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Tight Budgets Squeezing Schools; What Progress in Afghanistan?; Americans Fight to Save Lives in Afghan E.R.

Aired September 08, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you heard the president's pep talk to American students. Now we're pushing forward on the state of America's schools. From coast to coast, the three "R's" struggle to survive against the big "R," recession.

Plus, we're pushing forward to the war zone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's nighttime now here in Kandahar. You see what's going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: There in Kandahar, Dr. Sanjay Gupta goes inside a hospital at the heart of the Afghan war. The stories and pictures will take your breath away.

And so will this. From a moment of deepest heartbreak, a promise of new hope and new life. A dead child's fondest wish finally fulfilled.

Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

No excuses, no giving up or holding back. No shortcuts to a good education. President Obama calls on the nation's elementary and high school students to put the summer behind them and make the most of school right now. The president traveled to a high school in Arlington, Virginia, for a speech the White House hoped would be seen in classrooms nationwide. He said teachers, parents, government officials, all have important roles in a child's education.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schools in the world, and none of it will make a difference. None of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities; unless you show up to those schools; unless you pay attention to those teachers; unless you listen to your parents and grandparents and other adults and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: But what about those teachers? What about those schools? Nice, motivational speech. However, everywhere we look, resources are being cut, classes are getting bigger, or both. And everywhere money is the reason.

Reality check: public schools in Pennsylvania are starting the year more than $1 billion in appear -- in arrears, rather, because the state hasn't passed a budget.

In Detroit, 29 schools have been closed and 1,700 teachers laid off. In Arizona, some classes now have as many as 50 students. Twenty thousand teachers have been laid off in California. And just south of Columbus, Ohio, the Southwestern city school district can't afford any after-school activities. It's scrapped them all.

So, what's the answer? Jeanne Allen has some ideas. She's president of the nonpartisan Center for Education Reform. She joins me now live from Baltimore.

And you know, Jeanne, as we were looking through that speech, yes, it was very motivational, but when you really sit around the table -- and this is what we did -- various different education and parents and brothers and sisters and knowing the educational system, bottom line, school districts are suffering everywhere right now.

JEANNE ALLEN, CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL REFORM: Not only the school districts suffering, Kyra, but our kids are actually suffering. The 5,000 failing schools across America -- hello! I mean, all the stuff that you guys just described about budgets being cut and teachers being furloughed.

The other thing that we're not talking about is that, no matter how hard these kids work -- and, look, the president did Parenting 101 commonsense stuff today. This is not controversial.

But we need a huge wake-up call. We should be saying to the teachers, "If you're really not the best you can be, you need to look in the mirror."

We need to be saying to school district officials, "How can you tolerate failing schools year after year?" We're getting the pants beat off of us by other industrialized countries in math and science.

The reality check really is, what can we do to get our schools fixed now so that those kids working hard, that we let out the door this morning, really do have a chance at success.

PHILLIPS: And it's interesting. I was passing one of our television sets in the newsroom, and I stopped. And I was watching this PSA, and it -- it was so interesting the way it was put together. I wanted to know the message behind it. And it leads to our discussion. Take a little -- take a look at a piece of this PSA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you know that many states use third-grade reading exams to predict future prison growth?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that more than 1 million kids drop out of school before high school each year?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that these kids are eight times more likely to end up in prison?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's true. Sixty percent of America's prison inmates never finished high school. And now many states are spending more money on prisons. And less on public education.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And correct me if I'm wrong -- I know you shake your head -- isn't there more money going into public education today and fewer students than five years ago? I think I was reading that in a -- in an article that we got in our research.

ALLEN: Than ever before, about $10,000 per student, and roughly half is actually making it to instructional people. Our teachers and our principals on the front lines who need control over that money aren't getting it. It's being peeled off in school districts.

We have bus routes -- I just saw one this morning. Six kids got on the bus to go half a mile. I mean, this happens every day in America.

So, it's not how much we have; it's how we're spending it. Money can really help. We know that. We have to pay for schools. But we have to pay for schools that are working.

As long as we're tolerating failure -- look, we have a huge debate going in this country. We know that parents need options. While we are figuring out how to fix our schools, they should have real choices. There should be meaningful accountability that allows people to either leave or have options of better schools.

We should be firing people who don't do a great job and pouring money on those who do. That's performance pay.

This was an opportunity for the president to give us all a wake- up call to say, "Look, we've got to adopt real policies, no matter which adults it hurts so that these kids' hard work does really matter at the end of the day."

PHILLIPS: You know, you mentioned performance pay, and you talked about higher standards. And then what about what some of these superintendents are doing? I think in Chicago, in D.C., they're actually letting these teacher contracts totally go, right, in the failing schools? And then they turn them over to organizations and people that can run them better. Is that a new trend -- would that be fruitful if more superintendents took this on?

ALLEN: I'll tell you, it's one of the most promising things, but they are fighting tooth and nail to get this done. In Washington, D.C., the chancellor has been trying -- a mayoral- controlled district that's been doing better and bitter every year because of these kind of reforms. She's been trying to get a hold of teacher union contracts so she can actually evaluate people for whether or not they really do help kids achieve. And she's been fought by the unions.

In Chicago, the same thing. L.A. just asked for control over being able to turn over failing schools to private managers. We're seeing promising results from this kind of sort of decentralization or citizen control of schools in Philadelphia. Charter schools, hybrid schools, entrepreneurs helping take over our schools.

We're a smart country. We need to invite more people in than just the regular folks, because we've got a national problem. We've got to solve it with a national solution.

PHILLIPS: I tell you what: it's not just the kids that are going to have to work harder. Jeanne Allen, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time.

ALLEN: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: After years of warfare, another reminder of how dangerous Afghanistan and Iraq are for the American military.

Just today alone, four U.S. troops were killed in at battle in eastern Afghanistan, and then in Iraq, four American troops were killed in a string of roadside bombings. It's the deadliest day for American forces in Iraq in more than two months, and August was the deadliest month ever for U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

And for the troops' families, parents, wives, husbands and for their fellow soldiers and commanding officers, the deaths are never just numbers. We want to show you a moment that you don't often see.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. RICHARD NASH, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL DIVISION SOUTH: Our deepest gratitude goes out to the families, friends, loved ones and employers of these patriots and professionals. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families of those who have given the last full measure. Both Americans and Iraqis can be proud of the fine job their sons and daughters are doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Wow.

CNN's Michael Ware live in Kabul, Afghanistan.

You know, Michael, that's just a reminder there from our troops that this place is still home to the Taliban, and it's eight years later. And the military is -- is putting up the same fight. You wonder, where is there progress? MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that -- that certainly is something I and ordinary Afghans are constantly wondering here on the ground in Afghanistan. As you say, eight years on, and what is there to show for it?

Intensified combat. That's one thing to show. A more resilient, a stronger Taliban than ever. Another thing to show for it.

I've just returned from the southern capital of Kandahar, which is the birthplace of the Taliban. Now, that just neighbors the area of Helmand, the next-door province, or state, where this massive U.S. Military offensive is under way.

And I can tell you, what everyone in the region there is telling me -- police commanders, local warlords, tribal leaders, even the Afghan president's brother -- is that the fighting by the Americans might be killing Taliban foot soldiers, but it's doing nothing to break the back of the Taliban war machine.

And we see that the Taliban, in its pockets of resistance, has the capital of the south, Kandahar, this city of almost a million people, virtually surrounded. And the Taliban are able to strike almost at will.

So, I can tell you, this mission is certainly in crisis. This nation is in a political limbo. They don't even know the outcome of last month's presidential election, because there's been so many allegations of corruption.

PHILLIPS: So, Michael...

WARE: And the entire U.S. war plan is currently under revision, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So, bottom line, you know, basically I'm listening to you, and it sounds pretty darn depressing. So, I guess as an American here in the U.S., I'm wondering, if the Taliban is that strong, do I need to worry about another 9/11?

WARE: No. I really don't think you do, not -- certainly not coming from Afghanistan.

Now, let's keep this in mind. Why did America go to war in Afghanistan? Because it saw a national security threat directly posed to American interests. And that was coming from al Qaeda. Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, Zawahiri, the No. 2 of al Qaeda, the al Qaeda leadership, are not here in Afghanistan.

The bulk of this war, the vast majority of the shootings, the killings, the bombings, are being carried out by Afghan Taliban or Afghan fighters. They have never once launched a terrorist attack outside of Afghanistan.

So, the men who America is fighting right now are fighting to get America out of their country. They're not fighting to set up terrorist bases to launch another 9/11, Kyra. PHILLIPS: Michael Ware, live from Kabul. Michael, thank you very much.

Michael is not the only one, part of our CNN team that's there in Afghanistan, just a few days before the anniversary of 9/11. Talking about battles raging on in southern Afghanistan. Trauma teams and medics also working around the clock to treat the wounded soldiers and civilians involved in this war.

Their workplace? Kandahar Roll 3, a hospital in the middle of the war zone, and that's where CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, takes us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm reporting to you from this dusty desert tent in the middle of Afghanistan, specifically the Helmand province, which is one of the most dangerous areas here. This is actually an operating room. They need this operating room to be able to take care of patients as soon as they come off the front lines.

There's a lot to battlefield medicine, something we've been investigating all week long. Take a look.

GUPTA (voice-over): Early morning. Kandahar.

(on camera) We've been here just a few minutes. We're already getting an idea of just how busy this hospital is. Out there is the busiest air strip, supposedly, in the world, planes landing all the time, all trying to get patients to the hospital.

We're hearing this next is a very urgent case, a patient with lots of bleeding, a possible double leg amputation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's stay out of the box, please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very weak radial pulses. Carotid pulse is all right. And then the tourniquets were put on about 45 minutes ago. Bilateral tourniquets.

GUPTA: Doctor Haye (ph) is communicating with the patient, translating, trying to figure out exactly what happened to him.

(voice-over): We don't know much. Middle-aged, Afghan national. But here's something: only a quarter of the patients brought here are U.S. or coalition forces. The rest are locals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We'll go ahead and give him some more pain medicine. Yes, please, 50 again. He can handle it. These patients (ph) are good.

GUPTA (on camera): You have no idea the severity of injuries. Go over the patient, check his back, check his spine. Make sure there's nothing else they missed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see the tourniquets are still holding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

GUPTA: They're putting big IVs in here. There's just a couple of tourniquets that are really holding all that blood from pouring out of his leg. That's why they have to take him to the operating room.

(voice-over): Twenty-four/seven, a battlefield hospital in the middle of a war zone. Like this. Surgeons working on a young soldier. IED, improvised explosive device attack.

As you watch him wheeled out, his face is torn, his left arm terribly damaged. And underneath that blanket, one of his legs is gone. Surgeons tell me his mother received the awful call just a short time ago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ready?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't move him yet.

GUPTA: It's all hard to watch and to process. They are brothers, friends, neighbors, but here is where it gets worse.

That sound you hear is the drill being used to remove the skull of a child, a 2-year-old Afghan boy. He fell down a cliff while playing. His name is Malik, and he has a massive brain injury. Almost dead. Doctors here are trying to give him a fighting chance. He is one of the cutest boys you'll ever meet.

(on camera): It is nighttime here now in Kandahar. See what's going on behind me. A chopper is about to land. Very rigid Hill (ph). We just don't have a lot of information. We just know there are patients on this particular chopper. Over there, look over there, two ambulances. All the medics over here. They're starting to run out to the chopper. They just got the all-clear signal. We're going to go with them.

(voice-over): Thirty seconds later, the patient is inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's get him on the...

GUPTA: As you can see, there's a lot of triage going on right now. They're placing IVs, they have a breathing tube check. A couple things I noticed right away: he's moving both of his legs, and he's moving both of his arms. Very good sign. There's a concern about head injury, but it's probably not that severe if he's able to do what he's doing now.

And keep in mind, in the midst of all this, the young boy, Malik, his life still hangs in the balance.

(on camera): The story of Malik is something we're going to be covering all week long. He's an amazing little boy. And the way that he was cared for may carry some lessons for all of us.

Back to you. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: That our Sanjay Gupta. You can see more from the battle zone tonight on CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER 360." All this week, Anderson, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Michael Ware will be reporting from Afghanistan. That's tonight, 10 Eastern, only on CNN.

It's amazing what a toothbrush can tell you. One toothbrush in Milwaukee tells detectives they might have found a serial killer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Break's over. We've seen the kind of recess that Congress enjoyed over the past month. Many lawmakers got an earful about health-care reform during town halls across the country. The ball is back in their court now.

The president meets with the house speaker and Senate majority leader in about an hour to reenergize Democrats. And the bipartisan Gang of Six senators meet to talk about a solution both parties can live with. One of the six, Iowa's Chuck Grassley. He talked to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R), IOWA: I've been working the last three or four months with Senator Baucus one-on-one and then later with the Group of Six to come up with a bipartisan plan, and it seems to me that the bipartisan approach is the best.

And if you look at the president during his campaign, he wanted to be post-partisan, and it seems to me like those statements yesterday were very partisan, contrary to what he promised in the last campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus is pushing a $900 billion bipartisan health bill. He hopes to get it out there before the president's speech tomorrow.

And you can see that speech right here. Live coverage from the best political team on television starts at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 Pacific, only on CNN.

Health-care reform is the big one, but it's not the only one. Also on Capitol Hill, to-do list there in the Senate chamber, clean energy, creating jobs with projects like road and bridge improvements, also keeping Wall Street honest to protect the economy.

On the House side, the financial services committee should be looking at a bill on protecting you from bad behavior in the financial industry. And the two chambers also have to agree on annual spending bills this month.

Stark reminder today that we are very much a country at war. Four U.S. troops have been killed in the fighting in eastern Afghanistan, and in Iraq. A spate of roadside bombings killed four more American troops along with a civilian.

Finally a break in a decade-old serial killings in Milwaukee. Police have arrested a suspect in the murders of nine women over 21 years. They say that this -- they matched 49-year-old Walter Ellis with DNA found on the victims, most of whom were identified as prostitutes. There was some good-old-fashioned police work at play here. We're going to talk to the chief.

Rush hour resumes across the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge, a day ahead of schedule. Traffic streaming across after workers fixed a big crack in a steel support beam. They thought it would take until tomorrow, but they worked nonstop, all night, and they say the bridge is now safe.

It's something you don't expect to see at a funeral: a young boy who died in a car crash gets his wish fulfilled. What on earth did he ask for?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, another name joins the season's list of tropical storms.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Fred now brewing in the Atlantic, right, Chad?

MYERS: Four more and we're done!

PHILLIPS: Only four.

MYERS: Well, we're up to six. So yes, usually there's ten.

And here it is. Fred, F-R-E-D. Now, remember, hurricanes are not male and female, so you shouldn't ever hear us say "she's" just come off the coast or "he's" just come off the coast. They are all "its." They are just "its." They're all Pat.

Anyway, here's Africa, middle of the Atlantic Ocean, literally. You can't even find the United States on the map. And typically these storms can travel a very long distance and gain an awful lot of strength and possibly strike the islands or the United States. This one not forecast to do that, Kyra. Forecast to come around the high pressure and move on up toward the north and just slide away. So that's the good news -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, that is good news.

MYERS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Now, stay with me for a second. Do you remember these pictures? There was this -- that elusive beast apparently in -- caught on camera?

MYERS: Oh, sure.

PHILLIPS: Do you remember that?

MYERS: Yes, yes, of course.

PHILLIPS: Here in Georgia.

MYERS: Uh-huh.

PHILLIPS: OK. Well, as we know that turned out to be a fake.

MYERS: A hoax, yes.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Then there was this another one, a possible footprint from Sasquatch, But now apparently a new picture might have you believing in -- maybe I should ask you, do you believe in Big Foot?

MYERS: No.

PHILLIPS: No? OK.

MYERS: I think -- I think we would have better -- with all the people out there, I think we would have better evidence if he really existed. But maybe -- I...

PHILLIPS: All right, well...

MYERS: It's a 10 percent chance. I'll go with partly -- partly cloudy on that one.

PHILLIPS: Partly cloudy. OK. Offshore winds, whatever.

Elizabeth Donatelli, apparently, in Louisville, at one of our affiliates, found another sighting. Check this out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lot of wildlife and territory around here.

ELIZABETH DONATELLI, REPORTER (voice-over): Kenny Mahoney (ph) has lived in southern Jefferson County his whole life. He knows the people, knows the land.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, you see deer track, no problem.

DONATELLI: And certainly the animals, which makes it odd his garden wasn't growing the way it was supposed to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I planted 14 rows of green beans, and they just wiped them out, a bunch of stuff smashed over. But no details of tracks. Something I wouldn't know.

DONATELLI: Kenny (ph) was determined to catch the culprit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I set the cameras up, and they tell me what wildlife is in the area and what time they come through and everything.

DONATELLI: You can clearly make out the animals in most of the pictures.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a rabbit right there. That's a raccoon, see?

DONATELLI (on camera): Oh, yes.

(voice-over) Except for this one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's roughly 50, 55 yards from the camera to the -- where the object was.

DONATELLI: A big, black figure in the distance of one of his photos.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 5'11". I'm thinking this is, well, probably five foot tall. And like I said, when we look at the picture later, you know, you can see the thing is about this tall and looks like it's about this wide. I didn't expect to track -- catch Big Foot on the camera.

DONATELLI (on camera): Do you think Big Foot's a vegetarian?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope so.

DONATELLI (voice-over): But what else could it be? Some have guessed a bear or an ape. But have you ever heard of either in Jefferson County? Maybe a trash bag blowing in the wind. Or perhaps there's some truth to those tall tales after all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every once in a while, you know, I think something is impossible and, you know, they catch a prehistoric fish every once in a while or something. You know, I -- I don't ever rule anything out, but I'd say it's a real long shot for Big Foot to be living in the backyard here.

DONATELLI: Elizabeth Donatelli...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's some ugly men around here that might pass for Big Foot.

DONATELLI: ... Three News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right, Chad. What do you think?

MYERS: All my relatives are in Kentucky. So...

PHILLIPS: What do you think?

MYERS: I don't know. I didn't want to have to go there.

Now, we looked at our Google Earth a number of times, but if I zoom in all the way and keep going and keep going. Do you see the face there? Do you see the eyes and the nose and the mouth?

PHILLIPS: Right.

MYERS: Really, it's just a couple of bushes. And I can go over and over in many other places here. I'll take you to one more. As we zoom into places -- this is just Oklahoma City. This is where we're going to fly all the way in toward Altus. If you keep going, keep going, keep going, can you see Spongebob? It's right there. There he is, right there with the tentacles and everything.

But anyway, I'm not sure I believe it, but there have been -- if you go to BigFootEncounters.com...

PHILLIPS: I saw that. There are sightings, like, all across the United States. You can click on every state, and there's all these sightings.

MYERS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll investigate. Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Spongebob, that's interesting.

All right. Right after the break, have you seen a picture of this guy yet? Well, I'll tell you what: police in the Milwaukee -- think that they have possibly linked him to a number of murders. And, get this: murders that have taken place over 21 years. They might have cracked the case. And we're going to tell you about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Out of the shadows, into the spotlight. Milwaukee detectives say that they might have flushed out the city's so-called North Side Strangler. So far, 49-year-old Walter Ellis is charged in two deaths. But that might be just the beginning. Ellis has been linked to some nine killings over a span of 21 years. Cases that went stone cold are suddenly red hot. We're going to talk to the police chief in just a minute.

But right now, let's get some more details from Charles Benson of Milwaukee's WTMJ.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES BENSON, WTMJ-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chief Flynn says a lot of hard work went into bringing a conclusion to several cases that were cold but not forgotten.

CHIEF EDWARD FLYNN, MILWAUKEE POLICE DEPARTMENT: Good police work and good police science have led us to Walter Ellis.

BENSON: The nine victims were all women, many with a history of drug and prostitution. They were strangled or stabbed to death. DNA found on the victims linked them to a single suspect, but not to a known name. The missing link was a DNA match with Ellis. That came from a toothbrush from Ellis during a search warrant.

FLYNN: We offer our condolences to surviving family members with the hope that today's news gives them confidence there will be justice.

BENSON: Carron Kilpatrick's family hopes so. She died three weeks after giving birth to her fifth child in 1994. Her sister does not want to be seen on TV.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the best news ever.

BENSON (on camera): (INAUDIBLE) says police recently came by to talk to her about the cold case and a possible suspect, but she says she never thought this day would come.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bring closure to me, you know what I'm saying, as to know what happened, you know, to my sister.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Once again, that was Charles Benson from Milwaukee's WTMJ.

The police chief, as you saw, was part of that report. We want to talk a little bit more with Chief Flynn to push this case forward, wherever it might lead.

So, chief, just to -- there's been a little discrepancy to the numbers of what you might be linking your suspect to. Is it eight deaths? Nine deaths? Can you bring us up to date on that and clarify the numbers?

FLYNN: Initially it was seven.

PHILLIPS: OK.

FLYNN: And subsequently it became nine just early last week. We got two additional hits that brought the total of linkages between this suspect and the murder victims to nine.

PHILLIPS: Got it. All right, now, tell me, I mean, you've been in law enforcement a long time, and you've worked for various agencies. How did he get by for 21 years, living probably right there in the same community?

FLYNN: Well, let's keep in mind, too, as we try to discern patterns going backwards, they're easier to see in retrospect than they are going forward. There were nine homicides spread out over a 20-year period.

During that same period, Milwaukee experienced over 2,000 homicides, over 200 in the vicinity alone where these bodies were found. So, to some extent I think it was difficult for investigators then to discern the geographic pattern.

Another challenge was the state of DNA evidence. The sophistication of our analytical techniques in 2009 far exceeds that of 1986 or 1995 or even 2002. And it was only this year that we, as we continually resubmit evidence from cold cases -- that's what our cold case unit does -- it was only this year that the science was of a level of a sophistication to reveal the linkages between the nine with the same DNA pattern.

PHILLIPS: So, tell me how the link was made. Tell me what your cold case unit did that, boom, this is it?

FLYNN: Well, I mean, I wish it could be just, boom, this was it, quite honestly.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Maybe after a little bit of time, then all of a sudden you have the smoking gun.

FLYNN: They take a little bit more time, a little bit more time than "CSI" or "Law & Order." But the challenge for us, quite frankly, was not only did first we have to discern the pattern and then develop the linkage based on the DNA evidence. We also were faced with the challenge that this individual's DNA was not in the database.

PHILLIPS: How did he avoid that, by the way? Because he had a rap sheet, Chief.

FLYNN: He did. The Wisconsin law that mandated the collection of DNA from all convicted felons was passed in 2000. He was released from prison in 2001, and it appears that he was able to get released without getting his DNA taken, so we did not have anyone to match our dna profile against until we were able to get that toothbrush.

PHILLIPS: Yes. And how did that go down? I mean, you were talking about -- and I was just reading through here all the names that the were contained and the investigations you went through over 23 years, and all the prostitution-related cases. So, finally, you -- the name surfaced within all these tips, and how did you go about getting a warrant and going for the toothbrush?

FLYNN: Well, it's, you know, to say that detective work in a case like this is painstaking is an understatement. It's mind- numbingly painstaking. The number of names and cases that they had to go through and review and look for geographic patterns, look for name linkages, look for connect-ups.

And what happened over the course of these last five months is that we discerned a few names that came up with more than a little bit of frequency. We took a number of these names and submitted them to the FBI for a search of their databases. And our suspect came up on two of their database searches. And when we combined that with the fact that we noted him in a few of the more recently discovered homicides, we began to focus our efforts on him.

And it was based on that evidence, you know, the search we'd done, the data search we'd done, the results of our analysis, that enabled us to get the D.A. to successfully with us apply for a search warrant that was granted by judge. And that got us the crucial bit of evidence that was probative.

PHILLIPS: Well, hopefully this man will never walk the streets again, and you'll be able to crack more cases. Chief Edward Flynn, sure appreciate your time. Great work.

FLYNN: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: To another story now that's unfolding today at the U.S. Supreme Court, a ceremony for the newest justice. Sonia Sotomayor will be welcomed to the bench in an investiture next hour. These pictures of the new justice and her family this morning.

Sotomayor is already an official member of the court. And then after her confirmation by the Senate last month, she was sworn in so she could start work as the high court's 111th justice.

President Obama and Vice President Biden will attend today's ceremony. And in case you're wondering, an investiture is the formal installation of someone in public office. The ceremony is also performed for judges in many other countries, and it's often performed for new college presidents and chancellors.

She wrote the word "believe" on her shoes. Now, Melanie Oudin is making believers of tennis fans everywhere.

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PHILLIPS: Could be a while before we find out who won Afghanistan's August 20th presidential election. The U.N.-backed election commission has ordered a partial recount following allegations of fraud in several provinces. That could take two or three months. Once it's determined which ballots will be allowed, election officials will decide if a runoff is needed.

The space shuttle Discovery getting ready to head home. The crew is getting buckled into their seats, and the shuttle is scheduled to pull away from the International Space Station in less than two hours. Discovery is bringing home Buzz Lightyear. NASA will use video of his antics and its education program for kids.

They're back. Capitol Hill is looking (ph) like a ghost town today. Members of Congress have returned to Washington after their August recess, and they're rolling up their sleeves for serious work ahead, trying to pass a version of the health care reform bill that everyone can agree on.

Looks like Washington State University dodged a bullet for now as far as swine flu is concerned. Cases of the H1N1 virus may be tapering off. More than 2,000 WSU -- WSU students got sick in the first few weeks of school, but most reported mild symptoms and felt better after a couple of days. None needed hospitalization, by the way. But other schools are reporting a spike in cases as dorms fill up.

Scientists are excited about the discovery of new genes linked to Alzheimer's. The findings outlined in the journal "Nature" could put researchers on the fast track for the brain-robbing disease. Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia, is caused by a plague on the brain. Researchers say that eliminating the three new genes could keep 20 percent of the at-risk population from getting that sickness.

Now, the meteoric rise in Melanie Oudin. If you don't follow tennis, you may think Melanie who? But think about this, Martina, Venus, even Billie Jean King were unknown when they first hit the big time. And now it's Melanie's turn. The 17-year-old phenom from the Atlanta suburbs wowed them at Wimbledon and is blazing a trail at the U.S. Open.

CNN's Larry Smith actually caught up with her at one of the practice sessions before she left Georgia.

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LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's no surprise that Serena and Venus Williams are considered among the world's best tennis players, sitting second and third, respectively. in the Sony Ericsson WTA rankings. But to find the third-best American, you have to go all the way down to number 67 and 17-year-old Melanie Oudin.

MELANIE OUDIN, 17-YEAR-OLD TENNIS STAR: It was my goal from last year's U.S. open for this U.S. open to be top 100 so I would be in the main draw.

SMITH (on camera): Melanie burst onto the scene this year at Wimbledon, where she advanced to the round of 16, defeating the sixth- ranked player in the world, Jelena Yankovic, along the way.

OUDIN: Realizing that I could actually win, I think was my key thing. Realizing in the first set that she was no better than me and I was right there, and whether I won or lost the match, like, at that moment, I knew that I was right there with her, and I can compete with her.

BRIAN DE VILLIERS, OUDIN'S COACH: I think there's a little pressure on her now, and we have to maintain that. I mean, I've seen so many kids come and go and have a great tournament. And then you never hear from them again.

Fire from the hips. Come on, come on, come on! No, no, no. Do that shot again. Make that. That's sloppy. Make it. And again. Make it. Very good.

SMITH (voice-over): Brian De Villiers has coached Melanie for eight years and has a theory on why there aren't more American players in the world tennis rankings.

DE VILLIERS: They're too soft over here. There are too many escape clauses as in, I can go to college. A lot of them come from affluent families, and they basically have never had to really work for something for themselves. And the minute the going gets tough, they bail.

SMITH: At the U.S. Open, Melanie will be looking to dispute that notion and make her first taste of success as a pro a lasting one.

OUDIN: I'm still the underdog, again. You know, I'm not going to be seated or anything. There's going to be some pressure. But I'm just going to go out there and play my game and hope I can play like I did at Wimbledon.

DE VILLIERS: Hit the line again. Extend. That's better. Right.

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PHILLIPS: Once again, that was our Larry Smith. You know, Melanie's in the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows, and she's the youngest player to go that far since Serena Williams in 1999. And Serena went on to win.

They jumped in their fire truck to respond to an emergency, and then an emergency happened to them.

But, first, not sure how the Burger King dude fits into all this, but, hey, who doesn't love a good whopper? Something you might have missed over the Labor Day weekend, Dragoncon, the annual science fiction fantasy palooza, that made part of Atlanta like, well, the bar in "Star Wars," with a few Hogwarts and Middle Earth mixed in.

More than 900 Dragonconers tried to set a record for most people dancing to "Thriller" in one line. Not sure if they got it yet. They've sent the final numbers to Guinness. Meantime, someone tell the emperor his stormtroopers need some WD-40. Bad!

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PHILLIPS: As Americans, well, we're used to being number one. After all, we are the world's biggest economy. But now, a new survey shows the U.S. has fallen from the top of the lee -- the list, rather. We are now the world's most -- well, we used to be one of the world's most competitive economies.

Susan Lisovicz on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. So, why are we no longer the most competitive country?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you had to boil it down to a single reason, Kyra, it would be because of the fragility of the U.S. banking system. Boy, we do things in a big way. I think we're number one in that in terms of a financial crisis. It may be a global recession, a global crisis, but the U.S. is where it all started.

So, this was a survey of business leader, thousands of business leaders, Kyra, and they rated the U.S. and other countries on lots of things, like for instance, the quality of the roads and the telecom system and the availability of talent. But obviously, banking is huge, the quality of the banking system. And the U.S. ranked 108th on that score, behind Tanzania, which is a beautiful country, but certainly not known for its banking system. In terms of its auditing, the quality of its auditing, Kyra, the U.S. ranked behind Jamaica and Barbados. So, you can really see how the quality or the deterioration, more specifically, of the banking crisis really led to the U.S. being brought down a notch, just to number two, but it's still a big demotion.

PHILLIPS: Well, now I want to know what put Switzerland in the number one spot.

LISOVICZ: OK, so Switzerland's number one. Well, Switzerland hasn't suffered as much. It certainly has -- it's loaned some money to one of its biggest banks, UBS. UBS is in a position to give that money back. It's really renowned for its sophistication of the business environment there, for its close relations between academia and the business world.

And let's face it. The trains run on time, and so do the watches. This is where I got my watch. I didn't get it on Canal Street, Kyra.

(LAUGHTER)

I got it in Switzerland when I was there on assignment.

And of course, finally, we should just say that if you go there on business, the skiing is great and so is the cheese. So consider that for our next girls' trip, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly. Or, I would say, what about the chocolate? Don't forget that.

LISOVICZ: The chocolate. But remember, it's also more expensive. The U.S. dollar...

PHILLIPS: Oh, that's true.

LISOVICZ: ... taking a real pounding today.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Susan. Great to see you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome. Likewise.

PHILLIPS: Health care reform, it's one of the summer's hottest topics. Now the debate's out of the hall and back on the Hill. Recess is over -- make-or-break time. What now, Congress? We're pushing that forward next hour.

And nothing will bring her husband back from a tragic plane crash. But if she could just find one thing from the site, she might find a little more peace.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but then something went horribly wrong.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, gee! Oh, my God!

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PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. Screams of joy turned into cries of fear as a motorized glider crashed at the Tomato Days Festival. It happened in Hooper, Utah yesterday. The glider pilot and his son were dropping sponge balls to kids in the crowd, which they could redeem for candy and prizes. But the pilot and his son were not just injured, but six people on the ground, including three little girls, had to go to the hospital.

You've just got to know this is not the way these guys wanted to start out their day. Two firefighters managed to climb out of the fire's engine windows uninjured after it fell into a sink hole. It happened early this morning when a water main burst in the San Fernando Valley. That engine was responding to a predawn emergency call.

A young boy in New York had always wanted his wish to come true. Well it did, at his funeral.

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PHILLIPS: A young boy finally gets his wish at his funeral. A 7-year-old had his life honored with a very special surprise ceremony, and he had his wish fulfilled.

The story from Ginger Geoffery from WKBW in Buffalo.

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GINGER GEOFFERY, WKBW-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The crowd inside the Unitarian Universalist church rises to their feet, celebrating a life cut too short by a fiery car crash.

The family of 7-year-old Asa Hill is amazed by the turnout. Some 700 people packed a church that only seats 400.

AMILCAR HILL, ASA HILL'S FATHER: I cannot really express how much this means to me. I cannot. In words, I cannot describe how much this means to me.

DOROTHY HILL, ASA HILLS GREAT-GRANDMOTHER: It is because of your love and your support that I still stand.

GEOFFERY: Relatives take turns sharing memories of the bright, talented young boy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To share his wonderful smile and his fun laugh, especially when he would crack up uncontrollably, his oh-so- unique personality, warm hugs, loving kissing.

KEFILWE HILL, ASA HILL'S GRANDMOTHER: He would always hug me when I go to work and tell me they loved me. And he hugged me and he said, Grandma, every time I hug you, you always smell good. GEOFFERY: Asa had apparently been asking his parents, Amilcar Hill and Rahwa Ghirmatzion, to get married. And to the surprise of nearly everyone...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To unite this man and this woman in holy matrimony.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

GEOFFERY: ... Asa got his wish.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amilcar and Rahwa, what could they do but answer yes to their son when he asked them over and over again.

GEOFFERY: It's unusual, but a wedding in the middle of the funeral seems to fit this celebration of life and love.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): Asa, you're beautiful to me.

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