Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
Death Toll From Bangladesh Cyclone Continues to Rise; U.S. Envoy Delivers Blunt Message to General Musharraf
Aired November 18, 2007 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON MEIER, FATHER OF MEGAN: Just like, please. Please, Megan, breathe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: A father's grief. His teen daughter killed herself after she was bullied through instant messages. It's a story all parents must see, then check your child's cell phone, computer or Blackberry.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Also, trains, planes, automobiles, the start of a very busy travel week. We'll talk to the transportation secretary this hour. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, we're bringing you news from around the world. Good morning. I'm T.J. Holmes.
DE LA CRUZ: I'm Veronica de la Cruz. So nice to see you today. I'm sitting in for Betty Nguyen. It is Sunday, November 18. Let's go ahead and get you informed.
HOLMES: Yeah, we're going to start with this story out of Bangladesh we've been watching for a few days not. The death toll there from the monster cyclone rising. The "Associated Press" now quoting Bangladeshi officials who say more than 2,200 people were killed when the cyclone hit Tuesday and that number still is expected to rise.
DE LA CRUZ: But the real story isn't in the numbers, it is in the faces of survivors. CNN's Dan Rivers is in southern Bangladesh with this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, this graphically illustrates the problems facing the international aid organizations and the government. This bridge is being swept away by the force of Cyclone Sidr and that means getting aid into this devastated, it is going to be very difficult, indeed.
You can see all around me the rubble of this village that has been very badly destroyed. You can see over here people are cooking outside, they're surviving with what they can, having made temporary shelters here from the remains of their homes. We talked to one man here, he says he's lost his home and his three children who were swept away when those storm surge waters came in. And his story is repeated all the way down here. There hundreds of families on this one riverbank alone who've been forced to camp out. The president of Bangladesh has been here handing out a few bags of rice and some aid for the cameras mostly, but any large scale aid operation has yet to reach this place.
Dan Rivers, CNN, southern Kolapara (ph), southern Bangladesh.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: We turn to Iraq now where there is a discovery there that's gruesome and it's really a reminder of the sectarian tension still going on there. Iraqi officials say a mass grave of some three dozen people was found in the Dora Sunni district of southern Baghdad. The bodies were badly decomposed. Police believe they were Shiites, officials think they were killed by al Qaeda in Iraq within the past three years.
DE LA CRUZ: Talking tough, U.S. envoy, John Negroponte, delivered a blunt message to Pakistan's president. The two held face- to-face talks yesterday. And Negroponte said he told President General Pervez Musharraf to lift the state of emergency before upcoming elections and release all political detainees. Pakistan is a key U.S. ally in the war on terror and the raging political crisis there has Washington on edge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN NEGROPONTE, DEP SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States believes that the best way for any country to counter violent extremism is to develop and nurture a moderate political center. We believe this is true for Pakistan, as well. And in my talks, I encouraged reconciliation between political moderates as the most constructively way forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: Musharraf did not commit to lifting the emergency order, saying it is needed to ensure a fair election in January.
And today at 11:00 p.m., CNN's Wolf Blitzer talks with Pakistan's former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto. LATE EDITION, don't miss it. It's this morning at 11:00 Eastern.
HOLMES: Well, a deadly fire now to tell you about at the world's largest oil producer.
DE LA CRUZ: The blaze broke out in an oil rich area of eastern Saudi Arabia. The state oil conglomerate Saudi Aramco tells the "Associated Press" that 28 people were killed.
HOLMES: The company says maintenance workers accidentally started the fire while connecting new pipes. DE LA CRUZ: The fire happened while Saudi Arabia was hosting a rare OPEC summit. At that summit of oil producing nations, hard- liners and moderates were divided on whether OPEC should take on a more political role, Venezuela and Ecuador favoring it. Other members, including Saudi Arabia, opposing it.
HOLMES: They are preparing for the worst in California, right now. California fire officials in the middle of a major mobilization of firefighters and equipment. Officials fear those strong Santa Ana winds. The winds are expected to whip up again this week. Those are the same winds that fanned the flames of last month's deadly fires.
More than 40 wildfire strike teams are moving south from northern California. Hundreds of fire engineers also being sent to southern staging areas and the U.S. military getting involved, as well; they moved firefighting C-130s into the area just in case.
DE LA CRUZ: And checking on the situation now in California, let's head to the CNN Weather Center where our meteorologist, Bonnie Schneider, is standing by with the latest.
Bonnie, what is it looking like right now?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, we're expecting, in terms of this Santa Ana event, it's something to occur more towards the middle of the week, not for today, not for tomorrow. We still have that marine flow coming in.
But Tuesday and Wednesday and possibly into early Thursday, high pressure will build into the great basin, so we might see a moderate Santa Ana event. Some of the models are a little bit different as to what exactly is going to happen. But, it looks like that northeasterly wind flow will set up and you can see it here on the map, that northeasterly wind is very light. So, not at all as intense as what we saw in October and all the way into Thursday, right out of the north-northeast, that's when the direction starts to change. So, a brief short-lived event, but they can't take any chances, of course, in California.
And if you noticed, beside me and below me, we're giving you all the latest holiday travel information including current weather conditions across the country -- airport delays and five-day forecast. So, wherever it is you're heading for this holiday, we'll be able to keep you up to date here on CNN.
(WEATHER REPORT)
And this is a great time of year, if you have some time to be outside. Send us your i-Report of the weather conditions in your area. Maybe as you're going along your journey, we'd love to see it. Just go to cnn.com and click on "i-Report" and send us your i-Report and we'll put it here on the air. So, we'd love to see it. There it is on cnn.com and that's another great source for weather and travel information throughout this travel season.
(WEATHER REPORT) DE LA CRUZ: All right, Bonnie, so beside you, below you, on TV and online. That's a lot information.
SCHNEIDER: A lot of information.
DE LA CRUZ: All right, thanks Bonnie.
HOLMES: Yeah, thanks Bonnie.
DE LA CRUZ: Well, lots of you may be getting an early start to Thanksgiving travel, but if you are waiting until Wednesday, you'll have plenty of company. The American Automobile Association says nearly 39 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more between Wednesday and Sunday. Most will drive, millions more, almost five million, in fact, will fly. The rest are expected to go by train or bus.
President Bush offered federal help, Thursday, he offered to open airspace normally restricted to the military to civilian airliner use.
No, in about 30 minutes, we'll be talking with transportation secretary, Mary Peters. That's coming up.
HOLMES: Well, coming up next on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING, a teen's tragic death and the issue of cyber bullying.
DE LA CRUZ: This is all too real for one family. The heart breaking story, just minutes away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's 15 past the hour on this Sunday morning. If you haven't heard yet, we wanted to get you started in Bangladesh where, yes, the death toll is rising there after a powerful cyclone struck on Thursday. "A.P." now quoting officials saying more than 2,200 people were killed. That number is expected to go higher.
DE LA CRUZ: A volunteer firefighter who helped battle last month's wildfires in San Diego kept a secret, officials say he is a convicted arsonist. Thirty years -- Steven Robles, Jr., he's 30 years old, he's back in prison now and that's because Robles violated parole when he failed to tell his parole officer he had taken a job with a volunteer fire department.
The Middle East has MTV. The music and video network kicked off its new Dubai based channel with a big party Friday night. The cable network is promising to keep 40 percent of its airtime dedicated to content produced in Arab nations.
HOLMES: Conagra has resumed making pot pies at a Missouri plant linked to a salmonella outbreak. Conagra's Banquet and private label pot pies were pulled from stores last month after hundreds of people got sick. A USDA investigation found Conagra used flawed safety plans at the plant before the recall. Federal officials say Conagra has corrected the problems. DE LA CRUZ: All right, kind of a fun poll, now. Teens looking to get out of embarrassing situations, they often use instant messenger, and that's according to a new "Associated Press"-AOL poll. More than 40 percent of teens say when they want to ask someone out on a date, break up with them, they instant message. But, it's just the opposite for adults. Seventy-five percent of them are sending more e- mail.
And on a serious note, the Internet definitely convenient. In fact, some people who have trouble making friends in person may find it easier on the Web. But the Internet can also make you extremely vulnerable. In Missouri a teen committed suicide and it happened after messages on MySpace. CNN's Gary Tuchman has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What happened here is horrifying. Why it might have happened will leave you incredulous.
TINA MEIER, MEGAN'S MOTHER: She was just a good girl.
TUCHMAN: Tina Meier of suburban Saint Louis is the mother of Megan Meier who had lived a challenging childhood.
RON MEIER, MEGAN'S FATHER: She got bullied in school and she had big self esteem issues. She struggled with depression since in the third grade.
TUCHMAN: Megan's mother and father allowed her to set up a MySpace account under their supervision. And said their 13-year-old swooned when she got her first affectionate note ever from a boy named Josh Evans.
T MEIER: He thought she was really pretty, posted on her comments, on her pictures, you know, this is beautiful, your eyes are beautiful.
TUCHMAN: For about a month, Josh sent her instant messages saying things like "lucky me and lucky you because you're my No. 1." But Megan's mother and father started getting suspicious, because although the notes were not explicit, their parental instinct told them something wasn't right.
T MEIER: I did contact the police department and I called and asked to be transferred to the cybercrimes division to check to see how this MySpace account is real. Nothing you can do.
TUCHMAN: And then one day...
T MEIER: Then a whirlwind. It was Josh saying horrible things to Megan, Megan saying things back to him.
TUCHMAN: Nasty messages from a boy who just a day before meant everything to this lonely girl, one in particular cut deep.
R MEIER: "The world would be a better off place without you and have a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) rest of your life."
TUCHMAN: Megan was distraught beyond words.
T MEIER: This is the part I'll never forget forgive myself for because she was looking to me to help calm her down like I normally always did and be there for her and I was upset with her because I didn't like the language that she was using and I was upset that she didn't listen to me and sign off when I told her to. And, so I was aggravated with her about that and told her that she knew better and she just said to me, "you're supposed to be my mom, you're supposed to be on my side" and she took off running upstairs.
TUCHMAN: It was too quiet for too long in that upstairs bedroom.
R MEIER: Tina left, walked upstairs, I didn't really pay much attention to it. And then I just heard the blood curdling scream.
T MEIER: I just saw her hanging from her closet.
R MEIER: And just she just screamed, and I was right there.
T MEIER: I tried picking her up.
R MEIER: I held her, and I yanked the whole closet thing out of the wall and Tina ran and got a knife so I could cut the belt from around her neck and started performing CPR.
T MEIER: She had tears the entire time running down the side of her face the entire time until she passed away.
R MEIER: It was just like, please, please Megan. Breathe.
TUCHMAN: Megan was pronounced dead the next day. When Ron Meier came home from the hospital, he wanted to find Josh Evans and let him know what he had done to his little girl. The first place he tried to look was Josh's MySpace page.
R MEIER: It was deleted; the whole Josh Evans no longer existed.
TUCHMAN: A month past as the Meier's struggled with their grief, searching for answers why their daughter went to such extremes and who was the boy who drove her there. Then a neighbor told them something stunning, Josh Evans was actually the creation of a mother who lived on the same block as the Meier's, a mother who actually went to Megan's funeral.
According to an official police report, that mother acknowledged it, the report saying: "In the months leading to Meier's daughter's suicide, she instigated and monitored a MySpace account which was created for the sole purpose of communication with the Meier's daughter."
The Meier's were told the other family wanted to find out from Megan why she was having a dispute with their own 13-year-old daughter.
R MEIER: As if my daughter would have killed herself with a gun, they loaded the gun for her.
TUCHMAN: We are not reporting the name of that other family to protect the identity of their daughter, but did go to their home to try to get their side of the story. The woman's father answered the door and in a soft voice, the grandfather said it was sad, but then would not say if he thought the police report was wrong.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Have you talked to these people since then?
T MEIER: Yes, I have.
TUCHMAN: What have you said to them?
T MEIER: Probably things that I can't say on camera.
TUCHMAN: And what have they said back to you?
R MEIER: "Give it a rest."
T MEIER: "Give it a rest."
TUCHMAN: Now, at this point, if you're waiting to hear what law enforcement is doing in an effort to get Megan and her family some justice, well, you may be waiting forever. County prosecutors, the county sheriff's office and the FBI say there is no indication whatsoever a crime has been committed, so there are no plans to do anything legally.
(voice-over): After initially telling us they weren't even investigating the case anymore, the prosecutor is now telling CNN, his office will review the situation, but more than a year has gone by since Megan hanged herself. And Tina and Ron Meier, who have separated, partly because of the stress, were told by lawyers it was best to stay quiet. But, they no longer are. They are angry and feel they owe it to Megan to speak out.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Maybe your story could help the welfare of another child.
R MEIER: Absolutely.
T MEIER: That's what we hope.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Gary Tuchman, CNN, O'Fallon, Missouri.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: We will turn to Alabama, now. A new story out this morning where a pastor there whose church was bombed during the height of the desegregation struggle has now died. The Reverend John Cross, Jr. was the head of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. A bomb planted in that church in 1963 killed four young black girls. Reverend Cross dug through the rubble to look for victims. Reverend Cross had been in failing health in recent years. He died at an Atlanta area hospital. Reverend Cross was 82 years old.
Well, we turn to the stories and pictures we've been seeing this morning, tearing down the old to make way for the new.
DE LA CRUZ: Oh, T.J.'s favorite. A landmark hotel comes tumbling down, making way for a New Jewel in Miami. Now, let's go to the Vegas one. Sorry.
HOLMES: All right, we'll try to get the Vegas one up for you. Also, James Brown, there, he may be gone, but his thanksgiving turkey giveaway will live on thanks to somebody you probably are familiar with. We'll tell you who.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, 645 rooms and there no vacancies at the Sheraton Ball Harbor right now. I guess you can say there's one vacancy, a big old lot.
DE LA CRUZ: A vacant lot.
HOLMES: It's vacant right now where the Miami hotel used to be. A hotel imploded this morning, to make way for something bigger and even better.
DE LA CRUZ: Oh, I guess we'll just have to leave it at that. I think it's a condo complex. Taking a look now. It came down in just a matter of seconds, but our local affiliates were not able to capture the big boom. I know that's what you guys were listening for there. The former Americana Hotel was once a favorite hang out for the Rat Pack. Nothing like the Las Vegas implosion that we watched earlier. And I have to say I feel privileged being here on a weekend where there is an implosion, because I know that, you know -- there it is.
HOLMES: They got your Vegas.
DE LA CRUZ: Oh, we got it.
HOLMES: This is the frontier, this is the one that went down in grand Vegas style. As you can see here, the fireworks display. Yes, they're making room for a bigger resort there, as well. But this came down, what -- Tuesday.
DE LA CRUZ: And there's the boom.
HOLMES: You were waiting on the boom.
DE LA CRUZ: Waiting for the boom. Love it. Great.
Time now to take a look at some of the most clicked on videos at cnn.com. James Brown's long standing tradition of giving turkeys at Thanksgiving will continue despite his death. The Reverend Al Sharpton says he'll keep the legacy going.
And a story we told you about earlier. A parents compelled by the state of Maryland to get shots for their children, those who refuse could face jail. About 1,700 parent were notified they had to comply or else. Now, last night about half of them had gotten shots for their kids. And check out this one ladies, your marriage doesn't have to be on the rocks to drag your wedding dress through the dirt. It's become something of a photographer trend to shoot the white dress in filthy settings. Some brides figure they'll never wear the dress again, so hey, why not have some fun. I don't know about that, really.
HOLMES: Me neither. Those things are expensive, I hear.
DE LA CRUZ: Very expensive. But she's having a good time. Who knows.
More of your favorite video at cnn.com/mostpopular.
HOLMES: OK, I don't think we can expect to see Queen Elizabeth rolling around in the mud in her wedding dress. She's celebrating 60 years of marriage to Prince Philip this week. And that accomplishment lands her a new honor. The queen is now the first British monarch to celebrate her diamond anniversary. There's going to be a banquet in the couple's honor tonight and then tomorrow 2,000 thousand folks will attend a huge celebration in Westminster Abby.
DE LA CRUZ: You didn't just say rolling around in a white wedding dress in the mud, Queen Elizabeth?
HOLMES: I don't think she's going to be doing that. Absolutely not.
DE LA CRUZ: Absolutely not.
HOLMES: But that picture would be worth something if she did.
Well, Senator Hillary Clinton gets heckled at an event last night. You got to see what happened. Also, CNN's political producer, Sasha Johnson going to be joining us to discuss the Democratic debate and the Iowa caucus. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Good morning, welcome back everybody, I'm T.J. Holmes.
DE LA CRUZ: Good morning to you, I'm Veronica de la Cruz in today for Betty Nguyen. A quick check of our top stories, now. Homeless and hungry people scramble for food and water in Bangladesh. International aid is pouring into the cyclone ravaged area. The death toll stands at more than 2,200 and is climbing.
HOLMES: A methane gas explosion ripped through a coalmine in eastern Ukraine. Emergency officials say almost 30 miners were killed.
DE LA CRUZ: And here at home, California is bracing for another round of strong Santa Ana winds, this week. Santa Ana winds fanned the flames of last month's deadly fires.
HOLMES: Democratic presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Dennis Kucinich talking about climate change at a forum on the issues, yesterday in Los Angeles. All three offered plans to cut U.S. emissions from greenhouse gasses blamed for global warming. But, a heckler tried to get into the action as Clinton spoke. Here is some of that exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ...to get what we need through the senate. Were you invited to speak here this afternoon?
(CHEERS)
CLINTON: Anyway, as I was saying, we need to elect more Democrats, because...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, security officials eventually escorted the heckler out of the building.
Well, heckler aside, it's been, by some accounts, a pretty good week for Senator Clinton. After all, she had one of the best lines at the CNN debate Thursday night. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: People are not attacking me because I'm a woman. They're attacking me because I'm ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, that's her take on it. And plenty of polls, yes, do in fact back her up. But, is she really as strong as some of the numbers seem to indicate. CNN political producer, Sasha Johnson, joining us now to Washington this morning.
Sasha, good morning to you, ma'am. Good to see you again. All right, that debate. First, a lot of people saw it. A whole lot of people watched it then, and we're replaying it here. Tell the viewers, the undecided viewer -- undecided voters why they need to see this debate and how this could help them make up their minds?
SASHA JOHNSON, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Well, you know, the calendar will help them make up their mind. We're 40 some-odd days away from the Iowa caucuses, at this point. And this is really one of the first times that we've seen Hillary Clinton really mix it up with John Edwards and Barack Obama. So, they should tune in because there was some great exchanges between the Democrats and it would probably help them make up their minds.
HOLMES: So, certainly a conscious decision on her part to get back at them. Because she was certainly criticized for getting beat up a bit in that last debate.
JOHNSON: Absolutely. I mean, we were talking to some of my colleagues, we were saying this was the first time she's even acknowledged that John Edwards was even running for president along side of her. Because really, when she has been on stage, she's been attacking George Bush and the Republicans and recently she's engaged Barack Obama, but this time she went after both of them.
HOLMES: Now you mention, yes, we are getting closer to election time. Clinton's still ahead in a lot of polls. Now we -- the national polls have her way ahead in some of those, but the state polls are the ones that are more crucial. Now, how is she doing in those state polls right now?
JOHNSON: Well, the ones that we really should look at is Iowa. I think the latest "New York Times" Iowa poll had her ahead of John Edwards by just about two points, I think, and just about three points ahead of Barack Obama.
So, Iowa really is a jump ball at this point. And you know, we are seeing Barack Obama's back in Iowa today, Hillary Clinton hits the state tomorrow. And these candidates are going to be there from now until the caucuses, because remember we've got the holidays when a lot of caucus goers in Iowa are probably going to tune out and spend time with their families. So, we know that campaigns, including the Clinton campaign, is upping the number of staffers that they have in the state. Caucuses are very complicated processes and you can't really tell who's going to turn out. So, they know it's close and they have to devote resources there.
HOLMES: OK, let's head back to this debate for just a second. How much did this -- the crowd kind of flip the script on some of these candidates who were trying to attack Hillary Clinton? And this is a Democratic crowd. They don't like to hear some of the attacks, whether it's Clinton or anybody else. They started booing at times, jeering at times, some of those candidates. How much did that affect how much attacking some of those candidates might have liked to have been doing?
JOHNSON: Well, we sort of saw the booing and the crowds really affect John Edwards and Barack Obama more than Hillary Clinton. You got the sense from watching it that the crowd was pretty much in Hillary Clinton's corner. Whether that's fair or not, I'm not sure, but that was the impression that was given off.
But there were a couple of time when Senator Obama started to hit Hillary Clinton over social security and health care and John Edwards went after Hillary Clinton about taking money from lobbyists and her attachments to what he calls the special interest and the crowd really pushed back and you saw both of guys kind of not know what to do, because you don't normally see that kind of reaction at a debate.
HOLMES: This debate was entertaining. I now it's not supposed to be entertainment, it's suppose informative, but it was entertaining. A lot of good lines and one-liners, let's listen right quick to something Dennis Kucinich had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Congressman Kucinich, I believe you are the only person on this stage who had a chance to vote on the Patriot Act right after 9/11, who voted against right away.
DENNIS KUCINICH (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's because I read it.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Oh, we can count on Congressman Kucinich, can't we?
Who helped themselves in this debate? Let's go to some of the second tier candidates, one of them being Joe Biden who got a lot of credit and a lot of rave reviews for his performance in this debate. He had a lot of good leans and he was funny when he needed to be, and he was serious and really hit on some of his strength including Pakistan and speaking to Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto. Is he the one in that second tier, you would say, really came out a winner in this debate.
JOHNSON: Well, he also had a great line right after the first couple of minutes when Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were really kind of going at it. And he said, wait a second, you know, nobody at home actually cares about the politics, they want to know how they're going to put food on their table, how they're going to keep their kids safe when their walking to school, so we need to focus on those issues.
I mean, Joe Biden has consistently done really, really well at these debates. We were just out with him in Iowa, he drew decent crowds and his campaign has a strategy in their mind, for if he can place third or get 20 percent in Iowa, he'll get the momentum to go forward.
I don't know how much reality there is in that, given all the oxygen that Hillary Clinton and the others are taking up in the room, but you know, if Joe Biden can translate these great debate performances into fund-raising numbers and poll numbers, then I think it certainly helps him.
HOLMES: Well, we shall see if we can get that 20 percent number, that you said might be a fantasy number for his campaign, right now, but still, we will see. Sasha Johnson, always good to see you, ma'am, we will see you next time.
JOHNSON: Thank you.
HOLMES: All right, folks, and again, in case you did miss that debate, you need to see it, TiVo it or whatever you got to do. The Democratic presidential candidates talk about war, health care, education and it's the CNN Las Vegas debate, showing it again tonight at 6:00 Eastern and again at 10:00, you don't want to miss it.
DE LA CRUZ: In Italy, new evidence in the death of a British student found dead at a villa near an Italian university. A bloody fingerprint found on her pillow, the discovery could point to a fourth suspect in the case. CNN's Jennifer Eccleston reports now, from Rome. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Police confirm to CNN that further analysis of evidence retrieved from the scene of the murder of Meredith Kercher revealed a bloody fingerprint on a pillow identified as someone other than the three suspects.
There had been widespread speculation from the very beginning of this case, two weeks ago, of a fourth suspect due to alleged DNA found in a toilet at the murder scene. DNA not of the victim, nor the three suspects: Amanda Knox, Raffaele Sollecito, and Patrick Lumumba. That DNA was believed to be feces and not directly related to the crime, but with the discovery of this fingerprint, police are now stepping up their hunt for this individual. They believe he is male and they tell CNN he is "identifiable." That is perhaps that they know who he is and they say his detention can be expected at any time now.
Of course, Knox, the American student and the victim's roommate, her Italian boyfriend Sollecito, and the Perugian bar owner, Lumumba, from the Congo, all remain in jail, as chief suspects, but they have yet to be formally changed.
Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Oh, just four days and counting to Thanksgiving Day.
DE LA CRUZ: Just four days.
HOLMES: And the big dinner with the fam, yes.
DE LA CRUZ: Oh, who's going to cook that bird?
HOLMES: I'm cooking.
DE LA CRUZ: Are you?
HOLMES: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: Good, then I'm coming over to your house.
HOLMES: You're going to be in New York, remember?
DE LA CRUZ: I'll fly down.
HOLMES: You're a New Yorker, now.
DE LA CRUZ: I can't cook.
HOLMES: Yeah.
DE LA CRUZ: Well, that is the mission statement for people are traveling today, not that T.J.'s going to cook the bird, but you know, they want their travel to a little bit easier. So, Secretary Mary Peters with the Department of Transportation is going to join us to talk about what you can expect.
Good morning, Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: Good morning, Veronica. Well, you can expect more fog in San Francisco, same thing as yesterday and the day before. But, will this slow you down at the airport? I'll have a check of the travel weather and we'll look ahead to Wednesday, the busiest travel day of the year, that's all straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCHNEIDER: I'm CNN meteorologist, Bonnie Schneider. We are keeping track of your holiday travel here on CNN. We have information here during the weather cast, of course, but look to the left and right of your screen. You'll find more information, as well as just below. Five-day forecast, current weather conditions and, of course, airport delays. And as we get closer and closer to Thanksgiving, we're likely to see a lot more of those.
We do have one airport delay to tell you about and it is in San Francisco due to fog. Ground delays 45 minutes, right now. So, if you're flying to San Francisco, there's a little bit of a slow down, due to that fog out there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Stay tuned, we're going to have a lot more coming up for holiday travel. I'm meteorologist, Bonnie Schneider.
HOLMES: All right, it's once again that time. Time for us to head up to New York to check in with Kiran Chetry so see what's coming up next week on AMERICAN MORNING.
Hello Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, AMERICAN MORNING: Hi T.J., well I don't know if you're traveling to have your turkey dinner, but if you are, you may have heard the warnings. Planes are at least 90 percent full and they also say they mean it this time, to arrive at least two hours before your flight. One airport, in particular, though, has the dubious distinction for the longest security lines. We're going to show you where and why as we track Ed Lavandera, he's making his way coast-to- coast for the great Thanksgiving escape from L.A. to New York, T.J. should be a blast for Ed. Right?
HOLMES: Yeah. We'll see. He always gets some of those tough assignments. We'll see how he handles this one.
Well, a lot of people were thinking about Thanksgiving, but a lot of people looking ahead to the Christmas holiday and shopping and you all are going to be focusing on something shoppers really would like you to focus on, some information they need to know. What's safe to buy, especially when we're talking about toys?
CHETRY: Right, I mean, is made in America the way to go after so many toys coming from China have been found to have lead paint or dangerous magnets. We're going to see how American toy companies are stepping up and whether you can really take comfort in the made in the USA label?
Also, T.J., back to the turkey -- are you making dinner? Well, I highly doubt it. I think you're just going to be eating it on Thanksgiving.
HOLMES: No, I am actually cooking. I don't get to go home, so the only way I'm going to eat is if I cook it myself. So yes, I'm cooking.
CHETRY: All right, well have you every thought about deep frying your bird? Because some say it is the best way to go. Inside it's nice and moist, outside it's nice and crispy. Deep frying, though, can get you into some hot water. Our Greg Hunter is going to be looking out for you. Take a look at what he found out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREG HUNTER, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: One thing you need to be careful of when using a turkey fryer, is something called the oil flash point. That's where if you leave this unattended too long and the oil gets too hot, it can ignite without even touching a flame. Watch.
(voice-over): As you can see, even putting the lid on doesn't stop the fire. And within seconds, flames are leaping four feet over the fryer. Within 2.5 minutes, the demonstration wall catches fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: I don't think that's what you want for Thanksgiving, T.J., so I'm going to say let's please, for everyone's sake, just roast it in the oven if you're going to do it. But happy Thanksgiving, anyway.
HOLMES: That usually how my kitchen ends up looking after I've cooked, anyway. Kiran, happy Thanksgiving to you. Thank you so much.
And of course, folks, you can catch Kiran Chetry, John Roberts for AMERICAN MORNING at 6:00 a.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tamar Geller loves dogs.
The former Israeli intelligence officer and best selling author, opened the Love Dog Daycare in L.A. 12 years ago to teach dogs manners in a playful, nonaggressive way.
TAMAR GELLER, DOG COACH: The Love Dog and my method is completely different because we're increasing the pleasure. We're giving the owner the leverage by having this love, (INAUDIBLE) the tension so the dog associates them with you as so much fun.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her technique has attracted the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Ben Affleck and Kelly Ripa.
Geller is also gaining attention as an animal advocate for organizations across the country. She says anyone with a passion can find success.
GELLER: Probably 99 percent of my decisions are based on my passion and making dogs' lives and owners' lives better. That's the secret to my success.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN, the news channel watched by more Americans. Now, back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, 45 minutes past the hour on this Sunday morning. Got a quick look at a couple stories making headlines. The death toll rising in Bangladesh, the "Associated Press" now quoting area officials who say more than 2,200 people were killed by the massive cyclone and that number, still expected to rise.
DE LA CRUZ: To Illinois now where about 200 people attended a vigil for the wives of police sergeant, Drew Peterson. You may remember his fourth wife, Stacy, is missing and his third wife drowned in a bathtub three years ago. Peterson is a suspect in Stacy's disappearance, but he has not been charged.
HOLMES: Take a look at this scary moment in L.A. where a big construction crane just tipped over. A mother and her small son were hit when this happened, but they only got a few scratches. The crane was working on a billboard when it flopped over. No serious injuries here to report.
DE LA CRUZ: And T.J., check this out, old Saint Nick in trouble. This Santa got stuck 30 feet in the air while trying to get down from a sign. It was during a tree lighting event. We're told that his beard got stuck in some of the equipment, so he had to yank it off. Santa's helpers in this case, the fire department had to get him down. I don't know, I think Santa probably is best off sticking to the chimney. Come on.
HOLMES: Come on, Santa. How is he going to deliver my stuff to my house if he can't even get himself down from a billboard?
DE LA CRUZ: Santa, work it out. Work it out. There he goes, repelling down the sign. He did make it down. Santa's OK, so that's the good news.
HOLMES: Well, we're going to be talking about holiday travel. A lot of people, millions -- almost 40 million folks going to be hitting the roads, the air, the trains, some kind of way getting somewhere. So, we're going to be talking about that right after the break.
DE LA CRUZ: Transportation Secretary Mary Peters will be joining us after a quick break. Keep it here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, it's now time for us to check in with Howard Kurtz in D.C. to see what's ahead on RELIABLE SOURCES.
Good morning to you, Howard.
HOWARD KURTZ, RELIABLE SOURCES: Good morning, T.J.
Coming up, Judith Regan sues her old boss, Rupert Murdoch, saying she was asked to zip it about her affair with Bernie Kerik to protect Kerik's pal Rudy Giuliani. Where is the evidence?
Hillary Clinton throws some punches in that CNN debate and the press keeps on the praise. We'll have a scorecard.
Plus, Barry Bonds is indicted for lying about steroid use. Will journalists give him an asterisk for life? That, and some Katie Couric outtakes you won't want to miss, ahead RELIABLE SOURCES.
HOLMES: All right, Howie, we will be tuning in at the top of the hour. We'll see you then, sir.
Well folks, a 53-year-old father is pursuing a lifelong dream to become a state trooper, now he'll patrol the streets like his son. They're graduating in the same class. Can you believe that?
DE LA CRUZ: Yeah, father and son. Robert Kittle of affiliate WSPA has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERT KITTLE, WSPA REPORTER (voice-over): James Hicks always wanted to be a state trooper, but when he got out of the military in 1977, he didn't want to move his family again, so he didn't pursue it. Then, a few years ago, he heard the patrol was look for more troopers. So, he decided to give it a shot at age 53.
JAMES HICKS, JR, STATE TROOPER: Yeah, I kind of thought I was beyond the age limit, I thought it was a little -- I was too old. I didn't know how it would be competing with a bunch of 25 year olds.
KITTLE: So, a year before he started the 19-week trooper training, he started running and kept it up during patrol training.
J HICKS: I would get up at 3:30 in the morning and run 10 and 12 miles before the P.T., trying to stay ahead of these guys, you know, trying to get every inch I could on them.
KITTLE: So, when it came time to hear his name called...
ANNOUNCER: James T. Hicks, Jr. KITTLE: It was the culmination of a lot of work. Compared to the rest of the members of the class, he was old enough to be their father. And in face, in one case, he was.
ANNOUNCER: David B. Hicks.
KITTLE: For the first time in state history, a father and son graduated in the same highway patrol training class.
DAVID HICKS, STATE TROOPER: Graduating together, that was about the best.
KITTLE: He says the other cadets got a kick out of it and never made it an issue.
J HICKS: They never even mentioned age. To them, I was just like them, they treated me equal.
KITTLE: And David didn't have to call home to describe what he was going through.
D HICKS: He was right here with me.
KITTLE: The story doesn't end here, though. James has another son who's also planning to become a state trooper.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DE LA CRUZ: What are a great story. Right? Good holiday story?
HOLMES: That's a nice holiday story.
DE LA CRUZ: It's a good holiday story.
HOLMES: We've having some good stories, here.
DE LA CRUZ: Yeah, we're talking about holiday travel, as well, as you know, we're going to take closer look at that coming up after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DE LA CRUZ: Well, it's going to be a pretty busy week on the nation's highways. I believe that Bonnie Schneider has been keeping track of the holiday forecast. Right?
She's been helping us out. Yes. Hello again there, Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: Hi Veronica and T.J. You know, San Francisco, you can't catch a break, it's been foggy every morning and that's where we have airport delays, right now. We're giving you this information not only during the CNN weathercast, but also you can see them on the right side and the bottom, just below me, on your screen. That's where we have five-day forecast, current conditions and the forecast for airport delays. Everything you need to know, right here on CNN. All right, let's take a look, right now, and show you what's happening across the country. We only have one airport delay to tell you about, and this is in San Francisco. Ground delays, that means if you're flying to San Francisco, you'll have to wait a little while, 45 minutes. So, if you're picking someone up at the airport, they may be a little late.
How about driving in and around Pennsylvania? If you're headed up to the Poconos or the Catskills for this holiday, it's going to be pretty out there, with lots of snow. It's a great time to send in your i-Reports of snow, we'd love to see them.
Just go to cnn.com and click on "i-Report" and we'll show those pictures on the air. I'm sure there'll be some very pretty pictures in northeastern New Jersey and parts into parts of Pennsylvania. This is going to be the first snowfall of the season, through the lower Hudson Valley. The snow advisory starts today and goes straight through tomorrow morning. Six inches of snow on the high side to about a dusting of three inches on the low side.
Temperatures certainly are cold enough for snow once you start heading out westward into Pennsylvania and to the north. Just above freezing, and slightly below, depending on where you are. Pittsburgh has been seeing a little bit of light rain, temperatures there in the mid to upper 30s.
But, if you're flying today, and many people are heading out of the airports, we don't expect too much in the way of delays today in New York, and that's good news. Because, yesterday we had some very long delays at LaGuardia. JFK, our computer forecast says about 30 minutes, and Philadelphia not too bad. Pittsburgh, you may have a delay or two, but once you head to Chicago, towards Midway, come clouds might slow you down at the airport, there, about 15 minutes.
Houston, well, we've had a lot of rain working its way from Houston all along I-10 through the parishes of Louisiana straight through New Orleans. So, driving on this road will be tough, because there's going to be a lot of rain today. Flying out of Houston, you'll see delays about 15 minutes.
Now, across the West, what we're expecting is smooth sailing. We have Phoenix looking good, San Francisco, the delays continue, and up towards Seattle, possibly, due to rain and Vancouver. L.A., a lot better today than yesterday. Veronica, T.J.
DE LA CRUZ: All right.
HOLMES: All right, Bonnie.
DE LA CRUZ: So, busy roads, busy skies this holiday week. Busy, busy all the way around. And your help for that turkey, just and FYI.
HOLMES: Yes, I'm telling you, I'm cooking a turkey.
DE LA CRUZ: You know, you put me to shame. I can't cook at all. So, I should be really embarrassed right now and I am. Thanks, T.J.. HOLMES: All right, well Barry Bonds indict, we've heard this, and he's also out of a job. Fans are split on the home run king as the steroids investigation intensifies. Well, what about reporters? Are they biased about this baseball player? It's next on RELIABLE SOURCES.
DE LA CRUZ: Then at 11:00 Eastern, North Korea, China, and the U.S., Japan's diplomatic touch, Wolf Blitzer has an exclusive interview with Japan's prime minister, but first a check of the morning's top developments with T.J. Holmes.
HOLMES: We have a first here in Bangladesh, help pouring in, but the death toll from the massive cyclone has now climbed to more than 2,200 and that number expected to go even higher. Rescue crews still trying to reach trapped survivors.
Also, right now, in southern California, firefighters preparing for the worst. Forecasters predict strong Santa Ana winds this week. Fire crews are moving into position just in case and this week's winds could be even worse than the ones that fanned those massive fires last month.
To San Francisco, now, where some Bay area beaches closed by a large oil spill, now reopened. Eleven days ago a container ship sideswiped the Bay Bridge, spilling 58,000 gallons of oil. The owner of the ship will be billed for that cleanup. We'll have more top stories for you coming up in 30 minutes, but right now, RELIABLE SOURCES.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
