Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Virginia School on Lockdown after Gunman Spotted; Elderly Woman Killed in Alabama Storm; McCain Speaker Hard on Obama; Police Release 911 Tape of Lane Bryant Killer's Voice; Family Shares Story of Separation in Korean War

Aired February 26, 2008 - 13:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Sounds good on TV. Can you imagine, Betty, what it's like to be there? Talk about your musical overtures. The New York Philharmonic strikes a chord among North Koreans who don't see a lot of Western entertainment.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And can it succeed where years of diplomacy have failed? We will get the score from our Alina Cho and Christiane Amanpour, both in Pyongyang.

Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, in today for Kyra Phillips at CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is 1:00 p.m. here in the East. And we start with some developing news. Let's go straight to our news room now, T.J. Holmes covering that for us.

What do you have, sir?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, this is a story of a school still in lockdown, a college, small college in Virginia about 35 miles south of Roanoke, Virginia. Ferrum College is the name of it, has been locked down since early this morning after a man was spotted on campus with a handgun.

Now, the word here is that no one has been injured. There is no shots fired. There is also no report of any threat that had been made to the school.

However, earlier today, according to officials there, what happened is that somebody from, actually, the cleaning staff ran upon a man, a white male, who had a gun. They acknowledged each other, if you will, and the man told the cleaning lady, "Do not tell anyone what you have seen." Well, then the man went off. Well, the lady reported this. The cleaning staff person reported this, and now the school has been on lockdown. Classes have been canceled for the day there, and all the students who live on campus now are going through the process of moving them to a central location.

But again, we need to stress that no one has been injured, no report of any threat to the school, no report of any shots fired.

This is a fairly small campus. About 800 students live on campus. Just over 1,000 attend this school. So a fairly small school. But they are, out of abundance of caution, after what we saw at a school in Illinois just a couple of weeks ago and certainly after what we saw at Virginia Tech, all of these things are taken seriously.

The process here worked. The emergency system, they say, worked in which they posted the warnings on the Web site, of course, for students to see, but also sent students text messages explaining to them what was going on and what they needed to do.

But nobody has been hurt; nobody here has panicked. And no reason to think there is a real threat to anyone or the school at all. But still, abundance of caution being taken here. So it is a situation we've been looking at, we're keeping our eye on since early this morning. It continues there with a lockdown.

When we get more information and updates, we'll certainly pass those along, guys.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much for that.

NGUYEN: Well, powerful thunderstorms hit parts of the southeast, downing trees and power lines, also killing one person in Alabama.

In the Midwest, a blinding snowstorm snarled air traffic in Chicago last night. Then it moved toward the northeast. That region could get up to two feet of snow or more.

Meteorologist Chad Myers is keeping track of all of this nasty weather out there. He joins us now in the CNN weather center.

We heard it blowing through Atlanta a little bit earlier today.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Brutal and powerful.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

NGUYEN: Thank you. Appreciate it, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome, Betty.

LEMON: Well, the storms that blew through Alabama took aim at the central part of that state. An elderly woman was killed when a falling tree hit a mobile home near Birmingham, Alabama.

Reporter Jeremy Campbell of our affiliate, WBMA, joins us now from Anniston with the very latest on that -- Jeremy.

JEREMY CAMPBELL, WMBA REPORTER: It's hard to tell at first glance, but if you pull back the tarps, you can see this is a high school library. And around 5:45 this morning the Sachs (ph) High School principal came here and discovered two inches of water on the ground. That's because the roof was blown off by heavy winds, and 75 percent of that roof is now gone.

It's mostly been dried up through equipment that they brought in to clean the school, but you can see there's still drips, and there's still a little bit of water here in the school.

This is just one of the damage scenes across central Alabama today. A 71-year-old woman was killed when a tree crashed into her mobile home. That happened in Leeds, Alabama.

We have reportings [SIC] of trees down, large oak trees down with wide roots that are taller than I am, that have just been uprooted and pushed over to their side. That's across Calhoun County in the Pell City area, as well. So it's definitely been a damaging day across the state.

We haven't heard confirmation if the damage was from straight line winds or if it was from a tornado. But as far as the damage here, at Sachs (ph) High School, it wasn't bad enough to shut down the school tomorrow. They will be back open then. About 75 students are here, because it was too late to call off buses by the time this storm hit.

So things are looking up for the school but we'll continue to investigate damage across central portions of the state.

Reporting live, Jeremy Campbell, back to you.

LEMON: Jeremy, thank you very much. Reporting from WBMA, our affiliate in Anniston, Alabama.

NGUYEN: A former -- a former Democratic rival-turned-supporter topping our political ticker today. Connecticut Senator and former presidential hopeful Christopher Dodd endorses Barack Obama. Dodd's endorsement in Cleveland comes a week before the primaries in delegate-rich Ohio and Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: The question has always been the same: yes, but is he ready? Since that time, he's been poked and prodded, analyzed and criticized, called too green, too trusting, too lofty. After all of that, he's already won half of our nation's states in primaries and caucus and votes of more than 10 million Americans, showing judgment, grace and poise in the process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Dodd left the White House race just after the Iowa caucuses. Hillary Clinton's campaign accuses the media of going easy on Obama. Spokesman Howard Wolfson claims Obama is running a largely negative campaign, but reporters praise him while criticizing the Clinton camp. Now, over the weekend Clinton herself accused Obama of using Karl Rove-like tactics.

So let's get a broader picture of where things apparently stand in the Democratic duel. A new poll of polls is out, averaging three separate national surveys. And for the first time it shows Barack Obama with a clear lead over Clinton among Democratic voters: 50 percent to 40 percent. Another 10 percent say they are unsure.

Well, Republican front-runner John McCain is hoping to pad his sizable lead next week. He's begun a swing through Ohio right now, including south of Cincinnati and Westchester.

He's also picked up the endorsement of former Ohio congressman Bob Portman, a former budget director for President Bush, who's been mentioned as a possible McCain running mate.

Let's take you now to Dana Bash, who joins us by phone in Cleveland, Ohio, with the McCain camp.

What do you have for us, Dana?

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Betty.

Well, it was an interesting event that John McCain just had in O'Hare in Ohio. It was actually in Cincinnati. Interesting in that there was a bit of a kafuffle, if you will, with not what Senator McCain said but with -- with somebody who came before him. Two speakers before Senator McCain actually showed up at his own rally.

It was a talk show host, a local talk show host by the name of Bill Cunningham. And he came out and said some pretty -- some pretty tough words for Democrat Barack Obama. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CUNNINGHAM, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, my fellow Americans, now we have a hack Chicago-style daily politician who's picturing himself as change. When he gets done with you, all you're going to have in your pocket is change.

At some point in the near future the media is going to peel the bark off Barack Hussein Obama. That day will come. Then you'll know the truth about his business dealings with Rezko, when he got sweetheart deals in Chicago and the illegal loans that he received.

At some point the media will quit taking sides in this thing and maybe start covering Barack Hussein Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And there you heard -- that was Bill Cunningham, a radio talk show host here in Ohio, speaking before John McCain got on the stage. There you heard him talking about Barack Hussein Obama. Hussein is Barack Obama's middle name, but the way he emphasized that, it certainly seemed to be, at least from the perspective of John McCain, disparaging to Barack Obama.

And John McCain came out after his rally and approached the press, and before missing a beat, made clear that he disavows what Mr. Cunningham said. He said that anything that is remotely disparaging of Barack Obama, or Hillary Clinton, is something that is not in keeping with the way he has run this campaign.

And that's what was so surprising, frankly, Betty, in hearing Bill Cunningham. Because at every event, John McCain comes out and says that he's going to have disagreements with all of his opponents, but he's going to be doing that in a respectful way. And that's why, you know, he came out and said, "Look, I didn't know that Mr. Cunningham was going to be speaking at this. Certainly my campaign" -- Senator McCain's words -- "my campaign set this up, and I take full responsibility for what Mr. Cunningham said about Barack Obama."

But he said, over and over, under questioning from reporters, that he considers what Mr. Cunningham said about Barack Obama disparaging. So it was an interesting moment, certainly, and one that was not expected, certainly not the message of the day there, Betty.

NGUYEN: No. And to be clear, again, McCain said that he didn't know that Bill Cunningham was going to be speaking, although his campaign set it up?

BASH: Correct. I mean, you know, what happens at these events is -- is his local officials, or local staff, or even local supporters, set up events. And he comes, and he's briefed. You know, he didn't even -- I don't believe I heard him thank Bill Cunningham. He thanked other people who spoke before him, officials, like Rob Portman, for example, who you were just speaking about.

And he said that he knew -- that he didn't even realize he was speaking. He said to be clear, McCain wasn't even in the room yet. He hadn't even arrived when Mr. Cunningham was speaking.

But, you know, this is a John McCain event. And this is reflective. If you are a voter trying to decide on John McCain sitting in that room, as there were, listening, you know, presumably they don't know the difference between whether or not John McCain blessed the words of somebody speaking there or not.

And that was something that John McCain wanted to make clear, he said, when he came out, when he heard about from his staff. We know that he heard from his staff about what Bill Cunningham said. He said over and over again that he disavows those words about Senator Obama, anything he said that's disparaging about him. But it certainly, as I said, was off-message for Senator McCain, big time.

NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Dana Bash joining us from Cleveland, Ohio, with the latest in the McCain camp and what happened at a rally there in Ohio. Thank you, Dana. All the latest campaign news is available at your fingertips. Just go to CNNpolitics.com, plus analysis from the best political team on television. That and so much more at CNNpolitics.com.

LEMON: A description and composite sketch haven't led police to a suspect now, three weeks after those fatal shootings at a store outside Chicago. Police are hoping -- hoping -- someone may recognize the killer's voice. They've released parts of a 911 call by one of his five victims. And the gunman can be heard in the background.

Sounds very chilling as we go to our CNN's Susan Roesgen, who joins us now from Chicago with the very latest on this.

So they're going use his voice? Is it clear? Are they going to have to enhance it?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, I spoke to the commander, Don, of the Tinley Park Police Department. That's the suburban police department where this shootings occurred at the Tinley Park Lane Bryant store three weeks ago.

And he said that they've already had audio experts listen to that tape, and they've done the best they can with it. Basically, you're going to have a hard time making out any particular word, but they're hoping that this gunman being heard in the background of this desperate 911 call might lead someone to recognize his voice.

So to set the scene for you here, Don, it was February 2. It was a Saturday. The gunman, apparently under the pretext of delivering something, went into this Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park. There were six women, ultimately, in the store: two employees and four customers.

The gunman forced all of them in the back of the store, forced the women to lie face-down on the floor, and yet somehow, the manager, Rhoda McFarland, was able to sneak her cell phone out. And she makes this frantic call to 911. You'll be able to hear her just barely whisper the words, "Hurry, hurry, Tinley Park."

And then in the background you'll hear the gunman, who doesn't know yet that he's actually on the background of this cell phone tape. So here's a portion now of that 911 recording.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nine-one-one emergency.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hurry, hurry. Tinley Park.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Get up, please (ph). I'm losing it (ph). (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: Now part of the reason that that -- part of the reason that this tape is so difficult to make out is that the police intentionally edited out the sound of the manager, took out what she was saying, they say in deference to her family. She was one of the five women who were killed -- excuse me -- by the gunman.

But a sixth survived. And it's the sixth who was able to provide police with a description of the gunman. That's led to this sketch that shows him with his corn rows, his braids, and what they say were green beads. And they're hoping, Don, that even if someone doesn't really recognize, again, the words from that tape, they might put together the sound of his voice and this sketch, and somebody might be able to come up with a name.

LEMON: Yes. Maybe they can -- I was asking you, it kind of cuts in and out, but it seems clear enough, Susan, where they could probably enhance it and maybe even put something together to get a cadence or what have you. But so you're right, maybe someone can recognize the voice.

It's just an awful story. Do we know if there are any new leads in this that police are hoping to prove fruitful here?

ROESGEN: Well, you know, they say they've had hundreds of tips. They've got a tip line out, and they keep playing this tape and showing the sketch on local TV stations here in the Chicago area.

So the commander, when I talked to him this morning, seemed pretty confident that they're going to get somebody, some time. But, you know, they have to put out this tape, because obviously, they've run into some problems trying to find this guy.

LEMON: OK. All right. Thank you very much, Susan Roesgen. We appreciate your reporting.

NGUYEN: Well, how do you rebuild an Air Force virtually from scratch? One simulated sortie at a time. Our own Kyra Phillips rides shotgun with one of Iraq's top new guns. And, yes, the movie was his motivation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Plus, is this the way to communicate with North Korea? Music instead of words? The New York Philharmonic plays Pyongyang and makes history in the process.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: It is 19 past the hour. Here are three of the stories that we are working on right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia is in the hospital for observation after recurrence of an irregular heart rhythm. He was first treated for the common condition last year. Now Warner's office says he will be re-evaluated as medications will be adjusted. Severe storms rumble across parts of the southeast. Look at this. One person in Alabama was killed when a tree fell on a mobile home. Damage is also reported in neighboring Georgia. The storms have cut power to thousands of people in both states.

And Ferrum College in Virginia is in lockdown after a report of an armed man on campus. Right now there are no reports of any shots being fired, and authorities are still looking for that man.

LEMON: "An American in Paris" performed by a bunch of Americans in Pyongyang. The New York Philharmonic today gave an unprecedented concert in the capital of reclusive, repressive North Korea. Many hope it will help normalize relations between North Korea and the U.S., who have been at odds over North Korea's nuclear program.

But for CNN's Alina Cho, the historic journey to Pyongyang hits a very personal note.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This concert by the New York Philharmonic has really been historic on so many different levels. The first time an American orchestra has been invited to play here, the largest American delegation to come to North Korea since the end of the Korean War.

That conflict ended in 1953 with so many tens of thousands of Korean families torn apart, including my own.

(voice-over) Looking at my parents today, you would never know how much they've suffered. They are survivors of the Korean War.

JAI CHO, ALINA CHO'S FATHER: All of this wasn't here at that time.

CHO: Much of their story I'm hearing, and seeing, for the first time.

J. CHO: You see this here? (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

A. CHO: There are people I'm meeting for the first time, too. Like this man, who my father says taught him how to farm during the war to help feed the family. My dad was just 13.

J. CHO: How are we going to survive? And having enough food to eat, having enough for firewood to, you know, warm the house.

A. CHO: After the North Korean army invaded Seoul in 1950, my dad's family fled the city and walked here to the countryside. It took them four days.

My 90-year-old grandmother says food was scarce. She starved so her children could eat. It is only the second time I've ever seen my dad cry.

(on camera): Today looks totally different. KIM CHO, ALINA CHO'S MOTHER: Totally different.

A. CHO (voice-over): My mom was only 7 when the war broke out. She remembers hearing North Korean soldiers marching outside her home. Her family was afraid, especially for her older sister, because those soldiers were kidnapping girls in their teens but only the healthy ones. So my mom's sister deliberately starved herself.

K. CHO: And she was thin, you know, and sick.

A. CHO: She and the rest of my mom's family survived. But the fate of two of my dad's uncles, to this day, is still unknown. They disappeared during the war. No one is quite sure if they were kidnapped or defected, because they were never seen again.

K. CHO: Hope you can find them (ph). Hope a miracle happens.

A. CHO: Which brings me here to North Korea.

(on camera): Being here in Pyongyang has been an extraordinary experience for me personally. I know I have relatives here in North Korea somewhere. That's why every time I look at somebody I can't help wondering, could I be related to them?

I also can't help thinking, if things had been just a little bit different, I could be living here, too.

(voice-over) The North Korean government says there's just not enough time, this time, to find the lost uncles. My government guide, Mr. John (ph), told me he has sadness for the separated Korean families.

(on camera): It's sad, isn't it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking foreign language)

CHO (voice-over): He said, if I come back, maybe I'll have better luck then.

(on camera): When I came here to North Korea, I never in my mind believed I'd actually get to meet my dad's two uncles, but in my heart I still held out hope, so in that sense it's been a particularly sad moment for me personally.

But remember, the story of my family is a classic Korean story. So many families torn apart, the two Koreas still technically at war.

Alina Cho, CNN, Pyongyang.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Marvelous story there.

Well, he was turned on by Tom Cruise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The movie "Top Gun."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw this movie three times. So he motivated me to -- to be a pilot. So...

PHILLIPS: So you're Maverick and I'm Goose?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Our Kyra Phillips rides shotgun with an Iraqi top gun.

LEMON: And here's a bit more of the New York Philharmonic's historic concert at Pyongyang, North Korea. Enjoy!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. Big Blue is bringing a lot of big green arrows to Wall Street. Susan Lisovicz from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with the very latest from IBM.

Susan, I should know this. I was, like, trying to do a search real quick before I came to you. IBM, Big Blue, is that blue chips? It's the biggest one? Is that how it got that name?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, actually. It's -- it's the same color, the same index.

LEMON: Oh.

LISOVICZ: But it's -- you know, I don't even know why it's called Big Blue. I think that's one of its colors in its corporate logo?

LEMON: I will find out as you do your thing.

LISOVICZ: Thank you. Thank you.

LEMON: How are the markets doing today?

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

NGUYEN: Our Kyra Phillips, she is also hard at work. She live in Baghdad, where she's going to tell us about a top gun.

Hey there, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Betty, we'll go flying with an Iraqi pilot who says an American movie inspired him to defend his country. That's straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

NGUYEN: Appropriate music for this. Here's what we're talking about, Iraq's Air Force flying high now as part of the country's new military. Well, our Kyra Phillips took to the skies with one young top gun, and she joins us now live from Baghdad.

Kyra, you got some really remarkable access to the training of these pilots.

PHILLIPS: It was pretty amazing access. And, Betty, Otis had to play "Danger Zone." You knew he'd go there, right.

NGUYEN: Of course he did.

PHILLIPS: Of course, it's a perfect setup. Well, I had a chance, Betty, to spend a lot of time with a number of former MiG pilots. They flew under Saddam Hussein. And they said, you know what, Kyra, we hated flying for Saddam Hussein. We loved flying the MiGs, but not him, because it was all about him and defending. It wasn't at all about defending the Iraqi people.

So now they have this new mission as this new Iraqi Air Force is starting from scratch. And it's about protecting the Iraqi people, the Iraqi troops on the ground, the pipelines, the power plants. So we got exclusive access. It's a story I've been wanting to do for a year now. Now it's up and running.

We actually went through the training to find out what it's like for these younger pilots to start in a Cessna with the hopes of finally being that real top gun and flying a strike fighter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Colonel Ali was 16 when he joined the Iraqi Air Force.

COL. ALI, IRAQI AIR FORCE: I never forget the smell of the cockpit. Very loud sounds, and I feel the kick, with more thrust.

PHILLIPS (on camera): The thrust from the after burner?

ALI: Yes. It's unforgettable.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): When Saddam's military was destroyed in 2003, so, too, was Ali's dream. He could no longer fly his MiG.

ALI: It's hard for me. Until this time I missed. Same as somebody missing his love.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In-flight checks.

PHILLIPS: Lieutenant Majid is picking up where Colonel Ali left off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, one.

PHILLIPS: However, these brave pilots won't be defending a dictator; they'll be taking down terrorists.

The old Iraqi Air Force flew its first sortie in 1939.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold the brakes. Check your instrument before you take off, 100. OK. Make the flaps turning. Nose down a little bit.

PHILLIPS (on camera): Nose down a little bit, OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty-five Knots.

PHILLIPS: Now, in 2008, it's like starting over, again.

(on camera): Put me in a tough situation. Yes, give me a tough situation. OK. More? Push. OK. OK. Come back up. Come back up. Pull.

(voice-over): Majid is teaching me how he learned to fly.

(on camera): Treat him like a woman.

(voice-over): An engineering grad from Baghdad University, this 25-year-old officer is Iraq's future.

(on camera): So why do you want to be a pilot?

LT. MAJID, IRAQI AIR FORCE: I have three answers. First, this is my dream, and I want to serve my country. And, actually, "Top Gun."

PHILLIPS: "Top Gun." The movie "Top Gun?"

MAJID: Yes, I saw this movie three times. So he motivated me to be a pilot. So...

PHILLIPS: So you're Maverick and I'm Goose?

MAJID: We are.

PHILLIPS: Do you ever get nervous?

MAJID: The first time.

PHILLIPS: Yes?

MAJID: In the beginning, all of us get nervous. We left our family and this is dangerous for them.

PHILLIPS: What does it feel like to be flying a plane, being at the controls?

MAJID: Ten-thousand feet above the ground. You feel like a bird. Just fly, and it's wonderful.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): We're now airborne with Majid. It's his first formation.

LT. COL. MARK BENNETT, 52ND EXPEDITIONARY FTS: We have to not only train them to be pilots and have the skill to operate the aircraft, but we're also training them to be warriors. Majid is highly educated, very motivated individual, and the coalition Air Force Training Team is partnering with the Iraqis to build an air force that can protect the sovereignty of the nation, and they just have to be dedicated to the cause.

PHILLIPS: Majid, without a doubt, knows his cause.

(on camera): Why does Iraq need the Air Force?

MAJID: Every country needs an air force, especially in Iraq, because we have insurgents, we have terrorists, a lot of terrorists, so we want to fight them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And, Betty, the lieutenant mentioned it there in the piece, and you can see we had to protect his identity, because it is a tremendous threat to each one of those pilots to take on this new mission. I mean, the insurgents want to kill these guys, because they are training to protect this country, to move towards a democracy and they're working with U.S. troops. So, their families and their lives are always at risk taking this on.

Now, this squadron is the first of its kind. Thanks to the U.S. Air Force, it put together the 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron there in Kirkuk. And they're putting together the Iraqi Air Force and hoping that it'll have the power that it used to once under Saddam Hussein and even better and for a much better cause. 130 pilots, that's what they hope to have by the end of the year. 130 new mavericks, Betty.

NGUYEN: And they just need to keep running that movie over and over again, right, "Top Gun," that'll get them to come in, at least a few of them.

Hey, I know you're working on another story about Iraqi intelligence efforts. Give us a preview of that.

PHILLIPS: And these are a lot of the older pilots now that are taking on these missions immediately. Let's take a look at the video. This is Captain Thayer (ph). He was also a MiG pilot, Betty, under Saddam Hussein. He said you know what, I loved flying that jet, I loved doing maneuvers, but I'd give it up any day to do this mission because I'm doing the real thing now.

We went with him as mission commander of this ISR mission, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. The importance of this mission, well, they're protecting troops on the ground, they're protecting the pipelines, they're protecting the power plants. And as we went on this real life mission, we did come across a threat that Captain Thayer noticed and was able to step in to, feed the intelligence back to operations and actually prevent a bigger terrorist attack.

So, you'll see that inside story, another exclusive coming up tomorrow.

NGUYEN: Wow, that's good stuff. Kyra Phillips, joining us live from Baghdad. Kyra, so good to see you. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, we do have this news just coming in to CNN. Here's what we know, there's not a lot of information, but we understand that there is a large amount of power out across the southern portion of Florida. The Florida Power and Light Company is experiencing a massive transmission failure, running from Daytona Beach south to Miami.

We're looking at some live pictures from our affiliate WSVN in Miami. You see a lot of people out there on the streets, probably a lot of it's indicative of the fact that much of the power is out. So, that's where the light is coming from, might as well step outside instead of staying in a dark building.

Again, we don't know exactly what is causing the power outage, if it was some type of an emergency aside from just a transmission failure. But what we know so far, as -- according to the Miami-Dade police, Florida Power and Light is experiencing a massive, as they call it, transmission failure running from Daytona Beach south to Miami.

So, we'll stay on top of this story and bring you more as it becomes available.

LEMON: And a last check of other developing news, we have one person was on the loose and a campus on lockdown. Our T.J. Holmes working that story for us. Person still on the loose there, T.J.?

HOLMES: That is the word. They are still looking for this person on the campus of Ferrum College in Virginia. This is about 35 miles south of Roanoke. But this person apparently still on the loose, someone who had a gun, he was spotted with a handgun in the dorm by a housekeeper. That housekeeper then reported it and the result was a lockdown on campus. Students have now been moved to a central location, a secure location.

This campus is about 200 acres, has 28 buildings on campus. Fairly small school with about 1,000 students, 800 of them live on campus. But the school's in lockdown, classes have been canceled. Now, there is no word of anybody being injured, anybody being hurt, anybody being shot, no word also of any threats being made to anybody in particular on campus or to the campus itself.

So, authorities are just trying to track down this person, whoever this was that did have a gun. According to the housekeeper, the two acknowledged each other. She certainly made contact -- or this housekeeper, excuse me, made contact with this individual who had the gun and the man said to the housekeeper, don't tell anybody about this, and then went on about his way.

So, they are still trying to hunt down -- they have actually talked to two individuals who matched the description of the person with the gun. However, they don't believe they have that person. So, the lockdown continues right now.

And Don, they are encouraging students at the campus right now to call their parents and let their parents know that they're OK. Of course, parents hear this and they certainly get scared. So, they're asking for students to help out in that regard.

But we're keeping an eye on it, still looking for that person right now.

LEMON: All right, keep on eye on that -- and I'm just getting word, T.J., we're going to have a press conference from the college at 2:30 Eastern. And we'll bring that to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thank you very much for that.

Important news about breast health for women considering hormone replacement therapy. Why it could make having that annual mammogram much more worrisome.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, we've been telling you about these power outages in Florida. Joining us now on the phone, Detective Robert Williams from the Miami-Dade Police Department. We're talking about a pretty large area here, Detective.

VOICE OF DET. ROBERT WILLIAMS, MIAMI-DADE POLICE: Yes, we're -- I'm hearing from our communications shift commander that it is county- wide. I'm also hearing that it's also in Broward. I've seen certain other news agencies reporting that it's also as far as Sarasota, which I can't confirm that. I can only confirm Miami-Dade County.

LEMON: OK, what's the problem? Do you know? Is there -- obviously, I don't see any weather situation there. Correct me if I'm wrong. Looking at these live pictures now from our affiliates.

WILLIAMS: Well, I just came in from outside. It has been raining pretty hard here. There was a front coming through. Whether or not that's responsible for the power outage, I would not be able to tell you. That's something you might want to check with Florida Power and Light.

LEMON: I was going to ask you, since you're the police officer there, you haven't spoken with the power company, have you?

WILLIAMS: Well, we have called in to the power company from our department in order to find out what the cause is, if the cause is within Miami-Dade County or if it's outside the county itself. LEMON: When did you start getting calls about this?

WILLIAMS: We probably started getting calls in maybe about 20 minutes ago. At that time, I was outside near the building here and there was a large storm passing through. Like I said, whether or not that's the cause of it, we don't know yet.

LEMON: So, a storm passing through. So, 20 minutes ago, you're hearing, it's entire Miami-Dade County, correct?

WILLIAMS: That's correct.

LEMON: And then, also hearing Broward and possibly Sarasota?

WILLIAMS: Correct.

LEMON: OK, thank you very much for joining us. We may be calling you back to get more information about it.

But again, a huge power outage we're hearing happening throughout Palm Beach County, Riviera Beach and also Boca Raton, receiving reports from FP&L there, which is Florida Power and Light, of spotty outages throughout those areas, as well. And you heard the detective saying they're having problems in Miami.

We're going to continue to follow this story to see exactly what's going on. That's a big area not to have power.

NGUYEN: That is a big area. And as he mentioned, he's not for sure if it has anything to do with the weather.

Speaking of the weather, it is wrecking havoc in some other areas, Jekyll Island, Georgia, to be exact. Chad Myers joins us now and he has the latest on this.

Hey, Chad.

MYERS: Just to the west of Jekyll Island and headed Jekyll Island's way for sure, Betty. Yes, a tornado warning for you. We told you that most of these storms were rotating today. And this one here, particularly now is rotating. And Jekyll Island, right there, there's the rotation, the back edge of the hook part of the storm. And that tornado warning in that big pink box you got right there.

But this is for northern Camden and southern Glenn Counties. But really, in particular, this is really just for Jekyll Island. Right now, this is just a big, swampy seashore kind of area. But as it gets across and on the Barrier Island, that's where people live, that's where people are playing golf. You need to know that this storm is very, very dangerous this afternoon, rotating for sure.

There's a lot more weather to the north and west of you as well, Jacksonville, you're about to get it. And I just looked at Miami weather, there was really anything to do with whether or not -- yes, there was a rain shower, but not one lightning strike at all from that shower in the past hour. So, that seems a little bit unlikely, whether it actually played some kind of part in that.

Guys, back to you.

NGUYEN: Well, thanks for clearing that up, Chad. Do appreciate it.

MYERS: Sure, OK.

NGUYEN: Don?

LEMON: We have some important news, Betty, about breast health for women considering hormone replacement therapy. Why it could make having that annual mammogram much more worrisome.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, women have a new reason to ask their doctors whether hormone replacement therapy is the right choice to battle the ravages of menopause.

Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We've known for some time that there are risks to taking hormone replacement therapy. Look, when they first started talking about hormone replacement therapy, it made perfect sense, a woman's hormone levels drop as she gets older. Simply replace those and you can stave off some of the ravages of aging.

We now know it's not quite that simple. By giving hormones can actually increase your risk of heart disease, it can increase your risk of stroke, can increase your risk of breast cancer.

Well, a new study shows you may add another black mark to hormone replacement therapy as well. Take a look. Simply taking hormone replacement therapy, you have about a one in 10 chance of having an abnormal mammogram, that's about 50 percent higher than if you weren't taking hormone replacement therapy. You also have about a one in 25 chance of having an unnecessary breast biopsy.

What is going on here? Well, it appears that when you take the hormone replacement therapy, it actually makes your breast a little bit more dense. And that makes it harder for mammograms to actually tell whether or not there's cancer or some sort of abnormality. And that's why the unnecessary biopsies in greater numbers.

Now, a lot of women want to take their hormone replacement therapy. There are some good things, it can ward off osteoporosis, it can also simply reduce some of the awful symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes, including night sweats.

Best advice from most doctors is if you are taking this, take the smallest doses for the shortest amount of time. Also add to that, as we've been reporting on this story for about five years now, there are also alternative medicines which may be very effective in terms of staving off some of those symptoms of menopause. Check with your doctor about that.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: New information on that power outage we've been telling about in Florida. Apparently, this is a really big deal. This is the new information we're getting in. According to the NERC, which is the North American -- or a miracle (ph) Electric Reliability Council.

They say it started about nine minutes after 1:00, that would be nine minutes after 1:00 Eastern time. Eight power plants are down, a mix of fossil and nuclear plants. Those are that -- those eight power plants there. Large portions of Dade in the city of Miami affected by this. And you heard all the other places affected as well throughout Florida, southern Florida there and a little bit up into the panhandle that we have been hearing about.

So again, this is -- you're looking at live pictures now from WSVN in Miami. Don't know if -- those cars that you see crawling through those red lights may be crawling through because the red lights aren't working because it's effecting -- it's spotty outages there.

Also, we've been hearing, Betty, from FP&L, Florida Power and Light happening in Palm Beach County, Riviera Beach to Boca Raton, as well. So, don't know exactly what's going on. They said that it was raining in Miami. And Chad mentioned some weather in upper parts of Florida, but don't know exactly if it's affecting this or why these power plants may be out.

But we're on top of it and we're going to continue to follow and let you know what we find out right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Yes, we will.

Meantime though, scientists are taking on a different kind of life insurance, stocking away seeds in case of a global disaster. The tour of the underground vault straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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