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Remains of a Kidnapped and Murdered Soldier Return from Iraq; Deadly Mattress Factory Fire in Casablanca; Shark Attack Aftermath
Aired April 26, 2008 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We start with this developing story out of Morocco. They are reporting a fire in Casablanca that killed dozens of factory workers. The reported death toll is 55. The blaze engulfed a four-story mattress factory.
Joining us now, Ahmed Benchemsi. Ahmed, give me an idea this mattress factory, one that about 100 people work at. How significant is this factory?
VOICE OF AHMED BENCHEMSI: Well, it's not really significant. There are bigger factories in Casablanca. But the fire at the mattress factory and the Moroccan news agency reported that the blaze took hold on the ground floor and quickly engulfed the entire four story building because of the highly flammable chemical products stored there. So there were 150 workers inside the factory, mostly women. It seems like they were locked inside and the security exit doors were closed. We still don't know why. We know that workers live with their families just across the factory. As soon as the fire started, the neighbors came and try to free their relatives, the factory workers. But the exit door, the security exit doors were closed and there were fences on the windows, which is of course very dangerous and forbidden, precisely which happened.
WHITFIELD: So, we're talking about 150 people working at the time. Many of whom were trapped and that's in part why you've got a death toll of over 50 people.
BENCHEMSI: That's it. 55. Up to now, we counted 55 victims. Helicopters patrolling the sky and police agents and fire men are still exploring the building. And we can't tell for now if there are not more dead bodies inside the factory. Because there is a lot of materials filling the place and it will take a while to clear all of this.
WHITFIELD: And a while too to figure out what exactly what sparked this place.
BENCHEMSI: Excuse me.
WHITFIELD: And it will take a while as well to figure out how this fire started, right?
BENCHEMSI: Yes, we still think it's accidental. But the question is not why it started, it's why it developed so quickly and why the exit doors were closed. The latest news is that the owner and his son are identified and are being interrogated right now or will be very soon by the police to understand how such a huge failure in security happened and to determine whether the legal security measures were applied or not applied. I think that the owners of the factory, anyway, are in trouble. Right now, the Minister of Interior just left one hour ago on the fire squad and the fire station has been closed to the public. And a number of security agencies now, people talk about it's just like what happens on a terrorist attack scene.
WHITFIELD: It sounds like a terrible.
BENCHEMSI: Excuse me.
WHITFIELD: It is it is indeed a terrible tragedy. And it sounds as though whatever error may have taken place with the fire, certainly there was another layer of errors to take place that so many people would die being trapped. Ahmed Benchemsi, thank you so much for that update. We'll check back with you and try to bring any new developments as well.
WHITFIELD: In the meantime, here in this country. The Reverend Al Sharpton is urging backers to shut down New York City after Friday's verdict in the latest police shooting case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We say fight back!
WHITFIELD: Early this afternoon several hundred people responded to Sharpton's call to push back. They are denouncing the acquittals of three police detectives in the 2006 killing of Sean Bell, an unarmed black man killed on his wedding day. Bell's fiance spoke at an earlier rally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLE PAULTRE BELL, SEAN BELL'S FIANCE: I'm still trying to - because it's not over. It's far from over. For every protest and every march and rally, I'm going to be right up front.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: After a judge read yesterday's verdict, people outside the court house vented their anger but disbursed a short time later. The acquitted detectives still face a probe by the Justice Department and a police investigation as well. Still these detectives expressed relief about the verdict and sadness about the killing.
DET. MARC COOPER, NEW YORK POLICE: I would like to say sorry to the Bell family for the tragedy.
WHITFIELD: Well, in this verdict, state Supreme Court justice Arthur Cooperman did not say the shooting was justified but rather the prosecutors failed to prove otherwise.
Well, now to the southern California coast where beaches are still closed and the search is on for a killer shark. A possible great white killed a triathlete swimmer yesterday. Our Ted Rowlands is tracking the story from Solana Beach. TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, still no sign of this great white shark. They have been up all during the day with helicopters looking for any sign of shark activity or this shark in particular, not because they want to search for it because they hunt it down by any stretch of the imagination, they just want people to be safe. Meanwhile today at the beach here where the body of Dr. Dave Martin was brought up. It has been an emotional scene. We saw it last night and again today people bringing flowers and just staring out really into the ocean and remembering a guy that really was a major part of this community. He was a retired veterinarian. He was out swimming with a group of other triathletes, but a shark attacked from beneath grabbed him, pulled him up into the air, according to eye witnesses and brought him down underneath the water. He was able to get free and scream for help when he came up. His fellow swimmers were able to bring him on shore but they were unable to keep him alive in time to get him to the hospital. He was pronounced dead at this life guard station where we are now in Solana Beach. Meanwhile, the beaches are closed in an 8-mile area here in southern California. People being urged to stay out of the water while they continue to look for this great white shark.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID OTT, SOLANA BEACH PUBLIC SAFETY DIR.: We're really not there to capture a shark or kill a shark or anything like that. We're there as we're flying over, if we see any large dark shadows in the water and if there's any swimmers or surfers nearby, we will advise them through PAs to move out the water and go to the beach. That's all it is as precautionary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: And sheriff's deputies say that for the most part people are heeding the advice. We have seen people swimming, Fredricka, but for the most part people just being cautious and staying on the beach in the sand and staying out of the water, at least for now.
WHITFIELD: Yes. It sounds like a good idea. All right. Thanks so much, Ted Rowlands.
All right the democratic party's nomination is at stake and it is a dead heat between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the Hoosier state. Right now, CNN 's latest poll of polls shows Indiana is at a political standoff. Both candidates getting 45% of the potential voters in the May 6th primary and both now furiously campaigning to sway the 10% who say they haven't made up their minds.
Well, if she wins, she lives to campaign for another day. But if Senator Hillary Clinton loses, a week from Tuesday in Indiana, it just might be over. Two term governor and present day senator Evan Bayh stumped with her as she talked pocketbook politics with Hoosier state voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe strongly that we've got to do everything we can to make sure we have a strong and vibrant auto industry in America because so many jobs are connected to it. And for me, that means recognizing that there's enough responsibility to go around. The fact that the auto industry has so many legacy cost like health care and pension benefits that other countries don't impose on any particular business means that the government has to do more to take those costs off of the backs of the auto companies. And I'm also promoting green bonds, green vehicle bonds that would give a revenue stream to the company so that they could retool their plants to actually move more quickly towards the kind of higher gas mileage cars that we need to have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And Indiana's May 6th primary offers Senator Barack Obama a chance to rebound from his loss in Pennsylvania and to land a potential knockout blow to the Clinton campaign. Stumping today in Anderson, Obama played out to middle class voters caught in the undertow of stagflation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People are working harder and harder just to get by. At the same time that the economy has expanded over the last 70 years, the average family income has gone down a thousand dollars. First economic expansion in history that that ever happened. And obviously now that we're moving in a recession, families are doing even worse. And this is at the time when gas prices are going up. At the time when grocery prices are going up, at the time when millions are at risk of losing their homes because nobody was overseeing the mortgage lending business and the deceptive loans that were being begin to families.
WHITFIELD: With the upcoming primary so close and critical, you would think the last thing Senator Obama would want is his controversial former pastor popping up again. But Reverend Jeremiah Wright did this week. How might it play for Obama? Here now is CNN's chief national correspondent John King.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a friendship turned political liability and that both are black men is like it or now very much part of the political picture.
MERLE BLACK, EMORY UNIVERSITY: It goes to the character and judgment of Barack Obama. The contradiction is Obama presents himself as someone who has transcended race but clearly this is a church in which race was very central to the theology.
REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT, TRINITY UNITED CHUCH OF CHRIST: The culture controlled by rich white people.
KING: Senator Obama's biggest political challenge at the moment is making inroads among rural and working class whites, not exactly the best time for Pastor Wright to speak out against those taking issue with some of his sermons. WRIGHT: I think they want to communicate that I am unpatriotic, that I am un-American, and that I am filled with hate in speech, that I have a cult at Trinity United Church of Christ. And by the way, guess who goes to his church, hint hint, hint.
KING: Reverend Wright also shrugged off an Obama speech in which the democratic candidate denounced some of his long time pastor's sermons.
WRIGHT: He is a politician. I'm a pastor. We speak to two different audiences and he says what he has to say as a politician.
KING: Wright say Obama never embraced or repeated his controversial sermons but some Obama critics see political gold.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For 20 years, Barack Obama sat in his pew listening to his pastor.
WRIGHT: And then wants us to sing god bless America. No, no, no. Not god bless America, god [ bleep ] America.
KING: That North Carolina party ad is aimed at hurting local democrats who have endorsed Obama and its stoking doubts about Obama himself. John McCain calls it out of bounds but the state party ignored his request to scrap it.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All I can do is it is visible way as possible disassociate myself from that kind of campaigning and again, reiterate that's not the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.
KING: Riding on McCain's bus Friday former GOP candidate and one time pastor Mike Huckabee cautioned against political guilt by association.
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think I'll be a little bit presumptuous to ever assume that just because the pastor says something that everybody in the pew degrees with, that rarely is the case.
KING: While these two leading republicans say Obama should not be held accountable for Wright's statements others see a major problem. Emery University's Merle Black has written extensively on the role of race in politics. And says if Obama is the democratic nominee, his friendship will cause a lot of discomfort in places critical to winning the presidency.
BLACK: Across rural and the heartland of the United States, you know many areas, specially rural small town America. They really couldn't understand why someone would be a member of that church for 20 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And later this hour, more on the Wright and Obama controversy. We'll talk with the political beat reporters who cover the Indiana and North Carolina capital coming up right here in the NEWSROOM.
Our new numbers now for gas prices coming up and they are not very pretty.
And a potential solution to the issue, old school horse power.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Ouch. That's what everybody feels when they go to the gas station because gas prices nationwide are rising faster than you can actually fill up your tank. Today marks the 11th straight day for those of you who are counting, of these high prices. The national average for a gallon of regular gas coming in at a painful $3.59. Here's a look at how the nation is dealing with these record prices.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK COOPER, CONSUMER FED. OF AMERICA: We are now in the midst of the greatest gasoline price run up in the history of the nation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it sucks. It's killing me here.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: The price for a gallon of regular gasoline along the New Jersey turnpike jumped 22 cents to $3.39 a gallon. That's still well below the national average though. It's 3.17. It was almost free.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god. Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd comment that if it ever reached $4 a gallon, I was going to do something about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe we should ride bicycles or something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm shocked. I can't believe it. 5.40, this must be the most expensive gas in the country. Is it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When is the last time you saw $115 on gas?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, AMERICAN MORNING CORRESPONDENT: A lot of folks canceled vacation, sold off their big trucks and some companies in the Bay area are now running shuttles to pick up, take their employees to work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone is sitting back and complaining instead of trying to do something about it and get off their high horses, get on a real horse.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Oh, we all wish we could get on a horse or ride into work or school or whatever. That would be fun.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I don't.
WHITFIELD: Josh is like, no way. You may be surprised but all that money you are spending on gas doesn't actually end up in the pockets of big oil companies. And that's what Josh is here to talk about. You know, you're not here to talk about the alternatives like getting on your horse, getting on your bike.
LEVS: It's fun for a day but in the end it costs more. You got to feed the horse, you got to take care of the horse. You got loss productivity from all the time it takes --
WHITFIELD: And then your smelly all the time.
LEVS: I know. So, we don't recommend it.
WHITFIELD: I use to ran a lot of horses but you will get smelly.
LEVS: All right. We'll finish that off air.
WHITFIELD: OK.
LEVS: I got to hear that one. So, where's the dollar go, right? That's how we're going to break it down now.
WHITFIELD: Yes. That was the question.
LEVS: Yes, because I want to show you where your money goes. Take a look at these. These are the latest figures, we just put them together yesterday afternoon after crude close to the week. Right now, every dollar you spend on average nationwide, 73 cents goes straight to crude oil. That is historic. I'll tell you more about it in a second. And then about 7% goes to refining costs and profits. That is where the big oil companies can make a lot of their money. Then, you got about 8% for distribution and marketing. That's where local gas stations can make money though but often they don't. And finally about 11% in taxes. So, that right there, folks, that is where your gas dollars are going.
Now, I mentioned that the crude oil amount is historic. Take a look at this. I know it's a lot of numbers. I'm going to break it down real simple. I'm tracing every month over the past year, how much of your gas dollar went to crude oil. A year ago, May 2007, 46 cents. Look at that, Fred, it jumped all the way --
WHITFIELD: What happened? What changed?
LEVS: Price of crude oil mostly. And it keeps going and also all the other parts have had to respond.
WHITFIELD: Yes. It has been a real major spike. Of course if there's a spike in per barrel, then obviously you're going to feel the spike too.
LEVS: Exactly. I mean what can happen in fact is you might find gas stations actually making a lot less, so their percentage will shrink. Because they just want you to keep buying the stuff at all. It's the percentage that goes to crude oil that keep growing. But from that jump, 46 up to 73 in one year. The way you can think of it is if you spend a 100 bucks on gasoline, 75, about three quarters of that is going straight to crude oil. That's where it's going.
WHITFIELD: Oh, that really does hurt. Yes and it's just hard for folks to depart. I mean, you need your vehicles and everyone has weird work schedules and school schedules. So it's kind of hard to, you know, car pool and all that good stuff.
LEVS: And we as a nation use a ton of it.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEVS: Let's show this last slide. 142 billion gallons a year. Sometimes you're going to see it in terms of barrels a year. But nobody goes to the store and buy a barrel of gasoline. So, I broke it into gallons, it's 142 billion gallons of gasoline.
WHITFIELD: Collectively Americans.
LEVS: Collectively used Americans used last year. We don't know what the impact of rising prices will be this year, but we certainly are seeing a lot of people still buying it despite the prices. So, it could be around there again.
WHITFIELD: Wow. That's extraordinary. Food for thought.
LEVS: You got it. Food for thought.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEVS: Let's talk about those horses later on.
WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. We'll talk about those horses. OK. Anyway, thanks Josh.
With the prices well over $3 and $4 in some places, oh, boy, it's not surprising that hundreds of people, these folks right here, they lined up at a Philadelphia gas station for, I know it says there 3.70 et cetera. Really it was for 76 cents a gallon. The Philadelphia 76ers are to think, the team made the NBA playoffs for the first time in three years and the station decided slashing its prices was a nice way to celebrate. Unfortunately, only about 100 cars were able to top off their tanks during this 76 minutes special for 76 cents a gallon. Whew, a lot of 76s.
Well, the FBI searches for a kidnapped pilot. Plus a floor collapses during a rock concert. Find out where in the NEWSROOM.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This Fortune 500 leader is an immigrant who put his PhD studies on hold to become the youngest CEO on the list. Who is this force in the dot com world? Find out after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is the young internet mogul who put his education on hold. 39-year-old Jerry Yang was studying electrical engineering at Stanford when he helped start yahoo! Yang was born in Taiwan and moved to the U.S. when he was 10 years old. And although his mother was an English teacher he only knew one English word. Shoe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: A horrifying scene at the church in Canada. About a thousand teenagers were attending a Christian rock concert when part of the floor collapses. Many in the crowd fell more than a dozen feet. At least 39 people were hurt. Three of them seriously. Eyewitnesses say a lighting system above the stage also fell on the crowd. Police are now investigating.
And in Nevada, some rattled residents, a 4.7 magnitude quake hit the Reno area last night followed by more than 50 aftershocks. The initial quake knocked items off store shelves, as you can see there, cracked walls and homes and caused some high rises to actually sway. Shocked residents pulled out the cameras and then snapped pictures like this of the damage so far. No reports of major incidents or injuries. The quake was centered six miles west of Reno. In the same area that saw a cluster of more than 100 quakes the day before.
Some pretty extreme weather across the U.S.. In Wisconsin, cars flipped, trees toppled, homes severely damaged. All of that the aftermath of at least one tornado that touched down yesterday. Officials say one camper was tossed through the air but amazingly no one was hurt.
Another big cleanup job in Kansas. A powerful hail storm caused major damage in the town of Seldon. The storm's force was so great the hail punched holes in the roof of an elementary school. Cars and homes were also damaged.
And just take a look at these pictures, spring time in the Dakotas, the complete opposite. A snowstorm created treacherous driving conditions in South Dakota yesterday and that's as of today dumped heavy snow on parts of North Dakota and Minnesota as well. Jacqui, I know you love that snow given that's your part of the country.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, I love my home state, Fredricka, but I truly --
WHITFIELD: But you don't miss that.
JERAS: Can I say, yes. Days like these, not so much.
WHITFIELD: I know.
JERAS: I know you love the snow.
WHITFIELD: It's rough.
JERAS: But the winds are whipping 30 to 40 miles per hour.
WHITFIELD: You can't enjoy it. It is miserable.
JERAS: It really is miserable and you know, just to add insult to injury, this is late even for Minnesota, even for Wisconsin. You normally, say for the twin cities, for example, my home area, you know, April second is the average last date that you've got an inch of snow on the ground. And there are plenty of you out there at this hour that have two or more inches of snow on the ground. The good news is it is starting to taper off a little bit this time in terms of the snowfall. But the winds still whipping. So, a little bit of blow and drifting along with visibility problems and the wind chills are down there in the 20s.
Now, this is a little bit more my style at this hour with the showers and thunderstorms and warmer weather. That sunshine has been coming out, heating up the atmosphere, making things a little bit more unstable. So, we've got a lot of pop up showers and thunderstorms in the lower Mississippi River valley. Big bummer for you folks in New Orleans trying to enjoy the jazz festival, on going there today. Billy Joel takes the stage tonight. Showers and thunderstorms across the Atlantic comes strongly up there in Cobb county, just outside the perimeter and then we have some thunderstorms starting to line up in interior parts of the northeast. While it's not problematic for the big cities right now, it's starting to block things up at the airport for some of those east-west routes. So, be aware of that and you could see quite a bit of lightning. Just be aware of that if you're planning out to see the Billy Joel, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: I know you wish you were there.
JERAS: I would not mind that.
WHITFIELD: Well, if it's not too late, I guess you could still catch a flight and be there in time given they are an hour behind, east coast time. No? It's fun to think about.
JERAS: Nice thought.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks, Jacqui. Well, get ready. Because here it comes, bathing suit season. Well, baring down and the mere mention of that makes you a little queasy. Well, this week's help for her might be the cure you're looking for. Here now is medical correspondent Judy Fortin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDY FORTIN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Days are getting warmer, trees are getting greener and women all across the country can be heard doing this.
Yes, it's bathing suit season again. Warm weather proof that our new year's resolution didn't stick. But don't despair personal trainer Alyte Piedra has some tips.
ALYTE PIEDRA, PERSONAL TRAINER: there's definitely some last minute things that you can do only even if you have a week or two before going to the beach.
FORTIN: First some bathing suit readiness lifestyle changes.
PIEDRA: Cut back on refined carbs, things like white bread, white pasta, white rice, cut back or better yet cut those out. And another thing that you can do is cut back on alcohol, sugar and salt. Alcohol: (a) provides a lot of unnecessary calories; and (b) makes you retain water. So does sodium and the sugar. It's best to eat five or six small meals a day. You want to space them out every two to four hours.
FORTIN: Now on the second part of the boot camp, the workout.
PIEDRA: One of the best exercises that you can do to get your body bathing suit ready is called the squat thrust. It not only works your lower body, your upper body but it also burns lots of calories. To get your abs ready for bathing suit season, you want to focus on bicycle crunches because they work your upper and the lower part of your abdominal muscles but also your obliques, which are the side of your abdominal muscle. The one part of your body that you cannot hide at the beach are your arms. So, to work your chest, your arms and your shoulders, push-ups are a great way to target your upper body area. Another part of your body that you can not hide at the beach are your legs. A great lower body exercise for your legs, your inner thighs, your outer thighs and your gluts are lunches.
FORTIN: And finally, if all else fails, enlist a best friend, just go undercover with a coverall. Judy Fortin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Well the body of an American soldier kidnapped and killed in Iraq makes an emotional home coming today.
And an unusual tool to bring rapists to justice giving an anonymity and time to traumatized victims.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: He was kidnapped nearly four years ago in Iraq and executed. Now Sergeant Matt Maupin's body comes back to Ohio. A tip from Iraqis led U.S. troops to his body last month. His casket was taken by procession today to Union Township Civic Center it will be a public memorial tomorrow at Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark.
Where is Robert Wiles? The pilot from Florida has been missing for nearly a month now. The FBI is saying he might have been kidnapped and that the family got a ransom note but the rest is still a mystery.
Our Susan Candiotti is on the case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Robert Wiles dropped out of sight April 1 just after closing up shop at National Flight Services, an aircraft maintenance company at a regional airport in Lakeland, Florida.
THOMAS WILES, FATHER: We have not heard from Robert since then. And nobody in our family has heard from him. CANDIOTTI: Two days later his parents received a ransom note, it demanded money and made a threat and signed in a quote "unique" way. The FBI refuses to disclose anything more.
PAMELA WILES, MOTHER: We're worried about Robert. We love Robert and we are terribly concerned about his safety.
CANDIOTTI: The FBI says the parents tried to contact whoever sent the note but never heard back.
DAVID COUVERTIER, FBI: They've done everything they could do. They tried and followed the directions and instructions provided to them. For some reason, the individual, again or individuals involved here have not responded back to them.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): The FBI says it didn't disclose the kidnapping until now more than three weeks because they were trying to track down leads in Florida, Kentucky and Ohio and Tennessee. Even Thailand. But the well has run dry. Robert Wiles parents struggle on what to say.
T. WILES: Robert was a -...
P. WILES: Is a.
T. WILES: ... is in business management development. He is a pilot.
CANDIOTTI: The 26-year-old can fly multiengine aircraft and ran his father's company in Lakeland. Its Web site sites other locations in Ohio, where it's headquartered, Texas and Toronto.
P. WILES: We want him to know his family loves him and cares about him and want him to come home.
CANDIOTTI: Wiles is described as an avid fisherman and diver. His parents are offering a ten thousand dollars reward in hopes of generating new leads.
P. WILES: Robert loves life, he loves nature and believes in God.
CANDIOTTI: Ransom kidnappings are rare. Not even the FBI could provide statistics. And without evidence to the contrary, agents say Wiles' disappearance is being treated as the real deal. Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: One day later, it's still a mystery why an 18-wheeler barreled down an exit ramp and into a train station in Chicago. The crash left two people dead and 11 critically wounded. A city transportation official says police now have surveillance tape of the crash. The truck's 51-year-old driver spent time in the hospital and was later taken into custody but has not been charged. Police say alcohol was not involved.
Also in Chicago, heavily armed SWAT teams are being deployed tonight to try to preserve order. Months of spiraling violence capped by 36 shootings last weekend alone that killed nine people. The police will focus on the south and west sides of the city.
Some sexual assault victims are uneasy about going to police right away. That delay can mean crucial evidence fades away. But a new method is giving those victims an option. Two Maryland counties are using it right now. Lisa Desjardins asked one sexual assault victim if it would help her?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EMILY, RAPE VICTIM: No means no.
LISA DESJARDINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She asked us to only use her first name, Emily.
CROWD: No more violence. No more rape.
DESJARDINS: A 22-year-old now marching, holding candles and backing a new idea to stop what happened to her.
EMILY: I was raped in my bedroom as I was trying to get ready for school.
DESJARDINS: Emily tells us in her pain and confusion she waited a week to report the rape. Too late to gather physical evidence. A critical and common delay.
JENNIFER POLLIT-HILL, MARYLAND COALITION AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT: These are folks in the height of trauma.
DESJARDINS: Jennifer Pollit-Hill of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault shows the idea she hopes will bring in rape evidence earlier. A so-called Jane Doe kit.
POLLIT-HILL: This is a standard rape evidence collection kit.
DESJARDINS: Normally the kits identify the victim for police. But in two Maryland counties rape victims have the option of submitting the evidence kit anonymously as Jane Does. The result will be saved in case the victim wants to report the crime later. Under reporting is a chronic issue. According to the latest FBI figures, about 92,000 rapes are reported each year. But the Justice Department also says 60 percent of rapes are never reported at all.
EMILY: "Let your tears shine."
DESJARDINS: Emily, who is a poet and advocate now, did report her rape but it was too late to gather strong evidence. She, like others, questioned how many people will anonymously submit rape evidence to hold. But with research shows most rapists are serial rapists Emily is using a loud voice to urge women who have been attacked to consider a rape kit, even if they do it silently.
EMILY: You've just gone through something horrible. Do you want someone else to be a victim as well? DESJARDINS: Lisa Desjardins, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, the stakes are high and the numbers close. That's why Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are both in Indiana right now. And you can bet they'll be back in North Carolina as well. We'll talk with pundits from both states next in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. More now on presidential politics. On the Democratic side it is a dead heat. We mentioned that earlier and reiterating it now because it's so important. Reiterating the fact between Senator Clinton and Obama, they both apparently are getting 45 percent of those who are likely to vote for that nominee. Come May 6th in Indiana and both now seriously campaigning to sway that 10 percent who say they haven't yet decided. So no rest this weekend for either candidate. Both are working it in Indiana right now. That state and North Carolina hold important primaries in little more than a week, May 6th.
Just how important are these places and what are voters looking for? Let's turn to two people who know the states well. Political columnist Matthew Tully of the "Indianapolis Star", good to see you.
MATTHEW TULLY, "INDIANAPOLIS STAR": Hello.
WHITFIELD: And Rob Christensen son of the "Raleigh News and Observer." Good to see you as well.
ROB CHRISTENSEN, "RALEIGH NEWS AND OBSERVER": Sure.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, let's talk about the neck and neck race. I wonder whether, Rob, in your region, are folks particularly excited about this race and has that made an impact on voter registration?
CHRISTENSEN: Well, it has a tremendous impact because North Carolina has not been a player in Democratic presidential politics in a generation. You know, before the presidential race heated up and we knew it was going to be a hot race in North Carolina, we were expected somewhere between 700 and 800,000 Democrats to vote May 6th in the primary. Now we're expecting 1.2 to 1.5 million, almost doubling the number of people.
WHITFIELD: And Matthew, are you seeing in Indiana people are feeling like, wow, we matter, May 6th, right around the corner, and this could be the race that helps determine who the Democratic nominee is?
MATTHEW TULLY, "INDIANAPOLIS STAR": Absolutely. It's been two generations here since we've had a say. It's been since 1968 that a primary in Indiana mattered. People are very excited and registrations are through the roof. They are not only expecting to break the record for turnout in primaries but expecting to shatter it.
WHITFIELD: And what then are the issues that they want to hear from these two candidates today, they are crisscrossing the states not just today but over the next couple days, Matthew. Is there any particular that the constituents there say we want to hear these candidates hammer home a point on XYZ.
TULLY: Absolutely. It's very simple, jobs, gas prices, the war, of course, Obama supporters really like the talk about change, Clinton supporters talk about experience, but really it's jobs. The state has struggled for quite some time. We've lot a lot of manufacturing jobs in recent decades and recent years and people want to hear about that.
WHITFIELD: OK. Particularly for you in North Carolina in the issue of race, because it is certainly now become an issue but your neighbors in South Carolina said, we don't like there are these discussions about Obama clinching the black vote and Hillary Clinton clinching the white vote the we don't like the fact it seems like one demographic matters more than the other. Is that what voters are saying in North Carolina. Is race an issue, an area that has divided voters?
CHRISTENSEN: It really hasn't divided voters yet because we just haven't that kind of polarization that we had in South Carolina. Bill Clinton hasn't made the controversial remarks, there has been sort of a muzzle on him here in North Carolina.
So there has been that kind of polarization that we saw there. But, obviously race is a factor, that's the difference between North Carolina where Obama seems to have a pretty good lead, and Indiana. About a third of the Democratic primary voters who will go to the polls are African Americans. We've seen this movie before in North Carolina, we've had two Senate races with an African American, Harvey Gant, former Charlotte mayor and architect, he defeated in 1990 and 1996 Democratic moderates putting together the same sort of coalition that Obama is now putting together in the state.
WHITFIELD: And so, Matthew, what about the issue of a former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. It seems as though folks had moved beyond that but now that issue has risen to the surface once again, particularly because of his PBS interview. Are the folks in Indiana saying anything? Asking Obama perhaps any questions as he crisscrosses the state, particularly today he was in Anderson?
TULLY: Our recent poll showed about one fifth of the state Democratic voters thought it was an issue and were worried about it. He does have to address it, he has to address that and the small town comments because Indiana while we have a lot of small towns, even our bigger cities ...
WHITFIELD: They want to hear more of an explanation, not satisfied with all he said about the issue of Jeremiah Wright or the bitter comments.
TULLY: I think the bitter comments are more of what I've heard about people do want to hear him explain what he is talking about, prove that he is kind of one of them. Indiana is full of small towns but even the big cities feel like small towns, Indianapolis our state's largest city, in a lot of ways, it's kinds of a small town at heart. So that comment really hit home and he's worked pretty hard while he's been here to talk about small towns and be seen as someone reaching out to small towns. He had John Mellencamp sing "Small Town" in a concert last week. So that's an issue he knows he has to work on.
WHITFIELD: And Rob, you get the last word on the issue of whether the Democratic race has gotten particularly ugly or some small potatoes according to some of your voters and your readers.
CHRISTENSEN: There's some concern about it obviously because they've been watching the news and so forth. But it really hasn't played out in North Carolina. The they have been pretty up beat, hasn't been that kind of sniping, but clearly there is some weariness about some of the voters over all of back and forth we've seen played out across the country. No question about it.
WHITFIELD: All right. Rob Christensen, political columnist for the "News and Observer" joining us from Raleigh, North Carolina.
Matthew Tully, political columnist for the "Indianapolis Star" joining us from Indianapolis. Thanks so much you guys.
TULLY: Thank you.
CHRISTENSEN: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Now, I know a lot of readers are underscoring the fact that they feel like they matter this May 6th because these are the races that could determine the rest of the race at least for the Democrats, thanks so much for your time.
And we've got game when it comes to covering the presidential campaign, CNN's BALLOT BOWL quarterbacked by Jim Acosta live from Anderson, Indiana joining us at the top of the 5:00 hour right here on CNN. Keep in mind CNN is the place for the 2008 presidential campaign. Next up Indiana, North Carolina as we've mentioned a week from this Tuesday. May 6th, right around the corner right here on CNN, your home for politics.
And because of soaring prices, millions of the world's poor are teetering on the brink of a food crisis. UN officials are pleading for the international community to step up and help. In an impact your world report, CNN's David McKenzie looks at some of the people most at risk.
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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kennedy Ombuki was a proud farmer, now he's just a bitter man. After December's disputed election tribal rivals attacked his farm during the night and burned his crops and destroyed the family home. He normally harvests enough to feed 25 families. He's now forced to live in a camp dependent on handouts.
KENNEDY OMBUKI, DISPLACED FARMER: I have my land, you know, all of the basic necessities and I come to stay here. It's like I am a beggar now. MCKENZIE: Kenya's reserves grain are running low. Put together a national crisis with global increases in food prices and to aid agencies are getting squeezed.
(on camera): This is ground zero for food air. Seven million people depend on food coming from here in Mombasa port. With food prices rising, and people getting pushed off their land, aid agencies are struggling to keep up.
(voice-over): The World Food Program is asking urgently for $500 million in the next few weeks. Otherwise it will be forced to reduce rations to the poor who already have little to eat.
PETER SMERDON, WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: Now with rising food prices if looks like the numbers will go up and unless something is done to help the people before they fall over the edge.
MCKENZIE: Kennedy and his family will only climb back if he can rebuild his farm and plant again. Until then, they are caught in a vicious circle, unable to feed themselves but relying on handout that's may run out. David McKenzie, CNN, Mombasa.
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WHITFIELD: And to find out how the food crisis is affecting communities around the world, go to impact your world, that page at cnn.com/impact. You can go in depth on the story and learn how you can get involved.
From chart topper to headline fixture, is Grammy winner singer Amy Winehouse in trouble with the law again?
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WHITFIELD: A drag, more trouble for "Rehab" singer Amy Winehouse. British police let her off with a warning today for smacking a man this week. The singer's erratic behavior has many wondering if she's effectively throwing away her stellar career.
Here's our Emily Chang.
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EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amy Winehouse is in trouble again. Fans and paparazzi swarmed as she turned herself into a London police station on suspicion of assault. It happened at the end of a long night out. In a statement her reps say she admitted to quote "slapping a man with an open hand."
It's the latest in a series of bouts with the law for Winehouse who sings about her problems with addiction in the music video for her biggest hit.
LAURA ATKINSON, "HEAT MAGAZINE": I think the recent weeks have been more of a spiral towards something like this happening.
CHANG: All of this bad publicity seemed to have little effect on her soaring career.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the Grammy goes to, Amy Winehouse.
CHANG: She looked genuinely shocked as she wrapped up five Grammies this year. And just this week she was named one of Britain's richest pop stars with an estimated $20 million fortune.
But the latest headlines beg the question, is Amy throwing it all away? Earlier this year, this home video surfaced. She says I've just taken six valium then lights a glass pipe and smokes it. Not clear what she's inhaling.
She went to rehab for at least the second time. It came as little surprise. Winehouse's wild late night exploits are often splashed across the British tabloid. Her husband is currently in jail on his own charges of assault. Winehouse couldn't go to his latest court appearance because she was heading to jail herself.
(on camera): Winehouse was released from this police station after being held overnight. Her reps say she wasn't charged but given a warning and also say she was fully cooperative and apologized for the incident. Emily Chang, CNN, London.
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WHITFIELD: I'm Fredricka. Up next in the BALLOT BOWL, Democratic candidates come out swinging in Indiana and John McCain goes where few Republicans have gone.
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