell you how many contacts are, you know, typical for those above the median. It could be hundreds.
MARCIANO: Now, they claim because this was a little bit more high tech, a little bit more secretive, they used computer technology that these numbers are accurate.
What do you know about the technology they used?
FRIED: They may or may not be right. I'm prepared to assume that they are, because I don't have any evidence that they're not. But the fact that they changed the technique for sampling doesn't mean it's a better sample. But I'm prepared to believe it.
MARCIANO: As a psychologist, why do you think that is the case? You kind of have this -- well, this theory that women have, you know, a certain finite number of eggs, guys, you know, have a little bit more quantity of genes to pass along.
Are women more selective because of that? Why do men play the field more?
FRIED: I don't think so. I think that they're very dramatic changes in our concept of what relationships are and what families are. I'm not prepared to judge those changes, but they are occurring.
There's a change in the concept of fidelity. There's a change in the concept of commitment. There are many, many different kinds of changes that we see as psychologists.
And I think that what it really means is that people are less happy than they used to be. And they're looking for things more than they used to. That they were more satisfied and more happy with the relationships that they have as compared to the ones they have now.
MARCIANO: Maybe less happy at a younger age as well.
Another part of this study shows that four percent of U.S. adults -- only four percent of U.S. adults are virgins. Six percent of adults first had sex before 15. And only 15 percent abstained from sex until at least 21.
So is that a sign of teenagers being unhappy? Why are kids having sex at such a younger age, and what does it say about our society now in going forward? FRIED: What it says basically -- well, first of all, there is a discontinuity. Sexual behavior in younger folks is very different from that in mature adults.
But I think that what we're looking at here really is a change in parental control. That in the old days, kids would have behaved exactly the same way, but there was somebody there watching. And not only watching, but he had a paddle.
So this -- you know, there have been very dramatic changes in parental control. And so I don't think that children are doing things that they wouldn't have done otherwise, except that they couldn't do them.
MARCIANO: So you're saying beat your kids to maturity.
FRIED: No. Don't quote me that on the air.
MARCIANO: All right. Dr. Robert Fried, thank you for your insight.
"Good Food, Good Sex" is the name of his book. And a new study out today shows that men play the field a little bit more.
FRIED: You're very welcome.
MARCIANO: Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks to the both of you.
Well, right now we have a special treat. One of our guests that we had on the show back in April has a very exciting update for us.
You may remember Ryan Fitzgerald. He was the man who posted his phone number on YouTube, saying, listen, if you're sad, if you just need someone to talk to, give me a call.
Well, in the first 24 hours he got thousands and thousands of phone calls. He was asked at the time, hey, is this a way to meet women? And he said no, if I want to meet women, I'll go to Wal-Mart.
Well, as it turns out, Ryan accidentally seems to have found love. And Ryan Fitzgerald joins us on the phone right now.
Hi, Ryan.
RYAN FITZGERALD, POSTED TELEPHONE NUMBER ON YOUTUBE: Hey.
CHETRY: Congratulations. You're engaged now. Tell us what happened.
FITZGERALD: Basically, I just start talking to her. She sent me an instant message on an IM because she was kind of nervous at first.
She showed me. She had a YouTube -- and she was kind of doing a similar sort of thing where she was talking to people about her life and trying to give people input. She ended up giving me a call after we got a little more acquainted online.
CHETRY: This -- her name is Kara (ph), right? Kara (ph)?
FITZGERALD: Kara (ph). Yes, Kara (ph).
CHETRY: And so...
FITZGERALD: And we spoke for about -- oh, you go ahead.
CHETRY: Oh, no. I was just going to say, so the two of you found this kindred cause, if you will, that you like to reach out to strangers and see if there is anything you can do to help, and that is how you guys ended up together.
FITZGERALD: Exactly.
CHETRY: So tell us what's going on now. When did you propose?
FITZGERALD: It was Friday night at around 12:15. And we just went for a walk and ended up -- I figured it would be cool just because the whole phone thing I've been doing, I thought maybe if I incorporated my phone into it somehow, so I ended up just sending her a text message as we were walking, and she ended up stopping. And that is when I just went down on one knee and she read the text message. Just because -- I mean, I was just trying to think of the best way to do it without doing something everybody in the world has done.
CHETRY: Right.
FITZGERALD: So I just decided to use my phone as a way.
CHETRY: Well, you know, your phone is what sort of rocketed you to fame, and so how fitting that is how you asked her to marry you. But you're not getting married. You're 20 and she is 18. You guys have a long life ahead of you. So you're waiting actually until 2010 to get married?
FITZGERALD: Yes, that's what we're talking about right now, because she wanted to wait until she was 21. I'll be 21 next year.
But yes, I mean, it's whatever she wants, you know? There's no rush, really.
CHETRY: Well, congratulations, Ryan. You were such a nice young man when we had a chance to talk to you. And we're very happy for you that you were able to find love through your good deeds.
FITZGERALD: Yes. Thank you so much.
CHETRY: Sure.
MARCIANO: It's always what she wants. He is learning. He is learning. He's off to a good start.
CHETRY: Right? He's only 20. She's 18. MARCIANO: Smart kid.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: The Senate is headed for a showdown on immigration this week. There'll be a procedural vote tomorrow. The senators are saying if the bill stalls again, it will be put off until after the election. Both sides were pushing their message this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I'm hopeful. I think we've got support in the countryside. I think it's bipartisan.
There's no question it's controversial, but we'll deal with the amendments and move forward. I expect by the end of the week, we'll have the votes to support it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ALABAMA: What we're going to need is every effort to slow this process down and continue to hold up the bill and read it to the American people and show them that, even though they may favor the ideals of the legislation, that the legislation won't get us there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: President Bush will hold an event in support of the immigration reform bill tomorrow.
Well, the bill includes new border control technology, and some of that is already in place and stirring up a passionate argument in border states.
The sun has just come up in the border town of Arivaca, Arizona, and AMERICAN MORNING'S Chris Lawrence is there for us live.
Chris, there are definitely some border issues where you are, aren't there?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You said it, Rob. I mean, this area, more illegal immigrants are arrested in this sector than anywhere along the border. The government says those are the people these cameras will be looking for. Some residents aren't so sure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice over): Ever get the feeling you're being watched? Some folks in Arivaca, Arizona, know it all too well.
(on camera): Even from way out here, that camera can see all the way to your house?
MARY SCOTT, ARIVACA, ARIZONA, RESIDENT: Oh, yes. The technology experts say that these spy cameras can tell what book I was reading from here.
LAWRENCE: Wow.
SCOTT: It's amazing.
LAWRENCE (voice over): Mary Scott was Manhattan lawyer who moved her for privacy. She's a half-mile from one of nine new towers designed to monitor the desert. They're part of a $70 million contract that rise almost 100 feet high with radar and night vision. A virtual fence that beams images back to boarder patrol stations, and they can tell what a person is wearing nine miles away.
Scott compares it to "The Truman Show," in which Jim Carrey's entire life plays out in front of the camera.
SCOTT: We're "The Arivaca Show". You know? They're going to film us 24/7, and people we don't know sitting in rooms 75 miles away are going to be watching our lives pass before their eyes.
TOM KAY, ARIVACA, ARIZONA, RESIDENT: That's an absolutely ridiculous statement as far as I'm concerned.
LAWRENCE: Cattle rancher Tom Kay says the Border Patrol has enough on its plate trying to stop thousands of people running across the border.
KAY: How will they care what the people are doing that live here are doing?
LAWRENCE: Kay has heard drug smugglers get into shootouts near his home.
KAY: If they stop, let's say, even 50 percent of it, or let's say 20 percent, they've done a hell of a job.
LAWRENCE: Mary Scott says something needs to stop the illegal immigrants, just not here.
SCOTT: Put it to the south. Put it to where the people around are in fact illegal migrants and drug smugglers. Not citizens just trying to enjoy the world they've chosen to live in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: Yes, the virtual fence was supposed to be operational this month, but glitches in the radar system have delayed it. That is important, because the Senate immigration bill really hinges on the fact that the government has to be able to guarantee its ability to secure the border -- Rob.
MARCIANO: So, Chris, when does the company expect to have all these towers up and running, or did is it hinge on the immigration bill?
LAWRENCE: Well, Boeing built it. They say they are urgently trying to fix the problems, no matter what happens with the bill. The towers are going to get up at some point. But here is what a lot of people have a problem with.
Boeing right now won't set a target date, but there was a hearing earlier this month in which the company and Homeland Security was supposed to come and give update to Congress on where the status of the project was. Nobody mentioned any problems. Then the day after that congressional hearing, that's when they announced the delay.
MARCIANO: Chris Lawrence, along the border in Arivaca, Arizona.
Thanks, Chris.
CHETRY: Twenty-seven minutes past the hour. Indulging Ali Velshi's iTunes/iPhone fetish here.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's iPhone week.
CHETRY: It is. It's Friday -- are you getting one, Rob?
VELSHI: When Friday comes out...
MARCIANO: I'm not getting one, but I know...
VELSHI: I'm pulling out every stop I've got to get one for about six seconds.
MARCIANO: For free.
VELSHI: Yes -- no, no, no. They're going to come and they're going to show it to me, and then they're going to leave. Seriously, it's like with guards and stuff.
They're coming out on Friday. So we're talking about iPhone, iTunes, iPods, "i" everything.
You know, iTunes is now the third biggest seller of music in the United States. It's finally cracked the top three. It was number four.
The biggest one, by the way, remains Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is the number one place to get music in the United States.
CHETRY: It's cheaper than iTunes.
VELSHI: Well, it depends how you're buying it, right? For me, iTunes is cheaper because I'm buying one song at a time. I very rarely want everything on an album. But you can buy online as well.
Wal-Mart is number one. Best Buy is number two. iTunes is number three now, with 10 percent of the market. And Amazon has been pushed to number four. But those are the four, and they're the lion's share of it. Now, one of the things that's interesting is, with all of the iTunes -- iPods that play video, plus the iPhone, which will play video, the movie studios are looking at ways in which to develop content or deal with content that is now going to be seen by a lot of people on these little screens.
You know, you do have to do things a little differently if you're going to use the little screens. And one of the things that you can do differently now is prepare for your SATs. Kaplan, which trains people for -- you know, you do these courses.
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: They are going to offer courses on the iPod.
CHETRY: It makes sense.
MARCIANO: Oh, now you just gave those kids ammunition to bug their parents for one.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I'm studying. I'm studying for my SAT. Come on.
MARCIANO: Oh, now I've heard everything.
VELSHI: They do remind you that the SAT itself is still a pencil and paper test. So this doesn't really replace the old test-taking practice.
But you're right, Rob. Good reason to buy an iPod.
MARCIANO: Sorry, moms and dads. Don't send me the bill.
CHETRY: Thanks, Ali.
VELSHI: See you in a bit.
(NEWSBREAK)
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, we take to the streets of Manhattan to see what New Yorkers think of the world's ugliest dog.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Looks like he swallowed half of a Fruit Rollup, and the other half is hanging out the side of his mouth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Elwood, the world's ugliest dog, takes Manhattan, next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK) CHETRY: And we have the latest now in the case of the missing pregnant woman whose body was found over the weekend. A second arrest has been made, and both suspects will be appearing in court a little bit later today. The body of Jessie Davis was found in a park just north of Canton, Ohio over the weekend. She was due to give birth in just a couple of days to a baby girl. The father of her child and possibly her unborn child is police officer Bobby Cutts. He was arrested and charged with two counts of murder.
Then yesterday police made another arrest, this one 29-year-old Myisha Ferrell. She is charged with obstruction of justice. Ferrell and Cutts both will be arraigned later today. The question that many are asking this morning, who is Bobby Cutts, the suspect charged with killing his girlfriend and possibly his own unborn daughter?
Alina Cho is here now with more on exactly who Bobby Cutts is.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kiran, a complicated man. Remember, Bobby Cutts is a police officer. And he is now a suspect in a double-murder case. He's a father of three, and a man with a checkered past.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice over): Canton police patrolman Bobby Cutts, Jr. denied any involvement in the disappearance of Jessie Davis to a local newspaper reporter last week.
TODD PORTER, REPORTER: Bobby, did you have anything at all to do with the disappearance of Jessie?
BOBBY CUTTS, JR.: No, I didn't.
CHO: The 30-year-old Cutts fathered a 2-year-old son with Davis, and authorities believe he is the father of Davis' unborn child. He also fathered two other children from two previous relationships.
He carried on the relationship with Davis even as he was married to another woman. Last week, Cutts said he believed authorities had their eye on him.
PORTER: Have authorities given you any indication if you're a suspect?
CUTTS: I mean, they continue to say that I'm not a suspect, but, I mean, I would be dumb and naive to think that they weren't treating me as a suspect by different things I've had to go through in the past couple of days.
CHO: The Cleveland "Plain Dealer" says Cutts studied sociology in college for three years but left six months before graduation for family reasons. Before joining the Canton police, he worked for GE Capital in Canton as a collection coordinator.
This is not Cutts' first brush with the law. He pleaded no contest to trespassing in 1998 after forcing his way into the home of a former girlfriend, Nikki Giavasis (ph), with whom he has a daughter.
Canton police fired Cutts in 2003 claiming he lied about a gun, but later reinstated him with back pay. And according to the "Akron Beacon Journal," the minister who performed his 2001 marriage ceremony called Cutts loving, compassionate and caring, and said he volunteered with the church's youth ministry.
Bobby Cutts says he is innocent. And that is the hope Jessie Davis' mother expressed before his arrest.
PATRICIA PORTER, JESSIE DAVIS' MOTHER: Bobby Cutts is my son's -- my grandson's father. This is the most painful part of this whole thing for me, is that I pray every day that it's not Bobby Cutts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Now, Cutts is on paid administrative leave right now. He will be making his first court appearance later today, as we mentioned a bit earlier. Still too early to say whether this case will be a death-penalty case. But the prosecutor, Kiran, says that this case will be pursued vigorously.
CHETRY: There's a question about the involvement of this second suspect, Myisha Ferrell. How did she know Bobby?
CHO: Well, she was a waitress at a local Denny's restaurant, and the manager there says that he was a dishwasher years ago. But they go way back. They were high school classmates. Remember she is an alleged accomplice in this case. Investigators went into her apartment over the weekend, and they reportedly took, among other things, garbage bags, duct tape and bleach. And remember, it was bleach that was found in Jessie Davis' home.
CHETRY: Yes, pools of bleach around there house. OK, Alina, thank you very much.
CHO: My pleasure.
(NEWSBREAK)
MARCIANO: And just how powerful is Vice President Dick Cheney? Revelations from an in-depth look at his influence next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
CHETRY: Well, Vice President Dick Cheney has refused to admit classified documents to the National Archives, claiming that he is exempt from an order signed by President Bush, and many critics say that Cheney is reinventing the vice presidency. His approval rating seems to be in freefall. So who is Vice President Dick Cheney really?
"Washington Post" reporter Barton Gellman and his colleague, Joe Becker, spent more than a year searching for the answers to those type of questions. Barton Gellman joins us today to talk about his four- part series on Cheney and his previously unknown role in U.S. policy decisions.
Barton, thanks so much being with us.
BARTON GELLMAN, "WASHINGTON POST" SPECIAL PROJECTS: Thank you.
CHETRY: Quite a piece, and this was your second installment, which was published today, and it focuses on the vice president's role in changing the interrogation policy. What did you find about the change of rules as it relates to whether or not we torture captives?
GELLMAN: What we found is that Dick Cheney decided early on we're not going to win against al Qaeda unless we extract serious intelligence quickly from captured enemies. And he helped push through a fairly remarkable change in law, which was to establish a new distinction between torture, which the United States government would not do, and cruelty, which was a kind of legal term of art in the Geneva Conventions that would have presented most of the harsh treatment that terrorists were subjected to.
CHETRY: So are you saying this is something that is not really the norm or par for the course, for these types of major decisions to be made by the vice president and his office?
GELLMAN: Well, we have no indication that the vice president did anything that George Bush didn't want him to do, but he was the dominant player on a range of decisions, including legal ones, about how to handle detainees, and that is an unusual role for a vice president.
CHETRY: You know, it's interesting, there have been any terror attacks on U.S. soil since 9/11, so could the argument be made that some of these policies advocated by the vice president are working?
GELLMAN: Well, he certainly makes that argument. It's what historians would call counter-factual. You have no idea why something doesn't happen, but he certainly says that it's no accident that we haven't had another major attack on U.S. soil.
CHETRY: How is the vice president's relationship with President Bush as it relates to him being allowed to have such a big role and to make these types of decisions in concert with the president. What is their personal relationship like?
GELLMAN: There's two kind of evidence on their relationship. The one is the kind we'll never get, which is what happens in a room when it's just the two of them alone. The other kind is what happens when he goes in and goes out and what happens afterwards, and how it goes when they are in small group meetings together. It's clear that the president knows what Dick Cheney is doing, and it's clear the president could stop it, so we assume it's very close.
CHETRY: It's also clear that Vice President Cheney does not care about public opinion. He has said, let history decide what we did and whether or not it's right. What makes of him saying that he is going to block the federal oversight rule, by claiming some that some of his writings and his correspondence do not need to be put into the National Archives, because he's not within the executive branch, per se?
GELLMAN: Well, there are two things to say about that. If the president says Dick Cheney is not covered by an executive order, then he is not covered. The executive order is solely George Bush's decision.
On the other hand, the legal basis for it that is being claimed, that the vice presidency is sort of neither fish nor famine, not executive, no legislative, it's got an interesting constitutional basis. Scholars could argue about it. It's certainly something no vice president has ever dreamed of making before.
CHETRY: Very interesting. A lot of first's when it comes to Vice President dick Cheney.
GELLMAN: That's for sure.
CHETRY: And you outline it very well in your piece.
Barton Gellman, special projects reporter with "The Washington Post." Check it out today if you'd like to see more. Thank you.
GELLMAN: Thank you.
MARCIANO: The CNN NEWSROOM is minutes away. Heidi Collins at the CNN Center in Atlanta with a look what is ahead.
Hello, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, Rob. How are you doing? That's right, coming up in the NEWSROOM today, we will have more on the situation in Lake Tahoe California.
Boy, an inferno there, hundreds of homes in the line of fire this hour, more than 200 in fact, and other buildings have already burned. We'll have the latest.
Plus, Ohio police officer Bobby Cutts set for arraignment today. He is charged with killing his pregnant girlfriend. A friend charged with obstructing justice. More on that.
Also, verdict expected. The $54 million pant suit -- remember this? -- could be zipped up today. A Washington judge wants his dry cleaner to lose his shirt, so to speak, for losing his trousers. All right.
Join Tony Harris and I coming up at the top of the hour on the NEWSROOM.
And, hey, I just want to say real quickly, Rob Marciano, I know it is your birthday today, and I want to wish with you the very, very best.
MARCIANO: I had ten minutes left.
COLLINS: Happy birthday!
MARCIANO: Thank you, Kiran. Thank you, Heidi. It's good to be 29.
COLLINS: Twenty-nine is good. It's good.
CHETRY: You don't look a day over 21. Breakfast on us for Rob after the show.
MARCIANO: I don't know what you're talking about? A big expense card here at the AMERICAN MORNING studio.
CHETRY: That's right, right on the American Express just for you.
MARCIANO: Well, meanwhile, it is quite a change of fortune for one little pup who was set to be euthanized because the breeder thought he was too ugly to be adopted.
Well, now, Elwood is a world champion, winning the World's Ugliest Dog contest, so we joined him on the streets of Manhattan as he proved it's what's inside that counts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That dog looks like the world's ugliest dog! Oh, he is so cute!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You really are in person!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never saw a dog like that before! I think it's really unique.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beautiful. He's gorgeous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he's cute. He's different, but he's cute.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Creepy looking.
CHETRY (voice-over): Karen, Elwood's owner, has heard at all, and loves showing him off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The usual first reaction is they're stunned, and they're not sure. Sometimes they're not even sure if it's a dog.
CHETRY: And the question she gets most, what's with his tongue?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looks like he swallowed half of a Fruit Rollup and the other half is hanging out of his mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He doesn't have any teeth on the left side of his mouth, so there is nothing to keep his tongue in there. It never goes in. It's out all the time.
He's very confident in his looks. He thinks he's very handsome.
CHETRY: For being the world's ugliest dog, his animal magnetism is undeniable.
So is there a lesson we can all learn from little Elwood?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't have to be beautiful, you don't have to be perfect to be special. The message is to be compassionate and caring.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think being special is about feelings.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think everybody's special.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And everybody has a good heart.
CHETRY (on camera): Well, judging from all the attention that little Elwood got here at Columbus Circle in Central Park it's not a face only a mother could love, right, buddy?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Well, there he was! Well, you know, the funniest thing he won the ugliest dog contest, and not a single person called him ugly to his face.
MARCIANO: Including your daughter took a liking to him.
CHETRY: She really loved him. She didn't want to let go.
MARCIANO: Got right against his tongue, which is kind of -- what's up with the tongue?
CHETRY: It's hard as sandpaper, by the way. It's dry. But she says he puts it back in his mouth every now and then to moisten it up, and then it falls back out because he has no teeth.
MARCIANO: Sounds like he's a good kisser.
CHETRY: Well, apparently since there were so many people willing to kiss this little guy. Two-years-old, and by the way, his owner is putting out a book called "Everyone Loves Elwood" to teach kids you don't have to be pretty to be special.
MARCIANO: Such a good message.
CHETRY: How about that?
Happy birthday, by the way!
MARCIANO: Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, we're going to take a quick break. And when we come back -- "Bruce Almighty," the sequel.
MARCIANO: Yes, they've got a sequel. It's called "Evan Almighty" or something like that.
CHETRY: Yes.
MARCIANO: It's got Steve Carrell.
CHETRY: Have you seen it?
MARCIANO: Not yet. But love "The Office" and loved "40-Year-Old Virgin," so I'll go see anything. Anyway, they did good, but not quite as good as the original. We're going to tell you what they did at the box office this past weekend. That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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(NEWSBREAK)
CHETRY: "Evan Almighty" may have ranked number-one at the box office this weekend, but this tale of a modern day Noah actually came up short when comparing it to its predecessor, "Bruce Almighty" with Jim Carrey.
Our own Lola Ogunnaike is here with more on how a movie about an ark did not float with the moviegoers. It's funny, though, because $32 million is considered a flop.
LOLA OGUINNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a respectable number, 32 million, but when you take into account the original made 68 million its opening weekend, and the original only cost 81 million to make. This one cost 175 million.
CHETRY: Did they used real animals in it?
OGUINNAIKE: They did use real animals.
CHETRY: Like giraffes and everything.
OGUINNAIKE: Yes, and a real boat. Actually the life-size measurements match that of the one if the Bible actually. But the film performing half as well cost twice as much. You dot the math -- it's not adding up.
CHETRY: Right, and so word of mouth, it could get some money there?
OGUINNAIKE: They're hoping that word of mouth will help. The families will be into the animals, and the evangelicals will be into the biblical theme, so they're hoping that these two groups will come out and help save this film.
CHETRY: Also, "A Mighty Heart" came in at number 10, didn't make very much at all, will Angelina Jolie. OGUINNAIKE: Maybe there's something with the "mighty" word here, because "A Mighty Heart" did not so well either. It came in at number 10, made four million. Angelina was everywhere, but couldn't help save this film.
You know what, I think the subject matter hurt this one. It's just a bit of a downer, frankly. And people just did not feel like being depressed.
CHETRY: Now here's something that may be cheering people us. "Playboy" magazine founder Hugh Hefner's entire life could come to the big screen.
OGUINNAIKE: Exactly, the 81-year-old "Playboy" founder, there could be a film about him coming soon to the theaters. No set date yet.
CHETRY: I love the creative title.
OGUINNAIKE: "Playboy," exactly. That's a no-brainer, right? Brett Ratner's set to direct, and he's behind "X-Men III," "Rush Hour," and Brian Grazer is set to product, and They're working on a script as we speak.
CHETRY: "Playboy" the movie coming soon. Let's hope it's not X- rated, that's all we're hoping.
Lola, thank you.
Here's a quick look at what CNN NEWSROOM is working on at the top of the hour.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM: Crews struggle with a fast-moving wildfire near Lake Tahoe. Hundreds of homes destroyed.
Ohio police officer, now murder suspect, Bobby Cutts, set to be arraigned today. He is charged with killing his pregnant girlfriend.
At least four suicide attacks in Iran today. Dozens are dead.
And gas slips below $3 a gallon on average for the first time since April.
NEWSROOM just minutes away at the top of the hour on CNN.
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