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Fred Thompson Begins Presidential Campaign; Search Continues for Aviator; Pavarotti Succumbs to Cancer; Comedians Breach Security for Asia-Pacific Summit; Families of Virginia Tech Victims Consider Lawsuit

Aired September 06, 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: Fred Thompson, come on down. He finally takes the stage in the 2008 presidential race, but it's not the stage his fellow contenders were sharing almost 3,000 miles away. Today, he's taking it back on the road.
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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CO-HOST: So even if you didn't know Puccini from Cole Porter, you knew Pavarotti. A music critic once called Luciano Pavarotti the biggest superstar of all. Today, his death leaves a mighty silence.

LEMON: What a voice, huh?

WHITFIELD: Incredibly resonating.

LEMON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Hello, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Phillips, at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: Happening right now: we're standing by for a news conference from Nevada on the search for adventurer Steve Fossett, missing since Monday. We'll bring that to you live as it begins.

LEMON: Well, he may be the last Republican to join the race for the White House, and critics say he may have waited way too long. But actor and attorney and former Tennessee senator, Fred Thompson, says his timing is just right.

Our chief national correspondent, John King, is tracking the Thompson kickoff tour for us today in Des Moines -- the Thompson kickoff tour.

Hey, there, John.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How are you, Don? Now, you noted those other Republicans were on the stage last night. And what Fred Thompson is essentially saying he gets in the race today, he says, maybe you've been looking at Rudy Giuliani. You like him on crime and terror but you don't like his moderate position on safety views (ph). Maybe you've been looking at John McCain, but you don't like his views on immigration.

Fred Thompson's message to conservatives is, "Look at me, I'm the complete package."

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KING (voice-over): Fred Thompson is banking on the idea that it's better to be late than to be one of the other guys.

CYNDI MOSTELLER, REPUBLICAN ACTIVIST: For Giuliani, of course, it's the social issues. For John McCain it's become the immigration issue. For Mitt Romney there's a sense of what is his core? Is he -- is he the John Kerry Republican in this, in terms of flip flopping?

KING: Cyndi Mosteller is a veteran Republican activist in Charleston, South Carolina, a McCain backer until a few months ago, now helping Thompson try to prove waiting so long to officially jump in wasn't a mistake.

MOSTELLER: I think that Fred Thompson really is the intersection of conservative ideology and political electability.

KING: On the one hand, it sounds silly to say he's late to the race. The first voting is four months away, and the others have been in Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and beyond for months.

WHIT AYRES, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: Expectations are sky high, which means he'd better perform flawlessly out of the blocks, or a lot of people are going to start grumbling that he's not the great savior we thought he was.

THOMPSON: On the next president's watch, our country will make decisions that will affect our lives and our families far into the future.

KING: Thompson is angling for a conservative base that hasn't coalesced around one candidate, promising his commitment to outlaw abortion is more than lip service.

THOMPSON: I don't think as a president you can do anything halfway.

KING: On Iraq, he's in no rush to talk about bringing troops home.

THOMPSON: Right now we need to make every effort to make sure that we don't get run out of there with our tail between our legs before we've done the job.

KING: Thompson is a former federal prosecutor, made his mark as the Republican counsel on the Senate Watergate committee and served eight years in the Senate from Tennessee, but bring up his name and one word trumps all others.

AYRES: Actor. He is known as an actor. Senator Thompson is not that well known. In many ways he's a vessel into whom many Republicans have poured their hopes and dreams. We'll see whether those hopes and dreams get realized.

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LEMON: That was CNN's John king. We'll get back to John in just a bit.

We want to take you now to Nevada. A press conference on the whereabouts of Steve Fossett and the search for him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... sheriff's office and the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, all of which are either providing some type of aerial support, ground support, and just general support in general.

A lot of volunteers -- a lot of volunteers for this operation. Our colonel, Colonel Chris Perry, has made two of the highway patrol -- the Nevada Highway Patrol airplanes available, particularly when the CAP Planes are down for refueling and so forth, as an extra asset to keep the air coverage going.

I wanted to make sure I didn't leave anybody out. But there are a number of other volunteers that have come forward. We're still getting calls from the community of people seeing potential sightings out there and we welcome those calls. And we are doing our best to follow-up on every lead that does come in. So thank you for those folks that are continuing to do that.

And I think what I'd like to do is just go ahead and turn it over to Captain April Conway. I'll let her brief you on the military assets to date.

CAPT. APRIL CONWAY, NEVADA NATIONAL GUARD: Good morning. Continuing with most of the same aircraft that we had working yesterday from Nevada National Guard. Today we've got a C-130 equipped with Skaview (ph) video equipment that will be going up. We've been doing almost 24-hour operations with that aircraft over the last day and a half.

We've also got a UH-60 Black Hawk. A medevac helicopter that is also equipped with a FLER system, forward looking infrared system, a camera system. So it's going up later on today. It flew almost all last night. Excuse me.

We also have two observational aircraft, OH-58s, that will be going up later on today. Actually, I think, one of them is up as we speak. We had one that flew last night until about 1 a.m.

So, again, as just part of one more way to help extend the search into the evening, that's what our Nevada Air National Guard and Army National Guard aircraft have been doing -- Cynthia. CYNTHIA RYAN, NEVADA CIVIL AIR PATROL: As you probably know, I'm Major Ryan, the mission information officer for the Nevada wing Civil Air Patrol.

And as far as Civil Air Patrol assets today, we are bringing in additional aircraft from Las Vegas, from our squadrons down there. We currently have aircraft in the air this morning, six fixed-wing 182s and one G-8 air van with the ARCHER imaging technology aboard. So, those are out there doing their job.

The search area has expanded with accumulated passes and that kind of thing to an area in excess of 10,000 square miles. And, as you can imagine, trying to make that needle stand out in a haystack that big is going to be a real challenge. It's going to be frustrating for a lot of people, who were hoping for results early on.

And I guess if there's a message that you can take away with you today, let's not compromise the process. Over the last six years, this process that we've developed works very, very well. We've saved a lot of lives in -- over the years. And I have complete faith in it, as does the Air Force and a lot of other agencies. So, I would ask that you also give us a chance and let us show you what we can do.

And we can't always guarantee the right result that everyone would like. But I do guarantee results. Searches of this nature, very typically, can go on for as long as two weeks and longer. So, four days into it, we're still scratching the surface. Trying to...

LEMON: Four days in it. And as you hear Major Cynthia Ryan say with the Civil Air Patrol, they're still just four days into it. And they can go as long as two weeks with this search.

Talking about all of the search equipment and helicopters and aircraft that they have in the air, imaging equipment, infrared equipment. They said some of that equipment was up last night. They've basically been working around the clock 24 hours looking for adventurer Steve Fossett.

As you heard her say, they're looking for a needle in a haystack. Still no sign of him. Disappeared on Monday after going out on a flight -- on a search flight. Didn't file a flight plan. Still looking for him.

We're going to continue to update you in the CNN NEWSROOM as we get more information on this story -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And an opera fan? Well, it doesn't matter. The entire universe of the performing arts from today forward is diminished.

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(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: That voice, that presence, that extraordinary ability for which the word "talent" is not strong enough. That can only be the legendary Luciano Pavarotti. The Maestro now lives only in recordings and file footage.

CNN's Jennifer Eccleston is Modena, Italy, today a town in mourning for its beloved son.

Jennifer, a huge outpouring already.

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. You can see the crowds behind me from all walks of life, Fredricka. They're coming to bid a final farewell to their homegrown celebrity and musical icon, Luciano Pavarotti, in a public viewing in this majestic cathedral behind me. We do expect his -- the body of Luciano Pavarotti to arrive any minute now.

You know, it's a loss for Italy, a loss for the music world. And a loss of a man with an unstoppable zest for life. That's just some of the reaction you've been hearing from El Maestro, as he's called here in his hometown, after hearing that their very own opera star died early this morning in his family home after succumbing to pancreatic cancer.

Now, his adoring fans, some of those here today, had prepared for this day. In fact, last night the 71-year-old's condition was reported as very grave. He was said to have lost consciousness as his organs were failing.

He was also hospitalized just last month, in August, for respiratory problems associated with his cancer.

Now, after that final round of chemotherapy he had this summer, his wife vowed that he would indeed beat this disease. In June, his farewell tour, which actually began in 2004, but that illness forced him to cancel the tour. And he's not been seen in public since last year, when he performed at the Turin Olympics here in Italy in February.

Now, as you mentioned, Pavarotti burst onto the opera scene in the mid-'60s, and he built this reputation as one of the greatest performers of the century. He impressed opera aficionados with his smooth, yet powerful voice, and his seemingly effortless ability to hit those high "C" notes and performing very demanding arias.

He performed not only with opera legends but with pop stars, and U2's Bono today calls him a volcanic voice in music.

Now, we do expect his funeral to take place on Saturday.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jennifer Eccleston. Thanks so much, from Modena, there.

And of course, about 20 minutes from now, as Jennifer was explaining, a coffin with Luciano Pavarotti is to come to that very location, 20 minutes from now, with hordes of fans and mourners there awaiting that moment.

CNN.com readers are sharing their thoughts and memories of Luciano Pavarotti. Log on now and read what they have to say and post your own words. Just click on the headline "Heaven Now Has a Tenor".

LEMON: They have lost loved ones in the Virginia Tech massacre. Now, seven families hire a legal team known for handling wrongful death lawsuits.

WHITFIELD: Plus, one of the deadliest forms of cancer silences a legendary voice -- voice, rather. What you should know about pancreatic cancer.

LEMON: And what's left of Henriette turns parts of the southwest into a soggy mess, and there may be fresh trouble brewing in the Atlantic. We'll check in with our Chad Myers on all of that, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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WHITFIELD: Fifteen minutes after the hour, here are three of the stories we're working on here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The increasingly desperate search for Steve Fossett is now in its third day. Rescue crews say they're following every lead. The millionaire adventurer was last seen Monday at a Nevada airstrip when his single-engine plane took off for what was supposed to be a short flight.

The opera world is mourning its biggest superstar. Acclaimed tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, is dead at 71 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

And look at this: a tanker-trailer crashed into a house in Jonesville, South Carolina. So far, no word of any injuries.

LEMON: Safety first! Ahead of the Asia-Pacific economic summit in Australia, a meeting today between two of the biggest players, President Bush and China's president, Hu Jintao.

Now, if you've been keeping up with all the recent recalls, it should be no surprise the agenda includes U.S. safety concerns about Chinese-made products, including toys, toothpaste and pet food.

President Hu said China is stepping up inspections. President Bush calls the talks constructive, with other topics including Iran and North Korea.

Well, another item from the Asia-Pacific summit. A funny thing happened on the way to President Bush's hotel. But security officials are certainly not laughing at this one.

Here's CNN's John Vause.

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The biggest security operation in Australia history, breached by a group of TV comedians, including one dressed as Osama bin Laden.

Their phony three-car motorcade was decked out with Canadian flags. There was a motorcycle escort, SUVs and bodyguards. It all looked authentic enough to get within 30 feet of President Bush's hotel. He was inside at the time, and authorities here are not laughing.

DAVID CAMPBELL, NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE MINISTER: I don't see a funny side to what's happened today. I don't see a funny side at all.

VAUSE: The Canadian prime minister hadn't even touched down in Australia, but still the fake convoy went through two security checkpoints, and no one realized anything was up, until the bin Laden impersonator got out of the car, and then police moved in.

DAVE OWENS, DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER: No, I'm not embarrassed at all. What I am is I'm very angry that such a stunt like this would be pulled.

VAUSE: Eleven people were arrested. They face jail time for breaching the APEC security zone.

ALEXANDER DOWNER, AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, they were arrested. So, I guess that just shows the security -- the security system works.

VAUSE (on camera): This is all meant to be just a prank. And it seems most Australians thought it was funny. One snap online newspaper poll found almost 90 percent believed it was a pretty good joke. And they're laughing at APEC security.

John Vause, CNN, Sydney.

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WHITFIELD: Here's a question for you, Don. I know you've got to have an iPhone. I am shocked and dismayed if you do not.

LEMON: Maybe now.

WHITFIELD: You are the gadget guy.

LEMON: Maybe now.

WHITFIELD: But it's $200 cheaper! Of course, all the folks who couldn't wait to be in line to get it first, ooh, they're steaming mad!

LEMON: Uh-huh.

WHITFIELD: Also, grabbing a cup of coffee, well, that may be music to your ears. Susan Lisovicz has the latest Apple news straight ahead.

LEMON: Yes, it's cheaper now. My mom says I squeak when I walk, so maybe I'll get it.

WHITFIELD: Really? Is that right? I didn't know.

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WHITFIELD: So being the first on your block with the new iPhone suddenly doesn't seem as great as it once did. And investors and some consumers, including my husband, don't like it one bit.

Susan Lisovicz is in New York at the stock exchange. A lot of folks are fuming!

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, I hope your husband didn't camp out overnight.

WHITFIELD: No, he didn't. But he couldn't wait to be one of the first to have it.

LISOVICZ: Yes, this -- and this really sort of underscores the point. When is a price cut bad, like you, like Fredricka's husband, were one of those who paid the much higher price.

IPhone is now 200 bucks cheaper, the price drop coming just ten weeks after people lined up to be among the first to own one. The blogs and chat rooms are abuzz with complaints by those who feel they got a raw deal by buying early.

But other people say, you know, that's the way it is with technology. You pay a premium to be the first to have a hot, new device. Although usually you don't see a price cut that big, this soon, especially with Apple.

If you bought the iPhone within the last 14 days and have a receipt, you can get the $100 back.

Investors, they're not pleased either: Apple stock falling for a second straight day. Investors concerned that profits will not be as strong as they once hoped.

And, Fred, I guess John didn't buy the iPhone in the last two weeks?

WHITFIELD: No, he didn't. So, he's stuck with what he got. But he's happy with it. I think he feels like every...

LISOVICZ: I hope he's using it and enjoying it.

WHITFIELD: You know, every dollar was, you know, well spent.

So Starbucks, meantime, well, they're not deterred by all this hubbub over Apple. Because they're kind of jumping on the bandwagon, aren't they? LISOVICZ: That's right. They're partners in a sense. Whether you use the iPhone, the early one or the newly reduced iPhone, one of the new iPods that have Wi-Fi, or iTunes on your laptop, your Starbucks experience is about to change.

ITunes will soon recognize Starbucks Wi-Fi and tell you what song is playing in Starbucks. You'll be able to download that song, too.

Additional web surfing on Starbucks' Wi-Fi will involve a fee, however.

The first stores to get the service will be in Seattle, not surprisingly -- Starbucks' headquarters -- as well as New York at the beginning of October. And I guess people will be lingering over their coffee even longer.

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LISOVICZ: Coming up, the strong retail sales coming, despite continued weakness in the housing sector. I'll tell you what exactly motivated shoppers. No clues from you, Fredricka. You know this story well. Not just because your...

WHITFIELD: OK. I'm not giving them up. Not giving it up.

LISOVICZ: I know. We talked this morning.

WHITFIELD: That's right.

LISOVICZ: Fredricka is a hard-working woman today. She's coming back for an encore.

WHITFIELD: It's been a long day, but that's all right. Just going minute by minute.

LEMON: Who do you think you are, Wolf Blitzer?

WHITFIELD: Nobody has the stamina of Wolf Blitzer.

LISOVICZ: She has to work on Sunday and she does!

WHITFIELD: Oh, go on. Please!

All right, Susan, see you soon.

LISOVICZ: You got it.

LEMON: All right. All right, a serious turn here. Bound by loss, now banding together in a lawsuit. Families of seven students who died in the Virginia Tech massacre, well, they signed up with a law firm that handles wrongful death cases. We'll have the details on that right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Phillips.

It was sudden, shocking, and deadly. And when it was over, the relatives of 32 victims were left to mourn.

LEMON: Now, seven families are making moves toward wrongful death lawsuits in the wake of a Virginia Tech massacre. Our Brianna Keilar has the very latest for you, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The families of seven Virginia Tech students killed in the mass shooting are considering wrongful death lawsuits against the commonwealth of Virginia. Our Brianna Keilar is following developments for us in Washington -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, the families of at least seven students killed in the Virginia Tech massacre have retained the services of a law firm based right here in Washington. That's according to that law firm, Body and Grenier.

These are the families of Matthew Gwaltney, Caitlin Hammaren, Juan Ortiz, Reema Samaha, Nicole White, Brian Bluhm and Michael Pohle. All seven of these students died in the second shooting at Norris Hall on the campus of Virginia Tech.

Peter Grenier also said the firm is in discussions with four other victims' families at this point. He says this is very much in a preliminary stage but that if lawsuits were to be filed, they would be wrongful death claims that allege negligence on the part of the state of Virginia, because Virginia Tech is, after all, a state school.

The Virginia Tech attorney general's office, which would represent the state, is not commenting on this development. We've also reached out to Virginia Tech, and we're still awaiting a response there -- Don.

LEMON: OK, Brianna. How likely are settlements in these cases?

KEILAR: I asked that question of CNN's very own legal expert, Jeffrey Toobin, and he said it would be difficult on prove negligent on the part of the university, but then on the other hand a settlement is likely, because it's not in the interests of a state to be in a public fight with grieving families -- Don.

LEMON: Okay, there's a special event happening also at Virginia Tech today. What can you tell us about it?

KEILAR: yes, this is actually -- this is sort of the fun part of this story today. It's a free concert for Virginia Tech students and staff, as well as first responders who served the campus. Some really big names performing tonight. Hip-hop artists Nas, also John Mayer, and then Dave Matthews band is the final and biggest name. These are artists that are performing for free. There's also corporate sponsors, and it's not a benefit concert, but really just a chance for the Virginia Tech community to get together for a fun evening. That's what organizers tell us -- Don. LEMON: CNN's Brianna Keilar. Thanks, as always.

WHITFIELD: And now mopping up after Henriette. The onetime hurricane is now a tropical depression, after plowing into Mexico twice. First Baja, California, on Tuesday, flooding seaside communities and killing at least nine people, and then it hit again near the port city of Guaymas yesterday. Today it's dumping rain on Arizona and New Mexico.

Meantime, a desperate search is under way along Nicaragua's Caribbean coast. That's where Hurricane Felix slammed ashore Tuesday, blowing away villages, flooding rivers, killing at least 48 people. Dozens more are missing. What's left of that category-5 storm is still dumping rain on neighboring Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: We're going to continue to talk now about the weather, especially the heat. A dirt biker and senior citizens with no air- conditioning and a couple trying to sneak across the border, they';re among the victims of the heat wave of Southern California. Coroners in four counties have investigated 28 deaths over the past 8 days when temperatures soared above 100 degrees.

WHITFIELD: The death of Luciano Pavarotti brings new attention to one of the most ruthless forms of cancer. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, the facts about pancreatic cancer.

LEMON: But, first, Fredricka, our NEWSROOM quiz for you. What other jobs, other than world-famous tenor, did Luciano Pavarotti hold? What other jobs? Well, we'll tell you, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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LEMON: I'd much rather listen to that voice than mine. What an amazing loss to the world. Luciano Pavarotti, of course, died yesterday. We got the news yesterday. That is live pictures outside of the Cathedral of Modena, in Modena, Italy, which is his hometown. We're expecting his body to arrive soon. Thousands have been gathering here all over Rome and all over the world. People just like us here on CNN have been playing his music, showing video from his concerts and mourning that loss. We'll continue to follow the story. When his body arrives, we'll bring that to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Just before the break, earlier, we asked you what other jobs Luciano Pavarotti had other than thrilling, of course, the masses. The answer, get this, he was an elementary school teacher, and he was also an insurance salesman. Now you know. We'll continue to follow this.

WHITFIELD: The teaching, I think, everyone could envision. The other, nah.

LEMON: Yes. WHITFIELD: So what an arresting performance. The likes of Luciano Pavarotti may never be known again. He beat the odds to succeed in the arts, and he beat every attempt to pigeonhole him as just another open opera singer. But what he couldn't beat, however, was the fast-moving disease that eventually claimed his life. We're here with Elizabeth Cohen, our medical correspondent, to talk about pancreatic cancer.

And a lot of people know that it's a very fast-moving, very aggressive cancer.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a particularly vicious kind of cancer. I mean, we first heard about Pavarotti even having this cancer, it was just 14 months ago, and that's when he had surgery. But the problem is, is that even when someone has surgery, they usually survive on average about 18 months. So, not far from how long Pavarotti survived; 37,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007. It will kill 33,000 out of those 37,000.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

COHEN: So only 4,000 out of 37,000 will survive...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COHEN: .. pancreatic cancer. I mean, that's a terrible statistic.

WHITFIELD: Does it have any -- does it go after certain candidates? There have been a lot of folk what's have made much of his weight, and that his weight may have, I guess, helped precipitate his medical condition. But in a form of cancer like this?

COHEN: Probably not. The doctors we talked to didn't seem to think there was such a huge link between obesity and pancreatic cancer. They do say one thing, which is that it can be hard to image the pancreas. You can see, it sits way deep in there. And it can be hard to image the pancreas when someone is so large. And so that can make things a little bit difficult. And there's a little bit of evidence that diets high in red meat and pork can make one more vulnerable to pancreatic cancer, but not a whole lot of evidence out there. So, his size probably likely did not have a lot to do with the disease.

WHITFIELD: Yes, those numbers -- those numbers you gave earlier, 33,000 -- 33 million?

COHEN: 37,000 Americans will get pancreatic cancer.

WHITFIELD: And of that ...

COHEN: It will kill 33 out of the 37,000, that's huge.

WHITFIELD: Yes, which then begs the question of, does it matter at what stage in which you find it, or is this the type of cancer, this pancreatic, soft-tissue kind of cancer just too aggressive to be -- period (ph), no matter what the age?

COHEN: You know, there are some cancers where doctors -- there are some cancers, like skin cancer is a great example, where doctors say, gosh, definitely, if you catch it early, it makes all the difference in the world. It certainly helps to catch pancreatic cancer early, earlier, but it doesn't help necessarily as much as you might think, unfortunately. Even when pancreatic cancer is caught when it's still in the pancreas, when it hasn't spread, it still kills 80 percent of the people who get it. Eighty percent of the people even when it is still within the pancreas.

Now, part of the problem is that the symptoms of pancreatic cancer are so vague. Problems like jaundice, pain in the abdomen or in the middle of the back, unexplained weight loss or loss of appetite, digestive problems. I mean, when people feel that way, they often kind of just say, oh I guess I'm just not feeling very well, or there's so many other diseases that go along with those symptoms that -- usually, it's not diagnosed very early.

WHITFIELD: Yes, yes. All right. That's a tough one.

COHEN: It is terrible. They really have not come up with a great way to beat this disease.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Of course, we're not done with you just yet.

COHEN: Right, I'll be back later.

WHITFIELD: That's right, because we're going to have you back to talk about newborn babies and whether you, as a new parent, perhaps, are doing all the right things. Normally, a lot of folks make a lot of mistakes. But you're going to help list them all out for us.

COHEN: That's right.

WHITFIELD: Either make us feel really good or really guilty.

COHEN: That's right. Or think of it as how you can do better the next time.

WHITFIELD: All right, training tools. All right, thanks so much, Elizabeth.

LEMON: It is not exactly the outcome federal regulators expected. Four years ago, they warned that anti-depressants were increasing the risk of suicide among young people. Well, that led to a drop in the use of the drugs. But now, a new study shows that drop has coincided with an unprecedented rise in suicide among children. From 2003 to 2004, the suicide rate in children younger than 19 jumped 14 percent. The most dramatic change since researchers began collecting data back in 1979.

WHITFIELD: U.S. military families in Germany feeling like sitting ducks after the latest terror arrests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The extremists or the terrorists that would like to make a statement against Americans would, of course, like to get ahold of American children and American families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow, we'll check out the security at the U.S. base in Weisbaden straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, take a look at the man on the right of your screen. He's a German police officer, and the man on the left? Well, he's one of three terror suspects now in custody. Police have been planning a major terror attack against American people in facilities overseas. Also picked up, explosives and detonators, the kind used by the military.

Well, today German police say they're tracking 10 other suspects connected to these three. They are watching the group. They've been watching the group for months.

WHITFIELD: And the fear of being a target for terror, well, it's pretty real. And being felt by some Americans living on military bases in Germany.

CNN's Paula Newton reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Melanie Buckley, an American wife and mother, living with her husband, whose posted with the U.S. military in Germany. She says she's not paranoid about living in Europe, but ...

MELANIE BUCKLEY, WIFE OF MILITARY OFFICER: It's things like this, this vehicle, that is a van, that could be carrying anything.

NEWTON: Buckley gave CNN a guided tour of what she says are security soft spots at U.S. military facilities in Germany. For security reasons, we won't show you all of it, but her point is chillingly candid. She's afraid American families are sitting ducks here.

BUCKLEY: The extremists or the terrorists that would like to make a statement against Americans would, of course, like to get ahold of American children and American families.

NEWTON: Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Wulff is the garrison commander in Wiesbaden in charge of security. His wife and five children all live here.

(on camera): What do you say to families here who feel the security just quite isn't what it should be?

LT. COL. TIMOTHY WULFF, GARRISON COMMANDER: We go and tell them the truth, from my perspective it would be something where there was a credible, specific threat directed against a U.S. military and its families.

NEWTON: And we're not at that point yet?

WULFF: No, no.

NEWTON (voice-over): In fact, most of the U.S. installations here are heavily guarded. Not just the main bases, but barracks, too. But there are still a few highly visible and very accessible U.S. facilities.

Earlier this year, the German media reported five suspects were questioned after allegedly casing U.S. living quarters in Germany. They were not charged.

WULFF: We trust the Germans have taken care of us. But it is a concern. So when we do talk to our soldiers and family members, we just ask them to practice some common sense stuff.

NEWTON: But keeping them safe is becoming more complicated. In recent weeks, the German government has admitted that the terror threat is as high as it's ever been. German officials describe it as similar to the lead-up to 9/11.

Three of those hijackers planned their attacks from Germany, the so-called Hamburg cell. And then last year, security cameras identified two suspects easily planting suitcase bombs on trains. Luckily, they didn't work, but it was a very close call. They are now on trial.

Despite these threats, some of the American living quarters in Germany are still open to the public. Anyone, just as CNN did, can just drive on to the post where soldiers and their families live and go to school.

(on camera): And some Americans just aren't comfortable with that. Fearing security is too inconsistent, especially given the very different type of terror threat here in Europe.

BUCKLEY: I just think it leaves us vulnerable to any type of extremist that may have a grudge against America.

NEWTON (voice-over): Security is a sensitive topic here. Many soldiers and their families say they don't want to live in an armed camp in the heart of Europe. One officer who's been in Germany for more than three years is more relaxed.

MAJ. ROBERT HOWE, WIESBADEN GARRISON: Even with so many increased threat levels that will ebb and flow in this area, honestly, I feel very safe here.

NEWTON: Under increasing threat, though, there seems no simple answer to keeping such a highly visible group of Americans safe overseas.

Paula Newton, CNN, Wiesbaden, Germany.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: We have an update in the case of Madeleine McCann, the 4-year-old British girl vanished in Portugal this spring. You remember her? Well, the news network ITN is reporting her parents are to be interviewed separately. Police say they are considered possible witnesses, not suspects. It comes amid reports that Portugese detectives and British forensic experts have discovered DNA evidence from a potential suspect and according to the reports, an arrest is expected in the next 48 hours.

LEMON: The longer Steve Fossett remains missing, of course, the greater the concern. The 63-year-old aviation pioneer hasn't been seen or heard from since Monday morning when he took off from an airstrip in western Nevada. Since he didn't file a flight plan, the Civil Air Patrol was focussing at first on a 600-square-mile area. That has since expanded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. CYNTHIA RYAN, CIVIL AIR PATROL: Searches of this nature, very typically can go on for as long as two weeks and longer. So, four days into it, we're -- we're still scratching the surface, trying to raise that cumulative probability of detection that I told you about before, requiring successive passes over an area, under different lighting and meteorological conditions so that we can truly rule that area out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, that search is being done by both air and ground, during the day and now at night.

WHITFIELD: Steve Fossett has piloted some one of a kind, cutting-edge machines in his day. But the plane he was flying on Monday, the last time anybody saw him was a run-of-the-mill, single- engine two-seater favored by aerial acrobatics.

Well, CNN's Brian Todd went for a spin in a plane just like it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): George Rousseau flies a super decathalon at least once a week from an airstrip near his home on Maryland's eastern shore. He's logged about 1,500 flight hours in the same model plane that Steve Fossett went missing in. He says this is a fundamentally safe aircraft that pilots often learn how to fly aerobatics in.

GEORGE ROUSSEAU, SUPER DECATHLON PILOT: Yes, I don't think a pilot like Steve Fossett would need any of these instruments to fly a plane with authority. TODD: It's a single-engine, tandem-seat plane, one seat in front of the other. When we first go up, I'm shooting video from the back while George pilots. Then, it's my turn. We land, switch seats, and after takeoff, I sit at the controls, steering the plane. It feels very stable. At one point, I'm instructed to bank left, hard.

ROUSSEAU: Pull back. Whoa! Now you're not -- you're going to be fine.

TODD: This plane can turn completely upside down and its engine won't stall. We can't completely invert on these runs, because we're not wearing parachutes. But with Rousseau at the controls again, we take some steep pitches at nearly 90-degree angles, sometimes pulling four out of the maximum six Gs.

ROUSSEAU: And we're going to turn left. Bank left, and then turn it around.

TODD (on camera): That's some serious Gs.

(voice-over): Like Fossett's, this plane is equipped with an emergency locator transmitter, a beacon designed to go off if there's impact. Why didn't Fossett's beacon go off?

ROUSSEAU: It could be that it was damaged either before or after the landing. It could be that it was -- it was inoperative. That's kind of rare, but it's hard to say why.

TODD: Our landings are smooth, but George Rousseau says this is sometimes where this plane runs into trouble, in windy conditions, because its steering mechanism is toward the tail.

ROUSSEAU: The center of gravity is -- sits right behind the pilot, and, so, that when it starts to -- if it starts to swerve a little, it wants to continue to turn, and so, you sometimes get some low-speed accidents with this type of airplane in landings.

TODD: So what does Rousseau think happened to Steve Fossett? He says it could have been some kind of mechanical failure. He could have run out of gas, or he could have had a problem with that tail- steering mechanism. But he says none of that should have thrown off a pilot like Steve Fossett. He says Fossett could have landed that plane even if the engine had completely failed.

Brian Todd, CNN, Ridgely, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Opium harvesting in Afghanistan?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The plants are ready when the flower drops its petals, leaving behind a capsule pregnant with opium. The only tool used is a piece of wood embedded with sharp blades. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: CNN's Anderson Cooper takes us into the fields. Straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Poppy farming in Afghanistan, a way of life for generations.

WHITFIELD: And now, an apparent financial lifeline for the Taliban. CNN's Special Investigation Unit takes a closer look at narco state, the poppy jihad.

CNN's Anderson Cooper has a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): It's spring in the eastern Afghan province of Nangahar (ph). Harvest season has begun. We secured access to a poppy field inside a sprawling walled compound in the Rodad (ph) district of Nangahar.

Opium harvesting is a labor-intensive process, requiring the work of many farmers over the course of several weeks. The plants are ready when the flower drops its petals, leaving behind a capsule pregnant with opium. The only tool used is a piece of wood embedded with sharp blades.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When it's harvest time, we slice the capsule, then leave until the next day. Then we collect the opium the next morning. I have six acres. It takes 16 days to collect the opium.

COOPER: After the opiums has oozed out, the farmers roll it up into balls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Then, it's put in a leaf and it becomes opium.

COOPER: This farmer says his family has been growing poppy for a 100 years. He grows it, he says, to pay for the weddings of his sons. He says this is their only choice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We do believe that this is harem (ph). This is forbidden in Islam. There is no dispute about that. But what shall I do? There is no alternative crop that we can survive on. Look, there are poppy growing here as far as the eye can see.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: CNN's "SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT" presents "Narco State: The Poppy Jihad." It premiers Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.

The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

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