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Bush Defends Iraq Policy; U.S.-Iraqi Raid Hits Sadr City; Rush Limbaugh Questions Michael J. Fox's Political Motives; Gainesville Serial Murderer Faces Execution; Polls: Americans Split on How to Handle Immigration
Aired October 25, 2006 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, HOST: And I'm Don Lemon.
Tonight, a serial killer is set to die. He murdered five college students in 1990 and terrorized a town. We'll talk with a reporter who will witness the execution.
PHILLIPS: They've been there, on the front lines, but now they would never go back. A group of soldiers wants American troops home. Voices of experience or political pawns? Both sides join us from the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Then, the stem cell debate and the World Series. Stepping up to the plate for a cause. A cause celebre brings out big hitters on both sides.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
With just 13 days before crucial midterm elections, President Bush, once again, strongly defends the war in Iraq and vows the U.S. will win. But he acknowledged today what polls have been showing for a long time: many Americans are not satisfied with events in Iraq.
CNN's Elaine Quijano is at the White House with more on the president's news conference -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Don.
Well, it's interesting to note, that this news conference today took place just two weeks after the president's last news conference. And this news conference today, taking place as well, as you noted, less than two weeks before those all important congressional midterm elections.
Now this news conference today began with an opening statement on Iraq, the president talking for about 15 minutes or so. With the violence in Iraq continuing, the president said he understands that Americans are not satisfied with the way things are going there. He said he's not satisfied either.
But he also pushed back against the notion that the United States is somehow in an open-ended commitment in Iraq. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're pressing Iraq's leaders to take bold measures to save their country. We're making it clear that America's patience is not unlimited.
Yet we also understand the difficult challenges Iraq's leaders face. And we will not put more pressure on the Iraqi government than it can bear. The way to succeed in Iraq is to help Iraq's government grow in strength and assume more control over its country as quickly as possible.
I know the American people understand the stakes in Iraq. They want to win. They will support the war as long as they see a path to victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: So President Bush, Don, essentially trying to walk that fine line between -- between remaining resolute about the commitment and the overall goals in Iraq but also trying to send the message, as well, at this critical point in the election cycle, that his administration has been, and will continue to be, flexible in its tactics.
LEMON: Elaine, it was also very interesting, he never said "stay the course" during the press conference. Those words now "adjust tactics," right? What's the Democratic response to this message?
QUIJANO: It's interesting. And the reason you're not hearing this is because of the fact that Democrats have certainly tried to pick up on that "stay the course" line.
In fact, just a little bit after the president's news conference, already, Democratic leader, Senator Harry Reid, firing back in a statement, saying that the Bush administration, quote, "One day, it's 'stay the course,' the next day, it's 'change the course.' It is increasingly clear that the president does not know what to do to stop the escalating violence in Iraq."
So clearly, Don, this is a White House that is well aware that that notion of "stay the course" is something that Democrats are trying to turn to their advantage, trying to make the case, Democrats are, that, in fact, the president is sticking to a failed policy. And so the administration, you're finding, really trying to forcibly push back -- Don.
LEMON: Elaine Quijano at the White House, thank you very much for that report, Elaine.
PHILLIPS: Tanks firing away. Jet fighters screaming low overhead. It was all part of a joint U.S.-Iraqi raid today in Baghdad's Sadr City, the stronghold of the Shiite militia loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. But the mission triggered an angry response, rather, from Iraq's prime minister.
CNN's Arwa Damon, live from Baghdad.
Why is that, Arwa?
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.
That raid left, according to the Iraqi minister of interior, four civilians dead, another 20 wounded. And really underscored one of the key problems that this government face, dealing with those potentially very deadly militias.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON (voice-over): The Mehdi militia, loyal to radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, demonstrating its control of Sadr City, parading around the street, boldly brandishing weapons, just hours after Iraqi special forces and their U.S. advisers launched a raid against, according to the U.S. military, a top death squad commander.
Later in the day, and less than four miles away, fighter jets screamed overhead as the Iraqi prime minister, desperate to establish his authority to his people, reacted harshly to new benchmarks the United States has set for his government.
NURI AL-MALIKI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (though translator): I affirm that this government represents the will of the Iraqi people and the national will, and no one has the right to impose timetables on it.
DAMON: But many of the U.S. benchmarks are goals the prime minister set himself over the summer. Topping that list, dealing with the militias.
AL-MALIKI (through translator): The state is the only one that has the right to carry weapons, and we will deal with anybody who is outside the law. Everyone now realize that the existence of armed groups and militias harmed the stability and unity of the state.
DAMON: But complicating the situation is that al-Maliki owes his prime ministership largely to the support of al-Sadr's bloc, its military wing, the heavily armed and largely lawless Mehdi militia.
Besides, his words are nothing new, and many here feel that it's time for al-Maliki to stop talking and start acting decisively.
As crowds in Sadr City look at the damage left from the overnight fighting between the Mehdi militia and the Iraqi and American forces, the cost of military action is all too clear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Sleeping in her bed, she wasn't out on the street. She wasn't fighting or carrying weapons. Why do they bomb homes?
DAMON: She feels that the Iraqi government has made too many promises it has not kept. So, like many residents here, she turns to the Mehdi militia for protection.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON: It's going to take action, not more promises, from the Iraqi government, to change the perception that the militias are in control of the streets here.
Meanwhile, Operation Together Forward does continue. But it stopped just on the outskirts of Sadr City. The U.S. military is now waiting for the Iraqi government to give its OK so that it can move into Sadr City and take action against the Mehdi militia, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You mention -- you talk about action, taking more action. We saw what happened in Amarah, an area controlled, or secured, rather, by Iraqi police. That went to hell in a hand basket.
Now you're looking at what happened here in Sadr City. At what point do you make the decision -- or the prime minister needs to make the decision, we need more U.S. troops, we don't need more U.S. troops? The same conversation going on here in the United States. Stay there or pull out.
DAMON: That's very true, Kyra, and that whole issue of U.S. troops, increase or reduction, has been one that many Iraqis here have been talking about.
When it comes to Sadr City, the Iraqi government is essentially in a very tough position, if you want to look at it that way. As we just heard, the prime minister owes his position to Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc. He is still hoping for a political solution.
But many here are saying that the prime minister is just crossing his fingers and hoping that this political solution is going to work out. Well, evidently, up until now, it hasn't, when you speak with American commanders here, from company commanders, all the way up to brigade commanders, even division commanders.
And they have been saying this since 2003. They want more troops. They say that with the troops they have, they can maintain a certain level of security. But for them to really be able to succeed, they need more boots on the ground, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Arwa Damon, live in Baghdad. Thanks, Arwa.
LEMON: Talk radio show host Rush Limbaugh knows how to get attention. After all, that's what he does for a living. Well, this week, Limbaugh went after the actor Michael J. Fox and a political ad Fox taped for a Missouri Senate candidate.
CNN's Tom Foreman has that story for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Missouri's furious Senate battle, Democrat Claire McCaskill has picked up a famous ally to try to help her knock off Republican incumbent Jim Talent.
MICHAEL J. FOX, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: They say all politics is local. But it's not always the case.
FOREMAN: Actor Michael J. Fox is now quite visibly suffering from Parkinson's Disease, and he is campaigning for a number of Democrats who support stem cell research, aimed at finding a cure for Parkinson's and other disorders.
FOX: Unfortunately, Senator Jim Talent opposes expanding stem cell research. Senator Talent even wanted to criminalize the science that gives us a chance for hope.
FOREMAN: But now radio host Rush Limbaugh is accusing the ailing actor of faking it.
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: He is moving all around and shaking, and it's purely an act. This is the only time I have ever seen Michael J. Fox portray any of the symptoms of the disease he has.
FOREMAN: Fox has undeniably appeared steadier at other times. But the shaking caused by Parkinson's is that way: sometimes better, sometimes worse. It's just as undeniable that the disease effectively ended his once ascendant career.
Limbaugh is hearing none of it.
LIMBAUGH: This is really shameless, folks. This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting, one of the two.
FOREMAN (on camera): Church groups and others oppose stem cell research are conducting their own campaigns in Missouri, where a ballot initiative to support the research is also under consideration.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Embryonic stem cell research will require millions of eggs, and women will pay a terrible price.
FOREMAN (voice-over): But even some conservatives are backing away from Limbaugh's attack.
RAMESH PONNURU, SENIOR EDITOR, "NATIONAL REVIEW": Well, I don't think Republicans are going to be hurt because one talk show host, however influential, says something foolish, although it wasn't helpful.
FOREMAN: Fox, at least publicly, is acting like it's all clean fun.
FOX: It's ironic, given some things that have been said in the last couple of days, that my pills are working really well right now.
FOREMAN: But without question, this dirty campaign season just got dirtier.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: And we should note, Rush Limbaugh did offer an apology, saying, "Now people are telling me they have seen Michael J. Fox in interviews, and he does appear the same way in the interviews as he does in this commercial. All right then. I stand corrected. So I bigly, hugely admit that I was wrong. And I will apologize to Michael J. Fox, if I am wrong in characterizing his behavior on this commercial as an act."
After his apology, Limbaugh added this: "Michael J. Fox is allowing his illness to be exploited, and in the process is shilling for a Democratic politician."
Michael J. Fox's support for Claire McCaskill and the stem cell amendment in Missouri is being matched by an ad opposing the amendment. It features star power, too, including several high- profile athletes and actors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
JEFF SUPPAN, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: Amendment two claims it bans human cloning. But in the 2,000 words you won't read it makes cloning a constitutional right. Don't be deceived.
KURT WARNER, ARIZONA CARDINALS: Californians agreed to spend $6 billion on the exact same science. Now they admit there won't be any cures for at least 15 years. Same science, $6 billion, no cures. Beware of loopholes. Missourians will pay. Don't be tricked.
PATRICIAN HEATON, ACTRESS: Amendment two actually makes it a constitutional right for fertility clinics to pay women for eggs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That ad you just saw starts running tonight in Missouri during game four of the World Series which, of course, features the St. Louis Cardinals. Jeff Suppan, the second speaker you saw in the ad, is tonight's starting pitcher for the Cardinals.
PHILLIPS: Five gruesome murders, death by lethal injection, rather, book ends on a case that consumed and terrorized the University of Florida 16 years ago. It's a case that still haunts many who were there.
Jason Lanning of Bay 9 News reports from Gainesville on the hours leading up to Danny's Rolling (sic) execution.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JASON LANNING, BAY 9 NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The University of Florida, August 23, 1990. It was a deadly start to the school year. The Gainesville Ripper would mutilate and murder five students in three nights.
After one year, police finally had their man. Danny Rolling was convicted and sentenced to five death penalties in 1994.
CHUCK JOHNSON, BAY 9 HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY BUREAU CHIEF: It's hard to believe that it's finally going to happen that Danny Rolling is going to be executed for this.
LANNING: Bay 9 Hillsborough County bureau chief, Chuck Johnson, was one of the first reporters to break news of the murders in Gainesville. He worked the early morning shift, anchoring news on campus for WRUF Radio. Johnson says the days and weeks following the murders would define a dark time in U. of F. history.
JOHNSON: Campus was empty. There was an eerie silence. Nothing was going on. Classes were canceled and things like that. A lot of the students went to their homes, just to get away from the -- you know, the atmosphere.
LANNING: Seventeen-year-old Christina Powell, 18-year-old Sonja Larson, 18-year-old Christa Hoyt, and 23-year-olds Tracy Paules and Manuel Taboada. Their bodies were found days apart, all of them murdered inside their apartments, some of their body parts displayed on tabletops and book shelves for police to find.
Rolling made an attempt early this month to appeal his death sentence. After the appeal was denied, Rolling's lawyer said in a statement, "In all candor, it's not looking too good. But we're going to keep trying."
(on camera) Florida state prison workers say they are expecting a very large crowd to gather outside of the prison during tonight's execution. They say this crowd could grow larger than the crowd here back in 1989 when Ted Bundy was executed here.
In Starke, Florida, Jason Lanning, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: A freshly minted reporter called to cover a string of brutal murders at his alma mater, what a way to begin a career. Coming up from the CNN NEWSROOM, memories of the Gainesville Ripper from a man who was there.
LEMON: Some people think illegal immigration will be a major issue in the midterm elections. What do the American people think? We'll find out when the NEWSROOM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: America's porous southern border, a major issue with the midterm elections just 13 days away. In a new CNN poll by Opinion Research Corporation, most Americans favor beefing up the Border Patrol, but they're not so sure about building a fence to keep out illegal immigrants.
Here's how the numbers stack up. Nearly three quarters of the respondents favor placing more federal agents on the border. Twenty- five percent oppose that idea. Forty-five percent favor building a fence along the border; 53 percent are opposed.
Also in that survey, only 2 percent of the respondents say that the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. should be increased. Just over a quarter say kept the same; 67 percent, decreased.
Well, CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider has been taking a closer look at what the poll numbers mean. He joins us now from San Antonio, Texas.
Hey, Bill.
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Kyra.
You know, in the problem of illegal immigration, Americans agree on the generalities, but they disagree on many of the particulars.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Illegal immigration is really two issues. One is border security. Americans generally favor stronger border controls in a new CNN poll taken by the Opinion Research Corporation.
Put more agents on the border with Mexico, nearly three quarters of Americans say yes. Impose fines of tens of thousands of dollars on employers who hire illegal workers, 58 percent say yes.
Congress has approved building a 700-mile-long fence on the border, although they have not funded the project. Does the public favor a fence? They're sitting on the fence.
Democrats are critical.
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Voting for fences may be good politics for some, but it's bad policy for America. It's a feel- good vote that will do more harm than good.
SCHNEIDER: Republicans, including President Bush, tend to support it.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I think building a fence along the border, doing whatever it takes to control the border, is an important step. It's not the entire process.
SCHNEIDER: There is a second issue.
GINGRICH: We're clearly going to need to think through what you do with people who are already here.
SCHNEIDER: Generally, the public agrees with President Bush.
BUSH: There is a rational middle ground between granting an automatic path to citizenship for every illegal immigrant and a program of mass deportation.
SCHNEIDER: But the public is divided over where to draw that line. Half say they'd like to remove all or most illegal aliens. Nearly half say they'd like all or most to remain in the U.S.
Given that division, it's not surprising that neither party has a decisive advantage on the issue. Forty-five percent say Democrats in Congress would handle illegal immigration better. Forty-three percent say Republicans would do a better job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: There's agreement on one big point: something has to be done about this problem -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Bill, it was interesting, yesterday, Glenn Beck, you know, he's got the show on Headline Prime. He also has a conservative radio show. All that -- radio summit that took place at the White House, all the conservative talk show hosts were there talking about issues.
He said that the majority of his listeners wanted to know more about illegal immigration, that that was the issue on the forefront of their minds, not Iraq. What do you think about immigration? Will it really play a big role in this election?
SCHNEIDER: I'm not sure it's going to be quite as big as the Iraq issue. But there's no question that illegal immigration is a big concern.
All over the country, including areas that are very remote from the border, places like Iowa, Illinois, New England, places that are seeing an influx of illegal immigrants. They were talking about it when I visited Rhode Island earlier this year.
Illegal immigration is a problem everywhere. And the principal complaint everywhere is the burden on taxpayers of providing health care, education services, and other services, including law enforcement, to deal with the problem of illegal immigrants.
PHILLIPS: Bill, thanks.
CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider. He's part of the best political team on television.
Think illegal immigration doesn't affect you? Well, think again. Tonight at 7 Eastern, Lou Dobbs hosts a town hall from Texas, breaking down the big business of illegal immigration and your paycheck. Sound off by sending your comments to LouTownHall@CNN.com.
Then at 8, "CNN Presents: Immigrant nation", an in-depth look at both sides of the immigration debate.
LEMON: Ending the violence in Iraq. There's a new timeline. A closer look at the options and the obstacles, ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: On Monday, ford reported a quarterly loss of nearly $6 billion. Now, Ford's biggest rival is out with its results. Susan Lisovicz joins us from the New York Stock Exchange to tell us how GM fared in the latest quarter.
Hi, Susan.
(STOCK REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: We're pressing Iraq's leaders to take bold measures to save their country. We're making it clear that America's patience is not unlimited, yet we also understand the difficult challenges Iraq's leaders face. And we will not put more pressure on the Iraqi government than it can bear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Timelines and benchmarks, the new focus in Iraq. The goal, getting Iraqis to take more control of security.
CNN's John Roberts takes a look at the options and the obstacles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go front.
JOHN ROBERTS, SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If things had been going according to plan, this American Stryker battalion would have been home long time ago instead of in its fifteenth month of deployment in Iraq, working the neighborhoods of Baghdad, trying to establish, let alone keep, the peace.
LT. COL. AL KELLY, U.S. ARMY: We were doing search operations a couple of days ago. We found guys on top of rooftops transferring weapons. As we went into houses, they transferred one house to the other.
ROBERTS: The job is overwhelming and may, as General George Casey indicated Tuesday, require even more boots on the ground.
GEN. GEORGE CASEY, COMMANDER, MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: Do we need more troops to do that?
Maybe. And as I've said all along, if we do, I will ask for the troops I need, both coalition and Iraqis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our route today...
ROBERTS: At the same time, the United States is setting out a timetable of 12 to 18 months for Iraq's fledgling democracy to achieve benchmarks. It may help end the sectarian violence that threatens to tear Iraq apart.
ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: Success in Iraq is possible and can be achieved on a realistic timetable. Iraqi leaders must step up to achieve key political and security milestones on which they have agreed.
ROBERTS: With the American elections just two weeks away, President Bush is bending to massive pressure from his own party to fix Iraq.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham warned: "We're on the verge of chaos. The current plan is not working."
Will a timetable help push the Iraqi government to make progress?
The country's national security adviser thinks it will.
(on camera): So what will a timetable do?
MOUAFFEQ AL-RUBAIE, IRAQI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, to push people to work towards a deadline. And these deadlines are good in work. I mean, even in a private company, you need to put that target and a deadline to reach.
ROBERTS (voice-over): Iraq has met several critical deadlines, all part of the political process. But at the same time, the violence continues to increase. More than 90 American troops have been killed in October, by far the deadliest month this year. Car bombings and death squads have taken well over 700 Iraqi lives. Yet the Iraqi government still appears incapable of disarming the dozens of militias that are fueling much of the violence.
KHALILZAD: Unauthorized security forces need to be brought down, whether it's the insurgents, whether it's the militias.
ROBERTS (on camera): Missing from Tuesday's announcement of a timetable was any mention of what will happen if the Iraqi government fails to meet the benchmarks it has agreed to. And while it would appear unlikely that there would be any significant increase in the name of troops in Baghdad before the November 7th election, keep in mind that soon after that, attention will turn to the 2008 presidential race. And Republican frontrunner John McCain is recommending tens of thousands more boots on the ground here.
John Roberts, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And get a fresh perspective on the day's top stories from Anderson Cooper. Join "AC 360" weeknights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
Bold statements about U.S. policy in Iraq coming from an unlikely source.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I adamantly oppose the war in Iraq. I don't feel American people, Iraqi civilians or American servicemen benefit from it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Some military men and women currently serving, breaking ranks, less than two weeks before Election Day. That's ahead from the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: And we know she plans on keeping her baby. Will Oprah's blessing help it happen? Madonna tells her side of the story next, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Facing a tidal wave of bad press over her pending adoption in Malawi, pop singer Madonna realizes what she must do. She goes to see the queen, the queen of daytime chat, that is.
CNN's Paula Hancocks has more as Madonna pleads her case in the court of public opinion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Madonna's been defending her attempts to adopt 13-month-old David Banda. Now, she has been defending her actions in the only way a celebrity can. She spoke to Oprah Winfrey. She taped an interview with the U.S. chat show host on Tuesday, saying that as far as she was concerned, she had not broken the law. Human rights organizations have been criticizing her, saying that her adoption process had been fasttracked, and that she hadn't had to spend 18 months in Malawi undergoing the heavy vetting process that many other people have had to.
Now, during this interview with Oprah Winfrey, she was fighting back tears. It was an emotional Madonna. She said she is absolutely baffled by the controversy, and also said she wanted to take David Banda, this small boy, back to Malawi once or twice a year. She wanted to make sure he stayed in touch with his roots, and also she had aspirations of becoming a spokesman for his country in later years.
Now a couple of the members of the audience spoke to reporters afterwards. This is their impressions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought she was very sincere and made a big impact on the audience about her mission as to why she went over there and what she did. And I support her. I think she's doing a great thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you don't think she's doing anything illegal?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not at all. I think she's doing a great thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madonna actually stated that, when they went to court for the first part of the adoption process, she looked at her in her eyes, and told her, I thank you for doing this. For, you know, thank you for offering my son a better life.
HANCOCKS: Madonna said she was also surprised by comments from David Banda's father. He has said over the past few days that he didn't realize that when he signed the adoption papers, that was an adoption for good. He thought that Madonna was just going to raise his son, educate his son, and then he would return back to Malawi. But he did say in an interview with "Time" magazine that he wouldn't dream of trying to stop this adoption because that would be killing his son's future.
Now, the full interview will be on Oprah later this Wednesday afternoon, sand at this point, we know that Madonna is staying in London with David Banda.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, outside Madonna's house, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, the tip of Baja, California, takes a beating as Tropical Storm Paul roars past. At least two people have died, one a fisherman, the other an American who was swept out to sea. Hundreds of people who evacuated Cabo San Lucas are making their way back today as that storm heads to Mexico's mainland.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Now, when weather becomes the news, you can become a CNN correspondent. If you see severe weather happening, just send us an I-report. Rob's talked about this, Don's talked about this, I've talked about this. Just go to CNN.com, click on I-report or type in ireport@CNN.com on your cell phone, and share your photos or videos with us.
LEMON: Five brutal deaths that Gainesville, Florida, and probably many in the country, if not the world, will never forget. Sixteen years later, the convicted killer counts down his last hours, while Gainesville relives terrifying memories. We've got the story straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: More now on the rapes at Arizona's Fort Apache Reservation. Over the past ten days, three men have been arrested. All are in their 20s. Authorities say that two of them, Jesse Dupris and Jeremy Reed worked together as tribal security officers in the community where those rapes took place. Both are charged with a host of crimes, from abduction to molestation of a child. It's not clear what their relationship is to the other suspect, Jim Aday. He's charged in two of the 15 reported cases. Investigators believed a man dressed as a police officer has been assaulting girls for the past year.
He was a cult leader and a killer who claimed to hear God's voice. Jeffrey Lundgren was executed by lethal injection in Ohio yesterday. He was convicted of killing five members of his religious cult because he thought they lacked faith. He told his jury that he didn't deserve the death penalty because he was a prophet of God. He recently argued that execution was likely to be painful because he was obese and diabetic. His argument was rejected by a federal appeals court.
LEMON: Well, think back. You'll probably remember this. It's been 16 years. In 1990, a string of gruesome killings stunned the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. The carefree-college town was paralyzed with fear, and a rookie television reporter was suddenly covering one of the biggest stories he had ever seen.
Jeff Weinsier now works at WPLG in Miami, but he's back on familiar turf with memories of Danny Rolling's terrible, terrible crime spree.
Jeff, you covered the killings when they happened, and this evening, you will witness Rolling's execution. It's very unusual. What's going through your head right now?
JEFF WEINSIER, DISCOVERED 1990 GAINESVILLE MURDERS: Well, there's no way to ever prepare for something like this, to watch someone die. Today, tonight I should say, I am going to be the eyes of the public inside the witness chamber, actually witnessing the execution.
For me, it's part of the story. I was at every murder scene, all three of them. I lived within a mile of all of the crime victims here. My wife went to high school with Christa Hoyt, one of the victims. I still have the 38 special that I bought from Sapp's (ph) Pawn Shop in Gainesville at the time, because we never knew who we would be the next person.
So those of who actually worked in Gainesville at the time say we didn't work this story, we actually lived it. For me, the families -- this won't be closure -- but for me, this will probably be the final chapter.
LEMON: Yes, and you mentioned Christa Hoyt. Just to quote from her mother here, "She said this is a tough thing, but it's a necessary thing to go through. The final thing we can do for Christa and my late husband and her dad, Gary, who died." They're thinking it's the right thing.
Three bodies -- or five bodies, rather, found, in three days, in the period of three days. What was it like, living in that area? I remember all over the country, families and students were afraid across college campuses.
WEINSIER: Didn't just affect that area; it affected the entire state of Florida. Living there, first of all, many people actually packed up and left. They went home. Their parents said get out of there. Students that stayed there actually lived together in a house. They moved in together. One person would stay up at night with a baseball bat. They'd line windows with beer cans so if somebody opened up a window and got in, the beer can would fall and you'd hear the noise and wake up. Without a doubt there was terror, but I talked to somebody who went to Florida State University in Tallahassee, which is two hours from Gainesville and their parents were like, go home, don't stay up in Tallahassee.
LEMON: Jeff, we have to point out, just a year before, most people remember, Ted Bundy. Ted Bundy was accused of killing at least 36 women. He was executed just the year before, in Gainesville, for a similar crime. So this town, it was sort of a double whammy for the people here.
WEINSIER: A double whammy for the people here.
And what's very interesting is when you go to campus today and talk to the students, which we have over the past few days, they were just 5 and 6 years old. In fact, I walked up to several and said, do you know who Danny Rollings is? And at least a few of the students had absolutely positively no idea who he is. But no matter where you go to, the offices you walk into in Gainesville, the public defender's office, state attorney's office, the (INAUDIBLE) Sheriff's Office, the picture of those five victims up on the wall, it is something that the people of Gainesville, the people of the state of Florida, will never forget.
LEMON: Talk to me about the wall -- we were just showing it 00 the wall that was erected in memory of those students. And it looks like, you know, there's graffiti all around it, but it doesn't look like people touched that wall.
WEINSIER: They don't. In fact, that is known as the 34th Street Grafitti Wall. It's about a block, a block-and-a-half long. And every day, students come there, and they're allowed to. It's not against the law, and they write happy birthday, or they send messages up. And that one -- one area has stayed the same for virtually 16 years. In fact, there was a fraternity on the University of Florida campus that actually takes care of that part of the wall, repaints it, puts flowers down at the anniversary. And I should also tell you the victims' families, when they come up to Gainesville, they actually go to that wall adjacent to that wall. Adjacent to that wall, in the median of 34th Street, there are five planted palms with the victims names on them as well.
LEMON: And, Jeff, living in that community, and your saying your girlfriend is from that community, I know that you're a reporter, but just sort of, in human terms, and from just living there and being there, what do you think's going to happen to you tonight? How do you think you're going to react to it? It's not -- I don't think it'll be easy witnessing an execution.
WEINSIER: I don't think it will be easy. On the way over here, I said to my photojournalist, you know, I've got a knot in my stomach all of a sudden. I am not looking forward to it, but I can tell you in living in Gainesville at the time, and becoming friendly with the family members, knowing what Danny Rolling has admitted doing to those victims -- we're talking about mutilation, we're talking about decapitation, we're talking about posing the bodies in certain ways so when the investigators walked in, there was shock value there. All I have to do is think of that, and think that I'm a journalist and this is part of the story, and I think I'll be okay. Time will tell.
LEMON: Yes, time will tell. Jeff Weinsier, thank you so much for joining us. And I want to point out that Danny Harold Rolling, the 63rd inmate to be put to death since Florida reinstated executions back in 1979, the third this year. Thank you, sir.
WEINSIER: Thank you, Don.
LEMON: Message from a killer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If only I could bend back the hands on that ageless clock and change the past. But alas, I am not the keeper of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's trying to make a name for himself. He wants to be a poet or something, or a philosopher. He's just an idiot, that's all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A mother is seeking closure today. That's ahead, in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, teens kicking back after school, hanging with friends, talking on their cell phones, put them behind the wheel, but it's a dangerous mix.
CNN's Dan Lothian reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No cars. Now you can commit your turn.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING (voice over): Sixteen-year-old Ryan Holmes, on the road in a Boston suburb, learning the skills to get his driver's license.
RYAN HOLMES, STUDENT DRIVER: I feel pretty confident, but I know I have a lot to learn.
LOTHIAN: For teens, it's the fast lane to independence. But now a word of caution from AAA, commuting home from school between 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. may be just as harmful to your 16 or 17-year-old's health as cruising during high-risk weekend hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Parents aren't paying much attention to driving after school and providing rules or guidance about that time of the week.
LOTHIAN (on camera): Triple A says that between 2002 and 2005 the young drivers were involved in 1100 fatal crashes during weekday periods, almost as many as weekends, a little more than 1200.
ILYA TVERSKOY, DRIVING INSTRUCTOR: That's why they come out with the seatbelts, right?
LOTHIAN: Driving instructor Ilya Tverskoy says many teens, after spending all day in the classroom, are ready to let off some steam, want to chat on their cell phones and sometimes end up in a car packed with friends.
TVERSKOY: They're on the road, again, uncontrolled. They have the music. They're out of school. Obviously the attention on the road is not going to be where it's supposed to be.
LOTHIAN: Distractions, peer pressure and inexperience, a deadly combination, especially during peak rush hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Straight ahead.
LOTHIAN: Ryan says he understands the risk.
HOLMES: I think that there will be more pressure, but I think it's the driver's responsibility to keep that pressure -- to be aware of that pressure, and make sure he's not affected by it directly.
LOTHIAN: Experts say parents can help by removing some of the distractions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No cell phones. No teen passengers with a teen driver during the first three months of their driving; and no more than one teen passenger during the rest of their first year.
LOTHIAN: For Ryan, the rules from his parents are very clear.
HOLMES: And I think they definitely instill in me that I should be responsible as a driver and a passenger in the car.
LOTHIAN: A teen driving to stay safe behind the wheel, 24/7.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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