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American Morning
Deadly Tiger Attack: Did Tiger Have Human Help?; One Week to Go: Campaign Closing Arguments; Breaking News: Bombing in Pakistan; Home Prices Fall 6.7 Percent
Aired December 27, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Who's in the lead? Who is on the side lines? We're live from the campaign trail on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And welcome. Glad you're with us on this Thursday, December 27th. I'm Kiran Chetry. John Roberts is taking the day off.
And we start with the news out of San Francisco this morning of that tragic tiger mauling. The big cat exhibit now at the zoo is a crime scene, after that Christmas day attack. This morning, there are also some new details on the investigation on the victims and the role they may have played in the attack.
The teenager who was killed has been identified as 17-year-old Carlos Sousa, Jr. Police say he died from a severe bite to the throat. He knew the tigers two other victims. They're brothers who were seriously hurt. This morning, "San Francisco Chronicle" is reporting that one of the friends may have taunted the tiger, even dangling a leg over the fence before the tiger scrambled out.
Police say that could have actually provided a way to help the tiger get out. It's believed the tiger's deadly attack happened just outside of the area. The others left a trail of blood that the tiger then followed according to police, at least 300 yards all the way to the zoo's cafe. That's where police found the tiger standing over one of the victims. That's when police opened fire, killing the tiger.
CNN's Dan Simon is live from the San Francisco Zoo as they continue to look at evidence this morning, and there just seems to be a lot of unanswered questions in this tragedy, Dan, including how the tiger was able to, if indeed it did, scale an 18-foot wall.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No question about it. And police said on a few occasions yesterday that there is no evidence suggesting that these three young men may have taunted the tiger, but we're hearing something entirely different today. The "San Francisco Chronicle" reporting that there was a footprint found on a waist-high fence. This is a fence that separates the general public from the outer perimeter of the enclosure. And even more significant in the "San Francisco Chronicle" citing police sources here, that there was a shoe and some blood found between the fence and the moat.
Now, CNN cannot independently confirm this report but if it's true, it suggests that these three people may have really attracted the attention of the tiger and that perhaps the tiger may have latched onto a foot or a body part and that may have helped the tiger get out of the enclosure. Police aren't saying anything about this publicly. All they will say is that they're treating this as a criminal investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF HEATHER FONG, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE DEPT.: Because we're not certain whether this incident occurred as a result of human action or whether this was an incident where the animal was able to get out of the grotto, we have deemed the site as of last night a crime scene.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: And get this. This really paints a frightening picture of what may have happened here. We are hearing that all three young men were together when the attack first took place. The tiger, of course, attacking a 17-year-old Carlos Sousa, killing him right there on the spot. The other two young men literally fleeing for their lives. The tiger then catching up with them, before police ultimately came in there and killed the animal, Kiran.
CHETRY: Some other interesting elements, if you could shed some light for us on this. Apparently, this is happening as the zoo was getting ready to close, correct? So it was a little bit darker there. They cite at least in "The Chronicle" article about a lack of emergency lights and a lack of video surveillance and also confusion in the early hours after this happened, as to how many animals may have escaped.
SIMON: It was a very chaotic scene. Police at first feared that there were several tigers on the loose, and because of that, they weren't really focused on trying to find witnesses to speak to immediately. Remember, this was on Christmas day. It was 5:00, about an hour before the zoo closes so at first, they were trying to make sure that this was a safe environment inside the zoo, looking for possible other victims.
Now, right now, those other two people, two brothers, they're in the hospital. Their testimony, we don't know if they've talked to police yet or not, but they were there. And so what they had to say about this will really provide the insight and really tell everybody what happened because they were there. They were the eyewitnesses to the whole event, Kiran.
CHETRY: Dan Simon following the latest developments for us from San Francisco this morning. Thank you, Dan.
Meanwhile, the parents of the teenager killed by the tigers are also speaking out. They're going to be joining us live a little bit later this morning. Carlos Sousa, Sr. talked about getting the call from the coroner on Christmas day and having to identify his son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLOS SOUSA SR., VICTIM'S FATHER: Then we had to go identify him. It's torture. It really is. It was him. Bloody all over the neck, but his face was still intact. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: We're going to ask them how they're doing and more when we talk to the parents live just minutes from now on AMERICAN MORNING.
Meanwhile, a lot of other stories making headlines overnight. Alina Cho following the very latest developments for us. Hi, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kiran, good morning. Good morning, everybody. New this morning.
Police have in custody two people who they believe are responsible for killing six members of the same family. It happened east of Seattle in Carnation, Washington, on Christmas eve. 29-year- old Michele Anderson and her boyfriend, Thomas McEnroe, are booked on suspicion of murder. Neighbors say the victims, three generations of the same family are Anderson's parents, her brother, his wife and their two young children. Wayne Anderson was an engineer for Boeing. A man who says he's related to the Andersons says it may have all started with a fight over money.
New details coming out this morning about the teenager in the Omaha Mall shooting earlier this month. New court documents from two years ago show that the 19-year-old gunman, Robert Hawkins, had attempted suicide by overdosing on Tylenol and had even been kicked out of drug treatment. Especially chilling a letter that Hawkins' father wrote to the court saying he could do no more to help his son. "It is beyond my ability," he wrote. He added that he hoped God would make sure nothing happens to his son that cannot be undone. Hawkins shot and killed eight people at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, before taking his own life on December 5th.
A bizarre twist in the case of missing mother, Stacy Peterson. Her neighbors say they got chilling notes in their mailboxes yesterday saying she's in a graveyard, and some 50 pictures of grave sites were scattered at one neighbor's house. Peterson disappeared two months ago in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Her husband, Drew, a former police officer, has been named a suspect.
A new report is out on the cause of that huge steam pipe explosion in New York City back in the summertime. It blames faulty repairs by utility company Con Edison. The report which was paid for by Con Ed, by the way, says putty used to seal a valve came loose and chunks of it then clogged another valve designed to release steam. That created a big backup, eventually causing the pipe to explode. One woman was killed after suffering a heart attack after the blast. Two others were severely burned.
In Iraq, U.S. forces say they killed 11 Shiite fighters today. It happened about 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. The fighters were apparently part of the breakaway group of the Mehdi army. Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr ordered the Mehdi army to freeze its activities back in August, and U.S. commanders say that freeze may be one reason why violence has dropped in Iraq.
We are getting more details this morning about how a 13-year-old girl from southern California may have survived a plane crash in Panama. Just an incredible story. Francesca Lewis's mother says she believes her daughter either fell out or was thrown from the plane as it was crashing. Francesca's best friend, her best friend's father and the pilot were all killed in the crash. Francesca's mom said rescuers found her under a wing, apparently delirious, thinking she was waking up at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF: VALERIE LEWIS, SURVIVOR'S MOTHER: So the fact that she so far doesn't seem to have any major damage is, seems incredible. She thought she had been sleeping and that she would wake up and see -- she thought she was in her home and that there was, why was there an airplane wing in her home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Her mother says Francesca had a fractured arm and some cuts, but she's actually up and walking around. That is really, really good news.
And hundreds of children in Cambodia are getting some good news. They're getting an education this morning. Thanks to a teenaged girl from New York. Listen to this story.
17-year-old Rachel Rosenfeld actually raised $52,000 to open a school in Cambodia. She was there for the ribbon cutting. That school, by the way, will help bring computers and Internet access to 300 clapping and happy children. Rosenfeld raised the cash by sending out letters, selling t-shirts, even offering naming rights for parts of the school.
Now, there she is smiling there in the bottom of your screen, right in the middle. She says she got the idea while home sick with some (ph) problems from her own school for about a year. She read about the kids in the newspaper and decided to help. And as you mentioned in the last hour, The World Bank is doing its part donating $10,000. The Asian Development Bank donating $13,000.
CHETRY: Right.
CHO: Really incredible for a 17-year-old.
CHETRY: She must be fabulous.
CHO: Yes. Yes. I don't know that I would have had -- wherewithal to do that at 17. But anyway, really, really generous and $52,000, opening up a big school there.
CHETRY: That's right. Started all of that now. She has a legacy to last for generations.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: That's great. Alina, thanks so much.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: We have Rob Marciano with us. He is tracking extreme weather including some snowstorms in Colorado. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. You know, stories like that make me feel like a big fat loser.
CHETRY: You're not. You're a svelte loser. You're definitely not a big fat one.
MARCIANO: I appreciate the vote of confidence and it could be more true, the loser part.
Hey, four to eight inches of snow expected today across parts of Colorado with winter storm warnings and heavy snow warnings posted, and you can see even higher amounts of that in the mountains. So the snows continue for the mile-high city. No, it's not a city that gets snow all the time throughout the entire winter so this is a pretty good stretch for that.
We've got low pressure anchored in parts of New Mexico. This will strengthen easterly flow. That is the key to getting the upslope in the Denver area, and the front range will see a tremendous amount of snow, and this is going to make its way into Illinois and through parts of Wisconsin. Chicago, northwestward could see four to eight inches of their own snow here especially during the daytime tomorrow.
There you see the expected forecast for snowfall totals. The darker blues there in purples, 48 in some cases, closer to 10 or 12, but it should be a pretty good swathe of snow from just southwest of Kansas City up to Davenport, Iowa, and then through Rockford, Illinois. So winter continues as we begin to wrap up '07, no doubt about that. And now, we have winter storm warnings and heavy snow warnings across parts of the pacific northwest as well. From one loser to another, Kiran, back over to you.
CHETRY: I meant that in the nicest possible way.
MARCIANO: Yes. I appreciate it. Merry Christmas.
CHETRY: Merry Christmas to you, too.
Well, almost two and a half years after Hurricane Katrina, some signs now that people are slowly coming home. Here's some new census data showing that Louisiana's population grew by 50,000 people, still far from the 250,000 residents that the census bureau estimated Louisiana lost after the disaster.
And continuing with the trend of where the states are gaining the most around the country, it's still the southwest part of the country actually where more people are moving, Nevada, the state with the largest population growth.
Also signs that the housing bust has slowed down. The population boom in some of the fastest growing states. The census shows growth slowing in Florida, Nevada and Arizona. Analysts say the housing market and higher fuel prices may have many potential movers deciding to stay put.
And it's down to the wire in Iowa, the Democrats delivering a new message to Iowa voters. We're going to tell you about that coming up.
And the Republicans sharpening their message as well, the race in New Hampshire getting nasty. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Hey, there. There's a look at the calendar for America votes 2008. Boy, just a week away now exactly from the Iowa caucuses. Presidential candidates are pulling out all the stops because boy, after Iowa, New Hampshire and then, boy, coming up in the next couple of weeks just a rapid fire as 32 different states head to the polls. So a lot going on for the candidates.
Hillary Clinton getting campaign help from both her husband and her daughter, and Barack Obama and John Edwards also going all out for the final push in Iowa.
Suzanne Malveaux is on the campaign trail with the Democrats in Iowa. We have Mary Snow. She's covering the Republicans in New Hampshire. We're going to start with Suzanne in Des Moines this morning. You're traveling later today with the Clinton camp, so what's the final week's strategy there?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, really, officially the holiday break is over. We are talking about these Democratic candidates crisscrossing the state. We're going to be doing the same following Clinton camp today. They have a new theme that's out. It is the big problems, real solutions, big challenges real solutions, time to pick a president. That, of course, focusing on the fact that they believe that she is electable, that she could win and we are seeing some familiar pictures, almost rewind the tape, if you will.
We are seeing presidents and former President Bill Clinton with candidates, his wife, Hillary, as well as daughter Chelsea, the former first family really trying to get across this message that there is a sense of support, that she has experience, but also harkening to the days, back to the Clinton days when the economy was good, when the country was not at war, it was a time of peace.
Some political analysts seeing this as a strategy that does carry some risks as well, potentially voters remembering some tumultuous times in the White House. But, Kiran, also interesting, they have a new ad that's out now called stakes. The Clinton camp putting this out and it talks about that Hillary Clinton is a new beginning. They show the signs of war, a foreclosure sign. They show a Katrina homes being damaged, really trying to build this case, make this case that this is not going to be the same old Bush administration, that this is going to be a real change -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Pushing experience and change at the same time. We'll see if that message works for her. Suzanne Malveaux, thank you. Meanwhile, we turn to the Republican side and Mary Snow is on the campaign trail in New Hampshire with more on that. She joins us from Manchester. So we have one week to the Iowa caucus, the two front- runners Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney not even in that state. Instead, they're in New Hampshire. What's going on there?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kiran, unlike the Democrats where so many of the candidates are in Iowa, concentrated on one place, Republicans are really scattered. You take a look at Mitt Romney campaigning here in New Hampshire. Mike Huckabee was in Iowa. He's going to spend part of the day in Florida today. Rudy Giuliani in Florida. John McCain in Iowa today, and really the story here is about two candidates who really seemed late support.
Mike Huckabee in Iowa and John McCain here in New Hampshire. Mitt Romney had been the front-runner in both those states, but he's really been coming under pressure and he is here in New Hampshire. He's trying to see, to shore up some support here before heading to Iowa, because he's really been threatened by John McCain who's making this last-minute surge, so we're really seeing a different kind of strategy among the GOP.
CHETRY: Mary Snow for us on the campaign trail as well from New Hampshire, thank you.
MARCIANO: All right. Are you ready for some football? Cue the music because you're about to see it on three channels. It won't be Monday night, but the New England Patriots are trying to become the first team to go undefeated since the 1970s. They're going to take on the New York Giants on Saturday night. The game was originally scheduled to be shown only on the NFL network, which not everybody gets, so it will now also be shown on NBC and CBS.
And Paris Hilton's inheritance just took a huge hit. Her grandfather Baron Hilton announced plans on Wednesday to donate 97 percent of his $2.3 billion fortune to charity, and it includes the eventual sale of the world's biggest casino company, Harrah's. The Hilton biographer last year wrote that Baron was embarrassed by his overprivileged and undertalented granddaughter although Baron Hilton has never publicly said that was true.
And unwrapping a blade, a child scared and parents seething over something that came with a toy. That story is just ahead.
And their son was fatally mauled by a tiger at a zoo on Christmas. We'll talk to the parents live and have the latest on the investigation next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: We have some breaking news to bring you right now from Pakistan. We're just getting word in the last couple of seconds that there has been an explosion.
According to the "Associated Press," this explosion took place near a rally for Benazir Bhutto and it's just a quick little blur giving some detail, talking about a reporter from the scene, saying that they see 20 bodies. There is no official word on any type of casualties at this point, but CNN wire is also coming in saying that four supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif died when another political party, members of that political party opened fire. This also near a rally near the Islamabad airport.
So we're getting two different reports right now of violence surging ahead of the elections in Pakistan. Hotly contested situation going on right there as two opposition leaders try to take control from Pervez Musharraf. And as we're hearing right now, an explosion going off outside of a rally for Benazir Bhutto, that according to the "Associated Press" as well as some other violence taking place among supporters from a different party near the Islamabad airport.
We're going to keep you abreast of all the situations right now that are developing in Pakistan as it relates to this election violence.
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is going to be asking Israel today to commit to a freeze on settlement construction. This will be the first demands since the two sides started their new round of peace talks. Israel is building 307 apartments in east Jerusalem and Palestinians want that construction stopped.
Some priests in the West Bank got down and dirty at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. You can see them going at each other with brooms and stones. The cleanup turned ugly after someone on the Orthodox side stepped inside the Armenian church's section. You're not seeing it in this video. Actually, this looks like just some cleaning taking place. The basilica believed to be built on Jesus's birth place. It's shared by Catholics, Orthodox Greeks as well as Armenians.
The Madrid subway system could use a little help with cleaning up. This is some garbage that's starting to accumulate there. The company that usually helps tidy it up has entered its 10th day of a strike and so that's the situation greeting the commuters there. No complaining about New York City, Rob.
MARCIANO: I can smell it from here.
CHETRY: Yes.
MARCIANO: A scary Christmas morning for a family in South Carolina. They claim their 7-year-old daughter opened a gift, a Polly Pocket plane set, and they found a blade in it. They say they went back to Wal-Mart, but workers there couldn't explain anything. Mattel, the toy maker, apologized but also had no answers. Her dad says he left without a refund and doesn't want his money back, not at least until he starts to get some answers.
CHETRY: All right. We're watching new details out of San Francisco this morning about the deadly tiger mauling on Christmas day. Police say that tiger was shot dead after he killed a teenager and mauled two of his friends. The two who survived left a trail of blood 300 yards and police are saying the tiger followed it, tracking them down before police opened fire.
It brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. Should the tiger have been shot and killed or just tranquilized? You can cast your vote on cnn.com/am. We're going to get the first tally of votes a little bit later in the hour.
There are reports that the zoo does have the ability to tranquilize, as well as regular ammunition on hand, yet the people at the zoo were not able to get there in time. It was actually the city police that were the first to arrive at the scene, seeing the tiger standing over one of the victims and made that decision to open fire. So that's raising a lot of questions this morning as well.
Meanwhile, we're going to talk more about that. We're actually be interviewing someone from the zoo about whether or not there were enough measures in place.
MARCIANO: And there's a lot of ways you can take that "Quick Vote." We have some chit-chat about, but we'll wait to see what you, the viewer, have to say. So go ahead and vote on that.
Ali Velshi is here "Minding Your Business" talking about home prices. Falling still?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, it's not news to anyone.
MARCIANO: Right.
VELSHI: But let's -- as we get to the end of the year, people really want to see where this is going. So there's this fairly comprehensive study. It's called the S&P case-Shiller home price index. Now, we've only got numbers from October now because that's how long it takes them to tabulate. But in October, their index of 20 major metropolitan areas shows more than a six percent decline across the country.
Let's look at some specific places. Miami and Tampa, more than 12 percent decline. That's year over year. October 2006 to October 2007, 12 percent. Detroit, San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix, all in the 11 percent down range. Of the 20 cities metropolitan areas that they surveyed, only three, in fact, had price increases from October 2006 to October 2007. Charlotte, Seattle and Portland.
A little perspective for you. If you go back to the year 2000, back when this housing boom started, the median price for a home, that's the price at which half of all homes were sold above that and half below that, was about 146,000. In 2007, in October, that's 205,000. So across the nation, we still have a 40 percent increase over that seven-year period in home prices. That doesn't help you. If you live in Miami or Detroit, you're trying to unload a house and you're moving to one of those places where prices are high, but or --
MARCIANO: Or if you bought last year.
VELSHI: Or if you bought last year. Speaking broadly on the economy, home prices did go up for a very long time. We have not erased the gains that we've seen in those early years. We're always trying to put a little positive spin. You know, everybody's got to get out there to make a buck. Might as well give them a leg up.
MARCIANO: You don't want people being upset with you. Be good, nice work.
CHETRY: Hey, you got to be in the home for the long haul. You can't be flipping houses, Rob.
VELSHI: And that's the kind of the point. That if your house was your investment for the long haul, you're OK.
MARCIANO: Right. Spoken like a true real estate agent.
CHETRY: How about it.
MARCIANO: Thanks, Ali.
CHETRY: It's better to show you that than showing Rob.
Well, parents speaking out, their son mauled by a tiger on a trip to the zoo on Christmas. And now, a lot of questions emerging this morning out of San Francisco. Was this tiger provoked and how would the tiger scale an 18-foot wall? We're going to talk to them coming up live next.
Also, a woman in a wheelchair walked to the tarmac for her connecting flight. She said she was forgotten about and left alone for hours. The airline actually releasing a time line to dispute that, how they're explaining what happened. That and our other top stories when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Following the latest developments right now, out of a breaking news story out of Pakistan today. We're hearing about an explosion that hit a campaign rally today for Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. There are multiple reports coming in. Our own CNN producer was there at the time and confirms that this explosion did take place. There are some other reports coming in from AFP saying it was a suicide attack. According to the interior ministry and the Associated Press also reporting having a reporter on the scene and seeing bodies on the ground at this time.
We are also hearing that Benazir Bhutto's vehicle was not in the exact location. There was about 50 meters away from the blast and that at least according to early reporting, Benazir Bhutto is unhurt but again an explosion, rocking an area that was near a rally for supporters of Benazir Bhutto. This was in Rawalpindi, and we are going to be getting more information and more details. But we do have some video from the scene which was shown on Pakistan television showing ambulances arriving there.
And again she was scheduled to appear at the rally. The early reporting that we're getting right now was that she was not in the immediate vicinity at the time of the explosion but again we're going to continue to follow the latest developments of this explosion at a rally for supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi today.
Meanwhile, there are some other stories making headlines overnight. The latest developments now, Alina Cho is following those for us. Good morning.
CHO: Hey there, Kiran. Good morning to you. Good morning, everybody. We're getting more details this morning about how a 13- year-old girl from southern California may have survived a plane crash in Panama. We've been talking about this story all morning long. Francesca Lewis's mother says she believes her daughter either fell out or was thrown from the plane as it was crashing. There you see her on the gurney. Francesca's best friend, her friend's father and the pilot were all killed in the crash. Francesca's mom says rescuers found her under a wing, apparently delirious and thinking she was waking up at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF VALERIE LEWIS, SURVIVOR'S MOTHER: The fact that she so far doesn't seem to have any major damage is, seems incredible. She thought she had been sleeping and that she would wake up and see. She thought she was in her home and that there was, why was there an airplane wing in her home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: You can look at her eyes and see just how scared she was. Her mother says Francesca has a fractured arm and some cuts, but she is actually up and walking around. So that is some good news. We wish her the best in her recovery.
Of course, other news this morning, Iran says it's getting a state of the art air defense system from Russia. Now Russia denies it. But Iran's Defense Minister says the air defense system is capable of shooting down aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, at ranges of more than 90 miles and altitudes of about 90,000 feet. Russia has said it's better than the U.S. patriot missile system but has never admitted it's selling it to Iran.
Well, it looks like North Korea is going to miss its nuclear disarmament deadline. Word from South Korea today is that the north will not have its reactor fully deactivated by the end of the year, as promised. North Korea claims it's slowing down the process because of the delay in international aid. The U.S. State Department, however, says it's not aware of any slowdowns.
And three hostages held for years by a Colombian rebel group could be freed today, thanks to a deal apparently brokered by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The hostages have been prisoners of the rebel group known as Fark for years. Colombia says it has signed on to the deal to give rebels free passage during the exchange. The hostages include a former Colombian senator's campaign manager, her son, who was actually born in captivity and a former Colombian congressman.
And questions about whether a woman in a wheelchair was left on a tarmac for hours, an incredible story. If it is true, Jean Gredham her way from California to Orlando this past weekend. She says when she landed to connect in Las Vegas, a worker actually wheeled her to her next flight and then left her on the tarmac for four hours. Gredham says nobody stopped to help her until another worker wheeled her back inside, hysterical, she then called her daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAMMY NELSON, DAUGHTER: She called me at 3:00 in the morning, crying hysterical, because she didn't know what to do and nobody would help her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: However, Las Vegas affiliate KLAS says the U.S. Airways disputes Gredham's claim and says Gredham's was issued her next boarding pass just 22 minutes after arriving Las Vegas and at no time was she left unattended. So a he said, she said situation. Incredible, if it is true. We're going to be watching the news for you. Back in 30 minutes, Kiran.
CHETRY: Alina, thanks so much. Meanwhile, our top story today is this tragic situation out of the San Francisco Zoo. Their son was mauled to death by a tiger on Christmas. He was 17-year-old Carlos Sousa, Jr., adding to their pain, many unanswered questions this morning, like how did this big cat get out of that enclosure, and why wasn't it stopped in time? The victim's parents, Mariosa and Carlos Sousa, Sr. joins us now. Good morning to both of you.
I'm sure it's not a good morning, actually, first of all let us say we're very, very sorry for the loss of your son, just a tragic story and is one that a lot of people are talking about this morning. First of all, how did you find out, Carlos, what happened?
CARLOS SOUSA, SR., VICTIM'S FATHER: I didn't find out, until yesterday morning. I was at work. I got a call from my mom, from my sister-in-law, told me "come home, your son's been in a terrible accident."
CHETRY: Did he tell you that he was going to the zoo? Did you know that he was going to be going there on Christmas?
CARLOS SOUSA: No. He was supposed to be going to his mom's house for Christmas. He told me that he was going to go over his friend's house and then over his mom's house after he went to his friend's.
CHETRY: And do you know anything about the two other people who were with your son, Carlos, who were also injured by that tiger?
CARLOS SOUSA: No. No, I don't know who they are. It might be friends because my son's got all kinds of friends. He's an easy- going kid. He likes to make friends. So I don't know if they're new friends, old friends. I'm curious about knowing who they are, too, myself.
CHETRY: Have you been in contact with zoo officials or police at all? Are you getting any information about some of these unanswered questions as to how this may have happened?
CARLOS SOUSA: The only contact I got was last night with the investigator. She's, I have a schedule meeting with her today around noon to talk over this investigation, because it's still ongoing. And I don't have all the information yet how this happened. I just know that my son is dead, and I've seen him at the morgue. It's very painful. He's the only son I have. And I lost everything.
CHETRY: Carlos, it's obviously some unimaginable pain you are going through right now, as well as you, Mariosa. You said you're not going to celebrate Christmas anymore now that Carlos is gone.
MARIOSA SOUSA, VICTIM'S MOTHER: Not anymore, no, no.
CARLOS SOUSA: Oh, this is bad. This is it. This is supposed to be the day for giving, not to take. And he was taken away from me.
CHETRY: Mariosa, what do you want people to know about Carlos?
MARIOSA SOUSA: He's a wonderful kid. Happy. You know, friendly, like dancing, and you hear every single day "I love you mom." It doesn't matter if he's going close to the house or in front of his friends. He always hug and kiss me "I love you mom" all the time. You know, it's not easy to go far. He's close to the house. He is there, every single day I hear that. And see him in the house. I was going to get home in the morning and when he's here, he's happy. I cannot really explain it. It really hurts a lot.
CARLOS SOUSA: Good at sports.
CHETRY: We're getting a little bit of information, Carlos, from the zoo, that this tiger actually attacked a zookeeper last year. Do you think that this was handled properly from what you're learning of the situation? Do you think the zoo did everything it could to make sure that people were kept a safe distance from the animal?
CARLOS SOUSA: I think that the zoo needs to do more improvements, on these type of animals. I think that when that lady, from what I heard, the lady got her arm torn off or something, taken off, I think that even though they did improvements, they didn't do enough for the public. Because I think the zoo should be protected on both sides, protected for the people and protected for the animals.
CHETRY: Right. You know, it's hard to find the words to let us know how sorry we are for your loss. I can't imagine how difficult it must be this year for you, especially around the holidays for this to happen but we want to thank you for telling your story, and please, hang in there and thanks for being with us this morning, Carlos and Mariosa Sousa.
MARIOSA SOUSA: Thank you.
CARLOS SOUSA: Thank you.
CHETRY: Also, following a breaking story this morning out of Pakistan, we're getting word now that a suicide bomber attacked a rally for Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto just moments ago. We're going to be getting a live report from Pakistan. We actually have a CNN reporter who was there at the scene. There is video coming in and now reports of people killed in this situation, an explosion at a rally, a political rally that was supposed to be for organizers of Benazir Bhutto. The latest developments out of Rawalpindi when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
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CHETRY: More now on the breaking news that we're following out of Pakistan, where an explosion has rocked a political rally. Some of the first pictures now coming in to AMERICAN MORNING to show you. Pakistan's G.O. television is reporting at least 15 people are dead. Other media outlets are reporting the number as high as 20 killed. There you see ambulances rushing to the scene. This blast happened amid supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, now opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
Her spokesman saying she is safe and that the blast happened as she was leaving the rally. We will continue to follow the story and bring you the latest as we get it. We do have with us right now CNN's Moshin Naqvi. He is live in Rawalpindi, joins us on the phone right now.
Moshin, were you at that rally and can you tell us what was going on?
VOICE OF MOSHIN NAQVI, CNN PRODUCER: No, we were right near the rally, right opposite is a building where we were witnessing this rally and when we heard this loud explosion, and then we rushed to the scene and now police are confirming that at least 14 people were killed in this suicide attack. Again, police sources are telling us that this was a suicide attack and the suicide bomber was trying to enter inside that compound where thousands of people were gathered and were listening to Benazir Bhutto's speech when this loud explosion happened.
CHETRY: So this is the situation there right now, that they're calling it a suicide attack. We have just heard actually from our own Pentagon reporters as well that there has been talk about Al Qaeda turning its face toward Pakistan from our own defense chief, Robert Gates, saying there would be more attacks inside of the country. We've also heard that confirmed from ex-CIA analysts, et cetera. Do you know at this point as to who may be responsible or behind this or who they even suspect at this point?
NAQVI: No, not right now but you know, there was some reports earlier also that there will be more attacks on Benazir Bhutto as she is considered pro-U.S.A.. She considers that there should be operation in Pakistani tribal area. She met earlier today with Hamid Karzai, who was also in Islamabad on a two-day visit, and she again said after that meeting that she supports war against terrorism and she supports U.S. policies. So according to police and some other analysts, they are saying that, yes, there's quite possible that Al Qaeda and local Taliban might be behind these attacks.
CHETRY: Actually, this entire election process right now has been no stranger to violence in that country. In fact, we also heard the news that four supporters of another former Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, were shot, this taking place as well in the last day. In this situation, they believe it might have been members from another political party opening fire, this also in a rally but in Islamabad earlier today. What is the mood there? What seems to be going on as we head closer to these elections?
NAQVI: We are witnessing for the last two days, the momentum was picking up. The political parties are getting involved more. And more and more people were coming to the rally than they were attending these political rallies organized by either pro-Musharaf party or by opposition parties.
And that's what people are also saying that in these last two weeks these political parties will have momentum which we saw also in the last two, three days. But on the other side, like you mentioned, that there was fighting on Nawaz Sharif supporters in which four people were killed. So today is the first day that we have witnessed the clashes on the political activities.
CHETRY: All right. And for people who are just joining us right now, we have one of our CNN producers Mohsin Naqvi with us on the phone right now. He is in Rawalpindi, the scene where just moments ago at a Benazir Bhutto rally, an apparent suicide bomb attack. Reports out of Pakistan saying 14 people killed. Now, Mohsin, tell us gain about whether or not Benazir Bhutto herself was present at the time. What do you know about where she was?
NAQVI: We have talked to her spokesperson. We have talked to her political secretary. Both have confirmed that she's safe and she is on her way to some safe place but according to her party, she is safe.
CHETRY: All right. Of course, there was another assassination attempt or some sort of attempt that had taken place, I think we were covering it just two weeks ago, Benazir Bhutto saying that she understands that she assumes some risk every time she goes out and that she will not be afraid. What is the recommendation for her as well as others who are attending these rallies and saying things that, among parts of the population, are not popular in Pakistan?
NAQVI: According to the interior ministry officers, they have warned her a few times, they were in the briefing also, they said that there's a serious threat to Benazir Bhutto and there are, according to them - there are some reports that Al Qaeda and local Taliban will attack on her and this we have witnessed, earlier. The two months back, there was an attack in which more than 76 people were killed. So this is the second attack on a rally in the last two months.
CHETRY: Well, thank you for bringing able to bring us more information from the scene, Mohsin Naqvi, CNN producer there in Rawalpindi. Again, ahead of this news. They were trying to make sure that there were as many checkpoints as possible at this rally. This was Benazir Bhutto's first big campaign rally since returning from exile just two months ago. They had spoken about having hundreds of riot police, as well as manned security checkpoints but apparently that did not thwart this attack.
We're getting the news from the various wires as well as CNN that there was a suicide bomb attack. At least that's what the interior minister is saying at this point at this rally where at least 14 to 15 people were killed. That number could possibly climb as we get new details. So, again we're going to continue to follow the developments out of Pakistan this morning.
But we have other news here as well, extreme weather here out west, record snowfall. We're going to take a look at the forecast from Rob, find out where it's heading next, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Well, Denver looking to get hit with more snow after getting a record snowfall over Christmas. Another winter storm warning is in place there. And the storm could be bad news for lots of people traveling east, in the Rockies in the days ahead.
You know what's good news for there, Rob? I was noticing that all of the celebrities like to go to Aspen and things like that for the holidays, they finally have an excuse to wear their huge moon boots and their hats and scarves. Wandering around L.A., it doesn't seem to work.
MARCIANO: If there's more out there, it would be a good excuse to you know scrap the snorkel on. You're going to be cut through all that (INAUDIBLE) hammered with big time snow. Of course, it creates some problems if you try to get to the Hill or if you're just trying to get home from Grandma's house for the holidays.
Let's get through it, there's another storm on the way for the Denver area. You know, Denver doesn't always get snow, even though it's high up there and you think it's near the mountains. It's not in the mountains so be aware of that. Four to eight inches expected today. We're getting a little bit of snow headed across the Great Lakes right now. A lot of this is kind of wet, headed through Cleveland and Eerie. But we are also seeing a fair amount of airport delays already stacking up.
Ground stop in Atlanta, ground stop for Philly and D.C. departure delays, 45 minutes and on the increase. So if you have plans to travel today, be aware La Guardia, JFK, shouldn't be much more than an hour so could certainly be worse, when you think about what happened last week but Chicago, O'Hare, I think you're going to see some delays today and then increasing during the day tomorrow. Atlanta the usual stuff there but Houston to Dallas should be all right and if you're traveling, say United through Denver, there might be some delays there because of the snow that's going to fall today, and Salt Lake City also some snow especially south of town. If you're traveling by car, along the I-95 corridor, I-91, through New England, we have freezing rain advisories that have been extended for about the next half hour or so as temperatures hover around the freezing mark and precipitation continues to fall in this area. But that will be tapering off as we go through time and another couple of weak system heading across the northeast, we'll highlight those too. But only Denver and Chicago tomorrow will see four to eight inches of snow.So we'll get a white Christmas a couple of days ago, you may be able to have a little white New Year's.
CHETRY: A white New Year's for you. All right. Rob, thanks so much.
We have some news from the music world now. How about this, the top acts of the year were all oldies but goodies. The Police reunion tour, actually the top grossing act of 2007. Barry Manilow, Van Halen and Genesis were all in the top ten, competing with the likes of Kenny Chesney, as well as Justin Timberlake.
MARCIANO: How about the "Oh Mandy." Go Barry.
CHETRY: That's right. I love the shirt, by the way. Your favorite, however, Hannah Montana, I guess not in the top ten, sorry.
MARCIANO: I'm still going. I'm standing outside all night long to see those kids.
CHETRY: Well, a sudden urgency on the campaign trail. Get a look at the calendar and it tells us why the candidates have only a month to get their message out. We have analysis coming to us from John King. He's live in the field this morning. And some new details about the 12-year-old girl who survived a deadly plane crash in Panama. How she's doing now and how she escaped with her life? Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Breaking news, a suicide bombing at a rally for Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan.
Hunted down...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have deemed the site a crime scene.
CHETRY: New evidence. Why a tiger trapped and maul a group of friends at the zoo. The victim's parents speak out.
CARLOS SOUSA: He's the only son I have and I lost everything.
CHETRY: Plus, ski slopes scandal. We're live with the 8-year- old being sued over a skiing accident on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And welcome, it is Thursday, December 27th. We got a lot going on today, we're following here on AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry. John Roberts has a well deserved day off. Meanwhile, we started with the situation in...
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