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Off-Duty Cop Kills 6 at Homecoming Party; Interpol Looking for Serial Child Molester; Two Die of Heat in Marathons; Accused Molester Pleads Guilty
Aired October 08, 2007 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Massacre in a small town. Crandon, Wisconsin, is in mourning and probably still in stock after an off- duty cop shoots up a party on homecoming weekend. Everyone wants to know why. Some people think they do know. We're live with the very latest on that.
BETTY NGUYEN, CO-HOST: We also have a bulletin from Interpol. Faces that are digitally distorted can also be undistorted. And that means there is new hope in the worldwide search for a suspected serial child molester.
Hello, everybody on this Monday afternoon. I'm Betty Nguyen, in today for Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters, right here in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
He was supposed to protect and serve. Instead, he shot and killed. A 20-year-old sheriff's deputy gunned down six other young people in a small Wisconsin town over the weekend. Now people in Crandon are asking why.
We expect to hear more from Crandon officials next hour. But for now, let's go to CNN's Susan Roesgen in Crandon with the very latest -- Susan.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, I think the rain here today is like tears in this small town. The focus really has shifted to the parents of those victims. Can you imagine finding out six young people, all killed at one off-campus party here early Sunday morning?
We also have some new information about the deputy, Deputy Tyler Peterson, who went in and shot six people. One of them, we believe, was his ex-girlfriend. The others were people that he knew, either current or former students here at the high school behind me.
The new information is that apparently there was even more drama, Don, when Deputy Peterson was on the run. According to the mayor here, when he was on the run he took a hostage, at least one hostage. And it was while he was holding that hostage that the police department SWAT team, one of his co-workers, on the police department here, had to shoot and kill him.
He was not only a full-time sheriff's deputy but this is such a small town, a small area, that he was also a part-time police officer. So many people blame him. They blame him for taking young lives.
But there are others, Don, who believe that he himself was a victim. Family and relatives who believe that Deputy Tyler Peterson was a victim, as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was an "A" student. Just -- he was good kid. You would have never thought this. You know, come from -- you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: There was one person, Don, who survived that shooting at the party, only one. Very critically wounded. We don't know yet what law enforcement might be able to learn from that person.
Again, there is going to be a news conference with the superintendent of schools here in about an hour or so. And he's going to be joined by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the local Crandon Police Department, and the local sheriff's office. All involved in this, because again, it was a law enforcement person who shot and killed six other people -- Don.
LEMON: Yes. And of course, the big question everyone there and across the world, why? Why?
All right, Susan Roesgen. Thank you so much for your report.
We want to tell you, we're awaiting a news conference from the Crandon school superintendent and police officials. That's coming up at 2 p.m. Eastern. We'll bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Guilty on two-counts. And that's only the beginning for Michael Devlin. In a Missouri courtroom this morning Devlin admitted kidnapping 13-year-old Ben Ownby earlier this year and to one count of armed criminal action.
Now, the judge immediately sentenced Devlin to life in prison. Police found Ownby in Devlin's apartment four days after he was abducted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOYD BAILIE, 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)
NGUYEN: Also found in Devlin's apartment was Shawn Hornbeck, now 16 years old, who had been missing for more than four years. All this week, Devlin is expected to admit to more than 80 charges in connection with the abductions and abuse of both boys. LEMON: All right. We want you to look carefully. Do you recognize this man? See that? Police say he preys on young boys in Southeast Asia, and they need your help in putting him away.
Reporter Neil Connery of ITV shows us how Interpol helped put a face to this crime.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEIL CONNERY, ITV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Subject of an unprecedented global police hunt, Interpol say he sexually abused boys in more than 200 photographs posted on the Internet. He blocked his own face on the images to disguise his identity, but thanks to the efforts of Germany's federal police agency, his face can now be revealed.
Police believe he abused boys as young as 6 years old in Vietnam and Cambodia more than four years ago. The pictures have been on the Internet since then. Police have been able to use technology to show who he is.
JIM GAMBLE, ONLINE CHILD SAFETY EXPERT: In one respect it's a fantastic breakthrough, to be able to take a picture which has been digitally changed and then to reengineer that back to a picture whereby you can be able to identify the individual.
The real breakthrough, however, is using, you know, the image we now have to share with the public.
CONNERY: This summer an ITV News investigation showed the dangers posed by pedophiles using the Internet to target children. Interpol itself has a database of more than a half million images of child sexual abuse.
Thanks to technological advances, police forces around the world now hope this man can be tracked down quickly.
Neil Connery, ITV News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: The technology that enables police to unblur pictures has been around for a few years. But this is the first time that Interpol has revealed it, saying the need to protect other children far outweighs the desire to keep crime fighting techniques secret.
And coming up at 1:30 Eastern, we'll speak with someone who was involved in the revealing image. That's ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: Well, you figure the sidewalk is a safe haven from traffic. Right? Well, tragically that wasn't the case for 60-year- old Paul Smith.
Smith and his wife were standing outside a restaurant last night in midtown Manhattan, saying good-bye to friends after a birthday party. That is when a cab jumped the curb and plowed into the crowd. Smith was killed.
His wife and a 7-year-old boy went to the hospital with broken bones. Police believe the crash was an accident. They haven't charged the cabbie.
LEMON: We've had some outrageous heat in some parts of the country.
NGUYEN: Yes.
LEMON: And we've had some areas that are really cool. It's fall, even winter-like in half of the country and then summer in the other part.
What's going on? It is the change of seasons. All those leaves fall off and you've got to pick them up.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You have a house. Get ready for it.
LEMON: I'm trying to ignore that, Chad.
But seriously, though, I mean, we had serious problems in Chicago with the marathon.
MYERS: Absolutely.
LEMON: And also Washington, D.C. So it's just very bizarre.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: I have to tell you, Chad, living in Chicago, you know, you can go in the morning with shorts and then at night, gloves and scarves. It's so cold. Just all of a sudden. So it's very bizarre.
OK. We'll check back with you.
MYERS: All right.
LEMON: Thank you.
NGUYEN: American's top ally in Iraq will cut its troop presence by more than half by next spring. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the British force in southern Iraq will drop to 2,500. It's 5,500 today.
Announcing the plan to the House of Commons, Brown was jeered for his recent trip to Iraq, where he announced an interim pullback plan and got his numbers mixed up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: If we are to have a responsible politics in this country, the ministers -- if we are to have a responsible politics in this country, the ministers who hold responsibility for the safety and security of our armed forces must visit our armed forces, listen to what they say, and go on their advice and then make their decisions, which is what I'm announcing today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Brown said the pullback is possible because of improved security, which he credits to the U.S. troop surge.
LEMON: Pakistani military officials blame a technical fault for today's crash of a military helicopter in a presidential air convoy. Four people onboard were killed when the chopper went down.
President Musharraf was on another helicopter that landed safety. He was touring an area devastated by an earthquake two years ago today. Witnesses say the chopper crashed trying to make an emergency landing. Several passengers managed to jump to safety before it exploded -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, a hotel, a tunnel and then a hospital. Members of a British jury are following a grim path as they retrace the last hours of Princess Diana.
During a two-day visit to Paris, inquest jurors are seeing exactly where Diana and Dodi Fayed embarked on their final ride. Today, they'll also watch traffic patterns outside the Alma tunnel and tour the tunnel on foot as police kept cars at bay.
The final stop is the hospital where Diana was pronounced dead on August 31, 1997.
LEMON: Well, who would have thought it? Chicago, the Windy City, so hot and so humid in October that a marathon runner died and hundreds of others got sick. How did that happen? And how come no one saw trouble coming?
NGUYEN: Blackwater, a black eye on its reputation in Iraq brings out protesters.
LEMON: Plus, raising the stakes in the war on pedophiles. Technology gives law enforcement a clearer picture of their elusive target. We'll speak with someone involved in revealing the image. That's straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: It's 14 after the hour on this Monday, and here are three of the stories that we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM. We are waiting for a news conference next hour from Crandon, Wisconsin, site of a weekend shooting rampage. A 20-year-old off-duty sheriff's deputy killed six young people at a house party before a SWAT team shot him dead.
And life in prison. Perhaps more to come. A Missouri judge has sentenced Michael Devlin to a life term for holding a young boy captive for four days. Devlin is also accused of holding another boy for four years. He's expected to plead guilty to everything in a series of hearings this week.
And a deadly hot air balloon accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to tell you about. The balloon's basket hit some power lines and then tipped, sending a woman plunging 70 feet to her death. Albuquerque is hosting its annual balloon festival.
LEMON: Well, even well-trained runners can fall victim to high temperatures and smothering humidity, which Chicago and Arlington, Virginia, had in common yesterday.
An autopsy is scheduled today for a 35-year-old Michigan police officer who died in the Chicago marathon, which took place in record heat. Dozens of others needed medical care.
In Arlington, another runner died near the finish line of the Army's ten miler race. CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here.
And Elizabeth, when the weather is unexpectedly hot, can you just drink more and run more slowly? But not if you're in a marathon, you don't want to do that.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, you can't. I mean, that's what I thought. I talked to a trainer. I said, "So OK, it was hot. Hotter than normal."
LEMON: Right, right.
COHEN: For Chicago in October. And I said, "Why couldn't they just kind of adjust?"
And he said, "You can't do it." This trainer, who trains elite athletes for marathons all over the world, he said, "You know what? I get my guys -- they train for three months when I know that I've got a marathon in 80 degrees coming up ahead of me. Three months. And I spend that last month having them acclimate to that weather. I move them down to Florida to where it's really hot. And I have them practice in long pants and long sleeves."
It takes time to acclimate. You can't just wake up in the morning and say, "Gosh, it's 88 degrees. I think I'll just drink more." It takes time.
LEMON: Oh, really? OK. I thought maybe you could just hydrate more, but it just doesn't work, because you're used to training a certain way. Isn't that...
COHEN: What your body is used to. You can't just snap your fingers and make your body behave a certain way.
LEMON: Right.
COHEN: Actually, you mentioned hydration, and that's a perfect example. This trainer said, "You know what? I have my guys -- they're supposed to drink about four ounces every five minutes when they're in a marathon. If your body's is not used to taking in that much fluid while you're running, you're going to get sick."
So it takes months to train your body not to get sick and to take in and use that liquid. You can't just snap your fingers and say, "All right, body, figure this out."
LEMON: Yes.
COHEN: It takes time to get used to it.
LEMON: And from when I've read about -- about say, like, the guy that died, he was, you know, a police officer, very good shape. But just sort of fell out and never -- and never came to.
When you talked about what happened physically, what about psychologically? Is there a psychological effect with all that heat when you're dealing with that?
COHEN: There's a huge psychological effect a huge psychological component, also, to being a marathoner in the heat.
Marathoners want to win. They train for years and years, and they're very stubborn people. That's how the trainer put it. He said they're very stubborn people, and they want to make their time.
And he said when it's 88 degrees out, they need to decide at the very beginning, "I'm not setting any records today. I'm not even setting any personal records today. Not going to happen. I'm not going to do my best time. I need to slow it down."
It doesn't matter if it's the Olympics or the world championships or the Chicago Marathon. You have to slow it down. And he said marathoners have a very difficult time with that, because they're such hard workers, and they want to do their best. And if you don't slow down, we saw what happened.
LEMON: Yes. And I'm not sure what the history is. But I know, again, I always say I've lived there. And usually, runners complain about being cold in the Chicago Marathon.
COHEN: Right, right.
LEMON: They say never again will they complain about being cold, because the heat was so miserable.
COHEN: And you know what I found out that I didn't know? Which is that anything -- and 88 degrees is obviously hot.
LEMON: Right, right, right.
COHEN: We all can relate to that. For a marathoner, anything over about 62 degrees is hot.
LEMON: Is really hot.
COHEN: Your body has to adjust.
LEMON: Yes, yes. Poor family. And we all wish them well.
COHEN: Absolutely.
LEMON: Everyone who had to deal with that.
Thank you very much for this advice.
NGUYEN: Well, in other medical news, big hips may do more than just hamper a woman's search for that perfect pair of jeans. Research, in fact, at Oregon Health and Science University shows a woman's risk for breast cancer triples if her mother had wide hips.
Now, it more than doubles again if her mother had other children before her.
Scientists say why: the rounded hips formed at puberty indicate a high concentration of sex hormones. The mom's sex hormones can be transmitted early in the pregnancy, causing instability in the daughter's breast cells.
And a new theory about a body part doctors once thought was worthless. Surgeons and immunologists at Duke University say your appendix acts as a safe house, protecting a stockpile of essential bacteria. So when disease or illness occurs, such as dysentery, that appendix purges helpful germs from your gut.
The appendix then acts as a reset button. It resupplies the intestines with bacteria needed for healthy digestion.
So now you know, Don.
LEMON: Thank you. I'm glad I know that. Here's something that's very serious. An unprecedented step in the search for a suspected child predator. Interpol unscrambles a photo and puts the public on the case. We'll go live to Interpol headquarters, next in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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NGUYEN: Two guilty pleas already. More expected later this week. They're all from Michael Devlin and in connection with the kidnappings of two Missouri boys.
Reporter Mike Garrity of CNN affiliate KSAV is at the courthouse in Union, Missouri.
So Mike, tell us. What was it like in court today?
MIKE GARRITY, KSAV CORRESPONDENT: Well, I've got to say Michael Devlin, overall, was pretty calm.
He, as you mentioned, gave the first in a series of guilty pleas. He pled guilty to felony child kidnapping and to felony armed criminal action. This was just the first of a number of municipalities where he's going to be -- rather, he's expected to plead guilty. He heads on to two other municipalities tomorrow. He's also still facing federal charges, but he's expected to plead guilty to federal charges as part of a plea agreement, which in exchange for pleading guilty to some 20 crimes overall, he will get 20 life sentences back to back.
In court today, he appeared a lot thinner than the pictures that we've been seeing for months ever since January, when those two child victims were found in his apartment just outside of St. Louis.
He was wearing glasses. He was clean shaven. He spoke very calmly to the judge.
And in the courtroom today was the family of one of his child victims. Ben Ownby's family was in the courtroom, looking on, as all this was happening for them. A big sigh of relief that this guilty plea came and that a trial did not have to happen.
Now, we talked to Michael Kielty, one of Devlin's attorneys, last night. He was talking to us about why Devlin decided to agree to this plea deal. And he says that Devlin really didn't want to -- he didn't want to put his family through a trial. He didn't want to put his victims through a trial and he didn't want to put his victims' families through a trial.
So a big sense of relief that -- it would appear that this guilty plea deal is now underway. And again, we'll see tomorrow if these guilty pleas keep coming as the deal that we heard about last week continues to unfold -- Betty. NGUYEN: Yes. And he faces more than 80 counts in the kidnappings there.
All right. Thank you for your information today. We appreciate it -- Don.
LEMON: The United Auto Workers have a message for Chrysler: a strike could be looming.
Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with the very latest on that.
Not a good way to start the week there, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. And you know, we've heard this song before, Don. To get a deal done with General Motors, the UAW staged a short two-day strike last month. Now Chrysler could face a similar situation.
Chrysler says the union gave its notice of a potential strike at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. But the Associated Press says talks have progressed over the weekend. And that this could be a lot of posturing to try to get things done.
A newly private company, Chrysler, says it is still optimistic an agreement can be reached before then. The union could extend its deadline on an hour-by-hour basis, as it did with GM for more than a week before those picket signs finally did go up.
The union represents nearly 50,000 hourly workers and nearly 80,000 retirees -- Don.
LEMON: From the roads now or what happens on the roads, the cars, to the skies as labor unrest, I hear, when it comes to the airlines?
LISOVICZ: That's right. I mean, because that is a largely unionized work force, too, Don, for the major carriers.
American Airlines faces what industry watchers consider strong headwinds in an attempt to reach an agreement with not one but three big unions: pilots, ground workers, and flight attendants.
In 2003 with the airlines hemorrhaging money, the unions did agree to big wage and benefit cuts. But now, with the airline on stronger footing, even posting a profit last year, the unions, well, they're even hoping to get a share of that.
American's labor costs already some of the highest in the industry. But the union says it's likely to point to hefty bonuses given to American executives.
Major talks scheduled to resume next month. And of course, we'll be following it.
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LISOVICZ: Coming up, this isn't your father's cup of joe. The generation gap in coffee in the next hour of NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Yes. Those "would have, should have, could haves". I'm doing it a lot.
Hey, how was your weekend? How was your nephew's football game? Did he win?
LISOVICZ: They won. They won. They're 3-1. I think the team -- the town is quite -- quite good for the town. It's a small town.
But better than that, even, was that the Yankees won last night. I was in the Bronx, Don.
LEMON: Yes, I -- I...
LISOVICZ: And that was a must-win game.
LEMON: I saw that. And also, my LSU Tigers beat the Florida Gators. Jim Bernstein, the executive producer here, hates me now, because he's from there (ph).
LISOVICZ: We won't say anything about the Cubbies.
LEMON: Oh, yes. Nothing. Yes, right.
LISOVICZ: That's a goner for this year.
LEMON: Thank you, Susan.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
NGUYEN: Well, not in my backyard.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we want?
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NGUYEN: Protesters gathered against Blackwater, upset with the controversial security company's plan for a training site in Southern California. We have that story ahead in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: An unprecedented step in the search for a suspected child predator. Interpol unscrambles a photo and puts the public on the case. We'll go live to Interpol headquarters, all next.
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DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes good afternoon everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen in for Kyra Phillips today. Blurred no more. Check it out, a suspected pedophile's digital mask stripped away by technology.
LEMON: Now all authorities need is a name and a place. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Crandon, Wisconsin, is a small town where everyone is practically a neighbor. Today, though, everyone is a mourner. Six young people were gunned down at a weekend house party. The now dead gunman, someone who was suspected or supposed to protect and serve them. Why did 20-year-old Sheriff's Deputy Tyler Peterson go on a deadly rampage? That's the question. We're waiting for a news conference next hour and we'll take you back live to Crandon as soon as that news conference starts. Crandon is home to about 2,000 people about 220 miles north of Milwaukee. Crandon High School has a little more than 300 students. The shooting victims are all students or graduates. Crandon has made headlines before, but for a positive reason. In August community groups helped bring an Iraqi girl to the U.S. for a cornea transplant.
NGUYEN: Raising the ante in the hunt for a sexual predator. For the first time ever Interpol has released a suspect's picture. A man who is posted online photos of himself sexually abusing underaged boys. Joining us now from Interpol headquarters in Leone, France with more on this decision and the hunt is investigator Kristin Kvigne. Thanks for being with us today. The first thing I want to get to though is the fact that Interpol has actually released this picture to the media because typically you will release it to different police agencies, but this time you have gone straight to the media. Tell us why?
KRISTIN KVIGNE, INTERPOL: I think you -- first I would like to explain how Interpol works in cases of crimes against children. Our unit is a global hub for investigators who work on that and we work on identifying victims and perpetrators of child sex cases. This case is slightly different because we have very little indications as to the nationality or rather no indication as to the nationality. We know where he has been perpetrating. We know there are a large number of young boys he's been perpetrating against. We have not been able to -- our police community -- to find out his identity.
NGUYEN: Is that why you've released it to the media so we can take a look at it and possibly help. Now you say you don't know his identity or his nationality but you do know about the crimes that he's accused of committing, the number of boys. Tell us where they're from and what you know about these crimes.
KVIGNE: We know that he has been perpetrating in Vietnam and Cambodia. And it's a series of child abuse images that have been released to the internet and we have retrieved from the internet.
NGUYEN: There are some 200 photos showing him abusing young boys and in this case we're going to talk about how you were able to restore this image because usually when images are presented to the media we see a picture. You are showing us how you were able to digitally and technologically restore this picture. How has that been able to help Interpol and other agencies in finding predators online?
KVIGNE: Well, the -- unswirling of the face was done by German police initially and back in 2004, before they forwarded the images to us. So the work had been done there. Now the important thing is to understand that perpetrators can try to hide their own identity on the internet. But police are equally equipped to -- unravel that and find the true identification, identity.
NGUYEN: When we look at these photos, especially the photos that you have at your disposal which are very graphic when it comes to some 200 pictures of him abusing boys, it's within those pictures that are essentially a crime scene and you can pick out a lot of very good information that can hopefully lead to these children. How many children has Interpol been able to find because of this?
KVIGNE: Well, in this case, this particular case, we know that he has perpetrated against 12 children. But in other images that we work on other crimes, we have so far since we started working globally on the database in 2001, we have identified almost 600 children with the -- (INAUDIBLE) global network of investigators.
NUGYEN: Very quickly, how can the public help? If they think they know who this person is, what should they do?
KVIGNE: If the public thinks they know who this person is, they should contact us, their national police, or the national Interpol contact bureau. Or they can go to our website and they can send us an e-mail with their information.
NGUYEN: Ok, Kristin Kvigne, Interpol's assistant director for traffic and human beings unit there. We appreciate your time. Thank you.
KVIGNE: Thank you.
LEMON: Baghdad versus Blackwater, the allegation, premeditated murder. Iraq's investigation of last month's shooting by Blackwater guards in which 17 people by the government's count were killed concludes nobody was firing on Blackwater. The government's spokesman says not even a stone was thrown at them. The American investigation continues. In the meantime, security company is under fire at home over proposed new training site in southern California. CNN's Chris Lawrence has that.
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CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Blackwater dealt with insurgent attacks and criticism from congress. 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. The Democrat just introduced a bill that would require so- called mercenaries to be trained only on federal property.
REP. BOB FILNER, (D) CALIFORNIA: Where what they are doing is more public and more visible and more 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. Blackwater says the training ground is needed to service the west coast contracts. It 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 going to 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 ORLOFSKY, PROTESTOR: They brought havoc in Iraq and if they come to this beautiful place they will destroy it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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.
LUISA WILDEY, BLACKWATER SUPPORTER: So as long as he's complying with what the county regulations 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. Even that may not be enough to get a warm welcome here. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Potrero, California.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Let's get you straight to the newsroom now and T.J. Holmes with a developing story dealing with a lockdown. What do you have T.J.?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Lockdown of a few schools we know of here in Clearwater, Florida, Betty. We don't have a lot of information just yet. We do know that a few schools are on lockdown. A live picture here being provided to us by our affiliate WFLA of the area. Can't make much out of these pictures here, but this is at least the general area. Schools put on lockdown after a shooting somewhere near the school and a car crash that was near the school. What we do know here, according to our affiliate is that at least two people have been taken to the hospital. We do not know their identities, how they may have been involved in the crash. If there was anybody involved with the school. But those two people have been taken to a hospital. Again, don't know their identities or their condition. Schools of course so oftentimes we see incidents like this, any potential danger near a school, school officials will go ahead and make this move to just lock down the schools. Nobody allowed in or out for the safety of those students. But the shooting apparently took place near some four schools that are in that area. Don't know, elementary, middle school, high schools, what they exactly are. Again, some of the pictures here we're seeing of the scene. Not exactly sure what's happening in that picture. But just word we're getting, we wanted to pass along as soon as we got it. We will continue to monitor this situation Betty, when we get more info we certainly will bring it right to you.
NGUYEN: All right T.J., we appreciate it. Talk to you soon.
LEMON: Opium poppies, well they put money in the Taliban's pocket and food on Afghan farmers' tables. How do you cut one off without hurting the other? Afghanistan's poppy problem, a report from the CNNN special investigations unit, that's ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM. But also, this.
"Fortune" magazine just hit the stands with a list of the 50 most powerful women in the country. You want it?
NGUYEN: I don't think so. Not yet.
LEMON: 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.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once an aspiring doctor this female entrepreneur made more than a billion dollars through the internet. Now she's putting those earnings to work by donating $30 million to build a residential college at her alma mater. Who is the influential CEO that now has a college bearing her name? More after the break.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Princeton University's Whitman 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. Whitman has transformed the company into a global organization with over 11,000 employees, annual earnings of $6 billion. eBay also owns (INAUDIBLE), Paypal and the recently acquired Stub Hub which has sent the stock up 45 percent.
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LEMON: We have a developing story to tell you about. A missing airplane. Our Kathleen Koch joins us now to tell us exactly what's going on. Kathleen, what I'm hearing, now sure if this is right, sky divers, is that correct?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, yes. There was not a sky dive expedition underway at the time. This is an aircraft owned by a skydiving operation near Olympia, Washington. It's called Sky Dive Capaltion(ph) and one of their aircraft was on its way back from Boise, Idaho, to Shelton, Washington, where in Boise they participated in a parachute event. They were on their way back. Ten people onboard, the pilot, nine passengers. I just spoke with Jeff Farrington who's one of the owners of Sky Dive Capaltion. And he said that they were to leave around 7:00 last night from Boise, Idaho. Now the FAA says around 8:00, they lost the plane on radar. It disappeared. A search is going on right now in the White Pass area of the Cascade Mountains. The FAA says that's south of I-90, north of Mt. Ranier, that's according to Mike Fergus, who is a northwest mountain region spokesman for the FAA. They've put out an alert to all the airports in the area but the plane didn't show up at any of those airports, so now a ground search is underway. Now the good news is, that Sky Dive Capaltion(ph) says there is an emergency locator transmitter on the plane. They also have sleeping bags. They sometimes carry some food with them. So they're keeping their fingers crossed, but right now 10 people missing Don in this disappearance of the plane.
LEMON: Ok, Kathleen, while I'm talking to you here, I'm just sort of looking online. There is a website for this Capalcin(ph) that you're talking about and I'm looking at it just to try to figure out how long they have been in business. But, it would seem from their website a pretty experienced company that they said they do everything in accordance with FAA regulations. They do all the basic safety requirements and what have you. I'm just wondering about the size of this plane. Looking at a picture, it's not a huge plane if we're talking about the same one --
KOCH: Right, it's a caravan 208.
LEMON: I also have another Google image here of what a Cessna 208 caravan would look like. It's a fairly small plane.
KOCH: Now I spoke to Mr. Farrington about the pilot. I said is he or she experienced. He wouldn't really comment on that, I said well what about the aircraft, has it been inspected, has it had any problems lately. He said none at all. But obviously he's hesitating to say very much right now.
LEMON: Ok. I'm going to continue to monitor this website and also get information Kathleen from the producers here and look at this. But again, this is a company, they do have a website that Kathleen Koch just reported. Sky Dive Capalcin(ph), and also told it was a Cessna 208 caravan. That's it. Not sure if our Miles O'Brien is around or one of our aviation people to tell us exactly about this plane. But we'll certainly try to get it up for you and we'll continue to follow this breaking story. Again, our thanks to Kathleen Koch on this.
NGUYEN: In other news, more than a week after Myanmar's military rulers wildly put down democracy protests, curfews remain in place, but resistance remains as well. The main city Yangon is reported quiet in recent days, but at night student activists say defiant residents throw rocks to harass military patrols.
Meanwhile, on the political front the military junta has appointed an official liaison for contacts with Aung San Suu Kyi. The opposition leader has been under house arrest for years, but there is no word yet on when communication might begin between Suu Kyi and the liaison, Deputy Labor Minister Leader (INAUDIBLE). Now diplomats have described him as more reasonable and accessible than other junta leaders.
LEMON: The U.S. government is pressing Afghan leaders to crack down harder on opium poppy production. Afghanistan is a source of more than 90 percent of the world's opium and heroin. The Taliban is reaping major revenue from the trade. Washington wants to cut some of that off by using chemical herbicides to destroy poppy fields, instead of time consuming manual labor. The problem, Afghan President Ahmed Karzai's hold on power is pretty weak. And there are fears that spraying the chemicals could anger farmers and push their communities to support Taliban insurgents. Cultivation of opium poppies dates back thousands of years. It's all that many Afghan farmers know and their only source of income. Here's a first-hand look of the process from Anderson Cooper and the CNN Special Investigations Unit.
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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It's spring in the Eastern Afghan province of Nangahar. Harvest season has begun. We secured access to a poppy field inside a sprawling walled compound in the (INAUDIBLE) to Nangahar. Opium harvesting is a labor intensive process, requiring the work of many farmers over the course of several weeks. The plants are ready when the flower drops its petals, leaving behind the capsule pregnant with opium. The only tool used is a piece of wood imbedded with sharp blades.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it's harvest time, we slice the capsule then leave until the next day. Then we collect the opium the next morning. I have six acres. It takes 16 days to collect the opium.
COOPER: After the opium is oozed out the farmers roll it up into balls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then it's put in the leaf and it becomes opium.
COOPER: This farmer says his family has been growing poppy for 100 years. He grows it, he says, to pay for the weddings of his six sons. He says this is their only choice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do believe that this is harem. This is forbidden in Islam there is no dispute about that. What should I do? There is no alternative crop that we can survive on. Look, there are poppy growing here as far as the eye can see.
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LEMON: That was CNN's Anderson Cooper. The CNN special investigations unit has been hard at work on their next report, taking you inside the minds of a D.C. sniper as we hit the five-year mark since the terrifying shootings. Make sure you tune in for a special investigations unit report, that's Wednesday night with Soledad O'Brien, 8:00 p.m. eastern.
NGUYEN: We're also following some breaking news. That missing plane that left Boise, Idaho last night around 7:00 p.m. They lost radar around 8:00 p.m. and the search is on for the 10 crew members there on the Cessna 208. a skydiving plane. As soon as we get more information we'll bring that straight to you. Right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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LEMON: Six young people gunned down at a house party over the weekend. They say, police say by a 20-year-old gunman who is a sheriff's deputy, Tyler Peterson. We're expecting an update. You're looking at a live picture there of reporters, law enforcement, producers getting ready to update the media on exactly what happened and how far investigators are along in their investigation here. We'll bring it to you live in the CNN NEWSROOM. NGUYEN: Right now though we do have a developing story. Let's take you straight to the newsroom and T.J. Holmes, dealing with a standoff I understand?
HOLMES: Yeah Betty, of course we all know very familiar with the FBI's 10 most wanted listed. Well the U.S. Marshal Service has their own list of most wanted. Their 15 most wanted and the Marshal service believes they have one of their 15 most wanted holed up in that hotel here in Morgan, Pennsylvania. This is outside of Pittsburgh, when 35 year old Anthony Ray Artrip(ph)is the name. He's a man who escaped from prison in Kentucky back in June. He was awaiting sentencing according to the Marshal's service after being convicted of three counts of bank robbery. Well, since he has escaped he has been a busy man. They say he's not been laying low. He's a suspect in at least five bank robberies since his escape in four different states. And now they believe when they arrived here at this Knights Inn as you see there, that hotel in Morgan Pennsylvania, trying to serve him with a warrant, he barricaded himself in. They do consider him armed and dangerous and they're trying to diffuse this situation now. But 35- year-old Anthony Ray Artrip, an individual that is on the top 15 list of most wanted by the U.S. Marshal's service. They do believe they have him holed up, a very armed and dangerous man. They do believe they're trying to diffuse that situation. If we get more info on that and certainly if they are able to end this thing peacefully, hopefully, we certainly will bring that to you as well guys.
NGUYEN: We know you'll be watching it. Thank you T.J.
HOLMES: All right.
NGUYEN: One other thing we're watching, we're awaiting a press conference to happen regarding that shooting in Wisconsin where six people died. Of course this is the man they believe who did it. He carried a badge and also a gun and apparently a deadly grudge. A young sheriff's deputy goes on a shooting rampage. Now a small Wisconsin town tries to understand. We'll take you to Crandon for a live press conference. There's the room right there, you see folks getting ready. We're going to have it for you straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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