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Back to Their Day Jobs: Presidential Candidates in Washington; Florida Plane Crash: All Four Aboard Killed; Security Breach at Heathrow; Spitzer Leaves Office Monday, New Challenges Await Paterson

Aired March 13, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Let's get you going. Stay informed with CNN.
I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on Thursday, the 13th of March. Here's what's on the rundown.

The presidential candidates off the trail and on the job today in the Senate. Politics in the real world.

HARRIS: Two suspects in custody in North Carolina accused in the murder of a UNC senior. Now the case widens to another campus.

COLLINS: David Paterson's challenges: budget, staff and morale. New York's governor in waiting, in the NEWSROOM.

Off the trail and on the Hill. Presidential candidates back to their day jobs today. Key votes on taxes and spending coming up.

Dana Bash on Capitol Hill for us this morning.

Dana, good morning to you. When's the last time we saw all of these senators/candidates there for an actual vote?

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think you have to go back and look in the history books at this point.

COLLINS: Maybe.

BASH: At this point, Heidi.

The last time that John McCain and Barack Obama were here on Capitol Hill was about a month ago. It was during the time actually of the primaries here in D.C., and in the surrounding areas, and they came back for a series of national security-related votes and they actually spoke on the Senate floor. Hillary Clinton wasn't there.

We're actually trying to find out the last time she was here. We think -- and we're not 100 percent sure -- but we think it may have been back during the State of the Union, where she was actually here on the Capitol complex. But, you know, obviously this is a very interesting time because it's, first of all, a reminder that no matter who is going to be the next president at this point, unless something absolutely unbelievable happens, it's going to be somebody coming from the United States Senate. Whether it's, you know, either of the Democratic candidates or the Republican as well.

So, they have definitely not been around to actually do their day job for a long time, but they are today. And primarily, it's because of the subject that's at hand.

First of all, I just want to -- before we talk about that though, Heidi -- show you a little bit of color of something that happened when John McCain did come here this morning. He went to attend a remembrance service that was bipartisan. It happened in the rotunda here at the Capitol, and it was a remembrance service for people who have fallen in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

And he was greeted by some military families people who were there pretty warmly. So, it was a moment of recognition that this is the presumptive Republican nominee returning to his old stomping grounds, but also returning to pay tribute to people who were, again, killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But that is primarily not the reason why John McCain and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, all of them are expected here today. It's because of the very hot topic of earmarks.

Earmarks are, of course, pet projects, things that senators and members of Congress put in the budget to help people back home. It is perhaps one of the biggest topics for John McCain on the campaign trail.

He always talks about how proud he is that he never has gotten an earmark in his 24 years in the Senate, and he's really started to rail more and more against his Democratic opponents because they do have and they have had some pretty big earmarks. In fact, last year a report recently came out that Hillary Clinton had about $340 million in earmarks. That put her in the top 10 earmark-getters, if you will, in the Senate. Barack Obama had about $90 million.

So, this is something that -- sort of a point of contrast that John McCain has been trying to make. Also, he tries to insist on the fact that Barack Obama disclosed who actually he's getting his earmarks from. He hasn't done that, at least for the first two years he was in the Senate. And we caught up with John McCain outside his office here in the Russell building, and he talked about that this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He should do several things. One, reveal -- he and Senator Clinton reveal earmarks that they asked for. A lot of those projects, the money has not been spent. Ask that that money not be spent. I call on him to say, hey, don't spend that money because they're earmarks. They didn't go through a proper process. And taxpayers can't afford it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, what's going to be very interesting today, because once this amendment actually happens -- and it might not happen until later because there will be a series of votes pretty much all day on budget-related issues, Heidi -- all of the presidential candidates, both John McCain and Obama and Hillary Clinton, will all vote for this amendment.

And this amendment specifically would have a moratorium, or basically stop earmarks for one year. John McCain obviously is doing it because he's against earmarks, and Hillary Clinton, her spokesman says that she wants to do it because it's a time to have some sunlight and look at really how the earmark process works -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Certainly a lot going on for all of them today.

Appreciate that. Dana Bash for us this morning.

BASH: Thank you.

(NEWSBREAK)

COLLINS: Want to get some more information your way about this plane crash that we told you about that happened in Florida.

Fredricka Whitfield has been working the story for us.

And that video that we showed coming in of the crash scene, Fred, boy, tough to look at.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it really is, Heidi. A little bit more information to go along with these pretty devastating pictures there.

CNN is confirming that four people did die in this plane crash. This is a Cessna 172 Sky Hawk.

Apparently, there was some sort of problem with this aircraft. The pilot tried to land in this cow pasture in Indiantown, Florida. But the plane nose-dived into the ground and then rolled over, as you see right there, landing bottom side up.

The plane came to rest about 30 yards from where it actually made impact. You can kind of see the dark markings there. The investigators are on the ground.

The FAA is involved. Of course, this plane originated from Lantana, Florida, but it's unclear where exactly it was headed to. And this crash took place about 8:30 this morning. So, still early in the investigation in terms of trying to figure out exactly what kind of trouble was taking place on board for the pilot to want to make this kind of emergency landing. Sadly, it didn't work out. Four people died in this crash -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Boy, it is really, really tragic. All right, Fred. Thanks so much for the update. Appreciate it.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Some breaking news we're following right now. Let's get you over to Fredricka Whitfield in the CNN news room.

Security breach, Fred, at London's Heathrow International Airport.

WHITFIELD: Right. Tense moments now at Heathrow Airport because a man was seen running on the tarmac with a backpack. Apparently, that person has been arrested, but it's unclear exactly why he was on the runway, what's in the backpack, and how he got to that point.

So this is all we know. This is the information that we're able to report, according to The Associated Press reporting.

And, of course, still in its infancy. We'll try to get more information to find out a little bit more about how this may be affecting the airline traffic there, the very busy Heathrow Airport in London.

HARRIS: And you have to know at this point, if you're running through an airport, you're asking for problems for yourself.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Especially if you're on the tarmac and you've got a backpack.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

WHITFIELD: And no one knows who you are. It's a problem.

HARRIS: OK, Fred. Appreciate it. Thanks.

COLLINS: Sex, scandal and shame. The Eliot Spitzer era comes to a humiliating end in New York. We have all the latest from Spitzer's legal limbo to the challenges awaiting his successor, and the young woman at the center of this tawdry mess. "The New York Times" identifies her as a 22-year-old aspiring singer from New Jersey.

The paper says she is "Kristen," the high-priced prostitute cited in court documents. She has not been charged with any crime, nor, for that matter, has Eliot Spitzer. But federal prosecutors say no plea bargain has been struck, at least not yet. If there are charges, it could range from paying for sex, to illegally arranging cash transaction. Spitzer formally leaves office on Monday. And tough challenges do await his successor, Lieutenant Governor David Paterson. He is due to hold a news conference in a few hours, but just moments ago he did field some reporters' questions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: How long is it going to take for the state to get back to normal operations?

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR DAVID PATERSON (D), NEW YORK: Well, we have a budget to pass. We have a deadline to meet. And we'll probably know -- if we can do that, we'll be back on track.

QUESTION: What's your message to the people of New York?

PATERSON: The message to the people of New York is that New York State government is still thriving and we are still serving the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Paterson faces a budget crunch and bruised relations from Spitzer's abrasive style. Moments ago we heard from man who faced that trial by fire twice. You may have seen the interview we did with Richard Codey. He became New Jersey's acting governor on two separate occasions. He discussed the difficulties of abruptly assuming control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD CODEY, NEW JERSEY STATE SENATOR: Well, I think he begins by deciding very quickly, obviously, which of the Spitzer people he wants to keep. Because they're not necessarily tainted because they worked for somebody who got into a scandal. And then he has to decide which of his circle of political friends he wants to bring in, and advisers. And he's got to do that rather quickly.

But I would also say to him, listen, make no bones about it, I wasn't elected to be governor of the state of New York, but I'm going to lead. And I'm not going to take myself too seriously, but I'm going to take the job very seriously. And from what I've heard and from what I've seen, I think his personality is going to fit the situation and suit it very, very well for the state of New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Codey says he does plan to talk with Paterson's office soon to share some advice and lay out some of the issues he will likely face.

HARRIS: Victims of Hurricane Katrina, they say a dwindling pile of federal aid is their last hope of rebuilding their lives. So why is that cash being funneled into a Mississippi port where casinos could eventually be built?

Details now from CNN's Abbie Boudreau of our "SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAYOR A.J. HOLLOWAY, BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI: I'm proud to say that we're making progress each and every day here in Biloxi.

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The site for Mayor A.J. Holloway's rosy pronouncements? The lavish Beau Rivage hotel and casino.

HOLLOWAY: Well, I think the state of Biloxi is in great shape.

BOUDREAU: It was a feel-good celebration for Biloxi's elite, but keeping them honest, a five-minute drive away we find a part of Biloxi that is definitely not in great shape.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is wrong. You know? This is very wrong.

BOUDREAU: Consuela Swa (ph) still lives in one of the more than 10,000 FEMA trailers and mobile homes in Mississippi.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's what I feel a lot, it's just anger.

BOUDREAU: For Swa (ph), life in the trailers is an ordeal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It got ruined because the trailer sweats so bad.

BOUDREAU: There's mold...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The mold is starting to build up more now.

BOUDREAU: ... roaches and rats.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They just chew through the walls, the trailer.

BOUDREAU (on camera): They play in your daughter's bed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're always in her bed, yes.

BOUDREAU (voice-over): She's one of thousands of Gulf Coast residents who rented before Katrina struck. Community groups complain renters are being excluded from the nearly $5.5 billion in federal grants.

Here's why. Of all of that federal money, $3.1 billion has been set aside to assist homeowners, but only $426 million is for rental housing. And there's a catch. The money doesn't just flow in. Local governments must first ask for it so residents like Consuela Swa (ph) can get out of their trailers and into rental housing.

REP. GENE TAYLOR (D), MISSISSIPPI: None of the local governing authorities have stepped foot in my office saying, we want some money for housing, we want to put it right there. BOUDREAU: Congressman Gene Taylor says local governments in Biloxi and other towns don't seem to want low-cost housing or the people who live in it.

TAYLOR: In fact, what we're seeing some of is, "Not in my back yard."

BOUDREAU: With all that federal relief money just sitting there, Governor Haley Barbour got approval to use a lot of it for something else -- improving the harbor at Gulfport. Six hundred million dollars that was supposed to be spent on housing will now go to reviving the port. And some suspect it will help build new casinos.

(on camera): This is the port that everyone is talking about, the one that would benefit from the $600 million. We asked Governor Haley Barbour to sit down and talk to us about this, but his office says he's unavailable.

(voice-over): In a statement, Barbour said the money for the port would have a huge and beneficial impact in creating jobs. And in January he said he set aside $100 million for low-income housing. But critics argue that renters and low-income residents could have used that $600 million.

Kimberly Miller (ph) is with Oxfam, an international aid group working on the Gulf Coast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that forecloses forever the opportunity to use those funds in the way that is still needed.

BOUDREAU: The mayor of Biloxi says he feels the governor is spending the money wisely.

(on camera): Why spend the money on economic development when you still have people in FEMA trailers?

HOLLOWAY: Well, as I said, people living in FEMA trailers right now, a lot of them are not wanting to get out of the FEMA trailers.

BOUDREAU: Why wouldn't they want to get out of the FEMA trailers?

HOLLOWAY: Well, I don't know. I just know a lot of them don't.

BOUDREAU: You don't know why though? Is it because it's free?

HOLLOWAY: Because it's free.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOUDREAU: HUD insists it had no other choice but to allow Governor Haley Barbour to redirect the funds to the port of Gulfport. Again, a decision even the mayor of Biloxi supports.

HARRIS: Whoa. Abbie, does the mayor really believe that? He's suggesting here that many of the people living in these FEMA trailers just don't want to leave the trailers, the FEMA trailers we're talking about.

BOUDREAU: Well, that's what he said. He said because they're free, they don't necessarily want to leave. But that's not what we heard from all these different people. I mean, the people that we talked to said that they were desperate to get out.

There's just nowhere to go. That rent has more than doubled in these areas, and there are very few places available to move into. It's just a really difficult situation.

HARRIS: What a story. OK.

Abbie Boudreau, appreciate it. Thank you.

COLLINS: Want to get back to the situation at Heathrow Airport that we mentioned to you just a little while ago. Of course, in London, a very, very busy airport, for that matter.

CNN's Richard Quest is joining us now by phone. He is near Heathrow with a little bit more information.

So what's the deal here, Richard? We've been hearing about an arrest that's been made of a man who was running on the tarmac with a backpack.

VOICE OF RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. From what we understand, a man was arrested after breaching the perimeter fence at Heathrow Airport and then running on to the north runway. Heathrow has two runways, a northbound and a southbound runway.

This man had a backpack and was on the north runway. The runway had to be closed for a short while.

I just came through Heathrow Airport having landed from Los Angeles (INAUDIBLE) and there was no sign of any incident that I was able to see. The airport seemed to be operating normally. But, of course, with only two runways, when any one is closed for any length of time, then it's a serious matter.

And one other thing to note, tomorrow, the queen, Her Majesty, the Queen, will be at Heathrow Airport for the official opening of terminal five. So the fact that there could be a security breach so close to a royal (INAUDIBLE) on a main runway (INAUDIBLE) is staggering.

COLLINS: Yes, very. Boy, I wonder how they will handle that, because obviously when the queen goes anywhere, or at least in this country when the president goes anywhere, there are those advance teams that go in and make sure that everything is completely safe security-wise. So I imagine we will be watching a little bit more of this situation and the fallout from it.

CNN's Richard Quest coming to us just outside Heathrow Airport.

We'll keep our eye on this one for you. HARRIS: Well, planes grounded, flights canceled, and a record fine levied. We will have the latest on Southwest Airlines and its safety scandal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Bodies torn, souls challenged.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Is this really going to be my life? And then I was thinking about my son and how I cannot provide for him. And then I began thinking about prison (ph) myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Just one of thousands struggling to survive war. That's coming up in three minutes.

HARRIS: First, we want to tell you about some new information this morning about a second suspect arrested in the murder of University of North Carolina student body president Eve Carson.

Police say Lawrence Alvin Lovett is also being charged in connection with the January death of a graduate student at nearby Duke University. The 29-year-old Ph.D. engineering graduate -- or candidate -- was found shot to death on January 18th at his apartment in Durham.

Lovett now -- we should tell you he's just 17-years-old -- was arrested earlier today in Durham. Police say Lovett walked out of a house after holding off heavily-armed officers for four hours.

Police arrested the other suspect, 21-year-old Demario Atwater, yesterday at another Durham home. Both are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Carson. She was found shot to death, lying in a street about a mile from campus on March 5th.

COLLINS: Southwest Airlines could have all of its planes back in the air today. Dozens were pulled off line after discrepancies cropped up in safety inspection records.

CNN's Drew Griffin, who first broke the story, has this follow- up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was done out of an abundance of caution, says the airline. Forty-four of its Boeing 737s pulled for inspections. While not all were scheduled to fly Wednesday, the airline says there were minor interruptions and a few cancellations of flights.

The unexpected grounding comes as the airline is reviewing its maintenance inspections after being hit with the largest fine ever levied on an airline, $10.2 million. Last week, a CNN SIU investigation revealed the airline had knowingly flown thousands of flights and hundreds of thousands of passengers on aircraft that missed mandatory inspections. The FAA also removed one of its supervisors after he permitted Southwest to miss the inspection deadlines.

SCOTT BLOCH, FEDERAL OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL: We believe there is a significant potential that the FAA is allowing these practices, this practice of not complying with directives to occur nationally.

GRIFFIN: In addition to the instant grounding of planes, Southwest released a statement said three employees were placed on administrative leave, hired an outside consultant to review Southwest maintenance and is cooperating with the FAA to investigate and address any deficiencies in its maintenance controls.

Drew Griffin, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: 11:30 Eastern Time on this Thursday. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: And good morning to you everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

Several explosions across Iraq. Video just into CNN from the bloodiest attack: 15 people were killed, 65 wounded when a parked car bomb detonated in a busy commercial area to the north. Attacks near Kirkuk leave three dead. One was an Iraqi soldier when a suicide car bomb struck an army checkpoint. The other two people died at a bombing in an office of an anti-insurgent group. The daily bombings in Iraq have left many lost in an instant.

CNN's Arwa Damon shows us one family's struggle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This life literally is stopping all of his emotional and physical strength. Her husband, Murtada Adnan, a taxi driver was a proud man, doting husband and loving father. On October 26th, he dropped off a customer and stopped to chat with a friend. That's when the car bomb detonated.

MURTADA ADNAN, BOMBING VICTIM (through translator): I lost my consciousness for a bit. I was wounded. I was under the car. I saw my legs were severed, just flesh and skin. I was holding my legs bleeding.

DAMON: Ten others were wounded that day and two killed.

Since this war began, the estimates of wounded range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. According to Iraq's health ministry, 25% of the injured lost at least one limb. Murtada is just one of them. The impact is beyond just the physical.

ADNAN (through translator): I was alone in my room. No one was with me. I felt like a prisoner and I was thinking is this really going to be my life and then I was thinking about my son and how I could not provide for him and then I began thinking about poisoning hismelf.

DAMON: In the end it was thoughts of his three-year-old son that kept him from taking his own life. The toll on this family, like so many countless others, is unimaginable.

SHADA SOUBHI, WIFE OF BOMBING VICTIM (through translator): I want to work, but I can't really because who will stay with my husband, who will take him to my bathroom. My first concern every morning is my husband.

DAMON: Shada has had a tough life to say the least. Her brother was killed by gunman. She lost her father to poor health care in the last year. This is all she has left but circumstances have forced the man she relied upon to rely on her.

SOUBHI (through translator): I look at him like a baby with the needs of a baby. Nobody but me can help him. I cannot go to the markets because of him. I'm asking people for help because I cannot leave him alone in the house.

DAMON: Iraqi doctors say they couldn't provide the prosthetics Murtada needs. Struggling with feelings of helplessness, this family is pleading for help from anyone who will listen.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: In Afghanistan, the Taliban claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing that apparently targeted U.S. troops. Authorities say the bomber rammed his car into a convoy near Kabul's airport. Six Afghan civilians were killed, at least 18 wounded. The military says some U.S. troops were scratched up but were not seriously hurt.

HARRIS: He spent two decades on Capitol Hill fighting big business. Former Senator Howard Metzenbaum has died. During his time in the senate, the Ohio Democrat found big oil companies savings and loans and the insurance industry. His feisty style earned him the nickname Senator No. Metzenbaum died last night at his home near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He was 90.

COLLINS: Point, click, prescribe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The drug dealer came into our house. It was a total invasion into our home and that's what is so frightening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The growing risks of online prescription drug Web sites.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: High school hit list. Police are investigating the case of a student who wrote the names of several classmates on a hit list. A teacher at Seahawk High School in Massachusetts found the list. The 15-year-old girl who wrote it was taken out of school by her parents. The parents of all of the students were notified about the incident. No word on when or if the student will return to school.

HARRIS: Stay with me here. Charges possible, are you with me? In the bizarre case of a woman who sat on a toilet for so long that she actually became stuck to it. Stuck to the toilet. Where do we find these stories?

COLLINS: I hope there's no video.

HARRIS: Details from Adam Marshall of Kansas affiliate KWCH.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's disturbing that something like this could happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's tragic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was literally amazed and shocked.

ADAM MARSHALL, KWCH REPORTER: John and Sally live just feet away from this mobile home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were shocked. We didn't know that's where it happened.

MARSHALL: The Maacks know according to the sheriff's department late last month police received a call from the owner of this mobile home saying his girlfriend needed help. When police arrived, they found a 35-year-old woman stuck on the toilet but she wasn't tied or bound.

Instead, police say she sat on the toilet for what could have been for more than a month causing her muscle and legs to form around the seat. Investigators believe she hadn't left the bathroom for more than two years.

SALLY MAACK, NEIGHBOR: I've never even seen a female there.

MARSHALL: But the Maacks say they see the boyfriend often.

JOHN MAACK, NEIGHBOR: He seems to be a real nice person. He helps our elderly neighbor all the time.

MARSHALL: Now investigators wonder why it took two years for him to help out his girlfriend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He should have called for help much sooner. MARSHALL: The woman was on the toilet for so long, medics had to break off the toilet seat which was still attached to the woman and take her to the hospital. The Maacks are happy their neighbor is receiving medical care and say if they would have known, they would have helped.

MAACK: It's disturbing that something like this could happen.

MAACK: Even more so that we weren't aware of something like this. Where we could have done something sooner.

MARSHALL: Adam Marshall, KWCH 12, eyewitness news.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: OK. We have a better understanding of what's going on here. Investigators say the woman has mental problems and may have felt safe in the bathroom.

COLLINS: Taking on the youngsters and winning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel great about it. I don't know how they feel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Threatened probably. A star on her college tennis team. This 60-year-old has definitely got game.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Your daily dose of health news now. Kids getting high off common household items, inhaling or huffing as they call it. A disturbing new report says it's the drug of choice among tweens. We're talking about 12-year-old sniffing among other things, shoe polish, paint, or gases in cans of whipped cream.

The National Inhalant Prevention Coalition calls it a gateway to addiction and get this, health officials say that one out of every ten eighth graders have done it. Inhaling can cause permanent brain, liver or kidney damage and sudden sniffing death.

COLLINS: Point, click prescribe. Online prescription drug Web sites, one of the fastest growing online businesses and one of the easiest ways to get prescription drugs without going to the doctor as CNN's Deborah Feyerick explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ryan Haight was 18-years- old when he bought two powerful drugs, vicodin and morphine. He never saw a doctor or even a pharmacist. His mother says it happened in secret online. She was the one who found Ryan dead of an overdose.

FRANCINE HAIGHT, RYAN HAIGHT'S MOTHER: I remember that moment thinking oh my God. Why did he take these? How did he get these?

FEYERICK: Ryan, an athlete and honor student from southern Californian got the drugs illegally through the Internet from a seller in Texas.

HAIGHT: It's liked someone entered your house but you don't know they are there.

FEYERICK: Joseph Califano, an expert on addiction and drug abuse, has watched the number of advertisers for rogue online pharmacies skyrocket. Millions of pills are into the hands of people with no prescriptions.

JOSEPH CALIFANO, NATL. CTR. ON ADDITION SUBSTANCE ABUSE: You can get vicodin. You can get Ritalin. You can get xanax. You can get valium. It's like candy. The Internet is a candy store for 12 to 18- year-old kids.

FEYERICK: Experts say it's hard to put a figure on the actual number of teens buying drugs online but with an estimate six million Americans overall abusing prescription medications, the drug enforcement agency has stepped up efforts to shut down more than 100 of these rogue pharmacies.

JOHN GIBRIDE, SAC DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY: They operate in cyberspace. They operate with it taking an enormous amount of time to find the individuals operating the pharmacies and what country they happen to be operating in and how they receive payment.

FEYERICK: Because they operate in places like India, China, Mexico, Canada, even when they are found, it's easy for them to shut down and reappear under a new name making it almost impossible for parents like Ryan's mom to protect their children.

HAIGHT: The drug dealer came into our house. It was a total invasion into our home and that's what is so frightening.

FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Quickly want to show you some of these pictures that we are just getting in now. We've been telling you about the situation at Heathrow Airport in London. These are some still photos now that we can show you of what happened on one of the runways there. There are only two at Heathrow, one of the reasons why it's such a busy airport. One of those runways still partially closed down because there's been an arrest of a guy who was running across the tarmac with a backpack. Obviously he was very quickly apprehended.

We learned from CNN's Richard Quest who reported from us a while ago that he came in through the perimeter fence that usually and typically surrounds airports and certainly the tarmac area.

The interesting thing about this also according to Richard Quest, the queen is going to be traveling through Heathrow Airport tomorrow so clearly this is going to be a security situation looked at very, very closely. Some of the first still pictures coming into us now of that situation there, Heathrow Airport as we understand at least a portion of that runway still closed at this time.

HARRIS: Stocks opened sharply lower but have since bounced off those lows. Stephanie Elam is at the New York stock exchange with details.

Stephanie, good morning.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Tony.

We actually did see our numbers drop back below the triple digit losses but we're back there again now so off the lows of the session. Stocks are in the red as investors look at the plan to ease the credit crisis. Stocks were moving up higher initially but concerns it won't be enough to help the struggling credit market are having socks sell- off now.

Retail sales also weighing on stocks. In February, with soaring food and gasoline prices pinching household budgets, consumer were tightening their spending and retail sales unexpectedly lost ground. It's the latest sign the economy is either already in a recession or heading for one.

Let's look at the numbers now. Dow on the downside by 118 points, 11,993. NASDAQ dropping off about 1 percent at this time as well.

Looking for a safe haven from these unsteady markets, many investors are turning to commodities. That would be things like gold and oil. The price of gold topped $1,000 an ounce for the first time and oil prices continued to set records soaring near $111 a barrel earlier in the session before easing ever so slightly, Tony.

HARRIS: Stephanie, you know all of these measures recently taking for the credit market so far seemingly not enough to sustain a real rally here.

ELAM: That's true. You are definitely on point with that one. There's no new plans that have done anything so far but still new plans keep coming fast and furious and the latest are aimed at preventing this from happening again.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, he's proposing new rules that would assess all of the major players who had a hand in the recent meltdown. That includes the lenders who made mortgage loans, the Wall Street firms who turned those loans into securities and then the credit rating firms who vouched for securities and the regulators who are supposed to make sure no one is cheating.

Now, clearly the system has failed before and Paulson says the rules need to keep up with a mortgage market which is more complex now than it was in years past. They are trying to do something to make sure the system that we see so far does not happen again. HARRIS: Stephanie Elam in for Susan Lisovicz. As you see, the Dow down 102 points so far. We're watching the numbers for you. Stephanie, appreciate it. Thank you.

ELAM: Thanks, Tony.

COLLINS: Turmoil at the courthouse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's one of the most honest politicians in the state of Kentucky. You know he's not lying because he never talks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: No respect for his honor, the mayor. Banned from the Kentucky courthouse.

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COLLINS: Let's look at some of the most clicked on videos on CNN.com. The "New York Times" identifies Kristen, the prostitute hired by New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.

It's all over, Skittles. That's what an eighth grade Connecticut boy said when he got suspended for buying candy at school.

OK. In Iowa, a woman loves Spongebob so much, she has a room filled with collectibles.

Can you find other favorites maybe? Go to CNN.com/mostpopular. Don't forget. You can take us with you anywhere on your iPhone with the daily podcast.

HARRIS: A bit of political intrigue in a small Kentucky community. The mayor banned from his unofficial courthouse. That's Junior, the mayor, a Labrador retriever. He fetched more than 3,000 votes in 2004 but Boon County health department doesn't give a hoot about the vote. Junior is banned from the courthouse which is actually the general store in Rabbit Hill. The ban upsetting some of his constituents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's the mayor. You can't keep -- he's the mayor of Rabbit Hill. How can you keep him out of the courthouse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's one of the most honest politicians in the state of Kentucky. You know he's not lying because he never talks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Junior doesn't just sit around scratching all day. You need to know this. He is also the mascot for the Northern Kentucky Women's Crisis Center pet protection program. So there.

COLLINS: Maybe he should run for governor of New York.

The hotshot on the Grand Canyon University tennis team, old enough to be her teammates' grandmother.

Mike Warner of affiliate KPNX serves this one up for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREG PRUDHOMME, GRAND CANYON UNIV. TENNIS COACH: My job was to turn the program around and to try to get wins on the board and get them back to where they were and she fits the bill.

MIKE WARNER, KPNX REPORTER: It's not that unusual for new college coaches to go after the best players but what if that player is 60 years old.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Greg got a 60-year-old woman to play. I was like ha ha you guys. That's really funny.

WARNER: It's no joke. 60-year-old Sheila Johnson is not only on Grand Canyon University's tennis team, she has the most wins.

SHEILA JOHNSON, TENNIS PLAYER: Seven singles and six doubles matches.

WARNER: The coach Greg Prudhomme needed players for the struggling tennis program at GCU so he turned to Johnson for help.

PRUDHOMME: Played division I at ASU for three years and plays all the national events in her age group and she travels the country. You can't ask for much more than that.

WARNER: A retired algebra teacher, Johnson accepted a scholarship to join the team. The catch is she has to take a couple classes in order to qualify.

JOHNSON: The first day they looked at me and one of them called me ma'am. You know, they have accepted me really well.

WARNER: Not only has Johnson's presence brought the team together, she's beating players 40 years younger.

JOHNSON: I feel great about it. I dent know how they feel.

PRUDHOMME: Tennis' catch phrase has always been tennis is a sport for a lifetime. This is a perfect situation to show that tennis is a sport for a lifetime.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Tennis and golf. Love that. In high school in the '60s, Sheila Johnson won three straight championships. Good for her.

CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now. Big stories developing today.

HARRIS: "BALLOT BOWL" is next. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins. See you tomorrow, everybody.

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