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A Deadly Attack Inside a Tennessee Church; Barack Obama's Note to God, Published; Rising Death Toll in Turkey from Weekend Bombings; Female Bombers on the Attack; Rich, Famous, and Facing Foreclosure; The New Face of Beijing
Aired July 28, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's on the rundown.
What drove a man to open fire inside a church? Police may fill in the blanks soon. A live briefing expected this morning from Knoxville. We'll have it for you.
Plus, panic in Iraq. Suicide bombers and a gunman killing dozens of people across two cities.
2,000 homes at risk. An out-of-control fire raging in Yosemite National Park. California burning, in the NEWSROOM.
Faith and fury. Children performing a play inside their church. A gunman exploding in a deadly rampage.
Today, investigators in Knoxville, Tennessee trying to provide answers in this bizarre attack.
CNN's Rusty Dornin has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When parishioners at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church first heard the crack of gunfire, some thought it might be part of the children's play they were watching. But confusion gave way to panic as many church members dove under pews or tried to flee as a man continued to fire a 12-page shotgun into the congregation.
STEVE DREVIK, CHURCH MEMBER: Everyone is in the fellowship hall. They identified people who actually, you know, didn't hit the deck, and people who saw the shooter in a little more detail, police are taking statements from them.
DORNIN: Witnesses say when a white male first appeared at the door, he fired a shotgun point-blank at one church member and then began firing randomly.
According to witnesses, the suspect, now identified as 58-year- old Jim Adkisson paused to reload his gun. Then he was tackled by two church members.
Less than five minutes after the 911 call came in, Knoxville police had the suspect in custody. Reportedly, Adkisson never aimed at the children. But parishioners say some were traumatized by the incident.
KATIE WILSON, TENN. VALLEY UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH: Some of them that were probably confused about it, that weren't sure, they were a little scared. So they just kind of -- and then there were some who were crying and kind of going back and forth not sure because they were worried about their families.
DORNIN: Investigators say the timeline of the shooting may get a boost from several people who were videotaping the children's play.
CHIEF STERLING OWEN, KNOXVILLE POLICE: It's part of what we're reviewing to see exactly what it does show. For those of you who had some experience in this, you know, oftentimes you believe that a video camera captures more than it actually does, but we're going to review each and every one of them.
DORNIN: The church Web site describes it as a community that has worked for social change since the 1950s, including desegregation, women's right and gay rights -- positions that have been sometimes controversial in this community.
No motive has been released. But the FBI is assisting the investigation and a spokesman tells CNN anytime there is a shooting at a church, there's the possibility of a hate crime.
DEP. CHIEF BILL ROEHL, KNOXVILLE POLICE: It's terrible, you know, you come to church to do worship and something like this occurs. It's very horrendous.
DORNIN: Adkisson reportedly did not belong to the church, leaving the ultimate question, why?
Rusty Dornin, CNN, Knoxville, Tennessee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Yes, that's certainly the question. And sometime this morning we are expecting a police news conference on the church shooting. We'll let you know when authorities announce a time and, of course, we will carry that news conference live when it does get under way.
Two extremes send people fleeing their homes. In California, we're watching a fast-moving wildfire at the west entrance to Yosemite National Park. That fire already destroyed 12 homes.
And in New Mexico we are seeing the damaging remnants of Hurricane Dolly today. About 300 people had to leave their homes and a campground because of flooding there.
Here's more on the fires in California. The most destructive one right now is in northern California near Yosemite. And as we told you, 12 homes have already been destroyed. About 2,000 others are threatened. Power was, in fact, cut off to much of the area because firefighters were afraid they could be injured by downed lines. Then in Los Angeles, a wildfire in Griffith Park forced the evacuation of about 4,000 people from the L.A. Zoo. 25 acres were burned before firefighters were able to get that fire under control. No one was injured.
On that note, of course, we want to get over to Rob Marciano standing by now with more on the fires and some extreme heat in the south.
Boy, a lot to talk about this morning, Rob.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: All right. Very good, Rob, we'll check back a little later on. Thank you.
MARCIANO: All right.
COLLINS: To Iraq now, blast after blast, an unusually violent day, dozens of people killed and hundreds wounded. It was female suicide bombers who carried out the latest attacks.
Our Morgan Neill is in Baghdad now with the very latest.
Good morning to you, Morgan.
MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. That's right, what we're hearing from interior officials, there were three female suicide bombers that carried out this attack in Baghdad. They set off their explosions within 30 minutes of one another.
It appears to have been a coordinated attack targeting Shia pilgrims on their way to the Kadhimiyah mosque. The latest we're hearing at least 30 people killed in that attack, another 83 wounded. The vast majority of them Shia pilgrims.
Now there were extra security measures put into place just to try and stop this kind of attack, but they were put primarily in the Kadhimiya neighborhood where the mosque itself is. These attacks took place in Karada, a it to the south, and, obviously, the attackers were able to get through the security net there.
Now there's also been an incident to the north in Kirkuk, and what police are telling us happened there that it was another female suicide bomber who apparently made her way into a group of Kurds, protesting a proposed electoral law and set off her explosives. We're told there at least 38 people killed, another 178 wounded.
There was also an exchange of gunfire after that incident, but as you can see, Heidi, a very violent day here in Iraq.
COLLINS: No question about that. All right, we'll stay on top of things with you.
Thanks so much, Morgan Neill live from Baghdad this morning.
A cell phone captures terror.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where is momma?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Twin bombings rocked what's called an ordinary neighborhood.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. A man opens fire in church.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED CHURCH MEMBER: It was just sort of breaks your heart that somebody would come in with that kind of anger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: What led to the shootings? Police may fill us in soon. We expect a live briefing in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: News as it develops as only CNN can bring it to you. See for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: A fast-moving wildfire is ripping through Northern California right now. About 2,000 homes are threatened, some mandatory evacuations have now been ordered.
Dave Marquis of affiliate KXTV joins us now live from Mariposa County, California, near Yosemite National Park.
Dave, what's the latest now this morning?
DAVE MARQUIS, KXTV REPORTER: Heidi, good morning.
Well, the news is not good. This fire has zero percent containment at this point. This fire camp here where we are, the Gold Rush Country right on the edge of the Sierra Nevada, is starting to wake up this morning as firefighters begin stretching legs and start getting ready to eat breakfast and get out on the fire lines.
You can see these ridges out beyond which the fire is burning. But what we want to show you is up here to the north where you can see this notch with all the smoke. The -- underneath that is where the community of Mariposa, a small community of about 1,500 people, is literally under siege from this fire.
Let's take a look at some of the video from the last of the firefight yesterday. Right now about 1,300 firefighters are all the lines from all across northern and central California. About 2,000 homes in this extended community are threatened right now.
And again, it is burning just west of Yosemite National Park. This called the telegraph fire. 27,000 acres have burned just since late Friday when this fire ignited from some target shooters that were out in the forest.
Twelve homes have been lost including the home of one woman who had to evacuate also for business which is an elder care home. She was too distraught to want to talk, but her friend Sandra described what they're -- what they are going through.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA GREEN, EVACUEE: We have some of the residents at our house right now because the families couldn't take care of them. And so, yes, she's already burned her house and that's all she has left.
ALEX GLOVER, CAR FIRE: It's pretty difficult terrain. It's really steep and there's a lot of homes, so we're trying to keep the fire from spotting across the road and getting down into these homes down here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUIS: Now firefighters -- a top priority, of course, are to protect the homes in this area, the community of Mariposa, but also to protect that spectacular American national park, Yosemite National Park just to the east. A big 27 KB power line -- a cable of power line was cut yesterday.
The park did continue to run just fine its watches and its critical functions because they do have generated power back there over there on the other side of the hill. But the concern, of course, is that this fire not burn into Yosemite National Bark.
And so once they've assured that the homes in Mariposa are protected, there is going to be a lot of effort to keep the fire from moving over towards the east.
Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. A national treasure there, that is for certain.
All right, well, we appreciate the update, Dave Marquis. Thanks so much.
I want to take a moment now to get back to the other story that we've been following this morning. A terrible tragedy happening yesterday at a church in Tennessee.
David Keim of "Knoxville News Sentinel" is on the phone now with us. He's the assistant managing editor with the very latest.
David, anything else you can tell us? We are awaiting this news conference that we are hearing is going to happen at 10:00 this morning.
DAVID KEIM, ASST. MANAGING ED., KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL: Obviously, that's going to be a (INAUDIBLE). The big question today is why this person did this yesterday. We just posted to our Web site, knoxnews.com, a story about -- I don't know if you can call it a manifesto -- a document that was taken from this man's vehicle that might explain why he did this.
The letter apparently offers some clues about his motives, but the police and the district attorney are being very careful of not releasing details.
COLLINS: OK. Well, I was just going to ask if this was something that was coherent or if this was a rambling type of thing. But it seems obvious that no one really knows at this point.
KEIM: Correct.
COLLINS: All right, well, again, we are waiting for that news conference coming up at 10:00.
I think I would ask you before we let you go, David, you know, it seems obvious the reaction in the area is that of shock and people very, very upset, as we're looking at video. People coming in and bringing flowers to the front portion of the church there.
What are people telling you? Anybody know this guy?
KEIM: Some people -- the neighbors who knew this guy said that he moved into their area before five years ago. We, obviously, are pursuing some more tips about him today. But basically he seemed to be a good neighbor. He -- but he seemed to have a problem with religion.
One of his neighbors said that -- told us that when she said her daughter had graduated from a local bible college, he seemed to get very angry about that. So he may have some problem with religion.
We don't know why he targeted this particular church. There are numerous churches along this stretch of road in Knoxville, which is near downtown and the University of Tennessee campus.
Why he picked this church remains unclear.
COLLINS: Yes. All right, well, hopefully we will learn a little bit more, as you said, coming up here with the news conference at 10:00 a.m. out of Tennessee.
Thanks so much, David Keim is with "The Knoxville News Sentinel." Appreciate that.
Good news as close as your corner gas station. Really? Prices continuing their slide, the national average down more than a penny this morning, just under $3.96 a gallon for regular and that's the lowest price, in fact, since May.
Overnight, oil prices rebounded somewhat from their two-week slide. On Friday prices hit their lowest level in weeks.
And we, of course, will keep any eye on Wall Street open at the bottom of the hour. Stocks set for a lackluster start. Investors a little nervous about a big week of reports that will help assess the health of the economy.
And on that note, two more bank failures, but the Feds move in to rescue account holders, avoiding the angry customers that plague the failure of IndyMac just two weeks ago.
Gerri Willis is "Minding Your Business."
Good morning to you, Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey, good morning. Good to see you.
Yes, here's what we've got on -- going on. Two more bank failures. Over the weekend, brought in federal regulators to the rescue and this is coming, as you said, two weeks afternoon the failure of the California bank, IndyMac.
Now the two banks out -- they were located out west. They are First National Bank of Nevada and Arizona based First Heritage Bank. They were shuttered down over the weekend.
The good news here, though, they were able to access their money via debit card, checking accounts over the weekend, and the FDIC told them that they can recover the full amount of their deposits even if they're over the FDIC limits.
Those limits, of course, is $100,000 for a single account, double for a joint account, that's with a couple, and more for individual retirement accounts. That's $250,000.
Both banks reopened today with a new name, Mutual of Omaha Bank and that bought the banks' deposits -- Heidi?
COLLINS: Well, everybody wants to know, should I worry about my own money that I have in my bank?
WILLIS: Right. Well, the bottom line here, the vast majority of banks are in good shape. If you're worried, though, about your money, here's what you do to protect yourself.
Look, don't pull your money out. That would be a very big mistake. Where you are going to put it anyway? Go to fdic.gov. This is the agency that insures all of this money. Find out whether you're covered. They have lots of great information on that Web site.
Then get your bank's health rating. There's a great easy-to-read health rating at bankratecom. You can find out the details about your own bank and make sure that your money is safe.
Bottom line, though, here, leave your money where it is. Make sure that your bank has the FDIC coverage. COLLINS: Yes.
WILLIS: It's in all of their literature.
COLLINS: All right, very good. Gerri, we'll talk with you later again. Thank you.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
COLLINS: Help for struggling homeowners. The Senate works overtime to pass a housing bill. President Bush could sign it as early as today. What could the bill mean for you?
CNN's Kate Bolduan takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A rare Saturday session for the Senate. A vote on a massive housing bill designed to offer struggling homeowners relief and shore up the nation's mortgage finance system.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ayes are 72, the nays are 13.
BOLDUAN: The housing bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support ending months of debate.
Democratic senator Chris Dodd was a key sponsor of the legislation.
SEN. CHRIS DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: For Americans out there today with distressed mortgages worried about their economic future, we hope this legislation will be the first piece of good news in a long time that we can actually respond to the situation, offer them some real hope.
BOLDUAN: So what relief can homeowners expect?
The bill includes up to $300 billion in government guaranteed loans to allow homeowners facing foreclosures to refinance to more affordable mortgages. The Congressional Budget Office estimates 400,000 borrowers will get help from the program, but the bill allows for up to 2 million to participate.
The bill offers $15 billion in tax breaks, including a tax credit of up to $7,500 for first-time home buyers, and there's $4 billion in grants to help communities fix up foreclosed properties.
The bill also gives the government new authority to prop up the giant mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if necessary.
MARK ZANDI, MOODY'S ECONOMY.COM: The most important thing is that it forestalls a major crisis. If the bill had not passed, then Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be on the precipice of a financial crisis, which would be disastrous to many American homeowners and prospective home buyers. BOLDUAN: Some Republicans remain concerned the bill poses too much of a risk to the American taxpayer.
SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: The U.S. Senate can and should spend time debating these issues and improving the bill, instead of rubber stamping additions that pose a taxpayer liability of billions and maybe trillions.
BOLDUAN (on camera): Some economists do question the bill's effectiveness, saying it may not do enough to jump-start the troubled housing market.
The bill now heads to the president, and the White House says President Bush will sign it into law. That could happen early this week.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Iraq, trying to get international trade on track. Can an aging court help make a comeback?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: News as it develops as only CNN can bring it to you. See for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Did a bottle of oxygen cause an explosion on a Qantas jet? That's what investigators are trying to figure out this morning.
Officials say an emergency oxygen bottle is missing from its storage container. Possible fragments were found near that storage area. The blast created a gaping hole -- you see it there -- about the size of a car in the fuselage.
The airline is checking every oxygen bottle on its Boeing 747 to make sure the brackets that hold them are sturdy.
No one was hurt during Friday's explosion. But the plane was forced to make an emergency landing in the Philippines after it lost cabin pressure.
Presidential politics now. Fewer than 100 days until the election. Can you believe it? Home from his world tour now, Barack Obama turning his attention to domestic ""ISSUE #1," the economy. He's meeting with economic advisers today in Washington.
John McCain heads to California this morning for fundraisers in Bakersfield and San Francisco. A new Gallup poll of registered voters shows McCain trailing Obama by nine points.
The war in Iraq heating up the campaign. John McCain taking aim at Barack Obama on CNN's "LATE EDITION" with Wolf Blitzer on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I question his judgment because he lacks experience and knowledge, and I question his judgment. I'm not prepared to see the sacrifice of so many brave young Americans lost because Senator Obama just used this war as another political issue, which he can change positions.
And everybody knows that he was able to obtain the nomination of his party by appealing to the far left and committing to a course of action that I believe was -- I know was wrong, because he said the surge would not work. He said it wouldn't succeed.
No rational observer in Iraq today believes that the surge did not succeed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Senator McCain will be Larry King's guest tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE." That, of course, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
Barack Obama defending his 16-month plan for withdrawing troops from Iraq. He got a standing ovation at the Unity Conference of Minority Journalists on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's realistic. I think that, obviously, General Petraeus wants as much flexibility as possible. And as I said during my trip, if I were in his shoes, I'd want as much flexibility as well.
But when you've got the prime minister of Iraq, the people of Iraq, saying they are ready to take more responsibility, when we're seeing more Iraqi forces take the lead in action, we need to take advantage of that opportunity, particularly because we've got to deal with Afghanistan.
And we can't keep spending $10 billion a month in Iraq at a time when we've got enormous pressing needs here in the United States of America, including, by the way, taking care of veterans who are coming home with post-traumatic stress disorder, disabilities, and they are still not getting a lot of the services that they need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: John McCain was invited to speak at the Unity Conference, but declined.
Newspaper under fire now. Barack Obama's note to Dodd, pulled from Jerusalem's western wall and printed for the world to read.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody. 9:30 now, Eastern Time, getting ready for the opening bell to ring -- New York Stock Exchange.
As we wait for that, obviously, Friday -- I'm sure you probably remember -- things were to the positive. We're trying to remember only the positive closes, right? Up 21.41 -- there's your opening bell. Not expecting a lot to happen today. It's getting ready for sort of a tepid start. That's sort of a term we've been saying a lot here.
Latest readings on home prices, economic growth in labor sector due out this week but nothing major today.
Good news on gas prices, though, as I'm sure you're aware, down, just a bit, again.
Meanwhile, another story we are following closely here today. A deadly attack inside a Tennessee church. We are watching for a news conference now scheduled for the top of the hour, 10:00 a.m. Eastern. The scene of the attack, a Unitarian Church in Knoxville.
Families were gathered around as children were getting ready to perform the play "Annie." Then, what sounded like firecrackers. Churchgoers soon discovered to their horror, it was, in fact, gunshots. Two people killed. Seven others wounded.
As the gunman stopped to reload, church members grabbed him. 58- year-old Jim Adkisson, you see him there, is now in custody. But police say they have no motive. At least, one witness said Adkisson was shouting hateful things as he opened fire.
Police are hoping home videos of the children's play might provide some answers about the shooting. We are going to have live coverage of the news conference scheduled to get under way in about 30 minutes from now.
Two people missing in Southern New Mexico this morning. They were swept away by floodwaters. The remnants of Hurricane Dolly dumped up to 9 inches of rain in Ruidoso, since Friday. Up to 500 people forced to evacuate from their hopes and from a nearby campground. Dozens of homes were damaged. The head of emergency management said 25 people were rescued. Most of them were in vehicles trapped in deep water.
Want to get over to Rob Marciano now standing by. He's been watching all this flooding going on in New Mexico.
Hi there, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey. Yes, let's -- we're going to get to that in just a second, Heidi.
COLLINS: OK.
MARCIANO: This just came off the wire. So, I don't mean to switch up the order. But we've got a tornado warning out for parts of southwest of North Dakota. So, we want to let the folks know who live in this area -- this Holiday, Dodge, Marshall Counties, or those are the towns that are affected by this. This is in Dunn County.
And you can see this, the purple there, that certainly is a hail core that's rolling east and south-easterly at about 56 miles an hour. So, this thing is moving along. And the areas that are in the path of this would be Holiday, Dodge, and Marshall. Those are the towns within Dunn County. And that one looks like it's holding together pretty well. Even a little bit of a hook there, just south of the hail core. So, that looks pretty nasty.
This watch box, by the way, in effect until noon o'clock -- until noon local time. And I'm just checking to make sure this is just a radar-indicated tornado moving east-southeast at 56 miles an hour. But it looks pretty darn strong on the radar. So, if you live in Dunn County, be aware and take cover now.
All right. A little bit farther down to the south, we've got showers and thunderstorms that are firing east of Kansas City towards St. Louis and Columbia, Missouri. These are your run-of-the-mill thunderstorms, running into some very hot and humid air. Kind of getting instigated a little bit by what's left of Dolly. We showed you some of the flooding there in New Mexico.
We also have iReports. Some video there from New Mexico. From Phillip Genest there, thanks from Ruidoso. The Rio Ruidoso over flooding its banks. Six inches of rainfall. There you see it. He says he normally sleeps to those kind of ocean sound machines like you can -- throws out the water sounds and make you sleep real nice. Well, he said he woke up to it and it was a real deal.
So, a bit of a nightmare for those folks but rainfall will not be as intense today for you. But the heat will be building in places like Dallas, 105. 98 degrees in Kansas City. 90 in Denver. 105 in Phoenix. Can we get a live shot of Albuquerque. Let's check out Albuquerque. After all the rains yesterday, that looks a little bit nicer. KOAT. Thanks for that shot. You're in the 60s. You will get up into the mid-90s before the day is done.
And, again, Dunn County in North Dakota with this storm, Heidi, rolling quite rapidly to the east-southeast at 56 miles an hour. And that will probably hold together into these other surrounding counties and we'll keep an eye on that, keep you posted, and see if we get any reports of this tornado being on the ground.
Heidi?
COLLINS: OK. Yes. Keep us posted if we need to come back to you. And in fact, I want to let everybody know, we are going to talk with that gentleman who sent in that iReport, coming up here in about an hour and a half or so. Philip is going to get live with us. So, thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right.
COLLINS: When the weather does become the news, remember to send us your iReports. Just go to ireport.com or type ireport@cnn.com into your cell phone. As always, please stay safe if you choose to shoot some of the stuff for us.
Barack Obama's note to God, left in Jerusalem's Western Wall, now a big flap over its publication in a newspaper there.
Here's CNN's Paula Hancocks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A pre-dawn visit by Barack Obama to Jerusalem's Western Wall, Judaism's holiest sight. A public event, with media in tow, but the prayer he wrote and placed in cracks at the wall was meant to be private.
An Israeli newspaper has published what it claims is Obama's prayer saying a Jewish seminary student took it from the wall after the U.S. presidential candidate left.
JONATHAN ROSENBLUM, ORTHODOX AM EHAD THINK TANK: Anybody who goes to the Western Wall and places a note there does so under the assumption that that's a private communication between him and God, and therefore, once he has that presumption of confidentiality, there are rabbinic decrees against reading anybody else's private communications.
HANCOCKS: CNN is not reporting the contexts of the private note. The Obama camp says, "We haven't confirmed or denied that it's his." An aide adding that when Obama was told of it, he, quote, "wasn't angry so much as bewildered, kind of shrugged and shook his head."
The senior rabbi at the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinowitz, says the incident is sack religious. He says, "Notes, which are placed in the Western Wall, are between the person and his maker. Heaven forbid that one should read them or use them in any way."
(on camera): Up to seven million people visited the Western Wall last year, both tourists and locals who pray here regularly. That translates into millions of prayers placed in between the stones of this wall. Tradition has it that any request placed between these holy stones will be granted.
(voice-over): The late Pope John Paul II placed a prayer at the Western Wall while visiting Jerusalem in 2000. But he requested his words be made public.
The Western, or Wailing Wall, is a relic of the second temple destroyed by the Romans 2,000 years ago. Prayers left here are considered sacred, and are cleared away twice a year to be buried in a cemetery, none of them meant to be read, or published.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Lots of talk and debate about this story. So, we want to hear from you on it. Should the media publish the contents of Obama's note? Tell us what you think. E-mail us at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com. We will read some of your responses coming up next hour.
Female bombers on the attack. Dozens are dead and hundreds wounded in Iraq today.
But, first, couples merging their lives and finances. Here's Christine Romans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mix love and money, and you may have a recipe for disaster.
CARMEM WONG ULRICH, AUTHOR, "GENERATION DEBT": It may seem that we're very alike when we get together and fall in love, but the truth is, a lot of people and individuals are very different when it comes to how they use their money, how they approach their money, and what their priorities are.
ROMANS: To keep the peace, couple should have a plan.
ULRICH: Every couple has a different way of approaching it. But my best advice is -- have a joint account to take care of your household bills and your finances, but also your financial goals that you have for the future. Outside of that, have your own personal account.
ROMANS: But there isn't a "one size fits all" approach.
ULRICH: Crunch the numbers on what you're going to be jointly responsible for. Make sure you go through each of your bills, the both of you.
ROMANS: Even though you're equal partners in your relationship, it doesn't always translate to your finances.
ULRICH: So what you want to do is proportion it out -- 80/20, 30/70. Figure out how much each of you make, and then how much you're going to contribute to your household expenses.
ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Rising death toll in Turkey from weekend bombings. This is video of the blast in Istanbul. This morning, another death brings the death toll to 17. A Turkish news agency reporting more than 150 people injured. The two blasts about ten minutes apart in the same pedestrian square that lots of tourisms and residents use.
The Istanbul's governor calls the explosions acts of terror. So far, no claims of responsibility.
The increasingly violent situation in Afghanistan, front and center now at the White House this morning. President Bush will sit down with Pakistan's prime minister. The U.S. is growing more and more frustrated over Taliban militants using bases in Pakistan to launch attacks across the border into Afghanistan. And Pakistan has its own beef. Its border region has been hit by a series of missile strikes apparently carried out from U.S. warplanes. The incidents have strained relations between the two countries.
An unusually violent day in Iraq. Dozens of people killed, hundreds of others wounded in a series of suicide bomb attacks. Officials say three female suicide bombers blew themselves up at a Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad today. At least, 30 people killed. The blasts at three separate locations happened within 30 minutes.
And Iraqi police say a female suicide bomber and a group of gunmen killed at least 38 people at a Kurdish political rally in the northern city of Kirkuk. Insurgents have increasingly been using female suicide bombers because they are not often searched at checkpoints.
British troops have made Iraq's only deep water port secure, but can the port make a comeback after years of turmoil?
Here's CNN's Frederik Pleitgen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From above, it looks like almost any other port facility in the world. But Umm Qasr, Iraq's only deep-water port, is just now coming back to life. After years of violence left it at a stand-still.
Ahmed Jabbar (ph) has been working the docks for 37 years. Just today four ships have come, he says. That's how much better things have gotten.
Four ships doesn't sound like much. But it means part of Umm Qasr is running at almost full capacity, importing much of Iraq's rice, sugar and wheat.
British Forces stationed here tell us business has almost tripled in the past three months.
(on camera): This ship has just come in from Bangladesh and is unloading rice that will then be transported all over Iraq. Now, there are more and more ships like this one coming in here, but there are still a lot of problems at this port -- a lot of the equipment is still very old.
(voice-over) Cranes are in disrepair. As we watch the men unload this vessel, we see many rice sacks burst. One shipping agent says the dock-workers' lack of skills and the old nets used to unload cargo don't help.
BASHIR KAREEM JAMAL, IRAQI STATE CO. WATER TRANSPORT: All the cargo comes on very old ships, only this ship is a very new ship. So, we have damaged cargo always. Always we lose damaged cargo. PLEITGEN: Still, British Forces say the port is growing fast, helping boost Iraq's trade. And, more importantly, giving employment to some 13,000 people.
As they take us on a patrol of the berths, British soldiers tell us the key to success was defeating the rival Shiite militias in the Basra area.
MAJ. NEIL CROFT, BRITISH ARMY: There was a lot of militia activity, and I think that dissuaded international vessels coming here to off load their cargo and trade with Iraq.
PLEITGEN: Now, Iraqi Marines controlled the facilities. Checking vehicles together with British soldiers. Still, the soldiers admit, the port still has a long way to go.
It still has no international security accreditation, insurance rates are among the highest in the world and many shippers shun the risk of sending boats and cargo to Iraq.
But, the soldiers say, with improved security and some international investment, Umm Qasr could be an Iraqi success story.
Fred Pleitgen CNN, Umm Qasr, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Rich, famous, and facing foreclosure. Not even celebrities are immune from the mortgage crisis.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Quickly, we want to get this information in to us here in the CNN NEWSROOM. According to our Brianna Keilar who is in the White House gaggle, the off-camera briefing that we talk about so often here. We have some new projections for the budget deficit.
According to senior Bush administration officials apparently that number is going to be something around $490 billion. They're saying the reason why it's being driven to record levels is because of the sagging economy and stimulus payments that have been sent off to people as we talked about here quite a bit.
Once again, that new number, of $490 billion, going to be a record, the current record, $413 billion. Set back in 2004. So, we'll check in with Brianna Keilar coming up next hour from the White House.
Also, want to look at these numbers for you now. Dow Jones Industrial Averages opening to the negative a little bit there. Down about 38 points or so. Resting at 11,333. Friday, we closed to the positive. But this week there's going to be a whole bunch of key economy factors. We'll talk about them throughout the week. Nothing major today.
Remember that old saying it's not how much you make, but how much you save? Well, that wasn't apparently fell on deaf ears in much of Hollywood where the rich and famous are also falling victim to the nation's mortgage crisis.
CNN's Brooke Anderson looks at some celebrity foreclosures.
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BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Celebrities like Michael Jackson amassed multimillion dollar fortunes with their music and videos.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's Johnny!
ANDERSON: But sky-high salaries couldn't save these stars from the mortgage crisis gripping the nation.
RICK SHARGA, REALTYTRAC INC., V.P. MARKETING: Celebrities just like normal American citizens can be moving paycheck to paycheck too and can get in over their heads.
ANDERSON: Boxing champ Evander Holyfield is less than three weeks away from losing his Georgia mansion in a public auction. The heavyweight is in default on a $750,000 loan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens?
ANDERSON: Ed McMahon risks foreclosure after falling $644,000 behind on a $4.8 million loan. McMahon's publicist is optimistic, telling CNN the home has not sold but is still on the market and people are looking.
Michael Jackson narrowly avoided losing Neverland Ranch this year when an investment firm bailed him out of a delinquent $24 million loan. But former baseball MVP Jose Conseco did forfeit his California home, citing cash-flow problems due in part to costly divorces.
MARK DAVID, THE REALESTALKER: You know, to see somebody who makes millions of dollars in the course of their career have financial troubles. You know, I think it's hard for the average person to sympathize with that.
ANDERSON: Mark David tracks celebrity real estate moves and said it's often the extravagant taste of the rich and famous that costs them later, which David said could some day be the case for Ellen DeGeneres.
DAVID: She spent like $40 million putting this compound together. It remains to be seen whether she could ever turn around and sell that compound for $40 million.
ANDERSON: And reality TV star Denise Richards.
DENISE RICHARDS, ACTRESS: Nothing is working.
DAVID: She buys and sells every year, and she doesn't really seem to make any money. And in fact, she's actually lost money.
ANDERSON: Proof not even Hollywood royalty are immune to the housing meltdown.
SHARGA: There are probably hundreds of other people whose names you would recognize who just haven't bubbled up to the surface.
ANDERSON: Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Forced from their homes in Beijing. China trying to put on a good face for the upcoming Olympics.
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COLLINS: Look, we just want to remind you that we are waiting that news conference that you see on your screen there, coming out of Knoxville, Tennessee in referencing this horrible shooting that's happened yesterday during that church service. Two people were killed in that.
So, we were going to try and get the very latest from police and see if they know anything about the suspects who they do have in custody. Jim Adkisson, 58 years old of Powell, Tennessee. So, we're watching that for you, should be coming out any moment now.
Meanwhile, Taiwan was hammered this morning by a powerful typhoon. Take a look at this. Dramatic pictures coming in. Typhoon Fang Wang made landfall with winds of 95 miles per hour. That's just about equal to a category two hurricane. But it's the rain now causing most of the damage. Up to three feet fell in some areas and it's not done yet. The typhoon is expected to hit south-eastern China some time tomorrow. Authorities there have already evacuated 275,000 people. Boy.
The new face of Beijing. Building after the Olympics at a high cost for some. CNN's Emily Chang has that story.
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EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This white mark has haunted old Beijing for a decade. The Chinese character for demolition painted across homes set to be torn down.
For generations, families have lived together in these traditional, often rundown housing units. But their way of life is vanishing in a modernizing city. Locals say the home that stood here disappeared overnight. The family of 14 who lived there now gone. Just in time to make room for flower beds for the Olympics.
A village was leveled where Olympic venues like the nicknamed "Bird's Nest" and the "Water Cube" now stand. Across town, another neighborhood is being replaced by high rises.
They are going to destroy my house. Do you understand me, this man says?
This is the hidden cost of new Beijing. Residents forced to move when the governor decides it's time for redevelopment as police try to keep the peace. The people don't own the land so reporting their stories can be difficult.
(on camera): Right now they are calling the authorities trying to figure out if we're legitimate journalists, checking our press cards and passports.
(voice-over): As China opens up to the world for the Olympics, sensitivities are exposed. Police scrutinize our I.D.s and call their bosses while angry residents talk.
My son, my wife, all of them live in this house, says one man. If they take down the buildings, we have no place to go. Eventually, they let us in.
(on camera): OK. So, now, we're clear. We're free to shoot so we're going to go see what is going on over here.
(voice-over): But private security guards scoop in.
Hold on, don't let them in. And we're surrounded.
OK. He's pushing me. He's pushing me. We have clearance to be here.
(on camera): They effectively, forcibly pushed us out of this area.
And we're shut out.
Do you think that these men are with the developers? And that's why they are not letting us in because the police gave us clearance to be in there and these guys showed up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no.
(voice-over): We don't want you to get hurt by the construction, says the site manager. The developer won't talk and by now residents have scattered.
XIAONI CHEN, CNN PRODUCER: Nobody wants to come out.
CHANG: Their scared?
CHEN: They are scared. And then if they come out, they will lose their house.
CHANG: But city officials say their homes are old and dangerous and will be ceased soon any way. The government does make an effort to protect and even renovate some of these areas to preserve history and culture, but it's a relatively small part of the sprawling metropolis. Residents ordered out are offered compensation, but most say it's not enough to buy another house in this city with an eye on its future and little room for its past.
Emily Chang, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris has the day off. Stay informed all day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the run down.
Why did a shooter open fire during a church program and kill two worshipers? A police briefing live this hour from Knoxville.
A brutal and chaotic day in Iraq. Dozens of people are killed in four suicide attacks.
Flee or fight? Wildfire forces thousands of Californians to make that decision today. Monday, July 28th, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Faith and fury. Children performing a play inside their church. A gunman exploding in a deadly rampage.
CNN's Rusty Dornin is in Knoxville, Tennessee where a police news conference is just about to get underway.
Rusty, good morning.
