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U.S. Connection to Finland School Shooting?; Too Old to Fly Safely? F-15s Grounded; Search for the Missing
Aired November 12, 2007 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Is there a connection? We'll get to that story in just a moment, but that San Francisco Bay oil spill first. Want to tell you the very latest.
They want to know if it was the result of negligence or if it was an unavoidable mistake. The ship's crew now being questioned as part of a criminal investigation. The oil spilled on Wednesday when a container ship struck the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge. The incident ripped a gash in the ship and 58,000 gallons spilled out.
The oil's spreading along the Pacific coastline. At least a dozen beaches are closed, hundreds of sea birds either dead or coated in oil. And today wildlife teams are looking for more birds to save.
San Francisco's mayor complains the Coast Guard underestimated the severity of the spill. Last hour the head of the Coast Guard told us the incident never should have happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. THAD ALLEN, U.S. COAST GUARD: Well, you know, you had a competently manned ship with a pilot, all the navigation and sensors. There were probably some human error factors, but we need to determine the facts because there was no reason a ship like this should have collided with the bridge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The admiral also says fog and poor visibility prevented an accurate assessment of the scope of the spill.
Eyes on the skies, tense moments on the ground. A short time ago a massive fire in east London sent a huge cloud of smoke over much of the city, and immediately it ignited fears of terrorism. Police say there is nothing to suggest a suspicious cause, but the blaze is under investigation.
Police say the fire apparently broke out near an abandoned bus garage. The warehouse is on the site of the 2012 summer Olympics. No injuries have been reported.
Is there a U.S. connection? Authorities in Finland are trying to determine if a school massacre there is somehow linked to a suspected Columbine-style plot outside of Philadelphia.
CNN's Jim Acosta with the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Before he gunned down eight people at a Finland school and before he left this cryptic YouTube warning of his campus attack, Finish authorities suspect Pekka-Eric Auvinen was a visitor to this MySpace page glorifying the Columbine massacre. It was there, investigators in Finland say, where Auvinen may have chatted with a 14-year-old Pennsylvania boy named Dillon Cossey, who police say planned his own school shooting outside Philadelphia last month.
BRUCE CASTOR, MONTGOMERY COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It's very sketchy. The Finnish authorities have said that there might be this connection, but they don't cite what makes them think that.
ACOSTA: The district attorney handling Cossey's case says he just learned of the alleged connection in an article that appeared in "The Times of London" newspaper. The story quotes Finnish authorities saying the Pennsylvania teen may have used a previously unknown screen name, shadow19462, to visit that MySpace page dedicated to Columbine killers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris.
CASTOR: We have a special unit of forensic detectives that deal with just computer cases. And I asked them to tear down the computer and check for this other screen name.
J. DAVID FARRELL, COSSEY'S ATTORNEY: Knowing my client as I have gotten to know him, I would be very surprised if he were engaged in any true planning or encouraging behavior to an individual in Finland who was planning some sort of school attack.
ACOSTA: Cossey's attorney says any connection between his client and the Finland school shooter should serve as wake-up call to parents that troubled teens may be socializing on Web sites that lionize campus killers.
FARRELL: Surely it's disturbing that online there is this hero worship of two killers.
ACOSTA (on camera): And is that poisoning the minds of some of these kids out there?
FARRELL: I would say it reinforces their alienation and feeds into their violent fantasies, absolutely. It's poisoning them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And CNN's Jim Acosta is joining us now live.
Hey, Jim, what's the very latest now on the case?
ACOSTA: Well, The Associated Press is reported that they have spoken with a police official in Finland who has said that they now believe based on material pulled off of that school shooter's computer in Finland that there was some kind of chatting going on between that school shooter in Finland and Dillon Cossey here in Pennsylvania. CNN is still trying to independently verify that information.
Earlier this morning, the Finnish authorities did release a statement, but it seemed to be backing away from this story, so we're sort of getting two different versions of events here. And we're hoping to independently verify whether or not there was this connection going on.
COLLINS: All right. CNN's Jim Acosta for us following that story out of Norristown, Pennsylvania, this morning.
Jim, thank you.
(NEWSBREAK)
COLLINS: F-15s now grounded for more than a week. Do the famed fighter jets have a future?
CNN's Chris Lawrence with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The F-15 has been a workhorse for three decades, but the Air Force is trying to figure out when it will be safe for hundreds of its premiere fighter jets to fly again. The entire fleet was grounded after F-15 one disintegrated on a routine training mission over Missouri. That plane was built in 1980.
LT. COL. CLAY GARRISON, F-15 WING COMMANDER: It's pretty old. All of the airplanes are pretty old. You probably didn't drive up here in a 30-year-old car.
LAWRENCE: Lieutenant Colonel Clay Garrison is piloting one of the F-16s reassigned to pick up the slack from the grounded jets. He says in some older models, engineers are trying to pipe 21st century data through a system built in the 1970s.
GARRISON: From my perspective flying this airplane or flying an F-15, I just look at what's possible and then I look at what we're doing, and from that aspect it's frustrating.
LAWRENCE: As a replacement, Congress authorized the Air Force to buy about 180 F-22s, but the Air Force says it really needs more than twice that amount. Keeping an old plane in operation means mechanics build up experience, but...
MAJ. JOE HARRIS, F-15 MAINTAINER: The cost for flying hour of maintaining the jet continues to rise. I have seen it double in my time with the F-15.
LAWRENCE: One thing that continues to be updated is the plane's emergency system.
(on camera): So if a pilot has to eject, there's a stabilizer in the chair that will guide him during his free fall so he's not tumbling end over end. There's also a barometer that is sensing the air pressure, so it will fire the parachute at a certain safe altitude.
(voice over): The ejection seat saved that pilot in Missouri when his F-15 crashed. Now the engineers are trying to figure out what caused the crash in first place.
COL. STEVE GREGG, F-15 WING COMMANDER: Once they identify the cause, then they'll give us some type of inspection to conduct on our jets to find out if whatever they find is happening in other airplanes.
LAWRENCE: If it's just faulty maintenance, the F-15s could be cleared to fly again soon. If it's a structural problem, the fix could be long and expensive.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Portland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Young voters unplugged by politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you registered to vote?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I'm actually not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just did it -- it was like when I renewed by driver's license, but I haven't actually voted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I talk with a filmmaker about his new documentary, "18 in '08."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
COLLINS: The search for missing adults interrupted. An important resource helping families now facing a crisis of its own.
CNN's Vince Gonzales has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VINCE GONZALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, one of the groups brought in by the government to help families looking for relatives was the National Center for Missing Adults.
KIM PASQUALINI, NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING ADULTS: We had 13,502 calls just for Hurricane Katrina alone.
GONZALES: Now it's Kim Pasqualini's center that could soon be among the missing. A financial crisis could close its doors for good on Monday. The center received $50,000 to help Katrina families, but the job was so big, it cost five times that. When Kim asked the government, she was told no more funding was available.
PASQUALINI: I was told to go back home and to fire my staff. I had 13 staff. I now have two who have not been paid.
GONZALES: She hasn't taken a salary since 2006. And a bill in Congress re-authorizing her regular funding is stalled. Congresswoman Sue Myrick is one of its sponsors.
REP. SUE MYRICK, (R) NC: We're trying to push it out of subcommittee.
GONZALES (on camera): The headquarters was here at this large office park, but then they lost their lease and the for rent signs up and the center has been forced to move to much more modest accommodation.
GONZALES (voice-over): hey provided resources to thousands of families and was a key ally of law enforcement in nearly every state where the staff and Web site helped with missing persons cases and unsolved homicides.
DET. ROGER GEISLER, GLENDALE, ARIZONA POLICE: Losing this resource is going to hurt law enforcement everywhere.
GONZALES: Detective Roger Geisler of the Glendale, Arizona Police Department says the center has been invaluable in investigations across the country.
Are there people who might still be missing if they hadn't been there to help?
GONZALES: Absolutely, absolutely.
PHIL RANDOLPH, PARENT: It's just like a nightmare. I can't believe what we're living.
LINDA RANDOLPH, PARENT: And it never stops. It's 24/7.
P. RANDOLPH: Yeah.
L. RANDOLPH: A year later, it's 24/7.
GONZALES: Phil and Linda Rudolph's daughter Marcy disappeared in a small plane flying to Sedona, Arizona. They say the center supported them and should get the same funding and attention as the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children.
P. RANDOLPH: The most vulnerable and easily victimized. And so you should have that focus. But, like we say, sometimes a missing adult is somebody's child too.
L. RANDOLPH: Always someone's child.
GONZALES: On Monday, the center's phone will be replaced with a recording telling families of missing adults, there's no one available to help them. Vince Gonzales for CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: In Missouri now, police say she made the whole thing up. A Missouri woman is facing charges this morning after claiming she was kidnapped. The woman sent text messages to her sister saying she was abducted by people she didn't know.
She claims she was being taken to Virginia. Instead, though, police found her at a friend's house. She is now charged with making a false police report.
They came armed with flowers and left with a couple's life savings. At least $60,000 stolen in New York. Police say two men knocked on a woman's apartment door. They told her the flowers were from her husband.
Once they got inside, they tied up the 80-year-old, ransacked her home, and took the couple's savings. The woman's husband wasn't home. And he told police he mentioned the money to someone and believes that may have led to the robbery. The wife says of her husband, he's got a big mouth.
Starting over after the storm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not making 10-year decisions. We're making 100-year decisions. We're building a town for our kids, not just for ourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Almost wiped off the map, and now going green.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
COLLINS: A Kansas town almost wiped off the map by a tornado. Now rebuilding with a conscience.
CNN's Betty Nguyen has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA MUNTZ, TORNADO SURVIVOR: And you could hear it ripping the house away. You could hear the roof going, you could hear things hitting the house.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): May 4, 2007, an F5 tornado nearly wiped Greensburg, Kansas, off the map.
MUNTZ: I really felt like we were going to die that night.
NGUYEN: In fact, 11 people did die. The rest are left with this, painful reminders of what the town use to look like.
MUNTZ: She lost her job, the church was gone...
NGUYEN: Pamela Muntz has lived here 32 years, she says the only way to heal is to focus on the future and today, part of the future just arrived.
MUNTZ: And when it got here today, it became reality. It became reality. It's really here. It's going on the foundation, it's reality.
NGUYEN (on camera): And it's emotional for you?
MUNTZ: It is. It is emotional. It is. You don't realize how important your home is. To me, your home is your safe haven. And we've not had a safe haven for five months.
NGUYEN (voice-over): She now finds peace of mind in this customized modular home, it that comes already built and is designed to be energy-efficient.
MUNTZ: And it's one piece. It's one piece now, it's not two pieces.
NGUYEN: That's the beauty of starting over. The tornado wiped the slated clean and now the town is rebuilding with a conscious. The goal is to go green, create a place that is so environmentally friendly it sets the standard for communities across the nation.
NGUYEN (on camera): Where was your basement?
STEVE HEWITT, GREENSBURG CITY ADMIN: Right here. It kind of feels like...
(voice-over): Steve Hewitt, who also lost his home in the tornado, is the city administrator, helping to lead the way.
HEWITT: By building efficient homes, you're seeing less energy wasted and by not wasting energy then you have an opportunity to be friendlier to your environment, which is important because we're not building a town, we're not making 10 year decisions, we're making 100 year decisions. We're building the town for our kids, not just for ourselves.
NGUYEN: Which is why students are taking part in the design. Just listen to the ideas on the table.
LIVI SMITH, GREENSBURG HIGH SCHOOL: ... the geothermal energy, they're talking about wind energy.
TAYLOR SCHMIDT, GREENSBURG HIGH SCHOOL: Use of a lot of natural lighting and going to have -- we're trying to get -- Kansas is giving schools the opportunity to be wind-powered and if that came, it would just be incredible that we had our own wind turbine and we were completely would be self-reliant, energy-wise. NGUYEN: It's almost ironic how the same element that destroyed the town is being used to rebuild it. But according to city planners, Steven Hardy, it just makes sense.
STEPHEN HARDY, CITY PLANNER: They're really starting to understand that that means money. There is money blowing around in the air and it's a resource that they can harness.
NGUYEN: While still in its early phases, the plan is already creating a buzz that's attracted camera crews from the Discovery Channel. Producer Johnny Gould says Discovery plans a 13-part dormitory called "Ecotown."
JOHNNY GOULD, PRODUCER, PILGRIM FILMS: For a lot of these people, green was a color on the wall and now they're learning that building green can be a type of nail or a specific type of siding or a special window that you use that's more energy-efficient.
NGUYEN: And that can be more expensive. Part of the challenge is getting people to make the investment now so they'll save later. But when most of the town is still living out of FEMA trailers, there are those that just want their house built the fastest way possible, even if it's not green.
(on camera): How much of the town is going to be ecofriendly?
HARDY: Well, our goal is to make everything ecofriendly. I think that is -- and is that a goal that we can reach? I don't know. We're sure going to will try.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you see it moving?
NGUYEN (voice-over): And this grandmother of two is determined to do her part.
MUNTZ: Oh, I see this house and I'm so excite and I'm not even thinking about, you know, starting over. It is a new life and it's going to be good.
NGUYEN: For both her family and a town that is raising the bar on what it means to rebuild responsibly.
Betty Nguyen, CNN, Greensburg, Kansas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Where will the young people be on Election Day?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am asked all the time by young people, "How do you get started?" And I say the only way to get started is to start.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: There you go. Meet a young filmmaker trying to spark the votes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Out of control in Italy. Soccer fans riot, and it's not because of the game. That story just ahead.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris is off today.
Want to get you to some news coming in about the pope and a possible visit to the United States.
T.J. Holmes is following the story for us live from the newsroom.
Hi there, T.J.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there.
Clear your calendars, straighten up the house. We've got the pope coming to town. Going to be making his first visit to the United States, according to Vatican officials, next year.
This is going to happen in April, we're being told. Stops going to include a stop at the White House, also a speech at the United Nations. Also going to make a visit to Ground Zero.
Pope Benedict, he was elected in April of 2005, of course, following the death of John Paul II. But this will be his first official trip.
He's going to lead a couple masses, one in Washington. Also going to lead one at Yankee Stadium while he's here on April 20th. But the entire trip, April 15th through the 20th, is when this is going to happen. He, of course, has met with President Bush. The two met for the first time in June of this year. That was over at the Vatican actually, but there will be a welcoming ceremony when he gets here in April of next year at the White House. The official welcoming at the White House but several days of events, a five-day trip. The first trip we're getting word of now Pope Benedict going to be making to the United States in April of next year. We have a heads up. We have a lot of cleaning up to do to get ready for company. Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: No question. A lot of people going to be gathering for that I imagine. T.J. Holmes, thank you.
Continuing our coverage now of our top story that that San Francisco Bay oil spill. We first told you about last Thursday. Was it the results of negligence or was it an unavoidable mistake? The ship's crew now being questioned as part of a criminal investigation. The oil spill on Wednesday when a container ship struck the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge. The incident ripped a gash in the ship and 58,000 gallons spilled out. The oil now spreading along the pacific coastline. At least a dozen beaches are closed and hundreds of sea birds either dead or coated in the oil. Earlier this morning, I talked to the head of the coast guard about criticism of how the guard handled the spill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADMIRAL THAD ALLEN, U.S. COAST GUARD: The response that took place was in accordance with the area contingency plan, which is a preplanned set of actions that take place when there's a spill in San Francisco Bay, and that is conducted in advance by the coast guard and all the stakeholders. That response was set into play within an hour of the event itself. Where there's confusion, later on in the day when we revised the oil spill estimate on the discharge. That was not passed in a timely manner. I don't want to confuse the inability to pass that information on with the fact that the response was mounted properly.
COLLINS: OK so what you're saying because obviously what you're talking about here is what was first released, and that was -- to the press anyway, about 140 gallons of oil that apparently leaked. And then later finding out its closer to 58,000 gallons, a huge disparity. You're saying people there on the ground knew that the oil spill was much more severe and that information just did not get out in a timely manner?
ALLEN: Well, what happened was the event occurred early in the morning when there's a lot of fog, poor visibility. We couldn't get a helicopter up to do an accurate assessment. We had to move the vessel to an anchorage. We couldn't sound the tanks because of the damage to the tanks. It took until about four o'clock in the afternoon to ascertain the exact amount that had been released. In the meantime, there was an eyeball estimate made that was 140 gallons. That probably shouldn't have been released because it's very difficult to assess how much oil was spilled once it's on the water. But that did not slow the response. We had skimming equipment and booms out there right away.
COLLINS: You clearly had some success with that. More than 12,000 gallons have been skimmed off. Another four evaporated. It still leaves a lot out there though. When we look at the video and we see the birds and we know the beaches are closed, people get upset obviously. And now we're learning about criminal charges as well that are being investigated that could be filed. Your thoughts on that?
ALLEN: Well, it's understandable that people are upset. Aside from the response, as I said earlier, we have a marine transportation accident. NTSB needs to look at that. We will support them. In addition, there are potential civil and criminal penalties associated with discharge of oil into the waters of the nights. The United States will work very closely with the Department of Justice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Teams of volunteers are out today looking for more birds that they might be able to save.
A memorial turns deadly. It is the latest flash point of violence in the Middle East. The Gaza City rally marked the third anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat. Palestinian sources say gunfire erupted between Hamas security forces and Fatah gunmen. Each side blames the other for firing first. At least seven people are dead. About 55 others wounded. It was the largest Fatah rally since Hamas took control of Gaza in June. The violence had been widely expected.
In Pakistan, a date set for elections now, but the state of emergency still in effect. CNN's Karl Penhaul is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He a called a news conference even though his own emergency powers knocked independent media off the air in Pakistan. General Pervez Musharraf had a message designed to offset international criticism that his state of emergency marked a slide to dictatorship.
PRES. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTAN: I would request the election commission to hold elections as soon as possible, as fast as possible, which means if you calculate 45 to 60 days from 20th November, we should have the elections before the 9th of January.
PENAHUL: But there's a catch. The president isn't saying when he will lift emergency rule.
MUSHARRAF: I do understand that emergency rule has to be lifted, but I cannot give a date for it. We are in a difficult situation, and, therefore, I cannot give a date.
PENHAUL: That may make it difficult for some candidates and political parties to campaign for general elections in January. Under emergency power, Mr. Musharraf has panned political rallies and repeatedly in the last week sent in security forces to break up gatherings with canes and tear gas. Some key opposition figures are under arrest. Their homes surrounded by police and barbed wire. Addressing another key international demand, Musharraf pledged to quit as army chief as Pakistan's courts confirm his re-election as president. That could be sooner rather than later after Musharraf fired on compliant Supreme Court justices and replaced them with his allies.
MUSHARRAF: The moment we have a decision on the removal of the -- on allowing us the notification, I shall take oath of office as president of Pakistan.
PENHAUL: Musharraf repeated assertions Sunday that emergency rule had been necessary to fight an uptake in Islamic militant attacks, but said the decision had not been easy.
MUSHARRAF: It was indeed a bitter pill to swallow. There's no doubt about it. There is no doubt that this was the most difficult decision I have ever taken in my life.
PENHAUL: A decision that Mr. Musharraf's war on terror ally, President George Bush, has been pushing him hard to reverse. Karl Penhaul, CNN, is Islamabad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Police in Italy have arrested four people today in connection with a massive wave of soccer riots. The violence attack in Rome was sparked by an accidental police shooting. Police were trying to break up a scuffle between rival soccer fans at a gas station. As many as 40 police officers were injured in the rioting which also led to several soccer games being called off.
Fatal storms rescue and clean up operations going on right now on the Black Sea. Storms have sunk several ships. It's reported five bodies have been recovered and 20 sailors are still missing. Concerns now about the spilling of oil from at least one of the ships; the spill could in fact be the worst environmental disaster in the region in years. Four ships sinking in the strait connecting the Black Sea and the Azov Sea. A Russian government official reportedly says one of the ships that sank was designed to travel on rivers and not to withstand storms at sea.
Want to get to the weather center now and Bonnie Schneider who is standing by. Going to give us a little more info about the new Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons that are getting them all fired up and doing a trial run, right?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They did on Sunday. We've got some great previews to show you of what you can expect on Thanksgiving. There's some new floats out there you want to check out. Look at this. Of course Shrek, but this is a new one, the Abby Cadabby from "Sesame Street." Hello Kitty Super Cute, and you know it's interesting, the balloons actually came on board in 1927 to replace live zoo animals and if you're wondering how do they actually keep these balloons from going their own way? There's about 50 to 70 people, volunteers, that handle these balloons, and the volunteers have to weigh at least 120 pounds and be in good health.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Meanwhile, shot down over Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pedals weren't responding why?
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, PILOT: I didn't have any legs.
COLLINS: Pilot on a new mission. Tammy Duckworth's story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: If you like to eat out a lot, you might be able to cash in on some big discounts. Good news for those of us who really don't like to cook every single night. Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange with word on why this could be bad news though for the economy as a whole. Boy, this must be like significant discounts.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, exactly, Heidi. It's one of those things that sounds good to all of us consumers, but for a lot of the companies not so good. But it could wet the appetite for those who like to save money but still dine out. "USA Today" says casual restaurant chains are sending out coupons like crazy. It says restaurants like IHOP, are blitzing customers with these coupons. Ruby Tuesdays, Bennigans and TGI Fridays are among the others who are sending out two for ones, $5 off coupons and even gift card bonuses. Other restaurants like Applebee's are promoting low cost value meals. Its lunch combos start around $6, and Chili's has a $10.99 baby back bonus. It's an unprecedented amount of jockeying for customers with consumers the likely winner, Heidi.
COLLINS: OK. So you mentioned this may not be all good news because it never really is. What's the downside exactly?
ELAM: Right. Well, for consumers in the short run, this will help at a time when many of us are trying to save because we want to get some holiday gifts ready. But for restaurants, this is a sign of trouble ahead. This is a time of the year when restaurants are usually doing very well. Experts say the downturn in the housing market, higher oil prices, and an uncertain economy have hurt consumer confidence. A lot of times people are out there shopping and they stop to eat and keep going. This is obviously a concern here. In addition, a growing number of people are opting for takeout meals they're just too busy to take the time to sit in a restaurant and eat out. People are busy these days.
Let's look at Wall Street right now. We're seeing modest gains. Stocks are getting a lift from some deal making news. IBM has agreed to buy Canadian business software company Cognos for $5 billion. Oil prices are sharply lower on speculation that OPEC may actually boost production.
Let's take a look at the numbers right now. The Dow industrials gaining 71 points, up about half a percent. 13,114 there. NASDAQ is fractionally higher. So right now no real bad news for you, Heidi, as far as the numbers are concerned. So we'll take it, right?
COLLINS: Yeah, we'll always take that. Very good. All right. Stephanie, thank you.
ELAM: Thanks.
COLLINS: In just about 15 minutes from now "YOUR WORLD TODAY" begins right here on CNN. And Isha Sesay is standing by to tell us a little more about what will be on the show. Hi there Isha.
ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Heidi. Well, there was scenes of football violence in Italy on Sunday as fans went on the rampage following the death of one of their own. We'll have reports for you from our very own Alessio Vinci as another episode of football violence tarnishes Italy's reputation.
And what exactly caused these billowing clouds of smoke above London? More than a dozen fire engines were called to the scene. We'll have the full story for you.
Plus, it was a very undiplomatic exchange between two world leaders. Why exactly did the king of Spain tell Venezuela's Hugo Chavez to zip it? Tune in to "YOUR WORLD TODAY" at the top of the hour with me, Isha Sesay, and Jim Clancy, for the full answer. Back to you Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Isha, we'll be watching. Thank you.
A hip-hop star loses his mother. Did plastic surgery lead to the woman's death?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: America observes the Veterans Day holiday today honoring U.S. troops. As you know, Veterans Day was officially yesterday, but we do want to show you some pictures coming into us from tributes around the country on this federal holiday. These are live pictures from the World War II memorial on the mall in Washington, D.C., lots of people there commemorating Veterans Day. And also you can check out Fort Stewart, Georgia. Live pictures from there as well. Home of the third infantry division. This is Warriors Walk where one tree is planted for each of the more than 300 soldiers from the third ID who lost their lives in Iraq.
Want to take a moment to get over to CNN's T.J. Holmes. He's live in the NEWSROOM now with more on the Pope and a visit he's going to be making to the United States. T.J.
HOLMES: He's coming to town next year. We have to wait a little while, April of next year. Pope Benedict will be making his first trip to the U.S. This will happen in April. The official date the 15th through the 20th is the word we're getting. He's going to make a stop in several spots, but of course, the White House where he'll have an official welcoming ceremony. Also he'll make a stop at Ground Zero in New York and also he'll make a speech at the United Nations. He will lead a couple of masses, one in Washington and also he'll lead a mass on the 20th at Yankee Stadium in New York. It just so happens that he will actually be in the United States to celebrate or he will be celebrating the three-year anniversary of his election as pope, which happened in April of 2005. Of course, he replaced John Paul II who, of course, died. But it just so happened three years to the date of his election as the new pope he will actually be in the United States. So something to look forward to and put on the calendar. April of next year. Pope Benedict, first trip to the U.S.
COLLINS: All right. Lots of people going to be looking forward to that. Appreciate it. Thank you T.J.
COLLINS: Hip-hop star Kanye West mourning the death of his mother this morning. A spokesman says Donda West died Saturday night in Los Angeles. She was 58 years old. A publicist tells CNN Donda West died after a cosmetic surgery procedure, but there's no specific word on the cause. Her death is a huge loss for the rapper. She was not only his mother, but his inspiration. West often spoke of the strong bond they shared. He says she was actually the inspiration for his song "Hey Mama." Just last May she published a book called "Raising Kanye."
She lost her legs in combat and now she's found a new mission. Today marks the anniversary of Tammy Duckworth's new life. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: For Tammy Duckworth, the fight began November 12th, 2004. Tammy seated in the cockpit of a Blackhawk helicopter just north of Baghdad, on her last flight of the day with Dan Milberg, the pilot in command.
CAPT. DAN MILBERG, PILOT IN COMMAND: I'm thinking this is great, 15 more minutes, we'll be home, eating chow. Nobody sees us, nobody has any clue we're even here and all of a sudden, boom.
DUCKWORTH: I remember a big orange fireball in my face.
GUPTA: A rocket propelled grenade ripped through her body.
DUCKWORTH: And I don't remember my physical feelings other than absolute frustration that the pedals to the aircraft were not responding to me pushing on them.
GUPTA: The pedals weren't responding why?
DUCKWORTH: I didn't have any legs.
MILBERG: She's slumped over up against the instrument panel. She didn't seem like she heard me. She didn't have a smile on her face, wasn't talking. I thought she was dead, and --
GUPTA: An ocean away, Tammy's husband, Brian Bowlsbey was celebrating with his family in Maryland. It was the night before his brother's wedding. Brian was best man. The evening interrupted when he played a voice mail. It was Tammy's dad.
MAJ. BRYAN BOWLSBEY, TAMMY'S HUSBAND: The Department Of The Army Casualty called him and told him Tammy had been shot down, lost both legs, and was likely to be a triple amputee.
GUPTA: 13 long months at Walter Reed. Tammy Duckworth had a lot of time to think about the future and it looked bleak.
DUCKWORTH: Watch out. I started becoming more and more worried that that transition from the incredible care I received at Walter Reed was not going to happen smoothly as I went to the V.A. Then I started worrying about the fact that maybe this country won't remember in five years that there's all these war wounded and that this is also a price of the war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: For more on Tammy Duckworth's fight for veterans, you can join CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta for our broken government special this weekend. Waging war on the V.A., it comes your way Saturday and Sunday night 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. eastern.
The chase is on. Look at this. Kangaroos kept police on their toes making them hopping mad.
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COLLINS: UFO sightings. Earlier this month democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said he once saw one. Now it turns out he's not alone. Close encounters, the topic today at a meeting happening right now in Washington. Former top government and military officials from around the world are there sharing their own personal experiences. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. WILFRIED DE BROUWER, BELGIAN AIR FORCE (RET.): During the evening of 29 November 1989 in a small area in eastern Belgium, approximately 140 UFO sightings were reported. Hundreds of people saw a majestic triangle craft with a span of approximately 120 feet, powerful beaming spotlights, moving very slowly, without making any significant noise, but in several cases accelerating to very high speeds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The truth is out there somewhere, and so is CNN's live coverage of the conference. If you'd like to check it out, just log on to CNN.com/video. You can look for it right now.
Speaking of CNN.com, don't forget the podcast. We record it every day. Just a few minutes from now, and then you can download it. 24/7 available to you at CNN.com/podcast. Fun stories on there for you. Speaking of fun stories ...
A runaway roo in Australia. People were told to stay away as police and wildlife officials stared down this wayward kangaroo in one Melbourne neighborhood. They set up a trap, but he easily broke through the net. A little kangaroo knocked down a little boy. Or I should say big kangaroo. He was not hurt but the kangaroo kept the police hopping until they were finally able to coral it. The kangaroo was sent to a nearby nature habitat. Do not mess around. OK. We do understand the kangaroo is OK. So are all the people involved. There you go. There's the finale and as we said, the kangaroo was sent off to a nature habitat.
Also want to let you know we had talked about this new film, a documentary on young voters, 18 in '08. Unfortunately, because of some logistical issues, we could not talk with that film director today but we will be doing that a little bit later on in the week. We'll let you know when it happens.
Meantime, CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now. "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next. I'm Heidi Collins. I'll see you tomorrow everybody.
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