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CNN Sunday Morning
Florida Sex Offender Caught; Blackout at Coors Field
Aired October 07, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN HOST, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: Hello from the CNN Center in Atlanta. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN HOST, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: And I'm T.J. Holmes. Thank you for starting off your day with us. This is how we're going so start off. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Oh, my god!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: This is new video just in showing an explosion in Washington State and there are injuries here to tell you about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): There was the absolute most joyful feeling I've ever experienced next to getting my daughter back. I'm glad he's gone. It's so hard to explain the feeling. I screamed at the top of my lungs and my neighbors came out. That's how excited I was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Joy and relief for one Florida father. The sex offender accused of luring his daughter away from home is now behind bars.
HOLMES: You're hearing the sounds of war here; an attack on a convoy is caught on tape here in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): We got more information out of a German general scientist over a game of chess or ping-pong than by brutality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Really? Interrogation by chess? World War II veterans share a 60-year-old secret, how they grilled prisoners right here in the U.S.
HOLMES: But first here, a fugitive sex offender is in jail this morning. Police caught William Joe Mitchell at a truck stop in Virginia; he is anted for allegedly kidnapping a 15 year old Florida girl he met on the Internet. She was abandoned at a Wal-Mart store in Florida panhandled two days later. Her family, getting their wish.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER FRANK, FATHER OF THE VICTIM: I'm not allowed to say these words on television.
HOLMES (voice over): A teenage girl's father, four days ago, anguished.
FRANK: You're going to get what's coming to you.
HOLMES: That was Wednesday. Now, the father sings a different, happier tune.
FRANK: It's so hard to explain the feeling. I screamed at the top of my lungs and my neighbors came out. That's how excited I was. My wife is crying, I'm still shaking. It's an amazing feeling.
HOLMES: This is what's making him feel that way. William Joe Mitchell is in jail. He was the only person sought in the on line seduction and kidnapping of a 15 year old Florida girl. The girl told friends she was in love with her Internet bo she thought was in his mid 20's. William Joe Mitchell is 46. Police tracked him down four states away on Saturday.
SHERIFF GRADY JUDD, POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA: Virginia state police took him down at gun point. He did not resist. Once he did that and we were able to get to his car, he was still in his original car, we determined he had no money on him, but what he did have was our victim's personal effects, visible in the car.
HOLMES: The girl's father doesn't blame the Internet, but he's about to become an online expert.
FRANK: We're going to get back on the Internet. We're going to install software that checks this for me. I'm going to go learn how to do this. It's not my forte, but it's going to become that. We've had serious talks about no age, no information of your own out there to the people. You can be who you want to be on the Internet. That's our problem. And people do give out their information. We don't do this. The Internet is for information. It's not a playground. Seriously, it's not a playground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: It's not known right now when Mitchell might be returned to Florida to face charges. There are also federal charges he's facing in Alabama state charges to consider in this case.
NGUYEN: The nationwide man hunt for alleged child abuser Chester Stiles, that is still under way today. Stiles are wanted in connection with a disturbing home made tape that showed the rape and assault of a girl possibly as young as 3 years old. Now police are taking a closer look at earlier allegations that he may have sexually assaulted a young girl in 2001. Take you to Philadelphia now, where a convicted bank robber faces a preliminary hearing Wednesday on two murder charges. Mustafa Ali 36 years old was arraigned last night and is being held without bail. Police believe he is the man seeing on surveillance video shooting two armored guards during an ATM robbery on Thursday. Authorities thank the public for tips leading to that arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JODY WEIS, FBI: It's a great day in law enforcement. A cold- blooded killer is in jail. I would like to highlight the cooperation from many, many witnesses that came forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Two guards Joseph Allullo and William Widmayer were killed in that robbery. A third guard was wounded.
HOLMES: Take a look at this video here. There's a massive explosion in Tacoma, Washington. That certainly woke folks up. Four people were injured in propane tank explosions. One person was injured critically. The explosions and fires forced the evacuation of nearby businesses and the closure of several roads.
Another explosion here, this one in Harlem. This is in a Harlem neighborhood yesterday. At least 17 people injured. One, a child, is in critical condition. The fire department says a gas leak caused an explosion in a five-story apartment building, it was around 119th. The blast hurled glass and air conditioners into the street and shook several other buildings.
NGUYEN: Well Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is refuting claims that he leads a corrupt government. The former head of Iraq's commission on public integrity testified before the U.S. Congress last week. He accused al-Maliki of shielding his own family members from corruption investigations in Iraq. The former official also testified that corruption in Iraq's oil center is so widespread it has stopped the process of reconstruction in the company. Al-Maliki's offices refuted the claim Saturday calling a testimony nothing more than false allegations.
Well Iraqi officials say at least nine civilians were killed and at least a dozen others were wounded today in three separate bombings in Baghdad. One bomb went off in Eastern Baghdad; here is a map, now another in the southern district of Dora, and a third one went off near the Iranian embassy. Clearly, Baghdad remains a very dangerous place.
I want you to take a listen as the city's governor's convoy came under fire yesterday.
The governor's guards exchanged fire with attackers for several minutes. We're told the governor escaped unharmed and no one in the convoy was killed.
Back here in the states, Congress is calling for stricter oversight on contractors in Iraq. Today, on "This Week at War," security for higher.
Plus fewer troops are dying in Iraq. Is it a turning point or a statistical blip? That's "This Week at War" it airs today at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
HOLMES: Well it's time now to talk politics in our campaign thrill mix this morning. He's the leader of the pack. A new Associated Press poll gives Rudy Giuliani the national lead in the Republican race for president, 27 percent of Republicans all in favor of Giuliani. He's just ahead of former Senator Fred Thompson, who is favored by 23 percent, 18 percent of Republicans say they're still undecided. However, other polls suggested it's still too early in this race and of course the race is too close to draw any conclusions right now.
Meanwhile, Republican Mitt Romney is taking aim at his rival Giuliani over taxes and spending. Romney criticizes Giuliani for his legal challenge to align item veto, but there was a question about medical marijuana that created an awkward moment, if you will for Romney in New Hampshire. A man who was using a wheelchair tells Romney that he was using his marijuana to treat his muscular dystrophy. And the man asked this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Will you arrest me and my doctors if (INAUDIBLE) --
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANIDATE: I'm not in favor of medical marijuana being legal.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): So would you have me arrested?
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): You're not going to answer his question Governor.
RONMEY: I think I have. I'm not in favor of legalizing medical marijuana.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Others joined in asking Romney if he would have arrested the man. Romney restated his position against medical marijuana and left it at that.
Well nothing goes with politics like a little pork, barbecue this time we're talking about. A Democratic presidential hopeful dining on barbecue and stopping for votes in Iowa. Former Senator John Edwards and his four Democratic rivals, at least four of them were in attendance at the fair grounds in Iowa City. He was joined by candidates Senator Clinton, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson and Dennis Kucinich. They spoke to about 1,800 party faithfuls who packed into a barn. The crowd also heard from representatives for Barack Obama, as well as Joe Biden.
NGUYEN: T.J. Congress is mourning the death of Virginia Representative Joanne Davis. Davis died yesterday after a ten-year battle with breast cancer. In 2000, Davis became the state's first Republican woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. President Bush can all calls her an inspiration to us all. Joanne Davis was 57 years old.
Coming up, just imagine being stuck on a ride high in the air. That's not even the worst of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): We were playing another game and all of the sudden heard a crash. I thought that, you know, something terrible had happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: A roller coaster mishap in Maryland that is just minutes away.
Plus, Reynolds is watching the weather for us today. Hey there Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEORLOGIST: Hi. We're looking at unseasonably warmer temperatures across parts of the nation. Kind of cool out west, we had snow into parts of the Cascades and into the Sierra producing mudslides, land slides in parts of California. We will talk about that coming up.
NGUYEN: And we are waiting live for a parachute drop in D.C. that is going to take place any minute now. It will kick off the largest ten-mile run event in America. CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Take a look at this picture we have coming in to us here, a live picture. Doesn't appear to be the best signal in the world but bear with us. A parachute jump taking place in Washington, D.C. It's part of the festivities for the army's ten-mile run that's happening. Oh, that's too bad. We were hoping to give you a beautiful, live picture. Not the best signal we've got going on right here.
It's happening today, the army's ten-mile run. It will start in about an hour. It's the 23rd year the army has held this event and it is called the largest ten-mile running event in this country every year. You can -- we're trying with this signal here.
NGUYEN: It looks like the DVD player is stuck. This is live, we promise, it truly is.
HOLMES: You can see there, part of the parachute jump there, guys with a couple of flags attached to them, the Canadian flag. The signal is working -- not really. Is there a storm in the area?
NGUYEN: It doesn't look like it.
HOLMES: Sun spots. That's what it is. It's nice to have Reynolds around sometimes. We're going to talk about this more in a bit.
NGUYEN: On a related note, the wives of the 37 soldiers from the armys 3rd infantry division are taking part in this year's 10 miler when their husbands are deployed in Iraq. So while they hold down the home front, a couple of the wives have graciously agreed to join us this morning. They are very excited. We have one of them clapping already. Gabrielle Winton and Heidi Charlton joining us this morning. Thank you for being with us.
HEIDI CHARLTON, WIFE OF DEPLOYED SOLDIER: Morning.
NGUYEN: All right. So let me start with you Heidi. Tell us a little bit about your husband. Is this -- how many times has he been deployed?
CHARLTON: Well, my husband is Colonel John Charlton; he is the commander of the First Brigade Combat team in Camp Ramadi, Iraq. This is his third deployment.
NGUYEN: Third deployment. Gabrielle, your husband is on his second tour in Iraq. Tell us about what he's doing.
GABRIELLE WINTON, WIFE OF DEPLOYED SOLDIER: Well, he actually works for Colonel Charlton over in Iraq. It's the brigade XO, which means he's in charge of the staff over there.
NGUYEN: You say, Gabrielle, that the longer you run, the smaller your problems become. How so?
WINTON: Well, a lot of it has to do with the group of women that's standing behind me that --
(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): Whew!
NGUYEN: A group of very excited women, nonetheless.
WINTON: A lot of excitement, a lot of just kind of therapy in our own way of running and talking and I think it's just a healthy way to relieve a lot of stress.
NGUYEN: I imagine. Heidi, you know, your husband has spent a lot of time, as well, in Iraq. How are you holding up? I mean, is this a way for the wives, the people that are keeping that family together while their husbands are deployed, to find some camaraderie and support?
CHARLTON: Absolutely. There are a lot of things that we do that we find support in each other. This -- like you said, this is just one of the ways that we're able to do that.
NGUYEN: What got you interested in a ten-miler? We're not talking just a couple blocks down the street. You're going for ten miles.
CHARLTON: I know.
NGUYEN: I hope you're ready.
CHARLTON: Yeah. Well, this is my first time. Actually, Gabrielle has done it quite a few times.
WINTON: And it's not just ten miles. It's this specific ten miles here through our nation's capital. We are supported by so many people. Being able to run here with this group of people, it's an amazing run.
NGUYEN: I have to ask you, in all honesty, I'm sure that you've told your husbands about this. Do they think you can do it? Do they think you can handle the ten miles?
CHARLTON: Oh, absolutely.
WINTON: Oh, absolutely.
CHARLTON: If we can handle 15 months, we can handle ten miles.
NGUYEN: Strong women. All right. Gabrielle Winton, Heidi Charlton, thanks for being with us today.
CHARLTON: Thank you.
WINTON: Thanks for having us.
HOLMES: That's a good point there. If we can handle 15 months, we can handle ten miles.
NGUYEN: This is nothing for them.
WOLF: It puts things into perspective and sometimes perspective is this thing that you have to have.
NGUYEN: Have you ever done a ten miler?
WOLF: I've done a half marathon.
HOLMES: Really?
WOLF: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: We're such underachievers, T.J.
WOLF: You guys have never done it?
NGUYEN: You act like everyone else; you guys have never done it.
WOLF: Hey by the way, on the other side --
NGUYEN: I know.
HOLMES: Do we still have the live pictures of the parachutes going on? They just landed. OK. How is the weather?
WOLF: It is going to be unseasonable warm. There you go. Ask and you shall receive. Look at that. A nice, Canadian parachute there. They'll be experiencing great conditions today, temperatures warming up into the 90s by the afternoon. But this morning mainly in the 70s and 80s. All in all, great conditions for a nice run today. Skies partly cloudy. No major issues. But very warm for a good part of the country, at least the eastern third of the country getting into the 80s and into the 90s.
Switching subjects here with the grace of a hatchet, let's show you something else that's happening out west. You liked that, didn't you?
NGUYEN: A lot.
WOLF: We do what we can. Take a look at what is happening in parts of southern California, just to the north of San Diego, we had some land slides there all due to a water main breaking. The ground there was saturated and with that you have some mudslides. These are very expensive homes, some of these homes well over a 1 million. It's not hard to find that kind of property in southern California, that's for sure. What a pain they'll be dealing with. Again this is caused by a broken water main. It has nothing to do with heavy rainfall in southern California. That's not something you'll see in the forecast until the winter months.
Where we are seeing some heavy rainfall this morning? That would be smack dab in the middle of the U.S. We're seeing some scattered showers and a few in bedded thunderstorms in parts of the cornbell; we are going to zoom in on a couple of those locations. Near Lincoln, Nebraska this morning, you're going to hear the pitter patter of rain drops there this morning. And by late afternoon not only in Nebraska, but also in Kansas, look for flooding in this location, a big bulls eye in the central Plains. But as this marches to the east, you'll have that big boundary, again as I mentioned very warm air on one side of the nation. Temperatures warming up to the 90s for Washington, D.C, 82 in Atlanta, 93 in Memphis.
But on the other side of that boundary, 57 in Denver, Colorado, 57 also in Seattle. And close to those mudslides, at least not too far away in Los Angeles, temperatures warming up into the mid-70s. That is the latest on your forecast. Let's send it back to you at the news desk.
NGUYEN: Smooth operator you are.
WOLF: We do what we can.
HOLMES: A proud and emotional moment for one teacher who helped some special girls live their dream.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): It's just a heart warming feeling to know that these girls may not ever have this opportunity again, so it's really important to all of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Disabled cheerleaders showing off their abilities and their school spirit. Stick around for this one.
NGUYEN: And check this out. Licensed to drive? No, not really. This is a joy rider and he should be on the school buss, not behind the wheel. We'll show you that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Take a live look. Wow, check that out. Parachute jumping there at the army ten miler. This one has got a little bit on its trail. That's nice. Listen to the music. Let's take a listen. How nice. That is one way to make an entrance.
HOLMES: That is one way to do it. You see the army parachute this time and a little trail coming behind it. And the American flag going. Gorgeous day as we just heard from Reynolds taking place there. We just spoke to a couple of army wives who are participating today.
NGUYEN: Very excited about this run. Really, that is beautiful to watch on a Sunday morning with the music in the background and the flag flying high. What a beautiful day for a run. We'll keep on top of this. If we see some other ones coming through the sky, of course, we'll show it to you right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
HOLMES: What a perfect way to end that. Very nice. You saw the parachuter there. What goes up has to come down eventually, for the most part.
But 28 thrill seekers at a Maryland's Six Flags got a little more hang time than they planned on. This two faced flip side coaster, which you probably shouldn't get on something called the two faced flip side coaster. It was zipping along at a brisk 55 miles per hour when it suddenly stopped about 100 feet off the ground. After nearly an hour stalled at the top, there was more drama when the cars made it to the platform.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): When it got to where they load the people on and off, it came to a complete stop. It slammed and hydraulic fluid broke and it splashed, and I watched it splash into two guys' face. One guy was able to get off and rip his shirt off and he was wiping his face, but the guy that was sitting next to him was screaming and holding his face. But everybody was screaming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Goodness. Well no serious injuries to report there. And again, the two face flipside coaster, you might want to stay away from anything with that scary of a name. But it does have the reputation and it is said, quote, to deliver two times the terror.
NGUYEN: That is so wrong. It's a good thing they didn't have any serious injuries in that. HOLMES: Well coming up, a nice, feel-good story. For a lot of teenage girls, nothing more coveted than that spot on the school cheerleading squad. But we've seen some movies where it's brutal to make that spot.
NGUYEN: It is very competitive. That's why one Texas middle school decided to level the playing field. Amy Montovo (ph) has the story from our affiliate KLBK of Lovington, Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): What did you say?
AMY Montovo (ph), KLBK: It's true that in some situations disabled children are held back from the normal activities which others may get to enjoy. But for Frenship special ed teacher and cheerleading sponsor Kayci Ketchersid said that simply wasn't an option.
KAYCI KETCHERSID, CHEERLEADING SPONSOR: If anybody in the school deserves a chance, I feel it's these girls.
MONTOVO (ph): She decided for seven disabled students at the middle school it was time to shine.
KETCHERSID: I had one girl tell us that this was her dream her whole life.
SAMANTHA HUDSON, FRENSHIP CHEERLEADER: I always prayed that I always wanted to be a cheerleader. Now look at me!
MONTOVO (ph): Samantha Hudson has a special honor. Leading the squad, a dream come true.
HUDSON: I'm a team captain and also I take care of my team and make sure they have fun. I feel like I can go out there and just be myself.
KETCHERSID: They don't think that they're different and that's what I love about them. If they're ready to go out there and cheer for the Tigers and they don't think that they have disabilities.
MONTOVO (ph): For these girls, it's a chance not only to achieve their dreams, but to be a part of that Tiger spirit.
KETCHERSID: I think the whole school as a whole is starting to see these girls as being, you know, part of the heart of Frenship Middle School.
MONTOVO (ph): Ketchersid says it's amazing to know that something so simple could provide the girls with the experience of a lifetime.
KETCHERSID: It's just a heart warming feeling to know that these girls may not ever have this opportunity again, so it's really important to all of us. (END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: What great story there. That was Amy Montovo (ph) reporting from KLBK in Lovington, Texas.
HOLMES: A dream come true.
NGUYEN: Her whole life.
HOLMES: It's been short so far, but still.
NGUYEN: She's got a lot more to accomplish.
HOLMES: Good to see that. The months of Ramadan, time for fasting and giving. We'll show you how one American family is doing their part to help others. We will have their story coming up in our "Faces of Faith."
Wolf: Across the nation, we're expecting warm conditions out in the east. Out west, like in Denver, 57 degrees is the expected high. Denver last night, the Colorado Rockies played lights out. I'll explain, coming up in just a few moments.
NGUYEN: Oh, dear were you aren't kidding about that. Lights out for this, too. The run away driver behind that bus, you won't believe who it is and see how police were able to chase down this driver. The story that you don't want to miss right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, welcome back, everybody. Glad you could be here. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Yes. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Take a look at this. It is not your ordinary police chase. Oh no. That is a school bus, my friend, taken on a joy ride. And guess what police found when they stopped the bus? We have that answer, coming up.
HOLMES: Also, trying to avoid disaster, more than a million people evacuated as a typhoon slams into land.
NGUYEN: First up though, a fugitive sex offender is under lock and key this morning. William Joe Mitchell is seen here on surveillance tape in Florida. He was arrested Friday at a Virginia truck stop. He's wanted in connection with a kidnapping and possible sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl. That girl was recovered last Wednesday.
And this is how her father reacted to the news of Mitchell's arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER FRANK, FATHER OF VICTIM: It was the absolute, most joyful feeling I've ever experienced next to getting my daughter back. I'm glad he's gone. It's so hard to explain the feeling. I screamed at the top of my lungs and my neighbors came out. That's how excited I was. My wife is crying. I'm still shaking. It's an amazing feeling. People say, how are you doing now? I'm amazing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Mitchell met the girl on the Web site MySpace and allegedly lured her out of her home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF GRADY JUDD, POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA: These predators know the talk, know the music. They look for the weaknesses or they look for the areas of interest of the child. They play to the child. They're very convincing. Their communication skills with children are outstanding. That's what makes them dangerous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Mitchell faces charges in Florida and Alabama. He's also wanted on federal charges.
HOLMES: All right. Let's head to Arkansas now. Check out this video here. School bus, yes, police following a school bus that was ripped off. And they followed it for about 40 miles on a pursuit through three counties. You can imagine pretty much how most of these chases end. They almost always end the same way, driver in handcuffs tries to get away with something. But you're not going to believe who was behind the wheel of this school bus.
Amanda Manatt from our Little Rock affiliate KATV with the story.
AMANDA MANATT, KATV REPORTER (voice-over): As a stolen Dumas school bus flies down Highway 65 Friday night, dozens of officers from three counties, four towns and state police remain in hot pursuit. Dumas school officials had been closing up after their football game around 11:00 p.m. when they noticed lights coming from the bus yard and reported the vehicle stolen.
From there, the driver of the bus led police down Highway 65, all the way into Jefferson County, that is despite road spikes state police set up to try and slow down the bus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) we're now coming on into town, speeds at 25 miles an hour.
MANATT: Finally, as the bus pulls into Pine Bluff city limits, the driver slows down enough for a deputy to make it stop. But as officers approach, they are surprised by who they find behind the wheel. Police say the driver IS a 10-year-old boy. He is immediately cuffed and taken into police custody, then later released to his parents.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Ten years old? HOLMES: Released to his parents?
NGUYEN: And -- wait, hold on. But a school bus, he took a school bus, of all things.
HOLMES: And the thing here, Betty, is that they say the same kid, he was caught with a group of other kids trying to steal a school bus last month, as well.
NGUYEN: Another one? He has got a thing for school buses.
HOLMES: Thing for school buses. He needs to get on them and go to school, possibly. That's the idea, young fellow.
NGUYEN: That would be a good idea. Exactly.
All right. Well, the crisis in Myanmar has sparked a chorus of global criticism. Demonstrators in Washington targeted Myanmar's embassy on Saturday. This is just one of many rallies held across Europe, Asia, and the U.S. The goal is to show support for the pro- democracy movement in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Now in recent days, the military regime has launched brutal crackdowns against its own citizens, especially Buddhist monks, who are leading the calls for freedom. And today, Myanmar leaders announced that 78 more people have been detained.
HOLMES: A deadly storm is pounding the southeast China coast. Yesterday it hammered Taiwan. Take a look here at video sent to us from a viewer in Taiwan. Take a listen to this wind. Chinese officials, a bit nervous here. They've evacuated more than a million people in the path of this storm. In Taiwan, the storm struck as a typhoon, killing four people, at least two are still missing and thousands are without power this morning.
There are more pictures here, thanks to our viewers in Taiwan. According to one I-Reporter, this was a construction site. Workers fenced it off, but you can see the winds pretty much ripped this thing up, debris all over the place. Also motorcycles parked outside were pushed over. Looked like a row of dominos there.
NGUYEN: Yes. Reynolds Wolf is in the severe weather center with much more on this. What a powerful storm, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, no question. Pretty interesting how these storms often form on the western side of oceans. The western Pacific, the western Atlantic. This is now a tropical cyclone at this point. Tropical Cyclone Krosa is the name.
The storm very powerful, still battering parts of the China coast and Taiwan with, again, heavy, heavy rains, some strong wind gusts. That should continue easily for the next several hours, if not longer, as it surges its way to the north, eventually affecting many other islands and moving up towards Japan, as well.
It is going to be a powerful storm, not expected to weaken that much until it gets closer to land, and then just like any type of tropical system, it should begin to lose a little bit of its punch once it gets away from that warm ocean water.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Well, speaking of giving up things, how about giving up food so you can walk in somebody else's shoes?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARJORIE KARIM, MUSLIM: Because you don't eat from dawn to sunset. So you are hungry, you're thirsty, just like someone who are less needy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: That is what Muslims do during Ramadan. So just what is the holy month about? We are going to talk about it right here after this.
HOLMES: Also, using games to get information during war. How playing cards and chess helped U.S. soldiers interrogate Nazi prisoners of war. Stick around on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: The Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends in a few days. It is a time when followers of Islam fast from sunrise to sunset. Known as the month of blessings, Ramadan is also a time for giving.
Our Tony Harris shows how one family is doing their part.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mom always said, count your blessings. And for Marjorie Karim and her daughters Jamillah and Aisha (ph), that saying has a special meaning year round, but especially during Ramadan.
M. KARIM: We try to deepen our acts of worship and our increased service to humanity.
HARRIS: Here in the kitchen, the Karims are the image of the spirit of this holy month as they cook food for the homeless. Every Sunday, Marjorie and other Muslim women gather at this location in Auburn Avenue in Atlanta to serve dinner to the less fortunate.
M. KARIM: If you should come into contact with those who are less fortunate, Ramadan itself makes you think about that because you don't eat from dawn to sunset. So you are hungry, you're thirsty, just like someone who are less needy.
HARRIS: It is a custom that began during one Ramadan month over 20 years ago, when Marjorie was a new convert to Islam, when some of her friends could not fast because they were pregnant, they looked for other ways to fulfill their religious obligations. They did just that by feeding the homeless at various Atlanta shelters. In 1998, Marjorie co-founded Sisters United in Human Service, an organization of Muslim women devoted to helping others. People wait in line to get their food, just one of the 500 to 800 meals the sisters serve per month. This service to the community is especially important during Ramadan.
ANTOINETTE SHABIR, MUSLIM: You get the blessing and almost like doubled or tripled because you're doing -- in addition to your fasting, you're feeding someone else who is maybe hungry or if you have someone who is just walking along the way and they weren't homeless, but they wanted something to eat.
HARRIS: For Marjorie, these works of charity have become a family tradition. Her daughters, Jamillah and Aisha, also volunteer.
JAMILLAH KARIM, MUSLIM: For us and our household with our mom, feeding the homeless, it was an expectation. So similar to the way that in any household children are expected to help cook dinner, to help with the dishes or vacuuming.
HARRIS: While the project grew out of a way to satisfy their spirituality, it soon guided them to a bigger mission, to help their fellow man.
M. KARIM: When you work with people doing things like this, it's like any type of project or chore that you do and you've accomplished something, you feel good, you've established that bond and you're ready to go out and do it some more.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And that was our Tony Harris reporting. Doing more is key for the women you just saw. They run several community programs, including a clothing network for the less fortunate. And for more information, you can go to their Web site at sistersunited.org.
NGUYEN: All right. Listen up, too sexy for church? Veronica de la Cruz is here with more on this story. And boy, can we say this on TV?
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh yes, red hot sex. Yes, well, now that I've gotten your attention, it is a pastor in Tennessee who felt it was those very words that would get local residents to come to church. So what do you think? Did it work? We're going to have that answer next on the dot-com desk.
NGUYEN: And parachuters, they jumped and -- just a short time ago. We have got some of this video out of D.C. It was to kick-off the Army Wives Ten-Miler. We're going to show you so much more. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Take a look at these tough guys and gals. I think there are a few gals in there too. Yes. They're pulling a plane at annual airplane pull.
NGUYEN: Who knew?
HOLMES: They do this every year.
NGUYEN: Apparently.
HOLMES: A group in Philadelphia raising money for some locals with muscular dystrophy. And these Philly volunteers wanted to make a difference, so they pulled the 747 12 feet. Now, the plane weighs 167,000 pounds. I have a tough enough time just pulling my own weight around here, much less on a plane.
DE LA CRUZ: There's a couple of girls in there.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Well, the plane was on wheels, so that helps out tremendously, right?
NGUYEN: Hey, cnn.com is usually lit up in the morning and Veronica de la Cruz is here to tell us what people are checking out. Hey.
DE LA CRUZ: Hello, good morning to you guys. We are going to start off on a sad note with this tragic story out of Afghanistan. Ties to Britain's royal family, that tops the most popular list this morning. British military officials say Prince William's former platoon leader at Sandhurst Academy died Thursday in Afghanistan. Major Alexis Roberts was leading his convoy back to base when he was killed by a roadside bomb near Kandahar. A royal spokesman says Prince William was saddened to learn of his friend's death. And Major Roberts was 32. He left behind a wife and two daughters.
Also topping the most popular list this morning, a medical breakthrough of sorts. Scientists now think that they have cracked the mystery of the lowly appendix. What do you guys think it's for?
HOLMES: I don't know. We were wondering what...
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Did you draw that yourself, Veronica?
DE LA CRUZ: I didn't, no, no, no. That was not me. Well, believed for generations to be a pretty useless artifact evolution, researchers now suspect that the appendix is the source of beneficial microbes needed for digestion in the intestines.
HOLMES: They think.
DE LA CRUZ: So that is what that graphic is.
(CROSSTALK) DE LA CRUZ: I know, I know, I know you couldn't tell and that wasn't my artwork, so.
NGUYEN: So we go from that to this.
DE LA CRUZ: To this, finally, too sexy for my church.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENE WOLFENBARGER, PASTOR, THE GATHERING: The bottom line is, if I would have put "holiness" here or I had put "have a good marriage," no one would have showed up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: No one would have showed up, but they did. This red hot flier has Sevierville, Tennessee, hot and bothered. Fifty thousand of these racy leaflets mailed out to promote a local church's talk on healthy marriage, sex. What makes a marriage hot?
(CROSSTALK)
DE LA CRUZ: ... red hot sex. That provocative message left some residents gasping. The pastor says that he meant no offense, he just wanted to get everyone's attention. So what do we say? Amen to that, maybe?
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Well, he definitely got it. A nice little room prepared and everything. Do you see that?
NGUYEN: Red hot sex. Yes, not the message I want to be thinking about in church.
HOLMES: Were they disappointed when they got to church, though, when they showed up?
DE LA CRUZ: What did he say? You know, if I didn't put this on the flyer, people wouldn't have showed up.
HOLMES: And that is sad, probably. All right. Veronica, thank you so much, ma'am. I can't wait to see you again.
Well, coming up here, folks, a 60--year-old war secret is now out. Interrogation techniques during World War II.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY KOLM, FORMER MILITARY INTERROGATOR: We got more information out of a German general or scientist over a game of chess or ping-pong than by threats and brutality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: You heard that right, folks. Interrogation techniques with chess and ping-pong instead of using, I don't know, nightsticks, to get intelligent info out of their German prisoners. Veterans breaking their military code of silence, coming up.
NGUYEN: And coming up later on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, remember the 15-year-old girl in this video? She got pepper sprayed while under arrest. Well, now hear what her family has to say about it. That's at the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Let's set the scene for you. They were secret interrogators during World War II. But they say they never used torture. Instead, they made friends.
HOLMES: Yes. Our Kathleen Koch has the story of men who interrogated Nazi prisoners.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was called P.O. Box 1142, so secret it was known only by its Virginia postal code. From 1942 to 1945, U.S. servicemen there pried secrets out of high-value German prisoners of war.
John Gunter Dean was 18 when he started there.
JOHN GUNTER DEAN, FORMER MILITARY INTERROGATOR: You were nice to people. Yes, I did go and play cards with prisoners and trying to establish a relationship that he would be helpful to what we wanted to know.
KOCH (on camera): You got information that way?
DEAN: We got a lot of information.
KOCH (voice-over): Chief Interrogator Henry Kolm once played chess with Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess.
KOLM: We got more information out of a German general or scientist over a game of chess or ping-pong than by threats and brutality.
KOCH (on camera): There was no head slapping, no waterboarding, no torture?
GEORGE FRANKEL, FORMER MILITARY INTERROGATOR: None of that. I was appalled when I read in The Washington Post that these methods had been employed. It was totally against my humanitarian instincts.
KOCH (voice-over): Werner Moritz said his team discovered Germany had developed deadly V-1 and V-2 missiles by eavesdropping on prisoners.
WERNER MORTIZ, FORMER MILITARY INTERROGATOR: It took us three or four days and it took three or four different people constantly listening just -- the recording was scratchy. It became a very important part of the Second World War. And the fact that we discovered it that way was wonderful.
KOCH: The men of P.O. Box 1142 were brought together this weekend by the National Park Service. It stumbled across one of the veterans while trying to piece together the history of their Alexandra facility, now a recreation area owned by Park Service.
Historian Brandon Bies was stunned the men had kept their work secret for so long.
BRANDON BIES, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: They took their oath of secrecy very seriously for 60-plus years. And only after we were able to convince them this has been declassified, it's important to tell their stories, that they really felt the need that it was OK to tell these stories. And they realized that, yes, maybe what they did may have made a difference.
KOCH: A difference with lessons they believe still apply today.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, October the 7th, 8:00 a.m., CNN headquarters here in Atlanta, Georgia, 7:00 a.m. in the heartland. And good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Yes. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to thank you for being with us today. First up, relief for one Florida family this morning. A sex offender, you see him right here, accused of kidnapping their teenage daughter. Well, he is caught.
HOLMES: Also, some just dramatic video here to show you, yes, explosions. New video we have this morning of an explosion This is happening in Washington State. We'll have details on that.
NGUYEN: And we showed you this yesterday, a police officer using pepper spray on a teenager. Well, now, the girl's family is speaking out. All that and much more right ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Captured in Virginia. We're going to start with this story. A multi-state manhunt nets a fugitive sex offender at a Virginia truck stop. William Joe Mitchell is in jail this morning, and he is awaiting possible extradition to face charges in Florida. Police and federal marshals in several states have been looking for Mitchell since he allegedly kidnapped a 15-year-old girl in Florida. She was later abandoned at a Wal-Mart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF GRADY JUDD, POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA: We can tell you this; our female victim's personal effects were visible in the car. We have chased him up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States since he took this child after luring her from her home.
(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: Mitchell also faces charges in Alabama where he allegedly took the girl after fleeing Florida. Federal charges also may be filed.
NGUYEN: The nationwide manhunt for alleged child abuser Chester Stiles is still going on, Stiles is wanted in connection with a disturbing home made tape that shows the rape and assault of a girl who was possibly as young as 3 years old. Police are taking a closer look at earlier allegations that he may have sexually assaulted a young girl in 2001.
NGUYEN: And a convicted bank robber faces a preliminary hearing in Philadelphia Wednesday on a string of new charges and they include two counts of murder. Thirty six year-old Mustafa Ali was arraigned last night and is being held with out bail, police say he is the man seen on surveillance video shooting two armed car guards during ATM robbery on Thursday. Authorities thanked the public for tips leading to Ali's arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SYLVESTER JOHNSON, PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMM.: We're just glad that this person is off the streets and will never walk the streets hopefully again in his lifetime. Again, we want to thank the citizens of Philadelphia, we want to thank the news media, we want to thank the homicide detectives that work around the clock to bring this to a conclusion. Our condolences go out to the Allulla and the Widmayer families that lost loved ones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Here are photos to show you. Guards Joseph Allullo and William Widmayer were both killed in that robbery and a third guard was wounded.
HOLMES: Two questions this morning about that dramatic dash cam video of police arresting a 15 year old girl. This is video we first showed you yesterday. The girl's aunt says the tape showed excessive force, the arresting officer in Ft. Pierce, Florida recorded this encounter. Police say girl was violating curfew and bit the officer when he tried to arrest her. He pepper sprayed her during the struggle. The police chief says the officer in fact acted appropriately. But the girl's aunt says he went too far, even if her niece did bite him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLORIA SMITH, ARRESTED GIRL'S AUNT: She proceed to after the aggressiveness of his behavior. After his actions and never stated why he was actually apprehending her and why was he doing the things he was doing? Her rights were never read to her. She was violated all the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, the teenager is facing charges of battery and resisting an officer. Her case is scheduled to go to court next month.
NGUYEN: An explosion in New York rocks a Harlem neighborhood. Take a look at this. At least 17 people are injured. One of them is a child in critical condition. The fire department says a gas leak caused an explosion in a five-story apartment building. That blast hurled glass and air conditioners into the street and shook several other buildings.
We do have some dramatic video right here, a series of massive explosions in Tacoma, Washington. That one definitely shaking up onlookers. Four people were injured in the propane tank explosion. One of them is in critical condition this morning. The explosions forced the evacuation of nearby businesses and a closure of several roads.
HOLMES: Things weren't already bad enough in La Jolla, California, something worse to come possibly. This is the aftermath of Wednesday's massive land slide, but Saturday a concerned resident stumbled on more potential trouble, a new 3 foot by 4 foot sink hole about a mile west of this mess. No major damage just yet to show. But the cops are keeping people clear of this new dip that has been discovered.
NGUYEN: Iraqi officials say at least 9 civilians were killed and a dozen others wounded today in three separate bombings in Baghdad. One bomb went off in eastern Baghdad, another in the southern district of Adore and a third went off near the Iranian embassy. Clearly Baghdad remains a very dangerous place. Listen as the governors convoy came under fire yesterday.
The governor's guards exchanged fire with attackers for several minutes and were told the governor escaped unharmed and that no one was killed in that convoy attack.
Well Congress is calling for stricter oversight of contractors in Iraq. And today on "This Week at War," security for hire, plus fewer troops are dying in Iraq. So is it a turning point or just a statistical blip. "This Week at War" airs today at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
HOLMES: Call it Burma or Myanmar. Whatever you want to call it, this tiny country is getting more and more attention. About 100 marchers protested outside Myanmar's embassy in Washington on Saturday. It was one of many demonstrations. An international day of action in a country that has been run by its military since 1962. Today Myanmar's leader support the arrest of 78 more people and about a thousand people are being held. But groups say the number is far higher, many of them Buddhist monks who have been leading the call for change. Who is in charge of Myanmar and why is it called Myanmar now instead of Burma?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Myanmar, also known as Burma, has seen little in the way of democracy over the last 50 years. Under the leadership of independents hero Aung San, a rag tag group of freedom fighters involved in the Burma's army. He was assassinated shortly before the country gained independence from British rule in 1948. The army was one of Burma's few functioning institutions. It helped keep the country together in the face of ethnic and communist rebellion.
In 1962, the military took control of the government. Under General Ne Win, under his iron grip, a once thriving economy was destroyed. There were sporadic pro democracy protests, but they were ruthlessly suppressed. Notably in 1988 when public despair with the state of Burma's economy spilled into street protests. Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of the late Aung San, joined the student protesters. The military crushed the uprising leading thousands dead and for most of the past 18 years, Suu Kyi has been under house arrest.
The military is now lead by General Than Shwe he is trying to open the country to foreign investment, selling natural gas and oil, China and India. But many western governments have slapped sanctions on the regime. In 1989, Burma's name was changed to the Union of Myanmar in efforts by the regime to distance the country from its colonial past and better reflect its ethnic diversity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: News this morning of a deadly collision between a bus and a train in Cuba. It happened in the small town of Yara, about a 500 miles east of Cabana. According to state run television at least 28 people were killed and more than 70 injured. The reports say the train slammed into the bus at a railroad crossing. That bus plunged off a bridge, 15 of the injured are said to be in critical condition.
HOLMES: Congress is mourning the death of Virginia Representative Jo Ann Davis. Davis died yesterday after a two-year battle with breast cancer. In 2007, she became the state's first Republican woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. President Bush calls her an inspiration to us all. Jo Ann Davis was 57-year-old old.
NGUYEN: Coming up, some people will call them ticking time bombs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): Putting a structure, a house with a basement on to an earth that has been damaged is insane.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Hidden dangers in aging dams and why so little is being done to fix them.
HOLMES: Also, cops get a bit of a surprise when they chase down the driver of a stolen school bus. We'll tell you all about this joy ride that went terribly, terribly wrong.
NGUYEN: And in today's "Water Cooler" a skunk with his head stuck in a jar. Look at that. Find out how this little guy got into this sticky situation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: The army's annual ten-mile race happening right now in D.C. This is video we're getting, just getting going. This is said to be the nation's biggest 10-mile race, 26,000 runners have signed up, and at least one from every state as well as the District of Columbia signed up there today.
This is a live picture we are looking at right now, this is happening. You can see the starting line there. It starts at the Pentagon and ends at the Pentagon. The ten mile race, we spoke earlier to some of the wives of some military men who are participating today, really excited about that.
But a big event, 26 the thousand runners. Also a big event surrounding this race a lot of festivities. Check out what happened right before the race, parachute jumpers. Yeah, you have to let that play out. The army parachutes there with the American flag trailing the race again. We're going to keep an eye on it. Keep checking back in to see some of those gorgeous pictures that will be coming in to us all morning long.
NGUYEN: Right now, though, we want to talk about hidden dangers in aging dams. Just like bridges, dams are expected to hold up under monumental strain every second of every day and nobody gives them a second thought, that is, until they fail. Some people do, though, think about dams and they fear for hundreds that are considered high hazards. CNN's Sean Callebs reports from central Ohio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Researching the story, I was somewhat surprised to find out no one in the U.S. knows exactly how many dams are here. There are about 100,000 that dam inspectors responsible for monitoring and for good reason. They are getting old and they are crumbling. Engineers tell us there are hundreds in such sorry shape, if they were to breach, lives would be at stake.
Helen Churtz lives on a ticking time bomb. On an earth and dam considered unsafe or a high hazard. That means if the dam is breached, people in its vicinity could die. But Helen can't imagine living anywhere else.
HELEN CHURTZ, BUCKEYE LAKE DAM RESIDENT: Oh, the summer days, it's very busy. You can look down and from this view and you can see the sail boats out from the yacht club.
CALLEBS: Still, people risk everything to leave near water.
Lake, dam, houses. What's wrong with this picture?
REBECCA WODDER, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN RIVERS: Putting a structure, a house with a basement on to an earth and dam is just insane.
CALLEBS: The environmental group, American River, says if thousands of dams aren't reinforced and repaired now, a major catastrophe could happen. WODDER: People were going across that Minneapolis Bridge day after day and month after month and nothing had happened so far and then in a terrible moment, of course, it failed.
CALLEBS: Two months ago, 13 people died when the bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River. That tragedy struck home for dam safety officials in Ohio.
SEAN LIGAN, OHIO DEPT. OF NATURAL RESOURCES: It's a wake-up call, quite frankly. And I think it's a wake-up call for all the states.
CALLEBS: Take Texas for example it has one dam inspector for every 1,500 or so dams. Alabama doesn't have a dam safety program. Although rare, when a dam gives away, the result can be catastrophic. In March of '06, a dam collapsed at the Oglobo Reservoir in Hawaii and killed seven people.
RODNEY TORNES, OHIO DAM SAFETY INSPECTOR: Kind of creates pressure as it pops off the concrete. That's why you see the concrete popping off in several different locations here because the rebar itself has corroded.
CALLEBS: Safety concerns over this 90 year old dam in Girard, forced the city to drain the lake. Now, all that's left is 43 feet of crumbling concrete and steel, a big empty field and 16 million dollars in needed repairs.
MAYOR JIM MELFI, GIRARD, OHIO: There's every possibility that this beautiful lake may not be here in the future. We have to take the safety of residents and businesses very seriously.
CALLEBS: A conservative estimate to repair all the dams in dire need of attention is about $10 billion. Here is something else to chew on recently, the American Society of Civil Engineers graded U.S. infrastructure. They gave bridges a C. We know what happened in Minneapolis. Well, they gave dams a D.
Sean Callebs, CNN, in Delaware County, Ohio.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Extreme weather reeking havoc in Asia this weekend. In China, more than a million people have been ordered to higher ground as a tropical storm bears down on the southeast coast. This storm with a typhoon with it battered the island of Taiwan and the typhoon blamed for four deaths there.
In Vietnam, typhoon Lukema is gone, but it will be a long time before this one is forgotten, at least 46 people killed and another 29 are missing and feared dead in the wake of flooding and landslides triggered by that storm. Tens of thousands have been left homeless.
NGUYEN: Now we are talking about these typhoons, but there are places especially in Georgia that just can't get the rain that it needs Reynolds. WOLF: Oh, I know. I mean it has been feast or famine for so many places around the nation. With these tropical storm systems we were just talking about moments ago, the biggest threat you have is the flooding. Today across the nation, one of the biggest threats we're going to have is the possibility of flooding that we may see into the central Plains. And the reason why it may occur is because we're going to see scattered showers, possibly a few heavy thunderstorms develop over the central Plains and they're going to train. What I mean is you're going to see more and more of these cells develop and run up and over the same topography. Omaha, for example back over to Kansas City, right here at this stationary front.
As we get to the late day hours, the rain could become especially heavy. That's where you could have some issues with some low-lying areas. You're going to have the runoff and that's where you're going to have all kinds of headaches.
Now when you make your way back out into the Rockies we are going to see more precipitation, but there is going to be a transformation from rain drops to snowflakes. In the highest elevations, it may get especially heavy. In the Pacific Northwest rain again, the higher elevations in the Sierras, you may be dealing with some scattered snow flakes as well as parts of the Cascades and back into southern California plenty of sunshine.
And back out to the east will have sunshine too in Washington, D.C. And not only with that but the army 10 mile run, are you going to have warm conditions. Warm conditions for places like Memphis. That heat is going to surge it's way up into Chicago, we are looking at 88 degrees for a high today in the windy city, Detroit with 86 degrees, Toronto, 64 degrees, 64 in Boston and 66 in Albuquerque.
That is your forecast, lets send it right back to you at the news desk.
NGUYEN: All right. Reynolds, we thank you.
WOLF: See you in a little bit.
NGUYEN: Friday night, it was bugs. But last night, that's what happened, a blackout. The lights going out at Coors Field in Colorado. The problem was, they were trying to play baseball at the time. Officials say the power outage was caused by cranky computer. It delayed the game for about 15 minutes, but it didn't seem to slow down the Colorado Rockies. They beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1 to sweep the series. It's the first ever post-season series win in Rockies history.
HOLMES: Congratulations to them.
And got a police chase we were talking about here earlier. That bus, yes, it's weird enough. But it's being driven by a 10-year-old boy who can now face charges. He allegedly stole that school bus and led dozens of officers on a low-speed chase through three several counties.
NGUYEN: What was he thinking?
HOLMES: I don't know. This went on for 40 miles. Officers were able to finally stop him. He was arrested and released to his parents. I don't know how tough it is or difficult it is to steal a bus. I assume it's tough to do. But can you imagine if he applied that creativity and ingenuity to class work?
NGUYEN: His school work maybe, perhaps? Obviously, he could reach the pedal there. But the buses aren't that easy to maneuver. Especially for a 10-year-old.
HOLMES: Might be a big kid.
Here we go. Folks, geeks of the world unite. There's now a convention just for you. Geek.Kon. We'll take through when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, DOT COM DESK: And a big mystery to tell but in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The mayor of the city has gone missing. So what happened to him? We're going to take a closer look next.
NGUYEN: But first, here is Dr. Sanjay Gupta with a preview of today's "House Call."
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, guys. Today we're looking at cholesterol today on "House Call." Do you know your numbers? We'll tell you why you should.
Then ever wonder if alternative medicine works? We're going to take a closer look at some of the most popular therapy.
Then, why under age drinking might be a good thing. Stick with us this. We test a controversial theory, all that is coming up on "House Call" at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Who knew? It is cool to be a geek, Betty.
NGUYEN: You should know, right?
HOLMES: It is cool to be a geek.
NGUYEN: Why are you blushing?
HOLMES: Because I'm a -- thank you. That's the biggest compliment you've ever given me, Betty. But don't call us nerds, please.
NGUYEN: No don't call them nerds, because geeks from all over are gathering to celebrate games, and of course dungeons and dragons and anime. We get more now from Tony Gallion (ph), affiliate WKOW.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY GALLION (ph), WKOW: Costumes, everywhere. (UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): It's fun to be someone else for a day.
GALLION (ph): Sara Icor (ph) is a character from Japanese Amime.
SARA ICOR (ph): She is super crazy and she rides --
GALLION (ph): Sara is also one of the organizers of the UWU's first Geek.Kon.
ICOR (ph): I say it's a big success.
GALLION (ph): While college sophomore Brittany Hofer makes commissions on her anime artwork, others employ war strategies during board games, during video games.
We've got a lot of stereotypes. This university sponsored event may not be dispelling stereotypes as well as highlighting the artistic and cultural virtues of a virtual world, even creating some heroes in the process. NATC student Douglas Klavon would settle for some myth busting of the image of geeks.
DOUGLAS KLAVON, COLLEGE STUDENT: Some of us actually have jobs and lives.
GALLION (ph): This first-time university event is lively.
(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): We were just blown away. I never expected to see anything this huge.
GALLION (ph): It may be the beginning of a tradition to bump buckeye a little.
KLAVON: Usually it's all about football games and -- and that's just not totally interesting to me.
GALL|ION (ph): Whatever your taste, Geek Kon has a little bit of everything under the sun and in orbit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. You can laugh all you want at the geeks, but they are going to be Internet millionaires in just a few years. They're going be your boss.
DE LA CRUZ: We're all kind of self-professed geeks, right? You're still living in your parents' basement.
HOLMES: No. They kicked me out a while back.
NGUYEN: Last year.
HOLMES: I was in Atlantic City a week ago and I was wondering, where is the mayor?
DE LA CRUZ: That seems to be the big question. Do you know?
HOLMES: I don't know.
DE LA CRUZ: That is the case and that is the question in Atlantic City right now. Mayor Robert Levy seems to have dropped off the face off the earth since calling in sick. He was last seen driving off in a city issued Dodge Durango. Aids say he is on indefinite medical leave but they won't say where. In Levy's absence, it's not clear who is in charge. The city administrator has temporarily taken over the mayor's duties. Some folks are not pleases with that at all. One city councilman has filed a suit seeking to have the court declare the mayor's office vacant.
Now as you can image the local blogs are definitely on fire over this one. JammieWearingFool is just one of them. And most speculation about his disappearance focuses on a federal probe into Mayor Levy's military record. The gateway pundant is another blog that one you might want to check out. Apparently the crux of the mater is whether Levy was ever a green beret. And some people allegedly padded his service record to collect a bigger military pension.
If you want to check out his resume, check out pressofatlanticcity.com they have posted his resume on its Website. Actually this is just information from a blog that we've been gathering. We have no idea what happened to the mayor and why no one has heard from him. So if you have any information you can always E- mail us at WEEKENDS@CNN.com. You can send us an I-report and it remains a mystery at this point. I can't believe you were there and everyone is talking about it.
HOLMES: They are talking about it.
DE LA CRUZ: What happens to the city in the meantime?
HOLMES: I hope he is OK.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Veronica.
I want you guys to check this poor guy out. This is no way to go through life with a jar on your head. We're going to tell you how he got it there and why he's jar less or if he's even jar less today. In today's "Water Cooler" When CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.
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