Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Pakistan in Peril?; Unarmed Teen Killed; Lawmakers Targeted?; Did Surgery Cause Death?; Escaped Inmate Captured

Aired November 13, 2007 - 09:00   ET

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

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: The frontier was the first place that Elvis Presley performed in Vegas.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: It was an icon on the Las Vegas strip.

That's going to do it for us. Thanks for joining us on this "AMERICAN MORNING." See you tomorrow.

CHETRY: In the meantime, CNN NEWSROOM with Heidi Collins starts right now.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins. Watch events coming into the NEWSROOM live on Tuesday morning. It's November 13th and here's what's on the run down.

Benazir Bhutto her new hard line on Pakistan's military ruler, her latest protest running into a roadblock.

A blitz of bullets and a New York teen is killed by police. Was he carrying a gun? Or just hairbrush?

Doctors removed her extra limbs and now they say this little girl is out of the woods. Post surgery debut in the NEWSROOM.

Pakistan, a key U.S. ally and armed with nuclear weapons. Today, its fragile democracy may face greater peril. This morning former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is under house arrest and on the attack today. CNN's Zain Verjee is in Lahore this morning and joins us via broad band. What is the latest now, Zain?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, the rally was a bit of a bust and it fell flat on its face. There were no masses out on the streets protesting and supporting Benazir Bhutto. Instead, there were some minor clashes in Lahore, also on the outskirts of Karachi, some of Benazir Bhutto's supporters came out on to a main street between Lahore and Islamabad. They clashed with police and there was some tear gas and they burned some tires but there were no real major clashes. The atmosphere here, a few blocks away from her home, is actually pretty relaxed. It's not very tense at all. Benazir Bhutto is barricaded by barbed wire. Security forces are in the area as well. They've cut up the roads. They had earlier in the day to even reach her house. This clamp down, Heidi, comes amid increasing rhetoric and a greater hard line. A tougher message from Benazir Bhutto. Earlier, she spoke to CNN. This is what she said. BENAZIR BHUTTO, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN: I really think you've gone too far and it's time for him to leave. He -- he doesn't understand the priorities under his rule he is focused so much attention on containing the democrats that he has neglected the real threat from al Qaeda and Taliban.

VERJEE: The deputy secretary of state John Negroponte, CNN has learned, will be coming to Pakistan later this week. He was already scheduled to come here and talk to Pakistanis about U.S./Pakistan cooperation, but, obviously, the situation here is getting serious. It's a precarious one and this will be the priority. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Zain Verjee from Lahore this morning. Zain, we know you'll stay on top of it for us. Thanks, we'll check in later on.

In the meantime, we want to get to this now. An unarmed teen gunned down by police. Witnesses say all he had on him was a hairbrush. How are police explaining the shooting? CNN's Alina Cho is in Brooklyn this morning with more on the story. Good morning to you, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi. Keep in mind the shooting happened about 14 hours ago. So the details are still sketchy at best. Police are not talking at this point but here is what we know at this hour. Around 7:00 last night, police responded to a 911 call made by the -- reports the mother said her son was threatening her with a gun. Some reports are saying that the 911 operator could even hear a man in the background yelling, "I've got a gun, I've got a gun." Either way, police responded here in the Brooklyn area of New York. The young man, remember, he was just 18 years old. Eventually climbed outside that first floor apartment window and crossed the sidewalk toward police. That's according to initial report by police. It is unclear at this point whether police actually shouted a warning before firing, unclear how many police officers were involved in the shooting and unclear how many shots were fired. Witnesses say at least ten, possibly as many as 20. What is clear is that police say that the man was carrying something in his hand when he climbed outside that window and that he had his hands in his pocket. Witnesses say that object was not a gun, but a hairbrush.

ANDRE WILDMAN, NEIGHBOR: The boy had no gun. He had a brush on him. He had a brush and started shooting him for no reason.

CHO: How do you make sense of it?

WILDMAN: There's not that much to say. That's not a good look at the police.

WAYNE HOLDER, NEIGHBOR: At least see a gun before you start to discharge it. Here, they think you got within, you going to get shot in this neighborhood. I don't know about other neighborhoods but here, if they think you got one, you going to get shot.

CHO: This is just the latest in a string of New York City Police shootings of unarmed many, very high profile cases. The last one happening almost a year ago to the day. The community here is up in arms. They are demanding answers. I should mention that the Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network has opened its own investigation into the shooting and representatives will be holding a news conference not far from where I'm standing later this afternoon.

COLLINS: I want to ask you quickly. I think I heard you say and correct me if I'm wrong, but did the young man say he had a gun, he had a gun? Is that what the quote was he was yelling to police?

CHO: That is according to some reports this morning. Remember, the details are still sketchy. The shooting happened 14 years ago but according to some reports, the mother called 911, said that her son was threatening her with a gun and according to some reports, the 911 operator could hear a man in the background yelling, "I have a gun, I have a gun." What will be critical, as we go forward, is that 911 tape. Police have not decided whether to release it and they say right now they're worried about the truth, not the time involved in the investigation, and they want to get it accurate.

COLLINS: That investigation ongoing. I'm sure we will following it closely. Thank you, Alina Cho.

And word of a blast in the Philippines this morning to tell you about. We have just confirmed it happened outside parliament. At least five people were injured, including three lawmakers. Police have now cordoned off the area. An investigation is under way. You can look at the map to see where we're talking about here. Details are still coming in on this developing story so we will keep you updated as soon as we learn any more.

Meanwhile, it may cost more to visit mom this Thanksgiving. The of the government's top energy forecaster predicts gas prices will rise another 20 cents over the next two or three weeks. Right now prices are already above $3 a gallon in some places. If we see that price jump at the pump, we could be looking at breaking the all-time high of $3.22. A big thanks in part to record oil prices and CNN's Ali Velshi breaks down the numbers and will tell us when, if ever, there will be some relief. That will be coming up minutes from now here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Was it just a touch? Federal investigators looking into initial reports by the ship's captain in that San Francisco oil spill. One official says the captain reported his ship just touched the bridge. That so-called touch caused this massive gash in the side of a tanker. 58,000 gallons of fuel oil were dumped into the Bay. Investigators now want to know if the captain downplayed the severity of the accident. Meanwhile, crews are still cleaning off thousands of birds as well as San Francisco's beaches.

New questions surround the sudden death of Donda West this morning, the mother of hip-hop mogul Kanye West. An official from the L.A. coroner's office says there are indications that she may have died because of complications from surgery. No word on what kind of surgery, but a plastic surgeon who claims to have operated on West told the celebrity website TMZ he did nothing wrong and says her death could have been caused by other medical problems. An autopsy will be done tomorrow. Donda West died Saturday at age 58.

When your dream makeover turns into a nightmare, we're going to look at the risks in plastic surgery ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

O.J. Simpson due back in court in just a couple of hours. A preliminary hearing resumes into his alleged armed robbery case involving sports memorabilia. Testimony expected to focus on whether guns were involved. Simpson said he never saw any guns when he and a group of men went to a hotel room to get sports memorabilia he says was his. Two men who were with him are expected to dispute that. The hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence to send the case on to trial.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Happening in Maryland now. We are learning a little bit more from police about a prisoner who escaped from Laurel Regional Hospital. Apparently got into some sort of altercation with a state trooper. The name, 39-year-old Kamara Mohammed, police are very worried about this escapee because they say he is armed and a skilled car theft. Actually forgive me. He has been captured. We're looking at some video here now of the area where he was captured and police searching in this area. You see Laurel, Maryland. Apparently Prince George County police say he was being guarded by a female state trooper. They got into an altercation. He grabbed her gun and fired several shots. No one hurt or hit but now thankfully that 39-year-old Kamara Mohammed has been captured and is in custody at this time. We'll keep on top of that for you as well.

Also want to tell you about this story going on in suburban, Chicago. We have been talking about this story for quite sometime. Drew Peterson, a suburban Chicago police sergeant, his fourth wife now missing. 23-year-old Stacy Peterson, she has been missing since October 28th. Today what you are looking at are pictures of the grave site of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. Her mysterious death in 2004 is actually now being investigated as a potential murder. So what is happening here is they are exhuming the body and going to be doing some more testing on her to find out more about that but, again, the case has been reopened; the case of Kathleen Savio, Drew Peterson's third wife, who died back in 2004. Again, as the search continues for 23-year-old Stacy Peterson in the Chicago area. So a lot going on in that case still. We will keep you updated.

Meanwhile, it was her birthday but U.S. troops got the gifts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt like just so happy that they really liked what I did for them and they were just happy about that.

COLLINS: Oh! You're going to meet a little girl with a very big heart.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Big blast. Courtside. An explosion went off during an Israeli basketball game. A team manager lost three fingers and smoke filled the crowded arena. It is believe the blast is caused by a firecracker. That's a pretty big firecracker. A team official says if one of their fans is responsible, he'll quit.

We are getting our first look this morning at the new baby Lakshmi who went a risky operation we've been telling you about to remove four extra limbs. Her story drew worldwide attention. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here. Sanjay, is she really out of the woods? Some of the pictures we have been getting in are just unbelievable.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: She is being carried around by her parents now. This is a little girl that had 27 hours of surgery just last week. She is not out of the woods. I actually just talked to her doctor a short time ago. I called him up in India and he said he is elated, no question, at how things have gone so far but there is still the risk of infection and still the risk of ongoing blood loss. Also just this operation itself, you've got to remember, she had a parasitic twin. Everything but the head was attached to this girl. They had to remove all of that, including spine and extra organs. The limbs are what a lot of people paid attention to but it was a huge operation and there are concerns about repositioning the organs and things like that. So far, it looks like things have gone very, very well. No textbook on how to do this exactly. They had to sort of plan meticulously for over a month.

COLLINS: We talked to a couple of surgeons who have been involved with the conjoined twins but that is a different operation than what we've seen here. If she continues to heal and things continue to go well, what type of life does she have in front of her? Is it going to be completely normal?

GUPTA: It's a good question. Let me say one thing that first of all, a lot of people say would she have survived without the operation? There's a lot of studies done on this sort of problem that this child had, a parasitic twin. Even though it's rare, about 1 in 200,000, most children who have this beyond survive beyond their teenage years so she did need this operation so she could have a normal life span but she has all of these issues which seem less important right now. For example, clubbing of the feet. It's hard to walk on club feet so she will need operations for that. She may have contractures in some of the limbs they spared in this operation so something else she will have to deal with and she may need reposition of one of the organs, her kidney she has was her twin's kidney at one point. That may have to be repositioned in her body. She may have lifelong medical care but she will be able to walk, stand, and all that on timetable.

COLLINS: I can't help but keep looking at the pictures. We appreciate that. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, nice to see you.

GUPTA: Good to see you.

COLLINS: Gas prices predicted to climb just in time for Thanksgiving. How much? Get ready for a shock to your wallet.

(COMMERCIAL BRAK)

COLLINS: Calling out a higher power. Georgia governor today joining lawmakers and ministers to pray for rain during a severe drought. The drought has led to consumers coming back in the Atlanta area with the apparent exception of at least one home. Our affiliate WSB-TV found this single house uses as much water as a 60-home subdivision. 440,000 gallons last month. That is up 15% from the same time last year when there was no water crisis. WSB said it found no evidence the homeowner is violating the region's outdoor watering ban. The homeowner would not talk to a reporter. No surprise there.

It's going to be a pricey holiday season and I'm no not talking about gift giving. Gas prices are headed up. Way up. And just in time to put some damper on your holiday cheer. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business" this morning. Ali, 20 cents, are you kidding me?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is what the Department of Energy is saying. Let's take a look at where the prices are now. $3.10 a gallon for self-serve unleaded across the country which obviously means some people are paying a lot more than that. Look at that. 34 cents higher in one month. Heidi, we've seen oil prices go up, right? We've seen them with that parallel and we know this is going to happen. Now the Department of Energy says you're actually going to see 15 to 20 cents in the next two weeks per gallon. Now, $3.10, you add 15 today and you got $3.25. That surpasses the highest we ever paid which was $3.22 it last May and it could go higher. This isn't spring or the summer driving season. This is a problem.

COLLINS: A bit of a problem for anybody. Any chance the prediction could be wrong?

VELSHI: Well let me show you. I think we might have a chart where I've seen gas prices the last few years. Take a look at that. We've had a few spikes we're at this level. One of them was right after hurricane Katrina right as we got into hurricane Katrina. The other one was last summer and then in May we had this spike and it started coming down but oil prices started to go up. So this is purely mathematical. As oil prices go up, that is a component of gasoline so it's going to go up the same way. We think oil prices won't be at this level after spring. It may not even be until spring. So it could go lower but the fact is as oil prices go up it costs the refiners more to buy that oil and they have to turn that into gasoline. The only way this prediction is wrong is if everybody watches this morning and takes a big gasp and says I got to drive less. But other than that, no.

COLLINS: It doesn't really seem to happen that way. Any idea how long the prices will stay at a level like that if they go there?

VELSHI: We normally don't see them this way at this time of the year, we see them in spring so it depends how long they last at this level. Theoretically, you could see them last above $3 to spring at which point they start going up again. At this point, it's anybody's guess but as oil remains at the high levels it's at, this is what you're going to see. We've never seen oil at these prices so that's why you're seeing it in gas. If I could guess, Heidi, as you know, I'd be calling this report in from my yacht.

COLLINS: I always forget about that! Ali Velshi, thank you. "Minding Your Business" this morning.

VELSHI: Thank you.

COLLINS: Who wants toothpaste and socks for birthday gifts?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They deserve to have some presents for my birthday!

COLLINS: Her birthday. American GIs get the gifts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Close encounters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think it's because this was an alien from another world?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you sure?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

COLLINS: UFO witness gathering to explain these pictures and their experiences.

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: Good morning once again. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris is off today.

Pakistan a key U.S. allied and armed with nuclear weapons. Its fragile democracy may face peril. Benazir Bhutto called for Pakistan's president to resign in a phone call to CNN, Musharraf has placed Bhutto under house arrest. Police have also rounded up thousands of supporters and Bhutto says her party will likely boycott the upcoming elections.

We want to take a moment to get to the New York Stock Exchange now. We're about to hear the opening bell on this Tuesday morning at the works. You probably know that yesterday numbers went down about 5 points by the time of the close at 12,987 so below that 13,000 mark. Not really something that we want to be seeing but given the number it's been at for as long as it has, still not in too bad of shape but obviously a lot of volatility out there.

The opening bell this morning, Tuesday morning. We will be talking more about oil prices and holiday shopping. What it all means to you coming up in just a little bit.

Killed because of a hairbrush? New York police tangled in a shooting controversy in Brooklyn this morning. This was the scene after police shot an unarmed 18-year-old as many as 20 times. Police say the young man's mom called 911 to report a family dispute involving a gun but witness has say the teen came out of this building holding nothing but a hairbrush. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shot him for no reason. No gun or nothing, no drugs or nothing. They shot him. It wasn't necessary.

REPORTER: I thought you said that he did have a gun?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had a gun but when they shot him, he did not have the gun on him. He not have the gun on him. Unfortunately, it's still in -- it's still in the building.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He dropped his brush and then when he dropped his brush they started letting shots off of him.

REPORTER: After he dropped it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After he dropped the brush, they started shooting him with a gun nine or ten times and then after they shot him up and all that, they put a knee in his back and handcuffed him and dragged him to the car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CNN's Alina Cho has been following the story and says, obviously there are a lot of details still coming out so we want to let you know the investigation will likely include the 911 call from the teen's mother. Police say the operator heard the boy in the background claiming he had a gun.

Want to get to the NEWSROOM now where Betty Nguyen is in and covering this story that we have been talking about a little bit anyway this morning already, Betty, in suburban Chicago. They are exhuming a body there.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. It's the body of the third wife of a police sergeant who is now the suspect in his fourth wife's disappearance. So let me lay it out for you. Here's new pictures and a new video coming into CNN of that body being exhumed. This is Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio. This body is being exhumed today for a second autopsy. She was killed originally as it was ruled in an accidental bathtub drowning. Well, now there are some questions surrounding that because Drew Peterson's fourth wife, 23-year-old Stacy Peterson is missing and so they're wondering if foul play was involved in his third wife's death.

Let's get to the Stacy Peterson right now. Because the search still continues for her at this hour and there are some new developments in that, because in the coming days, volunteers are going to have to scale back the ground search. This is problematic because, one, they want to find her and two, the weather is not going to play a part in helping in that search because the water in some of the nearby lakes are -- could possibly ice over and that is why they want to search those areas just as soon as possible before they have to scale that back.

But again, still no word on the whereabouts of Stacy Peterson, 23- year-old wife of suburban Chicago police Sergeant Drew Peterson. She went missing the night of October 28th and still has not been found to this day. That is why they are exhuming the body of Peterson's third wife to see if foul play was involved in that as well. At this point, Peterson is a suspect and originally he said that his wife, Stacy Peterson, left with another man. Again, it's been quite sometime and she hasn't surfaced so there are a lot of questions in this case.

Heidi?

COLLINS: Yes and her family say that that's not true.

NGUYEN: She wouldn't leave her two kids, that is what they're saying.

COLLINS: Right. Two children, Betty, thanks so much.

Headed home. The pentagon drawing down forces from the so-called surge in Iraq. The first to leave, a combat brigade from Ft. Hood, Texas. The Pentagon says insurgent attacks and sectarian violence are down. If it stays that way more troops could head home soon and the number of troops in Iraq would be back to where it was before the increase.

Two face, stocks and snacks that's all a Pennsylvania girl wanted for her 10th birthday but the gifts were not for her. Karin Mallet of WFMZ explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARIN MALLET, WFMZ AFFILIATE: Giggling in grass skirts. Friends relishing the last few lazy days of summer. Memories of Ali Hilbert's 10th birthday, only one thing was missing.

ALI HILBERT, SENT GIFTS TO TROOPS: I just didn't really want anything for my birthday.

MALLET: Instead of gifts...

VERONICA HILBERT, MOTHER: She said how about if we donate to the soldiers? And I said OK, but you know, you're not going to get anything then. You know, I mean, if you tell people to bring things then she said that is OK. So, that's what we did.

MALLET: In lieu of presents, Ali requested her birthday guests to bring toothpaste and toothpicks, socks and snacks to be packaged up and sent to the troops.

A. HILBERT: I thought that they deserve to have some presents for my birthday.

MALLET: With 30 care packages ready to send, Ali and her family turned to the internet and found this website soldiersangels.com. The founder provided Ali with an address. The packages reached Afghanistan and an Air Force Battalion who had recently lost a few of its airmen. Letters came back to Ali with thanks from a far away land. A. HILBERT: I felt like just so happy that they really liked what I did for them and that they were just happy about that.

MALLET: With gratitude, the troops sent Ali an American flag that flew on an AH-63 Apache helicopter after September 11th.

MICHAEL O'PAKE, PENNSYLVANIA STATE SENATE: You always hear that one person can make a difference and every man should try. This young lady has already made a difference and it's going to grow from there.

MALLET: Ali's gift to the troops and the lesson that what you give comes back ten-fold. In Albany township, Karin Mallet, 69 news.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: So, you just want to kiss that little girl. Don't you, Jacqui?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Considering cosmetic surgery some as with any surgery, there are risks. CNN's David Mattingly explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can see in Sharon Osborn's face and Pamela Anderson's cleavage, medical science doing what no diet, no exercise, no makeup could ever hope to accomplish but not everyone emerges from plastic surgery ready for their close-up.

DR. RICHARD D'AMICO, AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PLASTIC SURGERY: This stuff has been mainstreamed and because the media is buzzing with, you know, the afternoon face-lift, the week end this, the quickie that, that the public needs to remember that this is still surgery and it needs to be approached in a careful way.

MATTINGLY: "D-Lister" Kathy Griffin claims she had life- threatening complications after failed liposuction in 1999. "First Wives Club" author Olivia Goldsmith actually died about a week after her surgery to remove loose skin from her chin. Experts cannot stress enough how important it is that your doctor asks a lot of questions.

D'AMICO: There should be a physical examination and very often, a checkup by the patient's doctor, the regular doctor, and appropriate lab tests based on the procedure that they're considering.

MATTINGLY: But chances of dying from cosmetic surgery is actually very low. Fewer than 1 in 50,000 according to one study, and that is just for outpatient clinics. But no procedure is risk-free and no matter how you slice it, surgery isn't pretty.

Take a look at rock star Gene Simmons and his longtime live-in Shannon Tweed after hazing her face-lift on the reality show. What happened was sometimes a little hard to watch. But when all is healed and on the red carpet, people generally like what they see. A survey this year found 34 percent of women and 18 percent of men would consider a little nip here or a little tuck there. Liposuction, eyelid surgery and breast reduction are in the top five choices for both women and men.

But try telling that to Kenny Rogers who gambled on eye surgery that he says left him too tight around the eyelids. And Actress Tara Reed who says a brad enhancement cost her jobs but the risk don't stop some stars from going back for more and more and more. David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: You can buy yourself just about anything on Craigslist, maybe even sex and drugs. A look at how some criminals may be taking advantage of the website and what is being done about it when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Caught in a cat door. Police now trying to unravel a very unusual death. We'll tell you the story in just a moment. But first, time to take a look at some of the most clicked on videos on cnn.com. Detroit police arrest two teenagers in the brutal murder of a former sex offender. His head and body were found in separate places.

And what is a legume? We'll look closely. Next time you stop by a salad bar. These beans, peas, and lentils are part of a healthy diet. Yes, that is clicked on a whole lot.

OK, remembering Donda West. Thousands of people are sending their condolences to rap star Kanye West after the sudden death of his mother.

And a case cracked 30 years later. DNA evidence helps lead police to the killer of an 11-year-old girl. For more of your favorite video, you can go to cnn.com/mostpopular. And of course, don't forget that you can take us with you anywhere on your iPod with a CNN daily podcast and see some of the stories that will have you talking all day long. The CNN NEWSROOM podcast available 24/7 right on your iPod.

Crime online. More and more it appears people may be using online classified sites like craigslist.org to solicit sex or even sell drugs. Our Veronica De La Cruz is joining us now with what she has found online. Hi there, Veronica.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi, good to see you. Craigslist has an estimated 30 million users each month and it seems every day there is another headline involving the popular website in some sort of crime. Just this morning, Heidi, a report out of Nebraska on high tech hookers. Investigative journalist on a local TV station uncovered on average about 30 posting a day soliciting prostitution. That was in Omaha alone. And, Heidi, it's not just sex that we got on Craigslist, but drugs, too. Check this out. People finding interesting ways to avoid getting caught. This is a post out of Philadelphia it says, "Trade my coke for your Pot. I have a 12-can fridge pack of coca-cola zero. What I need is a heavy duty aluminum or nonstick cooking pot suitable for everything from making spaghetti to steaming clams." So, Heidi, I mean, make your own assumptions to what they are really talking about here. I mean, probably unlikely that someone wants to trade soda for a cookware, but of course, we don't really have any proof that they are really talking drugs and that's the problem because neither do the police.

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely not. Well, you have to wonder what other types of crimes involving Craigslist are out there. Have you heard about any other?

DE LA CRUZ: You probably remember, Heidi, just yesterday we reported on a man accusing of using the site to lure two teenage boys to his home in Reno. Police say he was posting online as woman and when the boys got there, he got them drunk and molested one of them. And then Heidi, there's also this story at Minnesota, a woman was killed responding to a fake ad posted to the site for a nanny. Yes, you probably remember that one too.

And then back in April, a Washington State home was vandalized after someone posing ad, the landlord posted a fake ad inviting people to come over and to take whatever they wanted to and her entire home was ransacked. Heidi, there are numerous stories of people trying to sell their kids on Craigslist.

COLLINS: Oh my gosh. Well, I think I remember when we did a Minnesota story that Craigslist said that they do work with authorities to kind of monitor things that people post, is that right?

DE LA CRUZ: Well, you know, they say that they prohibit illegal activity but mostly they are relying on their users to police the site. Because you can flag or remove ads that might not look right to you. And there's also tips post on the site for avoiding scams and fraud. But you know, we contacted Craigslist and we have yet to receive a response from them. So, you know, it's interesting to see. You know, things might change.

COLLINS: Yes and I'm sure they don't tap themselves as any type of police officials. I mean, they are website runners. So, all right, we will keep our eyes out for more on this one. Thanks so much. Veronica de la Cruz, good to see you.

And now to Florida this morning. A bizarre death there has friends scratching their heads. A 32-year-old man found dead, stuck in a cat door at his girlfriend's house. Police are trying to figure out how Charles Tucker got wedged in the door and how exactly he died.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL ELLIOT, VICTIM'S FRIEND: He's a big guy. I don't even know how he could even fit through there. Probably unlock the door, I guess is what they were saying because he had one arm through there and his head was caught in there like he was trying to reach up and unlock the door because there's no way he could fit through that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Police are waiting for the autopsy results but it's believed he may have suffocated. Tucker was briefly hospitalized just one day before the police found him slump over in his car.

A Las Vegas landmark brought down in a flash. Reduced to rubble.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Making room in Las Vegas. Take a look and listen as the giant plunger comes down. Man. That's the New Frontier Hotel and Casino coming down. The Frontier was a fixture on this trip for more than 50 years and featured acts like Wayne Newton, Siegfried & Roy, and even Ronald Reagan. Elvis made his first Vegas appearance there. And in true Las Vegas style, can we see it again, a new mega resort will be put up in its place, no surprise there.

Something or someone is out there. Fantastic UFO stories, the topic in Washington. CNN's Gary Tuchman is listening.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you flew an Air France from Nice to London on January 28, 1994, your captain says he saw a UFO 1,000 feet long just outside your window.

JEAN-CHARLES DUBOC, AIR FRANCE CAPTAIN: It seemed to be a huge flying disk.

TUCHMAN: But now retired pilot is one of 14 men mainly former government and military officials from seven different countries talking about a UFO experiences.

DUBOC: This appeared in about 10 to 20 seconds.

TUCHMAN: This conference took place in Washington and the cast of characters was almost strangely, well, conventional. One of the believers? Former governor of Arizona, Fife Symington.

FIFE SYMINGTON, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA: I saw something that defied logic and challenged my reality.

TUCHMAN: During a visit to Phoenix, Symington described to me what he saw.

SYMINGTON: If you had been out here ten years ago and standing out here and looking up there at the lights and the view, you would have been astounded, you would have been amazed.

TUCHMAN: The so-called Phoenix lights were seen by many people in 1997. Skeptics say they were military aircraft or flares but not the former governor.

SYMINGTON: It was probably some form of alien space craft. TUCHMAN: Lots of agreement on this panel. This retired Iranian Air Force pilot said he saw a UFO offline.

GEN. PARVIZ JAFARI, IRANIAN AIR FORCE RETIREE: It looked similar to fog but bigger and brighter.

TUCHMAN: General Parviz Jafari said he tried to fire a missile but much of his plane became inoperative.

JAFARI: All of the instrument was fluctuating. The radio had garbled even. I couldn't have communication and my bullet is in my back seat. (INAUDIBLE).

TUCHMAN: So, your equipment worked and your missiles didn't work. You think it's because this was an alien from other world?

JAFARI: Oh, yes.

TUCHMAN: You sure that?

JAFARI: Yes, I'm sure.

TUCHMAN: This retired U.S. Air Force sergeant stationed in England said he walked up to a UFO that landed in a forest.

SGT. JAMES PENNISTON, U.S. AIR FORCE RETIREE: It maneuvered through the trees and shot off at an unbelievable rate of speed.

TUCHMAN: A man running for president just said he saw a UFO.

DENNIS KUCINICH, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did. And the rest of the account -- hold on. It was unidentified flying object.

TUCHMAN: And so did a man who was president.

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT: I and about 25 others saw something in the air that changed colors and was round...

TUCHMAN: Although, Jimmy Carter says he doesn't think it was from another planet most of these people differ on that point and want the FAA to investigate all these claims. But the AFF says that it's not its job. "We manage the aircraft that we're talking to. UFO's are called UFOs because they're unidentified and we're not talking to them."

And it's precisely because no one is talking that everybody here is trying harder to make them believe. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Defending a country that is not theirs. Then comes the reward. Troops on a fast track to citizenship.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Serving the country, then getting express service. Troops on a fast track to become U.S. citizens. CNN's Ted Rowland reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A 35-year-old U.S. army sergeant Darwin Phillips saw a combat in Iraq wearing an American uniform but he's never seen the inside of an American voting booth because he is a foreigner.

SGT. DARWIN PHILLIPS, NEW U.S. CITIZEN: I believe deeply about this country and what it stands for. I'm willing to put my, you know, my life to defend this country. That I will support and defend.

ROWLAND: Until this ceremony last week, Phillips was not an American citizen. This is the payback the U.S. government gives Sergeant Phillips and other immigrants willing to put their lives on the line for America. A fast track to citizenship.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice for all.

ROWLAND: At this ceremony, Sergeant Phillips was one of 36 so- called green card troops representing 17 different countries that became citizens of the country they had already been defending. Darwin Phillips came to the U.S. 15 years ago from the Philippines. His wife Nicole and three sons are already U.S. citizens.

NICOLE PHILLIPS, SGT. DARWIN PHILLIP'S WIFE: It makes me so proud of him and of all his accomplishments and his dedication to everything that he does every day for our country.

ROWLAND: Because of his service, Sergeant Phillips was allowed to move through the citizenship process faster than someone not in the military, saving him an estimated year and a half. He also didn't have to pay the 600 dollars plus in filing fees. Immigration officials say these soldiers do get preferential treatment but it's not a free ride.

TOM PAAR, U.S. CITIZENSHIP IMMIGRATION SERVICES: They fill out the same forms, they do everything but we just, as we say, we have a special law agency, an organization in Nebraska that handles these applications and handles them very quickly.

ROWLAND: Is it fair for you to get different treatment just because you're in the military?

PHILLIPS: We serve the military knowing that, you know, this is what we want. So, you know, sacrificing our, you know, putting our life on the line even before we're citizens, you know, bearing arms. This is it right here.

ROWLAND: Darwin Phillips says taking the oath of citizenship fulfills a dream he has had since coming to America. He is looking forward to voting for president next year and if he sent into harm's way again, he will be defending a country that is his.

PHILLIPS: Now I'm truly part of America and it's wonderful.

ROWLAND: Ted Rowland, CNN, Las Vegas, Nevada.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Good morning, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins. You'll stay informed all day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown. Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto in the down by police but not silence. She's calling on Pakistan's military rulers to step aside.

A New York teenager shot dead in a blitz of police bullets. This mistakes a hairbrush for a gun.

A big endorsement this hour for Fred Thompson, a bounce perhaps, for his presidential campaign. This Tuesday, November 13th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com