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State of Emergency in Pakistan; Abuse at Oprah's School?; Reruns on the Menu
Aired November 05, 2007 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Heidi Collins.
Good morning, everybody.
Watch events happen right here live in the NEWSROOM on Monday morning, November 5th.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Pakistan protesters hustled off to jail today under emergency rule. What does the crackdown mean for President Bush's war on terror?
Oprah Winfrey speaking out last hour about the scandal at her girls school, a worker accused of abusing students.
And Hollywood writers leave actors speechless. They go on strike today.
The latest plot twists in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A U.S. ally in crisis this morning. Arrests and violence on the streets of Pakistan. The fallout felt right here at home.
We'll have more on why this is so important to the United States. But first, what's happening now, how it unfolded, and what may happen next.
CNN's Emily Chang has that. She's joining us this morning from London.
Emily, what's the reaction there been?
EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, just moments ago, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for the release of all political prisoners in Pakistan and said that all British aid to Pakistan will be reviewed.
Right now, we're on the streets with dozens of students who have gathered here in central London in front of the Pakistani High Commission. They're shouting, "Go, Musharraf, go! Martial law! No, no!" That is the same thing that thousands of protesters are shouting in Pakistan today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHANG (voice over): Police, swinging batons and firing teargas, clash with demonstrators outside the courthouse in Lahore. More than 1,000 lawyers were arrested there, hundreds more in other cities across the country.
This, after President General Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution. In a speech, Musharraf explicitly addressed his listeners in the U.S. and compared himself to Abraham Lincoln.
PRESIDENT PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTAN: And he broke law, he violated the constitution, he usurped arbitrary party, trampled individual liberties. His justification was necessity.
CHANG: The government insists it remains committed to the democratic process. However, critics say this is a last-ditch effort by Musharraf to maintain his power.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, traveling in China this morning, called the events in Pakistan disturbing.
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We urge President Musharraf to return his country to law-based, constitutional and democratic rule as soon as possible.
CHANG: The U.S. and Britain have given billions of dollars to Pakistan to fight the war on terror. But leaders in both countries now say that funding will be reviewed.
Musharraf's leadership has been threatened by the recent return of political rival and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
BENAZIR BHUTTO, FMR. PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER: I fear that unless regime change comes, we could be facing a takeover by radicals.
CHANG: So far, Musharraf has arrested several hundred political opponents, including the former cricket captain-turned-politician in Rankan (ph). Pakistan's prime minister admitted democratic elections scheduled for January could be pushed back by up to a year and said the state of emergency will be in place "as long as it is necessary."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHANG: And we've gotten several reports about recent events just in the last few hours. A spokesperson for former exiled prime minister Benazir Bhutto says over 60 members of her political party have been arrested. We're told the head of the largest Islamic party in Pakistan has been arrested.
We've even heard a rumor that General Musharraf himself has been arrested. The government has denied that rumor. But it just goes to show the level of volatility in this situation -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Emily, I know you're going to have a terrible time hearing me. Just wondering, how many protesters are really there behind you? We tend to see them get the very loudest when we're trying to do live shots. So I just want to be fair about what that situation is that you are in, in London.
CHANG: I would say there are about 50 protesters gathered here, many of them students, academics. We're in front of the Pakistani High Commission in central London. They're very angry about what General Musharraf is doing, they're basically telling him to get lost and to go.
COLLINS: All right, understood. Thanks so much.
CNN's Emily Chang coming to us from London this morning, the reaction there to what's happening in Pakistan.
Also want to let you know, coming up, we're going to be talking to former U.N. ambassador Bill Richardson. He's going to have more on this situation and what it really means for the United States.
We'll get to that shortly.
Meanwhile, "One of the most devastating experiences of my life." That's what Oprah Winfrey said just a few moments ago, talking about abuse allegations at her school in South Africa.
We want to go live now to Robyn Curnow, who is in Johannesburg, where a former dorm matron has now been freed on bail.
In fact, Robyn, it happened just before this press conference.
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. We're actually standing at the hotel where the press conference took place and where Oprah Winfrey spoke to assembled media via satellite from Chicago. And, like you said, she said it just hurt her to the core, that it was the most devastating thing in her life, and that she took it very personally, because these girls were like daughters to her.
This is what else she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: And one of the most devastating, if not the most devastating experience of my life. Like all such experiences, there is always much to be gained and I think there's a lot to be learned. And as Mr. Samuel said, we are moving forward to create a safe and open and a receptive environment for the girls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Now, Heidi, I was at court this morning. You mentioned that the person who is accused of the abuse, she appeared before the magistrate, she pleaded not guilty.
She gave her name as Tiny Makopo. She's 27 years old. But she's facing 13 charges ranging from indecent assault to assault, to verbal abuse. She's going to appear back at that same magistrate's court on the 13th of December. But from Oprah Winfrey's point of view, she was quite harsh in her analysis of this dormitory matron. She said people like her should be behind bars.
COLLINS: All right. CNN's Robyn Curnow coming to us live via broadband from Johannesburg on that Oprah Winfrey school story.
Thanks so much, Robyn. Appreciate that.
Meanwhile, a sixth grade teacher is now in federal custody now just south of the border with an underage boy. Twenty-five-year-old Kelsey Peterson faces a judge in California today. She was found in Mexico with a 13-year-old former student. She is facing a federal charge of taking the teen across the border for sex. Back home in Nebraska, she faces kidnapping and child abuse charges.
The pair disappeared last week when investigators started looking into their alleged affair. But the boy won't be coming home just yet. It turns out he was an illegal immigrant.
Investigators sorting through hundreds of tips now this morning. A toddler found dead in a plastic box. It washed up near Galveston, Texas.
Police are calling her "Baby Grace," but who is she? Forensics show this much -- she was between 2 and 3 years old and she had been dead for at least two weeks. Her skull was fractured.
A lot of people in Texas are involved in this investigation now. It seems to be hitting them pretty hard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOIS GIBSON, "BABY GRACE" SKETCH ARTIST: And I want to get her identified because I want to get justice for her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: There was a vigil for "Baby Grace" yesterday. A cross laid near the spot where she was found.
Some people have been asking police if the child might be Madeleine McCann. That's the little girl who went missing in Portugal six months ago. Investigators do not believe it's her, but they're still working with the FBI before ruling it out completely.
We're going to be digging a little bit further into this story next hour. We're going to have an update coming from the Galveston Sheriff's Office.
Well, Noel is gone, but certainly not forgotten. The killer storm lost some of its power, but still did plenty of damage over the Northeast and Canadian coast lines this weekend.
Right now, crews are working to restore power on Cape Cod. State officials say no one died or was seriously hurt in this storm, but that is not case in the Caribbean. The storm is blamed for dozens of deaths there, and this is what it looks like on the south shore of Nova Scotia after a brush with Noel. A beach road buckled after being repeatedly pounded by strong surf.
Noel is long gone, but the Northeast coast, as we said, still getting some wind and pretty chilly temperatures, too.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: In the meantime, we do want to get back to our top story, and that is Pakistan. As a former U.N. ambassador and envoy to North Korea, Bill Richardson has dealt with thorny international issues many times before. The Democratic presidential candidate is joining us now this morning from Des Moines, Iowa, to talk more about Pakistan.
Nice to see you.
I want to begin sort of with what we're talking about here and the seriousness of the situation. We know that President Pervez Musharraf has essentially suspended the constitution. We know there have been thousands of arrests.
What are we talking about here?
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D-NM), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're talking about Pakistan in crisis. And this is critically important to the United States, because Pakistan has nuclear weapons.
We've given them $10 billion to go after al Qaeda and, in my judgment, they haven't done as good a job as they should. And then you have this man suspending the constitution, basically saying that he's arresting political prisoners, that he's going to stay in power.
The country is in turmoil. There's a lot of al Qaeda influence. So, this is like our third crisis at the same time.
We've got the crisis in Iraq. We've got a potential crisis in Iran with our foreign policy that is, in my judgment, saber rattling.
COLLINS: Right.
RICHARDSON: And now we have Pakistan.
This is enormously serious. And the worst part is that the Bush administration's response has been very weak and ineffectual towards Musharraf.
COLLINS: Well, let's talk about this suspending o f a constitution. How do you really suspend a constitution? And I read somewhere that he was sort of comparing it to Abraham Lincoln, how he had done that once before.
RICHARDSON: Well, that's absurd. That's an absurd analogy.
COLLINS: It is.
RICHARDSON: Abraham Lincoln -- yes, it is. I mean, basically, what Musharraf is saying is, I'm going to stay in power. I'm not going to permit elections in January. I'm not going to allow Benazir Bhutto to have a say in the country.
He's jailing a large number of journalists. He is basically saying that he is the only one that can keep order.
Therefore, the United States has no choice but to support him, because he is the linchpin against al Qaeda. The problem, though, is that he really has not been series in going after al Qaeda and bin Laden, in my judgment.
He has had some successes, but you couple that with the fact that there's tremendous domestic unrest, the fact that the United States is associated with this repressive regime, and we've got a huge crisis in South Asia, a crucial part of the world, and our main front in the fight against bin Laden, al Qaeda. And he is not -- we have too cozy a relationship with Musharraf.
COLLINS: So what do you do? I mean, if you were in the seat right now -- let's pretend like you were president and you were having to meet with -- or even if you were secretary of state and you went to talk with President Pervez Musharraf, what exactly would you say?
RICHARDSON: Well, if I were president, I would talk to him, president to president. I saw the secretary of state say she was disappointed in what Musharraf had done.
You know, you're disappointed at a football game. You have to be stronger. And what I would do is, if I'm president, I would send Vice President Cheney, who is a buddy of Musharraf's, go to Pakistan and say to him, unless you seriously go after al Qaeda, unless you restore your constitution, bring back the supreme court and have elections in January, we're going to cut off your aid. I think it's that serious. And we've given them $10 billion since 9/11, with a big chunk of that going to the Pakistani military.
COLLINS: Yes, I think it works out, to...
RICHARDSON: This is enormously serious.
COLLINS: I'm sorry. Pardon me. I think it work out to about $150 million a month in the assistance program.
I guess I would want to ask also, was the situation preventable in any way?
RICHARDSON: Well, yes, it was, because had Musharraf allowed a transition for an election with Benazir Bhutto, had he not disrupted the supreme court, had he not jailed all those political prisoners, had he basically said Pakistan is going to be a democracy -- it doesn't have to be a perfect democracy, but this man likes his power. And what is happening also is there's huge domestic unrest. Al Qaeda is getting stronger internally. And so you have a failed nation state that is a strong ally of the United States, the main front against al Qaeda, when we should have been pushing him to move towards democracy so he's more stable. And when we should have pushed him to go after those safe havens of al Qaeda in between Afghanistan and his border -- and he has had a muted response there too. So we're losing on all fronts.
COLLINS: Very quickly -- unfortunately I'm so out of time. But within 15 seconds, is this the last that we're going to see of President Pervez Musharraf? Is this him clinging on to his power for the last time?
RICHARDSON: No. I suspect he'll survive this, but he will be enormously weak. And unless the United States leans on him to be more democratic, to go after bin Laden, I believe that he is not going to be around much longer. But he will survive this one.
COLLINS: Governor Bill Richardson, we certainly appreciate your time right here in the NEWSROOM.
Thank you.
Want to move on to this one now. TV shows -- are the hottest ones really headed for early rundowns already, you may say? Well, there's a live shot for you that might give you the answer. The dialogue is over. Hollywood writers are on strike.
We are live on the picket lines this morning right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Same Lou, new time. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" is moving to 7:00 p.m. weeknights. It used to be on at 6:00, as I'm sure you know. That will begin tonight.
So don't miss it -- 7:00 Eastern, Lou Dobbs.
Reruns on the menu. Film and TV writers putting down their pens and putting on their walking shoes.
Our Jim Acosta is with the striking writers right now on the picket line in New York this morning.
Jim, good morning to you.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Yes, the writers' strike started at about midnight overnight and already the picket lines are forming here outside Rockefeller Center, the NBC studios here in New York City. You can see the giant rat, which, if I'm not mistaken, is not a compliment for the producers and management, the various studios that these writers are so upset with.
And then in those -- among those picketers, we are seeing some celebrity support this morning. We saw one of the stars from the show "30 Rock." Tina Fey was in the crowd, obviously showing support for her fellow writers out there.
She started out as a writer. And her show, which is largely about management and producers trying to keep control of the wild staff people, such as the writers, but this is -- but this is no episode of "30 Rock." This is the real thing.
Now, what are these writers so upset about? What is this disagreement over? Basically, in a nutshell, it is new media.
Some of the most popular TV shows now are available in DVD sets. They can be downloaded on to your computers and on to your phone. Shows like "Grey's Anatomy," "Prison Break."
You can go to a Blockbuster video store today and buy, you know, season one through whatever if you want to add that to your video collection. And the writers want a cut of that.
Now, what are the shows that are going to be affected? Well, the shows that are going to be affected first are basically the late-night talk shows. Shows like Jay Leno, David Letterman, "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart all rely on writers who keep up with current events to write those monologues that people find so, you know, hilarious at 11:00 at night, tuning in before they go to bed.
And Jay Leno referred to this last week when he was talking about this upcoming writers' strike, saying, "You'll know that a strike is on if on Monday my guests are Mr. T. and the "Where's the Beef?" lady -- Heidi.
COLLINS: That's actually a pretty good line. But, you know, there are a lot of people who are concerned about this. I mean, they enjoy their TV.
What are you hearing from -- not the strikers, obviously, but sort of the crowds that you have seen there this morning?
ACOSTA: You know, I think people are upset about this. And this is all of the buzz. This is being blogged like crazy on the Internet.
COLLINS: Yes.
ACOSTA: People are very concerned about shows like "Heroes," you know, some of these shows that are almost viral (ph) in nature because, you know, people might not be able to watch those shows when they come on in their time slot, but they can download them on to their phones and that sort of thing. And that's what these writers are talking about.
In the old days, you know, all of the money came from the advertising that went into those TV shows, you know, 8:00 on a Thursday night, whatever. Now that these shows can be downloaded on the Internet and there's a 30-second spot that comes on before your show starts, you know, the writers aren't getting a cut of that action. And that's what this is all about.
The producers and the studios say they can work this out. We'll have to wait and see.
COLLINS: All right. I'm just taking a few notes here, Jim. "Dancing With the Stars," we're still OK with them, right?
ACOSTA: I think those types of shows -- I think the news is OK.
COLLINS: Yes. And reality.
ACOSTA: You can still watch CNN. I write my own material.
COLLINS: This is good.
ACOSTA: Which explains why I'm standing out here.
But yes -- no, there will be some programming out there, but there'll be a lot of reruns, I think.
COLLINS: Yes. All right.
CNN's Jim Acosta, live from New York this morning.
Jim, thank you.
Oil prices close at a record high. So, what does that mean for your morning commute? We'll tell you about it in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Oil prices surge to a new record high while gas prices climb back to $3 a gallon. Get ready to pay even more at the pump.
Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business" this morning.
And Ali, as much as we like to see you, I'm hoping you've got some sort of good news somewhere.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm a bearer of bad news. Yes, I've got nothing good for you, actually.
We're about five minutes away from the opening of the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow is down, probably going to be in triple digits right as soon as we open up for other news. But the oil thing, we're kind of getting used to that.
It closed at $95 -- settled at $95.93 a barrel on Friday. It just opened up for trade now this morning. It's actually down a little bit. But, you know, a lot of folks have been watching oil and gas and saying, you know, it's strange, because oil is moving ahead and gas isn't doing the same thing because there's some sort of disconnect.
There's no disconnect. We're up 27 cents or something in the last month. Gasoline now, according to AAA, 23 cents in a month.
COLLINS: Yes. VELSHI: Up to $3 a gallon for unleaded self-serve. And, in fact, we've been hearing people talking about how you might see another 10 to 15 cents in a week and a half.
That's not talking the market up. That's just the truth.
The fact is, it is working its way into the price of gas or into the price of heating oil. And for those of you who don't heat with heating oil or don't drive much, or have a fuel-efficient car, it still works its way into the cost of everything that's produced in America, or delivered or transported.
So this is a big cloud over the economic horizon right now. It's one of those things that is a big concern because it contributes to inflation.
And that's what the Fed is worried about. That's what investors are worried about. That, and, of course, the credit crisis which continues, the housing crisis.
So there -- you know, we've got a good, robust economy. It's holding up.
COLLINS: Yes.
VELSHI: But there are still some big issues out there. That's why you're seeing this gyration on the stock market.
COLLINS: Yes, no question. And things are not looking pretty, at least at the start.
VELSHI: Yes.
COLLINS: What about Citigroup? Are we going to see serious reaction from that move?
VELSHI: Citigroup is what caused the problems on Thursday, when we saw more than a 300 point drop in the market. And that's what's causing problems now.
The CEO, Chuck Prince, resigned last night. But they also said they're going to have between $8 billion and $11 billion more in writedowns, and that's got the futures on the market trading way lower, because, again, it's this -- like, don't those guys know how bad this situation is? How come they don't have a handle on it, whether it's Merrill Lynch, two weeks ago, Citigroup now? And the concern is it will be other banks.
So, again, we're going to hear today that the subprime problem which caused this credit problem is going to cost Citigroup, the country's largest bank, more money than it thought.
COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely.
All right. Well, we'll watch those numbers, as I always say, with maybe one eye closed and one open. VELSHI: Yes. That's right.
COLLINS: All right.
Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Thanks, Ali.
VELSHI: See you, Heidi.
COLLINS: So before you cook your next burger, you might want to check your freezer, because you could have some dangerous meat in there. Look at this.
Cargill Foods now voluntarily recalling more than a million pounds of ground beef. It's sold at these supermarkets throughout the Northeast under the store's brand name. Federal investigators say the meat may be contaminated with the dangerous E. coli bacteria.
Philadelphia police under assault. Three officers shot in four days.
What's going on in the City of Brotherly Love? The police commissioner is up next in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The opening bell for this Monday. Well, at least they're clapping, right? They're putting on a good face. We'll take a look at those numbers here in just a moment. But this happened, I guess, about a minute ago or so. New York stock exchange opened for trading today. Just as Ali said, he is almost exactly on the money. The Dow Jones industrial averages opening almost 100 points down right now. Beginning today at 13,503. Friday, we know, they actually, ended on positive side, but just by about 27 points, 13,595 was the close there. So, we will watch those numbers and everything else that's going on today. Keep our fingers crossed.
A major U.S. ally in crisis now. In Pakistan, government critics hustled off to jail today. What does the Bush team do now?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris is off today.
State of emergency for a U.S. ally in a moment what it means in Washington. First, what's happening right now on the ground in Pakistan? Police today stepping up their enforcement of President Pervez Musharraf's emergency declaration. The nation's jails now overflowing with thousands of lawyers, journalists and opposition officials. They taking to the streets after the Pakistan's president suspended the constitution on Saturday. He started the growing threats of terrorism. Critics say he is looking to hold on to power. Secretary of the State Condoleezza Rice called for Pakistan to return to constitutional rule. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF THE STATE: So much has happened over the last several years to try and pull Pakistan away from extremism, to try to launch Pakistan on a democratic path, to launch Pakistan on a path toward the return to civilian rule. And our disappointment is that this is a setback for that path.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: U.S. aid has been a boost to Pakistan in the war on terror. But what's Washington to do now? Our Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon for us this morning. Barbara, good morning to you. Is there some type of military strategy or some type of change in the face of all of this?
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well you know, Heidi, while the Secretary of State is talking about disappointment behind the scenes, it really could not be more serious and more delicate for the Bush administration. U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson has just left a meeting with President Pervez Musharraf even as these street scenes unfold of continuing violence in Pakistan by all accounts. He is unapologetic, according to sources, our people in Pakistan has spoken to about the situation, about the actions that he has taken. It puts the U.S. in very tough spot. They need to work with Pakistan in the situation regarding the war on terror.
But for the U.S. military, the U.S. military, which has a very strong, close relationship with Pakistan, the U.S. military does not do business with governments that use their troops to pull dissidents off the street and throw them in jail. So, it is a delicate balancing act. In China right now, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is traveling, but he has also spoken about the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We are reviewing all of our assistance programs. Although, we are mindful not to do anything that would undermine ongoing counter terrorism efforts. Because of the fluid and sensitive nature of the situation I will have nothing further to say on this topic at this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: He will have nothing further to say publicly. But again, U.S. officials and military commanders that we are speaking to, extremely concerned about the unfolding situation. A little while ago, I spoke to Admiral William Fallon, the head of the U.S. central command. He was one of two U.S. officials, very high ranking that directly met with Musharraf on Friday, hours before the state of emergency was declared. He told me quote "These actions put our relationship at risk because of the unforeseen consequences." What he's really talking about is this is all headed down the road where nobody can predict how it may turn out.
Heidi? COLLINS: Yes. Admiral Fallon obviously relatively new to the position. But it's hard to determine what he really could have meant by that. Not asking you to speculate. But obviously, there's been talk for a long time about whether or not Pakistan has really been tough enough on suspected terrorists and border control as well. We're talking about the war in Afghanistan, what could all of this mean?
STARR: Well, that may wind up being one of the key underlying issues that the U.S. is really going to try to emphasize with Pakistan. According to military sources that we are speaking to, you know, the U.S. relies a good deal on Pakistani air space, roads, and bases for that operation next door in Afghanistan. That's one of the reasons the U.S. cannot cut off relations with Pakistan. They need that continuing access. That's no secret. It's very well understood; the extent to which the U.S. relies on Pakistan.
On the other hand, U.S. military commanders have also publicly said for years that they're not happy with the extent to which Pakistan has cracked down on militants, especially in that border region. They want to see the Pakistani military do much more. So, this entire situation really puts all of this really into play, Heidi.
COLLINS: No question about it. CNN's Barbara Starr this morning from the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you.
STARR: Sure.
COLLINS: Three police officers shot in Philadelphia in just four days. So, what's going on there? Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson is joining us by telephone this morning. Commissioner, do you feel it's all fair to say that possibly the officers are being targeted in some way?
SYLVESTER JOHNSON, PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMMISSIONER: I'm not sure that they're being targeted or not. But the fact for it, that each one has been shot -- the first one who is shot had a disturbance, that's about 400 or 500 people. Three males pulled a gun and they wound up shooting the female officer in the leg.
The second incident, where we had a male who go out there and he shoot three people that's in a car. And the officer actually, he (INAUDIBLE) the car, follows the car. The car actually stops. Male gets out of the car, goes right to the police car and fires two rounds into this car, hits the male one time, hits the police officer one time in the shoulder.
The third incident, where he offered just a routine patrol going to a Dunkin Donut and he walks into a hold up. So, they're being shot just doing their job, just out on a routine patrol.
COLLINS: Yes, is there any way to know, at this point, from all these situations and I know you're looking at them very closely -- to know whether or not they are, in fact, linked?
JOHNSON: No, they do not link at all. The only link is that they have an officer in uniforms responding to calls and doing their job. That's the only link. These incidents are totally and completely separate.
COLLINS: Well, we know that you do have a warrant out for John Lewis. He is a suspect in at least one of these cases. Any leads on the others? We're looking at a picture of John Lewis right now on the screen.
JOHNSON: No. In the first incident where the female was shot, there was actually (INAUDIBLE) wound up being fatally shot by the police. The second instant where the male jumped in the river and who's a convicted felon, he end up drowning and the third incident, where also (INAUDIBLE) was killed, we're out there. We have an arrest warrant for him and we're going around the clock, looking for him in every place we can possibly find him.
COLLINS: OK. Well, obviously, you are concerned. It would be ridiculous to ask you whether or not, you are concerned about the situation. But, as we talk about it, some statistics to share with the viewers. And I would like your comments on them. For number of guns discharged at police in the year 2006, there were 15 total for the year. This year already -- not already, I mean, we're coming to the end of the year, so 20. And then also officer shot in 2006, there were three. And so far, five in 2007. Are these numbers enough of a change to raise a red flag?
JOHNSON: Well, the availability of guns here in the city, it's a little, I think, that's totally out of line. I mean, the facts are that 85 percent of our homicides are by handguns. And the volunteers up in the city, (INAUDIBLE) and like other cities, but at the same time, violence is happening, we're going to be, you know, part of. Gun shots are fired, people run away, police have to run to. And I think that law enforcement is the toughest job in the entire world.
The only civilian job in which you need to give a life, take a live or save a life. Because anytime, when a police leave home, there's no guarantee he comes home, but we still go to work every single day, to do what we possibly can to make sure there's a good quality of life in the city of Philadelphia.
COLLINS: Yes. We know you do. Before we let you go, in fact, you've been doing that very job for 41 years with the Philadelphia Police Department.
JOHNSON: Actually it's 43 years.
COLLINS: 43, I stand corrected. Have you ever seen a week though, like last week?
JOHNSON: Well, it was one, one time, we had seven ousters shot in one day, that's a few years ago. But it's one as to many.
COLLINS: Yes. You're absolutely right. We'll we're going to stay on top of this story alongside you, police commissioner from Philadelphia Sylvester Johnson, this morning. Thanks, commissioner.
Here's a look now at some of the most popular videos on cnn.com. I want to share it with you.
Australian police investigate the death of a news anchor, Channel 10's Charmaine Dragun. Popular with Sydney viewers. The 29-year-old had been battling depression.
So, is that snow in Colombia? An unusually strong hail storms covers cars and roads in Bogota. Interesting shots there, wow.
And a woman in Oregon finds more than 70 gnomes on her front lawn. That was just frightening. The stunt amused the neighborhood, but not police. In fact, officers are trying to figure out where gnomes came from, while they're clogging up the police property room as they do.
Well, sleep, can it help your kids fight fat? We'll have an eye- opening study, coming your way back.
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COLLINS: Same Lou, new time, though. We want to make sure you are aware. "Lou Dobbs Tonight" moves to 7:00 pm weeknights. And it will all begin tonight. Don't miss that.
The space shuttle is on the way home now. Take a look at these pretty cool pictures from space. "Discovery" undocked from the international space station just this morning. Love those. It's now on a two-day journey back to work. It was an eventful week and a half, I should say, of work in space. We've telling you how challenging this mission was going to be. The astronauts made several spacewalk including one very lengthy and dangerous one over the weekend. Successfully repairing a solar panel. "Discovery" is expected to land Wednesday afternoon.
Well, you and your kids may have gotten an extra hour of sleep over the weekend. For your children, that may have been a big deal that for your. If you're me, your kid got up at the same exact time.
New research may give you new reason though to get the kids to bed early. Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is joining me up.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As if we needed a reason to get the kids to bed early right?
COLLINS: 6:00? It's time for bed.
COHEN: Let's go, come one, come on. We're ready, aren't we?
COLLINS: So, what this is all about?
COHEN: What this is about is that we all know if kids get more sleep, they're less grouchy right, you know, as parents.
COLLINS: That's the thinking.
COHEN: We know that. But apparently getting more sleep is also money in the bank for keeping them trim. This study shows that kids who don't get enough sleep, they are more likely to be obese. I mean, who knew? This is such a surprising finding. You can also look at it this way. Each hour of sleep that your kid gets makes them 20 percent less likely to be overweight.
COLLINS: Come on.
COHEN: They're not completely sure why. They think it has to do, maybe, with hormones, because hormones do certain things while you're asleep or also maybe just simply that sleepy kids don't exercise a whole lot. And so, it's a self fulfilling prophecy. So, they're not really sure why, but they did notice that kids who slept more were less likely to be fat.
COLLINS: All right, well, and your metabolism works when you're sleeping too, right?
COHEN: Right. It could be your metabolism. Well, it could be a whole bunch of things.
COLLINS: Interesting.
COHEN: Maybe we're just happier during the day and didn't eat as much junk because they're happier. I mean, who knows.
COLLINS: Maybe. Well, aside from the scales, though, isn't there also research talking about more sleep, better school performance? This doesn't seem too surprising.
COHEN: No, it's not too surprising at all. This is especially true for teens. Did you know, actually that teens, they don't want to attest teenagers so we don't know that yet.
COLLINS: So, they need to sleep more.
COHEN: They do. They need to sleep more than school-age kid.
COLLINS: I knew this because (INAUDIBLE). Little kids go to school much, much earlier in the morning than the older kids. The bus has come way later.
COHEN: But that's actually good.
COLLINS: I know, it's hard for me.
COHEN: When your son is a teenager, you're going to be glad for that. And the reason why is that teenagers actually need more sleep than school-age children. School-age children need about eight to ten hours of sleep and teenagers need more like 10 to 11 hours of sleep. And so what some school districts have done, as Heidi alluded to, is they've started the teenagers later so that they can sleep an hour more in the morning. And when they've done that, their test scores go up.
COLLINS: Significantly.
COHEN: Significantly.
COLLINS: It's statistically significant?
COHEN: It's statistically significant, yes, and the teens are happier too.
COLLINS: All right, happy teens, can't argue with that.
COHEN: Right, exactly, exactly.
COLLINS: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
COLLINS: Well, a new warning for California to tell you about. Devastating wildfires leaving the area exposed to another deadly danger. We'll tell you all about it ahead in the NEWSROOM.
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COLLINS: One other quick change we want to tell you about, the final hour of "The Situation Room" moves to 6:00 p.m. and tonight you will hear from presidential candidate John Edwards. "The Situation Room" beginning tonight from 4:00 until 7:00 pm Eastern.
Noel is long gone but some people in the northeast are still cleaning up. Meteorologist, Rob Marciano is here now live in the severe weather center to tell us a little bit more about this. It seems like it's kind of a hanger honor.
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COLLINS: California waiting for the other shoe to drop. It seems the massive wildfires are out. Residents now wait for the mudslides. Vince Gonzalez explains.
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VINCE GONZALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: While the worst of the 2007 firestorms may be over, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says state workers have a new fight on their hands.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: To clean up the debris and to clean up the various different sites and to prepare ourselves for rain and for flood season and there are mudslides and all of those things.
GONZALES: Volunteers are already filling thousands of sand bags, as similarities between this year's blazes and the massive wildfires of October 2003 rekindle fears of deadly mudslides. On Christmas 2003, waves of black mud, boulders and fire debris wiped out homes and roads and took lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man, it was just like a gushing thing of mud water.
GONZALES: Researcher say, a repeat of those conditions looks possible.
RICHARD MINNICH, GEOLOGIST, UIC RIVERSIDE: Pretty much the risk. We're looking at another massive or mega burn of extraordinary size.
GONZALES: And they want the public to prepare.
DOUG MORTON, GEOLOGIST, UIC RIVERSIDE: They may have escaped the fire, but they may not escape the aftermath of it.
GONZALES: The problem is the black hillsides left behind by the fire are almost totally water repellant. Researchers say it's like laying a sheet of plastic on the slopes. The rain comes, and the water, the debris, the ash, any dead trees in the way all go downhill fast.
MORTON: And this can travel, in some cases like in San Bernardino Mountains for miles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it's going to end up over here.
GONZALES: Standing at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains, Annesley Ignatius is reminded of the threat every time he looks up at the black burn area perched miles above his community.
ANNESLEY IGNATIUS, SAN BERNARDINO COMPANY PUBLIC WORKS: Do you see the black burn area over there that is going to come down.
GONZALES: All this way?
IGNATIUS: All this way.
GONZALES: His staff in San Bernardino Public Works Department is already clearing drainage creeks and basins. He worries levees could fail if the work isn't done before the rains come.
IGNATIUS: Well, right now their focus is on the fire, at this point in time, but we want to be able to tell the folks, there is much more after work.
GONZALES: The danger is greatest in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, where terrain can be steep. The risk is lower in the burned areas around San Diego, but officials say residents should still be on guard. Vince Gonzalez for CNN in San Bernardino, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Were they trying to give some help or kidnapping? Dozens of children? Members of a French charity accused of trying to take African kids from their parent for export.
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COLLINS: Overflowing with breast milk. An Iowa woman puts hers up for sale. Martha Heller took out an ad in the Tiffin, Iowa newspaper, 100 ounces for 200 bucks. That's about $2 an ounce, I guess. Or you can just make an offer on it too. Containers are pilling up in the freezer because she says wont drink from a bottle. An Iowa official says, there is no law against it but he doesn't recommend it.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. You will stay informed all day right here on the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what on the rundown.
Pakistan's government coming down hard on its critics today. What does a crackdown mean for president bush's war on terror?
A box with a toddler's body inside washes ashore. In just minutes I'll talk live with an investigator from a Texas sheriff's department.
And Oprah Winfrey speaking out a short time ago on an abuse scandal at her school for girls. Under investigation, this Monday, November 5th, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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