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Woman and Four Children Found Dead in Iowa City; To Date, Iraq War has Claimed 4,000 U.S. Lives; Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Indicted on Felony Charges

Aired March 24, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Kyra Phillips. She is on assignment in Baghdad.

LEMON: It is 2:00 here in the East, and our top story's about a big city mayor. A defiant Detroit mayor vows he will be fully exonerated. Kwame Kilpatrick spoke today right after being charged with a number of felony accounts. Among them, perjury, obstruction of justice, and misconduct in office. All concerned accusations he lied in court about an affair and the firing of police officers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KWAME KILPATRICK (D), MAYOR OF DETROIT: I'm deeply disappointed in the prosecutor's decision. I can't say that I am surprised, however. This has been a very flawed process from the very beginning. And I believe that there will be a full airing of all the facts in this case that result in my full and complete vindication of all that has been laid before you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The mayor wasn't the only one charged today. Also charged, the mayor's former chief of staff, Christine Beatty. In court last summer, both of them denied having an affair a few years earlier, but sexually explicit text messages published by "The Detroit Free Press" in January appear to indicate otherwise. In announcing the 12-count indictment today, the county prosecutor said the city tried to block her investigation at "every bend and every turn."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYM WORTHY, WAYNE COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Some have suggested that the issues in this investigation are personal or private. Our investigation has clearly shown that public dollars were used, people's lives were ruined, the justice system was severely mocked, and the public trust trampled on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The prosecutor says she expects the mayor and Beatty to turn themselves in by tomorrow morning. For now, Kilpatrick says he will continue to do the city's business. And coming up in just a little bit, we want to get the inside information on this story from someone who's been covering it from the very beginning. Our Betty Nguyen will be talking to Paul Anger. He is an editor with "The Detroit Free Press" -- Betty.

NGUYEN: And we want to take you right now straight to the newsroom, and T.J. Holmes, and the latest on a developing story.

What are you working, T.J.?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, horrible to have to bring this story to folks today about a woman and four children found dead in Iowa City, Iowa. Found dead at that home you're seeing there.

We don't know how they were killed. Police aren't releasing that. Also don't know the ages of the children. But right now, police are looking for a man, Steven Sueppel, the man who also lived at that home. He is now missing. And the vehicle that's usually parked at that home missing as well.

An interesting turn of events here is that just some nine miles away from that home, there was a fiery crash on a highway involving a vehicle that matched the description of the van that is missing. However, because of the fiery nature of that crash, police have been unable to identify whether or not it is, in fact, the same vehicle, and if the occupant of that vehicle who was killed in the crash is, in fact, the person they are looking for, Steven Sueppel.

But, again, a woman and four children killed at a home here. Just a strange story. Also, the man they are looking for, Betty, had been indicted on some charges of money laundering and embezzlement, and was set to go to trial next month.

So police thinking that maybe this was a family that should have been kept an eye on, and that people might have been danger in here. But right now it appears one woman, four children dead at that home, and they're looking for the man who lived there -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Just a terrible story there.

Thank you, T.J. We do appreciate it though -- Don.

LEMON: It's another big day, Betty, for the Dow. The turnaround that started last week received renewed life today at this hour.

The Big Board, you can see it's up. The Dow up 228 points, due in large part to a possible boon for Bear Stearns' stock. Also today, existing home sales post an unexpected gain, but the average prices plunge -- plunges, I should say.

And the price of a gallon of gas is up seven cents over just two weeks ago. The nationwide average now $3.26 a gallon and could be headed higher due to rising demand.

The Fed is on board with the sweetened deal for Bear Stearns. You'll recall the government bank helped facilitate the sale of the reeling investment firm by offering cheap credit to the buyer for up to $30 billion in losses. Now, that was when the sale price was $2 a share, and now buyer JPMorgan has suddenly upped its offer to $10 a share, and the Fed says that's just fine.

The economy, it's "ISSUE #1." And we'll bring you all the latest financial news all week. It start's at noon Eastern here on CNN. It's information you need on the mortgage meltdown, on the credit crunch, and so much more. "ISSUE #1, 1200 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

NGUYEN: Four thousand, you are hearing that number a lot today. Well, it's the number of Americans how have died in the five-year-old fight for Iraq, and it was just reached yesterday. No doubt it is a large number. But on its own, it remains just that, a number.

And today we want to go beyond the statistics to the streets of Iraq, to the streets of America, to the realities of war overseas, and to the battles at home. So, let's take you first to Baghdad and our Kyra Phillips.

Four thousand, a number a lot of people never wanted to see the U.S. reach.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Betty, I remember sitting in the newsroom and talking about the number 1,000. I remember looking in the local newspaper, in "The New York Times," and all these various newspapers, where they showed the picture of each one of those men and women and told their names, a little bit about them, and how they all lost their lives in this war.

Now we're at 4,000. Let's just step away from the number and try and humanize each one of those individuals. I wish I could name all 4,000 of them and tell you a little bit about each one of them, but they're fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, friends, loved ones, and they all died in a conflict that is extremely controversial very unpopular among Iraqis and Americans.

I asked General David Petraeus, the head of all military action here in Iraq, on the anniversary, the fifth anniversary of this war, what did he think about those death numbers? And this is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You talk about deaths being down, attacks on U.S. troops being down. Even the president mentioned that in his speech. But still, the streets are so dangerous.

Iraqis tell me every day, "Yes, I'm trying to go to work. I'm trying to go to the grocery store. I'm trying to get to school. But I'm afraid of the explosions. I'm afraid that I'm going to be killed when I'm leaving my house and going to my destination."

GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL FORCES IN IRAQ: Well, interestingly, the week through last Friday actually saw a reduction in the overall level of attacks throughout Iraq. But clearly, there have been also in recent weeks some of these headline- grabbing attacks, sensational attacks, if you will, and a tragic one in particular, the suicide vest attack in Karbala. Again, al Qaeda is intent on re-igniting sectarian violence. They have tried to do this all along. We're not sure exactly why.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And al Qaeda is not just killing U.S. troops, but al Qaeda is also killing Iraqi civilians.

You know, since this war began, the numbers have been from 80,000 Iraqis to more than 200,000 Iraqis. It's very hard here in a country, a war-torn country, to keep track of the numbers. Much different from, like, the United States and U.S. soldiers, where they have badge numbers and there's more accountability. So the numbers are vast on both sides, Betty, difficult for not only the Iraqi people, but also the U.S. soldiers.

NGUYEN: Let me ask you this, Kyra. We've already made that five-year mark. We've now entered into the 4,000 lives lost, according to Americans there in Iraq.

What do the peoples on the streets, what do the Iraqis say, the people that you spoke with at Baghdad University, what do they say about how this is going to end, if and when it's going to end?

PHILLIPS: And, yes, I went to Baghdad University, talked to students there, talked to professors there. Yesterday was Easter Sunday. I connected with a group of Iraqi Christians, spent time with one family in particular, and all of them recognize that security is just something they're not going to have right now, but they have no choice.

They have to keep moving forward. They don't have the money to leave. So, they stay here. They try to work. They try to go to school. They try to do everything they can to make their life better. But it happens within a very dangerous realm, something that has become a normal part of their lives.

NGUYEN: All right.

CNN's Kyra Phillips joining us live from Baghdad today. We do appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, the time spent and lives lost in Iraq, how do they compare with other wars the U.S. has waged? U.S. involvement in World War I lasted from 1917 to 1918, leaving 116,516 Americans dead. The next world war involved a five-year U.S. commitment and cost 405,399 lives. The Korean war, from 1950 to 1953, 36,574 Americans dead. And Vietnam, 1964 to 1973, 58,209 deaths. The first Gulf War, 1990 to '91, 382 American fatalities.

LEMON: Two bomb attacks in Pakistan destroyed nearly 40 fuel trucks and injured some 100 people. Those trucks were destined for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan, but they never got past a Customs station on the Pakistani border. We're hearing the bombs were planted in the station's parking lot. Pakistani authorities took nine people in for questioning, including parking lot attendants and border guards. The explosions happened last night. Fuel was still spilling from the burned-out wreckage today.

NGUYEN: Well, here's something that you won't see on TV in China. Watch what happens when the head of Beijing's Olympic organizing committee -- see it right there -- gives a speech at the flame-lighting ceremony in Greece. Protesters got around security, held up a banner that shows the Olympic rings as handcuffs, urging a boycott of the games because of China's human rights record and its crackdown in Tibet -- there it is again.

Police took three French protesters into custody. Now, this happened on live television, but The Associated Press reports state TV in China cut away so that Chinese viewers missed the drama.

But the ceremony, it did go on. Actresses playing the roles of priestesses lit the Olympic flame from the sun. That flame now begins an 85,000-mile relay across the world, ending in Beijing August 8 for the games.

LEMON: Caught up in sex allegations. Detroit's mayor, his former chief of staff now face felony charges. We'll hear from the editor of the newspaper that broke the story.

NGUYEN: And Easter services in a Muslim land. Our Kyra Phillips will join us from Baghdad with a look at how Iraqi Christians celebrate their faith as they confront life in a war zone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, you know, we had been telling you about the new troubles for Detroit's mayor. And earlier today, Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, were charged with numerous felony counts. Those include perjury and obstruction of justice. And in part, though, it's related to accusations that they lied in court about having an affair.

Well, let's delve into this, because Paul Anger is the editor of "The Detroit Free Press," which has been following this for many months now.

And we do appreciate you joining us today, Paul. Let me let you take a listen to the prosecutor and what she had to say today in light of these charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WORTHY: Our investigation has clearly shown that public dollars were used, people's lives were ruined, the justice system was severely mocked, and the public trust trampled on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Paul, so as we listen to that, and then we see later on that Kilpatrick and Beatty were hit with felony charges including perjury, conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice, misconduct in office, your paper did an in-depth investigation into this. Are you surprised at all about these charges?

PAUL ANGER, EDITOR, "DETROIT FREE PRESS": No, we're not surprised at all. The county prosecutor had a lot to work with. And what we did we take some satisfaction in, but there's no joy.

There's no joy in Detroit. There was no joy with the county prosecutor. But what the prosecutor did after looking at everything was more or less throw the book at the mayor and the former chief of staff. He got eight counts and she got seven. There's no joy in Detroit right now.

But what the county prosecutor said basically was it's not about the sex, it's about the lying under oath. It's about the cover-up that happened afterwards. Here are the charges. We think they're serious. And everybody better take them seriously.

NGUYEN: Well, technically, Kwame Kilpatrick is still the mayor. And as we heard from his attorney a little bit earlier today, Dan Webb, he's urging the mayor not to step down, saying that he would be punished prematurely if he did that before going to court.

I want you to take a listen to what the mayor had to say today in his press conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KILPATRICK: I approach this process with the faith that I have in the system, what I've been taught about this country and this legal process, and the constitutional rights of all Americans since I was born. I believe in it. And I believe that there will be a full airing of all the facts in this case that result in my full and complete vindication of all that has been laid before you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Well, Paul, your paper has been following this very, very closely. Help our viewers understand how we got to this point.

ANGER: Well, we got to this point by the mayor basically saying that he wants to remain in office. This mayor has given no indication that he is going to leave office, not for the good of Detroit, not for the good of the citizens, not because of any actions that he's taken.

And what seems to be playing out now is they're going to defend on relatively narrow points of law, and that the mayor's going to try to hold on to his job. Whether the city can move forward while all that is playing out over the weeks, months, maybe years to come...

NGUYEN: And this is a mayor who used taxpayer dollars to pay off a lawsuit that involved these text messages, correct? ANGER: Well, the -- the -- yes. The lawsuit was filed by former cops who said they were punished, and a jury agreed based on what they knew about the mayor or were about to find out about his conduct. And the city of Detroit, with the settlement and the fees and the payouts, has paid over $9 million to this point. It's money that the city could have better used.

NGUYEN: And when we talk about where this goes from here, we also want to understand where the city is, because the mayor talked a lot today in his news conference about wanting the city to get back on track, to get the economics of it, you know, just moving again, and all these other things that he wanted to do while still in office. But I have to ask you, what reaction are you getting from the people of Detroit?

ANGER: Well, everybody who lives, works in Detroit and loves Detroit would root for that. Certainly we all root for that. And I think that Detroit's, though, are not fooled. They see that this is a tragedy. It's sad not just for the mayor, but for the city.

Common sense tells you that when the mayor is trying to hang on the way he is, there are public relations strategy issues to deal with, legal issues to deal with. Can the business of the city and a fractured community really move forward in a meaningful way? We all hope that it does. Common sense tells us that that may not happen.

NGUYEN: All right. Paul Anger, with "The Detroit Free Press." In fact, he's the editor of that paper.

Paul, we do appreciate your time today. Thank you.

ANGER: It's my pleasure. Thank you.

LEMON: It may be decades old, but a school kid's science project is the talk of the town for an Alaskan fishing village. We'll tell you who found the long overdue message in a bottle in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Leading our political ticker, the economy is issue No. 1 today on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania. Senator Hillary Clinton has three stops there today, including this one in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. During a speech this morning in Philadelphia, she called for tougher measures to help the country through its economic troubles.

For Senator Barack Obama, a break from the campaign trail. He's on a family vacation in the Virgin Islands. Obama heads back to the campaign trail on Wednesday.

New Mexico governor, Bill Richardson, is catching some political heat from Hillary Clinton supporters after he threw his support to Barack Obama. Clinton adviser and CNN political analyst, James Carville, said Richardson's Good Friday endorsement, "came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver."

Here's Richardson's response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: Well, I'm not going to get in the gutter like that. And you know, that's typical of many of the people around us, Senator Clinton. They think they have a sense of entitlement to the Presidency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Richardson, who dropped out of the Democratic race earlier, served in former President Bill Clinton's cabinet. He said, despite his endorsement of Obama, he's still very loyal to the Clintons.

Republican Senator and Iraq war critic, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, says he's not ready to endorse John McCain's White House bid. Hagel says he and McCain are good friends but they have major disagreements over the war. Among other things, Hagel says he's not sure what McCain meant when he said the United States would stay in Iraq for 100 years, if necessary.

Well, he's out of prison on parole and now he's hoping for a seat in Congress. Assisted suicide advocate, Jack Kevorkian, announced today he is running as an independent in a district in suburban Detroit. Very interesting. It is known -- he is known as Dr. Death.

The 79-year-old Kevorkian was released on parole last year after more than eight years behind bars. He was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of a man with Lou Gehrig's disease.

All the latest campaign news is available at your fingertips. Go to CNNPolitics.com. We also have analysis from the best political team on television. That and more, CNNPolitics.com.

NGUYEN: Well the cost of war; you can define it with numbers, or you can define it with faces, lives, faith. We're choosing to do the latter. As the American death toll in Iraq grows to 4,000, and as the much higher Iraqi toll seems to keep growing by the day, our Kyra Phillips spend Easter Sunday in Baghdad, where faith doesn't come easy, but it does remain strong.

So what did you find there on Easter Sunday, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: It was so ironic that here we were talking about 4,000 deaths among U.S. soldiers, five years into this war, Betty, and it's on Easter Sunday where Christians are celebrating the life of Jesus Christ, talking about life and death, and trying to focus on new beginnings and the start of spring.

I tell you what, it was a tough Easter for both Americans and Iraqis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): This is no ordinary Easter Sunday. It's a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, in a war zone, where Christians in a Muslim country not only honor the life of Jesus, but thank him for protecting their own.

For the Tammas family, their faith sustains them.

"Because I have a deep faith in Jesus, I decided to come to church and not let the violence stop me. We shouldn't be afraid of the terrorists because the strongest thing in a human is faith."

And back at home, there was something else that wasn't going to stop Salwa.

(on-camera): So you couldn't find white eggs? You only found brown eggs?

"I searched everywhere and could only find brown eggs, so we couldn't color them."

(voice-over): This is Easter Sunday, Iraqi style.

(on-camera): Do you think about the life and death and Christ and here you're dealing with life and death in a war zone.

"Of course. This is our life here in Iraq. At any moment we could die. So we have to believe in life and death, just like Jesus taught us."

(voice-over): Death that came knocking at this family's door three times. This is from the car bomb that blew up just outside their window.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the car.

PHILLIPS (on-screen): That's the car?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: So you saw the dead bodies and all the destruction.

"Yes, I did. Seven bodies."

"But today is a day of forgiveness, joy, we should live in harmony. We as Iraqis should be able to live together without discrimination and love each other."

(voice-over): Tests of faith, commitment to their religion. The Tammas family gives thanks for yet one more Easter Sunday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And Betty, a lot of Christian chaplains holding various services throughout Iraq for the U.S. servicemen and women. And something that he said during one of the services yesterday on Easter Sunday, when talking about the deaths of Iraqis and Americans. He said, "Why does it seem that the good guys are always the first ones to fall?" That definitely stuck with me on Easter Sunday.

NGUYEN: Absolutely. And you know, as people look to their faith to get them through these trying times, I have to ask you, with that faith, do they ever feel safe?

PHILLIPS: You know, what's interesting is the Iraqi people are some of the most faithful people I've ever met, no matter how bad their circumstance is. I talked to another family that used to own their own home, lived in a nice neighborhood and now they are living in a Hawashin, this abandoned area because they were forced out by the militias.

And even in that situation, I said, how do you get through all of this? It's always n'chala (ph), God willing, God will protect us. It's unbelievable just to see how faithful they are and how they practice that faith and they risk their lives to go to church, whether it's the mosque or a Christian church like you saw in that piece.

NGUYEN: And sometimes when all else is gone, all you have is faith. Kyra Phillips, joining us live from Baghdad.

PHILLIPS: Very much so.

NGUYEN: We do thank you.

LEMON: There's a new audiotape from al Qaeda's deputy leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri; calls for strikes on Jewish and American interests as revenge for Israel's recent attacks of Palestinian militants in Gaza. The CIA is pretty sure it's really his voice on the tape.

One expert on al Qaeda's communications says the sense of urgency in the message and it's coming so soon after a message from Osama bin Laden should cause some concern. Bin Laden called for jihad to free Palestinian territories. A U.S. intelligence official says it doesn't look like there's any credible threat information in Al-Zawahiri's message.

Two bomb attacks in Pakistan destroyed nearly 40 fuel trucks and injured nearly some 100 people. Those trucks were destined for U.S. led troops in Afghanistan, but they never got past the customs station on the Pakistani border.

We're hearing the bombs were planted in the station's parking lot. Pakistani authorities took nine people in for questioning, including parking lot attendants and border guards. The explosions happened last night. Fuel was still spilling from the burned-out wreckage today.

Pakistan's new prime minister will be sworn in tomorrow by the man whose policies once jailed him. Yousaf Raza Gilani was easily elected in a parliamentary vote. Gilani was a longtime supporter of opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in December. In 2001 he received a five-year sentence for alleged corruption from a controversial court created by President Pervez Musharraf. LEMON: A member of a revolutionary terror group is back behind bars. Find out why prison officials revoked Sara Jane Olson's parole in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Freedom was brief for a 1970s radical, Sara Jane Olson. She is back behind bars today. The former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army was arrested at L.A.X. on Friday.

She was paroled last Monday after serving six years. But prison officials rechecked the math and now say Olson has another year to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAWN CHAPMAN HOLLEY, OLSON'S ATTORNEY: It's outrageous that they would, in fact, revoke her parole and take her back to prison when she's done nothing but be in full compliance with all of the directives of the Department of Corrections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Olson's attorney blames pressure from the Los Angeles Police Officers Union for parole being revoked in this case. One of Olson's crimes -- placing pipe bombs under police cars.

NGUYEN: Well, a smoky mess in western Arkansas. Take a look at these pictures. Fire and a series of explosions destroyed the Cargill meat-packing plant in Boonville, yesterday. Firefighters had to let the fire burn itself out because of dangers from ammonia gas.

No injuries were reported, but the fire forced nearly 200 people to flee their homes. The plant employed 800 people in a town of 4,000.

LEMON: Tragedy on the high seas. A commercial fishing boat sinks in the frigid waters about 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Most of the 47 crew members of the Alaska Ranger managed to scramble into life rafts. They were rescued by the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard is searching for one person still missing, and four others, including the captain, are dead. Relatives are just now getting word.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY ROMAN, UNCLE DIED IN SHIP SINKING: My one uncle had called his family, down in San Diego, and told them that they pulled my uncle from the boat. And -- he was dead. Ultimately, he died how he wanted to. If you're a fisherman, you want to die out at sea. You live to fish. This is -- if you're a true fisherman this is how you want to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: When the boat sank, Coast Guard rescuers say winds were strong and the waves were up to eight feet.

NGUYEN: Goodness.

Well, the rains stopped days ago, but Chad Myers, it has not. Still causing problems.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It has and -- it's still bad in many areas. Water going up, water going down, it just depends on where you are in your creek or stream.

The map behind me -- I backed up the rainfall accumulation for seven days. Basically, the rain started today seven days ago. So here you go on Monday. And -- here's the yellow area -- Arkansas and Missouri that got hit so hard.

Well, right there is Randolph County. Now here are some pictures from Randolph County. And, in fact, the Black River, around Randolph County, this is from our affiliate KARK. Yes, you would think live bait would be appropriate around the creek when it's nice and low, but probably kind of an oxymoron at this point in time.

From our affiliate there -- this river is going down now, but although it will still be in a moderate flood stage for the next several days. There you see what would have been a pavilion in that area.

This is the Black River at Pocahontas, where we are now. And we are just on to the line, this is the stream gauge, just on to the line getting below major flood back into moderate flood. And it doesn't really matter how much of a flood -- it's wet in your house, it's a major flood to you.

At least the rain is over. We're not going to see any more rain in these flooded zones in that flooded area for -- I would say, probably -- the next at least four day. There may be a few scattered showers a little bit farther to the south of there, but other than that, no.

Snow across the upper Midwest. Maybe two to four inches across Minneapolis and north of Chicago. Here's the radar accumulation -- what it's forecasting for the next 48 hours. A few dots in there appear in four to six, north of Grand Rapids, that's above Big rapids, almost Kalamazoo, picking up two to four as well, and then down in to Flint.

It did snow quite a bit into Toledo. Looks like you guys will be just far enough to the south to be out of this little snow event. And -- look at this sunshine everywhere even for tomorrow. All the way up and down the East coast. Great flying conditions, very few airport delays for a getaway Monday.

A lot of people get out and they get back on Friday, well, usually one of these days is a bad one. Friday wasn't too pretty. But today at least, so far so good.

NGUYEN: Hey, I like that good news. If you could only bring it on more often.

Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: I try. But they don't like us to do good news, otherwise there's nothing to talk about.

NGUYEN: This is true. OK. Thank you.

MYERS: All right.

LEMON: All I knew was that it was 60s -- in the 60s in chilly.

NGYUEN: Well, I believe it was snowing in parts of --

Chad, is that right -- snowing in parts of Atlanta this morning?

MYERS: Yes, absolutely.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Up in Marietta.

MYERS: Absolutely, yes.

NGUYEN: Hard to believe.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Oh, well. It can't be as bad as in the Midwest.

NGUYEN: That's true. Do not complain.

LEMON: Yes, do not complain at all. We are very blessed here.

OK, he has spent the career as a whistleblower. First as an undercover cop, now as an NBA referee. We'll take a look at Bob Delaney's amazing life story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, let's look at -- there's the Dow, up 245 points. It doesn't appear to be going in the negative direction today, which is good news. Full check of the markets with our Susan Lisovicz in just a bit.

Rising prices, many of you become better bargain hunters. That's good news for some stores.

And CNN's Ed Lavandera takes a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eighty-one thirty.

ED LAVENDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bad economy? Not inside this Costco store. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two thousand, three hundred and thirty- eight dollars and fifteen cents.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three fifty, forty-five.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two sixty-eight, forty-three.

NAK-HE EVANS, COSTCO WAREHOUSE MANAGER: We don't think that it's affecting us at all. Our members seem to be coming in and buying from us.

LAVENDERA: Sales at Costco have increased 12 percent in the first half of this fiscal year. It's where penny-pinching shoppers find bargains.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're getting value for a dollar spent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't have to go to the grocery store quite as often and it's just cheaper.

LAVENDERA: Wholesale clubs like Costco and Sam's are a few of the silver linings in this struggling economy.

BRIT BEEMER, CEO, AMERICA'S RESEARCH GROUP: They are the only place consumers can now go to save money both on food and fuel, and those are the two things consumers are most concerned about because of rising prices.

LAVENDERA (on-camera): The handful of retail companies that are actually making money these days, like Costco, are doing so against an economic backdrop that looks less than rosy. The International Council of Shopping Centers predicts that in 2008, more than 5,700 retail stores will close nationwide, the highest number since 2004.

(voice-over): But it's not just deep discount stores doing well. Some luxury retailers, like Tiffany's, are still cashing in. Analysts say the key to success in these times is having just the right product to sell. That's why you see stores like Anthropologie and its unique items, J. Crew's high fashion look at lower costs, drug stores pumping out prescriptions --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How is my baby doing?

LAVENDERA: -- and even PetSmart reporting growing sales.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think this lab is going to want to eat any less just because the economy's slowing down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How can you let it affect them? You know, they rely on you for their stability and their food. They have to eat.

BEEMER: Every retailer should have three words stamped on their forehead -- it's merchandising, stupid. Because, if you got the right merchandising, consumers will find you no matter where you are. And I think that's why there's always star performers even in tough economic times.

LAVENDERA: If you're making money, you must feel like one of the lucky ones.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, South Lake, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, listen to this. He spent a career as a whistleblower, first as an undercover cop and now as an NBA referee. We're going to take a closer look at Bob Delaney's amazing life story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: From the mean streets to the hardwood, one undercover cop turned in his badge for a career as a different kind of enforcer.

CNN's Larry Smith has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bob Delaney has spent two careers as a whistleblower. Years before the referee ever stepped on an NBA court, he walked in these footsteps as an undercover New Jersey state trooper, infiltrating the mob.

BOB DELANEY, NBA REFEREE: We made up our own little crew and started this trucking company that we thought we were going to end organized crime in six months.

SMITH: He was 23, in uniform just a year and a half, when his resignation was faked and Bob Delaney became Bobby Covert.

DELANEY: The legitimate business went on through the front. And if we had some stolen loads coming in, we'd bring to it the back, off- load it, put it onto the clean trucks and take it away. If you can get a piece of this business and you've got 20 of these going around the state of New Jersey, you take a piece from all 20 and that's how you're gathering your money.

SMITH: Project Alpha was supposed to be a six-month assignment, it turned into nearly three years of Bobby Covert wearing a wire daily.

DELANEY: I would say a year-and-a-half before I felt fully comfortable. I thought I had cop marked right on my forehead. I thought everybody knew what I was doing.

SMITH: Only after the first year, and by joining with a key mob informant, were inroads made into major crime families. But constantly surrounded by mobsters as the operation moved to a larger trucking company, Delaney felt his freedom shrinking.

DELANEY: This was desolate down here, you know, just the swamplands in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty and you're just on a dead-end street. The longer it goes, the more you peel away of Bob Delaney and the more you become Bobby Covert.

Your morality changes, your language changes; everything about you changes.

Bobby, how can you do it to us? How can you do it to me? I'm your friend. I could tell you what everybody had on their feet the rest of the day, because I couldn't pick my head up. That was the guilt that came. Then I realized I was closer to them than I had thought.

SMITH: He had a hard time looking at himself, as well, only guilt and paranoia stared back.

DELANEY: You have to come to a realization that -- I was doing my job. I didn't do anything wrong. But you have to work through that.

SMITH (on-camera): How long?

DELANEY: It took years -- years upon years.

SMITH (voice-over): His way back came on the court, trying to get back in shape, moonlighting as a high school ref.

DELANEY: It was probably wanting to get back to something that was a lot calmer in my life. And those days were calm, either in high school or playing college ball. I mean, basketball was like a saving grace, that was therapy for me.

Hand check, no shot. No!

DELANEY: There's emotion and crisis and chaos at times that you have to be the person who is in control. And I'm drawn to that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well you might think -- check this out. You might think this chihuahua is begging for a treat, but would you be wrong. This pooch sits and stays. There we go. We're going to give it away. I'm not going to tell you what he's doing. You'll figure it out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right, we want to talk more about the mortgage meltdown. In fact, this time about mortgage fraud. Let's take you to CNN's Gerri Willis who has latest on this.

Give us the lowdown on this latest case.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Yes, this is fascinating. The U.S. attorney in Sacramento, California, announcing in conjunction with the FBI and the IRS the indictment of 19 individuals in an elaborate and wide-ranging case in which folks facing foreclosure were taken to the cleaners pretty much.

Here is the details. It was called "Operation Home Wrecker," which investigated a scam that was going on for two years ending in 2006. These individuals who are being indicted -- the charges are mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. We're finding that these criminals essentially, if the indictment is true, recruited straw buyers to lure people into trying to sell their home for a short period of time in order to bypass foreclosure.

Now, as you probably know, mortgage fraud is one of the fastest- growing crimes in the country. In fact, the FBI has described it as the fastest-growing crime in the country among white-collar workers. And this is what we're seeing over and over again. This is just the tip of the iceberg as we've seen with the FBI investigating many of these cases.

Essentially people who are having the most problems with their mortgage out there, people who are desperate to help, there are criminals out there who target them and make them offers that can't possibly be true. But these people are so under pressure that they succumb and get involved with these people.

Now we see an indictment of 19 people here -- and a criminal ring that really stretched from coast to coast, involving people in California, Texas, Florida, the East coast as well, New Jersey, Connecticut, you name it. A fascinating case that I'm sure we'll be following the details of as they are made available.

But, again, again, this being announced in Sacramento, California, this afternoon. That "Operation Home Wrecker" jointly announced by the U.S. attorney in Sacramento, the FBI and the IRS. Just another fallout, another shoe to fall here in the mortgage meltdown as we see criminals taking advantage of people who are in such trouble with their mortgages. Really a sad state of affairs.

NGUYEN: That is. And during desperate times, people really want to do whatever they can to save their homes and then they fall into traps like this. All right.

WILLIS: Exactly. If it sounds too good to be true...

NGUYEN: It is. Yes.

WILLIS: That's right.

NGUYEN: Gerri Willis, joining us live. Thank you, Gerri.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

LEMON: Also, getting close to the top of the hour here, almost 3:00 here in the East and we have more breaking news.

This time our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, is going to bring it to us.

Kelli, we have been talking all day long about reaching the 4,000 mark in Iraq with the number of deaths and now we're finding out about two contractors. KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. U.S. authorities there in Iraq have recovered remains that have been identified as two American contractors who worked there.

The victims have been identified as Ronald Withrow (ph) of Roaring Springs, Texas, who worked for JPI Worldwide when he was kidnapped on January 5, 2007. The other man, John Roy Young (ph) of Kansas City, Missouri, who worked for Crescent Security Group when he was kidnapped on November 16th of 2006.

The FBI's Office of Victim Assistance says that has been in contact with the victims families since the men were kidnapped. They have been notified of the recovery of these remains. This is obviously an open investigation. The FBI is working with its partners in the Hostage Working Group in Iraq. They are going to continue to aggressively investigate every available lead, they say, to identify, apprehend and bring to justice those responsible for this criminal act, Don.

LEMON: All right. Justice correspondent, Kelli Arena -- Kelli, thank you very much for that report.

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