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Amish School Shooting; Criminal Cops in Iraq?; Kids on Guard: School Security; Foley Fallout

Aired October 04, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning.
From Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Heidi Collins.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

Spend a second hour in the NEWSROOM this morning and stay informed.

Three school shootings across the nation in the past week. This hour our roundtable discussion on classroom security.

WHITFIELD: The House speaker fighting to keep his job. Republicans scrambling to control fallout from the Capitol e-mail scandal.

HARRIS: And Africa in crisis: warlords, poverty, AIDS. We keep the continent in focus this Wednesday, the 4th day of October.

You're in the NEWSROOM.

In Pennsylvania, heartbreak and unanswered questions. The Amish community trying to come to terms with Monday's tragic school shootings. Funerals will be held tomorrow and Friday for the five Amish girls gunned down in the rampage. This candlelight vigil took place last night.

And today, new details about the gunman.

Here's CNN Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Police believe the possible motive in this horrific shooting was a dark secret inside the mind of a man who on the surface appeared to be an ordinary father.

Milkman Charles Roberts finished his early Monday morning pickups from local Amish dairies. Then he followed his daily routine.

MARY MILLER, ROBERTS' NEIGHBOR: He seemed like a normal guy. He walked his kids to the bus stop about 8:45 every morning.

CHERNOFF: His wife Marie was at this local church leading a mothers' prayer group for their children and schools. (on camera): Was there ever any indication that Marie had a clue what was inside the mind of her husband?

KRISTINE HILEMAN, MIDDLE OCTORARA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: No. We had a wonderful prayer meeting -- uplifting and fervent and honest. And everybody there felt the presence of god while we were praying.

CHERNOFF (voice over): As Marie Roberts was praying for her children, her husband Charles entered another school heavily armed. He let the teachers and boys go, then boarded up the one-room Amish schoolhouse.

At that point, with 10 girls captive, Roberts revealed his deepest secret to Marie during their final phone conversation. Twenty years ago, he claimed, he had sexually molested two of his very young relatives when they were 3 or 4 years old. A claim that police are still working to confirm.

COL. JEFFREY MILLER, COMMISSIONER, PA. STATE POLICE: This was a very deeply disturbed individual. But he wasn't disturbed in the sense that people could pick up on that at the surface. He was very deeply troubled underneath.

CHERNOFF (on camera): As he held the schoolgirls at gunpoint, Roberts told Marie he would not be coming home. He also told her where to find his suicide notes to her and their three children.

(voice over): Roberts wrote that he had dreamt for two years of molesting children again, a plan police say he may have intended to carry out at the Amish schoolhouse.

MILLER: It's very possible that he intended to victimize these children in many ways prior to executing them and killing himself.

CHERNOFF: Police quickly arrived at the schoolhouse, and authorities say Roberts panicked and began shooting the girls who stood at the blackboard execution style. Five children are dead, and tonight five other girls aged 6 to 13 are fighting for their lives in area hospitals.

Another possible motive, Roberts also spoke in the note to his wife about his anger that his first born daughter Elyse died only 20 minutes after her birth. He wrote, "I am filled with so much hate. Hate toward myself, hate towards god, and unimaginable emptiness."

Allan Chernoff, CNN, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Three deadly scoot shootings in one week. Parents and students on edge, and now from the heartland of Hawaii, many are wondering how do you make your schools safer without turning them into a fortress?

Leslie Wilcox of CNN affiliate KHON has the view from a school in Hawaii. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAVIS NAKABAYASHI, MILILANI MIDDLE SCHOOL: I did say, "Oh, my gosh."

LESLIE WILCOX, REPORTER, KHON (voice over): Mavis Nakabayashi works at Mililani Middle School, reporting to school every morning with her daughter, a seventh grader. They feel protected here.

NAKABAYASHI: We do do drills, and we do have security on campus. I have no problem in knowing my child is safe here.

WILCOX: Every public school is required to have an emergency plan and conduct drills.

AMY NAKABAYASHI, STUDENT: The teacher closes all the windows and the door, and they turn off the lights. And you have to go in the middle of the room under the desk.

WILCOX: That minimizes harm. It doesn't necessarily prevent it.

(on camera): Hawaii public schools pride themselves on being open, welcoming places where the community may gather.

(voice over): Security personnel say that makes schools targets for violence just as other public places are, like post offices and hotels and stores.

ROGER KIM, PRINCIPAL, MILILANI MIDDLE SCHOOL: Until something happens -- and I know it's the wrong way to think about it, but until something happens, I think we're going to keep that open access and make changes when we're forced to.

WILCOX: Former city prosecutor Darwin Ching chairs the Board of Education School Safety Committee. He is critical of the DOE for resisting some proactive measures. But a gunman acting quickly without any warning?

DARWIN CHING, MILILANI BOARD OF ED. SAFETY COMMITTEE: That's going to be almost impossible to stop 100 percent.

KIM: You'd hate to see it, so you have to sign in, be on a wait list, be screened, be checked before you can enter the campus.

WILCOX: Unless public policy changes, our schools are not intended to be fortresses.

Leslie Wilcox, KHON 2 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Now we want to hear from you. Do you have concerns about your child's safety at school? E-mail us right now at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com.

HARRIS: An absolutely stunning announcement in Baghdad. An entire police brigade accused of complicity with death squads and yanked out of service.

Live now to the Pentagon and Correspondent Barbara Starr for details.

Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.

Well, you know, this had always been the talk now for months, that militias and death squads were operating with complicity of the Ministry of Interior in Baghdad, that police forces had dubious loyalty to the new Iraqi government. But today it all flared right out into the open when it was the U.S. military that announced an Iraqi police brigade -- that's upwards of 1,000 police troops -- are being taken off the streets of Baghdad because it has been determined they are complicit with death squad and militia activity that is causing so much of the violence, especially across Baghdad.

Here is what General Bill Caldwell, the top U.S. military spokesman, had to say about all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: The government of Iraq had lost trust and confidence in the 8th Brigade, the 2nd National Police Division's ability to serve the public due to their poor performance and alleged criminal wrongdoings. And therefore, they have been pulled off line and will go through retraining before they'll be recertified and allowed again to conduct activities as police forces for the government of Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: But Tony, make no mistake, that police unit is off the streets. Some of its members now undergoing criminal investigation, according to U.S. military sources. This is a very serious matter and a very public admission that the new Iraqi government simply does not have a handle on things at this point -- Tony.

HARRIS: And heavy losses for U.S. troops as well, Barbara.

STARR: Absolutely. General Caldwell giving a very sober-minded assessment this morning, Tony, pointing out that in the last 96 hours, 18 U.S. troops -- 18 troops have lost their lives in Iraq. Also going on to say that both IED attacks and suicide car bomb attacks are reaching new high levels -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon.

Barbara, thank you.

I want to take you to Ramallah in the Palestinian territories right now, where Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas are holding a joint news conference in Ramallah. This is all about getting some kind of momentum going for the peace talks in that region, trying to bring some kind of stability and to jumpstart peace talks in that region.

As you know, earlier today the secretary of state met with Egyptian president Mubarak in Cairo, and then this hop to Ramallah. And then later it is back to Israel for a dinner this evening with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Again, all of this to try to gain some momentum for new peace talks in the region.

WHITFIELD: Here in this country, personal demons, public disclosures. An attorney for Mark Foley says the former congressman battled problems long before the e-mail scandal. Will those revelations blunt some of the outrage?

CNN's John Zarrella is in West Palm Beach, the heart of Foley's former congressional district.

And John, anyone in his district -- did any of them say they were aware of any of these revelations that his attorney revealed yesterday?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka, I don't think that it was any -- any big secret down here in his district. It was certainly something that, you know, was one of those commonly held secrets that -- now, not the -- certainly the fact that he is gay, but not the fact that there were these allegations that he was molested when he was a teenager. That had never come out before.

And it was right here -- you can see we have the election bus here behind us. And right here yesterday at this very spot, his attorney, David Roth, came out, and he did not give us any details, he did not give us any proof, and he said that Mr. Foley was not using it as an excuse for his actions, but that, in fact, that as a teenager, between the ages of 13 and 15, Mr. Foley was abused.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID ROTH, FOLEY'S ATTORNEY: As is so often the case with victims of abuse, Mark advises that he kept his shame to himself for almost 40 years. Specifically, Mark has asked that you be told that between the ages of 13 and 15, he was molested by a clergyman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Now, Mr. Roth also vehemently defended his longtime friend, saying that Mark Foley is absolutely not a pedophile.

Meanwhile, the candidates running for the seat once held by Mr. Foley are being overshadowed, of course, by all of what is going on. But a recent poll that came out over the weekend showed that the Democrat, Tim Mahoney, actually holds a very slim lead, about a three percentage point lead, over the newly appointed Joe Negron. Negron is the man who has replaced Foley on the Republican side.

It's only a three-point lead. Negron told me yesterday that he's actually buoyed by that, said that's actually a good sign, thinks they can make up some ground.

But the big difficulty the Republicans have is this ballot. You can take a look at the ballot. This is from St. Lucie County, which is an optical scan county here. And you can see Mark Foley's name is on the ballot. And that's what's going to be on the ballot.

It won't be Joe Negron. Joe Negron's name is not going to appear. Republicans are going to have to be convinced that they can vote for Mark Foley, but that that vote will go for Joe Negron.

Now, the other part of the equation for Republicans is, that right above that, at the top of the allot, is Katherine Harris' name running for U.S. Senate against Bill Nelson. And many Republicans here had tried to dissuade Katherine Harris from running. Probably many of our viewers remember she was the secretary of state here in Florida at the -- at the time of the 2000 election and certified that election for President Bush.

A lot of bad blood here in Florida still from that, and Republicans were fearful that this would galvanize Democrats, her name on the ballot, get them out to vote. So kind of a double whammy now for Republicans on this November ballot -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. John Zarrella, thanks so much. Yet to be another interesting election year there for Florida. That seems to be the legacy.

HARRIS: Yes, it does.

WHITFIELD: And still to come, too much information.

Boy, you said that right. Yes.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

HARRIS: Florida elections -- OK.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Reporters grapple with their coverage of a Washington scandal. That story ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: North Korea puts a nuclear test on its to-do list. Today swift reaction and new warnings from Washington.

Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports on nuclear tensions rising.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. has spy satellites trained on several potential North Korean nuclear test sites including this one on the eastern coastline and Pentagon sources confirm there has suspicious movement of people, equipment and vehicles that would tend to buttress North Korea's claim it is preparing for an underground nuclear test. It's a threat the U.S. is taking seriously.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: It would be a very provocative act by the North Koreans. They've not yet done it, but I think it would be a very provocative act.

MCINTYRE: While the U.S. considered a pre-emptive strike against North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear plant in 1994, Pentagon officials tell CNN there is no planning for a military option this time.

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: It seems to me, if there were possible test case for the council to engage in preventative diplomacy, considering this threat by North Korea would be an excellent example.

MCINTYRE: North Korea claims to have nuclear weapons and wants to be dealt with as a nuclear power. According to a just released House Intelligence Committee report. The 8,000 spent fuel rods North Korea removed from its Yongbyon nuclear plant in 2003, could produce enough plutonium for about five nuclear weapons. The report also says while North Korea is not believed to have conducted any underground tests so far, some experts believe it has tested non-nuclear high explosives as part of its nuclear weapons research.

But the reality is, when it comes to the hyper-secretive North Koreans, no one knows for sure if they're serious or just bluffing for political advantage.

JOHN PIKE, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: They either will or won't test. My concern is that North Korea may want to convince everybody beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are a nuclear weapons state and the only way they can do that is by testing.

MCINTYRE: North Korea's test of a long range Taepodong-2 missile failed within seconds of its launch last July but eventually it may be able to threaten the U.S. with nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic which North Korea sees as key to preventing any future U.S. attack.

(on camera): Another big fear is North Korea will do with its technology what it's done with other weapons; namely, sell it for hard cash. And that could result in the nightmare scenario of nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And see more of Jamie McIntyre's reports on "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT". That's weeknights at 6:00 Eastern only here on CNN.

HARRIS: Armed guards, metal detectors, security cameras, familiar sights at many schools around the nation. Now three deadly school shootings in one week raise serious concerns. Are our schools safe? We've gathered three principals for a roundtable on school safety.

Vincent Murray is principal at Grady High School here in Atlanta. Leonard Kenebrew is interim principal at Roberto Clemente Academy in Chicago. And Janet Schulze is the principal at John O'Connell High School of Technology in San Francisco.

Welcome to you all. Thanks for taking the time this morning for this important subject.

Dr. Murray, let me start with you.

You know, it seems this discussion of school safety comes down to whether school systems prefer what's called a hard or soft solution to school safety. And this hard response seems to be talk of metal detectors and armed security personnel. The soft approach is thought of as more counseling, conflict resolution programs.

What's the choice at Grady?

VINCENT MURRAY, PRINCIPAL, GRADY HIGH SCHOOL: Well, we have both. We have the metal detectors, we have security cameras, and we have armed resource officers in the school. And we also have a counselor prevention program where we use our counselors and our social workers to intervene with conflict resolution when students have some particular difficulty.

HARRIS: And how is that balance working out for you at Grady?

MURRAY: Well, it's worked out very well. I think we need both of those kinds of things. Again, our school is located in the heart of downtown, so we're -- I think we're very fortunate to have that kind of support.

HARRIS: Principal Kenebrew, what's -- what's your view on this, sort of the harder approach, metal detectors and the like, or the softer approach of more counseling?

LEONARD KENEBREW, INTERIM PRINCIPAL, ROBERTO CLEMENTE HIGH SCHOOL: I agree with the other principal. You need a combination of systems in place to address, you know, some of the issues that come into the school.

You know, usually it comes from the community, things that happen over the night or over the weekend. So we do have the metal detectors. We do have social services within the school. The students are referred to when we are made aware of situations that sort of emanate from homes and from the community. We also have police officers in the building as well.

HARRIS: Oh, you do. Armed?

KENEBREW: This is correct, yes.

HARRIS: Armed police officers in the school? KENEBREW: Yes. That's part of the Chicago public school system. Every high school has at least two police officers in the system -- in the schools.

HARRIS: The potential to create -- the potential to solve problems but also the potential there to create other problems?

KENEBREW: Well, idealistically, to help prevent problems from escalating to higher -- higher events.

HARRIS: Principal Schulze, do you part company with the other principals in any way?

JANET SCHULZE, PRINCIPAL, JOHN O'CONNELL HIGH SCHOOL: No, I agree that it does take a combination. We do not have metal detectors in San Francisco. We definitely emphasize more on the preventative side and the proactive side.

I think the key is creating a culture where all the students feel connected to the school, and that there's a strong communication so that kids are constantly in communication with the adults at the school. We also have -- I'm sorry.

HARRIS: No, go ahead, I'm sorry. I interrupted. My apologies.

SCHULZE: We also have wellness centers at some of our sites. So, for example, at my school we have a wellness center that provides counseling services, social services, therapy for students and families who need it.

HARRIS: Are there armed officers in your school?

SCHULZE: We have a school resource officer at our school who is armed.

HARRIS: How do you feel about that?

SCHULZE: It's actually very positive because, again, it's done in a very tight partnership with the city, and so it is -- the officer is seen as very friendly. The students talk to him about many of their problems. It's not seen as a threat.

HARRIS: I see.

SCHULZE: He's definitely there. We've worked very hard to work it so it's a proactive, positive thing to have him on campus.

HARRIS: Principal Murray, the events of last week, it seems it provides an opportunity for you to talk to your students about school violence. Have you used that opportunity, and what have you said to your students?

MURRAY: Well, you know, we treat that in terms of really from the basis of what they're learning in classes -- in their classes right now. For example, in journalism and in social studies classes, yes, we've taken this opportunity to make them -- to let them raise questions and concerns about security issues and whether or not they feel safe. And we always kind of, like, try to let them know that if there are concerns, if there are instances of bullying, or if there are instances of being taunted, to bring those situations to us and let us work through the solution with them. So we take the opportunity, but that's something that we also do on a regular basis.

HARRIS: Principal Kenebrew, would you do more? I'm sure you've had detailed discussions about how best to protect your children. Is there more you'd like to do, like to see at your school?

KENEBREW: Well, I think in Chicago, we are moving to using technology as an assistant to help monitor and identify, you know, issues around schools. But last year, Chicago was one of the -- it's the third largest school system in the country. And we actually surveyed our students on their comfort zone in their schools.

So every single high school, the students had an opportunity to tell us whether or not they felt safe in the school system. And we will continue to do that on a yearly basis so that we can sort of measure the temperament of what the students are feeling.

HARRIS: Principal Schulze...

KENEBREW: Because without safety, education can't take place.

HARRIS: Principal Schulze, I have to ask you -- I found an interesting statistic. And it's from the Justice Policy Institute. It reads that 99 percent of children's deaths occur away from the school, after hours and during holidays.

And I'm just wondering, are we making -- is there the potential here to make too much of what has happened over the last week and scare children unnecessarily?

SCHULZE: You know, it's a fine balance. You can never make too much when it comes to the safety of kids. But I think it definitely is a responsibility of adults to make sure that you have school safety plans, crisis response plans in place.

But it's definitely a community issue. And so you want to make sure that kids feel very comfortable at the school, that you're in constant partnership and communication with families as well.

So I think you could never underestimate the seriousness of these incidents and the planning. But yet, you also want to make sure that the message goes out to the entire community that it's not just a school issue.

HARRIS: Sure.

Principal Murray, thousands of schools throughout the country, we're talking about incidents in three schools over -- three deadly shootings over the last week. Is there the potential here to make too much of this and to scare children unnecessarily?

MURRAY: No, I don't think -- well, first of all, I don't think that children should be frightened, but they should be made aware of these kinds of things. And you should be -- we need to talk with them honestly and get their honest feelings about how they perceive a particular situation or events.

It's always -- it's really a good thing to get things out on the table. But in terms of being an alarmist, in terms of telling them that -- or getting them to the point where they feel a lot of anxiety, I don't think that's the way to go with that.

HARRIS: And Principal Kenebrew, the president is going to talk about school safety next Tuesday. Last question to you, what would you like to hear him say in that speech?

KENEBREW: I would like to hear the president say that our schools that are mostly in major urban cities and in communities, parents and students need to feel that schools are a safe haven, and that we should put systems and structures in place so that things that happen across the country don't happen in the school systems.

HARRIS: OK.

KENEBREW: So we have to keep -- continue to support, you know, safety and structure.

HARRIS: And let me take a moment to thank our principals for taking part in this discussion on school safety.

Vincent Murray of Atlanta's Grady High School, Leonard Kenebrew of Chicago's Roberto Clemente Community Academy, and Janet Schulze of John O'Connell High School of Technology in San Francisco, thank you all. We appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: And Tony, we've been encouraging people to send us their thoughts on school safety all morning via e-mail through the newsroom@cnn.com. And here's at least one of them.

"My son and daughter attend elementary schools in the Jackson, New Jersey, area. There is one security guard for all the elementary and middle schools in the Jackson district. I approached the principal of Elms Elementary School about my concerns and said we had to cut costs somewhere. The conversation continued on, but our concerns as parents about the security in our schools remain."

That coming from Jerry.

And then also another one out of Washington.

HARRIS: And this is from T. McGary, who writes, "Here in Washington State, the smaller cities still believe that they are invincible. Therefore, not taking any kind of precautions to even protect our children from each other. There are no metal detectors and no visible security guards."

WHITFIELD: And Pearl, Mississippi, remember that was the city put on the map because of a school shooting that took place there? Derek writes, "I live in Pearl, Mississippi, where the shooting occurred at Pearl High School a few years ago. I think that with the recent increase in these shootings, every school in the nation should have metal detectors placed at every single entrance to the schools, regardless of the cost."

HARRIS: And our special coverage on this subject will continue all afternoon long in the NEWSROOM.

Still ahead, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in the West Bank this hour, just as the Palestinian political crisis appears to be deepening.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is outside Palestinian Authority headquarters in Ramallah -- Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony.

Well, Condoleezza Rice will be finishing her visit here just momentarily. She had a press conference with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, where the Palestinian leader reiterated those difficulties he is having trying to form a national unity government with Hamas.

Hamas has made it clear that it will not take part in any government that recognizes Israel. Mahmoud Abbas and the United States saying that that simply is a nonstarter. Mahmoud Abbas has said that the dialogue with Hamas has effectively come to an end, deepening a political crisis that turned violent this weekend in Gaza when at least 12 people were killed in clashes between Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction and Hamas -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Ben, we understand that the secretary of state will have dinner this evening with Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert. Give us a sense of what it is that the secretary of state is trying to pull off here. We understand it's all about trying to get these talks moving again.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's trying to get the -- create the impression that the talks are moving, that there is progress in some form or another between the Palestinians and the Israelis to solving their problems. But really, the general impression you get from the Israeli media, from Israeli officials and from Arab officials in places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia is that the United States is trying to make the impression that they're moving the Palestinian/Israeli problem forward, but really creating -- getting support for some sort of diplomatic offensive against Iran, and on the question of nuclear weapons there. So it's a complicated situation, and there's a lot of skepticism in the Middle East that she's really going to make much progress on the ground -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK, Ben Wedeman for us. Ben, appreciate it. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Tony, some might say that there are peace talks needed in Washington. Some top Republicans are now rushing to the defense of the embattled speaker of the house. Dennis Hastert says he will not resign as speaker over the handling of the Capitol e-mail scandal. It already forced the resignation of Congressman Mark Foley. President Bush has voiced his support, as have some GOP leaders on Capitol Hill. The No. 2 Republican in the house, John Boehner, says Hastert should not resign, but he also says he thought Hastert had dealt with the issue months ago.

HARRIS: Too lewd for the tube? Reporting the graphic details in the Mark Foley scandal can be a challenge.

CNN's Jeanne Moos here to give it her best shot.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When lines like "how my favorite young stud doing" are among the tamer Internet messages being bandied about in the Foley story, TV's in trouble.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Full of graphic, sexual language, too graphic to be broadcast.

MOOS (on camera): Too graphic to be broadcast maybe, but nothing's too graphic for the Internet.

(voice-over): Prompting warnings like "reader discretion strongly advised" at ABC's Web site, where in between the sometimes downright dirty dialogue, you also get the interruptions. "By right back, my mom is yelling," types one teen. Serious reporters end up role playing the suggestive stuff, becoming targets for comedians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you wearing?

T-shirt and shorts.

Love to slip them off of you.

JON STEWART, COMEDIAN: There you have it, ABC's Brian Ross. Worst phone sex operator ever.

MOOS: And while journalists are doing their best to present solemn re-enactments.

VERJEE: Foley: I miss you lots in San Diego. Teen: Yes, I can't wait till D.C. Foley responds with a smile symbol.

MOOS: The real smiles are prompted by Web sites like Invisible Engine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The following is a dramatization of an actual instant message investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do I make you a little horny?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cool.

MOOS: And everywhere there's a LOL, laughing out loud, in the transcript. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ha, ha.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ha, ha.

MOOS: The Huffington Post solicits humorous homemade videos, and one of their top ones at the moment is "Trick of Treating at the Foley." It's a quiz. They give you former Congressman Foley's line, and you pick the correct response. Let's see if you've been paying attention. When Foley asks, "Do I make you a little horny," did the teen answer, "no, my mom made this costume," "a little," or "no, you make me sick."

(on camera): The correct answer is "a little."

(voice-over): You may think this is all a little much. If it weren't for the Internet, we wouldn't be getting the uncensored story, misspellings and all. "So you have a fetich" typed the teen.

The transcript proves that even a congressman ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you want to fool around?

MOOS: ...can't seem to fool around without making typos.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: OK, so speaking of Halloween, you know, temperature's getting cooler out there. Trying to make a very delicate transition. Chad Myers in the weather center. Chad, help me out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Men and women, I think we'd all agree, wouldn't we, 100 percent equal in all areas of life?

WHITFIELD: OK, I like that.

HARRIS: You agree?

WHITFIELD: OK, I'm going with it. Well, sort of.

HARRIS: Sort of. The story next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: There are about 7,000 African Union peacekeepers in Darfur, Sudan.

HARRIS: Charged with bringing law and order to an area the size of California.

CNN's Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange got a firsthand look at the many challenges these troops are facing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: These are the men trying to stand in the way of genocide. We tagged along with this battalion of the African Union Peacekeeping force in Darfur, to see what chance they have of succeeding.

Their assignment on this day is to travel 50 miles to the town of Tawiya, the scene of a recent attack that forced nearly 15,000 villagers to flee their homes. It was a journey these peacekeepers could not complete.

Along the way, the patrol takes a routine stop for information. Just as they are moving out, their commander's radio crackles with a message from headquarters.

(on camera): Halfway on the road to Tawiya, we have just been informed that there's some rebel activity not too far from where we are and that we have to turn around immediately and head back towards El Fasher.

(voice-over): Four weeks ago this battalion lost nearly a dozen men in a gun battle with antigovernment rebels who stole their vehicles and weapons. They are not about to take chances on this day.

We returned to base and these men are tired. Frustrated. Their morale, low.

Their new force commander is only days into his new job. But this peacekeeping veteran of wars as far way as Kosovo, Liberia and Congo will be the first to tell you his mandate here is a mission impossible.

MAJOR GENERAL LUKE APREZI, A.U. FORCE COMMANDER: Simply put, the force has inadequate, gross inadequacy of men and material. We cannot carry out simple peacekeeping duties. We cannot provide the enabling environment for humanitarians to do their work.

KOINANGE (on camera): If you had a wish list, if someone said, here, General, what do you need carry your mission, what would it be?

APREZI: I need about at least twice the number of troops I have on the ground and I need adequate logistics and air assets to be able to carry out the duties, for me to carry out the mandate given to me.

KOINANGE (voice-over): But the battalion is back on patrol. Despite their lack of resources and manpower, heading to this makeshift city of plastic tents, population, 43,000 internally displaced people. A polite term for refugees in their own country.

People like 47-year-old farmer Abubaka Ahmed Abdanr (ph), who recently fled fighting in his village, 50 miles away, with his wife and 12 children. Now trying to make a living selling fruit with protection from these African Union peacekeepers.

I am alive because of these peacekeepers, he says. God bless them.

But these peacekeepers didn't reach Tawiya. And they don't achieve peace here. There just aren't enough of them and they don't have enough firepower to protect even themselves from the warring factions here.

So these are the men trying to stand in the way of genocide. They don't stand a chance.

Jeff Koinanage, CNN, on the road with African Union peacekeepers in north Darfur.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And all this week, Jeff Koinange is with Anderson Cooper, reporting from Africa on the continent's humanitarian crisis. Tune in tonight, 10:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

WHITFIELD: And here's a vanity question for you. Who looks younger longer, men or women? You're not going to answer that right now, are you? OK, let's wait till the break, please.

Your daily dose of health news coming up next in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: I'm a man who moisturizes.

WHITFIELD: A manly man.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: In our "Daily Dose", the skinny on a story about skin that might have many ladies saying, I knew it.

WHITFIELD: Or, not fair.

Turns out our skin does age faster than men's. That conclusion from German researchers. Using a new laser technique, they measured skin elasticity. The test found that women lose collagen faster than men. And collagens are the proteins that give skin strength and smoothness. The good news, that new laser technique, well, it could help in the study of skin diseases and possibly lead to better anti- aging cosmetics.

But you know what? I wonder if it really is something just by nature or because women, you know, we're dealing with pulling and tugging, makeup and all that stuff far more than men. So might that contribute to losing your elasticity? That's just my little question. That's all I want to know.

HARRIS: Yes. Most men, not this man.

My son says to me, daddy, you wear makeup? Yes, son, I have a job where I wear makeup for a living. Thank you very much for mentioning that.

WHITFIELD: Makeup light for you. HARRIS: Yes. To catch your "Daily Dose" of health news online -- thank you, Fred -- log on to our website. You'll find the latest medical news, they have a library of information on diet and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.

Carol Lin is following breaking news out of Texas -- Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

Tony, we're going to show you pictures from our affiliate KHOU out of Houston, Texas. The Valero refinery, there's been some kind of chemical spill. And you see some of the employees out in the parking lot. Just a short time ago, I saw some emergency response vehicles, firefighters on the scene. There's a bus on the scene right now. It appears they might be trying to get employees out of that area.

This happened at about 9:35, local time. And right now the latest report is that Valero is trying to account for its personnel and notify the relevant agencies. So this is a quickly developing situation there on the ground in Houston, Texas.

HARRIS: OK. Carol, appreciate it. I know you'll keep us updated on this.

And let's get a preview of "YOUR WORLD TODAY" coming up at the top of the hour. Jim Clancy is here with a preview for us.

Hey, Jim.

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Fredricka, Tony, don't worry about the wrinkles, eventually they catch up with all of us.

WHITFIELD: Can't do anything about it?

CLANCY: You get wrinkles worrying about The Middle East peace process, you know, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority President, meeting with Condoleezza Rice today. Secretary Rice says she wants to redouble the administration's efforts to get a peace deal in place. The real question, though, is really where are these talks going? Will it amount to anything?

We're also going to take you to you Africa as we continue special coverage of the situations in Darfur and the sprawling Democratic Republic of Congo. Who are the rebels in Congo? We're going to introduce you.

Plus, some good news on the conflict front. It's coming from Northern Ireland this day. Britain's prime minister, Tony Blair, says the IRA is no longer engaged in terror. And he says it's time to stop talking and work for that final deal. So that's some surprising developments there. We're going to have that and all the rest of the news from around the world.

WHITFIELD:: Real encouraging.

CLANCY: Back to you. HARRIS: OK, Jim, see you at the top of the hour.

You're back in the NEWSROOM after a quick break. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD:: All right. Still much more of the NEWSROOM. The NEWSROOM brought to you...

HARRIS: 1:00 p.m. this afternoon...

WHITFIELD: We're all one. We're all on people.

HARRIS: Hi, Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi guys. You're parents so you can of course relate to this. We get a lot of calls and e-mails from parents talking about keeping your kids safe. How do you do it without scaring them to death? Well, in the aftermath of the recent school shooting, it's a question that a lot of parents and grandparents are asking right now. At 1:00 p.m. in the NEWSROOM, a child psychologist answers your questions about feeling safe without freaking out.

Hit send, e-mail us at CNNnewsroom@CNN.com. Join Don Lemon and me starting at 1:00 p.m in the CNN NEWSROOM.

See you then, guys.

WHITFIELD: We're going to look forward to that.

PHILLIPS: OK.

HARRIS: And "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening around the globe and here at home.

Have a good afternoon.

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