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Press Conferences Are Held About the Shooting Deaths of Two College Students; Major Blizzard in Ohio; Gang Violence in Los Angeles Killed Jamiel Shaw Jr.; Democratic Caucus in Wyoming

Aired March 08, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

CHIEF BRIAN CURRAN, CHAPEL HILLS, N.C. POLICE: We will be sending these pictures to media outlets by e-mail within about 10 to 15 minutes after this press conference is over. We also have paper copies that we'll be handing out to members of the press here.
I'd like to remind you all of the generous pledge from UNC Chapel Hill board of trustees. They are pledging $25,000 to the Carrboro Chapel Hill UNC crime stoppers program for a reward for information leading to the arrests of a person or persons responsible for the murder of Eve Carson.

We ask that citizens with information about this case call crime stoppers. That's area code 919-942-7515. All conversations are confidential and callers do not need to reveal their identity.

Yesterday, you were given photos of Eve Carson's vehicle and we continue to be interested in speaking with anyone who may have seen her vehicle between the hours of 1:30 a.m. Wednesday and midday on Thursday. Again, the description of the vehicle is as follows -- a blue 2005 Toyota Highlander with a Georgia plate of AIV 6690.

QUESTION: ...photo or photos?

CURRAN: The question is the significance of the photos. We are releasing, actually, two surveillance photos and one photograph of a ball cap that the person driving the vehicle appears to be wearing.

QUESTION: Do you have a description of this person?

CURRAN: Just from viewing the photograph, appears to be an African-American male, looks to be late teens, early 20s?

QUESTION: You said the person in the vehicle (INAUDIBLE)?

CURRAN: I don't know for sure. Just from looking at the picture, it appears that it's possible that it's the victim's vehicle. I'm sorry.

QUESTION: Can you tell us the significance when this photo was taken and where and was the suspect using the victim's credit cards?

CURRAN: Question is where and when were the photos taken. I can tell you that the photos that we're releasing were from an ATM camera in the Chapel Hill area. I don't want to release what time they were used at this point. These are questions that we would ask in an interrogation.

QUESTION: Chief, do you think the pictures were taken before or after her death? Do you have any indication?

CURRAN: That would also go towards the time that the photos were taken and that is something that we would need to ask the suspect. I'm sorry?

QUESTION: Do you have any additional photos or ...

CURRAN: We have had the photos out to law enforcement for almost 24 hours now. Our goal with that was for investigation and intel units to be able to talk with their confidential informants and just kind of really beat the bushes to see if they can determine the identity of this person. We've had several leads that have been called in to us and we're actively pursuing those at this time. I'm sorry?

QUESTION: Where is the ATM?

CURRAN: It was in the Chapel Hill area.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

CURRAN: I do have an address for it, but again, that would be a question that we would have for the suspect.

QUESTION: Sir, was he using her credit card at the ATM?

CURRAN: He was using one of her ATM cards, one of her financial transaction cards.

QUESTION: A resident spotted her car at 4:30 a.m. (INAUDIBLE) ...

CURRAN: That's information I don't have.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) -- the subpoena of her cell phone records?

CURRAN: I know -- do you have any information on that?

QUESTION: What?

CURRAN: The question was did we receive anything back from the subpoena on the cell phone records?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we have, and as far as the investigation -- (INAUDIBLE).

CURRAN: The question was had we received any information from subpoena of her cell phone records. The answer is we have and we're putting together a timeline of calls that have been made on the phone and that would be part of the investigation.

QUESTION: Have you found her wallet or her keys yet?

CURRAN: I have not found the keys. I don't believe we have found the wallet.

QUESTION: Is the suspect (INAUDIBLE) ...

CURRAN: When I look at the picture, it appears to me that he is, but I will leave that for you to decide.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

CURRAN: The crime scene technicians processed the car very thoroughly. They're still cataloging evidence from the car, but the analysis of the evidence has not begun yet.

QUESTION: Is there any evidence that anybody saw the car at this point between 5:00 and 12:00? I know you said you were looking. Do you believe the car was on the streets between those hours?

CURRAN: We know that the car was on North Street when we found it at approximately 2:00 on Thursday. I don't know ...

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we are going to dip out of this momentarily and take you to Auburn, Alabama, where a news conference is under way right now into the death of 18-year-old Lauren Burk.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

CHIEF FRANK DEGRAFFENRIED, AUBURN, ALA. POLICE: We're here this morning with both grief for Lauren and her family's loss and relief that we're going to be able to announce some developments in the case that make Auburn, the county, the state of Alabama, a safer place.

I want to recognize a fine group of individuals that formed a task force for us on this case, and apologize for reading, but I want to make sure I don't leave anybody out. We have representatives from each of these agencies here representing the men and women that served so well on this task force.

From the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from the federal bureau of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, from the U.S. Marshals office and Alabama Bureau of Investigation, from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, from the Alabama State Fire Marshals office, the Lee County District Attorney's office, the Lee County Sheriff's office, the Lee County Coroner's office, the Opa-Locka Police department, the Auburn University Public Safety and Security division.

You notice that the numbers grew on this task force and the names we've added from a couple of different agencies, and from the initial morning after Lauren's death, we discussed this with the district attorney Nick Abbott, and Nick suggested the task force. Jay Jones, the sheriff, was right there with us. He had already called and offered his assistance, and before we hung up the phone with these agencies that we contacted, they had people on the way.

So we can't express enough appreciation to those numbers that served on the task force, to all the men and women of this division that served countless hours protecting, safeguarding, and reassuring parents and students of their safety.

I also want to give a special thanks Chief Brian McGraw (ph) of the Phenix City Police Department and the efforts of their officers and Detective Hatcher of the Columbus Police Department for his efforts in helping bring some closure to this case.

As Captain Stouffer advised, we're here because Lauren Burk is not. That's the only reason. It's a sad reason. And I can't say enough. I'm a father myself and a grandfather, how much we grieve with the family. And thank you for families of these officers for sharing them with us and allowing us to do this job. This time I'm going to turn it over to Chief Dawson and let him discuss a few facts of the case.

ASST. CHIEF TOMMY DAWSON, AUBURN, ALA. POLICE: First of all, let me begin by saying this morning as I have in every one of these press conferences, my heart, my prayers, my thoughts go out to the Burk family this morning, who faces such great tragedy. I want them to know that my thoughts and prayers are with them.

Secondly, I'd like to thank my boss Chief Degrafenried for his leadership of guidance through this entire investigation. I'd also like to thank the Auburn community and the support we've received from the citizens of Auburn. They have understood what we were going through and why we were not releasing much information and they understood the importance of that, and I thank them for their patience, for that is who we serve.

Today, though, we are pleased to announce that warrants for capital murder, capital murder during a kidnapping, capital murder during a robbery, and capital murder during an attempted rape, all three warrants were signed this morning on an individual by the name of Courtney Lorell Lockhart from Smiths, Alabama. His age is 23- years-old. He was taken into custody yesterday by the Phenix City Police Department. I believe their motor division was responsible for the actual apprehension.

We began this case as you all know Tuesday night. We did not release much information because frankly, we were on the trail of this individual. We had identified him by picture, a photo. We knew what the person looked like, we were looking for. At the time, we had not been able to find out his true identity.

However, he was apprehended during a traffic stop, it's my understanding, in Phenix City. We immediately sent investigators over and it all came together late yesterday afternoon. At this time I'm going to turn it back over to Captain Stouffer and he will have a few people he's going to introduce to speak to you today. I will be back to answer any questions that you may have today regarding this case.

CAPTAIN STOUFFER: Thank you, Chief Dawson.

At this time, I have several individuals that would like to make a brief comment. If you would, please do not ask questions at this time. There will be ample time at the end of this press conference to ask questions. At this time, Mr. Jesse Seroyer, U.S. Marshal's office.

JESSE SEROYER, U.S. MARSHAL'S OFFICE: Good morning.

On behalf of the United States Marshal service for the middle district of Alabama, I am grateful to have the opportunity to serve on this task force, along with members from our office and from the northern district of Alabama we have Marshal Marty Keeley, who is present here today. We also have Commander Michael Richardson, who's the commander over the gulf coast region of the task force of the United State's Marshal's service and several members of my office.

Bear in mind, this is a task force. This case would not have been possible had it not been for every man and woman that's represented here this morning and we're very grateful to have been given the opportunity to come and bring this case to a closure. I offer my condolences to the family and I know how hard it is to lose a family member, to lose someone to a tragedy like this. And all these men and women in the room this morning from the task force represent families. We care.

But it's our job and our duties to do what's necessary to bring these types of cases to a closure. And on behalf of the United States Marshal Service, we're very grateful to have been asked to be a part of this task force. We live in the communities, we work in the communities, and want to keep the communities safe.

So on behalf of the United States Marshal service, I say congratulations to the Auburn Police Department for bringing this case to a closure and I'm very grateful for the contribution from the United States Marshal Service and the members of our agency that contributed to help. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir. At this time the honorable Dick Abbott, Lee County district attorney.

DICK ABBOTT, LEE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you to each one of you for being here and thank you for your interest and your coverage in this case. A number of you have called me for comment. And please recognize that as a prosecutor, we have ethical issues that we can't ...

NGUYEN: All right, we have been listening to two news conferences here. Let's tackle the first one that we've been watching as of late, dealing with the death of 18-year-old Lauren Burk. We have learned there has been a major development in this case that a gentleman by the name of Courtney Lorell Lockhart, 23 years old, was arrested yesterday in Phenix City, Alabama, during a traffic stop, which is only about, what, T.J., 30 miles?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Thirty-four miles to the east, it appears, of Auburn, where the campus is there.

NGUYEN: And again, 18-year-old Lauren Burk was found shot and wounded on a roadside about five miles from the school Tuesday night and later died at a hospital. Her 2001 Honda Civic was then discovered burning in a parking lot on campus and a gas can found in the downtown area after the killing was what was being searched and actually tested for possible DNA evidence.

And we don't know the connection between that and Courtney Lorrel Lockhart, but we do know that he has been arrested and was arrested yesterday in Phenix City, Alabama, and there have been warrants out for capital murder in this case, so we'll continue to follow this situation.

HOLMES: And the other story we are following, unfortunately, the state of Georgia mourning here because another one of its daughters have died. Eve Carson is the picture you're seeing there, the young lady, the class president at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She's from Athens, Georgia.

Burk, who you were just hearing Betty talk about, she's actually from Marietta, Georgia, but the other story we're having at the top of the hour, three surveillance photos now being put out there by police in Chapel Hill of a possible suspect in the killing of Eve Carson, a 22-year-old.

Police chief there says the photos were taken from an ATM machine where they believe this individual was using the ATM, the credit cards of Eve Carson at that machine, surveillance photos they are putting out. We are waiting to get those and we'll bring them to you as soon as we get them. But they are releasing those at that press conference that we're keeping an eye on. Described him as a black male, appeared to be in his late teens, early 20s, using those ATM cards. Those two photos also a photo of a ball cap possibly that he was wearing going to be put out as well.

Other information putting out is that the board of trustees there at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill has pledged $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the death of 22-year-old Eve Carson. Again, the student body president there at the University of North Carolina.

We have all this information coming in to us on both of these sad, really tragic and senseless cases that we're hearing right now out of these two campuses. So we'll continue to follow both of these stories.

NGUYEN: And it does answer some questions, because at the onset, when you see two young college students shot to death, you're wondering, especially since the proximity isn't too far, they're both from Georgia, if there was any connection to these shootings, but according to the news conferences that we've been listening to, it doesn't seem that there is, since there is a man in custody in Alabama dealing with the Lauren Burk case. And as for the Eve Carson case, they're still looking for a suspect in that.

HOLMES: Just eerily similar cases with the vehicles being found in separate places from the young women, the women shot. It's just strange cases, again, both from Georgia. Just sad and tragic cases. Both women by all accounts with such promise, just special, special people.

Lives cut short senselessly, but we are getting some new information on both of these cases. An arrest being made. Certainly good to tell people in the Burk case out of Auburn, Alabama. That suspect is not running around, not on the loose. They don't believe this person is a further threat to anyone else. So they do believe they have the person they are looking for.

But in the other case of Eve Carson there in North Carolina, still looking for an individual. They think they have a picture. Again, they're putting out surveillance photos at that press conference ...

NGUYEN: And we should be getting those soon and we'll put them on the air for you. From what we could understand at that news conference, the gentleman was wearing a baseball cap, so it may be difficult to determine the actual features, but of course, investigators are hard at work and we will give you the latest information as soon as we get it.

There is so much more to come here on CNN. We're following every second of it and you know as soon as we get new information we'll bring it straight to you.

HOLMES: Other stories we are following about a soldier fighting back in Iraq. Terror back home changes her life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're fighting for terrorism. Isn't that what gangs are then? If they won't let you have your own freedom, then to me, they're a terrorist!

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: OK, so she calls them terrorists and she blames them for killing her son, and we're going to give you her story, that's ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A late winter blizzard leaves a lot of people stranded in Ohio. I'm Susan Roesgen, I'll have a live report in Cincinnati coming up.

NGUYEN: And our Reynolds Wolf is watching all the weather as it plays out today. We're going to get you an update on the severe weather. You saw it right there, a blizzard. It's happening right now and we'll bring you the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, if you are watching in Ohio, you don't need us to tell you, there is a blizzard outside. Parts of the state are buried in snow. The wind is whipping and blizzard warnings are in effect. Let's take you now live to CNN's Susan Roesgen. She's been braving conditions. She joins us now from Cincinnati and it doesn't seem like the snow is letting up. ROESGEN: No, it isn't, Betty. It really is not. I think this is one of those days when many people here, Saturday morning, woke up, looked out their windows, saw the snow and went right back to bed. It would be a good thing as well, because most of the people that we're finding outside today are either stranded by the snow or shoveling the snow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's terrible. I've been out here since 7:00 yesterday, just wore out, ready to go home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I went to the airport and you know, flights canceled, so I'm back here at the hotel again. It's a lot of snow in Cincinnati!

ROESGEN: Where were you trying to get to?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was going to Texas from Hartford and ended up here in the snowstorm in Ohio, kind of random, but yeah, there were a lot of problems last night, so they rebooked us and there are still flights canceled today.

ROESGEN: What were they telling you at airport, you're going to get out today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, but I decided not to go to Texas, I'm just going to try to go home this afternoon like at 5:00.

ROESGEN: What do you think of this weather, do you think it's miserable or what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think it's beautiful, but they don't seem to do a very good job -- I don't know if it doesn't snow much here that often because they don't seem to do a very good job plowing. I mean the airport runways, I can't even believe there are some flights that are taking off. But you know, I don't have that much to say. I'm sorry!

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: That poor woman, Betty, was trying to get to Dallas last night. For some reason, she was rerouted here to Cincinnati. Now, she says she doesn't even want to try to go to Dallas, she just wants to go home to Connecticut. She talked about the plowing and that the roads don't seem that clear to her, but in truth, the snow plows have been out all night long. They have really been trying to work on this.

And at the airports, they had been trying to keep the runways open. At the Cincinnati airport, the Columbus airport, the Cleveland airport, the three major airports, all three of them were reduced to just one functioning runway this morning. And then at about 11:00 local time, about 15 minutes ago, they finally opened up the Cincinnati airport. We checked there and they were going to start resuming flights in and out, and those flights sold out so quickly that many people who were trying to get out now are not able to get out because the flights are sold out.

On the roads, though, it's really bad. In a lot of counties here, the Ohio State Patrol have asked people not to go on the roads at all. They're calling it a level three emergency, which means that they have the right to either arrest or ticket anyone who is driving, if they're not driving in an emergency vehicle -- Betty?

NGUYEN: You know it's serious when they do that. Susan, stay warm. Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Well, a family torn apart by a random act of violence on the streets of L.A.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He told me, "They shot him." He was three doors down. I'm like, no, no, no!

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The short life and sudden death of Jamiel Shaw.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: A spike in gang violence in Los Angeles over the last two weeks and a 13-year-old boy may be the latest victim. Police say Anthony Escobar crossed the street to get lemons from a neighbor's tree Thursday night and he never made it back home. They believe gang members gunned him down in a driveway. He had two lemons in his hand. Family members now say they plan to take seeds from those very lemons and plant a tree in memory of the little boy they called Chu-cho.

NGUYEN: Well, the terror of gang violence also felt by another Los Angeles family.

HOLMES: Yeah, that family is the family of Jamiel Shaw Jr. He had made a pact with his dad promising to work hard for the first 18 years of his life to achieve his dreams and go to college.

NGUYEN: Well, sadly, Jamiel never made it to his 18th birthday. He turned 17 just two months ago.

CNN's Kara Finnstrom talked to his grieving parents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANITA SHAW, MOTHER: He was a Christian, and I thank God for that, because I know he's in a better place.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anita Shaw says her 17-year-old son Jamiel wanted to please everyone.

A. SHAW: He'd just try all the time to do the right thing. He was so good.

FINNSTROM: Jamiel is one of several innocent victims in a horrifying two-week string of gang-related shootings around Los Angeles.

MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, LOS ANGELES: I think what's particularly unnerving for all of us, just the random nature of these shootings.

FINNSTROM: Police say Jamiel was an innocent victim. Two Latino gang members had approached him and asked him what gang he was in. Shaw was not in a gang. When he didn't answer, they shot and killed him.

JAMIEL SHAW, FATHER: I just can't understand, you know?

FINNSTROM: Jamiel was only a few doors from home. Jamiel Sr. heard the shots, ran outside. He knew it was his son lying on the ground.

J. SHAW: I guarantee, that's why it hurts so much.

FINNSTROM: They had a plan -- keep focused, stay away from drugs and gangs and we'll get into college. Now everything shattered.

J. SHAW: I told him, I promise you, if you sacrifice these 18 years, man, I'll sacrifice with you, I guarantee you it's not going to happen. And you know, it's oh, I can't even -- I don't understand, I just can't understand.

FINNSTROM: Part of that sacrifice from Jamiel's mother. While Jamiel Sr. served the family at home, she served her country in Iraq. She was there last Thanksgiving and sent a greeting to her sons on CNN.

A. SHAW: I would like to give a shot out to my sons, Jamiel ...

ROESGEN: And she was there this week when her commanding officer called her in and told her Jamiel had been shot. Anita called home.

A. SHAW: He told me, "They shot him." He was three doors down. I'm like, no, no, no! I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe it. I thought if I didn't talk about it, it wouldn't be true.

FINNSTROM: No one could believe it was true. Jamiel was a star running back and sprinter for Los Angeles High School. Colleges were showing interest, including Stanford.

J. SHAW: I said man, we're going to have to get more room for these trophies, you know, because you're only in 11th grade. That mean you're going to have a lot more college trophies.

FINNSTROM: Now the dream is over. The Shaws are angry. J. SHAW: It's just the gang problem and they have nothing in their heart for people.

A. SHAW: Isn't that what gangs are then? If they won't let you have your own freedom, then to me, they're a terrorist.

FINNSTROM: And the Shaws are scared. They have another son to raise, nine-year-old Thomas. Thomas, an athlete too, has always wanted to be just like his big brother.

Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And a public viewing for Jamiel is being held in Los Angeles this morning. Earlier this week about 200 friends and family members attended a candlelight vigil where Jamiel's father again appealed for an end to gang violence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: 11:35 here on the east coast. Here's what's happening right now. In the search for who killed University of North Carolina student body president Eve Carson. Chapel Hill Police now releasing three surveillance pictures from an ATM. We are expecting to get those pictures. We'll pass them along as soon as we get them.

But they report screams heard during a 911 call that seems to coincide with the moment Carson was shot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF BRIAN CURRAN, CHAPEL HILL POLICE: On the 911 tape, one of the callers heard a woman scream. That was concurrent with the gunshots, my understanding, and anything else I would say about it would be speculating.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Police have not identified a suspect. The 22-year-old was shot to death early Wednesday not far from the campus there in Chapel Hill.

NGUYEN: Well, also just minutes ago, police in Auburn, Alabama announced an arrest in the murder of Lauren Burk. The Auburn University freshman was shot Tuesday off campus and left by the side of a road. She died at a hospital. The suspect arrested at a traffic stop in a nearby town.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASST. CHIEF THOMAS DAWSON, AUBURN, ALA. POLICE: Today, though, we are pleased to announce that warrants for capital murder, capital murder during a kidnapping, capital murder during a robbery, and capital murder during an attempted rape. All three warrants were signed this morning on an individual by the name of Courtney Lorell Lockhart from Smiths, Alabama. His age is 23-years-old. He was taken into custody yesterday by the Phenix City Police Department. I believe their motor division was responsible for the actual apprehension.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: All right. So that name again, Courtney Lorell Lockhart. We are working to get more information about this suspect. In the meantime, though, a memorial for Lauren Burk will be held today in her hometown of Marietta, Georgia.

HOLMES: We will turn back to some politics now. It's been a half century since Wyoming was a player in the Democrats' choice for a White House nominee, and today it's back in the spotlight. Our Joshua Levs has a reality check. Mr. Reality himself.

Good morning, sir! You're on the trail for us this morning.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I am. Well following the trail for you, absolutely. You know, the race really changed this week, but what we're going to look at is how much it changed. Because right now both sides are expressing confidence, but there is a reality at the core. We're going to show you where the candidates really stand.

That's coming right up here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Take a look at this happening right now. Wyoming Democrats holding their presidential caucuses, happening right now. 12 delegates on the line there. You're taking a live look here at one of the spots where the caucus is taking place.

And this gentleman is getting the crowd fired up, apparently, for Obama, apparently, with the signs we see going up. 12 delegates again there at stake. Doesn't sound like a lot, but still, we know how close this race is, so every single delegate is important. We'll have a live report next hour from Cheyenne.

NGUYEN: Home to Hershey's chocolate, Philly cheese steaks and a world-famous groundhog, you know Punxsutawney Phil. Pennsylvania is the next biggie on the political map and our Jim Acosta breaks down this critical contest for us. He is live in Philadelphia this morning. You know how critical it is when we're over a month away and you're already in Philly.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Betty. Both sides in this campaign, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have circled April 22nd on their calendar. They know that this Pennsylvania primary that's coming up next month holds the most delegates out of any of the state contests between now and the convention in August in Denver. But Pennsylvania is not only in the news right now, the state of Iowa has come back, and specifically, a local congressman there, Steve King who made some comments about Barack Obama. This is a Republican congressman speaking with the newspaper the Spencer "Daily Reporter," and he brought back Barack Obama's middle name into the national discussion on this race, saying that if Barack Obama is elected, al Qaeda will be dancing in the streets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE KING, (R) IOWA: When you think about the optics of a Barack Obama potentially getting elected president of the United States -- and I mean, what does this look like to the rest of the world? What does it look like to the world of Islam? And I will tell you that if he is elected president, then the radical Islamists, the al Qaeda and the radical Islamists and their supporters will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11th, because they will declare victory in this war on terror.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And this is just the second time in the last two weeks that one of John McCain's Republican supporters have brought up Barack Obama's middle name as a potential liability for the senator from Illinois, and Barack Obama's campaign has released a statement bringing up John McCain we should mention, saying "These comments have no place in our politics and we hope Senator McCain will repudiate them like he has previous comments from his supporters." Recalling the fact that conservative talk radio host Bill Cunningham used Barack Obama's middle name repeatedly during a speech to supporters in Ohio -- Betty?

NGUYEN: But it is still a bit shocking to hear those words today and it's going to be interesting to see what that congressman has to say, if he does stand by that. I want to ask you this, how is Pennsylvania shaping up there, with you know still six weeks to go?

ACOSTA: Well, this is going to be a battle royal for the state Betty. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are already dumping in resources into the state. They know that this essentially, even though the delegates are split proportionally, whoever comes out of Pennsylvania will be able to say I've got a big state under my belt, the last big state in this nomination fight.

And a lot of people are saying that this state bodes well for Hillary Clinton. It's a lot like Ohio in that there's a big, blue- collar electorate here in places like Pittsburgh and the middle of the state. But what's different about Pennsylvania versus Ohio is that Ohio did not have a big metropolitan city like a Philadelphia, which could play right into Barack Obama's hands.

And so, we will see the senator from Illinois campaigning heavily there over the next several weeks. And Clinton forces are already in play. Chelsea Clinton was here the day after the Ohio primary was won by her mother and Bill Clinton was here late last week. So expect to see both sides throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the keystone state as we move forward here -- Betty?

NGUYEN: Maybe even a little bit of that too, Jim. All right, we'll see you, thank you.

And you know, we are just one week into March and already the 2008 primary season more than half over. Can you believe it?

HOLMES: Yeah, seems like this has been going on for a long time.

NGUYEN: It has. But for the Republicans though, there is no mystery left.

HOLMES: No.

NGUYEN: John McCain is the presumptive nominee.

HOLMES: Yeah, but on the Democratic side, certainly we've got a tight race. How does the delegate count really stack up? And when you really need to know something, you need a reality check, and for that, we need Mr. ...

NGUYEN: Reality.

HOLMES: Reality. Josh, good morning.

LEVS: We have a check go across the screen right now. So, we're hearing Jim talk about this, and this is the thing. If you listen to what the candidates are saying these days, they're both really expressing a lot of confidence. So what we need to do is take a step back here, look at the reality and see that when you actually crunch these numbers right now, this is a race that cannot be predicted.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEVS (voice-over): There's no doubt the race has changed fundamentally.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This nation's coming back and so is this campaign.

LEVS: Clinton's wins in the Ohio and Texas primaries prove this is a tight race that could ultimately go either way. The spin from both camps is that everything is flying high.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm pretty confident that we're going to end up with more delegates, having won more states, won more primaries, won more caucuses.

CLINTON: The delegate count separating is very, you know, small, relatively. We are really feeling good about where we are.

LEVS: Where is that, exactly? Here's the basic idea -- to win the nomination, a candidate needs 2,024 delegates. At last count, Obama was slightly ahead with more than 1,500, Clinton more than 1,400. There are about 1,000 delegates still to be allocated. About 350 are super delegates, the rest pledged delegates from state contests.

The biggest prize ahead is Pennsylvania with 158 delegates. In late April polls have shown Clinton in the lead there. There is also the question of what will happen with the Florida and Michigan delegates who are not being counted. They have 366 delegates between them.

But at this point, neither Clinton nor Obama can win with just pledged delegates. Obama says if he ends up with more, then the super delegates should join him. The Clinton camp says super delegates were selected to help choose the nominee. Their party leader seems to agree with Clinton.

HOWARD DEAN, DNC CHAIRMAN: Everybody knew what the rules were when they got into this, so to change the rules in the middle of the game is clearly unfair, no matter which candidate it benefits.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LEVS: So for now, Clinton and Obama really fighting for every vote because they want to get as close as possible to that magic number and to demonstrate to those all-important super delegates that really two things, one that one candidate has momentum, and two, that one candidate can ultimately beat John McCain, and that's why from both camps we're going to hear that more and more in order to win here.

NGUYEN: Absolutely. All right. Josh Levs ...

HOLMES: Mr. Reality.

NGUYEN: Yes.

HOLMES: We appreciate you. Thank you, sir.

NGUYEN: And you do want to stay with CNN throughout the day for the best political coverage on television. Coming up at 2:00 eastern, "BALLOT BOWL," it is back and we are bringing you the candidates unfiltered in their own words all day long. Then "BALLOT BOWL" primetime gets started at 8:00 tonight only on CNN.

HOLMES: All right, got something here you need to see. Check this kid out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi! I'm Jonathan, the creator of Go Green Man, and I have interviewed all of the presidential candidates to see how green they are and how nice they are to children.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: I haven't got an interview with a single presidential candidate.

NGUYEN: But he will ... HOLMES: Mike Huckabee was the only one, I think.

NGUYEN: He's too young to vote.

HOLMES: Of course.

NGUYEN: But not too young to get involved in presidential politics or to be an i-Reporter for that matter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: This is the surveillance photo we have been waiting for from police in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This is the person, the suspect they believe, in the death of Eve Carson, the student body president, the 22-year-old who was found dead, shot and killed Wednesday in the early-morning hours.

This, police say, is the person who tried to use or was attempting to use here her credit cards, her ATM card. This was surveillance video taken from that ATM. They can't make out too much from this male, but they say that they describe as a black male, late teens, early 20s.

They also wanted people to take a good look at that hat. Maybe somebody would recognize that, but the surveillance photo of the suspect, they believe, in the death of Eve Carson, the 22-year-old University of North Carolina student found shot and killed earlier this week.

There are other photos as well, but this is the first. They have three they're actually releasing, but this is one of the first we are getting our hands on and wanted to pass it along as soon as we get it. But of the actual suspect, according to police, they believe, in the death of Eve Carson.

NGUYEN: There's also been new developments in the case of Lauren Burk, a university student at Auburn, in fact, a freshman who was killed this week. Why don't you take a look at this picture. This is the man police say today has been arrested in connection with her murder. His name is Courtney Lorell Lockhart, 23-years=old. He was arrested on warrants dealing with capital murder, capital murder for kidnapping, capital murder for robbery and capital murder for attempted rape.

And this, dealing again, with Lauren Burk, 18 years old from Marietta, Georgia. She was found shot just a few miles north of campus on Tuesday night. The same night that Eve Carson was killed, but apparently, as we're looking at these two cases, they don't seem to be connected in any way, except for the fact that it is just a sheer tragedy to have these young lives taken in such a way.

But this is the latest picture that we have of the suspect in the case of Lauren Burk, who was killed on Tuesday, and this being Courtney Lorell Lockhart, he is in custody at this hour.

HOLMES: All right. Of course the NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour, and lookie, lookie, lookie. What do we have here?

NGUYEN: Yes.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN ANCHOR: I just wanted to come spend some quality time with my Betty and my T.J. and I'm glad to be here, obviously.

HOLMES: Good to have you here. Really good to have you in Atlanta.

ELAM: No, it's fun to be here and it's also really cool to be here because Fredricka is off being honored by Howard University this weekend.

NGUYEN: Wonderful.

ELAM: What's extra cool is that's my alma mater as well. So, it's very nice. I hope Fred's having a good time and not watching right now.

HOLMES: Only Howard people can fill in for Fredricka. This is the Howard shift apparently.

ELAM: That means I'm very lucky, yeah.

So we have a lot to talk about today, obviously. We're going to take a look obviously more politics today. I know some big states are behind us, but we still have Wyoming today, 12 delegates there.

So, we're going to take a look at the records that we have here for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Barack, he hasn't finished one full term as a U.S. senator, so how much has he actually done? We're going to take a look at that. Also, Hillary Clinton, she has been bolstering up all she's done in foreign policy. We'll also take a look to see if she's really done as much as she said there.

From there, we're going to move on to education. Do you think it's up to you whether or not you decide to home-school your children? Well, there's one state in the union that says that's not the case. So we're going to get into that legal brief.

And obviously, of course, we'll have more on these really sad stories about the killings at the two campuses here in the south, we'll take a look at what's there, what more developments we can get on that. We'll keep our eyes on it.

NGUYEN: There has been a lot of movement so far this morning too. Thank you, Stephanie, we do look forward to that.

HOLMES: A pint-sized activist quizzing the candidates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi! I'm Jonathan, the creator of Go Green Man, and I have interviewed all the presidential candidates to see how green they are and how nice they are to children. (END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: So, which candidate is the greenest and the nicest to kids? We'll find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, next time you are about to toss that milk bottle or plastic bag in the garbage, think about Jonathan Lee.

HOLMES: Yeah. Jonathan here is 10-years-old, not nearly old enough to vote, of course, but his dad says he's old enough to be an i-Reporter for CNN.

NGUYEN: And old enough to bring his concerns about the environment to the campaign trail. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VOICE OF JONATHAN LEE, 10-YEAR-OLD I-REPORTER: Hi! I'm Jonathan, the creator of Go Green Man, and I have interviewed all of the presidential candidates to see how green they are and how nice they are to children. First, John McCain. The John McCain staff let me on their bus to look around, and it was really crowded.

Do you have anything to say to the children at home about the environment?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I say recycle. Do everything you can to reduce greenhouse gases.

LEE: He was really funny. Especially when he made that funny face. Niceness to children 9, greenness 8. Hillary Clinton -- do you recycle in your home?

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, we do.

LEE: And do you have anything to say to the children at home about the environment?

CLINTON: Well, I think it's very important that everybody take responsibility to try to help the environment, so that means don't litter, it means to recycle, it means to tell your mommy and daddy to get compact fluorescent bulbs in the house. It means to keep the doors and windows kind of shut, so you don't let the heat, the cold out. And just generally do what you can, even if you're a student there are things you can do.

LEE: She was very kind. Niceness 9, greenness 8. Barack Obama, he was really nice, but he was also really busy, so I got to interview his wife Michelle Obama instead. What do you say to the children at home about the environment?

MICHELLE OBAMA: You know, the environment is really important. We got to all do our part. I know my daughters are telling us to turn the water off and close the refrigerator. So we're going to have to make sacrifices. All young kids should work on their parents and their families.

LEE: Niceness 8, greenness 9. It's been a wonderful experience for me.

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