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Women With Higher Salaries Have Greater Chance Of Marriage; D.C. Council Proposes Ban On Selling Violence Videogames To Minors; World Press Photo Contest Announces Winner

Aired February 13, 2005 - 16:00   ET

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

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


CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: These basketball fans are not in Indiana or North Carolina, but their rivalries may be even more intense.
Are your kids' video games too violent? D.C. parents speak out.

And what happens to love when women start making more money? Hello, and welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. I am Christine Romans. All of that and more after this check of the headlines.

Political lines are drawn in Iraq. The final results from last month's historic election are back. And the long oppressed Shiite Muslims came out the big winners. Ahead, we'll have much more on the results and what happens next.

Another sign of progress in the Middle East, Israel's cabinet signs off on a deal to free 500 Palestinian prisoners in the coming days. The agreement was reached at last week's Mideast summit in Egypt.

A frail Pope John Paul II greets a sea of worshipers at St. Peter's Square. The pope's appearance, his first since leaving the hospital Thursday, drew cheers from the faithful. His Sunday message included an appeal to insurgents who've taken hostages in Iraq.

A marathon of negotiations, that's how one Iraqi official describes the situation in his country now that results from last month's election are in. Iraq's long oppressed Shiite Muslims won most of the votes, but somewhat unexectedly didn't get an outright majority.

The United Iraqi Alliance got more than 47 of the 8.5 million votes. 47 percent of the 8.5 million votes than cast. The Kurdish Coalition came in second with more than 25 percent. And the Iraqi National Accord, the ticket led by interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, was third with about 13 percent.

Now that means the Shiites will probably have to form a coalition with those other top vote-getters. The parties are now furiously trying to strike deals and form alliances. One group left out in the cold, Iraq's once powerful Sunnis. Most boycotted the election. Iraqi official say they're now focusing on what's ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARHAM SALIH, IRAQI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: We are embarking on an important mission to start the process of drafting any constitution that will be based on Democratic values and separation of powers. And it will be a challenging task before us.

I'm hopeful that we will do it. There were a lot of doubts whether the Iraqis can meet many of the benchmarks that were set for us including elections. We have met all of those challenges. And I'm hope half we will meet the challenges ahead of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani wasn't a candidate in the Iraqi elections, but his support played a huge role in the victory of the United Iraqi Alliance. CNN's Nic Robertson examines the power and influence of Iraq's top Shiite cleric.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the most powerful man in Iraq, Shia Islam's highest religious authority Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. Rarely seen in public, even less often photographed, but more than anyone else, shaping the country's future.

SABAH KADHIM, SR. ADVISER, INTERIOR MINISTRY: To his respect, this was a wise old man who is offering his services in the interest of Iraqis. And I think most Iraqis respect that, including the politicians.

ROBERTSON: Respect derived from the fact that he endured Saddam Hussein's regime unlike many of the politicians who lived in exile.

From his humble home in the holy city of Najaf, Sistani cojoled those politicians into the country's now dominant political force poised to take top jobs in the new government.

JUAN COLE, SHIA ISLAM ANALYST: He's going to, I think, be involved in helping to chose the prime minister. He very much will be involved in the drafting of the constitution, but from the outside and as an adviser with great moral authority.

ROBERTSON: His authority has been evidenced since U.S. troops first arrived when he told Iraqis to be tolerant with coalition forces in Najaf. Almost a year later, he brought massive crowds onto the streets to demand speedy, one man/one vote elections a direct and winning challenge to Iraq's U.S. administrator Paul Bremer's plans for a slower transfer to democracy.

PAUL BREMER, FRM. U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: I have the greatest respect for Ayatollah Sistani. There's a great deal that we agree with about him. First all, that Iraq should move now to a Democratic form of government. Secondly, that the process by which that happens should be transparent and representative.

ROBERTSON: But it was his artful ending of the Shia revolt inspired by firebrand cleric Muqtada al Sadr that won him lasting international respect. He called on Najaf's residents to March on the city's holy shrine where Sadr was holed up. Sadr's following has faded since.

COLE: That succeeded brilliantly. And I think it was one more demonstration of his authority, of his tactical brilliance and politics.

ROBERTSON: But it is Sistani's political aims that are raising questions now. Does he want to lead the United Iraqi Alliance towards an Iranian-style theocracy?

ADEL ABDUL MEHDI, UNITED IRAQI ALLIANCE: Oh, I think it's more concern coming from the media rather than from Iraqis.

ROBERTSON: On his well-run Web site, Sistani directs answers to such questions. He has never wanted to enter politics directly and shuns the role of Iranian mullah. But like the religious scholars around him, he wants Islamic laws that will, for example, curtailed the rights of women.

COLE: The religious parties have done so well that they will push for as much religious law, Islamic law in Iraq as possible. They would like to replace many of the British derived civil codes with Islamic law, including personal stats but possibly beyond that to criminal and commercial law. And I believe that Sistani will encourage them in that.

ROBERTSON: The Kurds of north of Iraq will likely not take well to any strong drift away from secular life. But Sistani's strengths so far has been to bridge division across Iraq's faultlines.

When Sunni Arab insurgents killed hundreds of Shia at a religious festival last year, Sistani cautioned against retaliation. His message has remained the same despite the ongoing insurgent's efforts to ignite sectarian war.

(on camera): But country is changing. Many Sunnis are become more religious. And conservative Islam is attracting, albeit in small number, many more young small Kurds than it used to. Sistani's vision of a more religious society seems closer now than it ever was under Saddam Hussein.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: The Shiites, the Sunnis and the Kurds: talk about Iraq and you have to talk about the decade's old tensions between these groups. Will things get better or worse now after the election? Akbar Ahmed joins us from Washington. He's the chair of Islamic Studies at American University. He's also the co-editor of a new book "After Terror: Promoting Dialogue Among Civilizations."

Thank you for joining us. First off, you say any discussion about what happens next, and any discussion about U.S. foreign policy must come in the context of Iran. Tell us why. AKBAR AHMED, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: The new government is going to stand or fall by the law and order, the control of the chaotic Sunni Triangle, the situation as it exists on the ground, satisfying people in terms of electricity, health problem, education. The practical day to day problems.

Now, you cannot see any of these without the context of the growing tension with Iran. Now there have an immediate contradiction and a conflict. You have the loyalty of the Shia to Iraq itself, after all these are nationalists. Iraqis are very nationalist. And you have an ideological alliance or affiliation with the Iranian ideals in cultural religious, ideological terms.

So there will be an inherent tension developing fairly soon, because we are seeing the escalatino of the crisis around Iran in terms of the geopolitics of the region. And that is where the good sense, the common sense of Ayatollah Sistani will be tested.

ROMANS: What do you think is the most important thing for Ayatollah Ali Sistani, also for the Shia majority to do now in terms of bringing everyone to the table to have, at least what goes for Iraq, goes smoothly from here on out? It's a mosaic of decades-long grudges and different kinds of groups. How do you get everybody together?

AHMED: Yes, this is going to be the great challenge. You used the right word, it is mosaic and it is decades old. He has, or the coalition government that forms, they have to very quickly make some strong symbolic gestures.

For example, if the president is Shia, then the two vice presidents could rotate the vice presidency, one a Kurd, one a Sunni. The appointments of governors, of ambassadors, of key people in the army for example. And then bove all, as I said, the law and order. That has to be very quickly brought under control.

And that's not going to be very easy, because there is great resentment among the Sunni. There is a feeling that they're being left out. And here, I think, the tact, the diplomacy, and the skills of Ayatollah Ali Sistani will be of immense value.

He has grown in stature. And what he has shown is he is politically savvy. I think this will be a time of great test for him, because now to play not just a Shia leader's role but a national leader's role.

ROMANS: And as the horse trading and the negotiations go on as this government is built and as we move toward a constitution later in the year do you think political progress will help neutralize and marginalize the insurgency?

AHMED: Yes, that is a given. The most stable the central government, the more margainalized those who want to destabilize it. There is no given right now. This is going to be a very difficult transition phase. It's always difficult in a new government. Elections don't solve any problems. In fact, they create many problems.

But it is a historic moment, a historic opportunity for Iraqis to really enter a new era in their history. And I think it's a great moment for Iraqis.

ROMANS: Professor, we you so much for sharing your point of view with us today. Professor Akbar Ahmed of the American University. Thank you very much.

AHMED: Thank you.

ROMANS: Here in the U.S., lawmakers are expressing satisfaction after learning the results of the Iraqi election. The Bush administration is also offering praise.

CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Iraqi announced their election result, the president was at church. Later a White House spokesman was careful not react specifically to the election outcome giving only broad praise saying in part, "we congratulate candidates who will be members of the transitional national assembly when these result are certified. We congratulate also the Iraqi people for their courage and vision and insuring the success of their elections."

Several U.S. lawmakers appeared relieved that the shi'a majority partyed under 50 percent about of the vote. And will now be forced to reach out to smaller ethnic groups to form a government.

SEN. BILL FRIST, (R) MAJORITY LEADER: The fact that the Shia have about 47, 48 percent leave open the possibility that minority coalitions can come together in this sort of parliamentary, postelection give and take.

SEN. RICK SANTORUM, (R) PENNSYLVANIA: I think it's a good thing that the Shiites can't just sor ot dictate of how things are to go.

BASH: A long standing U.S. fear has been the majority Shia, oppressed under Saddam Hussein, would not deal with Sunni and the results could be internal war.

SEN. PAT ROBERTS, (R-KA) INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I think the chances of civil war have been significantly lessened. And I think they're going to vey real experiment in democracy whether they want or not.

ROMANS: Republicans and Democrats alike call the Iraq elections an opportunity for a cross-faction government, but warn Sunnis, who voted in modest numbers, must be engaged.

SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) DELAWARE: They're going to have to see more Sunnis brought into the constitution rating if there's going to be any legitimacy at the end of the day. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And the White House just released a statement in the president's name about the Iraq election results that said, in part -- he said, quote, "coalition partners can take pride in a role in making a great day possible."

But he also was careful to point out that these election results are provisional and won't are certified for a few days. But again, congratulated the candidates who he said stood firm for an election in the face of terrorists -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Dana Bash at the White House. Thank you. Thank you very much, Dana.

A 40-year-old murder case is back in the news. And the man charged spoke out in a rare interview. We'll have that interview straight ahead.

And are the video games your kids play too violent? Some D.C. parents say, enough is enough.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: In Mississippi, the suspect in a notorious murder case from 4 decades ago is speak out after his recent arrest. Edgar Ray Killen is accused a major role in the deaths of 3 civil rights workers and he's proclaiming his innocence. CNN's Dennis Belgrave reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you involved in any way in the murder of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner?

EDGAR RAY KILLEN, ACCUSED OF MURDER: Absolutely, no.

DENNIS BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a rare television interview, Edgar Ray Killen spoke about the charges he faces stemming from the murders of 3 civil rights workers. On June 21, 1964, Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney were driving on a dark Mississippi highway when Ku Klux Klan members force them to stop, beat them, shot them and buried their bodies in a nearby earthen dam. An informant led the FBI to the bodies 44 days later.

Seven men were convicted in 1967 on federal charges of conspiracy to violate the victim's civil rights.

Killen is the first person to face a murder charge in this case. His first trial in the late 1960s ended in a hung jury. Now, almost 40 years later, Killen will face a new jury.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you say you're going to beat these charges?

KILLEN: Well, I'm as confident as I'm looking at you. I'm not a good legal student, but I'm pretty good in the reading the parts of the political side.

BASH: Killen also denied knowing Sam Bowers, the imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi at the time.

KILLEN: The only time we had a speaking was at the trial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never met him previous to the trial?

KILLEN: Not my knowledge. I know I have never vested, I've been to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at that time.

BASH: Killen says while he feels for the victims' families, the charges against him are politically motivated. Dennis Belgrave, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: In other news across America, Joy in Hutchinson, Kansas over the remarkable recovery of a drunken driver's victim. She was rendered nearly oblivious to the years for 20 years. Now, Sara Scantlin has begun talking again. She greeted relatives, friends and reporters yesterday at the nursing home where she lives.

Flood waters are receding in parts of Arizona after a storm that drove dozens to their homes. The deluged closed homes, damaged homes and swept vehicles into swollen river. No death or injuries are reported.

Four people are dead from last night's fiery fuel tanker crash on an interstate ramp in Davie, Florida. The truck which had flipped onto the car, burned so hot it had melted. The crash victims include the mother of Washington Capitals hockey star Jeff Halpern.

If you haven't played them, you've heard of them, violent video games that reward players for killing people or picking up prostitutes. Local lawmakers in the nation's capital are pushlg a proposal to ban the sale of these games to minors. But as CNN's Lindsey Arent explains, some parent are objecting to the move.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LINDSEY ARENT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Michelle Wilson's sons put the popular skateboarding videogame Tony Hawk on their Christmas list, she didn't think twice until she says she saw the profanity, hostage taking and physical beatings in the video.

MICHELLE WILSON, PARENT: My God, and they played it and they said this is a cool game. And I went down there and I looked at it and I thought, oh, OK. That's not cool. That's not good. I bought that?

ARENT: The Wilson's say they work hard to shield their kids from inappropriate content. But it's tough.

ANDREW WILSON, PARENT: We see a consistency in the level of violence, cursing, sexual content from the television to the Internet and to the video.

ARENT: Dr. Michael Brodie is the head of the Television and Media Committee of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry. After studying the effect of TV violence on children, he sees a direct link between violent video games and aggressive juvenile behavior.

DR. MICHAEL BRODY, CHILD PSYCHIATRIST: The person watching the game becomes embedded in the context of the game. If you watch these first-person shooter games, for example, you are the one who's doing the shooting.

ARENT: Now D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and the city council want to fight back.

(on camera): Under a proposed measure, a store that sales games rated Mature to kids 17 and younger, could lose its business license or face a $10,000 fine.

(voice-over): The video game industry says its five-tier rating system makes game content clear to parents.

DOUG LOWENSTEIN, ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE ASSN: It's not up to any member of the council of the District of Columbia or anywhere else to tell me or any other parent, I don't want you to have this. It's up to the parent to make those choices.

ARENT: The ACLU says such restrictions violate free speech saying, "videogames, just like books, movies, art and TV programs' violent content all enjoy the protection of the first amendment."

For Jenny Wild, censoring her son's video games isn't the answer.

JENNY WILD, PARENT: You cannot legislate and regulate everything. at some point parents have to step in and do what they need to do. Legislators can't control what is happening inside of my home either.

ARENT: But the D.C. measure may face an uphill battle. Efforts in 3 other states have been overturned in federal appeals courts.

Lindsey Arent for CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Judges viewed nearly 70,000 images in this year's world press photo contest. And then, they had to narrow it down to just one. Coming up, picking the best of the best. We'll show you this year's winner.

And then, 15 years after a brutal civil war, Muslims and Christians in Lebanon face a new conflict. This one, on the court. The basketball wars coming up a little later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: After pouring through nearly 70,000 photographs, officials at World Press Photo Competition have selected a winner.

The annual contest looks at the work of thousands of professional photographers who've raced around the globe hoping to record history with the click of their camera. Here is a sampling of the best.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHIEL MUNNEKE, WORLD PRESS PHOTO: World Press Photo is a platform for photojournalism. It has a couple of core activities. The main activity is the annual contest.

This year, wee received almost 70,000 images from over 4,000 photographers from 123 different countries. Every year, we invite an independent jury to come to Amsterdam and go through all of these applications. We will have photographers, we have directors of photography, we have picture editors and they are coming from all corners of the globe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, this is in and this is out.

MUNNEKE: Almost every jury in the end is looking for kind a metaphorical photograph. So what you see in past winners is in many cases, a photograph that represents not the direct horror, but most of the time kind of symbolize the horror.

If you think of Eddie Adam's picture from Vietnam, or in the napalm girl it's a frozen moment in everyone's memory.

The jury has two sets of criteria. And I think the first one deals with the journalistic value of the image. And the second one deals with the technical quality of the photograph, is the composition intresting? Are the colors being used adequately?

DIEGO GOLDBERG, JURY CHAIRMAN AND PHOTOGRAPHER: We've just finished choosing the winners of the 10 categories, or stories. There is a lot of diversity, a lot of styles, a lot of main subjects of importance during the last year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some of the ones that we have awarded are the strongest and the ones that have demand a slow read. There were some amazing images from the aftermath of the tsunami, some gut- wrenching photos from the Beslan attack on the school and some very strong difficult imagery from the war in Iraq.

So the pictures from some of the biggest news events of the year are the ones that really are the strongest here. Each year it really comes down to the individual photographer.

It's a woman basically stretched out on the ground crying. And you just see part of the body of the person she has clearly lost in the wave. It's a heart-breaking image, because it's a very kind of simple image actually. There's nothing chaotic about it, so it is very pure. And your heart connects instantly with and what that grief must be like.

(END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Here's what's happening now in the news. The results from Iraq's historic election are in. The United Iraqi Alliance, a ticket backed by the country's chief Shiite cleric won almost half of the votes cast, falling short of an outright majority in the 275-seat national assembly. Kurdish parties came in second with about a quarter of the vote. And a secular Shiite group finished a distant third.

Pope John Paul II is resuming some of his duties just a few days after getting out of the hospital. Today he delivered the beginning out of his traditional weekly message above St. Peter's Square. A cardinal finished the speech. The pope was hospitalized nearly 2 weeks ago with breathing problems.

And Israel's cabinet has approved a list of 500 Palestinian prisoners to be released from Israeli jails. It's part of a cease- fire agreement reached last week with the Palestinian authority. Israeli officials say none of the prisoners has been violent, and all have served at least two-thirds of their sentence.

Israel's neighbor Lebanon is no stranger to conflict. For years that country was embroiled in a bitter civil war. Today, Lebanese are tackling their problems on the court, hoping to avoid a repeat of the past. CNN senior international correspondent Brent Sadler reports from Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A running start to a sensitive mission. Armed with assault rifles, equipped for trouble. Lebanese army soldiers in a Beirut battle zone. But not the kind of trouble you might expect in a once notoriously violent city, where Christian and Muslim militias battle for supremacy in a brutal civil war that ended nearly 15 years ago. Today's conflict is played out on a basketball court. Cheerleading here is as much about needling old enemies than the game itself.

DAVID DER YEGHIYAN, CAPTAIN: The Civil War was a major shock for everybody.

SADLER: David Der-Yeghiyan nurses a broken arm after a friendly game. He leads an Armenian side at the start of a delayed season. Beset by political bickering, and he says, a legacy of hate and despair.

YEGHIYAN: It's not the war that really hurts. It did hurt, but it's what happened after the war that really hurt.

SADLER: Turning basketball, he explains into, a punch bag.

YEGHIYAN: Well, because some of the teams represent some of the parties that have been involved in war. That has caused problems in court. That got people more fanatic and more like prejudice toward the team that are supported. That's why some games have ended up in fights.

SADLER: Especially when the top Muslim and Christian teams clash in games that decide the national championship.

It is not only a mix of fanatical fans, feuding officials and sectarian rivalry which ignite violence at these bitterly contested matches. There's deep seeded political friction, too. Fans seem to thrive on confrontation. And pay scant regard to the extreme security in a sport that's led in popularity here in just ten years.

What do you think is more fun?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People like to -- the soldiers to make fights. I don't think it's good but it's true.

SADLER: Fanning officials. Boosting the sport if a negative way.

JASSEM KANSO, MANAGER, LEBANESE NATIONAL TEAM: This is the spice, the unfair spice or the illegal spice that also promote basketball big time.

SADLER: So it's been on surges of passion and fury that the national team has won recent glory, taking the prestigious Dubi Cup. Reaching the national championships just three years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're very strong now in basketball and this is the only sport that's putting Lebenan on the international map.

SADLER: But as the country struggles to bounce back from war and division, spectator sport reveals an opened wound. Reina Sarkis a psychoanalyst watches how these fans are fired up for the first match of the new season.

REINA SARKIS, PSYCHOCANALYST: It's a war happening inside. You have this tribal noises that they are making, the whistling and the noise. It's not only the players that are playing. The players are playing the game. The viewers are fighting the war.

SADLER: Basketball took off so fast here, but became so furiously competitive that the nation's number one spectator sport is now undergoing a type of therapy to promote sportsmanship and fair play.

The healing process has started in Indiana. The legendary heartland of college basketball in the United States. Lebanon ailing attitude to the game is now under urgent repair with a pioneering effort to help coaches bridge through a religious divide. By raising standards through a U.S.-sponsored program called Unity through Sports, a group of Lebanese officials learned how to tackle anger management, improve leader ship skills, and use the game to resolve rather than prolong conflict.

DON MITCHELL, INDIANA CTR. FOR CULTURAL EXCH: We're hoping that it will be a source of healing, of reconciliation. We're not Pollyanna about this. We don't think this is a cure-all, you know? Anytime you have a Civil War, there's a long period of healing that takes place. SADLER: Turning Lebanon's negatives to positives in basketball could also score points for American policy here. Promoting real democracy in this country's upcoming parliamentary elections.

JEFFREY FELTMAN, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO LEBANON: Rather than concentrate on the political difference business rather than concentrate on past conflict, rather than concentrate on history, people of Lebanon need to look ahead together at where they want their country to go. In the same way that these basketball players need to look ahead at how their team is going to fair together.

SADLER: And for Lebanese player, David Yeghiyan renewed hope that one day the sport he loves will not be used to settle old scores.

YEGHIYAN: Time will tell what is going to happen, basically. Because we've seen the worse. It cannot get any worse, trust me. But we can only hope for the best.

SADLER: And the best in Lebanese basketball they dream is yet to come.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Want to bring you in on a developing story right now. Some details we're just getting in on a gunman opening fire in a mall in Kingston, New York. The Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston. That's 87 miles north of New York city. Now a switch board operator for the Kingston police department has confirmed there had been a gunman who has opened fire there today but anymore details unknown.

Again, Kingston, New York is 87 miles north of Manhattan. A gunman has opened fire there. We have no more details about anybody who has been hurt or motives or anything other than that. We're going to keep you posted on this developing story throughout the afternoon. Stay tuned here. More CNN SUNDAY right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Valentines Day is tomorrow so it seems fitting to talk about matters of the heart. For many couples, the ultimate symbol of love is walking down the aisle and saying "I do." But marriage may not be for everyone. Even if you are in love. Our Valerie Morris looks at dollars and cents of marriage and its alternative.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIE MORRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When people think about getting married, how many give serious consideration to whether their money should cohabitate?

JENNIFER BABORAN (ph): I think when people think about getting married, they don't necessarily think of marriage as a contract. They focus on their wedding. They focus on the romantic over the intimate aspects of their relationship as they should, but don't necessarily consider that marriage comes with hundreds of state and federal regulations. Many of them financial.

MORRIS: Jennifer Baboran (ph) and Jacob Goldstein are committed partners for life but plan to live happily ever after unmarried to each other.

BABORAN (ph): We didn't want to get married when gay and lesbian could not. We looked at our friends who were not allowed to enter the institution and I thought, I don't want to feel like I'm sitting at a segregated lunch counter and that felt morally wrong to us.

MORRIS: Jennifer and Jacob belong to the Alternatives to Marriage Project a fast-growing organization advocating equality and choice for people in long-term relationships. According to the 2000 census, 11 million people of all ages and backgrounds in America are living together cohabitating in unmarried relationships. Only a fraction of which are gay and lesbian.

BABORAN (ph): A lot of people talk about living together and living together for some people is on the road to marriage eventually but for an increasing number of people living together is a permanent status.

MORRIS: By mutual comfortable agreement many happy and committed couples, like Rhonda Morganstein and Andy Stonick (ph) opt out of exchanging wedding vows. Other couples think if they just live together long enough, they are automatically legally united under common law, not true. Common law marriage exists in very few states. And the importance of these state laws grows when unmarried people buy property decide to have children or commit to any course of action in which their money is going to co-mingle.

For protection, unmarried couple should have -- durable power of attorney for both financial matters between them and health care. Each person should have a will, because it offers more protection for property going from one to the other. And they should set up and sign a cohabitation agreement. It's much look a prenuptial agreement.

MORRIS (on camera): There are some couples that would be better off remaining independently financially from each other. For example, widows who would lose their late-spouse's benefits and people who have been divorced and don't want to lose alimony or go through marriage again.

Valerie Morris, CNN business news, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: More now on this developing story in Kingston, New York. A mall shooting. A shooting in a mall. The Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston, New York, which is about 87 miles north of New York City. We have someone who is inside the mall at a clothing store there. Christie is on the phone. We're going to try to get her back. She's no longer on the phone anymore but she was going to tell us how this, appears to be in a lockdown at this mall. We don't have really anymore details about who is the suspect or if anyone was injured at this point. But again, this is the Kingston, New York, the Hudson Valley Mall. We are going to try to get more details on this and let you know how this developing story is playing out here. So please keep tune into us just for that.

Now switching gears here to more on money and love. More women are closing the to pay equity gap in America, but is it a creating a role reversal of sorts? A study suggests that money is an important factor in choosing a mate, and women who earn more are not only boosting their bottom line financially, that added earning power is a magnet for the opposite sex. Could that make them the target of male gold diggers? Sue Shellenbarger in Portland, Oregon and Kim Gandy in Washington are joining me to discuss these changes. Sue Shellenbarger is a columnist for the "Wall Street Journal." She has written an article about this on going study and Kim Gandy is the president of the National Association for Women.

Sue, let's first talk about the article and what you found out. Basically, the more money a women makes, the more attractive she is to a man is that right?

SUE SHELLENBARGER, "WALL STREET JOURNAL:" That seems to be true. The more money a women makes, every $10,000 increase her marriage ability, the likelihood in any given year that she will marry by under 8 percent in many cases. A very interesting statistic.

ROMANS: Money and love. Sue, what do you think is driving that? Is it that women who are making more money are more motivated and independent and have maybe a better sense of themselves and are that much more desirable? Or is it that men just want women with more money?

SHELLENBARGER: Well there is a small number of men I think, Christine, who would like to be supported. It does look pretty attractive to a man to take time off of work. I think there is a much more important and fundamental reason, though, that, is the cost of living, raising a family, keeping up a household has risen well past the rate of inflation in recent years. Child care, college education, a home. All of these things are so expensive, it's increasingly difficult for a sole bred winner to do it all by himself or herself for that matter.

ROMANS: Kim, let's talk about what this means for women. I guess it shows men are not threatened anymore by those overachieving women, huh?

KIM GANDY, PRESIDENT NOW: I think it shows that men's threat level is declining, which is a good thing. I think there is a little bit of good news that packaged as bad news. Although in a way it is kind of a man bite dog story, in that there are not that many high- income, high-achieving women in terms of salary compared to men. We have an expanding wage gap between men and women. It just went up another point last year from 77 percent women earned compared to men down to 76 percent that full-time women are compared to men. And so a huge wedge gap, there are not that many women who fall into this category.

ROMANS: It's a good problem to have. I think we can all agree to have -- to be a woman who makes a lot of money, I guess it is a good problem to have. To think that men are after you for your money, but you're right Kim that some of the studies that I have done and the reports that I have done on the pay gap even where it does seem to be narrowing in some careers it's actually because men are earning less and so that's why it's narrowing. Not necessarily because women are earning more. You think, Kim, overall, we still have this issue where you know women are still falling behind.

GANDY: They're still falling behind but at least it's starting to sound like when they do finally get ahead, that men are not going to be embarrassed by that. It wasn't too long ago that men didn't want to be involved in a relationship with a woman who made more than they did. And so it looks like that's changing. That's a good thing. As we begin to narrow the wage gap.

ROMANS: Sue what were the reactions among your readers when you wrote your column in particular you know I know you talked to somebody who is an executive at one of these dating services. Who said that a lot of men now are saying they have a minimum requirement for financial prowlis of a women before they are interested in dating her. What were your readers saying about this?

SCHELLENGER: I got a huge e-mail response, Christine from many women said, thank you, for putting this on the record. This is something I worry about, silently, when I go out with men. I wonder what role will my income play in attracting this man? I heard from men who said this shouldn't be too much of a surprise given the financial pressures that families are under today. A lot of men would like increasing the freedom to stay home if there are children from a partnership or a marriage.

A lot of men would like to be with a woman who shares his work and career interests. The e-mail response was very large and very emotional. Clearly this is a hot-button issue, particularly among the younger workers, younger men and women who are coming up I think with a different set of expectations and values about sex roles.

ROMANS: Very interesting. Sue Shellenbarger thank you so much for joining us. Also Kim Gandy, thank you both of you for your perspective on this interesting story.

Just to keep you updated, we are also following that shooting in the mall in New York. We're going to get you the details as soon as they come in.

But first, Myron Kandel takes a look back at the week in business.

MYRON KANDEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Carly Fiorini was ousted as chief executive at Hewlett-Packard. She's not just any business executive. Often referred to as the most powerful woman in corporate America. But her five 1/2-year reign at HP was marred by the company's controversial acquisition of Compact. And while she was in the top job the company's stock tumbled by 63 percent.

WorldCom's former finance chief Scott Sullivan testified all week in the fraud trial against his ex-boss Bernie Ebbers. Sullivan said Ebbers absorbed company accountants to cook the books to meet Wall Street estimates. He also said 2001 merger talks with Verizon were called off because the process would have discovered the fudged numbers.

On Wall Street the Dow Industrials closed out the week at their highest level of the year. The Dow added almost 3/4 of 1 percent for the week but the Nasdaq composite edged half a percent lower.

I'm Myron Kandel, CNN, New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: More now on that mall shooting in Kingston, New York. The Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston. We know that at least one gunman had walked into the mall and opened fire there. A woman inside mall told us that the entire facility is in lockdown now. Kingston is 87 miles of New York City. The Associated Press is reporting that at least two gunmen entered the Hudson Valley Mall and started shooting. One gunman was taken into police custody. Again, this is according to the Associated Press. We know the mall is in lockdown and the AP said several helicopters and police team are surrounding that area. Again, a woman inside of the mall told us that the mall had been locked down. We do know there was gunfire in the mall the Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston, New York. A switch board operator for the Kingston police department confirmed that to us. Other details at this point are unknown. But again, this is a mall located about 87 miles north of New York City in Allstor County. We'll have more live news, more breaking news on this with more developments after we come back from the break. Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All eyes in the music industry will be on Los Angeles tonight. Pop culture correspondent Toure is on the red carpet at the (INAUDIBLE) waiting for the Grammy Awards to start. Hey Toure.

TOURE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How are you Christine? Listen the plastic is off of the carpet. The high heels are strapped on. It is always great to see evening wear during the pre-show now, so all the silly awards are going out now. But the stars are still asleep. We haven't seen anybody big because most of them are still in their hotel rooms, chilling out, why? Because they were at Clive Davis' big annual Grammy party last night. Who performed? Jamie Foxx performed. He did a great Ray Charles song. I got a woman, Fantasia duet with Chaka Khan dragging her down a little bit and Usher performed. Now it should be a big night for Usher. He's got eight nominations "Confessions" was a fantastic album. Hit after hit, slick. He dominated this year like few before him. But keep your eyes tonight on Kanye West his album "Dropout" is the best album in the group. He produced an album with an actual thesis that going to college is not necessary and as a college dropout myself, Christine, I say amen to that.

ROMANS: All right, tell me about the performances tonight. We'll see J. Lo and Mark Anthony, u2, the performances tonight should be spectacular. TOURE: That is right, when you are talking about the Grammy's you are talking about the performances. Do you remember who won album of the year last year?

ROMANS: No.

TOURE: Do you remember Elton John and Eminem (ph) performing? Do you remember Ricky Martin's big performance? The Grammy's are all about the big performance. This year look out for Jamie Foxx dueting with Alicia Keys, a nice Ray Charles tribute. Look out for a big tsunami release benefit song that'll be bono, Stevie Wonder, Nora Jones with Velvet Revolver behind them. Look out for Green Day performing. Look out for u2 performing and the Anthony's are performing together. Jennifer Lopez and Mark Anthony. We hear they are going to sing in Spanish. It could be fantastic, it could be disastrous, Christine.

ROMANS: We'll tune in for sure. All right Toure thank you so much, Toure. Have a great time tonight.

TOURE: Thank you.

ROMANS: You are welcome. That's it for us. More on that shooting in a mall in New York right after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired February 13, 2005 - 16:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: These basketball fans are not in Indiana or North Carolina, but their rivalries may be even more intense.
Are your kids' video games too violent? D.C. parents speak out.

And what happens to love when women start making more money? Hello, and welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. I am Christine Romans. All of that and more after this check of the headlines.

Political lines are drawn in Iraq. The final results from last month's historic election are back. And the long oppressed Shiite Muslims came out the big winners. Ahead, we'll have much more on the results and what happens next.

Another sign of progress in the Middle East, Israel's cabinet signs off on a deal to free 500 Palestinian prisoners in the coming days. The agreement was reached at last week's Mideast summit in Egypt.

A frail Pope John Paul II greets a sea of worshipers at St. Peter's Square. The pope's appearance, his first since leaving the hospital Thursday, drew cheers from the faithful. His Sunday message included an appeal to insurgents who've taken hostages in Iraq.

A marathon of negotiations, that's how one Iraqi official describes the situation in his country now that results from last month's election are in. Iraq's long oppressed Shiite Muslims won most of the votes, but somewhat unexectedly didn't get an outright majority.

The United Iraqi Alliance got more than 47 of the 8.5 million votes. 47 percent of the 8.5 million votes than cast. The Kurdish Coalition came in second with more than 25 percent. And the Iraqi National Accord, the ticket led by interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, was third with about 13 percent.

Now that means the Shiites will probably have to form a coalition with those other top vote-getters. The parties are now furiously trying to strike deals and form alliances. One group left out in the cold, Iraq's once powerful Sunnis. Most boycotted the election. Iraqi official say they're now focusing on what's ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARHAM SALIH, IRAQI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: We are embarking on an important mission to start the process of drafting any constitution that will be based on Democratic values and separation of powers. And it will be a challenging task before us.

I'm hopeful that we will do it. There were a lot of doubts whether the Iraqis can meet many of the benchmarks that were set for us including elections. We have met all of those challenges. And I'm hope half we will meet the challenges ahead of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani wasn't a candidate in the Iraqi elections, but his support played a huge role in the victory of the United Iraqi Alliance. CNN's Nic Robertson examines the power and influence of Iraq's top Shiite cleric.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the most powerful man in Iraq, Shia Islam's highest religious authority Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. Rarely seen in public, even less often photographed, but more than anyone else, shaping the country's future.

SABAH KADHIM, SR. ADVISER, INTERIOR MINISTRY: To his respect, this was a wise old man who is offering his services in the interest of Iraqis. And I think most Iraqis respect that, including the politicians.

ROBERTSON: Respect derived from the fact that he endured Saddam Hussein's regime unlike many of the politicians who lived in exile.

From his humble home in the holy city of Najaf, Sistani cojoled those politicians into the country's now dominant political force poised to take top jobs in the new government.

JUAN COLE, SHIA ISLAM ANALYST: He's going to, I think, be involved in helping to chose the prime minister. He very much will be involved in the drafting of the constitution, but from the outside and as an adviser with great moral authority.

ROBERTSON: His authority has been evidenced since U.S. troops first arrived when he told Iraqis to be tolerant with coalition forces in Najaf. Almost a year later, he brought massive crowds onto the streets to demand speedy, one man/one vote elections a direct and winning challenge to Iraq's U.S. administrator Paul Bremer's plans for a slower transfer to democracy.

PAUL BREMER, FRM. U.S. CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATOR: I have the greatest respect for Ayatollah Sistani. There's a great deal that we agree with about him. First all, that Iraq should move now to a Democratic form of government. Secondly, that the process by which that happens should be transparent and representative.

ROBERTSON: But it was his artful ending of the Shia revolt inspired by firebrand cleric Muqtada al Sadr that won him lasting international respect. He called on Najaf's residents to March on the city's holy shrine where Sadr was holed up. Sadr's following has faded since.

COLE: That succeeded brilliantly. And I think it was one more demonstration of his authority, of his tactical brilliance and politics.

ROBERTSON: But it is Sistani's political aims that are raising questions now. Does he want to lead the United Iraqi Alliance towards an Iranian-style theocracy?

ADEL ABDUL MEHDI, UNITED IRAQI ALLIANCE: Oh, I think it's more concern coming from the media rather than from Iraqis.

ROBERTSON: On his well-run Web site, Sistani directs answers to such questions. He has never wanted to enter politics directly and shuns the role of Iranian mullah. But like the religious scholars around him, he wants Islamic laws that will, for example, curtailed the rights of women.

COLE: The religious parties have done so well that they will push for as much religious law, Islamic law in Iraq as possible. They would like to replace many of the British derived civil codes with Islamic law, including personal stats but possibly beyond that to criminal and commercial law. And I believe that Sistani will encourage them in that.

ROBERTSON: The Kurds of north of Iraq will likely not take well to any strong drift away from secular life. But Sistani's strengths so far has been to bridge division across Iraq's faultlines.

When Sunni Arab insurgents killed hundreds of Shia at a religious festival last year, Sistani cautioned against retaliation. His message has remained the same despite the ongoing insurgent's efforts to ignite sectarian war.

(on camera): But country is changing. Many Sunnis are become more religious. And conservative Islam is attracting, albeit in small number, many more young small Kurds than it used to. Sistani's vision of a more religious society seems closer now than it ever was under Saddam Hussein.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: The Shiites, the Sunnis and the Kurds: talk about Iraq and you have to talk about the decade's old tensions between these groups. Will things get better or worse now after the election? Akbar Ahmed joins us from Washington. He's the chair of Islamic Studies at American University. He's also the co-editor of a new book "After Terror: Promoting Dialogue Among Civilizations."

Thank you for joining us. First off, you say any discussion about what happens next, and any discussion about U.S. foreign policy must come in the context of Iran. Tell us why. AKBAR AHMED, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: The new government is going to stand or fall by the law and order, the control of the chaotic Sunni Triangle, the situation as it exists on the ground, satisfying people in terms of electricity, health problem, education. The practical day to day problems.

Now, you cannot see any of these without the context of the growing tension with Iran. Now there have an immediate contradiction and a conflict. You have the loyalty of the Shia to Iraq itself, after all these are nationalists. Iraqis are very nationalist. And you have an ideological alliance or affiliation with the Iranian ideals in cultural religious, ideological terms.

So there will be an inherent tension developing fairly soon, because we are seeing the escalatino of the crisis around Iran in terms of the geopolitics of the region. And that is where the good sense, the common sense of Ayatollah Sistani will be tested.

ROMANS: What do you think is the most important thing for Ayatollah Ali Sistani, also for the Shia majority to do now in terms of bringing everyone to the table to have, at least what goes for Iraq, goes smoothly from here on out? It's a mosaic of decades-long grudges and different kinds of groups. How do you get everybody together?

AHMED: Yes, this is going to be the great challenge. You used the right word, it is mosaic and it is decades old. He has, or the coalition government that forms, they have to very quickly make some strong symbolic gestures.

For example, if the president is Shia, then the two vice presidents could rotate the vice presidency, one a Kurd, one a Sunni. The appointments of governors, of ambassadors, of key people in the army for example. And then bove all, as I said, the law and order. That has to be very quickly brought under control.

And that's not going to be very easy, because there is great resentment among the Sunni. There is a feeling that they're being left out. And here, I think, the tact, the diplomacy, and the skills of Ayatollah Ali Sistani will be of immense value.

He has grown in stature. And what he has shown is he is politically savvy. I think this will be a time of great test for him, because now to play not just a Shia leader's role but a national leader's role.

ROMANS: And as the horse trading and the negotiations go on as this government is built and as we move toward a constitution later in the year do you think political progress will help neutralize and marginalize the insurgency?

AHMED: Yes, that is a given. The most stable the central government, the more margainalized those who want to destabilize it. There is no given right now. This is going to be a very difficult transition phase. It's always difficult in a new government. Elections don't solve any problems. In fact, they create many problems.

But it is a historic moment, a historic opportunity for Iraqis to really enter a new era in their history. And I think it's a great moment for Iraqis.

ROMANS: Professor, we you so much for sharing your point of view with us today. Professor Akbar Ahmed of the American University. Thank you very much.

AHMED: Thank you.

ROMANS: Here in the U.S., lawmakers are expressing satisfaction after learning the results of the Iraqi election. The Bush administration is also offering praise.

CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Iraqi announced their election result, the president was at church. Later a White House spokesman was careful not react specifically to the election outcome giving only broad praise saying in part, "we congratulate candidates who will be members of the transitional national assembly when these result are certified. We congratulate also the Iraqi people for their courage and vision and insuring the success of their elections."

Several U.S. lawmakers appeared relieved that the shi'a majority partyed under 50 percent about of the vote. And will now be forced to reach out to smaller ethnic groups to form a government.

SEN. BILL FRIST, (R) MAJORITY LEADER: The fact that the Shia have about 47, 48 percent leave open the possibility that minority coalitions can come together in this sort of parliamentary, postelection give and take.

SEN. RICK SANTORUM, (R) PENNSYLVANIA: I think it's a good thing that the Shiites can't just sor ot dictate of how things are to go.

BASH: A long standing U.S. fear has been the majority Shia, oppressed under Saddam Hussein, would not deal with Sunni and the results could be internal war.

SEN. PAT ROBERTS, (R-KA) INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I think the chances of civil war have been significantly lessened. And I think they're going to vey real experiment in democracy whether they want or not.

ROMANS: Republicans and Democrats alike call the Iraq elections an opportunity for a cross-faction government, but warn Sunnis, who voted in modest numbers, must be engaged.

SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) DELAWARE: They're going to have to see more Sunnis brought into the constitution rating if there's going to be any legitimacy at the end of the day. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And the White House just released a statement in the president's name about the Iraq election results that said, in part -- he said, quote, "coalition partners can take pride in a role in making a great day possible."

But he also was careful to point out that these election results are provisional and won't are certified for a few days. But again, congratulated the candidates who he said stood firm for an election in the face of terrorists -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Dana Bash at the White House. Thank you. Thank you very much, Dana.

A 40-year-old murder case is back in the news. And the man charged spoke out in a rare interview. We'll have that interview straight ahead.

And are the video games your kids play too violent? Some D.C. parents say, enough is enough.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: In Mississippi, the suspect in a notorious murder case from 4 decades ago is speak out after his recent arrest. Edgar Ray Killen is accused a major role in the deaths of 3 civil rights workers and he's proclaiming his innocence. CNN's Dennis Belgrave reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you involved in any way in the murder of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner?

EDGAR RAY KILLEN, ACCUSED OF MURDER: Absolutely, no.

DENNIS BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a rare television interview, Edgar Ray Killen spoke about the charges he faces stemming from the murders of 3 civil rights workers. On June 21, 1964, Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney were driving on a dark Mississippi highway when Ku Klux Klan members force them to stop, beat them, shot them and buried their bodies in a nearby earthen dam. An informant led the FBI to the bodies 44 days later.

Seven men were convicted in 1967 on federal charges of conspiracy to violate the victim's civil rights.

Killen is the first person to face a murder charge in this case. His first trial in the late 1960s ended in a hung jury. Now, almost 40 years later, Killen will face a new jury.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you say you're going to beat these charges?

KILLEN: Well, I'm as confident as I'm looking at you. I'm not a good legal student, but I'm pretty good in the reading the parts of the political side.

BASH: Killen also denied knowing Sam Bowers, the imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi at the time.

KILLEN: The only time we had a speaking was at the trial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never met him previous to the trial?

KILLEN: Not my knowledge. I know I have never vested, I've been to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at that time.

BASH: Killen says while he feels for the victims' families, the charges against him are politically motivated. Dennis Belgrave, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: In other news across America, Joy in Hutchinson, Kansas over the remarkable recovery of a drunken driver's victim. She was rendered nearly oblivious to the years for 20 years. Now, Sara Scantlin has begun talking again. She greeted relatives, friends and reporters yesterday at the nursing home where she lives.

Flood waters are receding in parts of Arizona after a storm that drove dozens to their homes. The deluged closed homes, damaged homes and swept vehicles into swollen river. No death or injuries are reported.

Four people are dead from last night's fiery fuel tanker crash on an interstate ramp in Davie, Florida. The truck which had flipped onto the car, burned so hot it had melted. The crash victims include the mother of Washington Capitals hockey star Jeff Halpern.

If you haven't played them, you've heard of them, violent video games that reward players for killing people or picking up prostitutes. Local lawmakers in the nation's capital are pushlg a proposal to ban the sale of these games to minors. But as CNN's Lindsey Arent explains, some parent are objecting to the move.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LINDSEY ARENT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Michelle Wilson's sons put the popular skateboarding videogame Tony Hawk on their Christmas list, she didn't think twice until she says she saw the profanity, hostage taking and physical beatings in the video.

MICHELLE WILSON, PARENT: My God, and they played it and they said this is a cool game. And I went down there and I looked at it and I thought, oh, OK. That's not cool. That's not good. I bought that?

ARENT: The Wilson's say they work hard to shield their kids from inappropriate content. But it's tough.

ANDREW WILSON, PARENT: We see a consistency in the level of violence, cursing, sexual content from the television to the Internet and to the video.

ARENT: Dr. Michael Brodie is the head of the Television and Media Committee of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry. After studying the effect of TV violence on children, he sees a direct link between violent video games and aggressive juvenile behavior.

DR. MICHAEL BRODY, CHILD PSYCHIATRIST: The person watching the game becomes embedded in the context of the game. If you watch these first-person shooter games, for example, you are the one who's doing the shooting.

ARENT: Now D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and the city council want to fight back.

(on camera): Under a proposed measure, a store that sales games rated Mature to kids 17 and younger, could lose its business license or face a $10,000 fine.

(voice-over): The video game industry says its five-tier rating system makes game content clear to parents.

DOUG LOWENSTEIN, ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE ASSN: It's not up to any member of the council of the District of Columbia or anywhere else to tell me or any other parent, I don't want you to have this. It's up to the parent to make those choices.

ARENT: The ACLU says such restrictions violate free speech saying, "videogames, just like books, movies, art and TV programs' violent content all enjoy the protection of the first amendment."

For Jenny Wild, censoring her son's video games isn't the answer.

JENNY WILD, PARENT: You cannot legislate and regulate everything. at some point parents have to step in and do what they need to do. Legislators can't control what is happening inside of my home either.

ARENT: But the D.C. measure may face an uphill battle. Efforts in 3 other states have been overturned in federal appeals courts.

Lindsey Arent for CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Judges viewed nearly 70,000 images in this year's world press photo contest. And then, they had to narrow it down to just one. Coming up, picking the best of the best. We'll show you this year's winner.

And then, 15 years after a brutal civil war, Muslims and Christians in Lebanon face a new conflict. This one, on the court. The basketball wars coming up a little later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: After pouring through nearly 70,000 photographs, officials at World Press Photo Competition have selected a winner.

The annual contest looks at the work of thousands of professional photographers who've raced around the globe hoping to record history with the click of their camera. Here is a sampling of the best.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHIEL MUNNEKE, WORLD PRESS PHOTO: World Press Photo is a platform for photojournalism. It has a couple of core activities. The main activity is the annual contest.

This year, wee received almost 70,000 images from over 4,000 photographers from 123 different countries. Every year, we invite an independent jury to come to Amsterdam and go through all of these applications. We will have photographers, we have directors of photography, we have picture editors and they are coming from all corners of the globe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, this is in and this is out.

MUNNEKE: Almost every jury in the end is looking for kind a metaphorical photograph. So what you see in past winners is in many cases, a photograph that represents not the direct horror, but most of the time kind of symbolize the horror.

If you think of Eddie Adam's picture from Vietnam, or in the napalm girl it's a frozen moment in everyone's memory.

The jury has two sets of criteria. And I think the first one deals with the journalistic value of the image. And the second one deals with the technical quality of the photograph, is the composition intresting? Are the colors being used adequately?

DIEGO GOLDBERG, JURY CHAIRMAN AND PHOTOGRAPHER: We've just finished choosing the winners of the 10 categories, or stories. There is a lot of diversity, a lot of styles, a lot of main subjects of importance during the last year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some of the ones that we have awarded are the strongest and the ones that have demand a slow read. There were some amazing images from the aftermath of the tsunami, some gut- wrenching photos from the Beslan attack on the school and some very strong difficult imagery from the war in Iraq.

So the pictures from some of the biggest news events of the year are the ones that really are the strongest here. Each year it really comes down to the individual photographer.

It's a woman basically stretched out on the ground crying. And you just see part of the body of the person she has clearly lost in the wave. It's a heart-breaking image, because it's a very kind of simple image actually. There's nothing chaotic about it, so it is very pure. And your heart connects instantly with and what that grief must be like.

(END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Here's what's happening now in the news. The results from Iraq's historic election are in. The United Iraqi Alliance, a ticket backed by the country's chief Shiite cleric won almost half of the votes cast, falling short of an outright majority in the 275-seat national assembly. Kurdish parties came in second with about a quarter of the vote. And a secular Shiite group finished a distant third.

Pope John Paul II is resuming some of his duties just a few days after getting out of the hospital. Today he delivered the beginning out of his traditional weekly message above St. Peter's Square. A cardinal finished the speech. The pope was hospitalized nearly 2 weeks ago with breathing problems.

And Israel's cabinet has approved a list of 500 Palestinian prisoners to be released from Israeli jails. It's part of a cease- fire agreement reached last week with the Palestinian authority. Israeli officials say none of the prisoners has been violent, and all have served at least two-thirds of their sentence.

Israel's neighbor Lebanon is no stranger to conflict. For years that country was embroiled in a bitter civil war. Today, Lebanese are tackling their problems on the court, hoping to avoid a repeat of the past. CNN senior international correspondent Brent Sadler reports from Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A running start to a sensitive mission. Armed with assault rifles, equipped for trouble. Lebanese army soldiers in a Beirut battle zone. But not the kind of trouble you might expect in a once notoriously violent city, where Christian and Muslim militias battle for supremacy in a brutal civil war that ended nearly 15 years ago. Today's conflict is played out on a basketball court. Cheerleading here is as much about needling old enemies than the game itself.

DAVID DER YEGHIYAN, CAPTAIN: The Civil War was a major shock for everybody.

SADLER: David Der-Yeghiyan nurses a broken arm after a friendly game. He leads an Armenian side at the start of a delayed season. Beset by political bickering, and he says, a legacy of hate and despair.

YEGHIYAN: It's not the war that really hurts. It did hurt, but it's what happened after the war that really hurt.

SADLER: Turning basketball, he explains into, a punch bag.

YEGHIYAN: Well, because some of the teams represent some of the parties that have been involved in war. That has caused problems in court. That got people more fanatic and more like prejudice toward the team that are supported. That's why some games have ended up in fights.

SADLER: Especially when the top Muslim and Christian teams clash in games that decide the national championship.

It is not only a mix of fanatical fans, feuding officials and sectarian rivalry which ignite violence at these bitterly contested matches. There's deep seeded political friction, too. Fans seem to thrive on confrontation. And pay scant regard to the extreme security in a sport that's led in popularity here in just ten years.

What do you think is more fun?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People like to -- the soldiers to make fights. I don't think it's good but it's true.

SADLER: Fanning officials. Boosting the sport if a negative way.

JASSEM KANSO, MANAGER, LEBANESE NATIONAL TEAM: This is the spice, the unfair spice or the illegal spice that also promote basketball big time.

SADLER: So it's been on surges of passion and fury that the national team has won recent glory, taking the prestigious Dubi Cup. Reaching the national championships just three years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're very strong now in basketball and this is the only sport that's putting Lebenan on the international map.

SADLER: But as the country struggles to bounce back from war and division, spectator sport reveals an opened wound. Reina Sarkis a psychoanalyst watches how these fans are fired up for the first match of the new season.

REINA SARKIS, PSYCHOCANALYST: It's a war happening inside. You have this tribal noises that they are making, the whistling and the noise. It's not only the players that are playing. The players are playing the game. The viewers are fighting the war.

SADLER: Basketball took off so fast here, but became so furiously competitive that the nation's number one spectator sport is now undergoing a type of therapy to promote sportsmanship and fair play.

The healing process has started in Indiana. The legendary heartland of college basketball in the United States. Lebanon ailing attitude to the game is now under urgent repair with a pioneering effort to help coaches bridge through a religious divide. By raising standards through a U.S.-sponsored program called Unity through Sports, a group of Lebanese officials learned how to tackle anger management, improve leader ship skills, and use the game to resolve rather than prolong conflict.

DON MITCHELL, INDIANA CTR. FOR CULTURAL EXCH: We're hoping that it will be a source of healing, of reconciliation. We're not Pollyanna about this. We don't think this is a cure-all, you know? Anytime you have a Civil War, there's a long period of healing that takes place. SADLER: Turning Lebanon's negatives to positives in basketball could also score points for American policy here. Promoting real democracy in this country's upcoming parliamentary elections.

JEFFREY FELTMAN, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO LEBANON: Rather than concentrate on the political difference business rather than concentrate on past conflict, rather than concentrate on history, people of Lebanon need to look ahead together at where they want their country to go. In the same way that these basketball players need to look ahead at how their team is going to fair together.

SADLER: And for Lebanese player, David Yeghiyan renewed hope that one day the sport he loves will not be used to settle old scores.

YEGHIYAN: Time will tell what is going to happen, basically. Because we've seen the worse. It cannot get any worse, trust me. But we can only hope for the best.

SADLER: And the best in Lebanese basketball they dream is yet to come.

Brent Sadler, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Want to bring you in on a developing story right now. Some details we're just getting in on a gunman opening fire in a mall in Kingston, New York. The Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston. That's 87 miles north of New York city. Now a switch board operator for the Kingston police department has confirmed there had been a gunman who has opened fire there today but anymore details unknown.

Again, Kingston, New York is 87 miles north of Manhattan. A gunman has opened fire there. We have no more details about anybody who has been hurt or motives or anything other than that. We're going to keep you posted on this developing story throughout the afternoon. Stay tuned here. More CNN SUNDAY right after the break.

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ROMANS: Valentines Day is tomorrow so it seems fitting to talk about matters of the heart. For many couples, the ultimate symbol of love is walking down the aisle and saying "I do." But marriage may not be for everyone. Even if you are in love. Our Valerie Morris looks at dollars and cents of marriage and its alternative.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIE MORRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When people think about getting married, how many give serious consideration to whether their money should cohabitate?

JENNIFER BABORAN (ph): I think when people think about getting married, they don't necessarily think of marriage as a contract. They focus on their wedding. They focus on the romantic over the intimate aspects of their relationship as they should, but don't necessarily consider that marriage comes with hundreds of state and federal regulations. Many of them financial.

MORRIS: Jennifer Baboran (ph) and Jacob Goldstein are committed partners for life but plan to live happily ever after unmarried to each other.

BABORAN (ph): We didn't want to get married when gay and lesbian could not. We looked at our friends who were not allowed to enter the institution and I thought, I don't want to feel like I'm sitting at a segregated lunch counter and that felt morally wrong to us.

MORRIS: Jennifer and Jacob belong to the Alternatives to Marriage Project a fast-growing organization advocating equality and choice for people in long-term relationships. According to the 2000 census, 11 million people of all ages and backgrounds in America are living together cohabitating in unmarried relationships. Only a fraction of which are gay and lesbian.

BABORAN (ph): A lot of people talk about living together and living together for some people is on the road to marriage eventually but for an increasing number of people living together is a permanent status.

MORRIS: By mutual comfortable agreement many happy and committed couples, like Rhonda Morganstein and Andy Stonick (ph) opt out of exchanging wedding vows. Other couples think if they just live together long enough, they are automatically legally united under common law, not true. Common law marriage exists in very few states. And the importance of these state laws grows when unmarried people buy property decide to have children or commit to any course of action in which their money is going to co-mingle.

For protection, unmarried couple should have -- durable power of attorney for both financial matters between them and health care. Each person should have a will, because it offers more protection for property going from one to the other. And they should set up and sign a cohabitation agreement. It's much look a prenuptial agreement.

MORRIS (on camera): There are some couples that would be better off remaining independently financially from each other. For example, widows who would lose their late-spouse's benefits and people who have been divorced and don't want to lose alimony or go through marriage again.

Valerie Morris, CNN business news, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: More now on this developing story in Kingston, New York. A mall shooting. A shooting in a mall. The Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston, New York, which is about 87 miles north of New York City. We have someone who is inside the mall at a clothing store there. Christie is on the phone. We're going to try to get her back. She's no longer on the phone anymore but she was going to tell us how this, appears to be in a lockdown at this mall. We don't have really anymore details about who is the suspect or if anyone was injured at this point. But again, this is the Kingston, New York, the Hudson Valley Mall. We are going to try to get more details on this and let you know how this developing story is playing out here. So please keep tune into us just for that.

Now switching gears here to more on money and love. More women are closing the to pay equity gap in America, but is it a creating a role reversal of sorts? A study suggests that money is an important factor in choosing a mate, and women who earn more are not only boosting their bottom line financially, that added earning power is a magnet for the opposite sex. Could that make them the target of male gold diggers? Sue Shellenbarger in Portland, Oregon and Kim Gandy in Washington are joining me to discuss these changes. Sue Shellenbarger is a columnist for the "Wall Street Journal." She has written an article about this on going study and Kim Gandy is the president of the National Association for Women.

Sue, let's first talk about the article and what you found out. Basically, the more money a women makes, the more attractive she is to a man is that right?

SUE SHELLENBARGER, "WALL STREET JOURNAL:" That seems to be true. The more money a women makes, every $10,000 increase her marriage ability, the likelihood in any given year that she will marry by under 8 percent in many cases. A very interesting statistic.

ROMANS: Money and love. Sue, what do you think is driving that? Is it that women who are making more money are more motivated and independent and have maybe a better sense of themselves and are that much more desirable? Or is it that men just want women with more money?

SHELLENBARGER: Well there is a small number of men I think, Christine, who would like to be supported. It does look pretty attractive to a man to take time off of work. I think there is a much more important and fundamental reason, though, that, is the cost of living, raising a family, keeping up a household has risen well past the rate of inflation in recent years. Child care, college education, a home. All of these things are so expensive, it's increasingly difficult for a sole bred winner to do it all by himself or herself for that matter.

ROMANS: Kim, let's talk about what this means for women. I guess it shows men are not threatened anymore by those overachieving women, huh?

KIM GANDY, PRESIDENT NOW: I think it shows that men's threat level is declining, which is a good thing. I think there is a little bit of good news that packaged as bad news. Although in a way it is kind of a man bite dog story, in that there are not that many high- income, high-achieving women in terms of salary compared to men. We have an expanding wage gap between men and women. It just went up another point last year from 77 percent women earned compared to men down to 76 percent that full-time women are compared to men. And so a huge wedge gap, there are not that many women who fall into this category.

ROMANS: It's a good problem to have. I think we can all agree to have -- to be a woman who makes a lot of money, I guess it is a good problem to have. To think that men are after you for your money, but you're right Kim that some of the studies that I have done and the reports that I have done on the pay gap even where it does seem to be narrowing in some careers it's actually because men are earning less and so that's why it's narrowing. Not necessarily because women are earning more. You think, Kim, overall, we still have this issue where you know women are still falling behind.

GANDY: They're still falling behind but at least it's starting to sound like when they do finally get ahead, that men are not going to be embarrassed by that. It wasn't too long ago that men didn't want to be involved in a relationship with a woman who made more than they did. And so it looks like that's changing. That's a good thing. As we begin to narrow the wage gap.

ROMANS: Sue what were the reactions among your readers when you wrote your column in particular you know I know you talked to somebody who is an executive at one of these dating services. Who said that a lot of men now are saying they have a minimum requirement for financial prowlis of a women before they are interested in dating her. What were your readers saying about this?

SCHELLENGER: I got a huge e-mail response, Christine from many women said, thank you, for putting this on the record. This is something I worry about, silently, when I go out with men. I wonder what role will my income play in attracting this man? I heard from men who said this shouldn't be too much of a surprise given the financial pressures that families are under today. A lot of men would like increasing the freedom to stay home if there are children from a partnership or a marriage.

A lot of men would like to be with a woman who shares his work and career interests. The e-mail response was very large and very emotional. Clearly this is a hot-button issue, particularly among the younger workers, younger men and women who are coming up I think with a different set of expectations and values about sex roles.

ROMANS: Very interesting. Sue Shellenbarger thank you so much for joining us. Also Kim Gandy, thank you both of you for your perspective on this interesting story.

Just to keep you updated, we are also following that shooting in the mall in New York. We're going to get you the details as soon as they come in.

But first, Myron Kandel takes a look back at the week in business.

MYRON KANDEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Carly Fiorini was ousted as chief executive at Hewlett-Packard. She's not just any business executive. Often referred to as the most powerful woman in corporate America. But her five 1/2-year reign at HP was marred by the company's controversial acquisition of Compact. And while she was in the top job the company's stock tumbled by 63 percent.

WorldCom's former finance chief Scott Sullivan testified all week in the fraud trial against his ex-boss Bernie Ebbers. Sullivan said Ebbers absorbed company accountants to cook the books to meet Wall Street estimates. He also said 2001 merger talks with Verizon were called off because the process would have discovered the fudged numbers.

On Wall Street the Dow Industrials closed out the week at their highest level of the year. The Dow added almost 3/4 of 1 percent for the week but the Nasdaq composite edged half a percent lower.

I'm Myron Kandel, CNN, New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: More now on that mall shooting in Kingston, New York. The Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston. We know that at least one gunman had walked into the mall and opened fire there. A woman inside mall told us that the entire facility is in lockdown now. Kingston is 87 miles of New York City. The Associated Press is reporting that at least two gunmen entered the Hudson Valley Mall and started shooting. One gunman was taken into police custody. Again, this is according to the Associated Press. We know the mall is in lockdown and the AP said several helicopters and police team are surrounding that area. Again, a woman inside of the mall told us that the mall had been locked down. We do know there was gunfire in the mall the Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston, New York. A switch board operator for the Kingston police department confirmed that to us. Other details at this point are unknown. But again, this is a mall located about 87 miles north of New York City in Allstor County. We'll have more live news, more breaking news on this with more developments after we come back from the break. Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All eyes in the music industry will be on Los Angeles tonight. Pop culture correspondent Toure is on the red carpet at the (INAUDIBLE) waiting for the Grammy Awards to start. Hey Toure.

TOURE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How are you Christine? Listen the plastic is off of the carpet. The high heels are strapped on. It is always great to see evening wear during the pre-show now, so all the silly awards are going out now. But the stars are still asleep. We haven't seen anybody big because most of them are still in their hotel rooms, chilling out, why? Because they were at Clive Davis' big annual Grammy party last night. Who performed? Jamie Foxx performed. He did a great Ray Charles song. I got a woman, Fantasia duet with Chaka Khan dragging her down a little bit and Usher performed. Now it should be a big night for Usher. He's got eight nominations "Confessions" was a fantastic album. Hit after hit, slick. He dominated this year like few before him. But keep your eyes tonight on Kanye West his album "Dropout" is the best album in the group. He produced an album with an actual thesis that going to college is not necessary and as a college dropout myself, Christine, I say amen to that.

ROMANS: All right, tell me about the performances tonight. We'll see J. Lo and Mark Anthony, u2, the performances tonight should be spectacular. TOURE: That is right, when you are talking about the Grammy's you are talking about the performances. Do you remember who won album of the year last year?

ROMANS: No.

TOURE: Do you remember Elton John and Eminem (ph) performing? Do you remember Ricky Martin's big performance? The Grammy's are all about the big performance. This year look out for Jamie Foxx dueting with Alicia Keys, a nice Ray Charles tribute. Look out for a big tsunami release benefit song that'll be bono, Stevie Wonder, Nora Jones with Velvet Revolver behind them. Look out for Green Day performing. Look out for u2 performing and the Anthony's are performing together. Jennifer Lopez and Mark Anthony. We hear they are going to sing in Spanish. It could be fantastic, it could be disastrous, Christine.

ROMANS: We'll tune in for sure. All right Toure thank you so much, Toure. Have a great time tonight.

TOURE: Thank you.

ROMANS: You are welcome. That's it for us. More on that shooting in a mall in New York right after this quick break.

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