[Ali Velshi, Cnn Correspondent:] Whole grain rotini.
[Kiran Chetry, Cnn Anchor:] It's not bad.
[Velshi:] He kind of he kind of did one of these when I asked him whether he likes it, he's not into the whole grain pasta.
[John Roberts, Cnn Anchor:] Oh, really.
[Velshi:] Yes. He says
[Roberts:] Not exactly traditional.
[Velshi:] Yes. Exactly, the whole-grain he said it's for people
[Chetry:] It works better with a thinner variety.
[Velshi:] Yes. That's exactly what he said. He said fettuccini and the angel hair are big, big sellers. Now, I will come back and talk to you later.
[Chetry:] Bring some carbonara back for us.
[Velshi:] I will.
[Chetry:] Thanks, Ali. Still ahead, another company doing work in Mitt Romney's mansion now under scrutiny. Painters accused of hiring illegal immigrants and other questionable labor practices. We'll have more on that. Coming up, you're watching the most news in the morning. Also, a startling disclosure from the CIA leads to outrage from some human rights groups. What happened to two tapes that showed the agency using extreme measures during interrogations. Well, the tapes the CIA said never existed. There's a live report on that ahead as well. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
[Roberts:] The terrifying scene.
[Dispatcher:] Hello, 911.
[Roberts:] Dramatic 911 tapes, as shoppers run from a teen gunman.
[Unidentified Male:] I'm at Von Maur and I think there are shots being fired all over the place.
[Roberts:] This morning, what we're learning about the shooter's troubled past. Extreme weather, on alert for floods and mudslides.
[Unidentified Female:] Just rivers of flood and rocks coming down from the other properties.
[Roberts:] And winter wallop. Plus ordinary people making an extraordinary difference.
[Unidentified Male:] I thought to myself, fight or flight, and I guess I was going to flight.
[Roberts:] We're honoring our CNN heroes and taking you behind the scenes on this AMERICAN MORNING. Extraordinary evening last night at the Museum of Natural History here in New York. You were there.
[Chetry:] Yes, honoring some amazing people, and we're going to be showcasing them throughout the morning as well. So a great event. We have some behind-the-scenes pictures as well.
[Roberts:] Looking forward to seeing that. The 7th of December, thanks for joining us. I'm John Roberts.
[Chetry:] I'm Kiran Chetry, and thanks for being with us today. We start with the horrifying sounds that are now out there, from inside of the Omaha shopping small, because those 911 tapes have been released this morning, of people screaming, the madman shooting, women, children and men running for cover. It was just released, these tapes. Let's take a listen to some of it.
[Dispatcher:] 9-1-1, what's your emergency? Hello, 9-1-1. [Gunshots]. 9-1-1, what's your emergency?
[Caller:] There is someone with a gun shooting people at Von Maur at Westroads.
[Dispatcher:] OK. We are on our way out there. Have you seen anybody that was shot?
[Caller:] No.
[Dispatcher:] OK. We are on our way out there. Did anybody see the person shooting?
[Call:] There's a bunch of people shot.
[Chetry:] There's another call that came in from a woman who was barricaded in her office. She was watching a security camera and saw the shooter end his life.
[Caller:] Oh, my gosh. It looks like, it looks like the gun is laying over by customer service. There's an officer there now. I wonder if he
[Dispatcher:] Customer service on the third level?
[Caller:] Correct, it looks like he might have killed himself.
[Dispatcher:] OK. Do you see him laying by a gun?
[Caller:] I see him laying by a gun.
[Chetry:] There are also some brand new disturbing details this morning about the killer's troubled past. The more we learn about 19- year-old Robert Hawkins, the more red flags pop up. One friend says that the 19-year-old gunman was suicidal, and the state says he was in and out of treatment before he walked into that mall, murdered eight people, and then took his own life. Ed Lavandera is live for us in Omaha with more new details coming out today Ed.
[Ed Lavandera, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, Kiran. It was random. It's been inexplicable. And to the people inside the mall the other day, it must have seemed like an ordeal that lasted forever, but in fact, it lasted just a few minutes.
[Dispatcher:] Hello?
[Lavandera:] Omaha police say Robert Hawkins may have fired off as many as 60 rounds on the third floor of the Von Maur department store.
[Unidentified Male:] And I can't be because I'm still here in the shop. Hello?
[Lavandera:] Shoppers trapped inside the store called 911, as they hid to survive.
[Unidentified Male:] OK, we're up in the women's bathroom. There's a bunch of us on the window. Yes. There's a lot of people up there hiding so you all just stay safe. Let the police do what they got to do.
[Unidentified Female:] I'm at Von Maur and I think there's shots being fired all over the place.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes, we're on our way out there. Anybody been hit?
[Unidentified Female:] I haven't seen anything. I'm hiding in a clothes rack.
[Unidentified Male:] OK, we're on our way out there, ma'am.
[Lavandera:] Investigators have seen the security camera video of the attack. They say it only lasted a few minutes, not enough time for officers to save any victims. Shooter Robert Hawkins was dead by the time police arrived.
[Unidentified Male Officer:] It appeared that the shooting victims were randomly selected. It didn't appear as if anyone was specifically targeted.
[Lavandera:] Nebraska health officials say Hawkins spent four years in state care and was treated for drug abuse and in mental health hospitals. He was released in the summer of 2006.
[Unidentified Male:] This tragedy was not a failure. This is not a failure of the system, to provide appropriate quality services for youth who needed it.
[Lavandera:] After seeing the attack on the security video cameras inside the mall, authorities say it does not appear that Robert Hawkins knew any of his victims, that it was a random attack. And they also say they continue to look into the many text messages and phone calls that he made in the hours leading up to the attack, to try to get a better understanding of what he was thinking in the hours leading up to what happened here in Omaha Kiran.
[Chetry:] Ed Lavandera for us in Omaha this morning, thank you.
[Roberts:] Five minutes after the hour. Now that the dramatic disclosure from the CIA. This morning, the spy agency is admitting it destroyed tapes that showed extreme measures being used in the interrogation of two Al Qaeda operatives. Our Barbara Starr live right now at the Pentagon with the latest details. Good morning, Barbara.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning to you, John. Indeed, the CIA admitting that two years ago, it did destroy these videotapes of the interrogation of at least two suspects, Al Qaeda suspects, and it was holding this disclosure yesterday coming from CIA director Michael Hayden. In a letter to the employees of the agency, General Hayden saying the tapes posed a security risk, and going on to say, "Were they ever to leak, they would permit identification of your CIA colleagues who had served in that program, exposing them and their families to retaliation from Al Qaeda." Now, the CIA says they destroyed the tapes after determining they were of no intelligence value, but that is not stopping the controversy. These tapes, by all accounts, were of the so-called harsh interrogation techniques that the CIA used against some of these suspects, said to include, indeed, waterboarding, that technique that simulates the sensation of drowning. According to sources from the CIA, they say it's, pardon me, government sources, they say, one of the tapes is said to have shown the interrogation of Abu Sepeda, a key Al Qaeda operative. He, after that interrogation, provided the information that led to the capture of other Al Qaeda operatives, including Ramzi bin Al-Shibh and, of course, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Why so much controversy about this, John? Well, of course, it is because they included those harsh interrogation techniques on videotape. Why did they tape them? They said they taped them because they wanted to make sure they were following the regulations. Why are they now disclosing it? According to the "New York Times" this morning, the "New York Times" told the CIA they were about to publish a story about the destruction of the tapes John.
[Roberts:] And, of course, Barbara, all of this going on at the same time that the 911 commission was looking into this. There are numerous congressional investigations, obviously, we're going to be hearing a lot more about this. Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon this morning. Barbara, thanks. Now, let's go over to Kiran.
[Chetry:] We're getting updates on that massive oil spill in South Korea. As you can see from the picture, it just spread. So far, some 6,000 tons of crude oil spilled into the sea, after a crane ship struck a tanker and in that one shot you just saw, oil was literally spewing out from the ship. Last hour, Emily Chang told us cruise were able to plug the hole that we saw in the tanker. But the problem now is the slick that continues to spread, now covering more than 11 miles of ocean. One official says it will take several days to even get a fence around all of it. We also have an update on last month's oil spill in San Francisco Bay. The pilot of that ship may lose his license. A review board says John Kodo was going too fast when he hit a Bay Bridge support tower, spilling 58,000 of heavy bunker fuel. They also say he ignored warnings from two radars and failed to ask the Coast Guard for help. Federal prosecutors also threatening to confiscate and sell the huge vessel to pay for some cleanup costs. It was the city's worst oil spill in nearly two decades. Well, the all-time home run king is due in court in just a few hours. Barry Bonds expected to enter a not guilty plea to perjury charges at the federal courthouse in San Francisco. Bonds is accused of lying to a federal grand jury in the Balco investigation about whether or not he ever used performance-enhancing drugs John.
[Roberts:] There are questions this morning about a painting company recently hired to work on Mitt Romney's Massachusetts mansion. According to "The Boston Globe," authorities are investigating whether the company dodged state labor laws and exploited workers, including illegal immigrants. The head of the painting company claims they did not employee illegals at Romney's house or anywhere else for that matter. Romney was forced to fire a landscaping company this week over charges that they hired illegal immigrants. You recall during last week's CNN YouTube debate, Rudy Giuliani accused Romney of having a "sanctuary mansion." How will Republican Mitt Romney's speech on religion play in the early primaries states? Romney's goal was two-fold in giving it. First, it convinced Christian conservatives that he is indeed a man of faith and that they have nothing to fear from the Mormon religion. He also sought to reassure voters that the Mormon church would not shape his decision-making process should he become president.
[Mitt Romney , Presidential Candidate:] A person should not be elected because of his faith, nor should he be rejected because of his faith. Let me assure you that no authorities of my church or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions.
[Roberts:] The polls have shown that Romney's Mormon faith is a concern for many voters. He's also losing ground in Iowa to Mike Huckabee. He is an ordained Baptist minister Kiran.
[Chetry:] Well, a strange turn of event and an even more story out of Great Britain. A man who was feared lost at sea shows up at a police station five years later. 57-year-old John Darwin said he can't remember a thing that happened to him. Well now, he's under arrest for suspicion of fraud. A British newspaper is reporting that his wife admitted to knowing he was alive after a picture surfaced of the two of them together just a year ago. Well, she is now on her way back to Britain from Panama and could be arrested for claiming thousands in life insurance and pensions over the past five years.
[Roberts:] Eleven minutes after the hour now. Our Rob Marciano is tracking extreme weather in several parts of the country this morning, possible flooding and mudslides out west, and heavy snow in the Midwest. And particularly, the mountains of southwestern Colorado, in Telluride, where they're expecting a powder day at the same time that the World Cup of skiing is going on. Rob, I'm detecting here a little motivated self-interest.
[Rob Marciano, Meteorologist:] I'm detecting a little bit of sarcasm there, my friend. Hey, I pitched it. They said yes. That's the way it works here.
[Roberts:] There you go.
[Marciano:] You know, I didn't twist anybody's arm here. We do have a winter storm warnings that are posted. This could be the biggest storm they've seen so far this year, now playing a little bit of catch-up ball after seeing a fairly slow start of the year. Winter storm warnings posted one to two feet expected. The winds are swirling. Coming up and over the mountain passes just a few hours ago was pretty hairy, so travel definitely dangerous, and some of those passes could very well be closed before the day or weekend is done. Winter storm warnings up until 6:00 p.m. tomorrow night. That includes Waset of Utah, the sierras. So all of the mountain ranges, pretty much south of the OregonCalifornia border are getting into the act. Heavier rain moving across central parts of California, down to southern SO-CAL, that's where the great concern is for flash flooding, debris flows. Mudslides, a potential there, because of all the burned out areas in parts of San Diego and Malibu, even Orange County, so they're worried about that. Here is the snow total forecast for the inner mountain west. Right of the purple, is where you see the heaviest amounts of snow and there's a bull's eye right over southwest, the southwestern corner of Colorado, where we are. You could see an excess of two feet before the weekend is done. And there's your flash flood watch out for the next few hours, a half an inch of rain per hour in southern California. That's a lot. You do that over a burned out area, and you've got some you've got some troubles that's for sure. Not to mention a little burst of snow that moved through the Midwest. It becomes a very active weather week for sure, John and Kiran, and it looks like this weekend, this storm is going to get into the plains and it'll cause more havoc as far as snow and ice across the central plains and upper Midwest again this weekend. So, don't rest too much. Another weekend weather event is going to be happening. Back to you guys in New York.
[Roberts:] And Rob, Rob, if there's a danger that all the snow is going to close the mountain passes, I hope you're planning to as soon as the show is over this morning, get back out the mountains so you can be back in Atlanta on Monday morning, right?
[Marciano:] Absolutely. I'm scheduled to be in New York Sunday night, so I would hate to be stranded here amongst two or three feet of snow so we'll be sure to hustle up.
[Roberts:] Yes. That's just would not be good. Rob, thanks. Talk to you in a little bit Kiran.
[Chetry:] File an I-Report, Rob. That's all I could say. Well, it's that time of year when you hear the coughing and the sneezing in between the mouse clicks. But going to work sick could actually do a lot more harm than good, not only to you but to your co- workers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is saying that as many as a fifth of Americans gets the flu every year, and a survey by an office staffing firm says 80 percent of people go to work sick and say many are discouraged from taking sick days, and that translates into millions of colds and flu-ridden Americans spreading germs around the office. They say that for every one cold, it equals ten if you go to the office.
[Roberts:] It's the old you tell two friends and they tell two friends.
[Chetry:] That's right. I'm feeling a little stuffy myself.
[Roberts:] You are?
[Chetry:] You could you catch that.
[Roberts:] You think?
[Chetry:] I can't catch your broken neck, however, so that's the good news.
[Roberts:] I could maybe arrange that.
[Chetry:] You could help me along that path though, huh? Well, how about this one, speaking of a tough job. This is a job where you're required to open doors more than open your mouth. But one Manhattan doorman's breath was apparently so bad that he is now fighting for his job. We'll explain that story a little more detail coming up. Also, trying to keep part of the American dream alive, President Bush's subprime plan. Will it help the homeowners who need it most? We're going to talk to one man that we introduced to you earlier this week, who was hoping to work a little less overtime. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.