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Pacific Pummeling: Northwest Reels From Floods; Salute To Troops; Baby Formula Fears

Aired December 05, 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: You are with CNN. You're informed.
Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming in the CNN NEWSROOM on Wednesday, the 5th of December. And here is what's on the rundown now.

Under water in Washington and Oregon. Today homeowners get ready for the big flood cleanup.

It blossomed during the age of free love. Religion or a cult that advocates sex with children? A disturbing look this hour.

Connecting with U.S. troops in the war zone. Headline News anchor Robin Meade and her on-air tribute.

Salute the troops, in the NEWSROOM.

Waking up to a flood nightmare. Boats are picking up stranded homeowners. Other residents are trying to figure out what's worth saving and what is ruined. At least five people are now dead. The governors of Oregon and Washington have declared states of emergency.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is outside Seattle in the town of Burien.

Thelma, what kind of damage are you seeing now?

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, I can tell you, it's absolute devastation out here. This is the kind of thing that thousands of people are waking up to here in western Washington.

Take a look right behind me. It's just an absolute muddy mess. You can see this house here. It's been red-tagged.

Up on the hill, right on the neighbor's yard, it actually gave way. The hill collapsed, and there was a car parked down below, and when all that mud came down, it actually shoved the car right into the living room of Barbara Bull (ph).

She was on her cell phone. She was talking. She said it sounded like a bomb. Now, fortunately, she was not injured.

As you had mentioned, Heidi, five deaths have been blamed on this storm, including two hikers killed in an avalanche. Search and rescue teams are now looking for three snowboarders who have not been heard from since the storm actually started during the weekend. They're also looking for an 81-year-old elderly man who fell into a creek.

Now, in Lewis County, in some of the towns that have been hardest hit, those areas from above look like small islands. The Coast Guard has been in there. They have been airlifting people out of this area.

The bridges are wiped out. Roads are closed. And so many of the residents in those areas have been cut off from the rest of the world. They're actually getting around right now and assessing the damage to their homes in canoes, if you can believe that.

Now, the rain road between Portland and Seattle is I-5. A 20- mile stretch of I-5 is actually closed, buried under 10 feet of water and mud. And the state has estimated that it's costing about $4 million a day for each day that area is shut down because the big rigs can't deliver the goods to some of the stores and some of the businesses out in this area.

Now, in Mason and Kitsap counties, there have been giant sinkholes that are reported because the ground has given way, and there are 45 road closures in the area. The train service has actually been interrupted in many areas because of mudslides covering those tracks.

Now, the good news, Heidi, is that forecasters are expecting dry weather through the weekend, and they say that there are only three rivers right now where they're actually saying that there could be a little bit of a flood, but the waters are receding, and they're very thankful for that dry weather. Hopefully it will help in the cleanup.

Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: Boy, we certainly hope that's the case.

All right. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez this morning.

Thank you, Thelma.

This hour, the storm is actually plowing eastward and creating treacherous driving conditions in much of the nation's midsection. This Greyhound bus spun out of control north of Indianapolis. Nineteen people were injured.

Much of the region is being buried under a blanket of snow. Some areas could see nine inches. As the storm barrels east, it's hitting a dividing line of temperatures. Cold temps in the northern Mid- Atlantic will mean snow. South of there it will mean rain.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: And when the weather becomes news you can see it right here on CNN. If it's happening outside your window, we need to you send your video or photos if you can. Just go to CNN.com and click on "I-Report," or type ireport@CNN.com right into your cell phone.

Keeping pressure on Iran, President Bush this morning calling on Tehran to "come clean" about its nuclear activities or face diplomatic isolation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is clear from the latest NIE that the Iranian government has more to explain about its nuclear intentions and past actions, especially the covert nuclear weapons program pursued into the fall of 2003 which the Iranian regime has yet to acknowledge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Iran's president takes a very different position on the intelligence report referenced there by President Bush. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declaring victory today in a televised address. He points to the report's conclusion that Iran stopped working towards a nuclear bomb four years ago.

Mr. Ahmadinejad has long denied his country was trying to build a bomb. He says earlier reports from the U.S. had been based on what he called shoddy intelligence.

In the war zone. Defense Secretary Robert Gates praising progress in Iraq today. As usual with VIPs, the trip wasn't announced until he arrived. Gates is checking the recent downturn in violence and how to keep the trend going. He's also urging Iraqi leaders to move faster towards reconciliation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: More than ever I believe that the goal of a secure, stable and Democratic Iraq is within reach. We need to be patient, but we also need to be absolutely resolved in our desire to see the nascent signs of home across Iraq expand and flourish so that all Iraqis can enjoy peace and prosperity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: While violence may be down, it is continuing. Car bombs today killed at least eight Iraqis.

The peace and quiet of a Boston neighborhood suddenly shattered by this massive fire. Police say a tanker truck overturned and burst into flames around 1:30 this morning. The tanker was hauling about 9,000 gallons of gas.

The fire chief says it is a miracle no one was seriously hurt. At least three buildings and about 40 cars up in flames. The Red Cross says about 200 people were evacuated, including nearly 80 elderly residents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a big pop. At first I thought it was a transformer. Then I looked out the window and I saw all the brightness and I called it in. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it was shooting. I thought someone was banging up the cars. And I woke my husband up. I said, "Get up. We've got to get out of here."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Police are investigating whether the tanker driver was going too fast. The driver was not injured in the accident.

The shooting death of NFL star Sean Taylor -- a grand jury says it was the youngest suspect who pulled the trigger. This morning, 17- year-old Eric Rivera made his first court appearance. His case now in adult court, and the judge ordered him held without bond. He and three other young men are charged with murder, armed burglary, and home invasion.

Taylor, of the Washington Redskins, died one day after being shot in his Miami home. Police say the 24-year-old was the victim of a botched burglary.

The illegal immigration debate hits home for one presidential candidate in his own back yard. Republican Mitt Romney says he has fired a landscaping company that did work at his home because the company employed illegal immigrants. His rival, Rudy Giuliani, raised the issue during last week's CNN/YouTube debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When the Welfare Reform Act that President Clinton brought forward said that they were going to end the sanctuary policy of New York City, the mayor actually brought a suit to maintain its sanctuary city status.

RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's unfortunate, but Mitt generally criticizes people in a situation in which he's had far the worst record. For example, in his case there were six sanctuary cities. He did nothing about them.

There was even a sanctuary mansion. At his own home illegal immigrants were being employed. So I would say he had a sanctuary mansion, not just a sanctuary city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Romney says he gave the landscaper a second chance. In a statement he said, "The company's failure to comply with the law is disappointing and inexcusable, and I believe it is important that I take this action."

A consumer alert to tell you about today. Check your microwave. General Electric is recalling more than 90,000 combination wall and microwave ovens. GE says the door switch in the microwave can overheat and then possibly start a fire.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says there have been at least 35 fires that damaged homes. No injuries have been reported, but the ovens were sold between January 2000 and December 2003 under the brand names GE, GE Profile and Kenmore.

GE is offering a free repair kit or a rebate toward a new unit, so if you have any questions, you should call GE. That number, 1-888- 240-2745.

Giving a shout out to those who serve. A Headline News anchor makes it her mission.

Want to salute the troops? We'll show you how in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Sending holiday presents or cards to military members over seas? Well, if you want to get them there by Christmas Day, it may be too late. That's according to the U.S. Postal Service. But, all is not lost. It is not too late to send a very special greeting.

Robin Meade of "Morning Express" of Headline News makes personal contact with the troops on a daily basis and she joins us now.

Hi there, Robin.

ROBIN MEADE, HEADLINE NEWS: I stayed up late to stay with you.

COLLINS: I'm so glad. Yes, I think we get up about the same time.

MEADE: I think you're right.

You know, so maybe our viewers are feeling a little guilty because they missed the date to send out a package, a Christmas package, to a military member in a war zone. War zone or not, you can make a personal connection with the military through what we call Salute the Troops feature.

You know, it started with a simple on air "thank you." Now it has grown into so much more.

Let me show you.

To connect our viewers with the troops, we've gone to a number of different military posts and talked to service members, Heidi. But there we've seen firsthand their uncommon sacrifices that all these troops and their families make. The families seem to be that forgotten story. You know?

Well, they shared their training and their rehab challenges. Families have opened up about their lives to us on camera. And again and again, they tell us how much just a simple salute to these troops means so much it to them, especially knowing that it comes directly from you, the viewing audience.

So here is a sample of what Salute the Troops is daily on "Morning Express."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Robin. This is Starla Scorecki (ph). I want to send a salute out to my husband, Sergeant Dustin Scorecki (ph). He's a Calvary scout serving in Iraq right now.

Dustin (ph), the girls and I miss and love you very much, along with the rest of our families. You mean the world to me and I can't wait for you to come home.

MEADE: We got a salute from a proud papa saying, "This is a picture of my son. He's a religious program specialist, Steven Brooks (ph). So we wanted to show you the picture. He's serving near Baghdad and is a Navy chaplain's assistant."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Robin. I'm (INAUDIBLE) with the United States Navy in south Baghdad. I'd like to wish all my family a happy holidays in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Love you all, especially my grandson in Jacksonville, Florida, Nicholas (ph).

Hi, Nick (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MEADE: So you can see the salutes go both ways, Heidi. They go from the military service members to our viewers, and then from our viewers to the military service members.

COLLINS: Right.

MEADE: So how do you get your military salutes on the air? You can do it simply by going to CNN.com/robin, and you hit the "Salute Troops" segment. And that's where you send a simple picture of your loved one who is in the military. You start it off that way.

Now, we do get hundreds of submissions...

COLLINS: That's so great.

MEADE: ... a week. Right.

COLLINS: What makes a really good one? What's the one that's going to get on the air?

MEADE: Usually a picture that shows a personality. Now, if you just submit, you know, "I want to salute my son," and we don't have a picture, it's going to be tough going because we do get so many submissions.

COLLINS: Right.

MEADE: So a picture that kind of shows their personality. It doesn't have to be their formal military picture, but let's us know who is that person behind the uniform that we can say thanks to.

So here is a good example.

COLLINS: Yes. MEADE: So people may be holding an award with their loved one.

COLLINS: Make a funny face.

MEADE: Exactly.

COLLINS: Make a funny face or something.

MEADE: Exactly.

COLLINS: Oh, look. There's an ultrasound picture.

MEADE: Yes. That guy, that was the first time he saw his ultrasound, his wife's first child's ultrasound.

Isn't that great?

COLLINS: Boy, that's excellent.

MEADE: So these things just kind of connect us to these folks who are serving and doing their jobs for us. One way that we can say thank you.

All you've got to do is log on to CNN.com/robin. Hit the "Salute Troops" section. Send us the pictures of your loved ones, and that's how we'll get it started.

So if you forgot your package, we'll try to make it up for you.

COLLINS: Yes. I think it's a great idea. And quickly, I know you have a pretty long show over there.

MEADE: Yes.

COLLINS: How many times do you do the "Salute to Troops" so people can be watching and really see their loved ones?

MEADE: Once an hour every hour, and it's a four-hour-long show. So if you miss it early, you can tune in later.

COLLINS: And what time is that show again?

MEADE: That's from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Eastern. However, Heidi's show starts at 9:00 a.m., and I'm aware of that.

COLLINS: No competition there.

MEADE: All right. Thank you.

COLLINS: You know what? We know how much the families appreciate this. I had the opportunity to meet the Medal of Honor winner, his family. Obviously, he's no longer with us, Michael Murphy. But boy, that family really watches this stuff and really appreciates the support.

MEADE: I feel like it's the least we can do. COLLINS: Yes, absolutely.

MEADE: Just a simple thank you.

COLLINS: Yes.

Thank you.

MEADE: Thank you, dear.

COLLINS: All right. Robin, good to see you.

MEADE: You too, dear.

COLLINS: Thanks so much.

All right. We want to talk a little bit more about what a dad should do when his little girl wants tickets to the hottest show in town. Duh. Put on the boots and make the most of that miniskirt, men. Shake that money maker, don't you?

Dozens of Detroit-area dads trying to win tickets to the Hannah -- that is a bad wig, buddy -- the Hannah Montana show. Yes, still hot.

The contest was put on by a local radio station. No word -- good lord, they're going to kill themselves. No word on who won the tickets or who was best dressed. Serious competition though.

Well, there she is. Oh, wait a minute. There she goes. Miss California reigns, well, at least for a few days, and then the crown comes off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Is something you're feeding your baby toxic? The group that warned about a chemical in plastic baby bottles has a new report on infant formula. And CNN has a first look.

The exclusive details now from Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a new report out there actually talking about the fact that there might be trace amounts of BPA, bisphenol-A, in baby formula cans. The same report says even small amounts could be bad for you. The FDA completely denies that.

So is this an overreaction by an environmental group or something to be taken seriously? You decide.

(voice over): New mom Helen Niblock wanted to breastfeed 5-week- old Emma but didn't produce enough milk.

HELEN NIBLOCK, FEEDS BABY LIQUID FORMULA: I actually cried when they told me I had to give her formula in the hospital.

GUPTA: To supplement Emma's diet, she feeds her Enfamil, just one of the canned baby formulas a research group claims contains a toxic chemical that could hurt her. It's bisphenol-A, or BPA. It's used as a protective lining in cans.

Some moms panicked when they learned it's in plastic baby bottles. Now the Environmental Working Group says top baby formula makers acknowledge BPA is in their cans. And that Environmental Working Group says even a little bit is harmful.

JANE HOULIHAN, ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP: Bisphenol-A is linked to toxic effects at very low doses. Concerns range from breast cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes, early puberty and infertility.

GUPTA: Also fueling concern, findings just published from a federal panel say that BPA poses some risk to babies' brains and behavior. Findings the American Academy of Pediatrics takes seriously but admits there's not enough information yet to take action.

ARI BROWN, MEMBER, American ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS: We don't have any data, unfortunately, in humans. So it makes it a little bit hard to know what is worrisome and what is not.

GUPTA: The FDA insists infants would have to ingest over 7,000 times more formula than they do in a day to do any harm and adds that there is no reason to ban or restrict its use in baby formula cans.

Mead Johnson, maker of Enfamil, joins the nation's other top baby formula makers in acknowledging a trace amount of BPA in their cans within federal limits, but says their products are safe. The industry maintains no changes in feeding practices are recommended.

New moms may not have answers but they do have alternatives -- powdered formula or formula not packaged in cans. And glass or BPA- free plastic baby bottles.

BROWN: If there is an easy, cheap way to limit or reduce the exposure in your child's life, why not do it?

GUPTA (on camera): Now, the one thing missing from all of this is actual human studies. Most of the studies you were hearing about there were actually done in animals.

Helen Niblock, for her part, says, look, there's been a lot of recalls out this summer and over the last several months. She is going to take this one seriously and probably change the way that she feeds her baby.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online you can log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. That address is CNN.com/health.

A first grader jumps in front of a gun. The little girl takes six bullets to save her mom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody, 11:30 Eastern Time now.

An incredible story out of Detroit this morning. A 7-year-old girl jumps in front of a gunman to save her mother's life. The first grader shot six times. Amazingly, she survived. The suspect is in custody.

The story now from Mara McDonald, our affiliate, WDIV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you heard the charges, yes or no?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MARA MCDONALD, REPORTER, WDIV: That Felithia Parker and her daughter are still alive after what ex-boyfriend Calvin Tilly was accused of doing to them is nothing short of miraculous. Parker tells police she had broken up with Tilly but feared he would hurt her.

She called a girlfriend Saturday night to pick her up from her eastside home. That's when court records say Tilly held them at gunpoint, forcing the friend to drive with a 9 millimeter to the head with Parker and her little girl in the SUV.

MOHAMMAD, GAS STATION CLERK: Yes, she was scared and talking to us on the phone.

MCDONALD: Felithia Parker's friend knew that she needed to do something, so she told Tilly they needed gas, got him to come into this gas station here on Seven Mile, leaving Tilly with Parker and her daughter inside the car while her friend runs into this gas station, calls 911. The clerk calls 911, and then the gunshots start.

"MOHAMMAD," GAS STATION CLERK: She was crying the second time when I called 911, and she dropped the phone.

MCDONALD: Police say Calvin Tilly started firing his nine millimeter into Parker. Her little girl screamed for Tilly to stop. That's when he unloaded six rounds into the child and tried to run. But Detroit police arrived on the scene, and took him into custody and the mother and child to the hospital.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The Detroit news says the girl is recovering from gunshot wounds to the eye, temple, chin, cheek, chest and arm. The suspect is facing kidnapping and other charges. He faces a hearing next week. (WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Today we continue our countdown to our CNN Heroes, an all-star tribute, a campaign that will include more than 7,000 nominations from you telling us about unsung heroes in 93 countries. Right now a finalist in our Defending the Planet category. He's definitely proof of the power of one.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to do one more?

MARK MAKSIMOWICZ: One more, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

MAKSIMOWICZ: My name is Mark Maksimowicz, and I collect trash on the waterways of Florida. I am a lifelong resident. I truly love the state of Florida. I remember a clean beach. I remember a day when this would not have been here. This is what our children have, and it's not just here. It's all over the place. So I got together with my cousins and my sister, and we decided to formulate a plan to where we could actually pick up a lot of that trash.

Green Armada is a boat (ph). It's a small group of volunteers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I tell you, the water is just really...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's terrible.

MAKSIMOWICZ: On an average day we collect between 400 and 700 pounds of trash. My cousins and I, we're out here as much as possible, four or five days a week. We pick up condoms, diapers, trash bags filled with urine and human waste, and that's just disgusting.

One of the things that we've learned also is that you could come out here every day and pick up 700 pounds of trash, and that may be impressive and sad at the same time, but we didn't put a dent in it.

When I can walk 30 feet from here and fill up a Hefty bag full of trash, shame on us as a society. We're ruining this earth, and if you look at it in another way, we're squandering our inheritance.

This isn't a special thing. It's not rocket science. It's not anything that's glamorous or beautiful, but it's what we should be doing as humans. We have a responsibility, and we have to take it seriously.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: CNN salutes the ordinary people doing extraordinary things. CNN Heroes, an all-star tribute featuring big names like Mary J. Blige, Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow and a whole lot more. Tomorrow night, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. And if you would like to meet the 18 finalist up for the grand prize, you can do that, too, and the panelist who will decide the winner. Just log on to CNN.com/heroes.

COLLINS: The shocking inside story of growing up in a cult.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: What was David Berg like?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a sick (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pedophile. He was just a sick (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pervert.

CNN's Randi Kaye investigates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

COLLINS: Born into a cult. His childhood was a nightmare of sexual abuse. His life consumed by a need for revenge.

CNN's Randi Kaye reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You're watching a man unravel.

RICKY RODRIGUEZ, CULT MEMBER: I'm just loading some of my mags here. I hope you guys don't mind if I do that while I talk.

KAYE: Ricky Rodriguez had belonged to a sect that called itself The Family International. He made this chilling tape two years ago.

RODRIGUEZ: This is my weapon of choice, the K-bar knife.

KAYE: Just days after this taping, two people will die. Ricky is planning to murder his own mother.

RODRIGUEZ: She's going to pay dearly, one way or another.

KAYE: His mother, Karen Zerby, had become leader of the sect in 1994 after its founder, David Berg, died.

The group, shown here in this documentary, called "The Love Prophet," was once called the Children of God. It sprang up in the 1960s communal free love era.

Berg was a charismatic, self-proclaimed prophet. Former cult members tell us both Berg and Ricky's mom, who Berg called his queen, encouraged adult/child sex. In fact, they wrote about it.

A manifesto they called "The Story of Davidito" was the foundation of their perverted beliefs, according to many former members, Berg's how-to guide for raising sexual children. The Family International now says all "questionable publications were officially renounced and expunged between the late 1980s and early 1990s."

These photos show Ricky's nanny, even his mother, were his sexual teachers.

DON LATTIN, AUTHOR, "JESUS FREAKS": It was an experiment in this strange kind of twisted child-rearing philosophy of David Berg.

KAYE: Don Lattin's just-released book "Jesus Freaks" talks of Berg's cult.

LATTIN: He wanted his child to embrace sexuality, to be a sexual being as an infant growing up.

KAYE: This woman, Davida Kelley, grew up with Ricky in the cult.

(on camera) What was David Berg like?

DAVIDA KELLEY, FORMER MEMBER, THE FAMILY INTERNATIONAL: He was a sick (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pedophile. He was just a sick (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pervert. He interpreted, like, the law of love and the Bible and religion into a sick, perverted way, and that meant being able to violate and abuse anyone and everyone.

KAYE (voice-over): Including her, she says, when she was just 5.

KELLEY: You were only required to have actual intimate intercourse with David Berg once you were, like, the mature age of, like, 12.

KAYE: Davida says Ricky was forced to have sex with dozens of adult women, including his own mother.

KELLEY: I actually witnessed Karen Zerby having intercourse with her own son, Rick Rodriguez, at age 11.

KAYE: Berg was apparently so obsessed with sex he used it to grow his group around the world. Former members say Berg sent women out to seduce men to lure them in to accept his gospel of Jesus.

LATTIN: Berg was God's pimp.

KAYE: The Family International refused an interview with CNN, but in a statement acknowledges Berg taught sexual liberty without instituting safeguards for the protection of minors, but it says, that was corrected in 1986, and any infractions are an excommunicable offense.

The group also told us all of Davida's allegations are false and that Karen Zerby never abused her son Ricky.

Ricky would later escape from the group and marry and try to establish a new life.

ELIXCIA MUNUMEL, RICKY RODRIGUEZ' WIDOW: He wanted the memory of his childhood to be gone.

KAYE: But he had been too deeply scarred. He wanted revenge against his mother, which brings us back to his murder plan.

RODRIGUEZ: Maybe fate will smile on me, the God of war, the God of revenge. Maybe they will grant me happy hunting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Next, the final chapter. Ricky Rodriguez turns his rage on the two women who raised him. Part two of Randi Kaye's report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RODRIGUEZ: This is my weapon of choice, the K-bar knife.

She's going to pay dearly. One way or another.

COOPER: He is a troubled young man named Ricky Rodriguez. By the time he made that video, he was trying to break away from the cult that had raised him and start again. But it ended up in tragedy.

Once again, up close, CNN's Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE (voice-over): David Berg referred to himself as Moses and was known as the Love Prophet. He encouraged free love and open sex between adults and children.

In some bizarre logic, he concluded the Bible called for raising a sexually enlightened child. Berg anointed this boy, Ricky Rodriguez, as his spiritual successor, but the sex abuse would take its toll on him as a man.

RODRIGUEZ: It's a need for revenge. It's a need for justice. Because I can't go on like this.

KAYE: Within hours of taping this in 2005, Ricky contacted his childhood nanny.

KELLEY: She was one of the many female adults that had intercourse with Rick Rodriguez.

KAYE: This is a picture of the two of them.

RODRIGUEZ: I don't think there's going to be much time to feel anything. Might hurt for a split second.

KAYE: In his first bloody act of revenge, Ricky murdered his nanny. He cut her throat, then left her body in his Arizona apartment. But he was not done. He was still looking for his mother.

KELLEY: He realized that he wasn't going to bring his mother to justice the way he wished he could have brought her to in a court of law.

LATTIN: Most of this abuse went on, like, 20 years ago, so the statute of limitations expired. Most of it happened outside the U.S., so it's very difficult to prosecute.

KAYE: A spokesperson for The Family told us its policy for the protection of minors was adopted in 1986. "We regret that, prior to the adoption of this policy, cases occurred where minors were exposed to sexually inappropriate behavior between 1978 and 1986."

Davida Kelley and others, who were children then, are still haunted.

(on camera) Tell me what's going on up here and in here.

KELLEY: Up here it's like -- up here it's like I'm so not OK. I'm not OK.

KAYE (voice-over): This Web site, set up by people who were children in the cult then says at least 30 of them have committed suicide, though CNN has no way of verifying that.

As for Ricky Rodriguez, he never found his mother, a failure, Ricky's wife says, he couldn't live with.

MUNUMEL: He's like, "Baby, you love me."

And I said, "Yes, I love you. You know I love you more than anything else in the world."

And he said, "Then come and die with me."

KAYE: On a deserted road, Ricky Rodriguez died alone, a single shot to the head four years after he fled the cult.

As for his mother...

KELLEY: She's still the leader of The Family, and she needs to be brought to justice.

KAYE: But first, she must be found. Until then, she'll remain in hiding.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Oh boy, what a story.

Want to take a moment now to find out what is coming up on "YOUR WORLD TODAY." It's about 10 minutes away, and Hala Gorani is standing by.

Hi there, Hala.

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, Heidi.

At noon Eastern top of the hour, join Jim Clancy and myself. We are going to be taking you live to Tehran, Iran. We are the only U.S. television network there on a day the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that that U.S. intelligence report that was published a few days ago is a victory for Iran, while George Bush repeats that Tehran is still dangerous.

Also, the strange and bizarre tale of John Darwin, a British man whose canoe was found five years ago, presumed dead. Well, he's resurfaced. Now, he's under arrest, and his wife is living in Panama. We'll bring you the latest on that.

Also, how would you feel if you had raised a child for a whole year but it turned out to be someone else's child and another couple had yours? Would you want to switch those children? Or keep that child you bonded with for a full year? That is the question we're going to be exploring with a harrowing story from the Czech Republic.

Hope you can join us, top of the hour, Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: All right Hala, thank you.

White House lawyers at the Supreme Court this morning. They made their case for holding terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay indefinitely. CNN's Jamie McIntyre is there, he's been following the story all day for us.

Jamie, arguments I know just wrapped up. So, what was said inside the court today?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, it was a very interesting session. If you can believe it, it's almost as exciting as like an NFL football game watching these people sparring. But the main thing that comes away from this is the Justices clearly take this question very seriously, the fact that these detainees in Guantanamo don't appear to have the ability to challenge their detention. That is the argument here, that they are entitled to the writ of habeas corpus. That is the right to challenge their confinement.

And perhaps the most telling moment came about 45 minutes into the arguments when Justice Stephen Breyer, questioning the solicitor general for the United States arguing the administration's case, said what if I'm a detainee and he posed the hypothetical that was very close to one of the plaintiffs in this case, picked up in Bosnia. I'm accused of associating with al Qaeda. I want to make the case that it's not true. I should not be detained for six years without either being charged or tried or released. Where do I make that argument?

And the Solicitor General Paul Clement said, I don't think you can make that argument, and Justice Breyer said exactly, and that's what this case is about. The government, the Bush administration is arguing that the detainee detention act provides an adequate replacement for the writ of habeas corpus, and it wasn't clear at all that the Justices were buying that.

Now Heidi, we'll find out about six months from now when the Court hands down its ruling.

COLLINS: Yes, we will. Certainly going to take some time on that one. All right, CNN's Jamie McIntyre, Pentagon correspondent. Jamie, thank you. Earlier this morning, we talked about the Texas man, Joe Horn, who shot and killed suspected burglars on his neighbor's property. We asked if you thought he did the right thing. Want to let you know now what some of you said.

Here is the answer from Bill, at least in his opinion. He says, "Hooray. If more people would defend property -- either their's or their neighbor's -- we might have less crime. I think he did right and should get a medal."

Then from Mrs. M, she says, "He could have fired a warning shot and detained them. He was told not to go outside" -- by the 911 operator -- "and he did as he pleased. He gunned them down and should pay for it."

Then from Steve, "I support Joe Horn. People are tired of being victims of criminals. This sends a strong signal."

And finally from Justin in Texas, "Joe Horn did not do the right thing. He single handedly made himself the judge, jury, and executioner in a matter of minutes."

We'll be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Actor Brad Pitt has a plan for New Orleans Ninth Ward. He outlines his plan tonight on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN HOST: I am told that Hillary Clinton announced today support for this project.

BRAD PITT, ACTOR: That's fantastic, that's great.

KING: And I would imagine you'd call on the other candidates, too.

PITT: Well, I'll do exactly that. We -- I was really pleased to see we'd already been shown interest from Senator Clinton's campaign and also from Senator Obama's campaign, and that makes me hopeful. And, yes, I might as well be so forward as to challenge them all to adopt a house here.

But more importantly, I hope this becomes and is one of the major issues in this campaign because it's -- all the issues are right here that need to be dealt with, and I hope it's used not so much as a whipping stick for the past administration, but really used for the proving ground, an opportunity to address these issues of healthcare and education, reform, and it's all here. It needs it, so if you can make it work here, it works.

KING: Are you supporting anyone, by the way?

PITT: I'm still -- you know, I lean -- I'm still listening, yes. I'm still listening.

KING: Would you ask the president to support this?

PITT: Absolutely -- listen, I'd ask anyone and everyone. I'm asking my dad to support this. I'm asking my friends to support this. And absolutely, I ask the current administration to support this. You know, there's no reason we have to stop here. We can get this place rebuilt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The full interview with Brad Pitt from New Orleans, CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.

CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now. "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next, with news happening across the globe and right here at home.

I'm Heidi Collins. Have a great day, everybody.

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