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CNN Live Saturday

Teenage Holds Off Police In Tennessee; Child Custody Battle Turns Into Graveyard In Fresno, California; Spaniards Protest Government's Handling Of Bombing Investigation

Aired March 13, 2004 - 12:00   ET

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

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is Noon on the East Coast. 9:00 a.m. in the West, this Saturday. Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. Here are the headlines at this hour:
A tense standoff continues this hour in Loudon County, Tennessee. Police say a heavily armed 16-year-old boy is holed up in his home. He's suspected of killing one officer and wounding at least four others in a gun battle yesterday following a domestic dispute.

Police in Battle Creek, Michigan, searching for a shooter who wounded at least two people at a Kellogg Community College. This morning's incident took place in a campus parking lot. It's not clear if they were students. Classes are cancelled.

Divers are trying to raise the roof of a water taxi that capsized last week in Baltimore's inner harbor killing at least two people. The roof was discovered yesterday, about a quarter mile from the accident site and authorities say finding the roof's location could help efforts to recover the bodies of three passengers still missing.

Turning now to our top story, a scene of death and depravity so gruesome even veteran police officers react with shock. They're piecing together what led to the slayings of nine people, mostly children, in a family home in Fresno, California. The prime suspect apparently is in custody and said to be the children's father. CNN's Miguel Marquez is at the crime scene -- Miguel

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Fredricka. This is the home that appears to be a business, a commercial building at one point, of 57-year-old Marcus Wesson. He has been arrested and is suspected of committing those murders, but has not been formally charged, yet. They pulled nine bodies out of this location, yesterday. Neighbors described Mr. Wesson as an imposing man, one woman saying that she actually sort of feared him. He's a tall man, had a -- long dread locks down past his waist. They also say that -- I talked to an old friend of his or person who's known him for several years, says that this is a guy who is very quiet, didn't appear to have a job and the women, appeared to have four women in his life, were always dressed in black. Black skirts, black blouses and he -- they worked, he said but appeared Mr. Wesson did not work, but did have control of their money. I want to bring in somebody who knows a little bit more about this. Lieutenant Art Alvarado with the Fresno Police. Thank you for joining us, today. I understand officers responded to a custody call, a child custody call. What happened once they got here?

LT. ART ALVARADO, FRESNO POLICE: Shortly after 2:00 yesterday afternoon, officers responded and met up with the two females here and they were here to just pick up their children. No big deal, it was a child custody call. The officers then talked to Mr. Wesson, at first, Mr. Wesson was cooperative and agreed to give back the children. At that point, during the conversation, Mr. Wesson refused and bolted inside and went inside a bedroom, and refused to come out.

MARQUEZ: And when he finally did come out, the SWAT team was called. He came out before they were set up. When he finally did come out, he blood on him, he had no blood on him before he -- when officers first got here, then afterwards?

ALVARADO: That's correct. There was some red stain in his clothing that we believe it was blood. Negotiators were called, but while they were setting up, he exited the residence.

MARQUEZ: And there -- nine victims all together. We understand that the ages are sort of all over the place, we're hearing. What can you tell us about the ages of these victims?

ALVARADO: The only thing I have, varied in ages from infant to mid-20s in age.

MARQUEZ: And how -- you've been with the force for 24 years?

ALVARADO: Yes.

MARQUEZ: How big a case or tragedy is this?

ALVARADO: The biggest tragedy case that I have seen in my career.

MARQUEZ: When was the last one? Do you even -- how do you put in it context? What are officers that you talk to telling you?

ALVARADO: There's nothing else bigger than we've talked about in my career here.

MARQUEZ: OK.

Fredericka, the lieutenant here, also tells us that it's 4:30 Pacific time, 7:30 Eastern time, there will be a press conference at police headquarters, here. And they expect to have, hopefully, more information then -- at that point. He also says that they do not expect any other arrests in this case, but that 57-year-old man, Marcus Wesson, seems to be their prime suspect and we are now awaiting charges -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And, Miguel, have the officers, or the emergency teams there, been able to determine how long these nine victims had been dead? MARQUEZ: It's not entirely clear, yet. They -- the bodies have been removed from the home. They're at the coroners now, to try to do that. They did some testing of their livers to test the temperature of their livers to figure out how long they were dead, but some neighbors report that they had heard shots shortly before police got here, but police heard nothing as far as shots, scuffling in the back room, and the like, when Mr. Wesson went back there -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Miguel Marquez, thanks very much from Fresno, California.

Well, the scene apparently is so gruesome, as you heard, that officer describe, that a local newspaper is reporting that other distraught police officers who witnessed the scene will now be on paid administrative leave. The "Fresno Bee" says many of the officers are receiving counseling, as well. Meanwhile, Fresno mayor, Allan Autry, tells CNN the whole community is shaken.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ALAN AUTRY, FRESNO, CALIFORNIA: This is our home, and when something like this happens, we all feel the loss. It cuts you to the core of our collective hearts as a city, as a community. We will never be the same. That doesn't mean that we can't and won't be better, I feel we will. Out of tragedy, people come together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The mayor says after a couple of calls from the police chief, he was compelled to go to the crime scene himself to show support for the officers, there. More details later as the story unfolds.

A deadly standoff in Tennessee stretches into its second day; more than 100 police officers circle the home where the suspect is hiding. We'll take you live to the scene.

And still to come, the nursing industry gets a shot in the arm from an unlikely source.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Two days after Spain's worst ever terror attack, the country is burying its dead. The death toll from the bombing of four trains is now 200. And one day ahead of the national elections there, the Spanish government is still trying to identify the attackers. CNN's Brent Sadler joins us now from the scene of one of the bombings, the main commuter train station in Madrid -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Fredricka. The big unanswered question here: Who was behind the terror attacks in Spain? Was it the hand of Eta, the homegrown Basque terrorist group or was it indeed the possibility of a collaboration or direct involvement by a suspected Islamic terror group still unknown? It has a big impact on the election, because if Eta is behind it, then that could help the ruling conservative party do well at the election, if ii wasn't on the other hand, it could help the socialist opposition. A big question mark hangs over who was behind it. All that going on on the eve of the Spanish elections as the Spaniards bury the dead. Scores of people being laid to rest, on this day. The death toll now standing at 200, some 1400 others injured.

Now, we understand, from the officials here in Madrid, that there's been no forensic evidence yet autopsies, that any suicide bomber could have been involved in the attacks. Ten bombs on trains -- commuter trains leading into Madrid. But, Spain's interior minister did say that the investigation was two tracked, looking at Eta and an Islamic terror group and he said that they do hope that they will be able to catch and punish the perpetrators.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGEL ACEBES, SPANISH INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): It's an investigation that's very complex. But, um, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) producing findings and, therefore, I'm in no doubt that the perpetrators and the authors of this horrible attack will be detained and they will be placed before justice so that they carry out every single one of the days of their sentence. That's why I merely ask for trust in security forces of this country and the work and their serious work and the professional work that they're doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SADLER: Outside the Atocha railway terminals here, for many, many hours this day, hundreds of Spaniards have been paying respects to those that lost their lives. A carpet of grief and anger behind me, flowers, candles on the street, as well as many, many placards showing outrage at what happened in terms of the loss of life and carnage created by the bomb attacks -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Brent Sadler, thanks very much for that report.

Well now, a closer look at the efforts to identify the attackers in Madrid. Terror expert Ben Venzke is with us now from Washington, he's head of the terrorist research firm IntelCenter.

Good to see you Mr. Venzke.

BEN VENZKE, INTELCENTER: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Well, the Spanish government is still maintaining, at this point, that they're leaning more towards blaming the terror group Eta for this. There have been outsiders who have speculated that this might be a collaboration between Eta and another terrorist group, namely, al-Qaeda. What's your gut tell you?

VENZKE: Well, the two leading candidates, it's clear, are Eta or al-Qaeda. I think it's a little less likely that you would have collaboration between the two. Whenever something happens in Spain, dealing -- involving terrorist attacks, Eta is by default your leading suspect, but al-Qaeda is also very capable and is a viable suspect, as well. WHITFIELD: Well, why would it be unlikely, in your view, that there would be a collaboration, when there are many who say that the sophistication of the bombings is not characteristic of Eta working alone?

VENZKE: Right. That's true. I mean, if this was an Eta operation, it is truly an escalation in the kinds of things that they've done in the past. But, just because you've done things one day in the past doesn't mean you're forbidden or banned from doing them a little differently in the future or evolving. I think it's unlikely, although it still remains to be seen, that there was any kind of collaboration between al-Qaeda and Eta because they're fundamentally different types of groups. We have seen, you know, Eta do training with other terrorist groups around the world, but traditionally, not of an Islamic extremist nature.

WHITFIELD: And, let's talk about some of the other characteristics that the Spaniards are used having seen when other terrorist attacks have been blamed on Eta, namely, that the group might have called journalists or even police 30 minutes prior to an attack. That didn't happen, apparently, this time.

VENZKE: Right. That's true. I mean when you look at Eta operations in the past, there's typically two types, there's where they do car bombings or vehicular bombing, and they'll frequently give a 10 to a 30-minute warning either to local media or the local police so that area can be cleared out. The device might still go off, but very people will be injured and then they do targeted assassinations, where they're trying to kill one or two people. They have not, historically, done mass casualty attacks where they're trying to kill large numbers of civilians, so this would be a departure from their past.

WHITFIELD: And others who speculate about al-Qaeda's involvement, they've drawn to things such as the similarities or the coincidence, perhaps of 9/11 attacks, March 11 attacks, that this attack took place 911 days after the World Trade Center and Pentagon and bombings or attacks. Do you see any similarities or is this just coincidence in your view?

VENZKE: Well, in terms of the timing of March 11th and it being 911 days, I mean, it's a fact, you can't discount it, but I'd be more inclined to think that that might just be more of a coincidence than anything. I think the more significant date reference would be coming up right before the elections in terms of Eta, but from al-Qaeda's point of view, I mean, Osama bin Laden did say in his audiotape of 18 October last year that Spain was clearly on their target list. And this is certainly something that fits within their style of attack and is within their capabilities.

WHITFIELD: Ben Venzke of IntelCenter, thanks very much for joining us from Washington.

VENZKE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well, let's get you up to speed now on what's going on in Iraq, today. A bomb went off today at a shop in a busy commercial district of Bagdad killing the store owner. Officials indicate the man was a brother-in-law of a member of the Iraqi Governing Council.

In Tikrit, a roadside bomb killed two American soldiers today, and wounded five others. The troops were patrolling the city in an armored Humvee, and U.S. administrator Paul Bremer says he'll increase security along Iraq's borders. The coalition plans to double the security force to 16,000 officers. Bremer says foreign terrorists, as he puts it, "are coming into Iraq."

An American team is searching Iraq since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime, for a Navy flier missing since the early '90s. Captain Scott Speicher was shot down during the first night of the Gulf War in 1991. The Pentagon declared him as killed in action, but his body was never recovered. In 2001, the Pentagon changed Speicher's status to missing in action, and in 2002, to missing captured. That status remains. This despite after a year of searching, the Navy says it can't find any evidence Speicher was ever held by the Iraqis.

Nels Jensen was a classmate and he's a friend of the Captain Speicher and joins us now from Jacksonville, Florida. Good to see you.

NELS JENSEN, SPEICHER CLASSMATE: Nice to be here, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, well how perplexing is this to you now? They're maintaining the status however, the military's saying they have no evidence Speicher was actually being held in Iraq.

JENSEN: Well, unfortunately, there's two sides of this equation. You have those that keep on trying to bury Scott in the desert, and we send the million dollar reward along with taking back the killed in action. On the other side you have senators Roberts, Campbell, Nelson, Congressman Crenshaw that has championed the efforts to bring Scott home.

WHITFIELD: So, what would you see the motivation being that there would be a suspending of this thought that perhaps he might be held? I mean, are you saying that this is in some way politicized?

JENSEN: I don't know if I want to go there. You know, all the evidence points that Scott successfully ejected from his aircraft that night and that he's being held. You take the writing on the prison walls, the entries in the journal with Scott's name on it, and the eyewitness sightings, as late as last year, of March.

WHITFIELD: And so, you're -- you are trying to encourage the U.S. government to maintain this type of search. In fact, you all, as family and friends have, come up with a method of trying to keep the spirit of Captain Speicher alive. You had this kind of age progressed photo that you're using and distributing. Can you show us that photo, and in what way are you using that for your cause?

JENSEN: Well, we're trying to get this flier out to all of our troops in Iraq. It will be in both English and Arabic.

WHITFIELD: Well, how will you do that?

JENSEN: Well, the First Calvary taking the first thousand of the fliers over. We intend to paper the Sunni Triangle and, actually, the more we can get Scott's face out there, the chances it's going to give the breaks that our troops need to find Scott and the breaks that the Pentagon's looking for.

WHITFIELD: How are you able to get the Pentagon's approval on using this, as a tool?

JENSEN: Actually, we're trying to go through the public affairs officers. You know, there's a contingency that, unfortunately seems like they may not want Scott back, and I hope that -- and pray that's not the case, but you know, our group and Speicher's fleet and everybody is drawing together to try to make a concerted effort to do the right thing and do something proactive to bring Scott back.

WHITFIELD: And so how is the family holding up with this? This is an incredible, emotional roller coaster ride that's gone on now for 13 years.

JENSEN: It really has, Fredricka. We -- the family, I think, is going the best they can. Cindy Leader (PH) and their efforts -- their private investigations in there, has kind of hampered. They haven't had opportunities to interrogate or to get all the POWs and investigate those avenues with that. And we certainly hope our government will allow that.

WHITFIELD: Nels Jensen of -- in Jacksonville, Florida. Thanks very much for joining us and best wishes to you and the family on your continued efforts.

JENSEN: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Best medicine, a solution that could cure the nursing shortage.

See who's ready to enroll in nursing schools now.

And still to come, full speed ahead. Robots race across the desert in hopes of find a million dollar prize.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The nursing industry suffering from a long-time shortage of nurses could get a short in the arm, as Kitty Pilgrim reports, more people are applying to nursing schools and among those signing up, Americans unable to find work in other sectors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who wants to be a nurse? The answer used to be not many. CHERYL PETERSON, AMERICAN NURSES ASSN.: We are looking to a very severe future shortage of nurses. The bureau of labor statistics has projected that by 2012, we'll need 1.1 million new registered nurses and that's to cover not only the new job growth, but also, the retirement of nurses who are in the profession today.

PILGRIM: But suddenly, in this economy, nursing looks more attractive. The prospect of a steady job with guaranteed work at the end of a degree. This year, applications to nursing schools up 16 percent after years of decline, 127,000 students enrolled in V.A. programs for nursing last year. More than 15,000 qualified applicants were turned away, simply because there was not enough room for them.

Nursing schools say the shortage has helped to drive up salaries.

GREGG NEWSCHWANDER, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING: The pay has advanced and now entry level salaries are about what they would be for most of the other back water prepared professional careers.

PILGRIM: At catholic university in Washington, the freshman nursing class is triple the usual size. Like many other schools, it now offers an accelerated program to give students a nursing degree in 20 months. Here, it's drawing students who are changing careers. This student was a nuclear maintenance mechanic in the Navy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to go ahead and work emergency medicine or combat medicine, if possible, going back out with the marines doing more frontline medicine, if possible.

PILGRIM: This woman wants to reenter the workforce after being a full-time mom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whenever anyone's kid has a problem, everyone calls me to find out what I should do. I kind of like the knowledge base of it.

PILGRIM: But what they like best is the potential for a job where they are in demand.

Kitty Pilgrim, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: It's a vital piece of financial planning that too many of us put off for too long. On CNN "Dollar Signs," today at 4:30 Eastern, we'll have expert advice to help you with wills and estate planning and if you have questions, start sending them in now. Our address is Dollarsigns@CNN.com. We'll also open up the phone lines at 4:30. That number is toll free 1-800-807-2620. That's "Dollar Signs," today at 4:30 Eastern, right here on CNN.

Well, what do we believe when it comes to the political ads we see on television and hear on the radio? We'll look into Senator Kerry and president Bush's latest campaign ads, a fact check coming up. And robots on the run: Learn why $1 million could be waiting at the finish line. We're off to the races.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Battle Turns Into Graveyard In Fresno, California; Spaniards Protest Government's Handling Of Bombing Investigation>


Aired March 13, 2004 - 12:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is Noon on the East Coast. 9:00 a.m. in the West, this Saturday. Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. Here are the headlines at this hour:
A tense standoff continues this hour in Loudon County, Tennessee. Police say a heavily armed 16-year-old boy is holed up in his home. He's suspected of killing one officer and wounding at least four others in a gun battle yesterday following a domestic dispute.

Police in Battle Creek, Michigan, searching for a shooter who wounded at least two people at a Kellogg Community College. This morning's incident took place in a campus parking lot. It's not clear if they were students. Classes are cancelled.

Divers are trying to raise the roof of a water taxi that capsized last week in Baltimore's inner harbor killing at least two people. The roof was discovered yesterday, about a quarter mile from the accident site and authorities say finding the roof's location could help efforts to recover the bodies of three passengers still missing.

Turning now to our top story, a scene of death and depravity so gruesome even veteran police officers react with shock. They're piecing together what led to the slayings of nine people, mostly children, in a family home in Fresno, California. The prime suspect apparently is in custody and said to be the children's father. CNN's Miguel Marquez is at the crime scene -- Miguel

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Fredricka. This is the home that appears to be a business, a commercial building at one point, of 57-year-old Marcus Wesson. He has been arrested and is suspected of committing those murders, but has not been formally charged, yet. They pulled nine bodies out of this location, yesterday. Neighbors described Mr. Wesson as an imposing man, one woman saying that she actually sort of feared him. He's a tall man, had a -- long dread locks down past his waist. They also say that -- I talked to an old friend of his or person who's known him for several years, says that this is a guy who is very quiet, didn't appear to have a job and the women, appeared to have four women in his life, were always dressed in black. Black skirts, black blouses and he -- they worked, he said but appeared Mr. Wesson did not work, but did have control of their money. I want to bring in somebody who knows a little bit more about this. Lieutenant Art Alvarado with the Fresno Police. Thank you for joining us, today. I understand officers responded to a custody call, a child custody call. What happened once they got here?

LT. ART ALVARADO, FRESNO POLICE: Shortly after 2:00 yesterday afternoon, officers responded and met up with the two females here and they were here to just pick up their children. No big deal, it was a child custody call. The officers then talked to Mr. Wesson, at first, Mr. Wesson was cooperative and agreed to give back the children. At that point, during the conversation, Mr. Wesson refused and bolted inside and went inside a bedroom, and refused to come out.

MARQUEZ: And when he finally did come out, the SWAT team was called. He came out before they were set up. When he finally did come out, he blood on him, he had no blood on him before he -- when officers first got here, then afterwards?

ALVARADO: That's correct. There was some red stain in his clothing that we believe it was blood. Negotiators were called, but while they were setting up, he exited the residence.

MARQUEZ: And there -- nine victims all together. We understand that the ages are sort of all over the place, we're hearing. What can you tell us about the ages of these victims?

ALVARADO: The only thing I have, varied in ages from infant to mid-20s in age.

MARQUEZ: And how -- you've been with the force for 24 years?

ALVARADO: Yes.

MARQUEZ: How big a case or tragedy is this?

ALVARADO: The biggest tragedy case that I have seen in my career.

MARQUEZ: When was the last one? Do you even -- how do you put in it context? What are officers that you talk to telling you?

ALVARADO: There's nothing else bigger than we've talked about in my career here.

MARQUEZ: OK.

Fredericka, the lieutenant here, also tells us that it's 4:30 Pacific time, 7:30 Eastern time, there will be a press conference at police headquarters, here. And they expect to have, hopefully, more information then -- at that point. He also says that they do not expect any other arrests in this case, but that 57-year-old man, Marcus Wesson, seems to be their prime suspect and we are now awaiting charges -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And, Miguel, have the officers, or the emergency teams there, been able to determine how long these nine victims had been dead? MARQUEZ: It's not entirely clear, yet. They -- the bodies have been removed from the home. They're at the coroners now, to try to do that. They did some testing of their livers to test the temperature of their livers to figure out how long they were dead, but some neighbors report that they had heard shots shortly before police got here, but police heard nothing as far as shots, scuffling in the back room, and the like, when Mr. Wesson went back there -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Miguel Marquez, thanks very much from Fresno, California.

Well, the scene apparently is so gruesome, as you heard, that officer describe, that a local newspaper is reporting that other distraught police officers who witnessed the scene will now be on paid administrative leave. The "Fresno Bee" says many of the officers are receiving counseling, as well. Meanwhile, Fresno mayor, Allan Autry, tells CNN the whole community is shaken.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ALAN AUTRY, FRESNO, CALIFORNIA: This is our home, and when something like this happens, we all feel the loss. It cuts you to the core of our collective hearts as a city, as a community. We will never be the same. That doesn't mean that we can't and won't be better, I feel we will. Out of tragedy, people come together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The mayor says after a couple of calls from the police chief, he was compelled to go to the crime scene himself to show support for the officers, there. More details later as the story unfolds.

A deadly standoff in Tennessee stretches into its second day; more than 100 police officers circle the home where the suspect is hiding. We'll take you live to the scene.

And still to come, the nursing industry gets a shot in the arm from an unlikely source.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Two days after Spain's worst ever terror attack, the country is burying its dead. The death toll from the bombing of four trains is now 200. And one day ahead of the national elections there, the Spanish government is still trying to identify the attackers. CNN's Brent Sadler joins us now from the scene of one of the bombings, the main commuter train station in Madrid -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Fredricka. The big unanswered question here: Who was behind the terror attacks in Spain? Was it the hand of Eta, the homegrown Basque terrorist group or was it indeed the possibility of a collaboration or direct involvement by a suspected Islamic terror group still unknown? It has a big impact on the election, because if Eta is behind it, then that could help the ruling conservative party do well at the election, if ii wasn't on the other hand, it could help the socialist opposition. A big question mark hangs over who was behind it. All that going on on the eve of the Spanish elections as the Spaniards bury the dead. Scores of people being laid to rest, on this day. The death toll now standing at 200, some 1400 others injured.

Now, we understand, from the officials here in Madrid, that there's been no forensic evidence yet autopsies, that any suicide bomber could have been involved in the attacks. Ten bombs on trains -- commuter trains leading into Madrid. But, Spain's interior minister did say that the investigation was two tracked, looking at Eta and an Islamic terror group and he said that they do hope that they will be able to catch and punish the perpetrators.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGEL ACEBES, SPANISH INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): It's an investigation that's very complex. But, um, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) producing findings and, therefore, I'm in no doubt that the perpetrators and the authors of this horrible attack will be detained and they will be placed before justice so that they carry out every single one of the days of their sentence. That's why I merely ask for trust in security forces of this country and the work and their serious work and the professional work that they're doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SADLER: Outside the Atocha railway terminals here, for many, many hours this day, hundreds of Spaniards have been paying respects to those that lost their lives. A carpet of grief and anger behind me, flowers, candles on the street, as well as many, many placards showing outrage at what happened in terms of the loss of life and carnage created by the bomb attacks -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Brent Sadler, thanks very much for that report.

Well now, a closer look at the efforts to identify the attackers in Madrid. Terror expert Ben Venzke is with us now from Washington, he's head of the terrorist research firm IntelCenter.

Good to see you Mr. Venzke.

BEN VENZKE, INTELCENTER: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Well, the Spanish government is still maintaining, at this point, that they're leaning more towards blaming the terror group Eta for this. There have been outsiders who have speculated that this might be a collaboration between Eta and another terrorist group, namely, al-Qaeda. What's your gut tell you?

VENZKE: Well, the two leading candidates, it's clear, are Eta or al-Qaeda. I think it's a little less likely that you would have collaboration between the two. Whenever something happens in Spain, dealing -- involving terrorist attacks, Eta is by default your leading suspect, but al-Qaeda is also very capable and is a viable suspect, as well. WHITFIELD: Well, why would it be unlikely, in your view, that there would be a collaboration, when there are many who say that the sophistication of the bombings is not characteristic of Eta working alone?

VENZKE: Right. That's true. I mean, if this was an Eta operation, it is truly an escalation in the kinds of things that they've done in the past. But, just because you've done things one day in the past doesn't mean you're forbidden or banned from doing them a little differently in the future or evolving. I think it's unlikely, although it still remains to be seen, that there was any kind of collaboration between al-Qaeda and Eta because they're fundamentally different types of groups. We have seen, you know, Eta do training with other terrorist groups around the world, but traditionally, not of an Islamic extremist nature.

WHITFIELD: And, let's talk about some of the other characteristics that the Spaniards are used having seen when other terrorist attacks have been blamed on Eta, namely, that the group might have called journalists or even police 30 minutes prior to an attack. That didn't happen, apparently, this time.

VENZKE: Right. That's true. I mean when you look at Eta operations in the past, there's typically two types, there's where they do car bombings or vehicular bombing, and they'll frequently give a 10 to a 30-minute warning either to local media or the local police so that area can be cleared out. The device might still go off, but very people will be injured and then they do targeted assassinations, where they're trying to kill one or two people. They have not, historically, done mass casualty attacks where they're trying to kill large numbers of civilians, so this would be a departure from their past.

WHITFIELD: And others who speculate about al-Qaeda's involvement, they've drawn to things such as the similarities or the coincidence, perhaps of 9/11 attacks, March 11 attacks, that this attack took place 911 days after the World Trade Center and Pentagon and bombings or attacks. Do you see any similarities or is this just coincidence in your view?

VENZKE: Well, in terms of the timing of March 11th and it being 911 days, I mean, it's a fact, you can't discount it, but I'd be more inclined to think that that might just be more of a coincidence than anything. I think the more significant date reference would be coming up right before the elections in terms of Eta, but from al-Qaeda's point of view, I mean, Osama bin Laden did say in his audiotape of 18 October last year that Spain was clearly on their target list. And this is certainly something that fits within their style of attack and is within their capabilities.

WHITFIELD: Ben Venzke of IntelCenter, thanks very much for joining us from Washington.

VENZKE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well, let's get you up to speed now on what's going on in Iraq, today. A bomb went off today at a shop in a busy commercial district of Bagdad killing the store owner. Officials indicate the man was a brother-in-law of a member of the Iraqi Governing Council.

In Tikrit, a roadside bomb killed two American soldiers today, and wounded five others. The troops were patrolling the city in an armored Humvee, and U.S. administrator Paul Bremer says he'll increase security along Iraq's borders. The coalition plans to double the security force to 16,000 officers. Bremer says foreign terrorists, as he puts it, "are coming into Iraq."

An American team is searching Iraq since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime, for a Navy flier missing since the early '90s. Captain Scott Speicher was shot down during the first night of the Gulf War in 1991. The Pentagon declared him as killed in action, but his body was never recovered. In 2001, the Pentagon changed Speicher's status to missing in action, and in 2002, to missing captured. That status remains. This despite after a year of searching, the Navy says it can't find any evidence Speicher was ever held by the Iraqis.

Nels Jensen was a classmate and he's a friend of the Captain Speicher and joins us now from Jacksonville, Florida. Good to see you.

NELS JENSEN, SPEICHER CLASSMATE: Nice to be here, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, well how perplexing is this to you now? They're maintaining the status however, the military's saying they have no evidence Speicher was actually being held in Iraq.

JENSEN: Well, unfortunately, there's two sides of this equation. You have those that keep on trying to bury Scott in the desert, and we send the million dollar reward along with taking back the killed in action. On the other side you have senators Roberts, Campbell, Nelson, Congressman Crenshaw that has championed the efforts to bring Scott home.

WHITFIELD: So, what would you see the motivation being that there would be a suspending of this thought that perhaps he might be held? I mean, are you saying that this is in some way politicized?

JENSEN: I don't know if I want to go there. You know, all the evidence points that Scott successfully ejected from his aircraft that night and that he's being held. You take the writing on the prison walls, the entries in the journal with Scott's name on it, and the eyewitness sightings, as late as last year, of March.

WHITFIELD: And so, you're -- you are trying to encourage the U.S. government to maintain this type of search. In fact, you all, as family and friends have, come up with a method of trying to keep the spirit of Captain Speicher alive. You had this kind of age progressed photo that you're using and distributing. Can you show us that photo, and in what way are you using that for your cause?

JENSEN: Well, we're trying to get this flier out to all of our troops in Iraq. It will be in both English and Arabic.

WHITFIELD: Well, how will you do that?

JENSEN: Well, the First Calvary taking the first thousand of the fliers over. We intend to paper the Sunni Triangle and, actually, the more we can get Scott's face out there, the chances it's going to give the breaks that our troops need to find Scott and the breaks that the Pentagon's looking for.

WHITFIELD: How are you able to get the Pentagon's approval on using this, as a tool?

JENSEN: Actually, we're trying to go through the public affairs officers. You know, there's a contingency that, unfortunately seems like they may not want Scott back, and I hope that -- and pray that's not the case, but you know, our group and Speicher's fleet and everybody is drawing together to try to make a concerted effort to do the right thing and do something proactive to bring Scott back.

WHITFIELD: And so how is the family holding up with this? This is an incredible, emotional roller coaster ride that's gone on now for 13 years.

JENSEN: It really has, Fredricka. We -- the family, I think, is going the best they can. Cindy Leader (PH) and their efforts -- their private investigations in there, has kind of hampered. They haven't had opportunities to interrogate or to get all the POWs and investigate those avenues with that. And we certainly hope our government will allow that.

WHITFIELD: Nels Jensen of -- in Jacksonville, Florida. Thanks very much for joining us and best wishes to you and the family on your continued efforts.

JENSEN: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Best medicine, a solution that could cure the nursing shortage.

See who's ready to enroll in nursing schools now.

And still to come, full speed ahead. Robots race across the desert in hopes of find a million dollar prize.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The nursing industry suffering from a long-time shortage of nurses could get a short in the arm, as Kitty Pilgrim reports, more people are applying to nursing schools and among those signing up, Americans unable to find work in other sectors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who wants to be a nurse? The answer used to be not many. CHERYL PETERSON, AMERICAN NURSES ASSN.: We are looking to a very severe future shortage of nurses. The bureau of labor statistics has projected that by 2012, we'll need 1.1 million new registered nurses and that's to cover not only the new job growth, but also, the retirement of nurses who are in the profession today.

PILGRIM: But suddenly, in this economy, nursing looks more attractive. The prospect of a steady job with guaranteed work at the end of a degree. This year, applications to nursing schools up 16 percent after years of decline, 127,000 students enrolled in V.A. programs for nursing last year. More than 15,000 qualified applicants were turned away, simply because there was not enough room for them.

Nursing schools say the shortage has helped to drive up salaries.

GREGG NEWSCHWANDER, CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING: The pay has advanced and now entry level salaries are about what they would be for most of the other back water prepared professional careers.

PILGRIM: At catholic university in Washington, the freshman nursing class is triple the usual size. Like many other schools, it now offers an accelerated program to give students a nursing degree in 20 months. Here, it's drawing students who are changing careers. This student was a nuclear maintenance mechanic in the Navy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to go ahead and work emergency medicine or combat medicine, if possible, going back out with the marines doing more frontline medicine, if possible.

PILGRIM: This woman wants to reenter the workforce after being a full-time mom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whenever anyone's kid has a problem, everyone calls me to find out what I should do. I kind of like the knowledge base of it.

PILGRIM: But what they like best is the potential for a job where they are in demand.

Kitty Pilgrim, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: It's a vital piece of financial planning that too many of us put off for too long. On CNN "Dollar Signs," today at 4:30 Eastern, we'll have expert advice to help you with wills and estate planning and if you have questions, start sending them in now. Our address is Dollarsigns@CNN.com. We'll also open up the phone lines at 4:30. That number is toll free 1-800-807-2620. That's "Dollar Signs," today at 4:30 Eastern, right here on CNN.

Well, what do we believe when it comes to the political ads we see on television and hear on the radio? We'll look into Senator Kerry and president Bush's latest campaign ads, a fact check coming up. And robots on the run: Learn why $1 million could be waiting at the finish line. We're off to the races.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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You can do demo a pair in the morning and a different pair after lunch, and if you're interested in buying the skis, demoing lets you find the right pair for you.

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Aside from sparing you the hassle of checking your skis at the airport and lugging them up to the mountains, you get them right there at the base of the mountain. You goat try different skies, find the right brand, and ski length for you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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Battle Turns Into Graveyard In Fresno, California; Spaniards Protest Government's Handling Of Bombing Investigation>