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CNN Sunday Morning
Severe Storms Sweep Through Missouri, Illinois; Saddam Hussein's Trial Resumes in Baghdad
Aired March 12, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone.
Take a look at this. Your eyes are not deceiving you. No problems with your television set.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Is that a car?
HARRIS: That's a car, yes. Yes, a car on top of a house in the middle of an intense lightning storm, as you can see.
The severe storms and possible tornadoes swept through southern Missouri and southern Illinois, Betty. Authorities said several homes were destroyed. The Associated Press reports two people died in those storms.
Reynolds Wolf is in the CNN Weather Center, where the storms -- well, Reynolds, give us an idea of where these storms might be headed today.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right now they're moving from the Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley. They are violent, they are loud, they are packing wind gusts topping 70 miles per hour in some locations.
Some very large hail. And we even have a tornado watch that's in effect for southern Illinois, parts of the boot heel of Missouri, into Kentucky, and even just the top fringe of Tennessee. Everything is rolling its way up towards places like Cincinnati, as well as central Ohio.
We're going to talk more about that coming up in just a few moments.
NGUYEN: Take a listen and look. Hundreds of protesters marched in the streets of Bangladesh today. They demanded election reforms and the resignation of the election commissioner. Police fired tear gas and used water cannons to break up the protest. Police say at least 20 people were arrested and some 60 people injured.
Dutch authorities are performing an autopsy on former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic today. He was found dead yesterday in his jail cell near The Hague, where he was on trial for war crimes. Now, his family blames the U.N. war crimes tribunal for his death by preventing him from getting medical treatment in Russia. HARRIS: Saddam Hussein's trial resumed about two hours ago in Baghdad, but he has not appeared in court. The judge is calling in each defendant individually to present their testimony. Hussein and his seven co-defendants are charged with crimes against humanity in connection with the execution of about 150 Shiites in 1982.
Four members of Congress from Georgia are in Dubai this weekend for talks on the now derailed ports deal. They'll meet with officials of the United Arab Emirates, which controls Dubai Ports World. That's the company that planned to manage some operations at six U.S. ports but last week agreed to turn it over to a U.S. entity.
Later this hour we'll talk with Congressman John Linder and Senator Johnny Isakson about their trip.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Good morning, Betty.
NGUYEN: Good morning, Tony.
What's wrong? What you looking for?
HARRIS: Just a -- I'm just a little discombobulated, as usual.
NGUYEN: A little?
HARRIS: A little -- 7:00 a.m.
NGUYEN: It's just like a normal routine around here for all of us.
HARRIS: Yes. What is it, 6:00 Central in Festus, Missouri, where folks there are waking up this morning to the aftermath...
NGUYEN: Video.
HARRIS: ... of some severe weather.
And good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen.
We want to thank you for being with us today.
We're going to have a complete wrap-up of this wicked weather in just a moment. But first, other stories coming up this morning.
Millions of Americans get their sweet dreams with sleeping pills, but the country's top sleep aid could have some scary side-effects, like sleep driving. Yes.
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the predators that -- actually had to find a baby-sitter for his 13-year-old daughter so he could come over and molest someone else's 13-year-old daughter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: You heard that right. It isn't just career criminals who are getting picked up in Internet predator stings. This is a story all parents need to see.
And out of Africa and into the U.S. cable universe, the programs look familiar -- news, music videos, soap operas...
HARRIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: Yes. But this network has a decided an Afrocentric focus. We'll tell you more about the Africa Channel. That's later this morning.
HARRIS: While you were sleeping, wild and wicked weather ripped through the Midwest. Severe, deadly storms, and possible tornadoes -- look at these pictures -- destroyed several homes in southern Missouri and Illinois. High winds and, if you can believe this, softball-sized hail damaged homes and downed power lines. The National Weather Service a 20-mile-long swathe of St. Louis looks like the path of a tornado.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE FIEWEGER, STORM SURVIVOR: The one car is right where our bedroom used to be, the master bedroom used to be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That floor was ripped off the house...
FIEWEGER: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... and a car...
FIEWEGER: Was pushed over into that. Yes, on top of that floor right there. So the good thing is, the basement held and we were safe. So we're just -- I'm just glad we have insurance. That's all I'm glad for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: He's going to need it, definitely.
Well, wild weather causing problems in the West as well. Snow, sleet and hail making a rare march appearance in San Francisco. That set off this 28-car pileup -- count them -- and just look at it near the Golden Gate Bridge.
Two people were killed in that accident. Highway 101, just north of the bridge, was shut down for 11 hours yesterday.
Now, the same storm brought rain to the Phoenix area for the first time since October. They needed some rain, but the storm forced several spring training games to be canceled.
HARRIS: OK. And here's what we all need to understand. This is March.
Reynolds, back me up on this.
NGUYEN: There's a little bit if March madness going on with the weather.
HARRIS: Yes, and that's what happens, we get into March and we get these crazy patterns right now.
NGUYEN: Spring weather, yes.
HARRIS: Winter going away and spring saying, hello.
WOLF: Precisely. Precisely.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WOLF: Back to you.
HARRIS: Very good.
WOLF: You bet you.
NGUYEN: And important information. All right.
HARRIS: Reynolds, thanks.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Reynolds.
Well, stories making news "Across America" today.
Friends and colleagues of murdered hostage Tom Fox, well, they are remembering his contributions to peace and justice. In Chicago, the Christian Peacemaker Teams members gathered in a downtown plaza and held up pictures of Fox and three other peace activists held captive in Iraq.
Fox's body was found in the streets of Baghdad. He had been shot in the head and chest, and there were signs of torture.
In southeastern Tennessee, a devastating house fire killed nine members of an extended family. Authorities say the victims were sleeping when the fire started on the home's second floor early yesterday morning. A 19-year-old managed to escape from the first floor. Investigators still don't know what caused that fire.
The charred remains of a home in southwestern Indiana are all that's left after a fire killed a couple and their four young children. A neighbor called 911 and reported the home was fully engulfed in flames early yesterday morning. Authorities say the fire may have been started by a wood-burning stove. They say it appears the victims were overcome by smoke as they struggled to get out of the house. Republican delegates meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, support Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's run for the White House in 2008. The Southern Republican Leadership Conference took a straw poll yesterday. The Tennessee senator got more than a third of the ballots cast. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney finished second.
HARRIS: An autopsy on former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic is set for today. He was found dead in his jail cell yesterday at a U.N. prison near The Hague. Milosevic had a history of medical problems, but family members blame the U.N. war crimes tribunal for his death.
More on that now from CNN's Paula Newton at The Hague.
Paula, good morning.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
We just finished a press conference here with chief war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte. Now, think about this woman's situation for a moment, if you will, Tony.
She has made it her work and her devotion to what she says are the victims of the former Yugoslavia, and she's been working on this case for such a long time. She was so incredibly shocked to hear that he had passed on.
She felt that she was very close to a conviction, maybe by summer. And she, herself, and other newspapers was musing and saying, well, maybe it is possible that he did commit suicide. It's interesting; yesterday they were ruling that out.
What's crucial now is the autopsy. And we won't have results for that for a couple of days yet.
I asked Ms. del Ponte exactly what was frustrating her most about this whole situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLA DEL PONTE, CHIEF U.N. PROSECUTOR: What frustrated me the most is -- in the representation of the victims, because that is what they are asking for, that justice must be done. And now it will not be possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: It's interesting, you know, her words. She says that the victims not just deserved justice, they needed justice. And Tony, that kind of closure is just not going to happen here right now. You can tell this is a very frustrated, disappointed tribunal right now -- Tony.
HARRIS: And Paula, but the other point that was made during that press conference is that the stories of what happened for that decade- long war can still be told if the two most senior members of Milosevic's regime are brought to justice. Any chance that that will happen?
NEWTON: It's interesting. You know, those two people are still fugitives at large. Carla del Ponte made a point of checking that she checked just this morning to make sure still efforts were being made to track them down. But, you know, although she says it's much more urgent to get those fugitives here and to face justice, really because of the internal politics in Serbia and because their -- that country is very, very ambivalent about The Hague and about bringing their suspected war criminals to The Hague, Tony, it's actually more unlikely that will happen in a timely fashion.
HARRIS: OK.
CNN's Paula Newton for us.
Paula, we appreciate it. Thank you.
Eleven minutes after the hour Eastern Time.
NGUYEN: Well...
HARRIS: ... or wherever you are.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HARRIS: See, this is what I'm talking about this morning.
NGUYEN: Any way you cut it.
HARRIS: Eleven minutes past the hour.
NGUYEN: Yes, you got it -- math.
HARRIS: So as you grab that first or second cup of coffee, consider this: millions of Americans, including some of the CNN SUNDAY MORNING team turn to Ambien.
You use that...
NGUYEN: I don't use it.
HARRIS: ... for a good night's sleep?
NGUYEN: I try not to use sleep aids, but that's a good thing that I don't have to use them. Some people simply can't get to sleep without them.
HARRIS: Well, here's the story. Ambien might be leading some to some nocturnal nightmares.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the first time I really kind of came to was when they put me in the first cell and I saw a telephone. And I called a friend of mine who is an attorney.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, a new report links the popular sleep aid to incidents of sleep driving -- very dangerous. People are literally asleep at the wheel. We're going to have those details straight ahead.
Good morning, Reynolds.
WOLF: Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Hey, if you think teens are only good for emptying your wallets, well, think again. We're starting a new series this morning profiling "PEOPLE" magazine's teens who are changing the world. These are amazing young adults who are overcoming adversities or disabilities. Their stories of courage and commitment will inspire you -- 8:00 Eastern.
But first, this morning's cold and flu report.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And now a look at some of the other stories making news around the world as we go global.
NGUYEN: Let's start in Iraq with violent attacks on residents in Baghdad. And joining us with much more on that is Femi Oke from our sister network, CNN International.
Good morning, Femi.
FEMI OKE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Good morning to you all.
It has been another bloody day in Iraq. Six civilians were killed by a roadside bomb that went off as a military patrol was passing through western Baghdad. Thirteen people were injured, but no reports yet of U.S. military casualties.
Iraqi police have been stretched this weekend with two of their intelligence officers being shot dead, gunmen attacks on a car, and a mortar round landing near a movie theater. Plus, it's been an incredible weekend for Iraq. Unfortunately, this family ended up picking through the rubble of their home after a shell landed nearby earlier on Sunday.
We stay in Baghdad as two hours ago the trial of Saddam Hussein began after an 11-day break. Aneesh Raman joins us from Baghdad.
Aneesh, we're seeing the first defendant taking the stand. It looks like we're entering a new phase here of the proceedings.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, Femi. The court has just gone into recess. We have heard so far from two defendants. A first for this court. They have brought the defendants out one by one, essentially giving them a chance to testify. So far, we have heard from two low- level Ba'ath Party officials who were in the village of Dujail in 1982 when Saddam Hussein survived an assassination attempt there.
Now, we didn't expected this. The court was essentially saying before today's session that we would hear expert witness testimony, specifically people that would verify signatures on the documents we've seen as being those of Saddam Hussein and the co-defendants.
It seems what the court is doing is allowing time for the defendants to refute in open court the charges they face, statements they have made before to the investigative judge. We will also likely then hear from the defense lawyers, bringing their take on the evidence that has been presented.
We are reaching the midway point, Femi, in the trial. After this process, the court will break and the five-judge panel will draft what's called a formal charging document, essentially a summary of all the evidence that has been put forth up until now.
They will then reset the charges that the -- the defendants face. The defendants will enter a guilty or not guilty plea, and that will begin what we back in the U.S. would consider the trial process. The prosecution will present its case, the defense its case.
But the big question, of course, now is, when will we see Saddam Hussein? Not likely today or tomorrow. Perhaps later in the week -- Femi.
OKE: Aneesh Raman, live in Baghdad.
Aneesh, we'll be talking to you again in about two hours' time. See you back here then.
Now, coming up in "LATE EDITION," Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, will be talking to Wolf Blitzer coming up at 11:00 Eastern here on CNN's "LATE EDITION."
That's all from your going global. I will be back a little bit later -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Looking forward to it. We'll see you then. Thank you, Femi.
HARRIS: Femi, thank you.
OKE: All right. Take care.
NGUYEN: Well, want to show you some weather out of Missouri. It wasn't taken with a flash. No, this is lightning. It's striking two, three, well, more times than we even care to count. But this light show turned to be deadly.
HARRIS: This is crazy. NGUYEN: The storms damaged several homes. Two people reported dead and nine others injured. The problem is, this destructive weather system is on the move.
CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is watching what's happening out there with these storms.
And there's more than just one. There are several, aren't there?
WOLF: You're absolutely right.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WOLF: We'll send it back to you.
NGUYEN: Oh gosh.
HARRIS: Two inches in diameter.
WOLF: Big stuff.
HARRIS: That is.
WOLF: Huge stuff. It really is.
NGUYEN: That can -- that can leave a ding or two in the car. All right.
HARRIS: Yes.
Reynolds, thanks.
NGUYEN: We'll talk to you soon.
HARRIS: Check this out. It looks like a regular traffic stop, right? For someone who has been out, you know, maybe partying and perhaps had a little bit...
NGUYEN: Look at him swaying back and forth.
HARRIS: Yes, a little wobbly, right? A little wobbly.
NGUYEN: Well, would you believe that the driver here says he wasn't a drunk? No, no, no. He says he's actually asleep. He acknowledges he was driving under the influence, but of a sleeping pill.
Can it happen to you? CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues in just a moment with the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: If you take a sleeping pill you expect to sleep, not walk or cook or eat, or even drive. But quite a few people who have taken the popular sleep aid Ambien have reported some incredible nocturnal adventures. Here's Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The man in this police video looks drunk, but he may actually be asleep. He says he was sleep driving the night he was arrested after taking two Ambien tablets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went to bed. I was reading. The next thing I know there is a policeman at my car door.
GUPTA: He doesn't want us to use his name or show his face. According to him, he doesn't even remember getting into the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At some point I got up, I got dressed, I came downstairs, got my car keys, I drove to a grocery store that is probably three minutes away from home. I went in the store, I bought three packages of cookies. As I was leaving the grocery store, that's where the police report says the policeman first saw me.
GUPTA: His case is on appeal after being convicted with driving under the influence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the first time I really kind of came to was when they put me in the first cell and I saw a telephone and I called a friend of mine who's an attorney.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He took it for the first time and the next thing he knows he's in handcuffs.
GUPTA: All of this may sound bizarre, but Judy Evans knows what these people are talking about. Six years ago, the 59-year-old grandmother started taking Ambien for insomnia.
JUDY EVANS, SLEEPWALKING AFTER TAKING AMBIEN: I would go to sleep and sleep all night long. At least I thought I was sleeping all night long.
GUPTA: A few weeks later, her son caught her turning on the oven and stove and taking food from the refrigerator in her sleep.
EVANS: I had the burners on. And I could have started a fire and put so many people at risk.
GUPTA: Strangest of all...
EVANS: I don't remember a thing about it.
GUPTA: Evans says she stopped taking the Ambien and the sleepwalking stopped as well.
DR. CARLOS SCHENCK, PHYSICIAN: These people remember nothing.
GUPTA: Dr. Carlos Schenck says he has documented 32 cases of people with no previous history of sleepwalking what began sleepwalking including walking, eating, even driving while sleeping under the influence of Ambien.
SCHENCK: Because Ambien does increase the percent of slow wave sleep which is the stage of sleep that promotes sleepwalking.
GUPTA: Doctors wrote nor than 26 million prescriptions for Ambien last year, making it far and away the most used sleeping pill. In a statement, Ambien's manufacturers, Sanofi-Aventis, says it could not comment on specific cases. Adding this, "It is important to emphasize, although sleepwalking may occur during treatment with Ambien, it may not necessarily by caused by it. It is difficult to determine with certainty whether a particular instance of sleepwalking is drug induced, spontaneous in origin, or a result of an underlying disorder."
There is no large study to gauge the risk, but for the vast majority of Ambien users, Dr. Schenck says don't worry. And to follow the warning labels provided with prescriptions.
SCHENCK: Even a sip of alcohol with Ambien could be dangerous, so I would discourage any use, even a sip.
GUPTA: And if you ever do sleepwalk after taking the drug, you should stop taking it. This man wishes he had.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had no intention of driving. And I would just like people to know that, in particular the judge that hears my appeal.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: That's an eye-opener, huh?
HARRIS: You know what, Betty?
NGUYEN: What?
HARRIS: You know, you, this morning -- still ahead, another story you have to see to believe this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Starbucks manager, an engineer, even a lieutenant with the California Highway Patrol.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: It sounds like a golf foursome, right? Wrong. These men and others like them are accused of stalking kids in cyberspace.
Coming up, our Daniel Sieberg investigates the high-tech hunt for online predators.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: She may sound like a child but she's actually part of a high-tech effort to catch Internet predators. Welcome back everyone to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Tony Harris.
NGUYEN: Hi there, Tony. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. We're going to have that story in just a minute, but first here's a look at what's happening in the news this morning.
Take a look. Look at it closely. You are looking at a car on top of a house. That's right, this is a result of truly scary weather, including reported tornadoes across much of the Midwest overnight. The AP reports at least two people were killed and several others injured.
Reynolds Wolf is in the CNN weather center. Reynolds, is there more wicked weather to come?
WOLF: Unfortunately, yes. We are seeing some wicked weather as we speak. We have a tornado watch that is in effect for parts of the Midwest as we zoom in just a little bit. We're seeing some of that south of let's see, south of St. Louis at this time, south of the Evansville area, just in this general area, Kentucky, extreme southern Illinois and Indiana and into Missouri and that's going to continue on into the afternoon as well. We're going to bring you the very latest coming up in just a few moments and we're also going to talk about some heavy snow falling out to the west. That's moments away.
HARRIS: Well, this is Bangladesh where at least 50 people were hurt during this protest. The clashes erupted as hundreds of opposition workers pushed through a police barricade. They marched up to the election commission's office and demanded the resignation of the election commissioner. They say his policies are biased. Police fired tear gas shells and used water cannons -- look at this -- to break up the protest. Twenty of the main ring leaders have been detained.
Thousands of angry protesters marched in the streets of Taiwan today. They're upset over the president's hard line policy against China. The protesters say their leader is focusing too much on China while ignoring daily problems many people in Taiwan face like credit card debt and try to still claim sovereignty over the self-ruled island.
NGUYEN: An autopsy is scheduled today for ex-Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic, but his brother says the family won't trust the results. Milosevic was 64 and suffered chronic heart problems. He was found dead in his U.N. prison cell in the Netherlands where he was on trial for war crimes.
The trial of Saddam Hussein and his seven co-defendants is up and running again today. The judge is calling in each defendant individually to give testimony.
HARRIS: Well, parents this is a story you may want to watch and discuss with your children a little later, be warned some of the language is explicit and the story deals with sex but you still might consider watching this with your kids though because it's about catching the people who prey on children in cyberspace. Technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg has this CNN investigative unit reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A police stakeout in Laguna Beach, California. Officers prepare to take down their suspect. They say 24-year-old Fernando Guerin Jr. is attempting to lure a 13 year old girl to this playground for sex.
SGT. DARIN LENYI, LAGUNA BEACH POLICE DEPT: I just want to kiss your right now and lick you and snible (ph) you up and down from head to toe.
SIEBERG: Sgt. Darin Lenyi reads one example of the language allegedly used by his suspect on the messenger program Yahoo! chat. Much of it is too explicit for this program. He shows us what's believed to be Guerin's page on the popular social networking site, myspace and he shows us several naked photos he claims Guerin e-mailed to his chat buddy. So how does the Sgt. Lenny know about all this? Well, it's an Internet sting operation and the Laguna Beach PD has planned a number of them in the past several months.
This surveillance video is from another operation that netted 13 arrests in one night. One suspect arrives with a single red rose for his under aged date, officers are waiting inside to arrest each one, a pharmaceutical technician, a Starbucks manager, an engineer, even a lieutenant with the California Highway Patrol. All are formally charged with attempt to child molest and are in the process of being arraigned. The citizens' group perverted-justice.com creates phony profiles of under aged kids to see if anyone will take the bait. Complete with cultural references and Internet lingo, working with all levels of law enforcement, they claim to have busted several dozen pedophiles since 2004.
"FRAG," PERVERTED-JUSTICE.COM: We've caught doctors, lawyers cops, firefighters, teachers, social workers, you know, really all walks of life. One of the predators that actually had to find a baby sitter for his 13-year-old daughter so he could come over and molest someone else's 13-year-old daughter.
SIEBERG: To circumvent the arbitrary minimum 14-year age requirement on some sites, perverted-justice volunteers simply make up another number. It's something any child could do.
"DEL HARVEY," PERVERTED-JUSTICE.COM: She puts 113, obviously not being 113 and down below clarifies for anybody who could have missed it that she's not 113, she's 13.
SIEBERG: Myspace says that while it can't prevent all fraud, the company has deleted more than 200,000 under aged profiles to date and one warning on the safety tips page reads if you're under 14, go away. Frag and Del, not their real names of course, say they never initiate the conversations but rather wait to be contacted, then they and their volunteers engage in chat sessions, and whenever it's requested, allow the person to call them on the phone. Adult members of perverted- justice who sound underage pick up the line. Here is a sample conversation and it's disturbing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How old are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twelve.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You sound pretty cute.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what are you up to?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing really, talking to you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're like horny aren't you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. You're so cute.
SIEBERG: And when these phone or cyber exchanges move into the real world, the authorities can act.
The folks at perverted-justice have worked for about a week with the Laguna Beach Police Department to set up this stakeout operation here at a park, where the 13-year-old girl says she's going to show up after playing hooky from school today.
But rather than a teenage girl waiting on this playground --
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Turn around. Drop your beanie. You're under arrest for attempt molestation of a minor.
SIEBERG: Police search Guerin's car and find condoms and a digital camera which based on his alleged chat, Guerin was going to use to tape dirty pictures. He's since been charged with attempt to child molest and sending lewd pictures to a minor by the Orange County district attorney. He's being held on $100,000 bail and faces up to four years in prison. The public defender's office declined comment.
LENYI: Obviously if this was a real 13-year-old chatting with this individual, it's robbing some innocence from that child, so it's rewarding that we made this happen and no harm did come to a 13-year- old little girl.
SIEBERG: A deterrent for anyone who attempts to contact a teenager online. That curious and chatty child may actually be wearing a badge. Daniel Sieberg, Laguna Beach, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Well, it was the deal of the week and then it became the breakdown of the week. Now an Arab company won't be managing U.S. ports.
NGUYEN: Local top Republicans parted ways with their president, given the idea two thumbs down. Coming up in five minutes, we'll go live to Dubai to talk to Senator Johnny Isakson and Congressman John Linder. Stay with us for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Boy, a frightening night for lots of folks in a large chunk of the Midwest, as severe storms with drenching rain and reported tornadoes cut a wide swath across southern Missouri and Illinois. The AP reports at least two people have been killed, many homes are heavily damaged or destroyed. It's a spring-like weather pattern in the middle of winter and CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf says there is more in store. Reynolds, good morning.
WOLF: Good morning, yes this may be the first step of a two-step process we're going to be dealing with for today and then into the afternoon. There's the possibility for round two. Right now what we're dealing with Tony is we have a tornado watch that is in effect for parts of southern Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and even just a little sliver of Tennessee as well, some strong storms rolling through that area. No tornado warnings at this time.
Here is a shot that we have, a live image, if you will, from St. Louis, a gloomy shot if you will, also cloudy skies and just to the southwest of this place in Festus, Missouri, the site of some of that damage possibly from tornadoes and I mentioned, we may be in for one more dose of that into the late day hours. We're going to talk more about that come up in just a few moments.
NGUYEN: Well, U.S. marshals say they've been getting hundreds of tips about the whereabouts of Brian Perkins, the Federal fugitive who is supposed to give a kidney to his ailing son. While the search is currently focused around Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, it's not just Perkins though that they're looking for. CNN's Susan Candiotti explains why authorities are eager to catch his companion, too.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sure, his mom Lee Ann Howard has had run-ins with the law, but son Eric never thought she'd make anyone's most wanted list.
ERIC HOWARD, LEA HOWARD'S SON: I've just always thought of her as my mom. I never really thought of her as a run away criminal so this is sort of a weird way to think of her.
CANDIOTTI: His mom is now a Federal fugitive, last seen in Mexico with boyfriend Byron Perkins, the runaway dad who skipped out on bond after promising a kidney to his ailing son. Jailhouse phone calls obtained by CNN show how Lee Ann Howard was love struck by her imprisoned boyfriend Byron Perkins. The couple talked about packing medicine and getting money and clothes and, oh, yes, romance.
LEE ANN HOWARD: I love you, Byron.
BYRON PERKINS: Yeah.
HOWARD: Just don't sound like you do anymore.
PERKINS: I do.
CANDIOTTI: Howard's criminal record doesn't quite match her boyfriend's but police say they're quite a pair.
SGT. GARY MARTIN, KENTUCKY STATE POLICE: Apparently these are some real -- they deserve each other. That's the way I can sum it up.
CANDIOTTI: Kentucky State Police Sergeant Gary Martin led a team that arrested Howard in 2002 in a murder for hire plot to kill her ex- husband for insurance money. CNN exclusively obtained these images of Howard from a hidden camera tape shot by police. It helped convict her. The man she hired to kill her husband was an undercover cop. On tape she tells him, quote, I want him taken care of.
MARTIN: It was a $200,000 double indemnity policy that if it looked like an accident, that she would collect $200,000.
CANDIOTTI: Howard received a seven-year sentence on the murder for hire plot. Police say she did about six months and was released on probation. Now U.S. marshals say she's wanted for skipping out on state charges of robbery, drug trafficking, and being a repeat felony offender. Eric, who now lives with his grandmother, says when he was younger, his mom's life in and out of jail threw him at first.
ERIC HOWARD: It was really sort of an eye opener to what she was really like. But I was still living with her so I had no choice but to look at her as my mother. And now that I'm older and away from her and I see all of this on TV and all the news that's happened, it's -- I see her differently.
CANDIOTTI: Howard's 19-year-old son says Byron Perkins was nice to him and to his mom. But how Perkins is now treating his son Destin --
ERIC HOWARD: He needs a kidney and I can't believe Byron would do this and he wouldn't give his son a kidney.
CANDIOTTI: Perkins' own mother is mortified. What do you tell Destin about his father and what he did?
BARBARA BARR, BYRON PERKINS MOTHER: I want Destin to know that I'm very sorry for what his dad did to him. And that we will find him a kidney some way or somehow.
CANDIOTTI: Because of Destin, U.S. marshals are pushing their search for the couple in Mexico. Newspapers there are starting to spread the word.
RICK McCUBBIN, U.S. MARSHAL: It's like Kentucky's version of a modern day Bonnie and Clyde. You know, it's a couple that are in love. They're on the run. They're committing crime. Who knows how that will end.
CANDIOTTI: A mother's son in Kentucky is making a plea.
ERIC HOWARD: Turn yourself in, why did you do this? You know we need you to turn yourself in because they're going through a lot of crap because of you, everyone is.
CANDIOTTI: Susan Candiotti, CNN, Louisville, Kentucky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Now we are reaching out to you again this morning. If you have any information on the whereabouts of Byron Perkins and his girlfriend, Lee Ann Howard, please call authorities. The phone number right here on the screen, 1-877-wanted2.
HARRIS: Beating the odds, and now working to make a difference for others, 16-year-old Molly Farrell (ph) was told she would never walk again. Now look at how she has proved the experts wrong. We'll have her story next hour in our "Changing World." CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Four members of Congress from Georgia are in Dubai right now to talk about the now derailed ports deal. Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, along with Congressman John Linder and Phil Gingrey are touring ports and meeting with officials of the United Arab Emirates which controls Dubai Ports World. You may recall Dubai Ports World had planned to manage terminal operations at six U.S. ports, but the deal fell apart when lawmakers and the public got wind of it. Both Democrats and Republicans said the deal would leave the U.S. more prone to terrorist attacks. In a surprise announcement last week, DP World agreed to transfer port operations to what it calls an American entity. That left President Bush disappointed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm concerned about a broader message this issue could send to our friends and allies around the world, particularly in the Middle East.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Joining me now by video phone from Dubai are Congressman John Linder and Senator Johnny Isakson, both Republicans from Georgia. We thank you both for being with us today. Senator Isakson, let me start with you. Tell us about the purpose of this visit. Why are you there?
SEN. JOHNNY ISAKSON (R) GEORGIA: We came first and our original plan was to visit our troops in Georgia, who are deployed throughout Iraq, which we did, but we added the trip here to Dubai to learn firsthand about the United Arab Emirates, about DP Ports and had a wonderful day. People were very hospitable. We learned quite a bit.
NGUYEN: Let me ask you this as well though. Because the deal was basically derailed is there a little fence mending going on?
ISAKSON: Well, personally we thanked all of them for understanding the sensitivity of the situation, for giving us the information they'd given us while we're here. It was a very positive meeting. The people of the United Arab Emirates are great partners with the United States of America and today bore that out.
NGUYEN: Representative Linder, let's talk about this controversy. A lot of it dealt with the fact that this company was going to be controlling six U.S. ports. Now that that has pretty much been dissolved since DP World has decided to transfer that to an American entity, what are you hoping to learn there in Dubai?
REP. JOHN LINDER (R) GEORGIA: Well, I think it's important to learn that these people are professionals that run the ports. The deal in America is over. They've admitted it's over. They were very generous and gracious in the note they sent the president withdrawing their interest in the American terminals, but we learned that these are real professionals. We learned that their first port here was run by Sealand (ph) Corporation, an American company and the current director of the ports and the CEO of Dubai Ports World started in 1982 working for them. These are real professionals. We were told today at lunch that 100 percent of the containers that come from here to the United States have been screened and sealed. This is a professional operation. They're going to have a lot of ports throughout the world and they're great partners.
NGUYEN: Senator Isakson, are you learning exactly how this transfer to this American entity is going to work and what kind of American entity are we talking about?
ISAKSON: Well, they're going to make the transfer to an entity and I think in the next week or days ahead, we'll learn as they negotiate what form that will exactly take place, but it will definitely turn the control and ultimately ownership over. It's a business transaction. They deserve the right to recover their investment and not be put at any peril or loss and I'm sure we'll give them time to do that.
NGUYEN: Well, Senator, you met with the director of the Dubai customs today. What kind of probing questions did you have for him?
ISAKSON: Well, having visited our ports in Georgia and Savannah and Brunswick, I was in Manzanilla, Mexico two weeks ago looking at their security and then today got to see firsthand the cargo inspection that they do here as well as the redundant system they have for security and as John said, the 100 percent clearance on those that are coming through the United States. Quite frankly, I was very impressed with the degree and the intensity and their commitment to security. We are mutual partners in this security issue. There's no question about it.
NGUYEN: Representative Linder, let's talk about the fact that not only are you there on the ground but now that you are getting a sense of how this operation, this DP World and how they're carrying on business there, how do you feel about the opposition back here at home. Was it warranted to this ports deal?
LINDER: No, it was not warranted, but it was very political. The first publication of this information came out in November. Nobody responded. It became very political very early this year. The Democrats seizing on a national security issue, the Republicans trying to outdo the Democrats. The deal is over. They graciously withdrew their interests in those six terminals at six American ports, but we need to sit back and take a long look at how we respond to some of these things and we ought to respond to them with facts instead of emotions. This was terribly emotional.
NGUYEN: Senator Isakson, I'm going to give you the last word here and I want you to answer the same question. Was it warranted, all the concern when it came to letting DP World taking over U.S. ports, six of them?
ISAKSON: It was understandable in part because of some of the lack of understanding and lack of knowledge of what led up to the transaction. One of the reasons we're here is to A, thank them for putting an end to that, so that firestorm is over and second, seeing to it, it doesn't happen again. I personally and I think John and Senator Chambliss, Representative Gingrey would agree we have learned quite a bit. We will take that back. We want to continue to be good partners in the war on terror with the people of the United Arab Emirates.
NGUYEN: Senator Johnny Isakson and Representative John Linder. Thank you so much for your time today. We appreciate it.
LINDER: Thank you.
ISAKSON: Thank you.
HARRIS: All right, Betty, the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING begins in a moment. We want to keep you reminded of our top story this morning. Look at this, this is pictures out of Missouri. We'll take a break and come back with more of CNN SUNDAY MORNING in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Good morning, everyone. The weather was so severe in parts of Missouri and Illinois last night. How severe was it? Well take a look at this. A car tossed on to a house. Several homes were destroyed. There are reports two people actually died and at least nine injured. The storms are on the move, and they are powerful. CNN's meteorologist Reynolds Wolf joins us now and he is tracking where the storms are heading now.
Reynolds.
WOLF: Well right now Tony they are staying right along the Ohio River. Really hugging it almost. Right now we're seeing them south of Indianapolis, just along Louisville line stretching back over south of Columbus and Cincinnati. Moving all the way up into the keystone state of Pennsylvania. However, this is going to be the first step in a two- step process in terms of severe weather for today.
This is the first installment. The second installment is going to pop up into the afternoon and evening hours where we're going to have a potential for severe thunderstorms, some very strong wind, large hail, and the possibility of tornadoes. We are going to tell you exactly where that's going to happen coming up in just a few moments, but now let's send it back to you.
HARRIS: Reynolds thank you.
We're awaiting autopsy results on former Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milosevic he died while on trial for war crimes in the Hague. Serbia's head doctor will attend the autopsy. The chief U.N. prosecutor says the autopsy results could be available soon as tonight or early tomorrow.
In Bangladesh clashes erupted as hundreds of protesters pushed through police barricades demanding election reforms. Crazy pictures as police fire tear gas and water canons to break up a protest, which called for the resignation of Bangladesh's election commissioner. At least 50 people were hurt during the demonstration.
NGUYEN: It is 4:00 in Baghdad, and they are talking again in the trial of Saddam Hussein and members of his regime. The court is hearing individual testimony. So far two co-defendants deny they had anything to do with the deaths of nearly 150 Shiites in the 1980s. Saddam has yet to testify.
Four members of Congress are in Dubai this morning for talks on the now derailed ports deal. They're meeting with officials of the United Arab Emirates that controls Dubai Ports World. That's the company that planned to manage operations at six U.S. ports, but last week agreed to turn it over to a U.S. entity.
Who would the G.O.P. like it see run for president in 2008? A straw poll taken this weekend at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference shows Bill Frist of Tennessee is the front man. The poll is not scientific and the conference was held in Frist's home state.
HARRIS: From the CNN Center -- let me. Am I dropping the ball again?
NGUYEN: It's me.
HARRIS: I'm having that kind of a morning here.
NGUYEN: Good morning everybody.
HARRIS: I wouldn't be surprised.
NGUYEN: We're all having one of those mornings. March 12th, 8:00 a.m., right here at the CNN Center in Atlanta. (INAUDIBLE) Missouri has had some wicked weather out there.
HARRIS: And that is the point here. Good morning. Betty and Tony with you. Weekends, CNN Saturday and Sunday Morning. Wild and wicked weather all across the country.
NGUYEN: All over.
HARRIS: Some pictures here.
NGUYEN: That was embedded for effect. Go ahead, Tony, what you were saying.
HARRIS: North of the Golden Gate Bridge a deadly chain reaction wreck after a storm dumped snow and ice on highway 101. Twenty-eight vehicles tangled. Two women were killed, and dozens more hurt. The road was closed for 11 hours, and this is not Arizona -- well, this is Arizona and not Minnesota.
NGUYEN: Really.
HARRIS: Look at these pictures.
NGUYEN: All that snow.
HARRIS: Almost three feet of snow in parts of northern Arizona and some white stuff fell even in the Phoenix area, but more importantly for the Phoenix area, after 143 days without rain, Phoenix drenched. Take a look at this. Just south of St. Louis a car sits where a bedroom used to be. Severe winds or a possible tornado tore the first floor off of this house in Festus, Missouri. Thankfully the smart-thinking homeowners had taken refuge in the basement. Tornado watches posted today for a large area of the Midwest. What a mess.
NGUYEN: It is a mess out there. And you know it is not even spring yet, right, Reynolds?
WOLF: Yes, technically it is not even spring. We're still, again, calendar-wise, still in wintertime, but when you get close to that transition going from the spring to winter or from winter to spring, the opposite way around, you do have this tumultuous type of weather and we had last night, and there is no question about it, we're going to be seeing more later on today.
Right now we've had some showers and storms forming into the Ohio Valley. Let's zoom in just a little bit. You'll notice that some of these storms, again, very violent. We're talking strong winds. Some wind gusts possibly in excess of 50, 60, 70 miles per hour south of Evansville at this time just near the Owensboro area. If you happen to be tuning in from Madisonville you are dealing with the showers as they are coming on through. Heavier storms later on this morning as we make our way right up the chain. You are going to be seeing more of that right along the I-64 corridor in Louisville just to your south, and Barredstown some strong storms.
Take a look at this one particular cell just to the south of Frankfort, a lot of wind pushing right behind it giving it that bowing effect, and it is just the taste of things that we'll be seeing into the rest of the day.
In fact, severe thunderstorms a possibility from Chicago southward to, say, over to Kansas City, even into St. Louis, and just to the east of Dallas. Meanwhile, out to the west entirely different story. We're talking about not rain, but snowfall. Some locations in the upper elevations near Denver could see over a foot of snow before all is said and done. At this hour your temperatures, in many places around the country, very chilly. Especially up in Billings, 19 degrees there, and 34 out by the space needle in Seattle. San Francisco 43 degrees, 72 in Dallas, and 72 currently in Houston. Looking for a high in Houston of 84, 84 in New Orleans. Washington D.C. a beautiful day, partly cloudy with a high around 70. That's the latest that we have for you.
Let's send it back to you.
HARRIS: All right. Thank you.
WOLF: You betcha.
NGUYEN: Here are a few of the stories making news across America right now. In Tennessee firefighters are investigating what is left of this house. Not much. Still trying to determine how it caught fire. Nine family members died there. Apparently trapped on the second story of the house.
Senate minority leader Harry Reid says is, quote, disappointed and ashamed or our country. While in Arkansas, he revisited the thousands of FEMA owned mobile homes lined up at a local airport. Between $350 million and $800 million was paid for the trailers, which are, are still not providing homes for any hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast.
A soldier's salute from a governor. It was a welcome homecoming for 5,000 National Guard members. These soldiers and airmen returned yesterday to Louisiana. Most of them had been deployed since the September 11th attack. There's elected -- others were elected to stay behind to help rebuild after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
HARRIS: Welcome back.
NGUYEN: Uh-huh.
HARRIS: Well was it suicide, poison, or natural causes? That's the key question that should be answered when an autopsy is conducted on former Yugoslavia leader Slobodan Milosevic today. CNN correspondent Paula Newton is at The Hague with the latest. Paula good morning.
NEWTON: Good morning, Tony. Well, a controversial day here, as that autopsy, as you mentioned, is ongoing. The chief prosecutor here at the war crimes tribunal had a press conference. She herself can't resist musing about whether or not Slobodan Milosevic committed suicide. She doesn't rule it out. All though her office yesterday was, she is wondering if maybe he didn't decide to do that in that end, and we won't know, of course, probably for a few more days.
They could have preliminary results in an autopsy as early as this evening, but at this point the office just isn't willing to say how soon those results will come out. Tony, in the press conference, I asked her just exactly what was frustrating her most about this whole situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLA DEL PONTE, CHIEF U.N. PROSECUTOR: What is frustrating me the most is the presentation of the victims because that is what they are asking for. That justice must be done, and now it will not be possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: It's interesting. If you try and put yourself in the shoes of that woman, here she had the burden of all those victims on her shoulders to try to get the justice that she believes they deserved, and she herself said that justice would not be served.
Tony.
HARRIS: All right, Paula, another question for you. With Milosevic dead, the question becomes when will Ratko Mladic Radovan Karadzic be brought to justice and brought before the tribunal?
NEWTON: Well, here at the tribunal that is the next topic they're working towards, and they say even this morning they received assurances that those fugitives are still at large and that some authorities, they believe they're still in Serbia, are still looking for them.
Obviously, she said, Carla del Ponte said that it's extremely urgency now that those two people be brought here to the Hague. Tony you have to consider that this was a highly politically sensitive situation for the state of Serbia and whether or not they think that with all of this going on right now with Slobodan Milosevic, whether it would be a good idea to bring them here is still up in question. Remember a lot of people in Serbia are very ambivalent about whether or not Slobodan Milosevic should have faced justice here in The Hague or face it in Serbia itself.
Tony.
HARRIS: Paula Newton for us from The Hague. Paula, appreciate it. Thank you.
NGUYEN: Well, security concerns force a U.S. ally to back out of a port deal, but just what can we learn about the Dubai debacle? Coming up we'll hear from two members of Congress who are in that port city this morning.
HARRIS: And she was told she might never walk again, but this teen did more than just beat the odds. We'll tell you how she's changing the world one step at a time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Good morning, everyone. Checking our top stories. In case you are just joining us, people in the Midwest are waking up to a lot of damage. Reported tornadoes tore through southern Missouri and Illinois. The A.P. reports at least two people were killed. Homes are damaged or destroyed, and more severe weather is forecast through tonight.
An autopsy is being performed today on former Yugoslavia leader Slobodan Milosevic. The U.N. tribunal says he apparently died of natural causes, while in his detention cell in the Netherlands, but Milosevic's family says the tribunal is responsible for his death.
Saddam Hussein's co-defendants are denying any role in the deaths of Shiites in the 1980s. This is the first time they've taken the stand in the Iraq trial.
NGUYEN: A group of Georgia politicians are in Dubai right now showing their support for the controversial ports deal that fell part earlier last week when the United Arab Emirates company D.P. World said it would hand over operations at six U.S. Ports to an American entity. Well, Senator Johnny Isakson and Rep. John Linder met with customs officials and watch how they conduct their security operations, and we talked to them earlier this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISAKSON: They're going to make the transfer to an entity, and I think in the next week or days ahead we'll learn as they negotiate what form that will exactly take place, but it will definitely turn the control and also the ownership over. It's a business transaction. They deserve the right to recover their investment and not be put at any peril or loss, and I'm sure we'll give them that time to do that.
LINDER: The deal on America is over. They were very generous and gracious, and the note they sent the president withdrawing their interest in the American terminals, but we learned that these are real professionals. We learned their first port here was run by Sealand Corporation, an American company, and the current director of the ports and the CEO of Dubai Ports World started in 1982 working for them. These are real professionals. We were told today at lunch 100 percent of the containers that come from here to the United States have been screened and sealed. This is a professional operation. They're going to have a lot of ports throughout the world, and they're a great partner.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well lawmakers were already in the region visiting U.S. troops.
Tony.
HARRIS: Betty I want to show you some pictures just into CNN of the severe damage and storms we've been talking about all morning long. Through the Midwest several warnings and watches. This is a shot from Perry County, Missouri. We are showing you pictures from Missouri throughout the morning, but new pictures now just in to CNN of damage and devastation. We'll check with Reynolds Wolf in just a couple of minutes to find out if this damage is -- comes as a result of a tornado, but, as can you see, there is a structure at least, maybe two structures, pretty much flattened right now. A car that seems to be severely damaged in the midst of all of that debris, and as the helicopter pilot widens out a bit, we can give you a broader view of the area, and as can you see, a lot of damage in this area.
Once again, Perry County, Missouri, and we'll check in with weather in just a moment to find out if this comes as a result of a tornado in the area.
Still ahead, belief and hope in the wake of unspeakable tragedy. That's what Tom Fox's fellow worshipers are clinging to after word that the American hostage was killed in Iraq last week. They tell CNN they'll push on with the Christian activist's work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN SURR, FRIEND OF TOM FOX: He was dedicated to this for a couple of years before he actually left, and this was -- he felt this was his life's calling. He was willing to give up his life for the cause of peace. I know that he believed in what he was doing, and he was working to the very end to try to help his captors understand that you don't have to live by hate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Insurgents abducted Fox and three other Christian activists back in November. Still no word on the fate of the other hostages.
NGUYEN: Orphaned as a child, working without pay or schooling, this teenager turned his life around to make a difference. Coming up, find out how he helped thousands of others just like him. It's part of our changing the world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Once again, just into CNN. Take a look at the pictures of the storm damage in Perry County, Missouri. We have got a real mess in the Midwest from last night carrying over into the early morning hours of the day, and our understanding is that as the day wears on and the atmosphere heats in the Midwest, we could be in line, in store for more severe weather, but take a look at these pictures right now. It just continues the devastation that is going on right now in Missouri. Earlier we showed you other pictures from last night of damage we had a car on a house, and this is all part of weather systems colliding right now, and we're not sure at this point whether we're talking about a tornado actually touching down or just high winds knocking over buildings at this point, but you see people out on the streets this morning take a look -- taking a look at some of the damage, and it looks to be quite extensive in this particular area.
NGUYEN: We have with us on the phone to get a little more perspective on exactly what's happened and the damage that was caused by this, deputy sheriff Carl Manch in Perry County, Missouri, on the phone with us. Deputy, let's talk about the damage that you have seen so far today.
CARL MANCH, PERRY COUNTY, DEPUTY SHERIFF (via telephone): Sure. The damage we encountered last night was just devastating. There were several homes that were completely destroyed. Virtually taken off the foundations with debris -- with the debris field to the east of the county, which is the opposite direction of where the storm had came from.
NGUYEN: So far do you know of any injuries or deaths in your particular county?
MANCH: Just what I have -- just what I have been relayed to me was the sheriff indicated that there were two deaths and possibly 10 injuries.
NGUYEN: Oh, goodness. Two dead, 10 injuries. Are there people trapped perhaps at this hour underneath the debris? Do you know?
MANCH: That I do not have knowledge of.
NGUYEN: Have you been able to understand whether this straight line winds? Was this a tornado? What are you hearing?
MANCH: Well, from what I have observed whenever I approached the storm as it approached from the west, we did see a wall cloud, another deputy and myself. He was approximately a 1/8th of a mile in front of me. We did see a wall cloud and we did see rotation with that cloud, and it was obviously a tornado.
NGUYEN: We want to bring in our meteorologist deputy sheriff to talk about some of what has gone on. Reynolds Wolf is with us. Reynolds you know we're going to be talking a lot about whether this was a tornado or not that hit many of the areas.
WOLF: Sure. I would say from what I can tell from just this video from KSDK to me this looks like a tornadic event. Now what you look for, what happens to classify this as a tornado or straight line winds, what you'll do is you will get people from the local national weather service they will get up in a chopper like this one that you see here, this video that we have. What they look for is they try to find the path of the storm itself, and if you see the debris scattered in one direction, that's usually the signature mark of straight-line winds, which, I want you to remember, straight-line winds picking up debris can be just as deadly as a tornado. However, when you are looking for straight-line winds, as you mention, all the debris goes pretty much in one direction.
HARRIS: Reynolds what do you mean when you say straight-line winds?
WOLF: Straight-line winds are formed when you have these tremendous storms that pop up and they collapse. You've got a large volume of water, large volume, a lot of weight is carried with these storms, and they generate these tremendous winds that will drop out of the bottom of these clouds. They go along the ground, along the topography, and they can be just as dangerous as these tornadoes.
Like, for example, what you see here with this all that seems to be pushing in one direction, which could be evidence of straight-line winds. However, farther wide, you can't get a wide enough shot of this, there may be some debris pushing in the opposite direction which would indicate rotation, which, of course, would mean a tornadic event.
NGUYEN: Reynolds, stick with us for a second.
WOLF: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: I want to ask the deputy a couple more questions. This looks like a rural area from the video that we're showing right now. Were there any warning sirens that went off? Do you have that in this particular area of the county?
MANCH: Not in that area other than the television broadcast.
NGUYEN: So was this something that struck in the middle of the night and people may have been sleeping at the time?
MANCH: No. Actually right where the ground zero as we would call it, I was parked there in my patrol car 15 minutes before the tornado struck there, and I did listen to radio traffic by our police radio, the highway patrol and another deputy on Interstate 55 just west of that location talking about seeing the wall cloud and I did not want to stay there because of that situation, so I left and went to the south and repositioned. That way I could avoid the danger.
HARRIS: Carl, just very quickly, you expect storms and even severe storms this time of year, don't you?
MANCH: Yes, we do. Especially around the Midwest.
HARRIS: Yes. I mean, it's just what you expect this time of year, and -- we're sorry for your loss. Two people dead in your county, and others injured. The best in this recovery and this cleanup effort because it looks like you have a lot of work on your hands.
MANCH: Yes, we're going to be busy most of the day, and it will go into the week. It's very tragic to watch, and nothing has prepared you for what you find whenever you get on scene like that. It's devastating.
NGUYEN: Devastating. We know you have a lot of work to do today. We thank you for sharing your time and information with us this morning. Deputy Sheriff Carl Manch there in Perry County, Missouri. Thanks so much.
Got a lot more to tell you about this morning on CNN SUNDAY MORNING including the wicked weather, which we're going to talk more about as well. Stay tuned. There's more CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: New video in to CNN this morning, this is what people in Perry County, Missouri, are waking up to. Severe storms with drenching rain, and reported tornadoes cut a wide swath across southern Missouri and Illinois. The A.P. reports at least two people have been killed, and many homes are heavily damaged or destroyed. CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf says there is more in store.
Reynolds good morning.
WOLF: Good morning. Wow, what a night and what a morning it's been. A rough night to experience, a rough morning, and now the devastation that we're dealing with this morning is just mind- boggling. You are right; Tony more is on the way. The latest that we have now, the same line of storms that produced the severe weather in parts of Missouri is now moving into the Ohio valley near the Louisville area. We have strong cells that are now developing and now moving into the Lexington Fayetteville area. However, farther back towards the east near Huntington, get ready because you have a very, very strong cell that is going to be rumbling in your direction. Should be there in the next 10 to 15 minutes. We're talking about some strong wind, talking about heavy rainfall and the potential for some hail, and then into the afternoon we're looking at the possibility of more severe weather moving into parts of the Midwest.
We're going to talk about that. Plus, out to the Rockies another heavy dose of snowfall. We've got a full plate this morning, and we'll deliver it all to you.
Back to you.
HARRIS: Reynolds, take a look at these pictures here. What do you think, a tornado or what you have described as those straight-line winds?
WOLF: You know I will tell you what I don't think straight-line winds could do that level of devastation. Sure, they can be damaging. Yes, they can cause all kinds of problems, but I'm telling you, man seeing what I am seeing so far I'm thinking an F2 or an F3 tornado. So very, very strong.
HARRIS: OK, we will continue to follow this story throughout the morning. "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta begins right now.
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