Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Former Employee of Oprah Winfrey Academy in South Africa Arrested; More Staph Cases; Attorney General Nomination

Aired November 02, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning again, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed.
I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody.

I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming in to the CNN NEWSROOM on this Friday, November 2nd.

Here's what's on the rundown.

Mystery in a box. Child remains found. Who is she? Authorities plead for your help.

HARRIS: Fire on the Hill. A string of fires in Senate office buildings. The latest one is out, but questions linger.

COLLINS: And pizza lovers alert, frozen brands recalled. Concerns over possible E. coli contamination.

In the NEWSROOM.

Want to go ahead and get you more information now on this story that we told you about just a little while ago, an update on the situation with the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

You may know this story about some investigations that are going on right now about alleged abuses that may have taken place at the school. So on the line we have with us now the superintendent for the school, Lungelo Dlamini. He's a spokesperson -- or excuse me, he is the provincial commissioner of the South Africa Police Services.

Thanks for being with us, sir.

I wonder if you could just begin by telling us a little bit about what may have happened here.

LUNGELO DLAMINI, SOUTH AFRICA POLICE SERVICES: (INAUDIBLE) at the school, and a group of experts were appointed to investigate this misconduct. After compiling a report (INAUDIBLE) to the police. And then this report (INAUDIBLE) the members of the police to speed up the investigation of abuse. The victims (INAUDIBLE) already identified. As a result, we have continued to (INAUDIBLE) we arrested a woman yesterday.

COLLINS: You arrested...

DLAMINI: She has been arrested...

COLLINS: Pardon me. You arrested one person who I understand to be the matron of the school?

DLAMINI: Yes. She's a former matron of the school and (INAUDIBLE) including assault and (INAUDIBLE) and soliciting girls under the age to perform indecent acts.

COLLINS: OK. So if I understand you correctly, you're saying -- you know, we have some reports here in front of us from Reuters Africa that are saying that this woman apparently fondled one of these students and grabbed a girl by the throat, threw her against the wall.

Are these the types of abuses that you are talking about?

DLAMINI: Yes, those are charges that are included in to our report that we are going to take to court. And she's expected to appear in court on Monday.

COLLINS: OK.

DLAMINI: And (INAUDIBLE) continue.

COLLINS: OK. So she's expected to be in court on Monday. Again, this is a matron at the school.

There were some indications through the reports that I'm reading right now that there could be other employees involved in this type of misconduct. Any truth to that? Or is there an investigation that is ongoing into those possible allegations?

DLAMINI: At this state we are investigating one employee who has been arrested. We are not investigating other employees.

COLLINS: OK. So just one employee, the person that has been arrested.

All right. Well, we certainly appreciate you telling us more of the story.

Again, Superintendent Lungelo Dlamini, appreciate your time this morning very much.

HARRIS: And T.J. Holmes is following a story out of Washington State, a pretty tough one here. And it all has to do with MRSA.

This is a story we've been following pretty closely over the last couple weeks, T.J., and this is that drug-resistant -- multiple drug- resistant superbug.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, superbug is the name we're calling it these days. But yes, MRSA, we have one death to report out of the Seattle area.

A 46-year-old man, according to health officials there, a 46- year-old man died of this drug-resistant staph infection. But also another case in Washington State as well. This was in Port Townsend, where a student at a high school has now been diagnosed with MRSA.

So, as you can imagine, that certainly will have some concern for a lot of parents and the students who have to attend these schools. And what I believe the video we're seeing here, officials are now going through the process of thoroughly scrubbing down this school, putting certainly emphasis on the gym and the locker rooms, weight rooms, and things like that.

Now, it doesn't appear -- again, Port Townsend is a little ways away from the Seattle area. So no reason to think that these two cases are connected in any way. Don't know how either of the two right now contracted MRSA. But again, one death out of the Seattle area.

And again, the student -- we don't know the student's name, also don't know the student's condition, how that student is doing at this point. But again, it's always a scary thing. And we saw not too long ago a young man in October actually in New York died.

HARRIS: Yes.

HOLMES: A 12-year-old boy died, and now his family is taking some legal action against the -- against the hospital up there.

But this thing is tough to identify oftentimes, and also certainly tough to treat, because it is resistant to these standard antibiotics. But right now school officials are actually encouraging parents to keep their students, to keep their kids home from school.

HARRIS: Yes.

HOLMES: And you can imagine the fear. And you have to scrub down the school. As you're seeing here.

HARRIS: There you go. Yes.

HOLMES: Spraying these things down. But the student, we don't know the age, don't know the condition, don't know the name of the student. But certainly when you have a student in school running around school with the potential to pass this thing along to other folks, it is some scary stuff.

And also -- and we were talking more about it and we've seen deaths related to this, but, Tony, as we know, this is nothing new really. MRSA is not a new thing.

HARRIS: That's right.

HOLMES: It's just oftentimes seen mostly in hospitals and whatnot. But now a few cases have crept into the schools. We've seen a death or two now. HARRIS: Yes.

HOLMES: And there's increased concern and more awareness, which is a good thing.

HARRIS: Yes.

HOLMES: But just common sense and everyday hygiene, just washing the hands like that, can help this thing from spreading.

HARRIS: You said it. That's it.

HOLMES: And also, not a lot of people die from this thing. A lot of people can get it sometimes, don't even know it.

HARRIS: Right.

HOLMES: Some people will be just fine. But in some of these cases it can be deadly. So it's certainly something to keep an eye on. But these two cases popped up and one death in Washington State.

So we're keeping an eye on that and all these...

HARRIS: You can't say it enough, T.J. You have got to wash your hands. You have got to wash your hands.

HOLMES: Yes. The simple things.

HARRIS: The simple things.

All right, T.J. Appreciate it. Thank you.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

COLLINS: Want to take you now to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, where our Elaine Quijano is traveling with President Bush.

And Elaine, I understand some more comments have been made by the president about his nominee for attorney general.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right. And this is following on, of course, to President Bush's speech yesterday, and also that rare meeting that he had in the Oval Office with reporters off camera.

President Bush, just a short time ago, upon landing here in South Carolina, talking to reporters once again. He reiterated his call for the Senate to move forward on the nomination of his attorney general choice, Michael Mukasey.

The president called Mukasey a "good, fair man," and said that he was qualified to be attorney general. Then, as he did yesterday, the president stressed the importance of getting an attorney general in place in order to help protect the United States.

Now, standing next to him, interestingly, Heidi, was South Carolina's senator, Lindsey Graham, a Republican whose fundraiser President Bush will actually be attending today. Now, Senator Graham says that he will support Mukasey's nomination, but, of course, Senator Graham is one of three senators that is also calling on Michael Mukasey to, once he is confirmed as attorney general, if he is confirmed, to say that U.S. interrogators will not use waterboarding as an interrogation technique.

No mention of that in the president's remarks today just a short time ago, but here, meantime, Heidi, at Fort Jackson, the president, we're told, is going to be congratulating the Army graduates here. Also expect him, of course, to talk about their efforts in protecting America in the war on terror. So we will look for that, but more pushback from President Bush as he anticipates a very close fight in the Senate for his attorney general nominee, Michael Mukasey -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Very good.

Elaine Quijano traveling with the president, Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

Thanks, Elaine.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: A fire on Capitol Hill this morning. It's out, but police say it is the latest in a string of suspicious fires.

Live now to the Hill and Congressional Correspondent Jessica Yellin.

Jessica, give us the latest on this and talk to us about this string of these fires recently.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony. Well, police say this is the seventh fire on Capitol Hill actually since September 26th, and this morning there wasn't just one fire, there were also two suspicious scenes that officers continue to investigate.

Around 8:20 this morning, Senate staff received an e-mail from Capitol Police letting them know that there was a fire in a women's bathroom in one of the Senate buildings. It was immediately extinguished, they said, and that Capitol police were on the scene.

None of the buildings were evacuated, but in the past there have been evacuations. And a lot of concern here because these continue, and police say they have no viable leads and no suspects. Here is what the police told reporters this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. KIMBERLY SCHNEIDER, CAPITOL POLICE SPOKESWOMAN: This is about the seventh fire in a series of suspicious fires that have occurred on Capitol grounds on the Senate side in the last few weeks. The fire was put out quickly. USCP investigators are on the scene currently investigating, and we have several suspicious scenes as well that are being secured by crime scene search.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: So these sites are still being investigated. Again, no one was injured in any of these instances, we're told, but police continue not just to investigate what happened today, but search for any links among these various incidents -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Jessica Yellin following this story for us.

Jessica, good to see you. Thank you.

COLLINS: So, are you ready for some reruns? What a Hollywood writers' strike could mean for your favorite TV shows.

Stick around for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A search for a Nebraska school teacher. Police think she is on the run with a 13-year-old student.

Twenty-five-year-old Kelsey Peterson and the boy disappeared after police started looking into their relationship. Court documents show she and the boy exchanged e-mails and letters expressing their affection for each other.

Police say the boy called his family last week, told them he was with Peterson in Nebraska, and asked about documents needed to travel to Mexico. Peterson faces kidnapping and child abuse charges.

COLLINS: Your favorite TV shows could be going into reruns a whole lot sooner than you think. Hollywood writers preparing for a possible strike.

The Writers Guild Board is meeting today. The negotiations team recommends a walkout. Writers want more money from DVD sales and programming that is streamed over the Internet.

They're leaving the door open though for last-minute contract talks with TV and movie producers. But if there is a strike, hope you like reality shows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAUREEN RYAN, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": Reality shows are not covered by the Writers Guild, for the most part. They'll keep going. And we're going to see a lot more of them if the writers strike continues.

They're hitting the TV networks really where it hurts. This is the middle of the season. Most shows maybe will have 12 completed episodes or scripts in the can. That's only half a season.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: So what's a reality show, you ask? It seems like everything is a reality show right now. But this would be the first writers strike in almost 20 years.

So we'll be watching that story.

In fact, how would it affect your favorite TV shows? Well, you just saw some video there.

Late night shows be like Leno, Letterman and topical programs like "The Daily Show" would be the first to feel it. Your favorite soap operas could be next. Daytime soaps typically stockpile about 30 days of programming.

Most prime-time shows would probably make it through the end of the year, but the networks would have to resort to reruns in 2008 if a strike were to drag on. The 1988 walkout lasted five and a half months.

U.S. casualties in Iraq down. Civilian casualties also down. The Pentagon says things are looking better.

CNN's Barbara Starr reports on a shift in strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Defense Secretary Robert Gates stopped short of saying the U.S. is now winning in Iraq, but he came close.

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think that we have certainly been successful in significantly improving the security situation.

STARR: The military's own statistics bear it out. Since the surge began in February, the number of U.S. troops killed has declined five months in a row. Forty troops killed in October, down from a peak of 126 in May.

The number of U.S. troops wounded is also on a downward trend over the last four months, as is the number of Iraqi civilians killed. But it's not just the success of the surge. In recent weeks, the U.S. has quietly shifted strategy, focusing on working with local citizens and tribal leaders across the country and less on the fragile, often criticized, government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. .

LT. GEN. RAMYOND ODIERNO, DEP. COMMANDER, U.S. FORCES IN IRAQ: The bottom-up approach that we've done does put a little pressure on them to perform, and I think that's healthy, in my mind. I think that's healthy in any government, to get input from the bottom.

STARR: General Odierno now projects up to half of all U.S. forces could begin to shift into a new role next year, letting Iraqis look after local security while U.S. troops pursue extremists.

ODIERNO: I think you'll see us start to move to tactical overwatch in Anbar province over the next several months. I think we'll move to tactical overwatch in some neighborhoods in Baghdad over the next several months. And that will progress through 2008, but it's conditions based, it's not time based. STARR (on camera): Some U.S. troops will begin coming home in the next few weeks under the plan approved by President Bush, but one senior commander says once the troop reductions begin, the pressure to keep it going may be unstoppable.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. If you've got pizza in the freezer, check the box. Millions of frozen pizzas are being recalled.

I got details earlier from CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a lot of pizza and this is people getting very, very sick. We're talking about almost five million Totino's and Jeno's frozen pizzas that are being recalled. That is a lot of pizza.

The problem, nine people have suffered kidney failure. All right, so we're not talking about people just getting a little sick. We're talking about kidney failure from E. coli 0157:H7. And in addition, 12 other people getting sick in 10 states.

Now, where the microwave oven comes in, is that when you cook these things in the microwave, it doesn't get cooked thoroughly. So parts of it might feel scalding hot...

HARRIS: Right.

COHEN: ... and you think, oh, my pizza's done, but parts of it can be cold...

HARRIS: Absolutely.

COHEN: ... or not fully warm, and you haven't killed the E. coli.

Big problem.

HARRIS: Well, we were talking about it, and the example was, you've got baby formula in the bottle and you've got to shake it once you warm it up because there are cold spots.

COHEN: Right. And you cannot shake a pizza.

HARRIS: And you can't -- so what do we do here? What's the alternative? It seems pretty simple -- if you're not going to cook it in the -- just put it in the oven. Is that what we do here?

COHEN: Right. When you're talking about foods that can be cooked, like pizza or hamburger...

HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: ... don't use the microwave. Cook them the traditional way, whether it's on the oven or the grill. And make sure it is cooked all the way through. That's why we don't eat rare hamburgers anymore, because you're not going to kill the E. coli that way.

Now, when it comes to produce, because, of course, we've heard about E. coli in spinach...

HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: ... what do you do? That's the big question.

The bottom line is that you can't necessarily wash out that E. coli. So you can wash the produce. You're not necessarily going to get it.

Now, for most of us, really you can take your chances, because the chance of getting E. coli is so teeny tiny, sort of in the big picture of things.

HARRIS: Right.

COHEN: But you know what? There are people who have immune problems who don't eat raw produce. They don't eat raw spinach. They cook everything.

HARRIS: Right.

We want our products to be safe. What we want to know from you, Elizabeth, what is going on here? Spinach, pot pies, hamburger. What is going on? Is it in the processing?

What's going on.

COHEN: There are a couple of things that are going on.

HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: First of all, it may be that just you're hearing about this more, that companies are reporting it more...

HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: ... and that it really did happen in big numbers in the past, we just didn't hear that much about it. So that's number one.

Number two is that there really are some concerns that food processors and people for picking in the fields and for processing in the plant, that they are hiring people who don't necessarily have the kind of training and experience that you need to do it the right way. So that is a concern that's out there.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: As far as the pizza recall goes, General Mills wants you to throw out your boxes of frozen Jeno's and Totino's pizza produced since July and mail in the bar code for replacement.

Now, to get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. There you will find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness.

Here is the address: CNN.com/health.

And here we go. Bottom of the hour. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony -- oh, 108 points. You watching that over there, Heidi?

COLLINS: I'm trying not to.

HARRIS: I know, yes.

Hi. Good morning, everyone.

COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins. Did you already say who you are?

HARRIS: Yes.

COLLINS: OK.

Want to get to this story, though. Rains unrelenting and unmerciful. Times are pretty desperate in southern Mexico. Floodwaters are swallowing towns, and hundreds of thousands of people still awaiting rescue.

Here now CNN's Colleen McEdwards.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Reporter: More than half a century has passed since the Mexican state of Tabasco has suffered flooding like this. The tiny province nestled along the Gulf of Mexico has been deluged by heavy rain for a week now. Nearly three-quarters of Tabasco is under water. Hundreds of thousands of people are stranded, the homes of 700,000 people underwater. Almost half of those have still not been reached by rescue workers as of Thursday.

One of the two waterways that rings the state capital of Via Hermosa (ph) has risen two meters, about six feet above the critical level; 80 percent of the city is under water. Almost all public services there, including water and public transportation, are down, and those who can make it out, crowd around government offices, looking for assistance or simply news about their missing loved ones.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon visited the area on Wednesday and promised the full assistance of the government. For the most part, the rain has stopped, but more is forecast, and for most residents of this remote region, help, like a refuge in the storm, seems a long way off. Colleen McEdwards, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: A truce now on the table in a war over water in three drought-plagued Southern states. We've been talking about it quite a bit here in the CNN NEWSROOM. The governors of Georgia, Alabama and Florida working on a plan with feds yesterday. The Army Corps of Engineers wants to temporarily keep more water in Georgia's bone-dry lakes rather than letting it flow into Alabama and Florida. That would buy some time, while a permanent water shedding agreement is apparently hammered out. No idea how long that could take.

HARRIS: Yes.

Well, no one saw him coming. A deadly gas explosion ripped through a small -- wow. How did this happen? Federal investigators now searching for answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So some pictures we want to show you. And, look, I don't know a lot about this, but, look, firefighters are working over this garbage truck right now and the reason why is we believe the driver or maybe the driver and a passenger in the garbage truck. You know, garbage trucks travel with teams here. So we don't know how many folks are in that cab and exactly where they're trying to effect this rescue. Is it in the truck itself? Is it in the cab? They're the firefighters.

We're talking about Pembroke Pines, Florida, right now. Just pictures that popped up, and we wanted to show them to you, because quite a number of firefighters working over this garbage truck and trying to make this rescue. Certainly don't know the condition of the person or persons inside there, but we just wanted to show it to you. We'll keep an eye on it, and if we get more information we'll just share it with you.

(NEWSBREAK)

HARRIS: A baby stroller creamed by a car and, yes, the baby was inside. A story you have to see to believe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is about 15 minutes away. And Hala Gorani is standing by to tell us more about the program.

Hi there, Hala.

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi and Tony.

Yes, top of the hour noon Eastern, hope you can join us, we're going to be taking you to Mexico, where there have been massive floods in the southern part of the country. Scenes reminiscent in one southern Mexican state of pictures from those Katrina floods from a few years back. It's really a desperate situation for residents of Tabasco state. We'll tell you about it.

Also, we're going to be talking about Obama and Iran. Well, you can't fault Barack Obama these days for not taking a clear stand on a sensitive issue like Iran. The Democratic presidential hopeful says he would, quote, "engage in aggressive personal diplomacy with Tehran." We'll speak to a reporter from "The Washington Post" who's been following Mr. Obama's campaign.

GORANI: Also, when Americans think of Middle Eastern women, when you guys think of a Middle Eastern woman, what would you imagine? Do you think of this? This is Nancy Azro (ph). I traveled to Lebanon to do a profile of a young Lebanese filmmaker who says that she wants the world to see the Arab woman in a different light, and her surprising new romantic comedy called "Caramel" that has become an international success. That and more at the top of the hour.

HARRIS: Can't wait.

COLLINS: Hey, that's cool.

HARRIS: That is. Hala, appreciate it. Thank you.

You know, this is a story you just have to see to believe. A baby pinned under a car after a traffic accident. You know, I actually want to tell you how it ends, but I won't. I'll leave that to Karen O'Leary of affiliate KIRO in Seattle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREN O'LEARY KIRO REPORTER (voice-over): It was this Ford Focus, now parked in the neighborhood, that witnesses say rammed into a stroller being pushed across busy 23rd Avenue.

TERRON HAMMONDS, SAVED CHILD: She didn't hit brakes. She just lost control of the car.

O'LEARY: And this was the result. A smashed baby carriage. The 1-year-old boy inside was pinned under the car. Fortunately construction worker Terron Hammonds and his co-workers were right across the street. They lifted the car off the baby.

HAMMOND: It squished the baby bug all the way down to the ground, but the baby was up under the engine, so once we lifted, we slid it out, and the baby was still laying there smiling and grinning.

O'LEARY: The baby and mom were trapped to Harbor View medical center. We've told the baby was unhurt. As for the 47-year-old driver of that Ford, police say she will be cited for negligent driving.

HAMMOND: So she panicked. I guess she hit the gas.

O'LEARY: Other neighbors tell us this is a dangerous corner. David Armour walked his dog Maggie here regularly.

DAVID ARMOUR, NEIGHBOR: In the 18 years i've been here i've seen at least 20 accidents on the corner.

O'LEARY: Look at how another mother with two babies in a carriage treats the same intersection. Annemarie Skov has to run to beat the traffic. She told us she was horrified when she learned about this morning's accident.

ANNEMARIE SKOV, MOTHER: I think it's tragic, and I really feel strongly we need more pedestrian-friendly crosswalks, especially on busy streets.

O'LEARY: At least in this case, the tiny victim should be fine.

HAMMOND: We are praying for the mother and family.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Now, according to reports, the baby was admitted for an overnight hospital stay, but he's said to be doing just fine.

COLLINS: A battle over babies not yet born.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want my children. Those are fetuses, they're my children, you know. They're not just embryos out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: A Texas-sized divorce case that could wind up in the Supreme Court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Want to take you back to this story that we showed you a little bit earlier today from our affiliate WFOR of Pembroke Pines, Florida. This is a garbage truck that has overturned. We don't have a whole lot of information about it, but obviously you can see that a rescue is going on right now.

I'd imagine that there were passengers involved, too. So quite a few people on the scene, trying to get inside the cab of that truck. Again, garbage truck overturned at Pembroke Pines, Florida with a rescue going on. It's been going on for quite a while, too, so we'll keep our eye on this now.

HARRIS: Talk radio called for it. We'll know today whether people responded. It's being called a blackout. Tomorrow night we will talk to one of the world's most prominent black businessmen. There he is. Music and fashion mogul Russell Simmons joins us to talk about the blackout. Did he participate? How effective was it? And how does it relate to minority political clout? He'll answer those questions and more. Russell Simmons sits down for a conversation in the NEWSROOM. I'll see you tomorrow night, 10:00 p.m. Eastern. COLLINS: It's a divorce battle, and there's the question of custody. At issue, human embryos. It's a case that could go all the way to the supreme court.

CNN's Gary Tuchman explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are from very different countries and cultures, but Augusta and Randy Roman hit it off quickly when they met in Texas.

AUGUSTA ROMAN, FORMER WIFE OF RANDY ROMAN: We wanted to get married and have kids. So, we didn't really have a long, what you call it...

TUCHMAN (on camera): Courtship.

A. ROMAN: Courtship. So, we talked about it, and we wanted to get married and start a family.

RANDY ROMAN, FORMER HUSBAND OF AUGUSTA ROMAN: She was the woman that -- that I married for life, and she was the woman that I wanted to have a family with.

TUCHMAN: They had fertility issues and ultimately began in vitro fertilization treatment. Thirteen eggs were retrieved from Augusta's ovaries. Six were fertilized with Randy's sperm. The night before they were ready to implant the eggs:

A. ROMAN: I got ready for bed. And he just came out of the office and said he has something that's been on his mind that he wants to talk about.

TUCHMAN: Augusta's husband told her he didn't want to go through with it.

R. ROMAN: I just felt that something wasn't right and the marriage wasn't in harmony.

A. ROMAN: I was pretty shocked.

TUCHMAN: The couple went through marriage counseling, but, ultimately, they got divorced.

However, Augusta, who is now 47, still wanted to try to have a baby from the three embryos that survived the freezing process.

A. ROMAN: I want my children. Those are fetuses. They're my children. They're not just embryos out there.

TUCHMAN: Randy Roman says he's an evangelical Christian, but:

R. ROMAN: Not everybody in the Christian community, or in the evangelical Christian community, believes that life begins at conception. And I'm one of those who does not believe that life begins at conception.

TUCHMAN: Greg Enos is his attorney.

GREG ENOS, ATTORNEY FOR RANDY ROMAN: He doesn't want to have a child with a person who feels so negatively about him. He -- and he wants to have a child in a nuclear family.

TUCHMAN: So, in a most unusual divorce case, the Romans are fighting over custody their embryos.

REBECCA REITZ, ATTORNEY FOR AUGUSTA ROMAN: My heart just breaks for her.

TUCHMAN: Rebecca Reitz is Augusta's attorney.

REITZ: I know that -- that society should -- should err on the side of protecting life, and -- and not destroying life.

TUCHMAN: A Texas trial court ruled in favor of Augusta, but then an appellate court ruled in favor of Randy. The Texas Supreme Court decided not to hear the case. Now Augusta's attorney is preparing briefs for the U.S. Supreme Court. The embryos remain frozen at this clinic. Anti-abortion groups support Augusta.

CLARK FORSYTHE, AMERICANS UNITED FOR LIFE: The best-interests- of-the-child standard should be applied here to protect them, without regard to the individual will of either parent.

TUCHMAN: One prominent bioethicist disagrees with that.

DR. ARTHUR CAPLAN, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA CENTER FOR BIOETHICS: He is involved in the creation of the embryos, as well as her. And you don't want to put people in a position where they're being asked to reproduce against their will with someone they don't want to.

TUCHMAN: Randy Roman says his ex-wife has made this very difficult and painful.

R. ROMAN: She hates my guts, but she wants my sperm.

A. ROMAN: I don't hate him. I feel -- I think he has a problem. And I do pray for him.

TUCHMAN: She also prays that the U.S. Supreme Court take the case and rules in her favor. It's her last legal chance.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Webster, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: You know, the possible writers Guild Strike is one of the most popular stories on CNN.com this morning, and many of you seem to be concerned about how a strike could impact your favorite TV programs. The union's board is meeting this morning. COLLINS: Many of you are also pretty disturbed about the South Carolina snub of comedian Stephen Colbert. The state Democratic Party denied his request to get on the presidential primary ballot, but will he get the last laugh? Colbert also is trying to run as a Republican in his own state.

And the most popular video so far today at CNN.com, stories about the bounty hunter known as Dog. His A&E reality show had been suspended. This follows the release of audio recordings of Duane "Dog" Chapman. He is heard use the 'n' word in a rant about his son's African-American girlfriend. Chapman says he was setup.

HARRIS: Look, when you are not watching us here in the NEWSROOM, here's what we would love for you to do, go to CNN.com. In fact, why don't you Just make it your home page.

COLLINS: Take a look at this video and see if you can tell what's wrong here. That's Virginia Tech's quarterback, but is he wearing a Georgia tech jersey? We'll tell you all about a locker room mystery after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So a mystery at the Georgia Tech football stadium. That's Bobby Dodd Stadium. Someone took four jerseys from the visiting Virginia Tech locker room right before last night's game.

So what do you do? Well, here's what you do -- how about that Terrell Owens thing -- you go to work with a Sharpie. Four Georgia Tech jerseys came off the bench. The Virginia players wrote their names on the back. The words Georgia Tech on the front of the jerseys, that was marked out. And Virginia Tech said, you know, smart guys, just for taking our jerseys, take this butt-whipping. 27-3! Just piled it on.

COLLINS: Hey. That must have been hard to do. But they got the last laugh, didn't they?

HARRIS: They sure did.

COLLINS: Ouch!

CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now.

HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins. Have a great weekend, everybody.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com