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American Morning
Promise of Peace; Update on Stacy Peterson Case; Mourning Sean Taylor; Interview With Cruise Ship Survivors
Aired November 28, 2007 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Break down. A story from a suicidal relative. Did he help Drew Peterson dump his wife's body?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DREW PETERSON, SUSPECT IN WIFE'S DISAPPEARANCE: I have no idea what he was talking about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Promise of peace. Now the hard work. Live with both sides on the next step to peace in the Middle East.
Plus, fire and ice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's so unreal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: From wildfires out west to a disastrous honeymoon in the Antarctic. The home movies and the stories of a love that apparently can survive anything on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Wait until you hear what they went through in just the first few weeks of their marriage.
Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING and thanks for being with us on this Wednesday, the 28th of November. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
We some new revelations this morning. Disturbing one at that in the search for missing Illinois mom, Stacy Peterson. One of her husband's relatives is now saying that he may have helped Drew Peterson unknowingly dumped the body of his wife Stacy.
The "Chicago Tribune" and the "Chicago Sun-Times" are reporting this morning this story: that Drew Peterson's stepbrother told the papers that a friend -- actually the paper said he told a friend that he helped Drew Peterson haul out a large rectangular container which was warm to the touch and weighed about as much as Stacy. That would be about 120 pounds.
This was on October 28th, the day before Stacy Peterson's sister reported her missing. This man was so distraught that he was hospitalized for an apparent suicide attempt two days later.
Now late last night, Drew Peterson responded to these new accusations, talking to a reporter from WGN, a local affiliate in Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETERSON: I have no idea what anybody is talking about like that.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Warm to the touch?
PETERSON: No.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He says he believes that he helped you dispose of your wife's body. Can you at least respond to that?
PETERSON: Nope.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Not at all?
PETERSON: No response. Talk to my lawyer. I get nothing to say to it.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: No truth to it whatsoever?
PETERSON: None. Nobody helped me with anything with such an act.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: On October 28th, where were you on October 28th? This gentleman says he helped you carry a container out of your home.
PETERSON: Well, you have to talk to my attorney.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, search teams say the police told them to look out for a blue barrel, not a rectangular container big enough to fit a woman's body.
ROBERTS: Breaking news out of Pakistan this morning. President Pervez Musharraf stepped down overnight as commander of Pakistan's military. He gave one final salute to his troops before handing over the ceremonial baton to his successor. It's a move that could help ease the political crisis in Pakistan, a key ally with the United States in the war on terror.
The Bush administration has been urging Musharraf to lift the emergency rule he imposed before general elections are held early next year.
CNN has learned that President Bush's chief economic adviser Al Hubbard is leaving the White House. He'll turn in his resignation today. He plans to leave at the end of the year.
Hubbard is the latest in the series of White House departures including Homeland Security adviser Fran Townsend, who also plans to leave at the end of the year. Political adviser Karl Rove and Ambassador Karen Hughes.
And more turmoil at the top of the Red Cross. The charity's president forced to resign after only six months on the job. He is the fifth person to go in just six years. Mark Everson is accused of having an affair with one of his employees. Everson is married and has two children. He's also the former commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service -- Kiran?
Well, there's some new numbers in this morning in the presidential race. A new CNN opinion research poll of registered voters in Florida give Hillary Clinton the lead among Democrats with 51 percent of the vote. On the Republican side, Rudy Giuliani leading in that state with 42 percent.
When asked who can best handle terrorism, voters gave Rudy Giuliani the edge. He leads with 53 percent, followed by John McCain at 19 percent.
A reminder, it all goes down tonight. There is a CNN-YouTube debate, and this time it's the Republican's turn. Be sure to catch the debate live right here on CNN tonight. It all begins 8:00 Eastern from St. Petersburg, Florida. It's hosted by Anderson Cooper.
ROBERTS: The manhunt is on today for the person who shot and killed NFL star Sean Taylor. This morning outside of FedEx Field in Washington, Redskins fans are laying flowers and paying tribute to the fallen defensive back.
Taylor's father who is the police chief in Florida city, which is about 20 miles south of Miami, is making an emotional plea for the shooter to come out of the shadows.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEDRO TAYLOR, SEAN TAYLOR'S FATHER: Own up to it and say, "You know what? Maybe it was a mistake, maybe it shouldn't have happened but it happened."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Alina Cho is live at our national update desk with the latest on the investigation and the search for a killer. Good morning, Alina.
CHO: Hey, John, good morning. Police are working around the clock but at this point it doesn't appear as though investigators have any strong leads. What police are saying is that this is clearly a homicide investigation and there are clear signs of a break-in at the home.
Now if you've been following this story, you know that police are also looking into whether the shooting incident is somehow connected to another break-in at the home eight days earlier. Also some new details are out about what may have happened on the night Taylor was shot.
A teammate who spoke with Taylor's girlfriend, talked to CNN last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON PORTIS, REDSKINS RUNNING BACK: I think she's pretty -- holding up pretty well, considering the conditions. She didn't really say a lot. He told her and the baby to stay still and stay in the room. And he went out and checked it. I don't think he ever came back in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now Taylor's girlfriend's name is Jackie Garcia. She happens to be the niece of actor Andy Garcia. Interestingly enough, Taylor himself spoke out in 2005 about another shooting incident and about how life can be fragile.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN TAYLOR, DEFENSIVE BACK, WASHINGTON REDSKINS: We've seen a couple of players in the last couple of weeks, you know, be subjects to shootings and it's just a life-changing thing where one shot of a bullet or whatever the case is, you know, it changes lives, so it's just, basically, just staying away from those type of things and staying out of harm's danger -- out of harm's way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now the Washington Redskins will resume practice today. They will play at home on Sunday against Buffalo. The Redskins will also remember Taylor this weekend by wearing a patch on their jerseys and his number 21 on their helmets.
Around the league, NFL teams will be holding moments of silence and, John, going forward, the big question is: was this a random act of violence or premeditated murder? Police are not saying either way. They're only saying that they're looking for an unnamed suspect and they're, quote, "pulling out the stops to solve this case." John?
ROBERTS: Alina Cho for us this morning from the update desk. Alina, thanks.
Now let's go over to Kiran.
CHETRY: And it's time to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new this morning.
Roller coaster markets, rising fuel costs, and now a new report out shows how consumers feel about the economy.
Ali Velshi at the business update desk with more for us. Hey, Ali.
VELSHI: Do you think we're feeding this thing? Do you think we're fueling this sort of misery?
CHETRY: So they didn't say anything good, I take it?
VELSHI: Yes. Consumer confidence -- this is a widely watched number. It's a survey that's done to 5,000 people. The number from November shows -- you know, continued decline. For four months these number's been going down.
Consumer confidence of the United States is now at its lowest level in two years. And not only that, there's part of the survey, which talks about what people expects...
CHETRY: OK.
VELSHI: ...and what people expect in the next few months is fewer jobs and less in the way of income.
Now the only thing sort of holding things up is that our unemployment level remains low. It's at 4.7 percent. It's ticked up a little bit in the last sort of while but yesterday, amidst all the news that was coming -- our business news -- Goldman Sachs said it expects the unemployment rate might go up as high as 5.5 percent next year.
And you know, yesterday, we talked to our viewers about a recession and whether they thought that one was coming. The fact is the consumer is feeling the pinch of all of these things we're talking about. Maybe not because we're talking about them but because they're paying higher prices for gas and they're seeing their home values go down.
So for now, we do have consumer confidence at its lowest level in the United States in two years -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Ali Velshi, thanks so much.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: An update now on a story that we told you about yesterday. A doctor performed brain surgery on the wrong side of a patient's brain. The hospital was fined. And it's not the hospital's first surgical error this year.
Let's turn now to our in-house brain surgeon, CNN chief medical correspondent Doctor Sanjay Gupta.
Sanjay, there were lots of stories about this years and years ago. We thought that these problems had been cleared up. Obviously, they keep happening.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, medical errors continue to be a problem in hospitals. You mentioned one type of error. But, as you know, John, there are tens of thousands of errors that occur in hospitals every year that result in deaths, in fact, of patients as well. This particular story -- this particular woman, 82 years old, it sounds like it was a patient have been involved in some sort of trauma, was not conscious, was actually getting an operation at the bedside, not in the operating room. That's important for a couple of reasons.
There are specific protocols in the operating room specifically, where the surgeons will actually mark the particular body part -- particular side of body in which they're operating and they also have a thing called the time-out, where anybody in the room -- a nurse, circulating nurse -- anybody can say time out, let's reassess, are we on the right side? Let's make sure everything matches there.
And so those are done typically in the operating room. There's now been a push to try and move some of those protocols from the operating room into the ICU where an operation like the one that you were just describing might have been performed.
That woman, obviously, was in no position to inform her doctor on which side of the head she should be operated. But if you are someone -- I just went through this, John, where the doctor came in and actually signed my left hand prior to operating so they could make sure that they operated on the correct side prior to the operation.
Obviously, patients being as informed as possible about that important -- but you're right, John, tens of thousands of mistakes still happening.
ROBERTS: Right. And also in this Rhode Island case, it was the chief resident who was involved in the surgical mistake, as opposed to an attending surgeon, which is a little higher up the food chain. Should people be concerned if a resident is going to do a complex surgery on them?
GUPTA: Well, it's a very good question and you're going to get a lot of different answers from people. I say that for the most part people who work in hospitals and are familiar with training programs would say no, they should not be concerned if a resident is doing the procedure.
This particular procedure, being a neurosurgeon, I'm very familiar with what they were doing here. It is something that junior- level residents do as well. It is a fairly common procedure. I think a couple of things, though, spring to mind, again extending some of those protocols from the operating room into the ICU, so maybe you have another doctor present, who can sort of just also provide another set of eyes on the particular procedure and also to just mark the side of the body prior to the operation.
You know, sometimes in trauma situations, things are happening really fast. You don't have a chance to have the CAT Scan in the room because it hasn't been printed out yet. There are all sorts of different mitigating factors but two simple things: marking the side of the body and having another set of eyes to check it, to time out it, may make a huge difference.
ROBERTS: Of course, in your case, it was also pretty obvious.
Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much. We'll see you again soon.
GUPTA: That's right. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, they made a promise to work for peace in the Mideast. So what is the next step? Both sides will join us live next on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: Today's "Weather Update" brought to you by...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's coming up now to 15 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the most news in the morning here on CNN.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders meet today with President Bush at the White House to talk about their pledge to bring peace to the Middle East.
Saeb Erekat is the chief Palestinian negotiator. He's in Washington this morning and joins us live. Saeb, good to see you again. You agreed yesterday in Annapolis to work toward a peace agreement by the end of 2008. Can a peace agreement, in your mind, be achieved by then?
SAEB EREKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: Absolutely. Yes, I think we don't need to -- we are not beginning the negotiation this morning, John. These negotiations began before Camp David 2000. Undergoing negotiations. We have (INAUDIBLE) every possible storm and I believe now it's up to us and the Israelis to make the decisions required to make peace.
I think yesterday, John, President Bush gave us opportunity again with international community to re-launch these negotiations after seven years of stalemate. Total success of the negotiations, I don't think today President Bush will do the negotiations for us or, for that matter, anybody in the international community. It's up to us and the Israelis to focus on this opportunity today.
ROBERTS: Two of the most difficult issues for the Palestinian side are the right of return for refugees and the status of East Jerusalem, which you would like to see as your capital. Do those two issues have to be fully resolved before a peace agreement can be implemented? Or, could you perhaps have an initial agreement and then work on those issues as you live together as neighbors with your own Palestinian state?
EREKAT: Well, what I think, John, there are six issues that needs to be solved as a package. And these are Jerusalem border settlements, refugee security water, and I think the Israelis will not go less than end of claims, end of conflict. And we need to put an end to this.
ROBERTS: So, you're saying all of that has to be resolved before you can sign on the dotted line?
EREKAT: I think the best way, the best course of action is to go the package deal because we know it's doable, we know our position on this side, and this is why I said this day it's about negotiations.
But the real thing today, yesterday was a good opportunity. Today it's up to us and the Israelis. I think the world came to President Bush yesterday and said to us and to the Israelis, look, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you if you deliver in the agreement we need from you -- that your people need from you.
ROBERTS: Right.
EREKAT: You're doing yourself a great (INAUDIBLE). We will not let you down.
ROBERTS: Though the White House, Saeb, until this point, has advocated a hands-off approach and they're still saying that they don't want to get in the middle of things. Do you believe that President Bush needs to have a firmer hand in this, a hand similar to what President Clinton had at Camp David in the summer of 2000?
EREKAT: Well, to be honest with you, John, I don't think that President Bush can make the decisions required from Palestinians and Israelis. These issues of Jerusalem border settlements and refugees are what make Israelis and Palestinians grieve.
So, I don't think President Bush or any Arab leader or any European leader can make the decisions for us. These decisions should be made by Palestinians and Israelis. We can reach a common ground. It's a win-win situation that we're seeking. And if you ask me the question: is it doable? Yes, it doable. We need to focus today. This is the course of action in the next 12 months.
ROBERTS: Well, we certainly wish you an awful lot of luck. It's been a long time coming for these negotiations to resume. It would be great if you could come up with something by the end of 2008.
Saeb Erekat, who is the Palestinian negotiator, thanks for joining us this morning.
Now for the other side, joining us with the Israeli perspective, Mark Regab. He is the spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also in Washington this morning. Mark, good to see you. It's been a long time.
MARK REGEV, ISRAELI MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Happy to be here.
ROBERTS: You heard what Saeb had to say. He wants to see this done as a package deal. How much is Israelis willing to give? Are you willing to give on borders, go back the 1967 borders, you're willing allow Palestinians to return to Israeli? Are you willing to allow the Palestinians to have East Jerusalem as their capital?
REGEV: There's a series of core issues. And I think Saeb is 100 percent correct when he said there'll be a package, there'll be tradeoffs. And we had a good day yesterday, and that's important. But as Saeb said, and I think we all say, what is really important is the proof of the pudding is in eating? What happens in the weeks and the months ahead.
ROBERTS: Right.
REGEV: And we're starting a process of intensive negotiations where all the issues on the table. We said this publicly, we are willing to discuss everything that -- all those sensitive and problematic issues in a conflict with the Palestinians, and the idea is, hopefully, to reach understandings, to reach an agreement by the end of 2008.
ROBERTS: Now, as we saw in 2000, President Clinton wanted to get it in a single deal and get it all buttoned up and it fell apart at the very end. After that some experts were saying, you know, instead of, as one person put it, shooting the moon in the Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, go for something that establishes a state, get both sides to live together as neighbors, and then some of these thornier issues like East Jerusalem as the capital, return of refugees. Work on those as neighbors. Is that a potential formula for this going forward?
REGEV: There are different ideas out there. What's going for the process now? Why there is certain optimism today than there wasn't there in the past? It's first of all the relationship of trust between the two leaders, between my prime minister, Mr. Olmert, and the Palestinian president, Mr. Abbas.
There's also a situation today where we've got an international support for this process that wasn't there always in the past. I mean even if it was just the West - the United States, Europe supporting Middle East peace - that's one thing. But we had yesterday significant leaders from across the Middle East, countries that normally talk to us.
Everyone was united in saying peace, two states, Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side. That's important. That global support for Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation. ROBERTS: And then how important is that participation of all of these Arab nations in terms of trying to counterbalance Iran's new ascendancy? Ahmadinejad was out just today saying this conference is a failure, Israel will collapse. How much of this -- the participation of the Arab states is directed toward Iran and say, if we can get this Israeli-Palestinian issue off the table, perhaps we can dampen Iran's influence in the region?
REGEV: I mean Iran makes no bones about it. They're opposed to peace. They're opposed to reconciliation. I mean it talks openly about wiping Israel off the map and they have their supporters in the region. They have Hamas in Gaza. They have Hezbollah in Lebanon. And those people will do whatever they can to try to torpedo this process.
And to be very frank, our security services back home are on high -- alert today because there is a concern that these extremist will try to torpedo the new confidence, the new momentum, through some terrorist act. And we have to be vigilant. But...
ROBERTS: Mark -- sorry, one last quick questions because we got to wrap up here. Is this going to get done by the end of 2008? Saeb Erekat seems to think that there's a good chance.
REGEV: There's a good chance. We're hopeful. We'll make every effort. I'm not, in any way, minimizing the difficult issues that are on the table. They are very serious challenges. But today there's goodwill and with a bit of hard work, a lot of international support, I believe, the Palestinians and the Israelis, that we can reach a historical compromise in the coming year.
ROBERTS: Wow. Certainly a lot of people would love to see that. Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli foreign minister. Good to see you again, Mark. Thanks for coming in.
REGEV: My pleasure.
ROBERTS: And a quick programming note for you. President Bush will talk exclusively with Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM." That's at 4:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
CHETRY: Well, there's some new questions about Miss Puerto Rico and the allegations that someone tried to sabotage her gown and makeup with pepper spray. She is speaking out ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: All right. Here's a look at your "Hot Shot" for the day. This is a boy and his pet python in Cambodia and they are quite close as you could see there. This is a 20-foot long python big enough to swallow the boy. But he doesn't mind. He curls up with him, rides on him. It is his buddy. In fact, his dad says that he refuses to go to sleep without the snake. The boy's father reportedly took it out to the woods three times to try to get, you know, sort of get rid of it, and it comes slithering back because it loves the little boy.
How cute?
ROBERTS: Get a puppy.
CHETRY: There it is. Yes, right. You know, puppies were tough.
Well, by the way, if you have a "Hot Shot" please send it to us. The address: AMHOTSHOT@CNN.com. Include your name, a little bit about the picture or the video, where you're from, and please make sure the image is yours.
ROBERTS: That is what you call an exotic pet.
Look at the story coming up in our next half-hour here on AMERICAN MORNING that you just can't miss. One couple's 19-day holiday cruise turned into a life-or-death struggle.
CHETRY: Yes. They were on that boat, that big ship - there it is - in the Antarctica when it started taking on water. There are rescue from the icy waters and - wow, that's just half the story. They were also running the wildfires in San Diego. They've only been married for a little while. Well, we're going to talk to them coming up, plus the headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns,
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Wow. A beautiful shot today. What's bluer? The Cooper River or the skies there in Charleston, South Carolina this morning. This shot coming to us from WCBD. It's known as the Arthur Ravenol, Jr. Bridge actually as one of you have pointed out but known affectionately as the Cooper River Bridge.
ROBERTS: It's official web site says the Cooper River Bridge. So there.
CHETRY: There you have it. Well, it's 54 there right now and 66 for a high today and a little bit windy in Charleston. It's Wednesday, November 28th. Glad you're with us. I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
New this morning, a disturbing revelation in the search for missing Illinois mom Stacy Peterson. One of her husband's relatives says he may have unknowingly helped Drew Peterson dump the body. Two Chicago newspapers are reporting that the man told a friend he helped Drew Peterson haul out a large rectangular container which was warm to the touch and weighed about as much as Stacy would have. He put it in the neighborhood of 120 pounds.
Police are also looking at surveillance video from a supermarket after Drew Peterson claimed that he received a letter from someone about a possible Stacy sighting but right now, anything he says raises doubts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: I think this guy is very deceptively complex. This is no simple man, this Drew Peterson, and it is possible that he faked this letter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Drew Peterson, a former police officer, is the only named suspect in his wife's disappearance.
Police in Florida on a manhunt for the person who shot and killed Washington Redskins Safety Sean Taylor. He died yesterday after suffering severe blood loss from the gunshot wounds suffered inside his home. Now, investigators are trying to figure out if it was a break-in gone bad or premeditated murder?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD SHARPSTEIN, FMR. TAYLOR ATTORNEY & FRIEND: In my opinion, this was not a random violence, the house had been broken into two weeks before. It's my speculation that this was burglars that had already been there, they were armed. And they didn't expect to have Sean there because he was a football player. They happened upon him, fired two random shots, one went in his leg and one in the wall. If they were there to kill him, they would have unloaded six rounds in his head or chest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Right now, fans are paying tribute to number 21 with flowers outside FedEx Field, just outside of Washington, D.C.. That's the home of the Redskins. Teammates will have a prayer service before practice later on today.
Last night on CNN's "OUT IN THE OPEN," fellow Pro Bowler running back Clinton Portis talked about how Taylor's girlfriend is coping with the tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON PORIS, TAYLOR'S TEAMMATE: I think she's pretty holding up pretty well, considering the condition. She really didn't say a lot, just that they were in bed when Sean heard a noise, and you know, he told her and the baby to stay still, to stay in the room. And he went out and checked, and I don't think he ever came back in. You know, I think she was trying to be strong for her child and for his family. And you know, that's her story. You know, she was sleeping. I don't think she had an opportunity to see anyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: In addition to that make-shift memorial outside of FedEx Field, the Redskins will also honor Sean Taylor with a patch on their jerseys and his number 21, on their helmets when they play this weekend.
Also happening right now in Florida, a huge manhunt for two suspects after a speeding car kills two Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies. It's happening in the city of Pahokee. At least 75 officers were combing nearby cane fields where the suspects were believed to be hiding. Police say the officers were putting down stop sticks on the highway when they were both hit. Another deputy also suffered head wounds. Police say two men took off from the car which was believed to have been stolen -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Some breaking news out of Pakistan and Pervez Musharraf officially stepping down as commander of Pakistan's military. He gave a final salute to his troops before handing over the ceremonial baton to his successor. It's a move that could help ease the political crisis in Pakistan, a key ally in the war on terror. The Bush administration has been urging Musharraf to lift the emergency rule that he imposed before the general elections take place early next year. Musharraf will be sworn in to a third presidential term tomorrow.
There are also some new allegations that Blackwater security guards in Iraq are on steroids. A civil suit filed on behalf of victims of the September shooting in Baghdad saying that a quarter of Baghdad's guards in Iraq are on steroids and other judgment-altering drugs. And that suit also accused some of them ignoring direct order and abandoning their posts shortly before the shooting. Blackwater says its employees are banned from using any steroids or performance- enhancing drugs. 17 Iraqi civilians died in that September shooting.
There's a report this morning that a witness may have seen little Madeleine McCann dragged away in Portugal. The witness telling Britain's "Mirror" newspaper that just hours after the 4-year-old went missing, he saw a little girl who resembles Madeleine being hauled toward a marina by, "a vicious looking couple." George Burke, a British ex-patriot says Portuguese police ignored his story at the time of the disappearance back in May.
ROBERTS: 36 minutes now after the hour. More signs of trouble in the housing market. Not just all of those for sale signs in yards across the country. Housing prices fail at their fastest rate in more than 20 years in the last quarter and it's not just homeowners who are feeling the pinch either.
CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis has been looking into this.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, John, we've been talking about 1.5 million Americans have filed foreclosure, gone into foreclosure and lost their homes this year. Now renters are in the same position. They're losing their homes, too.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIS (voice-over): 67-year-old Alice Mills signed a lease here in Philadelphia believing she could live in this house for at least a year. Then, eviction notices began arriving but her landlord assured her everything would be fine. Two weeks ago a sheriff's deputy showed up at her door and told her she had to move out the very next day.
ALICE MILLS, VICTIM OF LANDLORD FORECLOSURE: I didn't know what to think. I didn't know where I was going to go, what to do.
WILLIS: Alice had paid her rent on time but her landlord was behind on his mortgage and the bank foreclosed. Alice is one of a growing number of people who don't own homes but are caught in the middle of the foreclosure crisis. Renters who thought they were protected by leases, suddenly being told to move out.
JUDITH LIBEN, MASSACHUSETTS LAW REFORM INSTITUTE: It's a significant problem all around the country, in cities, in suburbs, and, in fact, in some rural areas.
WILLIS: In most states, banks and landlords have no legal responsibility to keep tenants or even to tell them about the foreclosure. That could change. A bill that recently passed the U.S. House would give renters living in foreclose property up to six months to find a place but it's not law yet.
In a statement to CNN, the Mortgage Bankers Association says, "It really is unfortunate that a renter faces eviction if their landlord is foreclosed upon. However, forcing new requirements on lenders would be extremely burdensome as most lenders have neither the knowledge nor ability to be effective long-term landlords."
Advocates pushing for renter protection disagree.
LIBEN: These are folks that just had bad luck to rent from an owner who couldn't pay his mortgage and defaulted and was foreclosed.
WILLIS: A new law would be too late for Alice. The bank gave her an extension but she has less than two weeks left.
MILLS: I need help. I need longer time to get a place, a decent place, a safe place. I really need longer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIS: So, it's more than just bad luck here. People are losing money. They're losing their security deposits from these landlords and in some cases, John, they're paying rent to landlords that don't even own the place anymore.
ROBERTS: Unless and until there is legislation to help these folks out what can they do when they find themselves in this situation?
WILLIS: Well, you got to be proactive here. This is usually small landlords, not big corporate landlords, that have this problem so look for deferred maintenance. That's your first clue. Watch the newspaper. Typically defaults are in the paper before they are anywhere else. That's where you'll get an important signal that something is wrong. And then check out your state laws. At hud.gov you can find out what the laws are.
In some cases, for example, in Connecticut, folks 62 years or older can't be summarily kicked out and if you're elderly parents are living with you, you can't be kicked out either.
ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE) you got to feel bad about that poor woman.
WILLIS: I know, it's so sad.
ROBERTS: You're going to be looking at this again on the weekend?
WILLIS: Yes, 9:30 a.m. right here on CNN "OPEN HOUSE" will be looking at these issues and others as we continue to look at the mortgage meltdown.
ROBERTS: Excellent. See you then. Gerri, as always, thanks -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Still ahead, where you live could affect how you feel. A closer look at the most and least depressed states and the people who paid for that study. We're paging Dr. Gupta ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, there are some new questions this morning in the case of the pageant queen and the pepper spray. We first told you about yesterday. Ingrid Marie Rivera claims that her gown and makeup were sabotaged, sprayed with pepper spray. Well, now police are questioning that. They're looking into it and they wondered how it's true. How she could have stayed so composed, not actually crying on stage because of the pepper spray.
Well, she says that once she got back stage she immediately had to take off her gown and put ice bags on her face and body. Rivera spoke out on NBC earlier this morning. She said she immediately turned her clothes over to pageant security and that they did test positive for pepper spray so she went on to win the contest.
And you know, Rob Marciano loves this story yesterday. Before they were even questions about whether or not she was telling the truth, now they're saying that it really happened. I mean, could you write a movie script better than this thing?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, we were just so amazed yesterday, Kiran, when we saw those pictures how composed, how beautiful she was after allegedly being pepper sprayed. So, you know, the story continues, I guess. We will see how that unfolds.
Well, you know, maybe a little pepper spray to keep you warm across the upper Midwest today. Frigid temperatures. This is going to be changing our weather trend. One cold front coming through. Big winds with this as well and another one coming down the pipe and there will be a couple more that will gradually be cooling off the east coast. So, if you've been tired of the mild weather, you'll get some cold air as we head towards next week.
Now, behind that system, cold air moving into the four corners. That instigates offshore flow. We have a critical fire danger in effect again today for southern California. Low levels of relative humidity and winds could gust to the canyons later on this afternoon at 45 to 55 miles an hour. So do be careful if you live in SoCal because any spark that flies may very well cause big problems. We will try to get rid of those winds as soon as tonight and tomorrow.
John, back up to you.
ROBERTS: All right, Rob. Thanks very much.
Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, we talked about a new study linking where you live with your mental health and which states have the highest rates of depression or suicide. We're paging Dr. Gupta now with another look at who's behind the study and whether that had any effect on the results.
Sanjay, I was saying earlier I was surprised that New Jersey had one of the best rates of depression suicide which was low. While Utah was one of the worst. And you said that New Jersey had a large number of mental health professionals. And I asked you was there any link between the fact that a pharmaceutical company funded this study and the number of mental health professionals? What did you find out?
GUPTA: Well, it doesn't seem to be. In fact, I asked that question before. I mentioned the fact that why a pharmaceutical actually funded the study. I think it's very important as we were to be skeptical about that to some extent. But as we delved deeper by talking to independent psychiatrist and psychologists in the field that did not have any ties to that drug company, it seems that the study was done in a way where the pharmaceutical company didn't have an impact on the outcome or design of the study.
An important point because the way they did this study was they actually aggregated data from several different organizations, including the CDC, for example and another organization known as Mental Health Services Administration. These are organizations that basically compiled data. But it was surprising, John, as you pointed out, I mean, New Jersey number three on that list. Utah dead last.
What they point to and I think again important -- is not only the number of mental health professionals but also the amount of funds that go towards mental health services in that particular state. New Jersey is almost twice as much per capita as compared to Utah. And also it wasn't just access to mental health services. It was access to health overall that seems to play a really big role here.
ROBERTS: Yes. Again, I was just surprised with Utah because, you know, popular predominantly by Mormons, strong support groups in the Mormon church. You would think that they be able of sort people out there.
GUPTA: Yes, it's interesting, John. I think Utah is particularly interesting for a few different reasons. First of all, let me point out, as you know, having covered this sort of stuff, depression rates are hard to access because a lot of it is based on self-reporting and there is so much stigma attached to it that you have to take that with a grain of salt in any state in America.
But also when it comes to Utah, for example, in particular, in the past it has been shown for example that Mormon women have the same or lower rates of depression as compared to other women in the country but at the same time, there had been other studies that have shown that they have above average use of anti-depressants. They have conflicting rates on suicide.
So while they may self-report lower, there may be so much stigma attached to it that it sort of artificially deflates those numbers. What really seems to matter is they consume these medications at a more often rate and this particular study it actually showed that the risk of having a major depressive disorder or a major psychological adverse effect was highest in Utah when they actually look at the number of people who came in the hospitals and sought help. So, that is where those numbers came from.
ROBERTS: Obviously, we're going to hear more on this because the results are so surprising. Sanjay, thanks for clearing that up for us.
GUPTA: Thank you.
ROBERTS: If you've got a question for Dr. Gupta, e-mail us. Just go to CNN.com/am. Sanjay will answer your questions tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, the CNN NEWSROOM is minutes away. Tony Harris at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. Hi there, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Kiran. Good morning to you. Good morning, everyone. Miami manhunt. All the NEWSROOM rundown for you. Police asking people to call in any tips about the death of Redskins safety Sean Taylor. We are talking live with an investigative reporter.
The stage is set for tonight's CNN/YouTube debate with the GOP presidential candidates. A viewer who sent in a video question talks with us live.
And this doctor really delivers. Four sets of twins in a 24-hour period. He thinks there's something in Thanksgiving turkey. NEWSROOM coming up, top of the hour, right here on CNN.
Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: Thanks, Tony. We'll be watching.
ROBERTS: Coming up -- the good, the bad, and the funny. Our Veronica de la Cruz has a look at some of the unique video questions submitted for tonight's CNN/YouTube debate.
CHETRY: Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, the terrifying sinking of a ship off the coast of Antarctica.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... no one is being on the lifeboat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: we grabbed our (INAUDIBLE) before left and that was it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Coming up, we'll talk with two newlyweds who were on that ship about how they survived their honeymoon at sea. That's coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. If you ever question whether love could conquer all, try surviving wildfires, a hurricane, and a sinking ship in the Antarctica. Two newlyweds had to make a run for it when their cruise ship sank in freezing waters off of Antarctica last week. This is their home video. They were able to smuggle their cameras in their life vest as they were on those rafts waiting to be rescued for nearly five hours. This was how they spent some of their honeymoon, bobbing in a life boat. Well, they're now safe and sound and on dry land in San Diego.
Trevor Takayama and Torrey Trust join us this morning. Good morning to you guys.
TORREY TRUST, CRUISE SHIP SURVIVOR: Good morning.
TREVOR TAKAYAMA, CRUISE SHIP SURVIVOR: Good morning.
CHETRY: Wow. What an adventure. And you haven't even been married for six months yet. Boy. Trevor, first of all, walk us through some of these pictures that you were able to take some amazing pictures. First of all, you guys were on this cruise ship. You were going into areas in the -- in Antarctica and then suddenly what did you hear from the ship's crew about what was going on?
TAKAYAMA: Well, at midnight, we were woken up and they just said get to the deck. It's an emergency. And you know we didn't know what to think. It was midnight. I was half asleep. So we were, we had to run up there and see what was going on.
CHETRY: Torrey, was there a sense of panic? Were people panicking at this point?
TRUST: There was not really a sense of panic because we didn't really know how serious the situation was. We were kind of sitting around telling jokes, just waiting to hear news and then at the last minute, the captain was just, came on the loud speaker and was abandon ship! Abandon ship! And everyone just ran out to the life boats but not a lot of panic. We were in a lot of shock and just got on the life boats and went down to the water and went from there.
CHETRY: And you guys were good Samaritans. You were helping hand out those thermal blankets. You wanted to make sure that all the older passengers had those for the life boat trip awaiting a rescue boat. So that means you guys didn't have them. Did you ever at any point, Trevor, fear that you may freeze to death?
TAKAYAMA: Constantly. You know, I feared I was going to lose fingers and toes, that we may get hypothermia. It was extremely cold. We had on all of our stuff but still you can't be prepared to handle all of that coldness.
CHETRY: Wow. And did you know, Torrey, that there was another boat that happened to be in the area? I think it was a Norwegian cruise liner that was coming to be your savior?
TRUST: Yes, they told us two boats six hours away and one boat ten hours away but I had no idea what time it was. By the time we were dropped in the water, I think we spent about five hours out in the water. At that point, I didn't want to check my watch and had no idea when the boat was coming. We knew it was coming at some point but didn't know when.
CHETRY: Oh, wow. So you guys finally made it to land. But, you know, the unbelievable part when we were talking to you is this wasn't your first brush with potential tragedy. You guys had to evacuate the wildfires in San Diego, as well, Trevor?
TAKAYAMA: Yes. That was pretty crazy, too. Because, you know, we stated. We were watching the news for basically two days straight and making sure. It was heading right towards our house so we had to make sure, we had to get out, we packed everything, and that one was pretty nerve wracking, too.
CHETRY: Wow. We're glad to see that you made it. As we said, love conquers all because you guys have certainly managed to make it work despite a lot. I hope you're staying home for a while, both of you. Just going to settle back and just enjoy being married for the rest of the year.
TAKAYAMA: Yes.
CHETRY: Trevor and Torrey, thanks so much for sharing your pictures and your videos.
TRUST: Thank you.
TAKAYAMA: Oh, no problem. Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: End in disaster to last a lifetime. I don't know which. A quick look at what the CNN NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour.
HARRIS: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Miami police say they have few clues. They are asking people to help find the man who shot and killed NFL safety Sean Taylor.
Pakistan's president steps down as army chief.
Newly energized Middle East peace talks move to the White House today.
A preview of tonight's CNN/YouTube republican debate.
And how did a bullet hole end up in a girl's pillow? NEWSROOM just minutes away at top of the hour, on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: The second CNN/YouTube debate begins tonight at 8:00 Eastern. A chance for the public to be interactive with our candidates.
CHETRY: Our Veronica De La Cruz has been checking out some of the submissions of thousands of questions.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Yes, thousands of questions and you know they really ran the gamut -- the sad, the serious and of course, the funny. Here's a look now at some of the more interesting submissions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wonder if you could be a super hero, what would your name be? How much power would you use to benefit our country?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the war had never taken place, how would you have spent that money? Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If elected, will you promise to never ever, ever, ever name a building or public facility after Vice President Dick Cheney?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: And speaking of the vice president, we also received this one from Dick Cheney, himself -- sort of.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you grant your vice president as much power and influence as I've had? And remember, before you answer, I'm watching you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: AS you can see, some people had a lot of fun putting their creativity to the test there. Again, interesting to see which ones make it into the debate tonight at 8:00.
CHETRY: Will be and we'll be watching for sure. Thanks, Veronica.
ROBERTS: Glad to see (INAUDIBLE) back again. Hey, a quick tally of our quick vote. Mike Huckabee, the runaway winner as to which candidate is going to handle the debate format best. 87 percent people says he's going to do it.
CHETRY: Well, that's short. Earlier in the show, Ron Paul, Mike Huckabee.
ROBERTS: Sorry, Ron Paul. OK.
CHETRY: OK. So, Ron Paul.
ROBERTS: Whack me upside of the head. Ron Paul, sorry.
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