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John McCain and the War in Iraq; Why MRAP Vehicles Took So Long to Get to Soldiers; More Wintry Weather on the Way; A Killer's Voice Caught on Tape?

Aired February 26, 2008 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The same poll shows Obama and Clinton locked in a virtual tie for overall support. Both candidates are stumping hard for next Tuesday's all important races. They include the delegate rich states of Texas and Ohio.
Meanwhile, Republican John McCain vows the Iraq war will be over soon but he says the U.S. military will have a long stay there.

For John McCain the mission is clear. Here now is CNN's Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Campaigning in Rocky River, Ohio, John McCain got his one standing ovation from this line.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We will never surrender and they will, and I want to assure you of that.

BASH: But as defiant as the likely Republican nominee is about staying in Iraq, new evidence that McCain realizes the political battle against Democrats who want troops home now will not be easy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will there be some benchmarks as far as progress in Iraq?

BASH: When a voter asked about a Iraqi progress, McCain used the opportunity to clarify a controversial remark he made in early January.

MCCAIN: By the way, that reminds me of this 100 year thing. My friends, the war will be over soon. The war, for all intents and purposes, although the insurgency will go on for years and years and years, but it will be handled by the Iraqis, not by us.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For 100 years ...

BASH: Democrats pounced and regularly used the 100 years line to warn voters that McCain's presidency would be a third Bush term. McCain denied those attacks are resonating with voters but ...

MCCAIN: Hear it repeated by the Democrats, they don't talk about their predictions, that the surge would absolutely fail.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: Dana Bash is joining me live from Cleveland, Ohio, this morning. So, Dana, Senator McCain actually did say he could lose this election on the Iraq issue, but then he retracted that comment. What's it all about?

BASH: He retracted it apparently in about six seconds. He was with reporters on his bus campaigning here in Ohio. Talking about in general the kind of thing that he was talking about in that town hall yesterday, that about the war in Iraq, but specifically about his own fortunes. I mean, the reason why he retracted it is because when it comes to straight talk, that was a bit too straight in terms of his own viability and how much it could be tied to the war in Iraq.

But the reality is, it is tied to the war in Iraq. I spoke to him afterwards and he says he understands that his political fortunes are very much tied to whether or not there is success going on, on the ground in Iraq. And the reason why that's so abundantly clear, is because just look at what happened over the past six months or so, Heidi.

We know every time you ask Senator McCain why he came back from the political dead, the answer to that question is, well, he understands that his name basically was synonymous with the so-called surge. He was the one pushing it really against a lot of opposition in the Senate, a lot of opposition around the country.

Now that it has done better, he says that is the big reason why he has -- did well among Republican primary voters. You know you talk to McCain staffers and they understand there is a big difference between doing well among Republican primary voters who, for the most part, at least comparatively, are supportive of this war and what he's got to do now, at least going forward, which is go up against Democrats who at every turn, they are competing with one another and they are trying to make the case that this war is -- should be basically over and that the troops should pull out.

So, it is a very different kind of dynamic, a different kind of argument and a much tougher argument that he's going to have to make to the general electorate if and when he does officially get that nomination on the Republican side. Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Dana Bash this morning from the McCain campaign. Appreciate that. Thank you, Dana.

Quickly, I want to get back to this developing story that we were telling you about a little bit earlier this morning about a college in Virginia, Ferrum College. We told you earlier that it was on lockdown because of some sort of suspicious person on campus. Well, all we know at this point is, yes, indeed, the school is still on lockdown. We don't know much more than that at this point.

We just want to let you know that apparently that is the case there. A lot of back and forth right now, as I believe authorities and our crews are investigating this. Continue to try to get more information and find out exactly what is happening on the campus at Ferrum College in Franklin County, Virginia. We'll watch that one for you.

An anti-Kosovo protest turns violence in Bosnia Herzegovina. Angry Bosnian Serbs broke store windows and threw stones at police. Police then fired back with tear gas. The demonstrators were apparently trying to reach the U.S. consulate. The rioters had split from the bigger peaceful group that were protesting Kosovo's independence declaration.

They are called MRAP, that stands for mine resistance ambush protected, Important vehicles intended for Iraq. Why did it take so long to get them there? The marines want to know.

CNN's Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon this morning. Barbara, this is a story that we've been talking about for quite some time. There was a whole lot of money dumped into the MRAPs.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: This is a story that hits close to home, not just for the troops but often with reporters that travel with the troops in Iraq. I was there much of last week traveling with top commanders in Alambar Province, in these MRAP vehicles. It's very different from the traditional humvees that you often see. These are the large armored vehicles, especially shaped hulls to resist that blast from IEDs, from roadside bombs.

Well, now the Marine Corps is asking the inspector general of the Pentagon to investigate the whole program, investigate allegations that have been longstanding frankly that there were so many bureaucratic delays in getting these very advanced vehicles into Iraq that it cost lives of U.S. troops.

The report from the U.S. Marine Corps about all of this, that they're asking for an investigation of, is actually an internal report from a top marine corps adviser who has been very troubled for years about the program. The marines asked him to do a report and now they're saying let's take a big, in-depth, comprehensive look for the first time really at the entire program.

Let me just quote from one part of this marine corps report that is now leading to this investigation. It says, "if the mass procurement and fielding of MRAPs had begun in 2005 in response to the known and acknowledged threats at that time, as the U.S. Marine Corps is doing today, hundreds of deaths and injuries could have been prevented."

Now, of course, MRAPs for the last several of months has been finally a top priority for the military to get in the fields in Iraq but the question is why did it take so long, why the delays. And really, a tragic look back at could it possibly have been done faster? Could U.S. military lives have been saved -- Heidi.

COLLINS: CNN's Barbara Starr from the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you.

We are watching the weather on a couple of fronts this morning. Now, bad thunderstorms rolling through the southeast. Here in Atlanta, lots of rain and lightning. In fact, at one point winds were as strong as 60 miles an hour. One death was reported in Alabama. A woman whose mobile home was crushed by a tree.

A winter storm that slammed into a Midwest is heading east now. Rain, sleet and thick, heavy snow covered Chicago. Hundreds of flights were canceled at O'Hare. One of the big airport hubs, of course, along with Atlanta, where major delays are expected today. The storm made for a chance to stop and smell the roses though or in some cases, if you're hungry, just eat them. Nice winter snapshot though. Jacqui Jeras joining us now with some ...

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I love that. I love the deer.

COLLINS: Yes. There are people who own those or probably not, quite as loving this morning.

JERAS: Maybe not so much.

COLLINS: So, what's the deal? Major snow, huh?

JERAS: Yes. You know, it's getting better in Chicago in terms of the snow pulling out. But the winds are still really strong. They're going to have a lot of problems. The snow is pushing east ward now. Look at this picture. You know, if I had to pick two of the worst places in the country today, one would be Cleveland, two would be Buffalo.

And that would be a live picture from WKVW-TV there. The temperature is about 30 degrees. The snow is coming down. It's kind of light right now but it's going to be picking up in intensity. Winter storm warning in effect from now through noon tomorrow. Yes, that's more than 24 hours being under our winter storm warnings. So a good six to ten inches of snow. We're going to get a little bit of lake enhancement as we get on the back side of this system.

So, a few localized areas could see, you know, maybe upwards of a foot. Not great travel there. All along the i-80 corridor, here things not looking good either. And the winds just playing a big factor with this storm system as it pulls on in behind the front. You know, you kind of think, oh, the snow is starting to taper down. Things are going to get better.

But those winds are going to kick in and they're going to continue through tomorrow. Best thing I can tell you about this is the big cities have been doing all right all morning long. But that wet weather is going to be pushing into the corridor. This afternoon we think things are really going to be kicking up with those delays.

So, if you have travel plans out of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, make sure you call ahead. We've got minor delays right now at La Guardia. 30 minutes but it is on the increase. We think we're going to see well over an hour, maybe two later today. That's the scene in Chicago, 2 1/2-hour delays, really ugly there.

Things have cleared up at Atlanta, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport but severe weather still across the deep south along the coast. We have quite a bit of damage across the city with a lot of trees down and making very difficult still on many of the roadways. Look at those squall lines as they push on through the east. Albany getting ready to get hit hard. And Savannah will see some strong thunderstorms later on this afternoon and watch remain in effect as well -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Well, all right. Keep our eye on the weather today. Thanks so much, Jacqui Jeras.

Here's a news flash now, grocery prices going up. Is that bringing you down? Well, hold on just there. We'll help you get smart with the card in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. And a history-making concert. The New York Philharmonic warmly received in North Korea.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A musical and historic feat in North Korea. The New York Philharmonic playing the U.S. national anthem in the heart of communist country. They orchestra also played North Korea's national anthem, the Patriotic Song kicked off a more than 90-minute concert. Let's go ahead and listen for a moment.

Such a cool story. You know, the concert really makes history in so many ways. The New York Philharmonic is the largest U.S. cultural group to perform in North Korea. It's largest U.S. delegations to visit since the Korean War. North Korea broadcast the performance live on state-run TV and radio. The concert was aimed at warming relations between two nations still technically at war. And locked in negotiations over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

Outside Chicago, a new clue today at that deadly shooting at a women's clothing store. Illinois police say the killer's voice is on the 911 tape. Our Susan Roesgen is in Chicago for us this morning. Susan, any leads now from this suspect's possible identity that's on that tape?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this tape has been playing now, Heidi, on the local stations here in Chicago and the police are hoping they'll get something from this. This is a tantalizing and yet frustrating clue in this case because the audio is very difficult to make out. You heard it in the last hour. You'll hear it again.

And two of the reasons that it's so tough to really make out what's going on here, what the gunman is saying is, first of all, the Tinley Park police in this Chicago suburb have edited out the woman's voice, the manager who was calling desperately for help.

They've edited out her portions so you only hear snippets of what the gunman was saying and not into the cell phone but in the background while the store manager was desperately calling 911 herself. And they've also asked the media not to try to enhance this tape because they are afraid that if we were to slow it down or try to enhance it in some other way, that it might distort the man's voice.

So, they want to get all the information out there that they can. This terrible robbery and shooting happened back on February 2nd. It's been almost three weeks. The case is cold. So they've got this little bit of 911 tape. They've got a pretty good sketch of the suspect.

But they want you to hear the 911 tape, realizing that it isn't very easy to make out. Here it is.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ROESGEN: The only two words I was able to make out there, foolishness and I'm losing it. I guess more often they think that people hear this tape, somebody might be able to say, well, that sounds like somebody. It's not so much what the gunman is saying but what his voice is like.

Really the best thing they've got to go on still is this sketch, these sketches -- a new sketch. They started with one pretty quickly after the robbery and the murders. This is an improved sketch that they just released this week. This sketch was provided to police by one survivor. There were six women. They were all shot by the gunman in the back of the head but one survived.

She's in police custody now, as is her twin sister because apparently they look so much alike, the police are afraid the gunman would be able to recognize her or her sister and they might be targets.

We want to give you an actual description of this guy, a written description. 25 to 35 years old, African-American, between 5'9" and 6 feet tall. Pretty vague there, but a big guy, husky build. 200 to 230 pounds with thick corn rolls and a slim braid that was decorated with green beads, a slim braid that had little tiny green beads that fell down on the front of his face.

So, anybody who has any information on who this guy is or where he might be, the Tinley Park police and a lot of police agencies here in the Chicago area really want to know. Five people dead. Just one survived -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Boy, sounds like a pretty good description. Who knows at this point, I know you will stay on top of this for us. Thanks again, Susan Roesgen, in Chicago this morning.

A kidnapper grab as little girl. It's super dad to the rescue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH LEE, WITNESS: The dad is the hero. He didn't care if that guy ran over him. He grabbed that baby out of the car. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Yes, saving Francis in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: All right. We're checking out the big board now. Dow Jones industrial averages down about 27 points, 28 points. Resting at 12,541. We are watching this throughout the morning. A lot of people talking, wanting to know where they should be putting their money these days. So we're going to talk about inflation and foreclosures and all of these other things that obviously affect your wallet. Nasdaq, I'm hearing is also -- what is it doing? Down six points. Not too much moving today. Keep our eye on it for you.

Killed after coming out. Classmates say they witnessed a gay teenager gunned down by another student. Now, new details about the shooter.

Here's CNN's Dan Simon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The flowers and cards pile up in remembrance of a 15-year-old boy named Larry King, love and friendship that Larry never seemed to feel in life.

ALEXIS CHAVEZ, VICTIM'S FRIEND: They just mocked him and every time he came around, they ran and -- painful things. They said painful things about him.

SIMON: The teasing and bullying began a few months ago when Larry told his classmates here at E.O. Green Junior High that he was gay. He changed his dress. He now wore earrings, makeup and high-heeled boots with his school uniform. Alexa Chavez said she tried to stick up for Larry when no one else would.

CHAVEZ: If they came up and made fun of him -- sorry. If they came up and made fun of him, I would tell them, like, you know what, if that's how you are, that's how you are. It wasn't his fault.

SIMON: But the bullying only escalated. And two weeks ago, on a Tuesday morning during English class, one of Larry's classmates took it to a whole new level, shooting him twice in the back of the head.

911 DISPATCHER: OK. Do you know where the person with the gun is?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Joel, who is the victim? Is there a victim? I'm on the phone with dispatch. Larry?

SIMON: Students immediately identified the shooter as fellow eighth grader Brandon McInerney. Police arrested him minutes later.

DAVID KEITH, OXNARD POLICE DEPARTMENT: We found him a few blocks away from school. He was off campus. He had run of the classroom, obviously right after the shooting.

SIMON: The D.A. has charged McInerney as an adult, accused of first degree murder and carrying out a hate crime. If convicted he could get more than 50 years in prison. McInerney as yet to enter a plea but his attorney says he is too young to be charged as an adult. He just turned 14.

BRIAN VOGEL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: My client hasn't become an adult in the last three weeks, so we feel that it would be more appropriately addressed in the juvenile court.

SIMON: The case may be more complicated than at first glance. Some students say McInerney himself was also on the receiving end of some harassment. They say King had a crush on him and publicly made it known. Other students dismiss those reports as rumors, but a police source not authorized to speak about this case, says they are looking into the possibility that McInerney felt humiliated by homosexual advances and just snapped.

Some parents here say it's time to teach more tolerance in California classrooms.

LUCY RODRIGUEZ, PARENT: It's sad but it's not just this district. It's every district. Something really has to be implemented.

SIMON: Larry lives in a foster home for abused and neglected kids. Citing privacy laws, officials won't reveal what brought him here, but tragically they say he was just beginning to find some acceptance just before his life was cut short.

Dan Simon, CNN, Oxnard, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Back on terra firma after a vacation, some passengers will never forget. A cruise ship arrived back in San Diego yesterday after 100 passengers and crew came down with Nora virus. The virus is highly contagious. People who were infected were asked to stay in their rooms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Masks and gloves going in and out of all the rooms that were being isolated. And it was just a different look.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: An 81-year-old passenger was hospitalized of dehydration. The ship was scrubbed down and is already off on another voyage.

A possible step towards a perjury investigation of one of baseball's biggest stars. It's coming from that congressional hearing on drug use in baseball a couple of weeks ago. Roger Clemens has testified under oath he never used steroids or human growth hormone. Now "The New York Times" reports house committee staffers have a letter ready for the Justice Department. It asked for an investigation of Clemens' testimony but does not name the accuser Brian McNamee. No decision on whether the committee will send that letter but the Justice Department could act on its own without an official request.

A four-year-old California girl is safe at home with her family today thanks to her dad. Police say he rescued her from a man who snatched her in broad daylight.

Jennifer Musa from our affiliate KGET has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER MUSA, KGET-TV REPORTER: Four-year-old Frances Ramirez is full of smiles, seemingly unaware of her abduction. Frances is playing with an 11-year-old friend in their South Bakersfield neighborhood when the older child noticed this strange man watching them.

JEANNETTE MERJEL, WITNESS: She came in the house and locked the door. And when she felt threatened, and she told the little girl to go home.

MUSA: That's when police say 43-year-old Robert Rodriguez abducted the little girl.

MERJEL: He was like pushing her down in the seat.

MUSA: Little Frances was screaming and crying as Rodriguez drove away.

MERJEL: I ran toward the car to get the child, I guess, and then when the car, you know, took off, I couldn't get her. I just got the license plate.

MUSA: When the little girl's father was alerted and chased the suspect in his own car.

Pedro Ramirez said God was guiding him where Rodriguez had stopped. The little girl grasped on to the window with her fingertips to get her father's attention.

DEBORAH LEE, WITNESS: The dad, he didn't care if that guy ran over him. He grabbed that baby out of the car.

MUSA: Ramirez caught up with the kidnapper and yanked his daughter out of the car but he never lost site of Rodriguez as he took off quickly in his maroon car and a second chase began.

LEE: I've seen that car in this neighborhood before, a number of times watching people.

MUSA: Police credit people watching the chase for finding the suspect, hiding under this truck just around the corner from the park. The abduction, recovery and arrest all happened within an hour. Many people believe divine intervention played a role in keeping Frances safe, especially for this father who almost lost his little girl. He questions, where would my daughter be if I didn't find her, then he says, she would be dead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The suspect was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon.

Back quickly now to the developing story we've been telling you about in Virginia. Franklin county, to be exact. We're talking about a lockdown at Ferrum College. I'm telling you about it all morning long. We understand from police there that apparently there's a suspicious person on campus.

Don't know any more than that except to say that according to the Web site for the school classes have been canceled for today and the college is still on lockdown. We first reported this quite some time ago, around 9:00 this morning or so. An hour and a half or so. We'll continue to follow the story for you. Ferrum College in Franklin County, Virginia.

Grocery prices going up. Is that bringing you down? Don't despair. We will have the get smart with the cart.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody, 10:30 Eastern time now.

Boy, quite a wake-up in the southeast this morning. It wasn't day yet, but lightning lit up the skies in Georgia and Alabama. Bad thunderstorms roared through before dawn. Trees are down and tens of thousands of people have lost their power. In Alabama, one woman was reportedly killed when a tree fell on a mobile home.

In the Northeast, the issue is snow. It's same system that rolled through the Midwest yesterday. The storm caused hundreds of flight cancellations at O'Hare. And the aftermath is expected to cause more delays today.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Sticker shock at the supermarket. Food prices in 2007 had their biggest percentage gain in 17 years. And they're expected to keep on rising. Just look at these mark-ups now. Eggs, up 37 percent. Tomatoes, up 31 percent. Milk, up 29 percent.

But don't fret. Kelli Grant is here. She's going to help us with making a very, very expensive omelet, because those are all ingredients for an omelet. She is with smartmoney.com, and has some tips for us to check out before you actually get to the checkout. So, boy, what's the deal? I mean, it sounds like everything. I know I'm going to the grocery store and spending a whole lot more money than I would like to be. KELLI GRANT, SMARTMONEY.COM: Everything is going up. I mean, With oil prices that are skyrocketing, you're seeing producers are taking more money to make your food and then more money to get it to the supermarket and to your table.

COLLINS: All right, so let's talk about these tips. What can we do to combat this problem? Apparently if you go to the store you should maybe go less and just buy a whole lot more.

GRANT: Well, certainly the grocery items that are discounted now are not going to come up again in the sales cycle for actually three months. And you want to keep that sales cycle in mind when you're figuring out what you're going to buy this week.

Now we're not telling you you need to buy eight jars of peanut butter just because it's on sale. But you do want to look ahead, you know, if you're going to be out of something in the next couple of weeks or you're going to need to buy more, but it now while it's on sale instead of paying full price later.

COLLINS: OK, good. What about going somewhere other than the supermarket?

GRANT: It's a great deal. Prices are often lower at places where grocery are not the primary focus. You look at places like drugstores, great for over-the-counter meds of course. Also personal- care items and even milk. Some of the superstores like Target, Wal- mart and K-Mart, great for cleaning products, dry goods, like cereal, and snack foods.

COLLINS: Well, OK. Well, what about the warehouse clubs? A lot of people say, you know, I don't want to join one of those because I have to pay to be a member.

GRANT: Well, the membership fee is really going to pay off quickly, even if you have a small family or you don't buy too much. It's really about what you buy. And some of the pantry staples, like milk, egg, butter and cheese are routinely about 20 percent off. That's something savings that can really add up, even if you don't buy much else there.

COLLINS: Yes, it does really add up. Apparently timing is important, too. Certain days that you should be shopping?

GRANT: The best day to buy groceries, hands down, is Sunday. And that really gives you the ability to maximize your savings, because you've got the weekly store sales that are in full swing, plus you've got the latest round of manufacturer's coupons from your Sunday paper. And if you go later on in the day you can find some great specials, half-priced goods, things like meat, baked goods and dairy products that are perfectly fine for you and your family to eat; it's just the store just has to sell them by that date.

COLLINS: Yes, don't tell anybody. Now all the grocery stores are going to be really crowded on Sundays. What about generics? Are you really getting -- I think part of the reason why people don't buy generics because they don't think they're getting the quality.

Surprise there for you. Plenty of the store labeled products out there now are produced by the same brand names you know and love. It's just has different packaging. And it's certainly worth trying them because the savings can be as much as 40 percent, sometimes even more. You will see things like organic store labels, flour is great, canned goods, and produce, too. Great savings, and you probably won't notice a difference.

COLLINS: How much longer do you think this is going to last, Kelli? I mean, these are some great ideas. Hopefully people will jot them down and try to adhere to them. But how much longer do you think we're going to have to deal with these prices?

GRANT: Probably no end in sight really. I mean, you're talking about there is inflation every year and prices do continue to go up. And there really doesn't seem to be much of an end in sight in terms of the problems that you're seeing with oil going up and certainly higher costs coming in from that. So settle in and really get some smart shopping habits in place and you can continue to save over the long run.

COLLINS: Yes. Well, I think you're right about that one. Thanks so much, Kelli Grant of smartmoney.com. Sure do appreciate it.

GRANT: Thank you.

COLLINS: Saving the world food supply. Sowing seeds for the future and nature's perfect refrigerator.

CNN's Becky Anderson was there for the opening of the doomsday vault inside the Arctic Circle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Inhospitable as it may be, it's precisely this spot's inaccessibility that makes it perfect for a project that could just safeguard human existence for thousands of years to come. This 100-meter tunnel connects with a series of vaults where four-and-a-half million seed samples will eventually be stored. It's the brainchild of Cary Fowler, one of the world's leading agricultural scientists.

CARY FOWLER, GLOBAL CROP DIVERSITY TRUST: What we're trying to do is freeze the seed, because if you want to conserve them for a long time you simply freeze them. So we found the coldest spot in the mountain where it's naturally below freezing, and will be even worst- case climate change scenario 200 years from now.

ANDERSON: Should global catastrophe would happen, he's confident the world's food supply will be safe, deep frozen inside this mountain.

FOWLER: And that's what we're going to do, we're going to freeze the world's agricultural heritage.

ANDERSON: Fail-safe protection for one of the most important natural resources in the world.

(on camera): Well, the cold kills everything in here. Even the camera is finding it difficult to take us. It's minus 15 at the moment. How much colder will it get, Cary?

FOWLER: It will go down to about minus 20.

ANDERSON: Won't kill the seeds though?

FOWLER: No, the seeds like it that way.

ANDERSON: And they'll be on the shelves, I guess?

FOWLER: Yes, we will have samples of about a million and a half different crop varieties sitting on the shelves here. The seeds can be conserved here for hundreds or thousands of years.

ANDERSON: My goodness.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: Experience, a hot topic on the campaign trail. So who's got it? It's a question aimed at Barack Obama.

CNN's Jim Acosta takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Flashback to 2004. Barack Obama had just won a landslide victory to become Illinois's next U.S. senator. At the time, he ruled out running on a national ticket in 2008, suggesting back then he lacked experience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, why have you ruled that out, running nationally?

OBAMA: You know, I am a believer in knowing what you're doing when you apply for a job. And I think that, if I were to seriously consider running on a national ticket, I would essentially have to start now, before having served a day in the Senate. Now, there are some people who might be comfortable doing that. But I'm not one of those people.

ACOSTA: While Obama says, some of his colleagues in the Senate eventually persuaded him to change his mind, that hasn't changed the subject of experience in the 2008 campaign, whether it's Hillary Clinton comparing Obama to President Bush, as she did today.

CLINTON: You've seen the tragic result of having a president who had neither the experience nor the wisdom to manage our foreign policy and safeguard our national security. We can't let that happen again.

ACOSTA: Or John McCain belittling Obama's offer to meet Cuban leader, Raul Castro.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's naive to think that you can sit down and have unconditional talks with a person who is part of a government that has been a state sponsor of terrorism.

CLINTON: What we need is someone ready on day one.

ACOSTA: Both Clinton and McCain have run on variations of the theme "ready on day one." Obama says he would be right on day one, noting Clinton and McCain's support for the war in Iraq. In fact, not one of the three leading contenders has executive experience -- a trait shared by every president since John Kennedy. Another way to measure the candidates is how they run their campaigns.

LARRY SABATO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: It's true that a campaign is maybe a billion dollar operation from beginning to end. If you run that operation well, it does suggest that you have some executive skills. To make the counter argument, every president who has been elected has been successful at running a campaign.

ACOSTA (on camera): To make up for shortcomings as an executive, Kennedy surrounded himself with the best and brightest. As for the three senators in this race, they all have top executives from the worlds of business and politics advising their campaigns.

Jim Acosta, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Quickly want to show you this live shot now. We are looking at those three chairs, awaiting a news conference in Virginia. Franklin County is where we've been telling you that apparently this college, Ferrum College, has been on lockdown for quite some time this morning. We had word from the police there and other authorities that there was a suspicious person on campus. Don't know any more than that. But, again, the college is still on lockdown.

We've learned from a Web site that indeed classes have been canceled, and we have also learned as of late that there will be a press conference coming up any minute now. Expecting to hear from possibly the president of Ferrum College and someone from Franklin County Sheriff's Department. So we will watch that podium for you and bring it to you just as soon as it happens so we can learn more about the situation, Ferrum College, Virginia.

Remember Al Capone's vault? Well, they're searching for something similar in the hills of Eastern Germany.

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COLLINS: You already know to catch us weekday mornings from 9:00 a.m. until noon Eastern. But did you know you can take us with you anywhere on your iPod? The CNN NEWSROOM podcast is available 24/7 right there on your iPod.

Hunting Hitler's gold, a chance at recovering history or a fool's errand?

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has the story now from Germany.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Looking over Germany's four mountains, it might look like just another hole in the ground. But specialists with sophisticated instruments are surveying every inch of the soil here. After treasure hunter Christian Hanisch says he may have localized almost two tons of gold from the Nazis, hidden in a cave.

"The cave stretches across almost this whole mountainside," Hanisch says. After the Nazis realized they would lose World War II, Hitler gave the order to stash things like gold, silver, even fine art. "Operation Sunset," the Nazis called it, and Christian Hanisch says his father was one of the soldiers involved.

"When my father died, he left us a chest with coordinates in them. And the coordinates point exactly to this place," he says. "And the surveying done here," Hanisch says, "seems to indicate that there may be a cave somewhere down there with precious metals inside."

Heinz Peter Haustein is paying for the expedition, but he believes he will find more than Nazi gold. Haustein is after the legendary Amber Room, a room made of amber and gold, so magnificent, some called it the eighth wonder of the world. The Amber Room was looted by the Nazis from St. Petersburg in Russia and then disappeared after the war.

Today, a replica stands in St. Petersburg, but Heinz Peter Haustein thinks the real thing is somewhere here. "Once we find the gold, everything else will begin to happen," he says. "I know the Amber Room is somewhere around here."

The treasure hunters will have to do more surveying until they can actually try to open the cave.

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COLLINS: From gentle touches to verbal smackdowns, Democrats locked in a love/hate relationship.

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COLLINS: Candidates can't seem to live with or without each other. Our Jeanne Moos follows the political soap opera.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anyone who's ever been in a love/hate relationship could relate to this.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am honored to be here with Barack Obama. I am absolutely honored.

Shame on you, Barack Obama.

MOOS (on camera): It's a shame for all those pundits who need them for analysis. Just put on Alicia Keys.

ALICIA KEYS, SINGER (singing): I keep on falling in and out of love with you.

MOOS (voice-over): You'd fall out of love, too, if he said this about you.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You're likable enough, Hillary.

CLINTON: Thank you so much.

MOOS: A few debates later, he's whispering sweet nothings and she's laughing girlishly.

KEYS (singing): Oh, oh, oh ...

MOOS (on camera): And then, bam!

CLINTON: Enough with the speeches and the big rallies.

CROWD: (INAUDIBLE)

CLINTON: And then using tactics that are right out of Karl Rove's playbook.

KEYS (singing): Sometimes I feel good, at times I feel used.

OBAMA: You were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board of Wal- Mart.

CLINTON: We're having a wonderful time.

OBAMA: Oh, absolutely.

MOOS (voice-over): And while we're on the topic of love ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I, myself, have been clinically diagnosed as an Obamaniac (ph).

MOOS: The media got bitten by "Saturday Night Live" for being smitten with Obama and the show parodied the latest CNN debate, with Obama getting hard-hitting questions like ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you comfortable? Is there anything we can get for you?

MOOS: When it came to questions from the audience ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tonight's questioner is "Obama girl."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Obama ...

MOOS: That's the real "Obama girl" making a cameo. The real Hillary actually asked donors to watch the episode of "Saturday Night Live" so they can see the press lampoon for being hot on Obama.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.

MOOS: Aboard her campaign plane, Hillary asked reporters what her character wore in the parody. This after being shown a Hillary pantsuit schedule the crews had posted as a joke. Electric blue on Mondays, sunshine yellow on Sundays, and yellow is what she wore as she mocked her opponent's emphasis on hope.

CLINTON: The sky will open, celestial choirs will be singing.

MOOS: He may touch her arm, he may help her with her chair. And all that talk of ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A dream ticket, a dream ticket.

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