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Verdict Handed Down in Bobby Cutts Jr. Murder Trial; Barack Obama Speaks to Supporters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Aired February 15, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: But then, the whole time the investigators were asking him where the body was, his involvement.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Nine days.
BROOKS: Nine days. Look, he's a police officer. Maybe police officers held to a higher standard, but, you know, he knows the system. He knows what is going on. And you know, hey, if it was an accident, say it was an accident.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: And throughout this summer he has with Jessie Davis saying, mommy hit her head, she's in the carpet. So that led police to believe, you know, well, has she been dumped somewhere, where is the body?
BROOKS: It's just -- I'll be anxious to hear what the verdict has to say, what the jurors have to say.
HARRIS: But, Mike, you go to a good point. This is all about he's a police officer and there's all kinds of what the attorneys call consciousness of guilt all over this. There's the nine days of denials and then ultimately he decides that he is going to lead them to her body. So, again, the judge is doing what judges do at this point in time, is to go over the verdict forms. And we will learn the verdict in just a couple moments.
NGUYEN: And just looking at this live picture, you see all of the law enforcement officers staged around this room. This is obviously a very emotional case.
BROOKS: Oh, yeah.
NGUYEN: -- for the family members, either way it goes.
BROOKS: Yeah.
NGUYEN: You're going to see a lot of reaction today. And when we look back at this case, I think at lot of people were really surprised earlier, Mike, I know that you're, you know no expert in this area, but that the attorneys actually put Bobby Cutts on the stand and let him testify.
BROOKS: A lot of people were surprised at that. One of the things and I was watching the testimony, I've been in a lot of courtrooms myself. And you know, he was acting like he was emotional, like he was crying. But I didn't see any tears. NGUYEN: That's what -- one of the attorneys pointed out.
BROOKS: That kind of bothered me a little bit. Was this all an act, you know, is he basically, he's trying to save his own butt when it comes right down to it. That's the bottom line.
HARRIS: Yeah. I'm just sort of getting the charges here. We mentioned, Betty, you mentioned a moment ago that there were a number of charges. I've got the list here. Aggravated murder for purposely causing the death of Jessie Davis, count two here is aggravated murder for purposely causing --
JUDGE: Thank you very much for your patience, ladies and gentlemen.
HARRIS: ... pregnancy and let's listen into the judge.
JUDGE: Verdict, count one, aggravated murder of Jessie Marie Davis, verdict form one. We, the jury, in this case, being duly impaneled and sworn do find the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. not guilty of the offense of aggravated murder as charged in count one of the indictment in violation of revised code section 2903.01b. Each of us said jurors concurring in said verdict signs his or her name hereto at this 13th day of February, 2008, and there are 12 signatures beneath that statement.
Verdict's specification one to count one, verdict form two that document is completely blank. Verdict specification two to count one, verdict form three, that document is completely blank. Verdict lesser included offense of murder as to count one, verdict form four. We the jury in this case being duly impaneled and sworn do find the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the lesser included offense of murder as to count one of the indictment in violation of revised code section 2903.02a. Each of us said jurors concurring in said verdict signs his or her name to this 13th day of February, 2008, and there are 12 signatures beneath that statement.
Verdict count two, aggravated murder, the unlawful termination of the pregnancy of Jessie Marie Davis, verdict form five. We the jury in this case being duly impaneled and sworn do find the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the offensive aggravated murder as charged in count two of the indictment in violation of revised code section 2903.01b. Each of us said jurors concurring in said verdict signs his or her name hereto this 14th day of February, 2008 and there are 12 signatures beneath that statement.
Verdict specification one to count two. We the jury in this case being duly impaneled and sworn having found the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty of aggravated murder as charged in count two of the indictment do further find the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of committing the unlawful termination of the pregnancy of Jessie Marie Davis as part of a course of conduct involving the purposeful killing of two or more persons by him as charged in specification one to count two of the indictment in violation of revised code section 2929.04a5. Each of us said jurors concurring in said verdict signs his or her name hereto this 14th day of February, 2008. Again, there are 12 signatures beneath that statement.
Verdict specification two to count two. We the jury in this case being duly impaneled and sworn having found the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty of aggravated murder as charged in count two of the indictment do further find the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of committing said offense while he was committing or fleeing immediately after committing aggravated burglary and he was a principle offender, actual killer in the aggravated murder as charged in specification two of count two of the indictment in violation of revised code section 2929.04a7. Each of us said jurors concurring in said verdict signs his or her name hereto this 14th day of February, 2008. Again, there are 12 signatures beneath that statement.
Verdict specification three to count two, verdict form eight. We the jury in this case being duly impaneled and sworn having found the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty of aggravated murder, do charge in count two of the indictment do further find the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of purposely causing the death of the viable unborn human of Jessie Marie Davis, also known as baby Chloe who was under 13 years of age at the time of the commission of the aggravated murder and that the defendant was the principle offender in the commission of the aggravated murder as charged in specification three to count two, the indictment in violation of revised code section 2929.04a9. Each of us said jurors concurring said verdict signs his or her name hereto this 14th day of February, 2008. There are 10 signatures beneath that statement on page 93. There are two additional signatures.
Verdict lesser included offense of murder as to count two, verdict form nine. That document is completely blank. Verdict count three, aggravated murder of the viable unborn human of Jessie Marie Davis, also known as baby Chloe, verdict form 10. We the jury in this case being duly impaneled and sworn do find the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the offense of aggravated murder as charged in count three of the indictment in violation of revised code section 2903.01c. Each of us said jurors concurring in said verdict signs his or her name hereto this 14th day of February, 2008 and again there are 12 signatures beneath that statement.
Verdict specification one to count three, verdict form 11. We the jury in this case being duly impaneled and sworn having found the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty of aggravated murder as charged in count three of the indictment do further find the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of committing the aggravated murder of the viable unborn human of Jessie Marie Davis, also known as baby Chloe as part of a course of conduct involving the purposeful killing of two or more persons by him as charged in specification one to count three of the indictment in violation revised code section 2929.04a5. Each of us said jurors concurring in said verdict signs his or her name hereto this 14th day of February, 2008. That is page 96. On page 96 there are 10 signatures, on page 97 there are an additional two signatures.
Verdict specification two to count three, verdict form 12. We the jury in this case being duly impaneled and sworn having found the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty of aggravated murder as charged in count three of the indictment do further find the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of committing said offense while he was committing or fleeing immediately after committing aggravated burglary and he was the principle offender and actual killer in the aggravated murder as charged in specification two to count three of the indictment in violation revised code section 2929.04a7. Each of us said jurors concurring in said verdict signs his or her name hereto this 14th day of February, 2008. And again, there are 12 signatures beneath that statement. Page 99 is blank. It doesn't -- it just had instructions on it.
Verdict specification three to count three verdict form 13. We the jury in this case being duly impaneled and sworn having found the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty of aggravated murder as charged in count three of the indictment do further find the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of purposely causing the death of the viable unborn human of Jessie Marie Davis, also known as baby Chloe, who was under 13 years of age at the time of the commission of the aggravated murder and that the defendant was the principle offender in the commission of the aggravated murder is charged in specification three to count three of the indictment in violation of revised code 2929.04a9. Each of us said jurors concurring in said verdict signs his or her name hereto this 14th day of February 2008. Again, beneath that statement on page 100 are 10 signatures; on page 101 are two additional signatures.
Verdict, count four, aggravated burglary. We the jury in this case being duly impaneled and sworn do find the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the offense of aggravated burglary as charged in count four of the indictment in violation of revised code section 2911.11a1. Each of us said jurors concurring in said verdict signs his or her name hereto this 15th day of December -- sorry, 15th day of February, 2008 and there are 12 signature lines beneath that statement, 12 signatures.
Verdict count five, gross abuse of a corpse, Jessie Marie Davis, verdict form 15. We the jury in this case being duly impaneled and sworn do find the defendant Bobby Lee Cutts Jr. guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the offensive of gross abuse of a corpse as charged in count five of the indictment in violation of revised code section 2927.01b. Each of us said jurors concurring in said verdict signs his or her name hereto this 15th day of February, 2008.
NGUYEN: So as the judge continues to read the verdict, we pretty much have the gist of it, that Bobby Cutts faces the death penalty in the aggravated murder dealing with this case. Found guilty of many of the accounts, most of them, in fact. I guess the first count is something that leaves some questioning, Mike Brooks, because he was found not guilty of aggravated murder for purposefully causing the death of Jessie Davis. That doesn't mean that he didn't murder her. It means that there was not another crime involved?
BROOKS: It was not an aggravated circumstance. So basically by him maybe reenacting this and saying that he didn't mean to hit her in the throat, he got out of the aggravated murder. But still, yes, murder but not with an aggravated clause to it.
NGUYEN: And again, that doesn't rule out the fact because he has so many charges here and found guilty of aggravated murder in other instances, he could still face the death penalty?
BROOKS: Yes, he should be able to still face the death penalty. That will be up to the jury again in the sentencing phase.
NGUYEN: All right. Mike Brooks joining us live with the latest as we learn the verdict in the Bobby Cutts trial and the judge is still reading portions of that. But according to what we have learned so far, he has been found guilty of aggravated murder in many of these counts. And as mentioned, could face the death penalty or he could possibly face life in prison without parole or life with parole and possibility after 20 so years. That of course will happen in the sentencing phase of all of this. We're going to try to get Avery Freeman on the line with us a little bit later. And he can help sort out some of what we've learned today in this verdict. I'm sure, Tony, that we are going to hear from family members as the judge mentioned a little bit earlier, that both will be escorted by officers out of that courtroom to the media so that they can respond to the verdict that was read today.
HARRIS: And also, breaking this hour, a killer's rampage on American campus, just moments ago Northern Illinois University held a news conference. Here are the latest developments this hour. Authorities identify the gunman as Steven Kazmierczak. He was 27 years old and a former student. The gunman shot 21 people; six of them have died. Authorities say Kazmierczak died after shooting himself. One of the major questions one has answered publicly, why did he do it? The school held a news conference a moment ago and the hospital will follow at noon Eastern. Of course, we will carry it.
And once again, CNN crews are set to bring you all the angles on this developing story. Don Lemon is on the NIU campus. Ed Lavandera is at the hospital where victims were taken. Brianna Keilar is on the campus of Virginia Tech. She'll look at the tragic lessons learned from that school's shooting spree just 10 months ago. Again, while you are watching the jury verdict in the Bobby Cutts Jr. aggravated murder trial, we were monitoring the news conference out of Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois. I want to play for you some comments from the NIU police chief, his name, Donald Grady, answering a number of questions and commenting on the dead suspect, Steven Kazmierczak and the fact that we just learned that he was taking medication.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF DONALD GRADY, NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY POLICE: His name was Steve Kazmierczak, I believe is the pronunciation. I may have butchered that so forgive me if I have. We can get that spelling for you so we'll get that spelling and somebody will provide it for you a little later. But I'm sorry, I don't want to butcher it any more than I just did as I tried to pronounce it. He is from Champaign/Urbana. He was a student here at NIU in 2007 in the spring term, majored in sociology. And as we understand it, he was a student at U of I currently.
QUESTION: Did he leave any kind of notes behind to explain why he did this?
GRADY: We have found no notes at this time, so we have no idea what the motive was. We're still working on that and we hope to come up with something that will give us some indication of that soon. We continue the investigation in that regard.
QUESTION: Any other people who were in that classroom had any kind of relationship with him before yesterday?
GRADY: We have no indications of any such relationships at this time.
QUESTION: What was the background here at NIU? Was there any red flags that he might have been troubled?
GRADY: Actually there were no red flags. He was an outstanding student. He was an awarded student. He was someone who was revered by the faculty and staff, students alike so we had no problems and we've had no indications at all that this would be the type of person who would engage in such activity.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)
GRADY: No, I'm suggesting that with those that he had communication with, that those people revered him and felt that he was very good student and that he was a fairly normal, unstressed person.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)
GRADY: Actually we don't know exactly how long he was on campus. We do know that he parked not too far from the build that he actually entered. We do know that it didn't take him long once he began the escapade to get through it and to finish it. But we don't have any indications as to actually how long he was on the campus before he got started.
QUESTION: What kind of frame of mind he might have been in?
GRADY: We have talked to people who were close to him and apparently he had been taking medication. He had stopped taking those medications and he had become somewhat erratic in the last couple of weeks.
QUESTION: What kind of meds?
GRADY: I'm sorry? Say again.
QUESTION: What kind of medication?
GRADY: I'm not prepared to share that with you. Thank you.
QUESTION: Do you have any information on the guns themselves? Did he own them? Were they registered to him or to someone else? GRADY: We had two weapons that he actually owned. He had nothing that would prohibit him from purchasing those weapons and those weapons were registered to him. He purchased them from a dealership in Champaign/Urbana and he had the other two, we're still working on the location of where he first got those weapons and whether or not they were registered to him or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK, some new information here. And let me ask the control room to help me on this. The coroner's office is now reporting that the death toll in this shooting spree is five dead. We had been reporting six. And when you include the gunman seven, but now the coroner's office is reporting five dead, plus the shooter. Thanks, Eric, so five dead now, the new number from the coroner's office, five dead and the shooter. so a total of six, five dead plus the shooter.
Right now we want to get straight to the scene there in northern Illinois, Northern Illinois University. Don Lemon is there. Don was out of the door and on his way to the scene just after we learned of the shootings. He joins us from the campus. Don, we learned something from Chief Grady that was interesting, that the investigation has discovered that Kazmierczak was on medication and had gone off his medication and had started to act a bit erratically.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Tony, when it's two breaking news situations and we have multiple like this, it sort of pains us because we got so much information out of this press conference, so much new information that we learned not only about the victims, but about the gunman in this situation, apparently on medication and had stopped take that medication and said his behavior had become erratic over the last couple of weeks.
We're also learning that there were more than three guns. There were four guns, as a matter of fact. And also as you said, there's a discrepancy with the victims. There are five victims. And then there are six total, including the gunman himself. Some sort of mix-up with the medical examiner's offices and the hospital or what have you, but we have a total of six people who died here. Four guns, one of them was a Remington shotgun, two nine millimeters and then a .380 caliber weapon. Joining me now from the ATF to give us a better perspective on this is Kevin Cronin. We were understanding in the beginning that there were three guns. Now we find there were four guns, two of them registered to him and he purchased those two just in the last two weeks.
KEVIN CRONIN, ATF: That's correct. There were a total of four guns recovered from the scene. Last night we successfully traced two of those firearms. They were traced to a gun dealer in Champaign, Illinois. And they were lawfully purchased by the shooter.
LEMON: Did he have a permit to carry?
CRONIN: He did not have a permit to carry.
LEMON: He did not. But there was nothing in his background that would indicate he should not be owning or using a weapon?
CRONIN: He was not prohibited in any way and he had a valid Illinois firearm owner's identification card.
LEMON: OK, so the two weapons that were registered to him were the Remington 12-gauge and the 9 millimeter glock.
CRONIN: That's correct.
LEMON: And the other two, do we know where they came from?
CRONIN: We are in the process of tracing those firearms right now.
LEMON: And do we know what most of the victims were shot, we believe, with the rifle, right?
CRONIN: I don't know the answer to that.
LEMON: During the press conference you said that he had a chance to reload the rifle. Actually it was Don Grady who said that he reloaded the rifle during all of this and shot?
CRONIN: That's my understanding, yes. He fired three rounds, reloaded with three more and discharged those firearms.
LEMON: All four of them have been recovered?
CRONIN: All four firearms have been recovered.
LEMON: But two of them you said, don't know if they were legally purchased, where he got them from. But being with the ATF, you would know if he purchased this over the last couple of weeks, would this lead to a premeditated situation where he thought this out and he just didn't snap and go on a rampage?
CRONIN: I can't speak to that what was on his mind when he committed this act.
LEMON: OK. All right. Kevin Cronin from the ATF, thank you very much for coming here. But again, this is the information that we have got. There's also some information, I know you guys are asking me, but a lot came out of this press conference that I need to tell you about. We've been telling you about the information on a bathroom wall that was some sort of threat that happened last week. Investigators in this said they do not believe it was credible but they believe that the threat that happened back in December during finals that that was a credential threat and they're looking to see if these two are connected. They believe that he drove his car here, that car is part of the evidence now and that he did not talk to anyone and then opened fire on the folks inside of the building. They are investigating that and trying to find out more about this shooter, investigating and talking to his family as well. Details to come Tony.
HARRIS: Don, I just want to clear this up. I know we've got to run here. But you're talking now about two separate -- OK. We've got to -- we got a hard break here. I'm sorry Don. We'll get back to you.
LEMON: Come back to me if you can.
HARRIS: We absolutely will do that. All right. Thanks, Don.
LEMON: Yeah.
NGUYEN: All right. So now we have six dead. That is the new number, including the gunman, 15 wounded, each one of these people has a family and a story. We're going to go in-depth with this campus shooting after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: More about the shooting rampage at Northern Illinois University. Some of the wounded are still in critical condition this morning. We should learn more during a hospital news conference next hour. In the meantime though, CNN's Ed Lavandera is at the hospital in Dekalb. So what are doctors tell you this morning about the victims there?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they say that really the wounded students that were in most critical condition suffered wounds to their chest and the head area. There were six or seven of these students that were initially brought into the hospital here at the Kishwaukee Community Hospital, not too far away from the Northern Illinois University campus. Those students had to be quickly stabilized and moved on to other hospitals that had more in-depth trauma support to care for those injuries. And perhaps part of the confusion, you talked earlier before the commercial break about the death toll being brought back down to five students and then six including the gunman.
Many of these students were also sent out to three or four other hospitals. So that perhaps lending a little bit to the confusion as to gathering the status or the condition all of these students are in is a little bit difficult. So these students that were quickly airlifted out of this hospital within an hour after having arrived here yesterday afternoon, sent out to other hospitals where's they had been treated throughout the evening and into these morning hours, many of them in critical condition. We spoke with the emergency room director here just a short while ago who described to us what it was like when the call first went out yesterday afternoon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MICHAEL KULISZ, KISHWAUKEE COMMUNITY HOSPITAL: We train twice a year, paramedics as well as the emergency room physicians and the entire hospital staff for disasters, obviously hoping that we would never use those skills that we develop. But when we actually do the trauma drill with the 18 patients, our primary job is just to stabilize everyone and get them to the appropriate positions. It's not until afterwards when there's no patients left in the ER do you take a deep breath and realize the magnitude of the devastation.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LAVANDERA: When that initial disaster call went out throughout the hospital and they got the initial call from the paramedics from the campus, the call went out to all these doctors and physicians throughout the hospital. There are usually about two physicians, we're told, on call in the ER. More, about two dozen doctors quickly showed up here to work this chaotic scene inside the hospital. All these victims were arriving yesterday afternoon. Betty?
NGUYEN: We can only begin to imagine the chaos and just the fear around campus. All right. Ed Lavandera joining us live there in Dekalb at the hospital there. And the hospital, in fact, is going to have a news conference on the victims of the Northern Illinois University shooting. That live coverage will take place right here on CNN. It's scheduled for noon Eastern, 9:00 a.m. Pacific and of course when it happens, we'll bring it straight to you. In the meantime, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, good morning on this Friday. And what a day it's been so far. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.
A warning from President Bush. He says lawmakers are blocking tools to protect you from terrorists. It's his latest push to get House Democrats to pass a bill on government eavesdropping.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: The House, Senate are off on a 12-day recess without getting the people's business done. And when they come back from that 12-day recess, the House leaders must understand that the decision they make to block good legislation has made it harder for us to protect you, the American people, and we expect them to get a good bill to my desk, which is the Senate bill, as soon as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The Senate bill gives retroactive immunity to phone companies that cooperated with the government after 9/11. House Democrats want more time to look into civil liberties concerns. The surveillance law expires at midnight Saturday.
NGUYEN: Presidential politics this morning, where right now it's all about delegates and endorsements. Hillary Clinton edges out Barack Obama in New Mexico's caucuses, gaining 14 delegates. But, Obama got 12 and he could be on the verge of cherry picking a couple of Clinton's superdelegates, including long-time Clinton supporter George Congressman John Lewis. Lewis today denying wide spread reports he's thinking about making the switch.
Meanwhile, Republicans, they are closing ranks. Mitt Romney getting behind former rival John McCain. And CNN has learned that former President George H.W. Bush will ensure McCain sometime next week in Texas.
HARRIS: Campus rampage, more details emerging this hour about the deadly shootings at Northern Illinois University. Just moments ago police confirmed the identity of the gunman, 27-year-old Steven Kazmierczak. A former sociology graduate student, the NIU police chief, said the shooter had been taking medication, but had stopped and had become erratic in recent weeks. No details on what the medication was for, and still no word of a motive. Just moments ago the coroner's office corrected the death toll to five victims, not six. The gunman also killed himself.
We expect to learn more about the wounded in the hospital news conference next hour. We will carry that for you live.
You know we've been down this road before. Northern Illinois University beefed up security and updated its alert system after last year's massacre at Virginia Tech.
Our Brianna Keilar live from the Va Tech campus in Blacksburg.
And, Brianna, I'm curious. We heard from the president of the university, John Peters, a moment ago. He said there was a plan in place, and THAT The plan was actually practiced. He said that the campus is focusing now on the NIU family, focused on healing the NIU family. That Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It sure does. It sounds like two lessons learned from right here at Virginia Tech, where unfortunately students and staff went through the same thing last April. And perhaps the biggest lesson that could be learned and seems to have been in the case of NIU, has to do with campus-alert systems, basically using them quickly and using them liberally.
And as you mentioned, NIU did go over their procedures in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy. They also held some drills and President Peters there at NIU saying that he believes that it paid off.
The other thing you can really learn, or that campuses have had the opportunity to learn from what happened here at Virginia Tech, is the importance of bringing a community together, to help students and to help staff get through this.
Now, we talked today with Larry Hincker. He is with university relations here at Virginia Tech. He was very much the public face of the Virginia Tech response to this tragedy, and he gave us some insight on what NIU is going through right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY HINCKER, ASSOC. V.P., VIRGINIA TECH: The first thing is shock and disbelief. I mean, trauma like that, you just don't expect even in light of the spate of school shootings that we've seen throughout the country and the horrendous tragedy that befell our campus last year. You just don't expect it's going to happen on your campus. I mean, obviously they're turned inside out. They got an awful lot of families and shaken students that they need to deal with.
The most important thing, I think, that that community needs to do right now is to come together as a community. It was this kind of sense of Hokie spirit that got us through, and we're hopeful they can find the same kind of thing, whether it's through the convocation like we had, or a mourning together with each other. I think that's the most important thing they need to be thinking about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: And we also heard from many Virginia Tech students today. who said they want NIU students to know they are thinking about them.
Of course, this is very early on in the aftermath of this shooting at NIU. Larry Hincker told me very quickly at this point it will get to the finger pointing, which red flags were missed, as you already see being focused at NIU, with this medication that the shooter was taking.
But so far, Hincker says, looking at least at the initial response by the university, he feels it was pretty good -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK, Brianna Keilar there, Blacksburg, Virginia, on the campus of Virginia Tech. Brianna, thank you.
I want to get you an update on the story from earlier this week. Just a horrible story. You're looking now at New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly holding a news conference right now, updating everyone on the investigation into the grizzly, absolutely grizzly, murder of a therapist in her upper east side office this week where the attacker used a meat cleaver in that attack.
Let's listen in for a moment.
RAYMOND KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER: Well, some information has been provided by the victim's husband, and we are use that information as best we can. And of course we are also governed by direction from our own attorneys.
QUESTION: If I could just ask one more question.
KELLY: Yes?
QUESTION: If you could help us understand the department's feeling about the characterized this issue as an impediment in the investigation or not. Is it a large impediment, a large one? Is it a routine impediment? Is there a case history that you've gone through this before?
KELLY: Well, the HEPA (ph) laws are, no question, a challenge to law enforcement. There is conflict, certainly not the first time, where the issue of privacy comes up against concerns and requirements as seen by law enforcement. So we're trying to address this through a court order.
HARRIS: OK, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly updating everyone on the investigation into the grizzly death of this therapist in her upper east side office this week, an attack where, while the perpetrator used a meat cleaver, there is a suspect that is -- has been identified. His name is William Kunsman, and he was picked out of a photo lineup by a second victim of that attack. So we will continue to follow developments in this grizzly story out of New York City.
NGUYEN: And speaking of developments, let's take you live now to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where you can see right there presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama is speaking to supporters. Let's take a quick listen.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRES. CANDIDATE: We'll fill out a little slip.
It is great to see you. There are a number of people that I want to say a special thank you to. First of all, Alicia Treadwell (ph), you so much for the wonderful introduction. Give her a big round of applause.
(APPLAUSE)
I want to thank a great supporter, somebody who's has been working tirelessly on our behalf all across the country, Fourth District Congresswoman Gwen Moore. Give it up for Gwen!
(APPLAUSE)
I want to thank the great mayor of this city who has been a supporter almost from the start, Mayor Tom Barrett and his wife Kris Barrett.
(APPLAUSE)
I want to thank the president of SCIU, Wisconsin State Council. I love SCIU. It is a great union, and this is a great leader, Diane Palmer. Give it up for Diane Palmer.
(APPLAUSE)
My sister is a teacher. My mother taught for a while. I love teachers. And so I'm so proud to have the president of the American Federation of Teachers local 212 here, Mike Rosen. Give it up for Mike Rosen.
Some of you know that I've got a pretty good friend who has an (INAUDIBLE) talk show on every morning. She's got a funny name like me -- Oprah Winfrey.
(APPLAUSE)
Her mom lives in Milwaukee and she is here today. Give her a big round of applause, Vernita Lee. (APPLAUSE)
And finally, I want to thank all the volunteers, all the precinct captains, everybody who's been putting in so much time and effort building out grassroots organization here in Wisconsin. We have a special super-volunteer named Keith Bailey (ph), and want everybody to give Keith a big round of applause for his great work.
(APPLAUSE)
Let's see if this works. There it goes. I want to move around a little bit.
(APPLAUSE)
I want to move around a little bit.
So it has been over a year since I stood on the steps of the old state Capitol in Springfield, Illinois and announced this unlikely journey to change America. And I have to say that the at the time some people said, why are you running this time? You're a young man. Why are you running so soon? You can afford to wait. You can afford to wait. That's what they said. And I have explained that I am not running because of some long-held ambition. I know that some folks have been looking into my kindergarten papers, but that's not why I decided to run. I'm not running because I think it's somehow owed to me, because I think that somehow it's my turn. I am running because of what Dr. King called the fierce urgency of now, the fierce urgency of now.
(APPLAUSE)
Because I believe there's such a thing as being too late, and that hour is almost upon us. We are at a defining moment in our history. Our nation is at war. Our planet is in peril. And the dream that so many generations fought for feels like it's slowly slipping away. You see it in your own lives, in your own communities. People are working harder and harder just to get by. They never paid more for gas at the pump, never paid more for a college education. It's harder to save. It's harder to retire. Millions of people going without health care. If you've got health care, you're struggling with rising co-payments, rising deductibles, believe, rising premiums.
Everywhere I go, I meet young people who are learning in crumbling schools, without textbooks, computers that don't work. Despite the slogans, we are leaving millions of children behind in order to compete in the growing economy.
(APPLAUSE)
So, in such a situation we cannot afford to wait. We can't wait to fix our schools. We can't wait to fix our health care system. We can't wait to bring an end to global warming. We can't wait to get our young people off the streets and end the senseless violence. We cannot wait to bring this war in Iraq to a close. We cannot wait! (APPLAUSE)
We cannot wait. And when I decided to run, it was because I realized that the size of our challenge and how stripped the capacity of a broken and divided (INAUDIBLE). And I was convinced that the American people were looking for something new, something different. They wanted an end to politics tearing each other down. They wanted a politics that was about lifting the country up. That's what they were looking for.
(APPLAUSE)
I believe that the American people were tired of spin and of P.R., and poll-tested politics. They were looking for straight talk, and honesty and truthfulness from our elected officials.
(APPLAUSE)
And most of all, I believed in you. I was betting on you. You know, some of you know that I now live in Chicago, but I didn't originally grow up in Chicago. I moved there after college, after -- when I was just a little bit older than some of you college kids here, because I was interested in working at a grassroots level. There were a group of churches who had come together to try to deal with the devastation of steel plants that were closing. Thousands of people had been laid off from work -- black, white, Hispanic. And these churches brought them together. I worked as an organizer for three years, to set up job training programs for the unemployed and bring economic development to communities that had fallen on hard times.
And it was the best education I ever had, because it taught me that ordinary people can do extraordinary things when given a chance.
(APPLAUSE)
So I have always believed that change in America does not happen from the top down; it happens from the bottom up.
(APPLAUSE)
And I believe that the American people are a decent people and a generous people, willing to work hard and sacrifice on behalf of future generations. And if we could just come together across all divisions that have been set up for us -- the racial divisions, religious divisions and the regional differences, the party divisions. If we could say all of us, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native- American, old, young, rich, and poor, Democrat, independent, and Republican, if we could come together and say, we're going to put an end to the special interests that dominate Washington and we're going to challenge ourselves to be better, better citizens, better parents, better neighbors, there will be no problem we cannot solve.
(APPLAUSE)
There will be no problem we cannot solve, no destiny we can not fulfill (ph). And I'm here to report that after 12 months of crisscrossing the country, after countless airplane flights, and hundreds of chicken dinners, tens of thousands of shaking hands, and five speeches a day, after all this, I'm hear to report that bet has paid off and my faith in the American people has been vindicated because we're going (ph) to make the change!
(APPLAUSE)
CROWD: Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama!
OBAMA: The American people are paying attention like never before. They are turning out in record numbers. Young people especially are coming out in droves.
(APPLAUSE)
They want to put their mark, they want to put their stake on this moment in time. And you know, I would like to take all the credit myself for this extraordinary engagement and interest in the political process right now. But let's face it, part of it has to do with the fact that no matter what happens, you will be going in next November to select the next president of the United States, and the name George W. Bush will not be on the ballot.
(APPLAUSE)
The name of my cousin, Dick Cheney, will not be on the ballot.
(APPLAUSE)
That was really embarrassing. Some of you read that news report of me being a distant relation with Cheney. You know when they do these genealogical surveys you're hoping you're related to somebody cool.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE) But Cheney, that's a letdown.
NGUYEN: You've been listening to Barack Obama in front of a crowd, a cheering crowd, today in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as he speaks to supporters. Of course, we'll be listening in and bring you any news as it develops.
In the meantime, though, hundreds of drivers just completely stopped in their tracks. Ye, a surprise snowstorm brings traffic to a screeching halt in Southern California. We have the latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK, you know, a real winter whammy. Look at these pictures here. Some 500 drivers stuck on a mountain freeway. Southern California? This after -- are we talking about Southern California?
NGUYEN: Near San Diego. HARRIS: OK, mudslides blocked one roadway nearby. And it's all as a result of a surprise snowstorm. The snow, ice, strong winds made roads impassable along a 27-mile stretch of Interstate 8. Rescuers went car to car, taking dozens of stranded people to a fire station and casino. OK, for warmth. No major damages or injuries reported.
NGUYEN: No wonder that they were stranded. A lot of people didn't really expect that kind of weather in San Diego.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: All right. We'll take a break. We're back i a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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