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Two People Die in Simi Valley Shooting; 10 Die in Washington State Plane Crash

Aired October 09, 2007 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Five thousand soldiers home by Christmas, you heard it from President Bush. But is it really the troop reduction the White House claims? Does it really signal progress in Iraq? Jamie McIntyre runs the numbers and checks the facts for us.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: He is a comforter, a counselor and he's used to the big questions. Well, today, through -- a small-town pastor finds skills and abilities tested in the wake of horrific violence. Pastor Bill Farr joins from us Crandon, Wisconsin, this hour.

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

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Ten families grieving together, supporting one another and remembering their loved ones who died in a small plane crashed in the rugged Cascade Mountains. Nine of the 10 victims were skydivers, the 10th their pilot. They were flying home Sunday from a weekend skydiving meet in Idaho when something went wrong and their plane went down near White Pass, Washington.

Earlier, the Craig family talked to us about the brother and son they lost and the passion that they shared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVY GREEN, BROTHER OF CASEY CRAIG: Casey is my little brother, and I wouldn't have it any other way. He's one of my best friends.

KELLY CRAIG, BROTHER OF CASEY CRAIG: Crazy Casey.

GREEN: Casey, Casey, Casey. He was crazy. He was fun. He was loving. He loved animals. He loved to build things. He loved his friends, and he loved to skydive.

Kelly, tell me about your brother.

CRAIG: Boy, I always treated him like my little brother. But I probably didn't need to be as hard as I always was.

GREEN: Yes, you did.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

CRAIG: I did.

He's just an incredible guy, just incredible. He's -- he was everything from a handyman. But, if you were baking dinner, he wanted to be part of you helping out in the kitchen, too.

GREEN: From MacGyver to Betty Crocker.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: He sounds like he was quite the character there in the family. And I don't think your mom has an IFB in. But if one of you could just have your mom, have Wanda (ph), tell us about Casey.

CRAIG: Anything you want to say about Casey?

GREEN: Say something about Casey, mom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Casey is my youngest son. He is in the picture here on my left. And they all had a blast skydiving. And this accident happened from a plane crash. It wasn't from skydiving. And he would be doing it again today if it was his brother that it had happened to.

GREEN: He would tell all you jumpers to keep jumping.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the sheriff of Yakima County says that it may take two or three days to recover the bodies.

Then federal aviation experts will start their painstaking investigation.

LEMON: And we are following some developing news here out of Simi Valley, California, deadly gunfire at a tire shop.

And CNN's Ted Rowlands is there with the very latest for us -- Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, investigators still trying to piece this together, trying to figure out the relationship between the shooter who killed himself and this tire store in a quiet area of Simi Valley.

There are two fatalities, including the shooter. A customer was also killed, a female customer. She was sitting in a chair outside this tire store about 7:30 this morning. There were two injuries as well, both of those store employees.

Now, according to an assistant manager or a person who identifies himself as an assistant manager, they had never seen this gunman before. They say when he came in at 7:30 nobody knew him. He was not associated with the store. So, what police are trying to determine is whether this woman who was shot was an intended target or simply an innocent bystander.

This happened, as I said, about 7:30 this morning. The lone gunman came into the store. There's a trail of blood leading outside the store. It is believed that one of the victims ran after being shot and called police. At first it was unclear whether the victim was -- the shooter was on the loose here. There was a real tense situation here.

That tense situation has now been replaced by despair. We have seen a couple people come in looking at the scene hugging and crying. Obviously, it has hit this small community. The gunman among the dead, though. They are just now trying to figure out what the motive was -- Don.

LEMON: Ted Rowlands, thank you for that report.

PHILLIPS: A bullet-riddled car and plenty of unanswered questions, that's what's left after a shooting in Baghdad. Iraqi sources say that police and a private security convoy fired on the car, killing two women. The State Department says the security company, URG, Unity Resources Group, from Australia, was the firm involved.

One contractor that's been under the microscope in Iraq, Blackwater USA, says it was not involved.

Seventeen civilians reportedly were killed in a Blackwater shooting last month. Now there is word that Iraqis want the company to pay up. According to senior government sources Iraqi investigators are recommending that Blackwater pay $8 million to each of the families of the 17 people killed. That report calls their deaths premeditated murder. The Iraqi judiciary will decide whether to uphold the report's recommendations. Blackwater has said its contractors were responding to hostile fire.

LEMON: Home by Christmas, not just a promise from President Bush, but proof supposedly that the U.S. troop buildup is paying off in Iraq. Mr. Bush told us last month that U.S. commanders in Iraq will soon be able to spare thousands of combat forces. But is this troop drawdown for real?

CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre is "Keeping Them Honest" -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, ever since President Bush made that statement that an Army brigade would be coming home before Christmas, we have been trying to figure out who those troops are. We finally cracked the code. And you might be surprised to learn what we found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): Remember this? Just over three weeks ago, President Bush delivered welcome news to a war-weary nation. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because of this success, General Petraeus believes we have now reached the point where we can maintain our security gains with fewer American forces. It will soon be possible to bring home an Army combat brigade, for a total force reduction of 5,700 troops by Christmas.

MCINTYRE: Listen to that again.

BUSH: Because of this success, it will soon be possible to bring home an Army combat brigade by Christmas.

MCINTYRE: So, "Keeping Them Honest," we have been asking the Pentagon a straightforward question.

(on camera): Which brigade is that precisely that would be coming home by the holidays because of the success of the surge?

MAJ. GEN. RICHARD SHERLOCK, JOINT STAFF OPERATIONAL PLANNING DIRECTOR: That decision has to get made by General Odierno and General Petraeus.

MCINTYRE (voice-over): But Pentagon and U.S. military sources tell CNN the decision has already been made to accomplish the president's troop reduction with a little slight of hand, requiring no adjustment to the original troop rotation plan from August.

(on camera): CNN has obtained that deployment plan, which predates General Petraeus' recommendations. Take a look. Is shows that, in December, four brigades are already coming home from Iraq, and only three are replacing them, because this one, from the 1st Armored Division in Germany, is not going in November as originally scheduled.

Is that because of the success of the surge? No. It's because Defense Secretary Robert Gates laid down the law that every soldier gets 12 months off the battlefield. And this brigade didn't get its 12 months.

ROBERT GATES, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The truth of the matter is, it has been difficult for the -- particularly for the Army to meet my policy decision with respect to 12 months at home for the active force.

MCINTYRE: The Pentagon counters, there are other brigades available, for instance, from the 4th Infantry Division based in Fort Hood Texas. But sources say they were never in the plan.

(on camera): Bottom line, despite the impression the president gave, it appears that no U.S. troops are leaving Iraq early, and the ones that aren't being sent in to replace them, it turns out, weren't going anyway.

(voice-over): And here's the kicker. Thousands of support troops sent in with the surge brigades are still needed. So, when the surge ends in July, there will actually be more U.S. troops on the ground than there were when the surge started. (END VIDEOTAPE)

MCINTYRE: Now, Pentagon officials do stress that the surge is ending, as the president said it was going to. And they could have sent additional troops in to keep it going a bit longer, which they are not doing.

But, again, the bottom line is, if you thought that some troops were coming home early, that's not exactly the case -- Don.

LEMON: OK. So does it mean that the surge is not ending any earlier than it would have anyway?

MCINTYRE: Well, it could have gone on a little bit longer if they continued to replace some of the units that were there or extended some of them. Not every unit, by the way, that is rotating out of Iraq is rotating out after the full 15 months. Some are only going to be there for 14 months.

So, they could have made some adjustments to the schedule and kept it going a little bit longer. The point is that they really made no adjustment. They were able to stick with their original plan and the troop levels are coming down because of that.

LEMON: All right, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie, thank you for that.

PHILLIPS: Small towns, huge trauma. Pastor Bill Farr is called to, as the minister, as he mourns the victims and the gunman, who grew up with his own son -- the latest from Crandon, Wisconsin, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: New details are coming out in Sunday's shocking rampage in Crandon, Wisconsin. A friend of the gunman tells a Milwaukee newspaper that Tyler Peterson showed up at his ex- girlfriend's house hoping to patch things up. They reportedly argued and her friends began taunting him, calling him a worthless pig.

The sheriff's deputy stormed out, returned with this work-issued assault rifle, and started shooting. Six young people were killed. Officials say that Peterson died after a shoot-out with the SWAT team when negotiations for his surrender failed.

LEMON: Well, many in Crandon turned to Pastor Bill Farr in this crisis, including the family of the gunman, Tyler Peterson. They asked Farr to read their statement at yesterday's news conference.

But Pastor Farr is mourning as well. His son and Peterson grew up together as good friends.

And Bill Farr joins from us Crandon.

As a matter of fact, you have known this young man since kindergarten, I'm being told. How are you doing today?

PASTOR BILL FARR, PRAISE CHAPEL COMMUNITY CHURCH: Doing well.

LEMON: Yes.

FARR: Things are going well in the community. We have been talking with many of the families, and they are coping with it very well. Families and the community have been very good in supporting them and embracing them. So, we are very pleased with the response. And they are going heal up just fine.

LEMON: Yes. I understand as a pastor you have to deal with some really sad things, some horrific moments. But this one just seems way beyond the scope of anything that is possible. When you are from a town that small, as Crandon, and your church, I think you have 150 people in your church, what exactly do you tell people and especially when they are so close to the family and to the person who committed this crime?

FARR: Well, you know, the first day that this happened, on Sunday, the only thing that we did was hug each other and cry. There really wasn't anything that you could do or say to lessen the blow of the news of what happened, and especially as you have indicated that we were friends and our son grew up with not only Tyler, but also two of the other victims.

And they were close friends. They hunted together. They fished together. And so it was it was just as much a shock to us as it was to the community and so we really didn't have words to say either. All we could do was cry.

LEMON: Yes. Yes.

And we are spending all this time talking about Tyler Peterson, sad that, you know, he had to go through what he went through and did what he did. Did you know the other victims in all of this, any of the other kids? What can you share about them, if anything?

FARR: Well, you know, they were good kids.

And we have -- you know, they were getting together for just a party, not necessarily a wild party. Around here in our area, kids get together and hang out. Our son used to do the same thing with his friends. And there were many times they would watch a DVD or some kind of movie and they would fall asleep on the couch, no bad things happening, no drugs or alcohol involved. And it was just hanging out and being friends.

LEMON: Any of this -- were there any indications at all, any indication that Tyler may have done anything remotely like what he did from your observation?

FARR: Well, in knowing Tyler and with dealing with, you know, him just as a friend of Jonathan (ph), our son, and how they would come over at times, and we -- in fact, our son got married recently and he would come over and -- to the wedding and we were able to just sit and talk a little while. Tyler was a well-balanced individual. We never would have anticipated anything like this. In fact, you know, he had the goals in mind of being in police work and sought that goal out. You know, many students don't know what they are going to do after high school. But he had a clear picture, a clear focus. And he never displayed any, you know, indications of violent behavior or mood swings like this.

LEMON: Yes. Yes, just questions, why, why, why, and some of it, we may never know why.

FARR: Right.

LEMON: Pastor Bill Farr, we thank you for joining us. And we wish your community the very best. You are in our thoughts and our prayers as well, OK?

FARR: Thank you very much.

LEMON: Thank you.

Congress paused this morning to honor the victims of the Crandon, Wisconsin, rampage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE KAGEN (D), WISCONSIN: On behalf of all people in northeast Wisconsin and beyond, please know that we share your grief and all family and friends of those who remain on this saddest of days. We mourn with you. For some things, there can never be a reason why. And after a moment of silence, I will yield back my time. I ask for a moment of silence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Democrat Steve Kagen represents Wisconsin's 8th District, which includes the town of Crandon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's 3:21 Eastern time now. Here are three of the stories that we are working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

New details in the deadly shooting at a tire shop in Simi Valley, California. Two people are dead, including the apparent gunmen. Two others are wounded, but expected to recover. No word on a motive. The gunman shot himself.

Police now say that all 10 people on a Cessna plane are dead after a crash in rugged terrain in Washington State. The plane was carrying nine skydivers and a pilot. A recovery team has identified seven bodies and is combing the wreckage for the rest.

New and chilling details about Sunday's mass shooting that left six young people dead in northern Wisconsin. Quoting a friend of gunman Tyler Peterson, "The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel" says that Peterson went to his ex-girlfriend's house hoping to patch things up, but then he reportedly lost control when her friends called him a worthless pig.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right. We're getting word of a recall right now. This just came out from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

They are Toshiba A.C. adapters. They're being recalled -- they are sold with portable DVD players -- due to a burn hazard. Here is what I can tell you. It is the Toshiba A.C. adapter sold with portable DVD players. About 142,000 were sold.

The A.C. adapters can fail, causing the portable DVD player to overheat, posing a burn hazard to consumers. So far, Toshiba has received two reports of minor damage to the bottom of the DVD player. No injuries have been reported yet, though, to individual.

Now, here is where it gets a little technical, if you memorize your model numbers. The recalls involves the A.C. adapter sold with the Toshiba portable DVD player model SDP-1600 Toshiba. And, also, ADPV16 can be found on the side of the adapter. It's a model SDP- 1600, once again.

Consumer electronic stores nationwide had been selling these from January 2005 through April 2006. They are about $200 to $230. Interesting. They're manufactured in China. Consumers should stop using the A.C. adapters, according to the company, immediately. Contact Toshiba Customers Solutions for a replacement adapter.

If you want to go to the Web site, the CPSC's Web site, it's www.cpsc.gov. You will able to see a picture of it just like this one, check all the numbers, et cetera. Once again, Consumer Product Safety Commission coming forward with a Toshiba recall of A.C. adapters sold with portable DVD players due to a burn hazard.

LEMON: Important stuff.

Also important stuff here, money at the root of all kinds of controversy at Oral Roberts University. A closer look at what has fed this tempest in Tulsa -- ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.

Oral Roberts University -- one of its symbols is a 60-foot statue of praying hands.

PHILLIPS: But a big question in Tulsa these days is did the school's president reach his hands into the school's coffers in order to lead the good life?

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The president of Oral Roberts University says when the real truth is known, there will be no more questions. But for now, there are lots of questions, starting with did Richard Roberts and his family mix faith with fortune for their own benefit?

CNN's David Mattingly takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prayer is a staple of life at Tulsa, Oklahoma's Oral Roberts University, maybe even more now than usual.

JOHN SWAILS, FORMER ORAL ROBERTS PROFESSOR: We thought, oh, no. We thought, maybe this isn't true.

TIM BROOKER, FORMER ORAL ROBERTS PROFESSOR: We hope this isn't true.

SWAILS: So we began to pray.

MATTINGLY: Tim Brooker and John Swails are among three former ORU professors who tell CNN they were fired after reporting information that, if true, could cost the university untold millions.

BROOKER: It could easily lose its tax-exempt status.

MATTINGLY: Brooker says university President Richard Roberts ordered him to use students and the political expertise of his government studies program to support a family friend running for mayor. The candidate lost and Brooker says he was ordered to take responsibility when the IRS investigated complaints.

But that was nothing compared to what the professors say happened next. They claim it started with a computer belonging to Roberts' sister-in-law.

BROOKER: She loaned her computer to one of the students to use during the campaign. And it was while he was in possession of the loaned computer that he discovered these files which were stored on the hard drive.

MATTINGLY: The contents of those files are described in a lawsuit that portrays Richard Roberts and his wife, Lindsay, as big spenders -- relying on university resources for personal luxury.

Allegations listed include: using the university jet to send a daughter and friends to the Bahamas; remodeling the Roberts' home at university expense 11 times in 14 years; spending $51,000 on clothes; and renovating a spacious home office into a massive walk-in closet.

But it doesn't stop there. A house, cars and thousands of dollars in cell phone bills -- all allegedly paid for by the university and the ministry. And the professors claim some things in the files even they don't want public. BROOKER: We're interested in truth and we're interested in justice, and the things that were in those files, if untrue, would be so damaging that they could never recover. I just am not comfortable going any further. That's why we didn't put them in.

MATTINGLY: The suit also accuses Lindsay Roberts of cell phone bills exceeding $800 a month. With more than 800 text messages -- many, "from Mrs. Roberts were sent to underage males, often between 1 a.m. And 3 a.m. , who had been provided phones at university expense."

We contacted ORU officials for comment, but there was no reply. In a statement last week, the university said the allegations were based on unsubstantiated rumors and innuendoes, and that it will deal with them through the legal process.

RICHARD ROBERTS, PRESIDENT, ORAL ROBERTS UNIVERSITY: We live in a litigious society. Anyone can get mad and file a lawsuit against another person, whether they have a legitimate case or not.

MATTINGLY: At chapel services last week, Roberts also responded, saying, God had given him these words.

ROBERTS: It is about intimidation, blackmail and extortion. Make no mistake about it, this suit is about money. I am confident that when the real truth is known, there will be no more questions.

MATTINGLY: Roberts' accusers are seeking unspecified damages for breech of contract and defamation. They say the lawsuit is not about money.

(on camera) And what is God telling you?

SWAILS: He's telling us that he put us in this position and he's directing us to make a stand.

MATTINGLY: David Mattingly, CNN, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LEMON: While many of you -- many of our viewers have been e- mailing your thoughts on the controversy at Oral Roberts University.

PHILLIPS: Let's start with this one.

Kenny writes: "I have a real problem continually hearing the negative reporting about pastors and their spending habits. Most of them live on the road because they have a heart to serve the people. This makes their cost of living very high. The bottom line is no one questions businessmen on the uses of their planes, cars, money, as they do preachers."

LEMON: And, Kyra, Jonathan had this to say: "I think that anybody who blindly gives money to these guys and doesn't expect some sort of accountability deserves whatever they get."

PHILLIPS: And Chuck wrote this to us: "After all these years of sex and money scandals, to say nothing of the born again idiot in the White House, one might reasonably expect that by now the Christians would have lost some of their smug superiority over the rest of us. Dear Jesus, save us from your followers."

You can e-mail us your thoughts at cnnnewsroom@CNNcom.

Well, you've heard from the accusers. Tonight, the accused states his case to Larry King. An exclusive interview with Oral Roberts president, Richard Roberts, tonight, 9:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

LEMON: An acquaintance of a University of Mississippi track star is being charged in the young man's death. Rodney Lockhart was found shot to death in his off campus apartment. That was September 29th. Suspect Christian Bonner is charged with capital murder. Police say he and Lockhart knew each other, but Bonner is not an Ole Miss student.

In Memphis, a fourth suspect is being held in the Taylor Bradford case. He's the University of Memphis football player who was shot to death on September 30th. Police arrested 21-year-old Devin Jefferson last night and say he orchestrated an attempted robbery of Bradford, who was rumored to have won several thousand dollars at a casino. Well, the first three suspects made initial court appearances today. The entire group is being charged with first degree murder.

PHILLIPS: Eight years after it began, a power struggle between the U.S. government and a major electric company is over. American Electric Power has agreed to pay more than $4.5 billion to cut chemical emissions at its plants -- the largest environmental settlement in Justice Department history. The Feds, along with environmental groups in eight states, first took the company to court in 1999, claiming the company violated the Clean Air Act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON TENPAS, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: In bringing this case, the government alleged that the company had made major modifications to many of its coal-fired power plants in the Eastern United States -- changes that led it to emit more air pollution. We allege the company should have obtained a permanent and installed pollution control devices -- often called best available control technology -- in order to prevent these emissions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: American Electric doesn't have to admit guilt in this settlement. Government lawyers claim the changes will save more than $30 billion a year in pollution-related medical costs. American Electric Power is based in Columbus, Ohio. It owns and operates about 80 generating stations in the U.S. According to its Web site, it has more than five million customers in 11 states -- Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. None of those states was part of the lawsuit.

LEMON: And a follow-up to tell you on a story we first brought to you on Monday after Interpol, the international criminal police organization, released these pictures of man they say is a pedophile. Interpol says a couple hundred pictures of this man abusing 12 different boys have been posted online. In the original pictures, the man's face was digitally altered to disguise him, but police have been able to unscramble them. Interpol is hope something one will recognize him.

Since we told you about the story yesterday, Interpol has gotten more than 200 responses from people around the world offering information. If you have information, you can go to their Web site at interpol.com.

We'll keep following this story and let you know if any of those leads help them nab the guy. One hundred and eighty-six countries, including the United States, are members of Interpol.

PHILLIPS: Are all soldiers created equal?

Some Guardsmen say they have done as much, if not more, of the fighting and the dying in Iraq, but they're getting shortchanged at home. The battle for benefits, straight ahead here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: And this -- first, he loses his son. Now he may lose the rest of his family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LEOPOLD, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: My gosh, what else can this man do for this country?

What else can he give?

He's given his son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A soldier's son killed in action. A father faces deportation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, they served longer in the combat zone than any other ground unit in Iraq. But some members of the Minnesota National Guard came home to a nasty surprise. Somehow they ended up a few days short of the 730-day deployment that would trigger full educational benefits under the G.I. Bill. A first lieutenant with the Guard blames red tape and tells CNN things need to change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

1ST LT. JOHN HOBOT, MINNESOTA NATIONAL GUARD: I want to see them fix it so that my soldiers that went back to school this fall -- the men I that promised that I would take care of -- I would like them to fix their orders, amend it so that it says 730-days. Then they can apply for the Chapter 30 education benefits and they can get $500 to $800 a month more a month while they go to school that they deserve. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the Army says it's listening. A lieutenant colonel tells CNN they hope to get things straightened out by the first of the year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "AMERICAN MORNING")

LT. COL. DARRYL DARDEN, U.S. ARMY: The Army has reviewed this. We know that there's been an injustice and we have put together a process for them to be able to address this and to seek redress for this bureaucratic mix up, as he called it.

And we're going to have them go -- each one of them go through the Army Board for Correction of Military Records. When they do that, we believe that by January 8, they should be able to receive their benefits.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The Minnesota unit lost nine people in Iraq. Dozens more were wounded.

LEMON: Well, he lost his son in Iraq. Now, an illegal immigrant in Texas may lose the rest of his family -- not to death, but to deportation -- his own.

CNN's Ed Lavandera reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nobody could talk Armando Soriano out of joining the Army after he graduated from high school. This American-born son of illegal immigrants believed serving in the military would bring honor to his family.

Then, three years ago, the 20-year-old Army private was killed in a convoy accident in Iraq. The pain still haunts his parents. The family living room is a shrine to the fallen soldier. And now, the family is facing yet another tragedy. Armando's father, Enrique Soriano's American dream, can crumble any day.

(on camera): How does the rest of your family feel about you being in this situation?

He says that, "My son fought and died for this country and it would help him rest in peace knowing that his family was taken care of and that they had the papers that they needed to be here legally."

(voice-over): Enrique Soriano has lived illegally in the United States since 1982. But in cases like this, the federal government has often looked the other way and allowed the immediate families of servicemen who have died in Iraq to get legal status.

Enrique's wife is now a legal permanent resident, but immigration officials argue that because Soriano was deported in 1999 and reentered the country illegally, he's not eligible for this form of amnesty.

(on camera): He says oftentimes he's at a loss for words to explain how he feels. But he feels very sad. It's already hard enough losing a son in this war and then now being threatened to be separated from his family makes it even more difficult.

Enrique Soriano doesn't know how much longer he'll be living here in the neighborhoods of Pasadena, Texas. We tried asking officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but they refused our request for an interview, saying it wouldn't be appropriate for them to talk about his case while it's in the hands of an immigration judge.

LEOPOLD: And my gosh, what else can this man do for this country?

What else can he give?

He's given his son.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): But immigration attorneys say Enrique Soriano is a victim of a technicality and that the federal government has the power to keep his family together.

LEOPOLD: This could be fixed tomorrow. All that has to happen, despite the technicalities in the law, is for the Department of Homeland Security to do the right thing and to allow this man to stay in the United States.

LAVANDERA: Soriano says he can't imagine being separated from his wife and five children.

(on camera): He says that if he does get deported, that he really has no other option. He feels like that he has to try to come back. He's crossed illegally twice before and he'll do it again to be with his family.

(voice-over): And to be near his son's gravesite, where Enrique Soriano comes once a week to find peace.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Pasadena, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Idaho's lieutenant governor has set his sights on Larry Craig's Senate seat. Republican Jim Risch says that he plans to run for the seat that Craig will vacate when he retires 15 months from now. Risch is also a former Idaho governor. Craig is still fighting to clear his name after his guilty plea to disorderly conduct charges in a men's room sex sting in Minneapolis. Former Democratic Congressman Larry La Rocco announced his candidacy in April. Risch and La Rocco squared off last year for the lieutenant governor's post.

President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act is up for renewal, with draft measures now before Congress. But as critics step up their attacks on the education bill, the president is on the offensive.

A short time ago, he met with civil rights leaders at that time White House to talk about their concerns. After that meeting, Mr. Bush had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our goal is to have every child reading and doing math at grade level by 2014. That seems reasonable to me. It seemed like a reasonable thing to ask is to have every child reading at grade level by 2014 or being able to do math at grade level by 2014. So now is the time not to roll back the accountability of watered down standards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, five years ago, Mr. Bush's signature education reform measure became law with overwhelming bipartisan support. Now Democrats and Republicans are demanding changes.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Simply put, No Child Left Behind requires all students to reach proficiency in reading and math by 2014. Progress is determined by standardized test results. Schools where scores don't rise are punished.

The White House insists No Child Left Behind is working and points to test results in other data to back up its claims.

Critics argue that while some progress has been made, a major overhaul is need. One bipartisan draft proposal addresses the most repeated complaints against the law. For example, it would allow states to consider not just math and reading scores, but, also, test results in other subjects, graduation rates and advanced placement tests.

For states with many immigrants, it would allow students who aren't fluid in English to take tests in their native language for five years.

But for every supporter of proposed changes, there is an opponent. None other than Education Secretary Margaret Spelling says attempts to soften the law would severely undermine the White House efforts to raise achievement among poor and minority students.

Both the House and Senate are expected to complete re- authorization bills in the next few weeks.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: Troopers get a shock when they catch up to a speeding car.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TROOPER JOSEPH PIGLIA, LOUISIANA STATE POLICE: And that's when the driver jumped out and ran into the restaurant yelling for his mother. The trooper at that point then realized that this was a juvenile. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. Wait until you see how old he was and why he was behind the wheel. We'll take the pedal off the metal, straight ahead here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, how about this, an 11-year-old with a lead foot?

Louisiana State Police say they clocked a boy driving between 80 and 100 miles an hour. The boy's father says his son had just dropped him off at the hospital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROONEY BROWN, 11-YEAR-OLD DRIVER'S FATHER: I lost my leg and (INAUDIBLE) on Mondays and Wednesdays and Thursdays -- Fridays to the hospital. Then he come back home and catch the bus and go to the school.

PIGLIA: And that's when the driver jumped out and ran into the restaurant yelling for his mother. The trooper at that point then realized that this was a juvenile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the boy did find his mom working inside the Burger King. She says he has been grounded. That's in addition to the various traffic tickets he received. The family goes to court next month.

PHILLIPS: Well, the closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street straight ahead.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, check out this pretty amazing video from Australia. That could be the most luckiest kangaroo, that's for sure. The drivers were pretty lucky, too. No major accident. We counted 10 cars braking, swerving of going off the track to avoid him before he moved along. The cameraman wasn't even sure which to follow, the cars or the kangaroo. It happened over the weekend during a race in Bathurst, Australia, just west of Sydney.

LEMON: Hip hop, hipping to the -- time now to check in with CNN's...

PHILLIPS: Oh, boy, you're taking us really far back with Sugar and the gang...

LEMON: Wolf Blitzer...

PHILLIPS: All right. (LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Standing by in "THE SIT ROOM" to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour -- hey, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Hi, guys.

Thanks very much.

Coming up, some Democratic presidential candidates thumbing their noses at one very important presidential state. They're backing out of Michigan's primary. We're going to tell you which candidates are doing that, why and if it will hurt them.

Also, Mothers Against Drunk Driving -- they are mad. They're outraged over attempts by some to actually lower the minimum legal drinking age.

Is 18 too young to be allowed to start drinking alcohol?

And if the drinking age is lowered, might more lives be at risk?

And in Hollywood, it's cool now to be green. For many of your favorite celebrities, being environmentally conscious is super chic.

But are they as green in their private lives as they are in public?

You may be surprised to find out.

All that guys, and a lot more, coming up right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

PHILLIPS: All right, thanks, Wolf.

LEMON: Yes.

Speaking of green, let's talk about orange. It's enough to make Charlie Brown orange. Look at that. Check out this great pumpkin.

Where's the great pumpkin music, Otis?

Weighing in at 1,524 pounds, it's the winner of the nationwide contest in Half Moon Bay, California. The man that grew it, Thad Starr of Pleasant Hill, Oregon. His secret -- get this -- a lot of chicken manure, mint compost and several hundred pounds of coffee. The prize for the biggest pumpkin was $6 a pound. OK, do the math on that. I'm not sure exactly what that is. Starr walked away with more than -- that's it -- $9,000. And a very happy little boy there on top of that big pumpkin.

PHILLIPS: I want to know how they got him down.

The closing bell -- and it's is about to ring on Wall Street.

LEMON: Susan Lisovicz standing by with a final look at the trading day.

That is one big pumpkin.

Did you see that?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I saw that. That's a lot of pie.

(LAUGHTER)

LISOVICZ: That's my favorite pie, too, pumpkin pie.

You guys are talking orange, let's talk about red, because folks in France are seeing red. You know, we think that people in America are crazy about lawsuits, that we're always litigating. Well, in France -- listen to this. There is a serious lawsuit about a woman who kissed a painting by abstract painter Cy Twombly. Unfortunately when she kissed the painting, it didn't have glass over it and she had lipstick on.

PHILLIPS: Oh, no.

LISOVICZ: And the restorers -- there is the artist. We can't get a picture of the painting, but it's bone white. It's just white.

LEMON: Oh.

LISOVICZ: And she had lipstick on and the restorers have tried nearly 30 different products to no avail. I mean...

PHILLIPS: Have they tried a Tide stick?

LISOVICZ: Have they tried what?

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Have they tried the Tide stick?

(LAUGHTER)

LISOVICZ: Apparently not. I mean...

LEMON: Or hairspray.

LISOVICZ: Or club soda. I mean, we in TV news know these tricks.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we do.

LISOVICZ: I mean maybe they should go to "Hints From Heloise."

(LAUGHTER)

LISOVICZ: But the fact is they're asking serious money and the owner wants the full freight of the actual painting, which it goes for just under $3 million.

LEMON: Ooh.

LISOVICZ: So, yes. For the -- the woman who committed the crime is an actual artist herself and she said, "I wasn't thinking," which is an understatement, obviously. And she said she thought the artist would understand.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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