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Five People Gunned Down at City Council Meeting; Combing Wreckage of a Sugar Refinery; Story of Week's Smallest Tornado Survivor
Aired February 08, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, too, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live on Friday morning, February 8th. Here's what's on the rundown.
What set this man off? Five people gunned down at a city council meeting. Police updating us live this morning.
HARRIS: Combing the wreckage of a sugar refinery. Six people missing after the thunderous explosion.
COLLINS: Snatched from his mother's arms by a tornado. Tossed the length of a football field. The little survivor in the NEWSROOM.
A suburban city hall. A man opens fire, first outside, then inside during a council meeting. This morning, six people including the gunman, are dead.
Susan Roesgen is in Kirkwood, Missouri for us just outside St. Louis.
Susan, were there not any metal detectors at city hall? Seems to be one of the big questions this morning.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly one of the big questions. I asked the local police out here, Heidi, and I got a no comment and nothing more than that. But I just talked to one of the witnesses, a person who was inside the city council chambers last night, and he said no. There are no metal detectors here and he also added that maybe after what happened last night, there will be.
Apparently Charles Thornton, the gunman, shot and killed a police officer behind me, behind city hall, in the parking lot. And then he went inside the council chambers and then this is where it got really spooky. He went methodically they say from victim to victim specifically targeting his victims. He was shouting shoot the mayor and then he started firing. He shot first another police officer, killed that police officer inside the council chambers and then he went towards the city planning director and shot and killed him.
And that planning director was right in front of a newspaper reporter who was one of the horrified witnesses watching it happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JANET MCNICHOLS, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: I had heard him yell something about a gun, and I looked up, and I saw Officer Bauman had been shot in the head, and then I looked right in front of me, and Mr. Yost had been shot in the head, too. And he fell over. I could hear him breathing, and the woman sitting next to me, another reporter, we crawled under the chairs and just laid there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: And that wasn't the end of it. The gunman continued. Charles Thornton went on and shot and killed a city councilwoman, and then he critically wounded another councilmember and he critically wounded the mayor of Kirkwood, Mike Swoboda. Both of those men are still in the hospital this morning, at last report, in critical condition.
Then the police shot and killed him. Again, Charles Thornton, Heidi, apparently a regular here at city hall, someone that people recognized right away because he'd been sort of the big city hall critic. He was confrontational, he was angry, he felt that city government was not serving him, that he had some kind of grudge against them and apparently nobody expected him to actually bring a gun in and hurt somebody. None of his rantings before had been violent. And so they didn't really see him as a threat, just someone who was always disturbing the city council meetings -- Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes. I'm glad you said that, Susan, because I know there had been some type of history for him with the city hall and city council as well. Just wanted to make sure he's not a former employee of any kind. Just a resident that was constantly on the heels, I should say, of city hall?
ROESGEN: Apparently so. I understand that he owns, owned a construction company, and he might have had some kind of a dispute with the zoning of the city, might have had something to do with his company. But in any case, friends say in the last two or three months he seemed to get angrier and angrier. And his own brother told local reporters here last night that he really believes his brother, Charles Thornton, went to war, in his words, with city government here, and that he needed to do this. So it will probably be good to hear more from that brother about what actually set off Charles Thornton and we're expecting a news conference here in a couple of hours, at which time we hope the police will give us more information as well - Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes, that's right. All right. Susan Roesgen reporting live for us from Kirkwood, Missouri this morning. What a terrible story.
And as a quick reminder, we are expecting that news conference. This isn't just mentioned on the city hall shootings outside of St. Louis scheduled for 11:00 Eastern. You can see it live right here in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Also making news this morning, an intense search under way right now. Six workers missing after a massive explosion and fire at a sugar refinery. Dozens critically wounded. CNN's Don Lemon on the scene in Port Wentworth, Georgia.
Don, good to see you. We received word just moments ago of a briefing this morning scheduled for 9:30 Eastern Time, just minutes from now?
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, with the mayor and also the police chief. When you said a massive explosion and fire, Tony, we were told by people here, if can you imagine, the highest trees in Savannah and they've got some pretty high trees here, they said it was about three stories above that, that could you see flames shooting out of this huge plant. It's imperial sugar plant here in Fort Wentworth, formerly known as the Old Dixie Crystal Sugar Plant.
If you go to the grocery store and you see those - the Dixie Crystal bags, that's where that sugar is made. This all happened 7:00 last night. Workers -- at first they thought about 200 workers were in the plant, turns out about 100 workers inside of that plant when this explosion happened. Somewhere in the center of the plant. Not exactly sure how it started. But what they think is that it started in a room where they were bagging that sugar.
So again they don't know the cause of this. But here's what sources are saying, and, again, usually when there's an explosion and a fire like this, they said that -- I think the incident may have been caused by a dust-type explosion or some type of over pressure condition in part of their processing.
Now again, that has not been confirmed, but that -- that's the conventional wisdom here. Six people still missing. They are also looking in the Savannah River. The Coast Guard has closed off a big portion of the river, and they're looking in the river for possible victims. So far, no fatalities. But at least 10 of the people here who were burned badly, second to third-degree burns over 80 to 90 percent of their bodies. At least 10 of them had been Medevac'd or flown to a hospital in Augusta, Georgia, and several of them are here.
We spoke to some of the people who were inside of the plant, at least one person who's inside of the plant. His family members, at least, his mom and dad, work here. His name is Jose Garcia. Let's take a listen to what he says about this tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSE GARCIA, SON OF REFINERY WORKERS: Mom, she got second burn degree on her back and part of her neck and her ear. And my dad, he got third-degree burn on his side of his neck and part of his arm. They were on the first floor and the bottom. They told me and just (INAUDIBLE) and loud noises, my dad was covering his ears trying to avoid the noise. Everything just coming down as they were seeing it. They were just trying to get some shelter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And so many family members showed up last night. They had to house them in a school, which is next to a church here right across from the plant.
Again, 9:30, Tony, you mentioned a briefing here from the police chief and also from the mayor as well.
HARRIS: You know, and Don, we've heard this idea floated, this theory floated that, boy, sugar dust could be a factor in this. Maybe we'll get some further clarification as to how that could possibly be the case in that news conference just a couple of minutes, 9:30 Eastern Time.
Don, appreciate it. Thank you, sir.
LEMON: All right. Thank you.
COLLINS: About one hour from now President Bush will be in Tennessee. He will look at the desolate landscape left by a wave of deadly tornadoes. Looking at the video now. Boy.
The president already had declared five Tennessee counties major disaster areas making federal aid available to the people there. Other counties could be added to that list. The president plans to meet with victims and rescue workers in Macon County. That is where 14 people were killed in Tuesday night's storms. In all, tornadoes killed 56 people in four states, 32 of them in Tennessee.
A tiny ray of light does pierce the darkness, though, after those storms.
CNN's David Mattingly has a story of this week's smallest tornado survivor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Armed with nothing but a flashlight and finding no signs of life, firefighter David Harmon made one final search of tornado wreckage and made the discovery of a lifetime.
DAVID HARMON, RESCUER: I shun the flashlight across and said I've got a baby doll. Before I got I've got a baby doll out of my mouth, it moved.
MATTINGLY: In pitch darkness, in the middle of a field, and covered with mud and debris, Harmon found a little baby boy.
HARMON: (INAUDIBLE) baby over, it took a gasp of air and started crying.
MATTINGLY: 11-month-old Kyson Stowell was thrown 100 yards when a tornado shattered his home. He was found shivering but with only minor injuries. His mother did not survive.
DOUGLAS STOWELL, GRANDFATHER: She was a good mother to him. They were best friends. And I just hate to see her gone. Like I said, he loved his mama and she loved him. MATTINGLY (on camera): It's remarkable to think just how lucky this baby truly was. This entire area had already been searched once and rescuers didn't find anything. It wasn't until they started going through all this debris that they found a baby stroller and decided they needed to look just one more time.
(Voice over) It was a chance encounter his family calls a miracle. David Harmon says he was overwhelmed by it all, and he now feels connected to the young life he saved.
HARMON: He'll always have a special place in my heart. And I hope I continue to stay in contact with the grandparents, and I would like to get to know the kid as he gets older.
MATTINGLY: A stirring survival story capped off by a chance rescue. A moment of happiness during a day of disaster.
David Mattingly, CNN, Castalian Springs, Tennessee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Boy, you look at all of that debris, that debris field all over that report from David. You were there in that area in Tennessee yesterday.
Reynolds Wolf joining us now. I remember hearing Michael Chertoff, the secretary -- Homeland Security secretary, Homeland -- Department of Homeland. What am I trying to say here? Department of Homeland Security.
COLLINS: Yes.
HARRIS: Describing homes as being completely pulverized yesterday and you saw it?
COLLINS: Yes. And Reynolds, you probably know this, too, from the reports that you're getting in, the area that we were in, which is in Macon County there, in Lafayette, it was really, really bad and there were a lot of homes destroyed. Just very few of them still standing. In another area, when we talked to another gentleman who had done some insurance work. He said, you know, this is bad, but there are areas that you can't get into, that I have been to where -- what we're looking at now you still have homes standing, it looks awful, but he said not a single home standing. About a half mile wide, this thing, as you well know.
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: The storm of that or the path of that storm. Just huge.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: The presidential race after Mitt Romney now. Will hardcore conservatives rally around John McCain? We'll dig deeper into that question coming up in the NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And welcome back, everyone. I'm Tony Harris and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hard to defend at the Super Bowl, not a team, but a solo shooter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a special event like this, especially a Super Bowl, lone wolves are one of the things that scares us the most.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Planned massacre revealed in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live breaking news, unfolding developments, see for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Republican presidential frontrunner John McCain trying to seal the deal with conservatives after Mitt Romney suspends his campaign.
Live now to Norfolk, Virginia where McCain is campaigning today, CNN's Mary Snow is there.
Mary, good to see you. What is John McCain going to do? What can he do to solidify his conservative credentials, I suppose?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Tony. You know, John McCain's message now is being the party uniter. With Mitt Romney stepping aside, it puts Senator McCain just one step closer to securing the Republican presidential nomination.
In Washington, D.C. on Thursday, he addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference, acknowledged those differences that they have with him in the past. He did get some boos, but he is now focusing on being the unifier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Many of you have disagreed strongly with some positions I've taken in recent years. I understand that. I might not agree with it, but I respect it for the principled position it is. And it is my sincere hope that even if you believe I have occasionally erred in my reasoning as a fellow conservative, you will still allow that I have in many ways important to all of us maintained the record of a conservative.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Now, despite McCain's appeal, the focus on the family leader James Dobson says that he will endorse Mike Huckabee. The math for Mike Huckabee in terms of delegates is nearly impossible but he is remaining in this race. Today both Republican candidates are back out on the campaign trail. Senator McCain coming here in a short amount of time. His focus today, turning to national security.
We're in Norfolk. This is a state with a big military population and national security will be his theme. Then he'll be heading to Kansas and Washington state. Both states have contests tomorrow. Mike Huckabee will be heading to Kansas for the day - Tony?
HARRIS: And Mary Snow in Norfolk, Virginia with the McCain campaign.
Mary, good to see you, thanks.
COLLINS: Mitt Romney quit the fight with a parting shot at Democrats. What the change of landscape means for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Here's CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, part of the best political team on television.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Mitt Romney got out of the game charging Democrats would fail to protect the American people in the war on terror.
Senator Barack Obama fired back.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's the kind of poorly thought through statement that led him to have to drop out.
MALVEAUX: Both candidates acknowledged their new reality.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It appears as though Senator McCain will be the Republican nominee, and I have...
MALVEAUX: But campaign insiders for senators Clinton and Obama say Mitt Romney's exit is bad news for both.
While the Republicans now coalesce around their frontrunner John McCain, the Democratic candidates dig in for a long fight.
OBAMA: The children of New Orleans are America's children.
MALVEAUX: Senator Barack Obama, New Orleans. Unveiled his recovery plan for the city still struggling 2 1/2 years later after Hurricane Katrina.
OBAMA: We have to understand that Katrina may have battered the levee, but it also exposed silent storms that have ravaged parts of this city and our country far too long.
MALVEAUX: He also shared a light moment over a bowl of gumbo.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're too frail, baby. We got to fatten you a little bit. MALVEAUX: Obama is hoping this state including nearly half of its voters who are African-American will deliver a good chunk of 66 delegates up for grabs on Saturday's primary. Senator Clinton stumped in Arlington, Virginia, where she's confident she'll capture some of the 83 delegates at stake there on Tuesday.
CLINTON: Hello, Arlington!
MALVEAUX: Both camps are competing for big cash to keep their campaigns going in the months ahead. After Clinton revealed she had to loan $5 million of her own money to her presidential campaign, aides announced after Super Tuesday, a fundraising blitz over the internet brought in at least $6.4 million. Her loan has already been paid off. Obama's campaign says they netted $7 million over the same period.
(On camera) Now Clinton's camp is turning up the pressure on Obama for more debates. Clinton's campaign manager sent a letter to her Obama counterpart challenging Obama to five more debates, one each week leading up to the March 4th contest. Obama said he'll do two because he needs to spend more time getting to know the voters.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And quickly now let's get you to T.J. Holmes in the CNN NEWSROOM.
T.J., you're following a story, Virginia state police pretty busy this morning trying to track down a couple missing, let's say missing, tankers at this point.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We don't know the verbiage yet. But it's hard to lose two tankers full of fuel, I guess, if will you, Tony. But right now the situation is as such, two fuel tankers filled with about 3500 gallons of fuel, according to authorities telling us that it's diesel fuel in these two tankers missing right now. From a station, a place southwest or SW Rogers Company is the name of the two tankers that are missing, been missing since about 5:30 this morning. And no sign of them right now. Again, the company is SW Rogers and Company and the trucks themselves have that plastered on the side. Also the tankers themselves are orange and white so pretty hard to miss and, again, some 3500 gallons each that can be carried in these tanks missing right now.
HARRIS: OK.
HOLMES: This is all we know at this point or something we're getting on the record with, as we speak. A company official, I'm just being handed this now, confirming to us that video cameras cover the area where the trucks were actually parked. Going through the images at this time trying to determine if this was an actual theft. Don't know about that just yet. Trucks are single unit service trucks, engine cab, fuel tank, always one chassis and not tractor trailer tankers. HARRIS: I see.
HOLMES: As we know right now. This being handed to me. Again, we don't know yet how much fuel was onboard these things. Used to refuel heavy equipment in the field,hghway, construction projects things like that. But again we don't know. Strange situation. Tough to kind of just misplace these things.
HARRIS: Yes.
HOLMES: But they're not calling it a theft just yet. So we're just giving this day and we'll keep an eye on it, Tony. We'll pass along anything we're getting.
HARRIS: Sounds like someone needs to make a phone call here soon.
All right. T.J., appreciate it.
HOLMES: All right, man.
HARRIS: Thank you.
COLLINS: A late-night visitor. A distraction for the guys at police headquarters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You could see inappropriate touching in some apparent picture taking. In one point it appears the woman's skirt is pulled up to her waist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Yes. Blue night for the men in blue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: "Making Their Mark" is sponsored by...
COLLINS: "Making Their Mark" this week tornado survivors picking up the pieces of their lives, burying the dead and salvaging memories. At least 56 people died in a swarm of tornadoes that razed over four states Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
HARRIS: An elementary school in Portsmouth, Ohio closed this morning after a teacher was attacked, can you imagine this, in front of her students. You watched this unfold during our NEWSROOM newscast yesterday. Police say the teacher's estranged husband marched into the school, fired a gun and then stabbed her. He was found dead in his home hours later after he apparently shot himself.
No students were injured. An attorney for the teacher says she is doing OK. Counselors will be on hand when students return to class on Monday.
COLLINS: Ohio towns under water. Flood warnings up as residents brace for more bad weather. We are on the scene.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: There we have live this morning for you, this Friday morning, the opening bell. That's a good question down there at the bottom of your screen. Where will the markets go next?
Yesterday the Dow Jones Industrial Average at least ended positive, only up about 14 points but certainly better than the negative. Of course, the big news, Congress sealing a deal on those tax rebates. $170 billion passed in order to boost the economy. We will see how that goes. Everyone very interested to see what happens next.
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins and Tony Harris.
HARRIS: Bottom of the hour, welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. Good Friday to you. I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
Boy, weather has been the story in many parts of the country for the past couple of days. Want to head directly over to Reynolds Wolf now in the severe weather center, because Reynolds, there's a lot going on in Ohio. A lot of water there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Rising rivers, flooded streets. Days of rain and melting snow making life miserable across parts of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
CNN's Rob Marciano, there he is in northwest Ohio, as Reynolds mentioned just a moment ago.
And Rob, good to see you. We understand dozens of people in Defiance where it's up to your knees now, Rob.
MARCIANO: It is. And as I went farther, you know, it'd be up to my waist. Just can't get too far away from the cameras. When we strap the waders on, just to give you an idea just how extensive this flooding is.
We are in Defiance, as you mentioned. This is Auglaize Street right next to the Auglaize River which today is one. I mean it's up and over this riverbank. This is major flooding for this area. Auglaize meets up with the Maumee, which eventually feeds into Lake Erie, but today they're meeting up a little bit higher upstream than they normally would.
It's a real sight to see these homes with snow on top of their roofs, surrounded by floodwaters. It is just miserably cold and wet and it's only going to get colder. Forecast at crest, right about now. But you know what? It was forecast at crest last night. Talked to the emergency managers when we got into town. He said, you now, the river's over top where we thought it was going to crest so we're nervous. And sure enough today, it's a foot or two above where they expected.
Sixty-nine homes have been evacuated. Their power, gas, cut off, they're either in shelters or (INAUDIBLE) friends and family. So, you know, it just boggles my mind to think about what you have to do to clean up after a flood let alone clean up after a flood and freezing temperatures, subfreezing temperatures. Like Reynolds was talking about, we got some serious cold air coming in this weekend. Forecast highs could very well only be 10 degrees here in northwest Ohio on Sunday.
So we need to get the water out of here before that cold weather gets here. It should do it for the most part. But I bet you, Tony, there's going to be areas of the ponding.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
MARCIANO: There's going to be areas of water still in homes with that cold air coming in. So it's -- I feel awful for these people what they're going to have to go through.
HARRIS: This is just crazy. Look at that picture now. You've got floodwaters up to your knees and big, old snowflakes. It's just bizarre to see it. A little surreal there, Ron. All right.
MARCIANO: It is. And I don't know - you know, I thought for a while there it was lack of sleep. But it's happening. You're telling me, look at the size of these flakes.
HARRIS: He mentioned that because he's in Alabama following the tornado damage yesterday and here he is chasing severe weather in Defiance, Ohio.
Great to see you, Rob. Let's get you home.
MARCIANO: All right, brother. Well, see you soon.
COLLINS: Mitt Romney supporters looking for somewhere to go, and now that their candidate is out of the race.
Live from Arlington, Virginia this morning, CNN contributor and host of "Mornings in America" on the radio, Bill Bennett.
Hey, there, how you doing, Bill?
BILL BENNETT, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: How you doing?
COLLINS: Boy, a lot to talk about this morning. It was big news yesterday. What are your initial thoughts and what were people talking about on your show this morning?
BENNETT: Well, the initial thoughts were actually how there was a lot of, sorry to say think, media distortion, not on CNN.
COLLINS: Of course not. BENNETT: You guys reported accurately from the site yesterday, but this newspaper said the McCain roundly booed. He got some booing, but it was mostly applause he got. He was very well treated and well received.
COLLINS: In fact, let's go ahead - I'm sorry, Bill. Why don't we go ahead and listen in a little bit to that since we have it ready to come up here.
BENNETT: Good. Good. Sure.
COLLINS: This is, again, John McCain at the CPAC conference, it's the Conservative Political Action Conference, some of what he said right here for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: Surely I have held other positions that have not met with widespread agreement from conservatives. I won't pretend otherwise nor would you permit me to forget it. On the issue of illegal immigration, a position which...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BENNETT: There we go.
COLLINS: OK. So those were the boos. It was particularly on the subject of immigration. What's he going to do in order to get those people, however many there may be in the conservative party, who just don't see eye to eye with him on that topic?
BENNETT: There we go. There's the good old CNN coming back here. You've picked the part where he got the most boos. Anyway, it's a tough issue for him and conservatives. But I'll tell you, overall he was very well received. Now on that issue, I don't think John McCain's going to give up his position, but he said, I've heard what you're saying. I'm going to secure those borders. And I think that will make a lot of people happy and that will make conversation possible.
There's a different tone today, Heidi, a different mood. People are adjusting to the idea of John McCain. Some of the talk show hosts are a little behind the people on this one.
COLLINS: I think, though, by showing exactly, Bill, you know, what the issue was and where those boos were, I mean, we trying to show that it was on immigration. It wasn't everything that John McCain is standing for because certainly there are people in the conservative party who are going to go for him, but is it not important now who he chooses as we move forward in this process as a vice president?
BENNETT: Well, who is he sighting as the vice president?
COLLINS: Yes. I mean how would they -- those who are concerned about his conservativism or possible lack there of it. Is it most important to them who's going to be on the ticket next to him?
BENNETT: It's going to be important. He can't -- I don't think he should go to his left. He goes to his left, I think that's a big problem, although, you know, conservatives have to come to grips with the fact they love Joe Lieberman and Joe Lieberman is considerably to the left of John McCain. That's just a complication in this whole thought process.
But I think he's looking at probably at some governors like, well, let's track, Heidi Collins' life, Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty, Georgia, Sonny Perdue, isn't this the way you moved around?
COLLINS: Sort of, yes, it was a few bump, taking other stops in the middle, but that's OK.
BENNETT: Those are two possibilities. I like Tom Coburn very much, senator from Oklahoma. I just think he is one of the best men in the country. Hundred percent or maybe 110 percent ratings in the American Conservative Union.
COLLINS: Yes. All right. Well, very interesting. Let's go back for just a moment and talk about Mitt Romney?
Were you surprised that he - that he made the decision when he did? I mean a lot of people thought he will at least stay in until next Tuesday.
BENNETT: I was surprised. We did have some - Bill Crystal was on our show day before yesterday and he said he thought he'd drop. The only person I heard say that, but I was surprised. I thought he showed a lot of grace, a lot of dignity. He's got a future in this party, too. A lot of people like him. People just came to him too late. You know, we had this big field, Heidi, and it's all sorted out, it broke up, it was kind of vulcanized, and people came to him but it was too late. And for him this time, maybe there's another time for Mitt. Love to see him get a position like RNC chair or something like that because people have really warmed to him.
COLLINS: Yes. I heard you say that earlier on the radio.
Hey what do you make of James Dobson. I mean clearly one of the biggest evangelical leaders in the country, throwing his support to Mike Huckabee.
BENNETT: Yes, I know. He's supporting Mike Huckabee and says that he will not support John McCain. He will send it out. James Dobson is a good friend of mine and I don't understand this at all.
COLLINS: Really?
BENNETT: It seems to me you can have big disagreements with John McCain. But if you're a conservative, you look at John McCain's ACU, American Conservative Union, rating, that's 82 percent. That may not be 100, but Hillary Clinton's is 9 percent. Nine versus 82, on a whole host of issues John McCain is a rock-rib conservative. He is heretical on six or seven, but at the end the day, who do you want appointing justices to the Supreme Court? That's, I think, the question conservatives want to think about.
COLLINS: Yes. I also heard you say a little bit earlier on your program, said, don't worry about the fight on talk radio. Worry about what's good for the country. A lot of people trying to make those...
BENNETT: Thanks for listening.
COLLINS: ...important decisions as they go through this process, certainly.
Bill Bennett, CNN contributor...
BENNETT: Yes. But talk...
COLLINS: Go ahead.
BENNETT: Talkers have asserted themselves in this a lot, but...
COLLINS: Yes.
BENNETT: You know, it's the American who decide. They decide for themselves.
COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. No question about it.
Bill, we appreciate it. "Mornings in America," Bill Bennett's show. Thanks so much.
BENNETT: Thanks.
HARRIS: Lust - sorry, lust in the lobby. A woman waiting for a ride at a police station gets the wrong kind of pickup attempt.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Guys behaving badly. Police officer go out of bounds with a visitor.
Mark Peterson of affiliate WNVU reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK PETERSON, REPORTER, WNVU (voice over): It all started early Thanksgiving morning when a woman with dark hair, a white shirt, a denim miniskirt and white boots entered the lobby of the Elkhart Police Department. The entire visit was recorded by two separate surveillance cameras, although there was no audio recorded. It's important to note this woman was not under arrest.
ASST. CHIEF TIMOTHY BALYEAT, ELKHART, INDIANA POLICE: She was just waiting on transportation. I believe she resided in Chicago. So she was waiting on somebody to come pick her up.
PETERSON: At one point one of the men working the front desk appears to give the woman a drink. The friendly gestures weren't all so innocent. At about 4:04 a.m. the woman steps into a room to the side of the front desk on the right of your screen through the open door, you can see inappropriate touching and some apparent picture taking.
At one point it appears the woman's skirt is pulled up to her waist. Around 4:15 a.m., the woman climbs up on to the counter of the front desk. At least two of the three males behind the desk appear to be taking pictures with camera phones. One even walks into the lobby to snap a picture from behind.
BALYEAT: As everybody played their little part. It was just basically wrong all the way around.
PETERSON (on camera): Was she in anyway a victim or a...
BALYEAT: She was more -- she participated, so.
PETERSON (voice over): The prosecutor finished reviewing the video while he concluded the conduct was unbecoming, inappropriate and otherwise an embarrassment to the department, he did not find any of the conduct to be criminal. Charges will not be filed meaning this case is now closed.
BALYEAT: I'm happy to close this chapter, move on, and get on with regular business. The police department did a good job in policing itself. We apologize that it happened but it did happened and it was dealt with and we're moving on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK. The police investigation led to one firing, one resignation and four suspensions.
COLLINS: Safe sex or no sex? Is it an appropriate message for middle schoolers? Two Missouri teens found out the hard way.
Matt Sczesny of affiliate KMOV reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT SCZESNY, REPORTER, KMOV (voice over): 15-year-old Tory Shoemaker and 14-year-old Cheyenne Byrd were back in school after being told to stay home for this. Two homemade shirts that caused quite a stir at Lewis and Clark Junior High School.
We are supporting safe sex and shouldn't get suspended for something we believe in, because it's freedom of speech.
SCZESNY: That's not how officials at school saw it. What they saw was the shirts proclaiming a same sex or no sex slogan and decorated with packaged condoms. The students wanted to prove a point since there is about abstinence only curriculum at Lewis and Clark.
TORI SHOEMAKER, SUSPENDED STUDENT: They teach abstinence programs as experience and I want them to teach us safe sex in eighth grade because we're the ones who are more mature and going up to the high school and teenagers do what they do. SCZESNY: The point had a price. A two-day suspension for both. The superintendent told us he considers the shirts inappropriate and a distraction at school. At least one parent says he supports his daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED PARENT: They're teenagers. You know? I'm a realist, and, yes, I'd like to see them not do it at all, until they get married, but today's society, look at all the teenagers coming up pregnant.
SCZESNY: But for now, it seems school officials will not budge on changing what is taught and the girls won't stop speaking out.
(On camera) What are you going to do with the shirts?
CHEYENNE BYRD, SUSPENDED STUDENT: Keep them.
SCZESNY: You're not going to wear them again?
BYRD: I might.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Safe sex versus abstinence until marriage is hotly debated around the country as a means of reducing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
HARRIS: She's got a crush on Obama. But that wasn't enough to get her to the polls on Tuesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: I want to give you this information just in to the CNN NEWSROOM now. Important, too. We've been talking about Kenya and the unrest there for quite some time.
T.J. Holmes is in the NEWSROOM now with more on this agreement to form some at least a general type of joint government -- T.J.?
HOLMES: Yes. We don't have the details of that government. They haven't worked out all those details just yet. But at least they have announced according to the AP, that, in fact, the ruling party in Kenya as well as the opposition party have come to some kind of agreement to form a joint government.
Of course, we have been seeing weeks and weeks of violence there. Over thousands of people have been killed, hundreds of thousands more displaced as we look at this video here. Some of the things we've been seeing over the past several weeks.
After a much disputed election, presidential election that happened there December 27th, really no idea who really won those elections. There was some criticism of the vote tallying. But just a dispute there and this has been going on for weeks.
Well, Kofi Annan, the former head of the U.N. has been in Kenya trying to get the two sides to come to some kind of agreement. And it appears right now that those have been fruitful discussions and an agreement could be in place or is in place, at least we're told the two sides have been discussing this and have come to some kind of an agreement to form a joint governments.
Still don't know who exactly would be in charge, which roles, that each side would play, but the important part is at least they have agreed to form some kind of a joint government and that could, in fact, possibly end weeks and weeks of bloodshed that we have seen there in Kenya. So many more details to come. But certainly the headline, a joint government has been agreed to by the opposition and the ruling party there in Kenya. So hopefully we will see an end...
COLLINS: Yes.
HOLMES: ...to what we've been seeing the past couple weeks.
COLLINS: Boy, I hope so.
All right. CNN's T.J. Holmes in the NEWSROOM for us. T.J., Thanks.
HOLMES: All right.
HARRIS: Still overseas now, women in Iraq's second largest city now becoming a bigger target for extremists.
CNN Arwa Damon reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): There is an unseen enemy that stalks the streets of Basra, but its message is clear. Boldly splattered in red paint and aimed at the women of Iraq's second largest city. It reads: we warn against not wearing a headscarf and wearing makeup. Those who do not abide by this will be punished. God is our witness. We have notified you."
The messengers are Shia extremists.
Safana is an artist and university professor. She largely abides by these rules but walking out the door every day still takes unimaginable courage.
SAFANA, ARTIST (through translator): Fear. Fear is always there. We don't know who to be afraid of. Maybe it's a friend or a student you teach. There is no break, no security. I don't know who to be afraid of.
DAMON: There is plenty to fear. One glance through this chilling police file is enough. A gruesome photo album of those who didn't follow the rules, didn't heed the warnings.
GEN. ABDUL JALIL KHALAF, BASRA POLICE CHIEF (through translator): Women are being killed by strangling, beheadings, chopping off their limbs, killings of the most brutal manner imaginable. DAMON: Acts of violence against women increased as British forces reduce their patrols in Basra. After the British withdrew from the city in September last year, Iraqi security forces took over, but they are heavily infiltrated by Shia militia which also have a parking on the streets.
General Khalaf himself says he doesn't have control over thousands of so-called security forces. Tracking down the perpetrators of these crimes is nearly impossible.
KHALAF (through translator): We are trying to trace crimes carried out by anonymous people.
DAMON: But for the women targeted, the message is clear.
Hulu Jabad(ph) is a mother of three. She says her 12-year-old daughter was forced to wear the hijab at school. There are still tribal and sectarian forces against Iraqi women., she laments. A view echoed by 30-year-old Sawsan.
SAWSAN, BASRA RESIDENT (through translator): They seem to send us a message, to stay at home and keep our mouths shut.
DAMON: For all its horrors, the Saddam era gave Iraqi women broad rights under a secular constitution. Now women like Safana and Sawsan feel they have less freedom than ever.
SAWSAN (through translator): We thought there would be freedom and democracy and women would have their rights, but all the things we were promised have not come true. There's only fear and horror.
DAMON: Fear of an unseen and brutal enemy.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: A thunderous blast, a sugar refinery up in flames. Six people missing this morning. We're standing by for a live press conference coming your way any minute now in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Online, she went all out to show her adoration of Senator Barack Obama. But did she turn out to vote?
CNN's Jeanne Moos reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): We were crushed. Crushed to learn that Obama girl apparently didn't want Senator Obama enough to go vote for him.
Amber Lee Ettinger told the "New York Times" blog that she was too sick, but on Super Tuesday, instead of making it here to the New Jersey polls, she did manage to make it here, to an election-themed party thrown by Svedka vodka in Manhattan just across the Hudson from where she didn't vote after all that flirting.
(On camera) So do you now have a crush on Obama?
AMBER LEE ETTINGER, OBAMA GIRL: Yes, a little bit. Definitely. I'm definitely going to vote for Senator Obama.
MOOS: OK. So she may have had a registration issue as well but she had months to straighten that out.
(On camera) Now we hear that Obama girl feels really bad about not voting and we wanted to talk to her about it but she elected not to fit us into her schedule.
(Voice over) Apparently she's working on a new video explaining her failure to vote, folks from "Barely Political" who made the first one, Obama girl videos have become a cottage industry. She went on to pillow fight with Giuliani girl in a sequel and more recently she acquired super powers that should have enabled her to fly to the polls no matter how bad she felt.
Posted reactions were not kind. She's weak, typical New York party girl. She thinks the whole "Sex and the City" thing is real life. Or how about this one? Ted Kennedy endorsed Obama and he lost Massachusetts. Maria Shriver endorsed Obama and he lost California. Obama girl endorsed Obama and he lost New Jersey. Dude, get an exorcist.
Actually, Amber just lip-synched to the song performed by this woman Leah Kaufman.
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