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American Morning
Look at Some of the Top Stories in the News
Aired January 28, 2002 - 08:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Time now to take a couple of minutes to look at some of the other stories making news this hour in a segment that we call the Morning Buzz. It's time to buzz yet again.
Actually there's a very serious story in the - on the Web site, cnn.com about a bunch of Afghan kids who are apparently seeking political asylum in Australia, and because the process there is just taking a very long time, the current top guy down there was elected partly because he promised to crack down on immigration in Australia. These kids are on a hunger strike and apparently have entered some sort of suicide pact. It's a very disturbing kind of a story.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And is it true they've sewn their own mouths shut?
CAFFERTY: That's the information ...
ZAHN: They don't want to eat.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: They've sewn their lips together. They've drank antiseptic. Some of them tried to hang themselves.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes there's about 200 asylum seekers there. I think the suicide pact is only among 15 - allegedly among 15 kids. This has obviously become a huge political issue in Australia. And a lot of these refugees have been - I mean they're using the media very effectively down there. I've actually been watching some of the Australian broadcasts and stuff, and BBC (ph) on it.
And a lot of the adults, you know, have been swallowing like shampoo, antiseptic, been taken to the hospital. Kids are actually - most of them are actually being sent to school every day. They're actually attending school, so they're sort of out of the fray, but apparently now they're sort of being used by some of the adults ...
ZAHN: Is there a suggestion that the adults have masterminded ...
COOPER: Absolutely. (CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Absolutely.
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: Suicide pact.
COOPER: Yes, I mean the kids aren't sewing their mouths shut themselves. I mean obviously there are some adults, you know.
CAFFERTY: My favorite story of the entire weekend is the ongoing to-do at the Justice Department over the statue that is visible behind the attorney general when he holds his briefings with the news media, and apparently this came up yesterday on ABC.
COOPER: The spirit of justice ...
ZAHN: Do we get to see this statue?
CAFFERTY: Yes, do we have a picture of the statue?
ZAHN: I think we do.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: Yes, this is a very well known, and it's a statue ...
ZAHN: There she is.
CAFFERTY: ... there she is.
ZAHN: Minnie Lou (ph), they call her.
CAFFERTY: Yes, and she is unclothed from the waist up.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: And that, you know, and that's just the way it's been for a long time. But apparently now they've decided they're going to spend $8,000 and get some drapes to hang on this woman.
ZAHN: Well the reason, according to ABC ...
COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
ZAHN: ... they were talking about draping her.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
COOPER: Right.
ZAHN: But as it turns out, they're talking about draping ...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: It is a little distracting, I've got to say. I mean ...
ZAHN: You know what? I have to tell you, I've never noticed her before.
CAFFERTY: You know I haven't either. I'm 59. I've been in the news business 40 years, never noticed this statue until somebody brings it up, now, of course, that's all you look at ...
COOPER: Someone else made ...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Well someone made the comment, who would you rather look at, you know, the attorney general or the statue?
ZAHN: I'd just like to know who was upset about this. We're going to try to bring them on the show, probably unnamed sources. People behind the scenes are very outraged about Minnie Lou (ph) the statue.
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