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Three Police Officers Killed in Pittsburgh; Obama Continues in Europe
Aired April 04, 2009 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: For the second day in a row, a gunman attacks. This time there are reports that three Pittsburgh police officers have been killed. A live news conference straight ahead.
Meantime, our first look at the man police say killed 13 people in Binghamton, New York. New information about what he was wearing.
And next stop, Prague. President Obama on his European tour gains more support for the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. Hello, everyone, I'm Fredericka Whitfield and you're in THE CNN NEWSROOM.
We're waiting right now for a news conference to begin on the deadly shootout between a gunman and Pittsburgh police officers. Two CNN affiliates both reporting that three police officers were killed. They were gunned down after answering a call, a domestic disturbance call in a Pittsburgh neighborhood. Several other officers were wounded.
Authorities say a man inside a home fired dozens of shots at the officers. The suspect is now in custody after surrendering. Those who knew him say they are shocked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY LOFFLER, HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND OF SUSPECT: He was a good guy in school, a good friend to everybody. I mean, he -- like I say, he just -- thinking about him back then and thinking about him now, you would never think that something like this would happen. Knowing him then and what he was like then, and then seeing him today, I -- I don't know what to say.
I -- I'm truly, truly -- my mind is going like this, trying to figure out a reason that will make what was going so bad for this kid that would make him want to do this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The Pittsburgh neighborhood is home to a lot of police officers, firefighters, paramedics and other city workers. So we're getting more information about the man who killed 13 people at an immigration services center yesterday in Binghamton, New York, before he took his own life. Authorities say he had lost his job and felt people were looking down on him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHIEF JOSEPH ZIKUSKI, BINGHAMTON POLICE: From the people close to him, that what this action he took was not a surprise to them. He -- we picked up that he was -- apparently people were making fun of him. He felt that he was being degraded because -- from what we get, his inability to speak English. And he was upset about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Our national correspondent, Susan Candiotti, joins us now from Binghamton. Susan, what's the latest on this investigation?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredericka, we are learning more about Jiverly Wong, a man who killed 13 people and then himself, and, according to police, he never said a word. Now, police say that as he went on his shooting spree, this was a man who was wearing body armor, that he also wore a satchel containing ammunition around his neck.
The police chief called him a coward for killing innocents and then turning the gun on himself. Here at the American Civic Association, an organization that helps immigrants assimilate into the United States, immigrants like Wong, they describe what he did as, quote, unfathomable. They couldn't understand it and still cannot.
He is a Haitian -- we also spoke with a Haitian immigrant who was in this -- in the United States for 17 years, who was also in the American Civic Association when he said he heard the shooting begin. At the time he was in a nearby classroom when he began to hear gunshots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIFONTZ CHARLES, INSIDE BUILDING DURING SHOOTING: I took -- I afraid. I afraid. I was scared. Everybody scared. If that guy -- the person shooting -- if he'd have come to that room, nobody can't save life, because that room is too small. Nobody can run away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Jiverly Wong, of Vietnamese descent, was 41 years old. The chief said, as you heard, that he resented the fact that people could not understand him, because he didn't speak English well enough. He lost his job last November at a Shop Vac factory in a nearby town here. The plant closed down. But we spoke with two of his co-workers who said that Wong was very good at what he did and that he also had a hobby. He liked to shoot at targets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CARRICO, KNEW SHOOTER: Every morning that I would come back from break, he said, I'm -- I asked him a question, what did you do and everything. He'd always respond by saying, I went to shoot my gun, target practicing. And he only told me that he only had one gun. I didn't know that he had two.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CANDIOTTI: Now, his co-worker also told us about one time during the presidential debates last year when he said that Wong once made a comment that he, quote, hated America and wanted to kill the president. His co-workers said, you know, we're going to tell the FBI about that. And then they said he got very frightened about it. They said, hey, look, we're just kidding around. We're not serious. But he said that Wong almost became paranoid after that event. Fredericka.
WHITFIELD: Terribly sad situation. I know when we learned earlier from the press conference that family members are still awaiting confirmation of whether their loved ones were among the 13 killed and that really may not come until later on today. Pretty agonizing for family members. Are they showing up? Are they showing up, whether it be at the press conference that took place earlier or even at the scene of the crime?
CANDIOTTI: Well, if they were at the press conference, they did not identify themselves. We are seeing a number of people walking around here. But primarily, as we understand it, the family, the relatives are being helped out by various social service agencies and churches in the community. There is a vigil that is planned, another vigil service planned for tomorrow.
And the investigators said they hope to be able to release the identities of the victims once autopsies are complete and they can identify them. First, of course, they will notify the families. And then they will release the names publicly.
WHITFIELD: Susan Candiotti, thanks so much, from Binghamton, New York.
Overseas now, an American U.N. official has been freed after being held hostage for more than two months in Pakistan. The U.N. says it is sending a recovery team to bring back John Solecki (ph). A separatist group claimed responsibility for that abduction.
In Pakistan's capital, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security post today, killing seven people. The blast was the second in Islamabad in the last two weeks. A police official said the bomber snuck into the post after dark. There has been no claim of responsibility in that.
President Obama declares the NATO summit a success. The president has arrived in Prague, the next stop on his European tour. Before leaving France, Mr. Obama said NATO is united in its support for America's new Afghanistan strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We start from a simple premise: for years, our efforts in Afghanistan have lacked the resources needed to achieve our goals. That's why the United States has recommitted itself to a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: America's NATO allies have agreed to send 5,000 more military trainers and police to Afghanistan. President Obama called that, quote, a strong down payment on the future of our mission in Afghanistan. He wanted more NATO troops.
Amid the diplomacy, violence. As with the G-20 summit in England, the NATO summit in France has seen its share of angry demonstrations.
All right. Straight to Pittsburgh now and that press conference involving the deaths of three police officers. Let's get an update.
MAYOR LUKE RAVENSTAHL, PITTSBURGH: We take pride in this city in being a safe city, and we've worked very hard each and every day to achieve that goal. In order to do that, we ask the men and women in our public safety entities and specifically today our police department to put their lives on the line and to risk them each and every day.
It's something that we don't talk about. We simply accept. Unfortunately on difficult days like this, the harsh reality is that officers in some cases pay the ultimate sacrifice.
Three officers today did pay that ultimate sacrifice: Officer Stephen Mayhle, Officer Eric Kelly and Officer Paul Sciullo III. Stephen is survived by his wife, Chandra, and their two children, Jennifer and Brooklyn. Eric is survived by his wife, Marena. They had three daughters, Tamika, Autumn and Janelle. And Paul Sciullo III is single and survived by his mother and father and two siblings.
We really ask all of Pittsburgh today to embrace, to mourn and to support these families and the loved ones of these three officers. In addition, we ask the city of Pittsburgh to embrace, support and mourn our brave police officers who also put their lives in harm's way this morning on a very difficult, difficult task. They are to be commended.
If you see them, if you cross their paths, thank them for the work that they did this morning as well.
I also want to express my thankfulness to law enforcement agencies, both locally and across the state and country. I have received condolence calls from the president's office, from Governor Rendell, from Senator Casey and from my colleague across the state, Mayor Nutter. I want to thank all of them.
Today has been indeed a very difficult day. This week, no doubt, will be a very difficult week. But I believe as Pittsburghers always do, we will get through this. We will unite. We will remain strong. And we will remember these three officers and the ultimate sacrifice that they made.
We thank them. Our thoughts and prayers and condolences are with their families and loved ones. At this point, I want to introduce Chief Harper, who will give you more information about this morning's events. Chief.
CHIEF NATHAN HARPER, PITTSBURGH POLICE: It is a very sad day for the Pittsburgh Police Bureau. We have never had to lose three officers during the line of duty at one time, at one call. The last time we had an officer fatally injured was in 1995. So our prayers, as well as our hearts go out to the Officer Sciullo family, the Officer Mayhle family and Officer Kelly's family.
Officer Kelly had 14 years. Officer Sciullo had two years. And officer Mayhle had two years. And no matter how many years they had on, they have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
On Saturday, April 4th, at 7:05 a.m., Zone Five officers responded for a call for domestic at 1016 Fairfield Street, in the Stan Heights section of the city. Upon one officer approaching the house, the actor opened fire on the officer, fatally wounding him. The second officer, who was behind the first officer, he also sustained a fatal wound to the head as well.
The third officer, who was on his way home, actually, that heard the call come over the radio, that decided to back these officers up, was also fatally wounded as he tried to assist both officers.
We had a fourth officer that responded to the scene as well. He received a gunshot to the hand as he tried to assist our officers. As the SWAT armored vehicle arrived to rescue the officers, it, too, was fired upon as soon as they approached the area to try to rescue the officers away from the scene.
As unit responded from the various districts to the scene, numerous rounds of gunfire could be heard. There were approximately over 100 rounds that were fired from the actor, as well as the SWAT team returning fire in an attempt to rescue the officers. Some neighbors were evacuated because of the amount of rounds that were being exchanged between the actor and the officers.
There were two officers that were injured later. One officer sustained a leg injury, broke his leg. And the other officer, as I stated, had the gunshot wound to the hand. The actor was also injured in this melee of rounds that were being fired. The actor actually had a bulletproof vest. He also had several weapons, an AK-47 and .22 long rifle and also a pistol.
The actors name I will spell for: Poplawski, P-O-P-L-A-W-S-K-I. And at this time, he will be charged with three counts of homicide, aggravated assault, BUFA and other charges that will be associated with this incident.
As stated, our hearts and our prayers go out to the officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice, Officer Sciullo, Office Mayhle and Officer Kelly.
We would really appreciate it if the press would not try to contact the immediate family members, just to give them time to grieve through their loss, as well as the Pittsburgh Police Bureau's loss. At this time, I will entertain a few questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief, were the officers aware that there were weapons involved in this altercation when they arrived on the scene?
HARPER: At the current time, we're still investigating that. The call was dispatched as possibly no weapons on the scene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief, was -- when you talked to the suspect, was there any motive that he gave of why he did this?
HARPER: There was no motive at this time. As I stated, the subject, the actor was injured as well. He's receiving medical treatment as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened to him?
HARPER: Pardon me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you spell the officers' names?
HARPER: Yes, I can. We also have made pictures available of the officers that will be in the press room here. And I just want to make sure I had the correct spelling of the names. Officer Eric Kelly, that's K-E-L-L-Y. Eric, E-R-I-C.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you give their ages, please?
HARPER: At this time, I don't have their ages. But Eric was actually a 14-year veteran officer that was on the force. Officer Stephen, S-T-E-P-H-E-N. Mayhle, M-A-Y-H-L-E. And Officer Paul Sciullo, S-C-I-U-L-L-O. That's Sciullo III.
(INAUDIBLE)
HARPER: At this time, we are investigating that -- from what I understand from the neighbors, that family did present some problems in the past in that neighborhood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had police actually responded?
HARPER: Yes. The police, as far as we can ascertain right now, responded to that address at least two to three times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does this appear to be a premeditated act, that he was lying in wait for the officers when they responded?
HARPER: That's what it appears to be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They knocked on the door? Did they identify themselves as Pittsburgh police officers?
HARPER: That's correct. And as soon as the officers stepped in to the doorway, he was immediately met with gunfire, receiving a wound fatally to the head. The second officer received a wound fatally to the head as well. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who was the first officer, who was the second officer?
HARPER: The first officer that entered was Officer Sciullo. The second officer, the backup officer, office Mayhle. And the third officer that responded while en route going home from finishing either his tour of duty was Officer Eric Kelly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How soon after was he fatally wounded? Was it sometime after they were killed? Had he heard the reports of shots fired?
HARPER: No, this was immediately.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was on the scene by the time they got there?
HARPER: That's correct.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The shooting occurred in the doorway? Where specifically in relation to the house?
HARPER: The shooting occurred in the doorway of this home, as well as, after all three officers received these fatal injuries, the subject began to fire out of the bedroom window, which he had occupied with the assault rifle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you have difficulty setting up the perimeter, with the range that he had with these weapons?
HARPER: Yes, it was difficult. We do plan on, when we come across actors with assault rifles, AK-47s, but this was a very difficult situation. By the time our other SWAT team members arrived on the scene -- you can understand that any time it takes a period of time for the responding teams to get there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So at 8:30, you commenced firing on him?
HARPER: At 8:30, I believe our SWAT unit did arrive. Our armored truck unit arrived. As soon as they moved in to attempt to extract the wounded officers, he began to fire on to the SWAT vehicle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief, can you tell us about how the suspect surrendered?
HARPER: He surrendered through some negotiation with our hostage negotiator team, as well as -- I believe he wanted to surrender.
There was a relative that was in the house while this was all going on. She was sealed up in the basement of the home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mother or the grandmother?
HARPER: I believe that was his mother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did she call the police? HARPER: She did call the police to respond to a domestic between the two of them, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were they fighting?
HARPER: We do not know at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief, can you identify the two officers injured?
HARPER: The two officers that were injured, yes. One officer is officer Timothy McManaway M-C-M-A-N-A-W-A-Y. He is a 15 year veteran. The other is Brian Jones. That's J-O-N-E-S, Jones.
As I said, Officer McManaway tried to give assistance to Officer Eric Kelly as well as the second officer that was struck by gunfire, and he received an injury to the hand, gunshot wound to the hand. Officer Brian Jones was trying to secure the rear of the house. And he was actually trying to get over a fence, and the fence gave out and he injured -- broke his leg.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where was the suspect in the house?
HARPER: We don't know that. That's still under investigation. The way the house is laid out, it's a ranch-style home. So he may have possibly been in any doorway. But we do know that once he began firing at the SWAT officers, SWAT team that arrived, he was firing from the bedroom window.
(INAUDIBLE)
HARPER: His condition is fair. He received some gunshot wounds to the leg area.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wounds plural?
HARPER: Wounds plural.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To the leg?
HARPER: That's correct. Pardon me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the chest also?
HARPER: No, that's not accurate information. As I say, he had a bullet resistant vest on.
(INAUDIBLE)
HARPER: At this time, we don't know.
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a very sad and solemn day. Any time you lose a family member -- and we consider all of our officers family members. And we mourn as if we are the immediate family. We understand that the officer showed a lot of restraint, because when the subject decided to give up the fight, that he was taken into custody without any further injury. So the officers did show a lot of professionalism and a lot of restraint as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief, when he surrendered, did he come out of the house or did the officers go in? How did that --
HARPER: No, sir. When he surrendered, we were able to get the first officer out of the doorway. The subject showed his hands, showing that he did not have any weapons in his hands, until the first SWAT team was able to go in and take him into custody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was he wounded by the SWAT officers or by one of the fallen officers?
HARPER: It would have been by the SWAT officers as they -- as he engaged in gunfire with the officers, with the SWAT team.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were any of the three officers killed able to fire a shot?
HARPER: That's correct. They did not return fire. They did fire? My correction. There was return fire. But we know that there was a lot of gunfire between the subject and the SWAT team.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief --
HARPER: Pardon me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What hospital?
HARPER: We aren't going to give that information out. You can understand that the privacy that these officers need, as well as the immediate family of the officers. Once again, please respect the officers and their immediate families. It is a solemn and a very sad day in the city of Pittsburgh. As we've seen this type of violence happen -- occurred out in California. We never would think that this type of violence would occur in the city of Pittsburgh.
Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right. You were listening to Pittsburgh Police Chief Nathan Harper there, underscoring that this is a sad and solemn day. Three officers in the line of duty cut down, killed after responding to a domestic dispute at a residence in Pittsburgh. Those officers by the name of Eric Kelly, a 14-year veteran, Officer Stephen Mayhle and Officer Paul Sciullo.
The person allegedly who opened fire on these officers, who were responding to the domestic dispute, is in police custody by the last name of Poplawski. Very little is known about that subject except he's now charged with three counts of homicide at a minimum. Much more on that investigation as we get it.
Meantime, rain is drenching the west coast, causing an unbelievable mess. Just take a look at that, the chaos and the clean- up in Washington State.
And never before published photos of a tragic event in U.S. history, the day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: We all know it's very difficult to plan a big vacation when of course you're worried about your job and the overall economy. But we're learning that people are being rather creative, staying close to home and exploring lots of options. Here's something for those of you who like deep water.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD (voice-over): How does one cheap trip to the depths of the wildlife rich Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean sound without ever getting sand in your toes or breaking the bank? Three oceans poured into one football-sized tank, just big enough for the world's largest fish, most menacing mouths and gracious underwater giants and you.
Take a dive into Atlanta's Georgia Aquarium.
(on camera): Why are you doing this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an opportunity for us to do something together.
WHITFIELD: The Shire (ph) boys, brothers, Don, Mike --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a once in a lifetime experience. We can't wait for it.
WHITFIELD: -- Chris and his teenage son, William, wanted to Spring-Break together but weren't sure they could afford it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The four of us have never done it together before today.
WHITFIELD: One lives in Alexandria, Virginia, another in Tampa. And this father and son in Jacksonville, Florida. So they met halfway, in Atlanta, for what they consider their cheapest but most thrilling dive vacation ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just going to go to school and pretty much brag, but not too much because don't want to get it right in their face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just the aquarium itself and the dive, it will probably run us about 500 to 600 dollars for the two of pups.
WHITFIELD: OK. What are you excited about seeing in here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything. Sharks, whales. Just having a good time. WHITFIELD: You got butterflies yet, William? What kind of signals are you guys going to be giving each other down there? How are you going to communicate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything's OK.
WHITFIELD: Yes, everything's OK?
(voice-over): For certified divers 12 and over, a 30-minute, 30- foot dive will run you 325 dollars. Swim only, no certification necessary, 225 dollars.
(on camera): This is a lot better than Mexico, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. And I can afford this.
WHITFIELD: Heather Greerson (ph) kissed her planned 1,000 dollar summer dive trip to Mexico good-bye. With gas cheap these days, she drove up from Melbourne, Florida, along with her tent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm doing low budget. I'm camping at the Snow Mountain, and doing this. So I'm getting out of for probably five days.
WHITFIELD: Before the big pay off --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEATHER GRIERSON, SCUBA DIVER: I'm doing low budget, I'm camping at Snow Mountain and doing this. So I'm getting out of it for probably $550.
WHITFIELD: Before the big payoff...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not only do we have 12 sharks, but we have six new sand tiger sharks.
WHITFIELD: Reporter: a classroom setting briefing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We also have three hammerhead sharks.
WHITFIELD: And if you still have the nerve, suit up. Class photo and time to get wet.
GRIERSON: I'm so excited. And when is your turn?
WHITFIELD (on camera): I couldn't resist a getaway of this caliber without having to travel all this equipment; they supply it for you here without having to travel hundreds, if not thousands of miles away to the deep.
(voice-over): To come within feet of any one of the four 20- foot-long whale sharks, a 10-foot manta ray, the only aquarium in the world with both species, all untamed, but well fed. Hammerhead, lots of stingrays, and guitar and sawfish, reaching out to them, forbidden. The fish, however, may approach within inches. Guides keep watch. All this cool marine life every direction I looked, but funny thing, when I swam by the spectator windows...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look at her!
WHITFIELD: Us silly divers became the main attraction.
(on camera): Of course, the dive is magnificent, but perhaps you just want to swim with these gentle giants. And if you're lucky, you can be here for the feeding.
(voice-over): The whale sharks especially like dining near the surface. Remember Heather Grierson, dive over, she has something else in mind.
(on camera): Would you do this again?
GRIERSON: Definitely. Where are the margaritas?
WHITFIELD (voice-over): The best part for 14-year-old William?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May make a necklace out of it, I don't know.
WHITFIELD: Walking away with a fistful of treasured finds and the memory of a lifetime made during their downsized family vacation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And so, this is the prelude to the next hour. We're focused on ways to have fun in tough economic times, taking a vacation on the cheap, plan fun with limited cash if you have to and get discounts on summer camps, as well. It's a full hour of finding fun in tough times. We're calling it "Good Times on a Budget."
Of course, we want you to be part of the discussion, our hour- long discussion beginning at the top of the hour. Josh Levs is here to preview some of the stories that you've actually been sharing with us via e-mail and iReport, right?
JOSH LEVS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, they're coming in like crazy. You know what we have today? We have some good videos. We have some fun videos. In fact, I want to show you all something right here. First of all, it's an assignment over on ireport.com, people sending us stuff, thrifty and thriving assignments and some are specifically talking about ways to go have a lot of fun. Well, one of them, Fred, you're going to hear this sound next hour, but check out what this man is doing. I think you can tell there.
WHITFIELD: OK. I guess that's fun.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: You'll get to hear him. Now, others are pointing out things that you're more likely to actually do. It's great.
WHITFIELD: Actually, I thought that was a sit-down lawnmower, but now I see it's an ATV. So yeah, that is kind of fun.
LEVS: I think he is having some fun. I don't want to do that. It looks like it could be a ride at Disney world.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, gas is cheap now, I guess now, so you know, if you're going to blow it that way, why not? We look forward to that.
LEVS: Tell everybody they can send by FaceBook and by e-mail. In fact, we'll zoom in, you've got your FaceBook page, right here. Here it is, folks, the Fredricka Whitfield FaceBook page.
WHITFIELD: Drum roll.
LEVS: We're so excited. There she is. Keep those FaceBooks coming. You got Fredricka Whitfield's page, you got my page, here, Josh Levs CNN. And you can send us an e-mail us. Let's show us the screen really quickly. It's weekends@CNN.com. Your ideas how to have a great time on a budget. We're going to share them all next hour -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: Oh, that's so great. And you know, we're talking about, this is prom season, too and sometimes that can cost a whole lot of money. So, we actually have some advice from folks who know it best. The prom-goers themselves on how they're cutting the corners and still having a grand old time.
LEVS: I just got to hear a little bit off camera. It's very interesting.
WHITFIELD: It's fun. It's going to be a good segment. All right, thanks so much, Josh, appreciate it. And we hope you are going to be joining us at 4:00 Eastern.
All right, while the president has world affairs on his mind this weekend, Republicans are keeping their focus on the budget battle at home. On Thursday, the House and Senate passed their versions of the budget. Both are pretty close to what the president wanted, but no Republicans voted in favor of either of them. Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan explains why in this weekly GOP address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: The president's budget, which passed the House and Senate this week, will make the crisis much, much worse. Rather than getting spending under control, it sends spending out of control. Rather than keeping taxes low to create jobs, it chases ever higher spending with ever higher taxes and results in ever higher debt -- an unprecedented, unsustainable increase in red ink. It doubles our national debt in five years and triples our debt in 10 years. Put simply, the Democrats' budget spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much from our kids and their kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK. The final price tag will probably be more than $3.5 trillion.
All right, while we know millions of people are looking for work, we're following some people that we met at a job fair nearly a month ago. Their experiences tell you just how difficult job hunting is these days. Here's where they stand right now, newspaper graphic artist Kim Summerour, remember her? She's still sending out those resumes. She got a call back from one company this week, but says she's not interested in commission-based work. She's looking for something a little bit more stable.
And then just last week, engineer Calvin Ratchford interviewed with Comcast which actually expressed their interest in him right here on the air with us, but he's not yet received a call back from them. Meanwhile, he has sent out thank you letters to follow up with all those employers and did attend yet another job fair.
And Dominick Grenata interviewed with a supply chain recruiter after we met him at a career center here in Georgia, as well.
And new father of an 8-month-old Sedwick Willis interviewed at a pawnshop for a sales associate position. We'll keep following the progress of these folks as they continue their job hunt. All of them, even a month, are still looking, and looking very hard.
All right. President Barack Obama on the European stage, applauding a new pledge from NATO to send more troops to Afghanistan, but the question remains, will it do any good?
And another deadly shooting, this one in Pittsburgh between a gunman and police officers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Happening right now, three Pittsburgh police officers are dead. The mayor confirmed that information just a few minutes ago, you saw it right here on CNN. The officers were responding to a domestic disturbance call when they came under fire. The suspect has been arrested.
Another mass murder in the news, the gunman who attacked an immigrant help center in Binghamton, New York, was apparently ready for battle. Police say he was wearing body armor and he killed 13 people before turning the gun on himself and committing suicide.
Let's talk about the whirlwind in Europe. If it is Saturday, it must be Prague for the president and Mrs. Obama, continuing their tour of Europe. Right now, they're in the Czech capital of Prague. CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, is in Washington.
Good to see you, Paul. Well, this entire journey in Europe has been filled with all kinds of symbolism and we saw it again this morning on the bridge. Explain why this is so meaningful.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIR: Yeah. Today, they're celebrating the 60th anniversary of NATO, the North American Treaty Organization. You saw President Obama on a bridge spanning Germany and France, today, with the leaders of those countries and Fred, it was also a day to honor France was coming back into the military part of the organization for the first time in 40 years.
Fred, president Obama had some big things on his agenda today. He wanted to get France and Germany and the rest of the NATO allies to support him when it comes to the war in Afghanistan. Did he get everything he wanted? No. He wanted more troops than he got today, but he did get commitments for 5,000 troops from Europe mostly for security for the upcoming election, there.
So he got some of what he wanted. He got the pledge from the leaders over there to support him and his policy in Afghanistan, but he didn't get everything he wanted today -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: But, I guess he's walking away from this, even though he's still going to be there a little bit longer, feeling like there were more successes than setbacks.
STEINHAUSER: Yeah, I think so. Look back to earlier this week in London at the G-20. And president Obama at the G-20 in London, he was looking for more stimulus money from the leaders of Germany and France. He didn't get that. He got some of what he wanted, again, in fact at the news conference following the G-20 summit, he was asked how he did, he said, I did OK. He did OK, Fred. He didn't do great. He didn't do horrible. He got some of what he wanted, not all of what he wanted. It's his first trip overseas.
And then, the whole style of this trip, Fred, was very different than what we saw with the previous president. You had that town hall yesterday right in Strasbourg, France, with French and German students, there. This is something I don't think we would have ever seen President Bush do and I guess the bar was set pretty low by his predecessor, that is why he was treated almost like a rock star over there, Fred. They really loved Barack Obama over there, they love him more than his policies, though.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, it really was an extraordinary week for the president and the first lady. Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much. And he's not done because he's going to be meeting with Spanish and Polish leaders, as well, and other members of the European Union, and then it's off to Turkey, so busy weekend and week ahead. Thanks Paul, appreciate it.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, meantime, back in this country, clean-up is underway from coast to coast after a week of some pretty nasty weather. In Washington State, a lot of work ahead after a mudslide damaged eight waterfront homes on an island near the town of Clinton. And then in Tennessee, they're still adding up the damage from a tornado that touched down in Nashville that caused some property damage, but no serious injuries.
And then in Georgia, floodwaters filled streets and homes in several areas after days of heavy rain. Parts of the U.S. are getting rain and snow, in fact, this weekend, it keeps coming. Bonnie Schneider is tracking all of it.
HI Bonnie, it's been a while.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Fredricka.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: It always happens that way, though, doesn't it, at least in the South, it goes straight from winter to summer.
SCHNEIDER: Yeah, we don't get a spring.
WHITFIELD: No transition. All right, thanks a lot, Bonnie, appreciate it.
All right, well, she is helping families out of homelessness, one at a time. Next, meet a CNN Hero.
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WHITFIELD: More than 30 million people are unemployed and home foreclosures are skyrocketing. The waiting list for affordable housing is getting longer and longer and this week's CNN Hero is tackling that very problem head-on using her own home as battle headquarters.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Heroes.
STEINHARDT: When we have an economy like this, the people at the very bottom are really going to be hit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We couldn't find a place to live with our income, that was impossible. We pulled these seats out and we had a twin-size mattress.
SUEZETTE STEINHARDT, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: If a family finds themselves homeless, they start at the shelters, from the shelters, they funnel them into the various transitional programs. Some have to release you after two years. If their incomes are just not high enough to afford any housing, we have to do something so they don't slip through the cracks and go back into homelessness.
My name is Suezette Steinhardt and I'm helping families out of homelessness one at a time. The majority of our clients are single moms. We will take them up to three years in a rental assistance program. I make them aware of anything that pertains to education, health, job training. If they go back to school, we pick the kids up from their daycare.
Our basement is for evening child care. It's very grassroots. As an organization, we're small and we're working out of my basement.
(BEGIN GRAPHIC)
Suzette Steinhardt is currently helping 15 families at risk of becoming homeless to get back and stay on their feet.
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If you had told me two years ago that I would be doing what I am today, would I say there's no way, I can't do it. Don't underestimate what you have to give.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. So if you'd like to help Suezette Steinhardt go to CNN.com/heroes. That is also a place where you can volunteer or suggest a few names of people you think are great CNN Heroes. We like to profile them throughout the year and we find that all of them offer so much inspiration to a lot of us. CNN.com/heroes is the place to check out.
All right, the final four in the Motor City, but will it be enough to give Detroit the economic boost that it needs? We'll go there live to find out.
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WHITFIELD: Detroit is seeing its share of misery in this economic downturn. The auto industry is on life support. Michigan leads the nation in unemployment, but college basketball's final four is close to tipping off, and the Motor City is super charged.
CNN's Larry Smith is live for us in Detroit, where I know folks are fired up, as they would be for final four, but especially now.
LARRY SMITH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, they certainly are, Fredricka. For at least a weekend, Detroit can put its troubles aside and bask in the party that is the final four.
And boy, I tell you what, look at the scenes outside of Ford Field, just this afternoon. Michigan State, their campus just 90 minutes away and so as you can expect, they have the largest crowd here, easily 80 percent of the fans we see, if not more than that, all Michigan State.
Michigan State takes on Yukon in game one at 6:07 p.m. Eastern Time as North Carolina versus Philadelphia in the second game. The winners will meet Monday night. But again, it is the biggest party of the year in college basketball, as everyone gathers for this major event, the final four -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Oh, very, very fun. Everybody needs a little relief, too.
SMITH: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot. Larry Smith, appreciate it, from Detroit.
All right, also new this hour, Pittsburgh police confirm that sadly three of their own have died. What happened and how the suspect was finally captured.
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WHITFIELD: More job cuts in another major U.S. company. FedEx is slashing 1,000 jobs. Half the laid-off workers are in Memphis, that's where the company is headquartered. FedEx says the layoffs were triggered by a 75 percent drop in quarterly profits. One Memphis resident wondered where it's all going to end.
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JESS BUNN, FEDEX SPOKESWOMAN: We have made the decision, as announced on the last earnings report that we had to take further action because of the deepening global recession, which led to this decision.
YVETTE PASCHAL, MEMPHIS RESIDENT: It seems to me the middle class is going to be eliminated eventually. We're talking more than a half a million people being laid off in America a month. So if this is persistent, then that means sooner or later there's only going to be two categories of people and that's either rich or poor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The layoffs sadly began yesterday.
So, while many companies are laying people off or cutting pay, a CEO in New Jersey surprised his staff with extra cash. All 434 employees at Bollinger Insurance got $1,000 from Jack Windolf's own pocket. He calls it a mini stimulus package.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK WINDOLF, CEO, BOLLINGER INSURANCE SOLUTIONS: When the economy went the way it was going and there was all this bad news, and I thought, you know, this would be a really good thing at this point in time for our employees, and maybe it could kind of jump start the economy a little bit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So, there was one catch to the bonuses. Employees had to spend that money on themselves or on loved ones.
So, we can't all count on $1,000 payday, but next hour we look at how to have a little fun and live well without busting your budget, a stay-cation doesn't have to be dull. We'll brainstorm about ways to turn your plain old pad into the dream restreet.
And the grocery bill isn't getting cheaper these days, but you can tighten your belt and still keep full portions on the plates at your dinner table and have fun eating. And spring break means prom season, right? So, we helped plan the perfect prom without actually breaking the bank.
But first, another look at top stories right now, just a minute before the hour. Three police officers were killed and two more wounded today while responding to a domestic disturbance in Pittsburgh. The suspect identified as 23-year-old Richard Poplawski, was arrested after a four-hour standoff. He's in fair condition with a gunshot wound to the leg.
And another news conference is expected shortly in Binghamton, New York, where a gunman killed 13 people yesterday. We'll following that story for you, as well. The suspect killed himself as police were closing in.
President Obama has arrived in the Czech Republic after a NATO meeting in France. NATO allies agreed to send 5,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
Hello, again. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. For weeks we've been focusing on hard times: unemployment, foreclosures, difficult stuff.
