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World Food Program Bombing; Deadly Attacks in Afghanistan; Health Care Reform Pitch; Autism on the Rise?

Aired October 05, 2009 - 08:59   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening this morning, an agency that provides food for the needy is targeted by a suicide bomber. Five people who worked there are dead.

A make-or-break issue for the president, doctors by his side in a new push for health care reform this morning.

Plus, autism numbers on the rise. Government researchers say more than 1 percent of U.S. children have it or a related disorder.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. It is Monday, October 5th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

This morning, we are looking at two strongholds of terrorism and the growing number of deaths in insurgent attacks. CNN's Reza Sayah is actually in Pakistan this morning, where a suicide bomber has targeted a World Food Program agency. We'll tell you what happens, especially after the attack and the warnings by the Taliban about it.

Also, our Atia Abawi is in Afghanistan, where U.S. forces have now suffered their deadliest siege in more than a year. We'll get to the latest from there.

And also our Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon this morning, where the president and the war in Afghanistan are being discussed. The debate over what to do next.

A suicide bomber targets a world food program office in Pakistan. At least five people are dead in the attack. It happened today inside the Islamabad office of the agency and CNN's Reza Sayah is joining us now live from the Pakistani capital.

So, Reza, when I look at the report here, it's pretty incredible how they were able to get past security in a building like this.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Heidi, this looks really bad for the security apparatus in place for the offices of the World Food Program. And you can be sure someone's going to be in deep trouble over this.

According to a government official, the suicide attacker was wearing a military uniform when he entered the buildings of the World Food Program and here's what really looks bad. He managed to get in by saying he needed to use the bathroom.

COLLINS: Wow. SAYAH: According to the Pakistani interior minister, the uniform this individual was wearing belonged to the Frontier Corps. This is a Pakistani paramilitary force that had assigned several men to watch outside of the World Food Program. He went up to the private security officers there, he said, can I use the bathroom?

They said yes, moments later in the reception area, he blew himself up. Here's what witnesses say they saw and heard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translator): It felt that the building was collapsing. We started running, I came outside the basement, saw the glass of the building was breaking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translator): The moment we heard the sound of the blast, we sat down. We thought the roof had fallen down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: Five people killed in this suicide attack according to government officials, all of them employees of the U.N.'s World Food Program, four Pakistani citizens, two of them women, one an Iraqi national.

Islamabad had been relatively peaceful over the past four months. This is the first suicide attack since June. Security forces here had pointed to the relative calm as an indication of their success, but certainly this is another sign that the militants are still capable of striking targets like the World Food Program.

COLLINS: Yes, no question about it. Seems like the oldest trick in the book, too, to say that you have to go in to use the restroom.

Reza, any idea who is responsible for this?

SAYAH: Nobody has claimed responsibility, but we should tell you that this attack, coming 24 hours after the current head of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, spoke to some reporters and vowed to avenge the U.S. spate of U.S. drone strikes. One of those drone strikes, of course, killing the former head of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, on August 5th.

Officials here say it's too early to say if there's any links between this attack and the threat by the Pakistani Taliban, but it certainly bares the hallmarks of the Taliban. And it shows you how callous they are. The World Food Program, designed to fight world hunger.

COLLINS: Right.

SAYAH: Today it was the target of a militant attack, Heidi.

COLLINS: Boy. All right, well, Reza Sayah, we know you'll stay on top of it. Thanks so much. Live from Islamabad this morning, In southern Afghanistan now, eight Americans are dead in one of the bloodiest battles of the year. The insurgents targeted two remote outposts in Nuristan Province in a weekend of deadly violence.

CNN's Atia Abawi is joining us now with more details.

Atia, good morning to you.

ATIA ABAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. It was the single deadliest attack against U.S. forces in over a year now. It happened in Nuristan Province in eastern Afghanistan. Hundreds of insurgents targeting two combat outposts. One belonging to the ANA, the Afghan National Army, the other to the U.S. forces in the area.

These outposts were actually surrounded by mountains and by ridges and the Taliban and the insurgency that were there, they picked certain spots in the ridges to launch their attacks, using rockets, mortars, using heavy-caliber machine guns. Their attack was so fierce that parts of the outposts burst into flame.

The engagement lasted for about 12 hours and we're hearing from the U.S. forces that 30 minutes into the engagement, air support did come in and the U.S. forces here in Afghanistan, they are telling us that their enemies also sustained heavy casualties.

But if anything, this proves that there are insurgent groups still in Afghanistan that have the weaponry, the logistics to actually coordinate such attacks. Heidi?

COLLINS: And as all of this is going on, I know that you interviewed the Afghan minister of defense. I just wonder what the thoughts are from him on the debate in Washington and whether or not to increase troop strength in Afghanistan.

ABAWI: He told me that -- Minister Rahim Wardak, he told me that he doesn't want to involve himself in Washington politics, but he will say that victory is in their grasp. He says that they just need the resources right now. He does approve of more troops coming into the country and helping the Afghan National Army build.

This is a man who himself was an insurgent against the Soviets. He's saying this is a different kind of war. You can't compare the two kinds of wars, because the Afghan people don't want the coalition forces to leave, because they feel if they leave, any progress that will be made, that has been made, will go away and there will be a vacuum that will be left behind.

And they don't know what will fill that vacuum, whether it be the Taliban, whether it be another fundamentalist group, or whether it be a civil war. Heidi?

COLLINS: Boy. Atia Abawi, thanks so much. Appreciate that. Live from Afghanistan this morning.

I want to turn now to the Pentagon and CNN's Barbara Starr. Barbara, as we talk about this particular incident, the bloodiest battle of the year, what are you hearing directly from the -- excuse me, directly from the Pentagon here?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Heidi. Some new information coming in this morning. I want to go back to something Atia just said about hundreds of militants involved in this attack in Nuristan Province.

COLLINS: Yes.

STARR: That's according to the Afghans. I have to tell you, the U.S. military has a different take on it, even equally serious, however. U.S. military officials familiar with the latest report says their estimate is it was about 50 militants that launched this fierce attack on the U.S. troops.

But here's what's most disturbing, perhaps, Heidi. This U.S. official tells us that some of the militants, quote, "got past the outer defenses of the U.S. portion of that combat outpost."

Now he says the post was not overrun, in other words, that the militants did not have free reign, running around inside the fence line, but indeed that some of them did apparently get past the outer ring of U.S. defenses.

Eight U.S. troops killed, 25 wounded, we have just been told, and there were only 80 U.S. troops at the site. So the U.S. sustained very significant casualties...

COLLINS: Yes.

STARR: ... in all of this, coming at a time, Heidi, as you know, when this is front and center in the debate in Washington. Over the weekend, the national security adviser cautioned that there's still a lot of debate coming and gave a bit of a slapdown to General Stanley McChrystal's view that it may take thousands of more troops. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JIM JONES (RET.), NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Ideally, it's better for military advice to come up through the chain of command, and I think that General McChrystal and the others in the chain of command will present the president with not just one option, which does, in fact, tend to have a -- enforcing function, but a range of options that the president can consider.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Not so veiled a dig at General McChrystal from retired General Jones about General McChrystal's recently statements that a full counterinsurgency strategy is the answer for the way ahead in Afghanistan. More meetings at the White House this week. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right, Barbara Starr, sure do appreciate that from the Pentagon this morning.

We are also talking about the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan on our blog today. We do want to hear from you. As President Obama oversees a review of the military strategy in Afghanistan, do the troops have time to wait for reinforcements? Just go to my blog, CNN.com/heidi, and let me know what you think. We'll share some of the responses later.

Prosecutors will lay out their case today against a 19-year-old from Jordan accused in a Dallas bomb plot. A probable cause hearing is being held for Hosam Smadi. Authorities say he drove a truck he thought had a live bomb in it, parked it in a garage under a 60-story office building, and dialed a cell phone, intending to set off a blast. Smadi is charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

President Obama launching a new offensive for health care reform. Will his message have any pull on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Hope you had a great weekend. More rain across the South, fires out West, and another tropical storm out there in the Atlantic. We'll talk about big bad Grace when the CNN NEWSROOM comes right back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: President Obama making a new pitch for health care reform this morning, appearing with doctors at the White House.

CNN's Dan Lothian is joining us now with a look ahead at that event.

So, Dan, good morning.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

COLLINS: Foreign policy has kind of taken a fair amount of the president's attention this morning, but today he's talking domestic policy. What's going to be happening here?

LOTHIAN: That's right. You know the president has been juggling a lot of things, but again focusing on health care reform and meeting with these doctors. About 150 doctors from all across the country and these are doctors, who according to the White House support the president's push for health care reform.

The White House aide says -- a White House aide tells me that the president will also talk about a lot of the false information that's out there. A lot has been said about health care reform, that they believe is just not true. So the president really, again, wants to set the record straight.

But he also is surrounding himself with these medical experts because, A, the president wants to emphasize that they are the ones on the front lines who on a daily basis see people in their emergency rooms that don't have insurance. And B, they're the ones that are dealing with a system that they believe is inefficient.

The president wants to point out that health reform will not only help these doctors make the system more efficient, but will help the folks who are uninsured and also those who have insurance and are afraid of what will happen if they have some sort of pre-existing condition that they're insurance company won't cover.

This is another attempt by this administration to really drown out the loud voices of criticism who believe that health care reform might be necessary, but don't think that the government is the answer. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right. Well, I have a feeling we will be hearing more and more debate as the week goes on, obviously.

Dan Lothian, thanks so much. We'll keep our eye on that. And in fact, a reminder for you, CNN does have live coverage coming up of the president's remarks on health care reform, but it will be just about two hours from now.

At least 4,000 people in southern California ordered out of their homes because of a fast-moving wildfire, threatening a popular resort town. A mandatory evacuation order still in effect this morning in the town of Rightwood.

U.S. service officials say the so-called Sheep fire has destroyed three homes there and is threatening hundreds more. Right now, they say, it's about 20 percent contained. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County. Investigators are trying to find out what caused the fire.

Rob Marciano joining us now with a look at these fires. Yes, they don't know what caused it yet, but obviously we can see the damage.

MARCIANO: Yes, and the storm that kind of agitated the whole system is moving off to the east. Santa Ana winds are relaxing a little bit. This is where that storm is and what's going on across parts of southern California today is, actually a little bit of an onshore flow. That's good news.

A bit of a push from the pacific will keep things cooler, will raise the levels of humidity and tomorrow morning, we might even see a little bit of fog and mist out of there. So weather certainly helping out as they try to get a handle on that fire that's out there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. All right, you know what season's coming up, don't you?

MARCIANO: Mm-hmm. I'm ready.

COLLINS: Yes. Very good. Thank you, Rob. MARCIANO: See you.

COLLINS: The man accused of videotaping a female reporter through a hotel room peephole will find out if a judge's ruling on where he'll wind up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Checking our top stories now. The Supreme Court begins its new term today. This also marks the debut of recently sworn in justice Sonia Sotomayor. On its first day, the court will hear a case concerning how long a suspect's request for a lawyer should stay in effect.

The immediate fate of a man accused of stalking ESPN reporter Erin Andrews is in the hands of a Chicago judge now. The judge is expected to decide today whether to release Michael David Barrett on bail or return him to California as a prisoner.

Barrett is accused of secretly videotaping Andrews in the nude and trying to sell the videos to celebrity Web site TMZ.com.

A new report focuses on the growing problem of premature births around the world. The March of Dimes says more than one million babies born prematurely die before they are 1 month old. The report also found nearly 1 in 10 global births are premature.

An increase in preterm births in the U.S. is being attributed in part to more pregnancies after the age of 35 and the use of fertility treatments that can lead to multiple births.

An alarming new study from the CDC. It suggests autism cases in children could be on the rise. And more children are -- are more children at risk or are doctors actually just getting better at diagnosing the disorder? We'll talk about it in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Police make an arrest after the killing of a former fiance of a cast member on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." They've charged Frederick Richardson with voluntary manslaughter. They say he was in a fight with Ashley A.J. Joule outside a strip club in Atlanta. Joule later died from massive head injuries.

Until August, he was engaged to "Housewives" cast member Candy Burris. He also appeared on several episodes of the popular shows which follows "The Antics of Atlanta Socialites."

A new study by the CDC suggests a spike in the number of reported autism cases. It finds about 1 in 100 children showing either symptoms of the disease or a related disorder. That's way up from just six years ago.

Our Alina Cho takes a look at the dramatic increases in diagnosis. ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi. The U.S. government is releasing new autism numbers today and they are eye opening. One in 91 children in the United States is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. That amounts to more than 1 percent of the population of children. Pretty scary. And what's worse, many say we as a nation are wholly unprepared to deal with it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO (voice-over): If there was any doubt about the extent of autism, look here. 27,000 families, all affected by autism, walking for a cause.

CROWD: We did it!

KATHLEEN LANESE, MOTHER OF TWO AUTISTIC SONS: Pretty soon there won't be anybody that doesn't know somebody that has a child with autism. We're everywhere.

CHO: A new comprehensive government study says 1 in 91 children in the United States has autism spectrum disorder. 673,000 children, more than 1 percent of the population of kids aged 3 to 17. Boys are four times more likely than girls to be diagnosed, 1 in 58.

The Centers for Disease Control calls the study significant. Autism, a serious issue that warrants urgent attention.

DR. JAMES PERRIN, AUTHOR OF AUTISM STUDY: It is staggering. It's quite amazing and I wish we had the answers for what's going on.

MARK ROITHMAYR, PRESIDENT, AUTISM SPEAKS: Is there a better diagnosis? Yes. Is there a wider diagnosis? Yes. But it doesn't account for these striking numbers. Something else is going on. The something else that's going on is we don't know.

CHO: A medical mystery. The study's author says part of the increase can be attributed to more awareness. Doctors are more willing to make the diagnosis than even three years ago. Parents are more willing to talk about it, but that doesn't explain everything. Buried in these numbers, they say, is a true increase.

Ari Kantor is moderate to severely autistic. He can read, write, even cook, but only with the help of his parents. At 13, he's still a child. But soon, Ari will grow up. Then what?

(on camera): They really have nowhere to go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nowhere to go. And we are wholly unprepared to help them. They may need different supports.

CHO: Such as?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Such as they may need a job coach.

CHO (voice-over): Ari's father great hope? STEVE CANTOR, FATHER OF AUTISTIC SON: That he finds a place in society and society finds a place for him. I'm not smart enough to know what that place is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's the greatest fear. What will happen to him when we're gone? Who will love him? Who will watch him to make sure he's OK? Who will take care of him?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: That is the challenge of all parents of children with autism. The authors of the study say if there are 673,000 kids on the spectrum right now, it won't be too long before there are 673,000 adults with autism. And that presents special challenges with respect to housing, employment, social support, and education. The study's authors say that's why this report is significant.

And the mandate now, Heidi, is to look closely at how well prepared we are as a nation to deal with this. Heidi?

COLLINS: Well, it's a new term and a new era for the United States Supreme Court. The major cases on the docket when the new nine take the bench.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: On Wall Street, the rally had been losing some momentum. Stocks have posted back-to-back weekly losses, something we haven't seen since July.

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange for a look at what is in store for this week. You got the green memo, that's a good thing, as we wait for the opening bell this morning.

(LAUGHTER)

COLLINS: Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We'll do everything we can to cheer lead the market, right, Heidi?

COLLINS: Yes.

LISOVICZ: Both of us wearing green today. Over the past two weeks, investors have been bogged down by some disappointing economic news. Most recently, of course, Friday's job report, which showed more losses than expected.

This week, Wall Street's looking ahead to the third quarter earning season. With the opening bell, Alcoa will kick off earning season Wednesday. In the second quarter, most companies beat estimates because of cost cuts and layoffs. Now investors want to see sales growth. The street has higher hopes this time around because most analysts say the economy resumed growing over the past three months. In fact, former fed chairman Alan Greenspan told ABC's "This Week," yesterday, that the economy likely grew at a three percent rate last quarter, but he also warned the unemployment rate will top 10 percent.

Meanwhile, the list of failed bank hit 98 this weekend after regulators shut three small banks in Michigan, Colorado, and Minnesota. But stocks are higher, ahead of a report due out at the top of the hour. It's expected to show the service sector improved last month. The Dow right now up 16 points. NASDAQ is up half a percent. Not a bad start to a new trading week - Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. See, sounds good. The whole new week.

All right, Susan, thank you.

LISOVICZ: See you later.

We'll, check back with you later on.

COLLINS: A new session begins this morning at the Supreme Court. And when it resumes, it will do so with its first Latina Supreme Court justice.

CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and author of "The Nine," a book about the Supreme Court, is here to talk about Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and also some of the critical cases on the docket.

Good morning to you, Jeff. Thanks for being with us.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Happy first Monday in October to you, Heidi.

COLLINS: Well, thank you. I've been waiting for this day all year long.

Hey, listen, I know that there are some pretty important cases, as usual, that the Supreme Court is going to be looking at, but do me a favor and let's talk about this battle over gun rights in Chicago, specifically here.

Have a little bit of sound that we want to get to, and also want to set it up for everybody.

The plaintiff is a Chicago community activist who says he needs a handgun to protect himself from gangs. He sat down with Fredricka Whitfield this weekend.

Let's go ahead and listen for just a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OTIS MCDONALD, PLAINTIFF IN CHICAGO GUN RIGHTS CASE: If you have a gun in your home, somebody outside would be a little bit reluctant to try to enter to take your belongings, take your life or anything else for that matter. They would think, for instance that, well, if I'm going to come face to face with what I got, then I need to think twice about this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Obviously, this gentleman, Jeff, believes that he should be able to defend himself. But Chicago has this ordinance that says, no, you can't have a gun here. So I guess we're talking about city and state ordinances versus federal, correct?

TOOBIN: Absolutely. You know, this case is really about, what does the Second Amendment mean? Because the Second Amendment speaks of the right to keep and bear arms. And last year, the Supreme Court decided that the federal government cannot violate an individual's right to keep and bear arms. What this case is about is whether state and local governments have to honor an individual's right. And that's actually, in many respects, a more important case, because most gun control laws in this country are not federal, they're state. And if the court rules in favor of the people challenging the law, a lot of gun control laws may go off the books right away.

COLLINS: Well, yes. I mean, they would be deemed unconstitutional, right?

TOOBIN: That's right. And then the question would be, OK, if the constitution allows you to keep a handgun, does it also allow you to keep a tank, to keep a surface to air missile? What about a felon? Is a felon allowed to have a gun? All these issues seemed to be settled for many years. That's what's so interesting about this whole gun control area, is that for many, many years, for decades, the Second Amendment was not seen as giving individuals a right to keep and bear arms, but that's now over. It is an individual right, so we're in a whole new area when it comes to gun control.

COLLINS: Yes, a lot of people definitely watching that one. Hopefully they'll stay reasonable. We'll just be talking about handguns and not tanks this time around, Jeff.

Also, I know there's another story that has gotten a lot of attention because of a couple recent cases regarding international child custody. This one is actually about a British father who said that his 10-year-old child was taken from Chile to Texas without his permission. Now he wants the United States to send the child back. We've also heard the story of David Goldman. His child is in Brazil. And also most recently, Christopher Savoie, who's actually in jail in Japan for trying to go and get his children.

This is all Hague convention stuff, right?

TOOBIN: It's really a growing area. And it indicates an even broader issue in front of the Supreme Court, which is that so many of their cases have an international dimension. Because as people, as data, as the economy gets more mobile across country lines, so does the law. And so the United States Supreme Court has to deal with interpreting treaties, has to deal with interpreting laws of other countries. And here we have a situation, as we've been covering on all our shows for several weeks, the issue of child custody is one that is very hard to harmonize, all the different laws. And that's one corner of it is coming before the Supreme Court this year.

COLLINS: Yes. Boy, it's tough, too. Very, very emotion cases -- all of them, when they involve kids, obviously.

So let's talk before we let you go about the makeup of the Supreme Court. We got a new justice. It basically means you have a new court, right?

TOOBIN: Well, that -- Byron White, the former justice, was famous for saying, "when you have one new justice, you don't have one new justice, you have a whole new court."

COLLINS: Yes.

TOOBIN: I'm not sure that's going to be the case this morning.

COLLINS: Chief David Souter.

TOOBIN: David Souter and Sonia Sotomayor appear to have very similar judicial philosophies. There are four very conservative justices, there are four pretty liberal justices, including Sotomayor, and Anthony Kennedy holding the balance of power on so many big cases.

I think that makeup of the court is very likely to remain the same during this term. But you never know what a justice is going to do until she gets there. And Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic, the third woman, the first Barack Obama appointee. She'll be having her first first Monday in October today.

COLLINS: Yes, a lot of first.

All right. Our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.

Thanks so much, Jeff. Appreciate it.

TOOBIN: See you, Heidi.

COLLINS: It's an annual tradition before the court resumes each year. The so-called Red Mass, hosted by the Catholic Church. Many of the Supreme Court justices attend, but some say it's a tradition that needs to end.

Our Elaine Quijano explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under the soaring dome of Washington's St. Matthew's Cathedral, the Catholic archdiocese hosts an annual church service called the Red Mass. Archbishop Donald Wuerl says the century's old tradition began in Europe with one purpose. DONALD WUERL, ARCHBISHOP OF WASHINGTON: Bring all of the people who are involved in the law, bring them all together once a year so that together they can simply pray for the wisdom of God.

QUIJANO: In Washington, the Red Mass, named for the red vestments the priests wear, began in the 1950s and is attended by both Catholic and sometimes non-Catholic Supreme Court justices. This year, six of the nine justices on the high court are Catholic. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy and Sonia Sotomayor.

Monsignor W. Ronald Jameson, who's worked at St. Matthews for 25 years says the cathedral is an especially appropriate place to seek guidance.

MSGR. RONALD JAMESON, CATHEDRAL OF ST. MATTHEWS THE APOSTLE: Matthew is the patron saint of civil workers, civil servants.

QUIJANO: But others argue the justices' attendance at the Catholic Church service is inappropriate.

REV. BARRY LYNN, AMERICAN UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH & STATE: There is no other institution that has this special way to talk to the justices on the Supreme Court.

QUIJANO: He notes a past sermon on a hot-button issue prompted one Supreme Court justice to stop attending.

LYNN: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg no longer goes to the Red Mass because she said, I'm tired of being lectured to about abortion.

QUIJANO: Justice Ginsburg's office declined to comment. Archbishop Wuerl rejects the notion of the Mass as a chance for the church to lobby the justices.

WUERL: Once you enter into the sanctuary of the church for the Red Mass, politicking stops. What we do is pray.

QUIJANO: And he maintains in the United States, faith and the government will always intersect.

(on camera): One prominent non-Catholic who attended the Red Mass regularly, the late chief Justice William Rehnquist. Though he was Lutheran, he asked that his funeral be held at St. Matthew's.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, the Supreme Court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: While a terror suspect remains jailed for an alleged New York City bombing plot, some of his suspected associates are believed to be back in the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: In southern California, a fast-moving wildfire forces a large-scale evacuation. At least 4,000 residents of Wrightwood are being ordered to get out of their homes. Three homes had been lost and hundreds more are considered in danger. The fire has burned about 7,500 acres. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County.

The mystery of autism deepens. A new government study indicates autism disorders may be more common than previously thought. The new finding, about one in 91 children are affected. That's compared to the previous U.S. estimate of one in 150. Federal officials say some of the increase may be due to greater awareness and broader definitions.

And there is a probable cause hearing today for a suspect accused of trying to blow up a Dallas skyscraper. A 19-year-old Jordanian, Hosam Smadi was arrested last month in an FBI sting operation. Authorities say he drove a truck he thought had a live bomb in it, parked it under a garage, a 60-story office building and then dialled a cell phone intending to set off a blast.

CNN has learned a grand jury has been in session in the last week to consider further charges in a New York City terror investigation. While Najibullah Zazi is being held on charges of conspiring to detonate explosives, associates of his are being watched.

CNN's Susan Candiotti has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When accused terror conspirator Najibullah Zazi traveled to Pakistan last year, what happened to the others who were with him? Sources close to the investigation tell CNN, several of them are back in the U.S., presumably under surveillance. No one will say who, how many, or where they are.

RAY KELLY, NYPD COMMISSIONER: There's a significant amount of resources being devoted to it and the investigation is going forward aggressively.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): You're confident that those people will not get away?

KELLY: Yes.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Prosecutors allege Zazi and others flew to Peshawar, Pakistan, in August 2008. During FBI questioning, they say he admitted getting explosives training at an al Qaeda camp. Zazi has pleaded not guilty to a terror plot.

One of the people under non-stop surveillance is Naiz Khan. He's a childhood friend of Zazi and says he let Zazi stay at his apartment as an impromptu favor September 10th, after Zazi drove to New York from Denver.

Khan says the FBI also questioned him about traveling from Pakistan to New York on the same day as Zazi last January. Khan says it's all pure coincidence. He says he did not fly to Pakistan with Zazi either, and showed us his passport to prove it. He says he's not a terrorist and has not been charged in the case.

NAIZ KHAN, ZAZI'S CHILDHOOD FRIEND: Every year, I go threw months and then I come back. I did not even know that he's coming or he's in Pakistan or not.

CANDIOTTI: When Zazi returned from Pakistan, prosecutors say he and others bought large amounts of hydrogen peroxide and other chemicals from beauty supply stores in Colorado. Those chemicals were bomb ingredients used in deadly terror attacks overseas.

CNN has learned the search for possible evidence has expanded to include fertilizer. That was a key ingredient in the Oklahoma City bombing. The FBI's been canvassing businesses, including this New York landscaper, asking about fertilizer sales, and showing a binder of male photos.

Meantime, Zazi's uncle tells CNN, federal investigators flew him and his wife to New York last week to testify before a grand jury as part of an ongoing investigation.

(on camera): This case may be going full throttle, but as one source put it, no one's ready to say the FBI has its arms completely around it.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Dazed by the horror all around them, students in Indonesia return to what's left of their school. The government hopes classes will restore some sense of normalcy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Let's head over to the severe weather center now. Rob Marciano is standing by, watching a lot of things. Right now, though, we're talking about more rain where we are.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, across the south, the good news right now is that most of the heavier rain has slid south of I-20 and I-85, which last couple of weeks has really been the focal point of the flooding.

So we're starting to see the rains ease, but certainly for folks who live in the soggy south are pretty much tired of it. They're all saying ok, the drought's over. Let's cut the rain off now.

From Wilmington to Charleston back to Columbia, we're seeing moderate to at times heavy rainfall and it will last for the next couple of hours. Actually for the rest of the day really it's an area of disturbed weather with this little wave of long low. So until that thing moves out we're in for it.

Northeast looks good today, pretty much everywhere north of North Carolina I think will remain dry. And there is a very impressive storm system out west bringing wind and heavy snow and through higher country of Montana and Wyoming and driving us eventually south enough into parts of Colorado.

And this is also a lessening of the heat out in California, so that's helping the wildfire situation there. It'll be 69 degrees for our friends in Los Angeles. 70 degrees in Las Vegas well, that is definitely cool. I mean, just a few days ago, temperatures were up and over 100 degrees, so it's certainly cool down there. 72 for a high temperature expected in Washington, D.C.

What we're looking at tomorrow, I wanted to show you this, because that strong storm that's in the mountains right now will be driving east towards the Western Great Lakes and the tail end of it probably will spark some severe weather across eastern parts of Texas -- the Ark-La-Tex region for the most part and that will continue to drive off to the east.

And then we'll end with this thing. Tropical storm Grace, which we mentioned earlier in the hour, named late last night by the National Hurricane Center, it is really -- it's between the Azores and Spain and it's continuing to move towards Great Britain. So it's got winds of 70 miles an hour, it's a tiny little thing.

But according to the National Hurricane Center, it took on some tropical characteristics and they named it a tropical storm. And right now it's over at waters that are like 70 degrees Fahrenheit. So it shouldn't last too much longer.

COLLINS: Good. All right, we will be watching it. Thank you Rob.

MARCIANO: See you later.

COLLINS: The devastation unimaginable and relief slow in the aftermath of two massive earthquakes that flattened entire areas of western Sumatra.

Here's what we know, the search for survives have now been called off. The head of U.N. relief efforts in Indonesia says the focus is now on getting food, medicine and other supplies into the area.

The government puts the death toll at more than 600 and climbing. The U.N. has estimated 1,100 people died. Hundreds are still missing. Indonesia's Disaster Management Agency estimates more than 88,000 homes, 285 schools were flattened.

Adding to the misery, storms and mudslides are preventing aid workers from reaching some of the more remote areas now. And in the middle of this, the government is calling children back to school.

Our Dan Rivers is in Padang, Indonesia.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Charged with emotion and grief, this is the first morning assembly at a high school in Padang since the earthquake. For many, these past few days have been too much.

Only half the 800 children are present, it's not yet known how many have died. A teacher is overcome after learning at least one member of staff is among the dead.

GUSTINA, ENGLISH TEACHER: They feel very sad. They can't control their emotion. What if it -- it's reality, our school is broken.

RIVERS: But it's not just broken in spirit, the very fabric of the school has been smashed apart. The ceilings of most of classrooms have fallen in. Thankfully, lessons had finished when the walls collapsed on to the desks.

Many of the students have mixed feelings about being back at school. They're happy to see that their friends are ok, but many of them are worried there'll be another earthquake.

It's not surprising; many students are living in homes that now lie in ruins. This house belongs to one student who just made it out.

HARIA FITRI, STUDENT: I jump, after I jump, the ceiling collapsed.

RIVERS: So you only just made it out?

FITRI: Yes, I just made it out. I was very lucky.

RIVERS: What's it like being back here at school?

FITRI: I feel worried about maybe I always think that maybe there will be another earthquake. So I'm worried.

HARRIS PUTRAREZE, STUDENT: When I see my school, a very big destruction, I get a little sad, but I'm very happy to be back to my school.

RIVERS: But it will be a long time before school is back to normal. Lessons are being held in a tent. And all around little reminders of the day the earth shook so violently. A day none of these students will forget for the rest of their lives.

Dan Rivers, CNN, Padang, Indonesia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: We do have an awful lot going now on this morning. CNN crews are in place to bring you all of the details. Let's check in with our correspondents now beginning with Dan Lothian at the White House. Hi there, Dan.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello Heidi, well you know doctors pay a visit, a house call, at the White House to push for health care reform. I'll have more on that story at the top of the hour. BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I'm Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. The worst day in over a year for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. I'll have that story coming up.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen here in Atlanta. Autism rates are soaring. Now one in 91 children has the disorder. What's going on here? What's causing the surge in numbers? I'll have that at the top of the hour.

COLLINS: All right, very good. We'll get to you guys in a moment.

Also ahead -- has discrimination taken root in the government's farm programs? We'll tell you about lawsuits that claim some farmers have been robbed of their American dream.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: If only bones could talk. The remains of the famous, infamous and disgraced mingle in Washington's Historical Congressional cemetery. Our Kate Bolduan went digging for dirt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A rare look at history. Century and a half old vaults of buried remains.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This individual actually looks pretty intact.

BOLDUAN: This is Washington's Congressional Cemetery, the final resting place shared by dozens of members of Congress, Elbridge Gerry, vice president under James Madison and more.

PATRICK CROWLEY, CONGRESSIONAL CEMETERY PRESERVATION: People like Matthew Brady, the great Civil War photographer, is buried over that way. John Phillips Sousa, the great Marine Corps band leader, is here, and J. Edgar Hoover is down this way.

BOLDUAN: Why are the cemetery's caretakers along with help from the Smithsonian Institution digging up some of these historic gravesites? Preservation and science; because of age and decades of neglect the historic vaults are falling apart and these experts fear the history buried below is in danger of being lost altogether.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's your evidence. This is his second cervical vertebrae, and it's broken.

BOLDUAN: They believe this man died from an unfortunate fall down the stairs more than 100 years ago.

What can we learn from excavating the vault? What can we learn from these bones?

LAURIE BURGESS, ANTHROPOLOGIST, SMITHSONIAN: These bones give us a snapshot in time of what life was like throughout the 19th century. Nutritional stressors, patterns of disease, age.

BOLDUAN: Much of that work and research lies ahead with a plan to rebury the remains once these decrepit burial sites are reinforced offering a unique window into the past along the way.

BURGESS: Nobody excavates burials without good reason. Once people are buried in the ground, when we get the opportunity like this, it's just a fabulous chance to get a look at these populations.

BOLDUAN: The caretakers of the cemetery say before this effort they had already lost about 20 of the original 60 historic burial vaults. Now, thanks to a combination of private donation and historic endowment money they hope to hold on to this bit of history for many more years to come.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)