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CNN Live Today

Too Real?; War Crimes?

Aired April 03, 2006 - 11:32   ET

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


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Getting back to the all twister damage, a lot of damage in Tennessee, and a lot of deaths as well. I want to welcome on the phone, Coleman Foss. He's the CEO of Dyersburg Regional Medical Center, and joins us now.
Mr. Foss, hello.

COLEMAN FOSS, CEO, DYERSBURG REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: Hello. How are you?

KAGAN: I'm doing OK. But can you tell us the number of deaths from the storms in your county?

FOSS: We have 11 confirmed deaths in Dyer County, and I have unconfirmed reports of four more being brought in at this time. Obviously with the daylight they're finding some bodies in the rubble.

KAGAN: What about injuries?

FOSS: Last night we treated 30 storm-related injuries, possibly two others that may or may not have been related to the storm. But a lot of head contusions, a lot of flying debris causing some problems. But we wound up transferring about four out that were severely critical and admitted five here to the hospital.

KAGAN: How much warning was there?

FOSS: Very little. I don't think a lot of people really knew that we had a bad storm coming up, and it started picking up in eastern Arkansas. And actually Dyersburg, where I'm located, we had dark winds and storms, and didn't have any rain. But north of us, about five miles north, was extensive damage. So being the hospital for the county, we immediately started getting reports of severe damage up there.

KAGAN: As you said, the story goes on. We do expect the numbers to rise there in Dyer County. Thank you, and good luck dealing with the injured as well.

FOSS: Thank you, I appreciate it.

Coleman Foss with the Dyersburg Regional Medical Center in Tennessee.

Right now in Los Angeles, assassins are roaming the streets. Their goal? Kill or be killed. Now police are concerned. But many others say it's all just fun and games. Chris Lawrence has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Melissa Stetten is one of 200 players running around l.a. playing "Streetwars: Killer."

YUTAI LIAO, COFOUNDER, STREETWARS: KILLER: You have to go scour the city to find your target, and wet him or her with a water gun.

LAWRENCE: Now this man stays in the shadows and makes sure players follow the rules. The assassins have three weeks to hunt their targets. The twist being, another player is hunting them.

LIAO: Somewhere, someone is holding a sheet of paper with your photo on it.

LAWRENCE: Get shot, you're out. The player with the most kills wins. Everyone starts with a file. Their target's name, number and photo.

MELISSA STETTEN, PLAYER: Basically just Google the addresses.

LAWRENCE: Melissa calls the offices where her targets work.

STETTEN: Hey, I was wondering if you know what time Maria is working until tonight.

LAWRENCE: And within hours, figures out when they get home.

STETTEN: It's amazing what people will give out, information for their coworkers.

LAWRENCE: But all the lurking around has turned some cops into critics.

SGT. LEE SANDS, LOS ANGELES POLICE: Maybe a game like this is better left behind a video screen and not out in the streets where people can get hurt.

LAWRENCE: Sergeant Lee Sands says it's no game if a player pretending to be an assassin gets mistaken for a real criminal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two days ago I found myself being physically restrained by the LAPD, because somebody reported a robbery in progress.

LAWRENCE: Braden Aftergood (ph) was cuffed and released while hunting one of his own targets. Now he's the hunted. Melissa shoots him with her water gun and records her first kill.

STETTEN: Yes, yes, yes!

LAWRENCE (on camera): The game's open to adults only, and they play it in five cities, from L.A. to New York, where Mayor Mike Bloomberg called them crazy. One parents' group says they're making fun of murder. But players say it's just harmless, fun like being in your own action movie.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: It is sex, and it's everywhere. Kids get an eyeful every day with TV shows and music videos. Next, coming up, a warning from researchers, kids often imitate what they see.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LAWRENCE: Keeping the faith, tens of thousands are in St. Peter's Square this morning to remember Pope John Paul II. Right now, Pope Benedict XVI is saying mass to honor the life of his predecessor. John Paul died one year ago. Many considered the former people a living saint. The Vatican is speeding up the process that would make his sainthood official.

One of the most feared men in Africa is in court this hour to face charges of crimes against humanity. Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is linked to a rein of terror during his country's civil war. Prosecutors say those brutalities include rape, mutilation and sexual slavery.

CNN's Jeff Koinange is in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where the war crimes tribunal is being held.

Jeff, I understand not only Charles Taylor, but some of his victims, or alleged victims, in the court today.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: No doubt about that, Daryn. And the list of 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity have just been read to Mr. Taylor. He is standing up now. The judge is talking to him, asking whether he understands the charges against him. And he says -- his first words in court says, yes, I do understand. And he's standing there right now, waiting to plead guilty or not guilty. That will happen moments from now.

Mr. Taylor arrived right on time, and the proceedings began right on time. He's wearing a dark suit, white shirt, red tie, and is flanked on either side by United Nations security personnel. Any moment from now, we will hear whether Mr. Taylor is going to plead guilty or not guilty to 11 counts of crimes against humanity and also war crimes charges -- Daryn.

KAGAN: I understand there is some concern about holding that trial there in Sierra Leone?

KOINANGE: That's right. Big concern, because leaders of the region have said Mr. Taylor's too close to home, if you will, and that he's a destabilizing force in many ways. They don't want the trial to be held here in Freetown.

They would prefer that it be held in the Hague. Of course, that is not up to the court here. That will be up to the United Nations Security Council, which will have to meet and decide whether Mr. Taylor will be transferred. That will happen in the coming days. But depending on today's plea, of course, a trial date will be fixed. That is not expected for another four to six weeks time, in which case, the trial will be under way -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And if he's found guilty, what could be his ultimate penalty?

KOINANGE: Ultimate penalty, Daryn, in all 11 counts, is life imprisonment. It could be 11 life sentences. So, anyway you look at it, he'll spend a lot -- probably the rest of his life in prison -- Daryn.

KAGAN: The video we're looking at of him, Jeff, he's wearing a bullet-proof vest. Are there fears for his life?

KOINANGE: There's always fears of his life, because he has created a whole generation of enemies here because of what he is accused of, accused of maiming, accused of mutilation, accused of murder, accused of just about everything. The laundry list that was being read to him was everything from crimes against humanity, serious violations of humanitarian law, terrorizing the civilian population.

So you can just imagine how many enemies he would have. But I can tell you at the same time, there's a huge security presence here in the compound. United Nation peacekeepers, heavily armed, spread all over the compound. And in fact, Mr. Taylor drove into the compound -- it was just a 50 yard drive, but he drove in a bullet- proof SUV. You can just imagine how tight the security is -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Jeff Koinange, live on the phone from Sierra Leone, thank you.

Form a government, and do it quickly. That's the message of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her British counterpart -- they took to Iraq. Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw made an unannounced visit to Baghdad. They met with leaders of nearly all of Iraq's political factions. They want the bickering to stop and a new unity government in place. Rice says that would help cut the daily bloodshed in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: It is only through a political process in which the Iraqi people have confidence and political leadership in which they have confidence and political leadership in which they have confidence, that they can be certain to abandon for all time any resort to violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: It has been nearly four months since millions of Iraqis went to the polls, but Iraq's political leaders and power brokers remain log jammed. Back here in the States, tubby toddlers. Baby fat, it is risky business on the road when it comes to car seats. That story is still ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: An update for you now on this crash of a C-5 military plane at Dover Air Force Base earlier today. There were 17 people on board. We're now getting updates on at least 14 of them, getting word that 14 patients were brought to a local medical center and they were all -- they all had injuries that were non-life threatening. Most of them will be released soon, and only a few will be admitted. So of the 17 people we know to be on board, 14 of them, we know, are OK. The status of the other three, unknown at this time.

Parents, it should be a no brainer. A diet rich in risque television,, raunchy music and R-rated movies can lead your kids to early sex. For the first time, a study linked sexually charged messages from TV, movies, music and magazines to early sexual activity. Researchers followed the media habits of 1,000 12 and 14- year-olds. The study found that kids with highest exposure to sexual content were twice as likely to have sex before the age of 16. Those results did not ring true for black teenagers. Researchers found they were likely more sexually experienced than their white peers.

Jane Brown is the chief author of the sex in media study. She is a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Journalism. Professor, good morning.

JANE BROWN, NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM: Good morning.

KAGAN: OK, you got to help met out here. Because when I read that if a teenager watches a lot of media with sexual images they're more likely to have sex, I'm thinking OK, what were we trying to prove?

BROWN: Well, this is the first time we've seen it across the media. We've seen it before with television, but not across all these media. And what we also know is that some kids choose sexier -- what we call sexier media diets than others. So those who are exposed to a lot of this are more likely to have sexual behavior earlier than those who don't see as much.

KAGAN: So it's not a classic chicken and the egg because you're saying the exposure comes first, and then the sex comes later?

BROWN: I think it works both ways. Probably as kids get interested in sexuality, they begin to look for it in different places and the media provide an easy way to learn about sexuality. Unfortunately, it's not a very healthy way to learn about sexuality. I'd rather they were learning it from their parents and at school. But we're not having effective sex education in the schools or at home, and so the media have become a very powerful sex educator.

KAGAN: Well, because there was another interesting thing in your study there, in that, despite all the media images, parents at the end of the day, are more influential than all these media images put together.

BROWN: Well, that's right. And that's especially true for our black teens, that when they know that their parents don't want them to have sex at their age, they're less likely to have sex. So parents need to keep saying that.

KAGAN: So the message for parents is, I know you're being bombarded by a lot of stuff and your kids are getting it, but nothing takes the place of just good old fashioned parent/kid communication.

BROWN: That's absolutely right.

KAGAN: All right. Professor Jane Brown from UNC. Thank you, professor.

BROWN: Thank you.

(MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: And this just in from the University of Southern Maine. They have closed three campuses from around Maine from the university system due to bomb threats they received this morning. Those closing campuses in Portland, Gorum and the Lewis and Auburn campuses. All students, and faculty and staff have been told to evacuate the buildings at different campuses around the University of Southern Maine. More on that as it becomes available.

On to health news. Our toddlers are too tubby. That's the word that more than a quarter million kids can't fit into standard car seats. Senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at the weighty problem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Riding in the car seat and watching the world go by is a feature of every kid's childhood. But finding a car seat to fit three-year-old Rafael was a surprisingly daunting task.

GERALDO TOBIAS, RAFAEL'S FATHER: Rafael's 47 pounds and 37 inches long. I see kids his age taller, but they're lighter. Much lighter than him.

GUPTA: Rafael's always been on the heavier side. At just two years old, he already weighed 41 pounds. And now his weight rivals the average for a kid twice his age, which poses a problem when it comes to finding the right fit. You see, he's outgrown two of his car seats so far.

TOBIAS: The car seat is rated for infant to 100 pound kid up to 52 inches tall. It's too tight for him on the thigh and his legs are hanging and, as you can see, he's not comfortable in it anymore.

GUPTA: Rafael isn't alone. Most states have laws that children up to the age of three must be in a car seat, but there are about 283,000 children who are too big for the available types of car seats on the market. That's according to researchers at the Columbus Children's Research Institute. They looked at most of the child safety seats on the market and found that out of 92 types only six car seats would be safe for a boy Rafael's size. They're hard to find in stores and they come at a hefty price.

LARA TRIFILETTI, COLUMBUS CHILDREN'S RESEARCH INST.: The seats that would accommodate children at these higher weight rangers are the most expensive seats on the market. They start anywhere from $130, all the way up to $270. That's really one of the major problems is that these seats are too expensive for most families to afford.

GRACE GANADEN, RAFAEL'S MOTHER: Well, if I can afford it, I would get that one for the safety one.

GUPTA: Right now, Rafael has a booster set that uses the car's built in safety belt to strap him in. But experts say that's not safe enough. Look at these crash test videos that show how dangerous the wrong car seat can be, even in a low impact crash. And they stress the importance of the right one, especially when it comes to one, two, or three year old kids.

TRIFILETTI: They're developmentally not capable of withstanding the force of a crash and they may also slip out under the adult seatbelt. So a five-point harness just provides another level of security in keeping them in the seat.

GUPTA: The researchers conclusion, parents should look for the five-point harness, follow the manufacturer's guidelines and, of course, make sure the child is comfortable for the long haul. But for bigger kids like Rafael, that's a tall order.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Des Moines, Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: That is a cutie pie.

Prayer and the power to heal. A new study suggesting prayer for a sick person is pointless. We're going to talk about that tomorrow with Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of "When Bad Things Happen to Good People." but We also want to hear what you think about that and what your experiences with prayer and healing has been. E-mail your personal stories to me, and send to it LIVETODAY@CNN.com. Not just your personal story, but what do you think, does prayer help with healing? We'll share a few of your e-mail tomorrow.

The sign says it all, "Trade Barry," as in Barry Bonds. The San Francisco Giant's home run hitter accused of steroid use now on the outs with some fans. Who paid for the sign? We don't know yet. It's less than a mile from where the Giants play. Some speculate that it's a publicity stunt. The Giants and Barry's first home game won't happen until Thursday. They open up their home season against the Atlanta Braves. Today, they are at San Diego.

I'm Daryn Kagan. International news is up next. Stay tuned for YOUR WORLD TODAY, and then I'll be back with the latest headlines from the U.S. in about 20 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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