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Murderous Rampage in Crandon, Wisconsin; Deadly Balloon Crash; Fallen Firefighters
Aired October 08, 2007 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Crandon, Wisconsin, high school classes canceled this morning. The town waking up to a nightmare -- a 20-year-old sheriff's deputy's murderous rampage. Six young people killed.
CNN's Susan Roesgen is in Crandon this morning.
Susan, the school is obviously closed today.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Closed today, Heidi, and perhaps for the rest of the week. It just depends on how this community deals with this. A small town. So small, in fact, that nearly every student and teacher at this high school here behind me knew the victims of that shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN (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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: Now, there was one person, only one person at that party who survived, critically wounded. What that person has to tell the police could fill in some of the blanks, here Heidi. But also, I want to let you know that we have a little bit of new information about the death of the deputy.
The mayor has told us that Deputy Tyler Peterson was actually holding a hostage apparently at another location when a member of the police department S.W.A.T. team picked him off. Heidi, we've had no confirmation of that from law enforcement yet, but again, that's from the mayor here in this small town.
COLLINS: Wow. Yes, a lot of questions to be asked about that, obviously.
And the biggest question, Susan, clearly, the motive. We do know that Peterson may have actually known one of the victims, right?
ROESGEN: That's right. Apparently the ex-girlfriend is one of the dead. One of the people at this party.
We don't know whether he was angry at her for some reason, what might have been the circumstances. But we do believe from friends of the victims that his ex-girlfriend is one of the dead.
COLLINS: That's just an awful story.
Susan Roesgen, I know you're covering it for us. And when you hear more about the news conference, appreciate that, Susan.
We want to remind everyone we were expecting a news conference to come at 1:00 p.m. Eastern today. Still waiting for confirmation on that, because we are hearing from law enforcement there, according to Susan, that they are waiting until they can release the most information possible.
We also know that the superintendent of schools will be planning to speak. And CNN will of course carry it live for you.
(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: 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 the injured. A 7-year- old boy also in the hospital this morning. No word on charges. Police of course are still investigating.
A sensational kidnapping and sexual abuse case in court this morning in Missouri. Michael Devlin is accused of abusing 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 won't have to testify.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LLOYD BAILE, BEN OWNBY'S UNCLE: It will be the best thing for my nephew. He won't have to relive this thing in court. You know, 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 carry a life sentence.
Up in flames. A church and a historic school building near and dear to the hearts of two communities gutted.
Heroism called into question. A pair of fallen firefighters at the center of a growing controversy. Were they high on the job?
And not in my back yard. Protests against the private security contractor Blackwater. Not in Iraq, but southern California.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: This in to us here at the CNN NEWSROOM. A crash at the annual hot air balloon festival -- the international festival that takes place very year in New Mexico.
T.J. Holmes is working on this.
T.J., what do you have?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it's called the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
This is the scene. A live picture being given to us from our affiliate KOAT. Bear with us on this live signal here.
You can make out kind of the balloon there on the ground. But what has happened is one woman has died in a hot air balloon crash. We don't know if anyone else was on board there with her in this hot air balloon, and also if anyone on the ground.
It doesn't look like too many spectators might have been around. This was several miles, apparently, from the launch site.
But this Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, as it's called, some 700 balloons participate in this thing, called the largest balloon festival of its kind that takes place in the world. It's been going on since 1972, draws tens of thousands of people, spectators.
We've seen some of these beautiful live pictures before of all these balloons taking off at the same time. But it's a weeklong festival that's been going on for three or four days now. And they've had this unfortunate mishap.
Again, no word really on what might have been going on, what might have happened and how exactly this woman may have died. But we are working to get more information on this. And as we do, we will certainly pass that along to you.
But again, one woman dead. Don't know about any other possible injuries on the ground or anyone else who might have been on board with her. But at least one woman dead in the annual fiesta that happens there in Albuquerque.
We're keeping an eye on it -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, I've been there a couple of times. It is always just so gorgeous.
HOLMES: Yes.
COLLINS: And you hate to hear about these accidents that sometimes happen with that event.
T.J., thank you.
HOLMES: All right.
COLLINS: A raging late-night fire destroys a church in South Carolina. It got so bad, firefighters from five departments were called to battle the fire. Witnesses said thick, black smoke and flames could be seen for miles away. Still no word this morning on the cause of that fire.
And a 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. It was 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.
CNN's Dan Lothian with the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
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.
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 WHDH, 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 problems?
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 want a stem-to-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: It's a pretty incredible story. In fact, we want you to know more. And for that, let's go live now to the Boston suburb of Newton, Massachusetts. We want to talk with "Boston Herald" reporter Dave Wedge. He's been following this case very closely.
Dave, you know, I realize that there has been a full investigation ordered, but I wonder, is it more about the leaking of the autopsy results or is it about the possibility of these firefighters using drugs and alcohol?
DAVE WEDGE, REPORTER, "BOSTON HERALD": It's more about the latter. The leak investigation, so to speak, is really a red herring. The real issue here is one of public safety.
COLLINS: Sure.
WEDGE: And whether or not these firefighters were impaired when they went into that horrible situation. It's a tragedy for everyone involved. No doubt, more so for the families and the firefighters than anyone else. And -- but the bottom line is, it is a relevant point and it needs to be explored fully.
COLLINS: Absolutely. I can only imagine what the families are thinking about all of this. But I also know that the Firefighters Union has been pretty critical of these reports being released. Would they not be sealed by state law, isn't it?
WEDGE: Well, we can't -- the media is not privy to receive actual copies of the toxicology reports, but there's nothing preventing a public official from disclosing to us what's in those reports. It happens routinely in drunk driving accidents, fatalities on the roadways. Police chiefs frequently will tell us what the blood alcohol level was in those cases.
COLLINS: Any idea at this point with your reporting that you've been able to do whether or not either of these men had problems with drug or alcohol?
WEDGE: The one fact we do know is that firefighter Paul Cahill had a previous drunk driving conviction in 2005 and his license was suspended for an extended period. That happened in a town south of Boston. And we were unaware if that affected him any way on the job.
COLLINS: What about talking with fellow firefighters? Anybody notice anything strangely about the way they were behaving?
WEDGE: No. Everyone's reporting to us that firefighter Cahill showed up a bit late for work. He was -- he arrived about an hour before the fire broke out. And everyone's saying pretty much that they didn't' see him, and no one has reported to us that they noticed anything unusual about either firefighter.
COLLINS: You already mentioned the families and how tough obviously this is for them. There's another whole issue to this which regards the benefits that will be left to the families.
Tell us what happens if, in fact, they find out without a doubt that, yes, drugs and alcohol were a factor.
WEDGE: Right. Well, that's the real tragedy here. It's not unlike a police officer who commits a suicide type of situation where there's a federal death benefit for $300,000 and a state benefit for $100,000.
And those would seem to be put in jeopardy if these toxicology reports are accurate and that these firefighters were impaired at the time of their death. It's specifically laid out in the federal death benefit policy which is administered by the Department of Justice that if they were, in fact, impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time, then that benefit is null and void.
COLLINS: What about mandatory drug testing? I imagine that might be different for every fire department, or is there some sort of state or federal guideline that says, yes, every now and then we perform these random drug tests?
WEDGE: There's not. And that's been an issue here in Boston for a long time. It's actually something that's negotiated in the firefighter's contract.
The city has pushed for mandatory random drug testing in the fire department in the past. It's something that's in place in the police department here in Massachusetts and in Boston, as well as in several fire departments across the country, major cities, departments. But it's one that hasn't been made a policy here in Boston yet.
COLLINS: Any word on whether or not that could change?
WEDGE: That's something that the mayor has said explicitly he wants to take a hard look at and the city council as well has said that.
COLLINS: And quickly, David, before we let you go...
WEDGE: Sure.
COLLINS: ... you mentioned already a matter of public safety, obviously. What are people saying in your town about this?
WEDGE: Well, as you can imagine, it's a very emotional issue. Firefighters are very angry at the reputations of their fallen brothers being smeared in the public. But the reality is it is a public safety issue.
People have a right to raise these questions. It doesn't diminish the fact that these gentlemen lost their lives doing a great public service that most people would not do, but it is a factor that needs to be looked at. And I think it would be irresponsible to not look at it.
COLLINS: Dave Wedge, reporter from "The Boston Herald".
We certainly appreciate your time here. Thank you, Dave.
WEDGE: Thank you very much, Heidi.
COLLINS: Two races and two deaths. Dozens of other runners sickened by the heat and humidity.
CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen on spotting the dangers coming up next, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Extreme heat taking a deadly toll on long distance runners in Chicago and Washington. Two runners are dead, one in each city. Dozens of people collapsed in an October heat wave.
Earlier this morning Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen explained what went wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: So many runners became ill yesterday in Chicago that the marathon was called off halfway through the race. Pretty unusual.
To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, you can log on to our Web site. There you will find the latest medical news, a health library, and information of diet and fitness.
That address once again, CNN.com/health.
A party ends in a bloodbath. Police say the shooter was one of their own. Today, the 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: Police search for a motive. A small town grieves.
And he's accused of kidnapping and abusing two boys, but it looks like this case won't be going to trial. We'll tell you why.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Nic Robertson in Basra with British troops.
Coming up, I'll be talking about the British prime minister's announcement they will have significant reductions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris has the day off.
This just in now, the defendant in a sensational kidnapping and sexual abuse case, pleads guilty in Missouri. Michael Devlin accused of abusing two boys, admitting in court a few minutes ago he kidnapped and sexually assaulted 13 year old Ben Onwby. 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, 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 due in court again tomorrow. He's expected to plead guilty to holding another boy, Shawn Hornbeck, for more than four years. In all, Devlin faces some 80 charges, several of them carry a life sentence.
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 is 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 -- 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 always supposed to protect you, I thought. You know? And it's one who took my daughter and how many other people's life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: A closer look now at Tyler Peterson. 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 now handle the probe.
A news conference on the killings is now scheduled tore 1:00 p.m. Eastern. We do know the superintendent of schools plans to speak. Of course we will carry it for you here live.
In the British House of Commons a short time ago, Prime Minister Gordon Brown outlining a troop drawdown and defending his trip to Iraq last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The main work of our troops is what we have been aiming to achieve for years now and that is to train Iraqi forces so that they can do the job for themselves. Now, as far as the numbers are concerned, and I've come to exactly that point, 5,500 troops at the beginning of September, 4,500 troops immediately after the PIC is declared, down to 4,000 then, and then to 2, 500.
This was not the announcement I made in Iraq last week. The announcement I made in Iraq last week was what would happen in the next few weeks. This is the long-term strategy -- this is -- this is the is the long-term strategy for overwatch, which means that the numbers -- the numbers of our -- the numbers of our troops fall from 5,500 to 2,500.
And there will be an additional 500 troops that will be outside Iraq. I think it wouldn't be helpful for security reasons to say where. But will be outside Iraq in the region supporting the effort of our troops in Iraq. And if I may also add this, I make no apologies for visiting our troops in Iraq. The criticism of me would have been if I had come to the house without visiting our troops in Iraq.
And I make no apology for spending time talking to the Iraqi government, for talking to the prime minister, the vice president, the economic ministers, and for talking to the military commanders on the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Fascinating few moments there at the House of Commons. We want to get live now to CNN's Nic Robertson who is embedded with British troops in Basra. Hey, Nic, can you talk a little bit more about what this drawdown means? Help us put it in perspective.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just a few months ago, a month and a half ago, the British were involved in fierce fighting in the center of Basra. They pulled out of the center of Basra. The attacks on them and the attacks on this base have gone down significantly. And what it really means for these troops is that they can expect not to be getting involved in some fierce firefights.
They're going to find themselves up on the Iran/Iraq border where we were with them a few weeks ago trying to stop weapon smuggling coming in from Iran -- Iranian-made weapons coming in being used to attack them here in Iraq. They'll be involved in training in the Iraqi security forces, those protecting the main highway that passes from Kuwait here to where U.S. forces are based north of here in the center of Iraq, making sure that route is secure.
And making sure that the security and stability inside the city of Basra here is maintained. So their roll is going to be much more an overwatch less getting involved in fighting and therefore it should make it much safer, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, I think that's probably the main question that people will have when they try and figure out basically how big of a deal this is. What will be the main thing that will change, the most visible thing that will change as British troops draw down?
ROBERTSON: Well, I think one thing that will change around here is there will be less troops on this base in the months to come. And as we heard from the British prime minister, about 5,500 here in beginning of September, 2, 500 by spring next year troops by next spring. So there will be less soldiers will be around.
The dangerous missions they had before by being in the center of Basra where they were attacked the most, that's not going to be happening. What we've seen recently is that they will be helicoptered or perhaps go in armored vehicles to the Iranian border, or to Iraqi security outposts where they train members of the Iraqi security forces.
That's what's going to happen. Perhaps some of it will seem mundane to them. We saw them just yesterday going into an Iraqi weapons store, going through the serial numbers talking to the Iraqi security forces there, asking them what they're doing to maintain their weapons, how they can help them, giving advice on ammunition.
So some of it may seem somewhat mundane compared to some of the street -- the heavy and intense street fighting they've been doing. But that's what they can look forward to at the moment, Heidi.
COLLINS: CNN's Nic Robertson bringing us the picture in the story from Basra this morning live. Nic Robertson, thank you.
More allegations now to tell you about 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 VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Blackwater has dealt with insurgent attacks and criticism from Congress, but it's never faced these California townspeople before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE KOWIT, POTRERO RESIDENT: We know that these are trigger- happy cowboys, that these are not guys we want as our neighbors anyhow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. BOB FILNER (D) SAN DIEGO: What they are doing is more public and more visible and more accountable to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: Portrero is a rural community of 800 people, about 50 miles east of San Diego. 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. Blackwater says the training ground is needed to service its west coast contracts. It will only be used to train police, EMTs and other soldiers, not its own personnel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRIAN BONFIGLIO, BLACKWATER WEST: No independent contractors who work for Blackwater going to places like Iraq and Afghanistan will be trained at this facility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: Some residents have concerns about guns and noise, others just don't like the company's reputation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN ORLOFSKY, PROTESTER: They've done havoc in Iraq, and if they come to this beautiful place they will destroy it.
LUISA WILDEY, BLACKWATER SUPPORTER: They're 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 comply with what the (INAUDIBLE) are, 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.
CROWD: Blackwater, know your fate.
LAWRENCE: But even that may not be enough to get a warm welcome here.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Potrero, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Princess Diana's final moments -- a British just taking a first-of-its-kind trip, hoping to learn more about the fatal crash in Paris.
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.
And "Fortune" magazine just hit newsstands that is with a list of the 50 most powerful women in the country. This week we'll be highlighting some of these top execs. But before we tell you who they are, we'll give you a chance to guess their names.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Once an aspiring doctor, this female entrepreneur instead made more than a billion dollars through the Internet. And now she's putting them to work by donating $30 million to build a residential college at her alma mater. So who's the influential CEO that now has a college bearing her name? More after the break.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Princeton University's College got its name from Meg Whitman, the president and CEO of eBay. She came in third this year on "Fortune's" most powerful women in business list. When she started at eBay in 1998, there were only 29 employees. But Whitman has transformed that company to a global organization with over 11,000 employees, with annual earnings of $6 billion. eBay also owns Skype, Paypal and the recently acquired Stubhub, which has sent the stock up 45 percent.
Questioning Princess Diana's final moments. The British inquest into her death moving to Paris today. The first such session investigation to leave the country.
CNN's Phil Black checks the facts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: CNN's "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is coming up in just a few minutes. Hala Gorani is here now to tell us more about what'll be on the show.
Hi there, Hala.
HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Heidi.
In about 15 minutes time, we're going to be going live to Paris, where Phil Black just reported from.
Also, we're going to be showing you the picture of a pedophile -- a suspect who blurred his face in pictures where he engaged in sex acts with kids. But police unblurred his face using some technology. And now they're asking people around the world, have you seen this man?
Also, we're taking you to Egypt, a very important U.S. ally in the Middle East. But this man, an Egyptian, faces hard jail time. His crime? Criticizing the government of Hosni Mubarak. We'll have a profile of the publisher, the magazine editor.
Also, Heidi, can I interest you? Can I interest you in a full- body tattoo?
COLLINS: Not even an itty-bitty one.
GORANI: An eagle, a giant eagle on your back? Well, if you are, if you change your mind, or maybe on your cranium.
COLLINS: Yes.
GORANI: You can go to London. There's a tattoo convention there. And new technology with new tattoos and new designs, all of it is there for you.
COLLINS: Yes. You know, it's just not my thing.
GORANI: Me neither.
But we'll have that story. And quite frankly, whoever said the most important thing on television are pictures, well, they'll be well-served at noon.
COLLINS: Yes, yes, it's kind of hard not to look at it, but not for me, thanks.
GORANI: All right, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Hala, we'll be watching. Thank you.
GORANI: OK.
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COLLINS: 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?
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COLLINS: Special Olympics are going on right now in China. The host nation taking a closer look at how it treats its mentally disabled citizens.
CNN's John Vause has 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 200 Sunshine Homes have opened in Shanghai.
A place for the mentally disabled like 25-year-old Chen Show Han (ph) to learn basic skills, train for a job or just hangout. Show 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 herself.
"A big change is being able to make her bed, and washing the dishes and doing laundry," says her dad.
"Now she walk half an hour to the Sunshine Home. She has to cross several major streets. It's no problem for her anymore," add her mom.
Show Han is still shy around strangers. Just like Judy Yang was once, but she's on China's most famous Special Olympians, featured on the front cover of a mainstream teenage magazines.
"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 the 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, cages like this are still common -- a young man locked inside a room besides his parents couldn't cope.
In June this year, many who were illegally enslaved in brick works 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 NEW, UNICEF: Neglect and discrimination are still quite prevalent. People tend to be ashamed of people with disabilities. They tend to hide them away.
VAUSE: While there is still a long, long way to go, at least a few, like Chen Show Han, can find dignity and respect through achievement, no matter how small. It's a start.
John Vause, CNN, Shanghai.
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