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Six People Killed in Wisconsin Rampage; Deadly Heat; British Troops Finding New Role in Iraq
Aired October 08, 2007 - 08:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Heidi Collins.
Watch events come in to the NEWSROOM live on this Monday morning. It is October 8th.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Six people killed in a Wisconsin shooting rampage. Police say an off-duty deputy pulled the trigger. The question this morning, why?
Two long distance runners dead. What role did extreme heat and humidity play? We'll talk about that.
And firefighters killed in the line of duty. Autopsies find one legally drunk, the other on cocaine.
Today, the fight over death benefits, in the NEWSROOM.
Barely old enough to vote, he was given a badge and a gun. Police say this 20-year-old sheriff's deputy unleashed a deadly rampage. Six young partygoers dead.
CNN's Susan Roesgen has our story.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In this house at a late-night high school party, a young sheriff's deputy, barely out of high school himself, 20-year-old Tyler Peterson, shot and killed six people. Then he ran.
Dozens of fellow officers hunted for him and after a few hours of searching, took him down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The subject was located by law enforcement officers. The subject is deceased and is no longer a threat to the public.
ROESGEN: The police won't say what caused Deputy Peterson to become a killer, but friends of the victim say one of the dead was Peterson's ex-girlfriend. All the victims were current or former students at the high school where he was also a graduate.
RICHARD PETERS, SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: This is the kind of scenario that I think every small town in the USA says this could never happen here.
ROESGEN: Now parents like Jenny Stahl are in shock.
JENNY STAHL, MOTHER OF VICTIM: I haven't seen her yet. So, in the back of my mind says maybe they made a mistake and my daughter is somewhere, just hiding out, waiting for everything to be safe to come now.
ROESGEN: Jenny's daughter, 14-year-old Lindsey Stahl, was apparently Deputy Peterson's youngest victim.
STAHL: I just can't believe this. You know? She was only 14. She'll be 15 next month.
She's just starting to live. And the sad thing is, who killed her? You know, a cop.
He's supposed to be -- cops are supposed to always protect you I thought. You know? And it's one who took my daughter and how many other people's lives?
ROESGEN: A shooting that has left this small town of just 2,000 people stunned.
Susan Roesgen, CNN, Crandon, Wisconsin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Let's take a closer look now at Tyler Peterson. He is just 20 years old.
He worked full time as a Forest County deputy sheriff. He also worked part time as a police officer with the Crandon Police Department. He was off duty at the time of the killings. Because Peterson worked in local law enforcement, the state Department of Criminal Investigation will handle the probe.
There are still so many questions about what happened and why. So coming up, just a few minutes from now, Susan Roesgen will be joining us live from Crandon. It's a small community of just about 2,000 people. They are dazed by this crime.
Meanwhile, chaos in Chicago. The city's marathon canceled halfway through. Dozen of runners collapse in unusually hot and humid weather. In fact, one runner died. He is 35-year-old Chad Scheiber (ph), a veteran police officer and father of three. His autopsy is scheduled for this morning.
Three other runners in critical condition right now. The heat soared to a record 87 degrees. Some frustrated runners said there wasn't enough water or power drinks on hand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KENNEDY, MARATHON RUNNER: The hottest race I've ever run in. DAN SKRZYPCZYNSKI, MARATHON RUNNER: It's been hot, but if there had been enough food (ph) out here, tit wouldn't have been any problem.
THOMAS KENNEDY, FIREFIGHTER: This is probably one of the hottest marathons that I've seen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Long distance runners, athletes, blindsided by heat and humidity. How does that really happen?
Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here now to talk more about the medical side.
Obviously, we just heard from Reynolds a little bit about the weather side of all of this, but, boy, you're running a marathon here. You've really got to watch out.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely. And the reason why this happened is that these folks weren't able to train for really hot weather.
A marathon trainer was telling me, if you know you're going to be running in 88 degrees, you're supposed to train for hot weather for like three months. Obviously, these people didn't do that. They thought, with good reason, October, Chicago, it's going to be 60, 65.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: And instead, they were hit with 88 degrees.
What happens is that people become dehydrated in that heat and also, when it's that hot, blood -- your body sends blood to your skin to cool it down. And there are your muscles, they're working hard. They need more nutrients, they need more blood. And instead, they're getting less blood. So it's all sort of this perfect storm for having what happened yesterday in Chicago.
COLLINS: Yes. And I'm sure some people, you know, they realize -- a lot of these people are veteran runners.
COHEN: Sure.
COLLINS: Some people maybe, I'm sure, just for the first time going out and doing a marathon. But they usually think, hey, you know, it's going to be hot. All right, well, I'll just drink more water or I'll take it easy, I'll run a little bit slower, I'm not going to have my best time today.
COHEN: Right. And the problem is, is that you can't always do that. That even if you try as hard as you can, you can't always compensate for the heat last minute. What this trainer told me is, "Look, we train our guys and our women for three months how to, for example, take in lots of fluids." You're supposed to be taking in about four ounces every five minutes. That's approximately. And it's hard to do that.
You're running. People start to feel nauseous. And so they don't drink as much as they should.
You have to train your body to be able to take in all those fluids. And so, for example, he has people training with long sleeves and long pants on, even when it's warm out so their bodies get used to it. He sends them to Florida for a month to train before a hot weather marathon.
Obviously, that didn't happen in this case.
COLLINS: Yes. You know, with all that preparation, a lot of people say, well, it's not really the heat, it's the humidity that kept me down or that really made it tough for me.
COHEN: Right. That's exactly what this trainer said, too, is the humidity is the issue. And it was humid in Chicago yesterday.
COLLINS: Yes.
Well, those pictures are unbelievable coming out of Chicago, too.
All right. Elizabeth, thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
COLLINS: A pizza party at this house comes to a bloody end. Six young people killed. Today, Wisconsin detectives search for a motive.
We are live from the scene with an update in just a moment.
Also, Manhattan nightmare. A cab out of control, up on a sidewalk.
And they died doing their jobs, fighting a fire. But now autopsy results fuel disbelief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cahill's (ph) blood alcohol level was .27, more than three times the legal limit. And Dapayne (ph) had traces of cocaine in his system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: High on the job? Boston investigates booze and drugs at the firehouse.
And a drawdown of British troops in Iraq, is it just around the corner? An announcement from Britain's prime minister this morning.
You are watching CNN and you are in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Troop levels in Iraq -- not the U.S., but British troops. The big announcement expected this morning from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He will be addressing parliament.
Brown said last week that 1,000 British troops would be home by the end of the year. That statement made on a visit to Baghdad. And the prime minister has caught some flack for it, critics saying he did it for political advantage.
He responded today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I had to go to Iraq and to Baghdad and Basra before I made my statement to the House of Commons. I think the criticism of me today might have been that I had not had the chance to hear from the troops on the ground, to hear from our military commanders, and to meet Prime Minister Maliki, and to meet the vice president, to meet the ministers for finance, for trade and for the economy, to discuss not just troop movements, but also to discuss economic reconstruction in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: We are live from London next hour after the British prime minister makes his statement.
And a closer look now at the new mission for British troops in Iraq -- policing the border with Iran and training Iraqi troops.
More now from CNN's Nic Robertson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the south of Iraq, British troops are switching gears, from deadly battles in Basra to policing the border with Iran.
CAPT. ROBERT BASSET, BRITISH ARMY: We try and understand what happens up and down the border.
ROBERTSON: Barely a month ago, Captain Robert Basset was in the center of Basra, under fire every day.
BASSET: Every single tail fin that was fired at us from the mortars that we would collect would be Iranian-stamped. High-level intelligence suggests that the lethal EFP, explosively-formed projectiles, are manufactured in Iran.
ROBERTSON: Now he's confronting that threat in a different way, at the Iran-Iraq border, mentoring Iraqi border guards, a change made possible when British troops pulled out of Basra. BASSET: The level of violence has dropped right off, and now we can start to concentrate on the second phase, which is to develop Iraqi security forces.
LT. COL. PATRICK SANDERS, BRITISH ARMY: Ninety percent of the violence was directed against us.
ROBERTSON: Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Saunders (ph) led the troops in Basra and is convinced Iranians were behind much of the violence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the last month or so, we saw a real increase of Iranian -- active Iranian participation in the attacks on us, which suggested to us that perhaps the militias themselves were less inclined to do it for them. And so they were having to come and do it themselves.
ROBERTSON (on camera): Iranians coming across and actually perpetrating attacks on you themselves?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we got lots of reports of mortar teams speaking Farsi.
ROBERTSON: Saunders' (ph) troops operate at a different tempo now, taking time from stopping Iranian weapons smuggling in the desert for a prayer service. He credits an Iraqi general for helping reduce the violence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What he's managed to do is convince the militias that, actually, they're better off working together, and that they're more likely to end up with what they want through negotiation, through discussion and through constructive dialogue rather than simply by fighting the multinational forces.
ROBERTSON: But at the main British base outside Basra...
(on camera): ... the sirens have just gone off, warning that there might be incoming, indirect fire, and everyone is lying in the dirt taking cover.
(voice over): Two hundred meters from where we take cover, smoke rises from a rocket strike. Three people are injured. British officials say attacks are down significantly, but no one here is dropping their guard just yet.
(on camera): If the security situation here does continue to improve, British soldiers are far more likely to find themselves training Iraqi forces than fighting Iraqi insurgents and militias.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the next 15, 20 minutes, (INAUDIBLE) is how to search persons and vehicles.
ROBERTSON (voice over): Expectations are within the next few months Iraqi security forces will be given control of Basra province, freeing some British soldiers to go home as others remain on standby in case violence flares. But what the British want to be clear on is they will not be running away defeated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've pulled out. It was the right time to pull out. We could have stayed in Basra for a lot longer, as long as we wanted. But we would have killed a lot of people for really no purpose at all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And Nic Robertson is joining us now from a British base in Basra, Iraq.
Nic, I wonder, as we watched the end of your piece there in particular, does it seem to you that the British troops feel like they accomplished their mission?
ROBERTSON: They certainly -- we certainly get that sense here on the base. They really feel that because they've been able to bring down the level of violence, and that they've been able to train the Iraqi forces and continue to train them, that this really is their mission. And as long as the benchmarks are met that the Iraqi forces are capable of taking over security, which they assess probably in the next month or so they will, then their job is done.
However, they do have to stay here because they will be on standby if violence flares again, and that they do have a role here to continue helping the Iraqis improve their security forces, perhaps providing intelligence on what the Iranians or others, the militias, are doing inside of Basra and other places -- Heidi.
COLLINS: It's obvious also in your piece that they mentioned -- one of the folks that you spoke with said, you know, the violence really seemed to drop off because something like 90 percent of it was aimed at the British troops themselves.
So, knowing that much information, is there any way to know of an exact timetable for when the troops would actually leave altogether?
ROBERTSON: Well, that is what we might here from the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, when he makes his announcement on the troops in Iraq. He was here last week and he did say that a thousand of the 5,500 British troops currently here will be going back home to Britain before Christmas. We have now found out that about 270 of those have already gone back to Britain, that about 500 were already slated to go back.
So perhaps -- and there are certainly accusations here -- a manipulation of those figures. But it does seem by Christmas, there will be about 4,500 British troops here, and the prime minister will perhaps announce how that will go down further over the next year or so. But we've been talking to people here, British soldiers, young British soldiers who suddenly just found out this week that by the end of the week they'll be back home and then they'll be on leave for a while -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. Nic, I wonder if you've had an opportunity to also talk with some of the Iraqis who the British troops, in fact, trained. How do they feel about the Brits going back home?
ROBERTSON: Well, they feel it's what should be happening here. They feel that the British do have something to offer them, that they can learn from them. And the training that we've seen here, there's certainly a lot of questions exchanged about, you know, how do you run the checkpoints, how do you do this? There certainly does seem to be that sense that there's something to be learned.
But the general acceptance here is that -- and the British have said this themselves -- that in Basra, they've been part of the problem. Ninety percent of the attacks were against them. Now they've pulled out of the center of the city, those attacks have gone down. And I think so many of the Iraqis feel that too, that they can manage and take control of the situation and manage their own way.
There are a lot of problem here still. The governor of this province is accused of corruption. There are efforts by the government and by the local provincial council to get rid of him. And there are certainly other issues on corruption, and many issues are still left here. But the security ones, security forces, do feel that they're ready and able to take over from the British very soon --- Heidi.
COLLINS: OK, understood.
Nic Robertson coming to us live from Basra, Iraq.
Nic, nice to see you again. Thanks so much.
And now, up in flames. A church and an historic school building near and dear to the hearts of two communities gutted. We'll tell you what happened.
And dignity for the mentally disabled. The Special Olympics, a springboard for new programs in China. But will the help keep coming when the games are gone?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Is the UAW cruising for another strike in Detroit?
I'm Stephanie Elam in New York. And we'll take a look at the latest in the contract negotiations with the big automakers out of Detroit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The latest now on our top story this morning.
Crandon, Wisconsin, high school classes are canceled today. The town awakening to a nightmare: a 20-year-old sheriff's deputy on a murderous rampage. Six young people killed.
CNN's Susan Roesgen has been following the story this morning for us. She is in Crandon and has the very latest.
Susan, good morning to you.
ROESGEN: Good morning, Heidi.
You know, one person at that party, just one, survived the shooting. Critically wounded. So I think it will be very important when law enforcement is able to talk to that person, to try to get some information about what the motive might have been. Nobody is talking about a motive here yet, except for friends of the victims who say that an ex-girlfriend is among the dead, an ex-girlfriend of deputy Tyler Peterson.
Last night I talked to a mother of one of the victims, a 14-year- old girl believed to be the youngest victim. Her mother, Heidi, is in shock.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STAHL: I just can't believe this, you know? She's only 14. She'll be 15 next month. She's just starting to live.
And the sad thing is, who killed her? You know, a cop. He's supposed to be -- cops are supposed to always protect you, I thought. You know? And it's one who took my daughter and how many other people's lives?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: A lot of people grieving here, Heidi.
I'm at the high school, because later today, although closes are canceled here, local law enforcement is going to hold a news conference. And we might be able to get some more details of that shooting then -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Susan, I want to go back to just one thing quickly. You had mentioned that a strong possibility that the alleged shooter may have known someone at the party. Any more to go on as far as the possibility of this being the ex-girlfriend?
ROESGEN: Really nothing but that, except you have to remember, he was only 20 years old, a recent graduate of this high school behind me here. Three of the dead were current students, three were former students. So we can assume that Deputy Tyler Peterson did know them.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes.
What about the community from that sound bite that we just saw from the mother of possibly one of the victims? I can't imagine -- it's such a small community, too -- how they might be coping.
ROESGEN: It really is just 2,000 people almost at the Canadian border, Heidi, a rural area. This is a place for fishing and for hunting and for snowmobiling. I've got a couple of the morning's papers here. "Six Friends Killed at Party in Crandon" one of the local papers. The Green Bay paper also reporting on it today.
They say that there's going to be some counseling available for some of the students. You always hear that kind of thing.
But the superintendent, Heidi, told me that this is the sort of thing that you just don't expect in any small town, and to have seven lives wiped out in one incident, that's a pretty big deal here, something that they're really going to have to cope with.
COLLINS: Yes, it's just awful. And Susan, I know you're working hard on this story. Let us know if you find anything else out.
We also want to let everyone know here there is a news conferenced planned on the killing. It is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Eastern. We will have it live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Chrysler could be next for a nationwide auto strike. The UAW sets a deadline for contract talks to conclude, and it could be down to the wire again.
Stephanie Elam is here "Minding Your Business" now.
A little bit of a deja vu here, Stephanie.
ELAM: Yes, all over again, right?
COLLINS: Right.
ELAM: Right at the end of September, Heidi, we saw GM finally able to work out a deal with United Auto Workers. But remember, that was after nine days of talks and that two-day strike. And when that deal came out, there were people on both sides, at the union and also on both sides of the automakers, Ford and Chrysler, who weren't happy with all of the parts that were put into this deal with GM.
That said, Chrysler is the next up to the plate here. And according to "The New York Times," they're looking at Wednesday as a strike deadline.
Now, it's not weird for an automaker to come out -- or, I'm sorry, the union to come out with a deadline. They just want to progress the talks, make sure there's a reason they're talking, and then move on from there and hopefully see if they can get a deal happening with the hope of avoiding a strike. But obviously, it would be not out of the question to see that this could go to that point again.
COLLINS: What about some of the other automakers? What does this mean for, like, Chrysler or Ford, all these other guys who could be in the mix?
ELAM: Well, you know, the interesting thing about this is that what the United Auto Workers Union likes to do is it likes to make a deal with one of the automakers and then pass that deal on to basically be the template for the deal it makes with the other ones. That's called patterned bargaining.
It's not looking as easy this time because there are some people who were unhappy with what worked out, specifically those health care trusts that GM got the union to say that, sure, we'll set up this trust, make money, put it in there and that will help fund the overall accounts -- or health care for retirees and also current employees. And that's a -- it's a bone to pick with a lot of people who are actually in that situation there.
COLLINS: Yes, no question. All right.
Well, we know you're following it very closely.
Stephanie Elam "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Thank you, Stephanie.
ELAM: Thanks.
COLLINS: More on our top story now, all day long her in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A party ends in a bloodbath. Police say the shooter was one of their own. Today, a Wisconsin town asks why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That someone could do that, just go crazy and shoot a bunch of people, is just -- I can't even imagine it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: We'll hear from investigators later today in the NEWSROOM.
And heroism called into question. A pair of fallen firefighters at the center of a growing controversy. Were they high on the job?
And some are saying not in my back yard. Protests against the private security contractor Blackwater, not in Iraq, but in southern California.
The story ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: How about that? It's Monday morning, and we are hearing the opening bell live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins.
Tony Harris has the day off.
Our top story this hour -- he took an oath to serve and protect. Instead, this Wisconsin sheriff's deputy took the lives of six young people. Just 20 years old. Tyler Peterson also served as a part-time officer with the Crandon police department. A police sniper shot and killed him after his rampage. It's not clear what set him off. The town's mayor says it may have been a love triangle. Those killed -- three high school students and three recent graduates. The youngest, just 14 years old.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNY STAHL, MOTHER OF VICTIM: I just can't believe this. You know, she's only 14. She'll be 15 next month. She's just starting to live and the sad thing is, who killed her?
You know, a cop -- he's supposed to be -- cops are supposed to always protect you, I thought. And he's the one who took my daughter and how many other people's lives?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: A devastating story. We're going to have a news conference coming our way on the killings. It's scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Eastern. You can see it live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A New York taxi jumps the curb. Three people hit on a sidewalk in Manhattan. TV station WABC says one of its news chopper pilots was killed in the crash. It's believed his wife is one of those injured. A 7-year-old boy also in the hospital this morning. No word on charges. Police are, of course, still investigating.
A sensational kidnapping and sexual abuse case in court this morning in Missouri. Michael Devlin is accused of kidnapping two boys. The former pizza parlor manager expected to plead guilty today to charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting 13-year-old Ben Ownby. Ownby's uncle is relieved the child will not have to testify.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOYD BAILIE, BEN OWNBY'S UNCLE: It will be the best thing for my nephew. He won't have to relive this thing in court. He won't have to go back and revisit all of the things that no child should have to be put through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Devlin is expected in court again tomorrow. He is expected to plead guilty to holding the other boy, Shawn Hornbeck, for more than four years. In all, Devlin faces some 80 charges, several of them carrying a life sentence.
A raging late night fire destroys a church in South Carolina. It got so bad, firefighters from five departments were called to battle the flames. Witnesses said thick black smoke and flames could be seen from miles away. Still no word this morning on the cause of that fire.
And take a look at this now -- an historic school building destroyed in a fire yesterday in East St. Louis, Missouri. The school has closed and the building was vacant. But it used to be an elementary school once on the historic registry, attended by generations of family members. The city had hoped to turn the building into apartments and a recreation center.
A storm in Boston over a pair of firefighters killed in the line of duty. It turns out they shouldn't have been on duty. Dan Lothian has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fifty-three-year-old Warren Payne and 55-year-old Paul Cahill died while battling this fast-moving restaurant fire in August. Both veteran Boston firefighters were hailed as heroes, honored at their funerals by brothers and sisters from departments across the country.
Now, their reputations are being tarnished and their death benefits are in question after allegations that both men may have been impaired when they responded to the blaze.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM KSDK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Paul Cahill had a high level of alcohol in his system that night.
LOTHIAN: But this story gets even more complicated. The firefighters union, angered that someone had leaked private autopsy reports to CNN affiliate WHGH, went to court to block the station from airing the details.
EDWARD KELLY, BOSTON FIREFIGHTERS UNION: The reckless and illegal release of confidential information has placed an undeserved emotional trauma on the Cahill and the Payne families.
LOTHIAN: The judge ruled in the union's favor. But the next day, local newspapers, unaffected by the ban, ran with the story and reported even more details. It was explosive. "The Boston Globe" and "Boston Herald" said Cahill's blood alcohol level was .27 -- more than three times the legal limit -- and that Payne had traces of cocaine in his system.
So why were these public servants allowed to be on the job?
And who, if anyone, was aware of any potential problem?
Cahill's brother says don't jump to any conclusions.
JIM CAHILL, FIREFIGHTER'S BROTHER: I still believe that there's been a mistake made.
LOTHIAN: But already, Boston Mayor Tom Menino is pushing for answers.
MAYOR TOM MENINO, BOSTON: I will order a stern look at the procedures and practices of our fire department.
LOTHIAN (on camera): The Boston firefighters union is demanding a criminal investigation into the leaking of autopsy results, which under state law are private. And this case has brought new attention to an old debate in the city -- whether mandatory, random drug and alcohol testing for firefighters should be required.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: We want to take a moment to check the weather now.
And, boy, saying weird weather seems a little, you know, understated -- Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, pretty much so.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Princess Diana's final moments -- a British jury is taking a first of its kind trip, hoping to learn more about the fatal crash in Paris.
And controversy at Oral Roberts University -- the school's president is hit with allegations of a spending scandal.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: More allegations against Blackwater security in Iraq. Iraqi investigators now say 17 civilians were killed in the September 16th attack, not the 11 previously reported. The private security company facing a backlash back home, where protesters are saying not in my backyard.
CNN's Chris Lawrence has that.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Blackwater has dealt with insurgent attacks and criticism from Congress.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Blackwater, get out!
LAWRENCE: But it's never faced these California townspeople before.
STEVE KOWIT, POTRERO RESIDENT: We know that these are trigger happy cowboys, that these are not guys we want as our neighbors anyhow.
LAWRENCE: Right now, county commissioners are reviewing Blackwater's proposal. The site is in Representative Bob Filner's district. And the Democrat just introduced a bill that would require so-called mercenaries to be trained only on federal property.
REP. BOB FILNER (D), SAN DIEGO: Where what they are doing is more public and more visible and more accountable to us.
LAWRENCE: Potrero is a rural community of 800 people, about 50 miles east of San Diego.
(on camera): Right now the area is just farmland -- chicken coops and cattle. Blackwater would build a helicopter landing pad on one side of me, a firing range on the other.
(voice-over): Blackwater says the training ground is needed to service its West Coast contracts and will only be used to train police, EMTs and other soldiers, not its own personnel.
BRIAN BONFIGLIO, BLACKWATER WEST: No independent contractors who work for Blackwater and go into places like Iraq and Afghanistan will be trained at this facility.
LAWRENCE: Some residents have concerns about guns and noise. Others just don't like the company's reputation.
SUSAN ORLOFKSY, PROTESTER: They've done havoc in Iraq. And if they come to this beautiful place, they will destroy it.
LUISA WILDEY, BLACKWATER SUPPORTER: There are two different things, you're talking about apples and oranges.
LAWRENCE: Luisa Wildey and other residents say what the company allegedly did in Iraq has no bearing on how its staff will adapt to Southern California.
WILDEY: So as long as he's complying with the county regulations, it's OK with us.
LAWRENCE: Blackwater has promised to leave hundreds of acres undeveloped to preserve the environment and plans to give money to local schools.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Blackwater, know your fate.
LAWRENCE: But even that may not be enough to get a warm welcome here.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Potrero, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COLLINS: Conflicting reports about the continuing crackdown in Myanmar -- allegations of armed monks and government troops arresting children.
Princess Diana's final moments -- a British jury taking a first of its kind trip -- hoping to learn more about the fatal crash in Paris.
You are watching CNN.
You are in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: More arrests in Myanmar. Government authorities there are saying a number of pro-democracy demonstrators were taken into custody in a new round of arrests. The government also says it has seized dozens of weapons in several Buddhist monasteries. Those include knives, slingshots and a single bullet. Activists say police are not only arresting protesters, but their families and children, as well.
Questioning Princess Diana's final moments -- the British inquest in her death moving to Paris today -- the first such investigation to leave the country.
CNN's Phil Black checks the facts.
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PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are among the last images of Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Al-Fayed, on security cameras at The Ritz Hotel, along with bodyguard Trevor Reese and the hotel security buss, Henri Paul. They leave through the building's rear service door.
(on camera): That's exit, here on Rue Cambon. Around 20 past midnight, the group walked out and got into a Mercedes. The cars they had been using earlier in the evening were left at the front of the hotel. They were positioned there as decoys to fool a waiting crowd of photographers, as the princess and her lover slipped way.
(voice-over): Not all the paparazzi fell for it. Some caught images of the group as they left -- Henri Paul at the wheel, Trevor Reese the front passenger, with Dodi and Diana in the back. With photographers in pursuit, the car accelerated down Rue Cambon, turning right into Rue de Rivoli and onto the Place de la Concorde.
(on camera): The car was heading for Dodi's apartment. The most direct route would have been turning right from the Place de la Concorde under the Champs d'Elyse.
But Henri Paul didn't do that. He was probably avoiding heavy traffic.
(voice-over): Instead, Paul continued around the square, exiting onto an embankment road that runs along the River Seine. It's a long- straight path. Witnesses say the car hit speeds of up to 93 miles per hour, or 150 kilometers per hour. Then the driver did something that 10 years on hasn't been explained. Henri Paul continued straight ahead and didn't take this slip road. It's considered the most logical route to Dodi's place.
(on camera): In the murder conspiracy theory argued by Dodi's father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, that was a key moment. Was access to the slip road blocked, either accidentally or deliberately?
Was the car being hassled by other vehicles?
Or was it just traveling too fast to make the turn?
(voice-over): The car instead entered the Alma Tunnel. Henri Paul lost control of the vehicle. It struck the corner of the 13th pillar while traveling as fast as 65 miles per hour, or 104 kilometers per hour.
(on camera): There are two enduring mysteries from those few violent seconds in the tunnel. Some witnesses say they saw a powerful flash of light. Mohamed Al-Fayed says that was a stun weapon used to distract the driver. And scientific tests show the Mercedes grazed another car before hitting the pillar. It was identified as a white Fiat. But neither that car nor its driver have ever been found.
(voice-over): Trevor Reese survived and recovered. Dodi Al-Fayed and Henri Paul were declared dead at the scene. Diana's heart stopped beating twice that night -- but she could only be revived once. At the Pitie Salpetriere Hospital, at 4:00 a.m. On August 31, 1997, Diana, the Princess of Wales, was declared dead. More than 10 years on, the circumstances surrounding her death are still a matter of debate.
Phil Black, CNN, Paris.
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COLLINS: He carried a badge, a firearm -- and apparently a grudge.
Did a lover's triangle set this young deputy off on a deadly rampage?
An update on our top story ahead.
And Don Imus may be moving closer to a comeback.
Will the controversial radio host be on the national stage once again?
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COLLINS: Five years ago, the first of the sniper killings unleashed fear in the Washington area. Now, John Allen Muhammad, the convicted mastermind, is speaking out.
Here's CNN's special correspondent, Soledad O'Brien.
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SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is where John Allen Mohammed resides now -- on death row at Sussex One, State Prison, near Richmond, Virginia. He is still defiant.
JOHN ALLEN MUHAMMAD, CONVICTED D.C. SNIPER: Hello, everyone.
Did you all thought I was finished?
(LAUGHTER)
I'm still on death row fighting.
O'BRIEN: This a one minute, 23 second videotape made inside Sussex One State Prison and handed to CNN during the course of our reporting in the Caribbean.
A shackled John Mohammed talks to the camera in the presence of two unidentified women. What he wants, he says, is to establish accurate information about the time he spent with Lee Boyd Malveaux in the Caribbean.
J. MUHAMMAD: So that they can get a better understanding of our relationship with each other and not through the distorted relationship that has been told to the news media.
O'BRIEN: He ends the video on a note of gratitude.
J. MUHAMMAD: Thank you for your patience and kindness and you sacrifice that you all always made.
Peace and may God be with you all.
Thank you.
O'BRIEN: In suburban Maryland, Mildred Muhammad and her children are getting by -- barely. She's begun a non-profit Web site, called afterthetrauma.org, to call more attention to the victims of domestic violence.
Mildred still believes that her ex-husband can somehow reach out and harm her -- that John Allen Muhammad can do anything he puts his mind to -- even convince a smart, gifted teenager to become a cold- blooded killer.
(on camera): Did John have the personality where if he wanted to brainwash someone who was a young man, he could do it?
MILDRED MUHAMMAD: Yes, ma'am.
O'BRIEN: Easily?
M. MUHAMMAD: Yes, ma'am.
O'BRIEN: No doubt in your mind?
M. MUHAMMAD: That boy was a victim before he knew it. His life was over when he said hi.
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COLLINS: Five years later, the questions still linger, who were they and why did they do it?
CNN's special correspondent, Soledad O'Brien, goes inside the minds of the D.C. snipers, a CNN special investigation -- Wednesday night, 8:00 Eastern.
Dignity for the mental disabled -- the Special Olympics a springboard for new programs in China.
But will the help keep coming when the games are gone?
The Special Olympics going on right now in China...
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COLLINS: The Special Olympics going on right now in China and the host nation taking a closer look at how it treats its own mentally disabled citizens.
John Vause with the story.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Call this a start -- a start by the Chinese authorities to care for their weakest and most vulnerable. In the last two years, more than 200 sunshine homes have opened in Shanghai -- a place for the mentally disabled, like 25-year- old Chen Chiao-Han, to learn basic skills, train for a job or just hang out. Chiao-Han enrolled a year ago. Every day, her parents, say her confidence grows. She's now learning piano, to use a computer, how to care for himself. The big change is being able to make her bed and washing the dishes and doing laundry, says her dad. Now she can walk half an hour to the sunshine home. She has to cross several major streets. It's no problem for her anymore, adds her mom.
Chiao-Han is still shy around strangers, just like Judy Yang was once. But now she's one of China's most famous Special Olympians -- featured on the front cover of a mainstream teenage magazine.
"A lot of people are accepting now," she told me. "They're willing to be friends, to let their children play with disabled kids. And they learn from one another."
(on camera): The sunshine homes are a direct result of Shanghai winning the rights to host this Special Olympics. Back then, city officials realized that many of China's 13 million intellectually disabled were not getting the kind of basic care they needed. But even today, there's still nothing like a sunshine home anywhere else in the country.
(voice-over): Away from the big cities, cases like this are still common. A young man locked inside a room because his parents couldn't cope. In June, this year, many legally enslaved in brickworks were mentally disabled. And it was less than 20 years ago the former prime minister, Li Peng, was quoted as saying, "Mentally retarded people give birth to idiots."
YIN YIN NWE, UNICEF: Neglect and discrimination are still quite prevalent. People tend to be ashamed of children with disabilities.
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