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Who is Michael Devlin?; Oil Refinery Fire in Richmond, California; Celebrating and Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.
Aired January 15, 2007 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.
Developments keep coming in to the NEWSROOM on this Monday, January 15th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Here is what is on the rundown.
Questions about the kidnapping of Shawn Hornbeck, the Missouri teen held for four years. Left alone for hours, but he could not escape.
HARRIS: A spectacular fire rocking a Chevron refinery. Residents in one part of the San Francisco Bay area told to stay inside.
COLLINS: It's smelly being green. Recycling from the West get the makeover in China. Just one word, plastics.
In the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: The boys were snatched off the streets and hidden in plain sight. The details of their captivity still a mystery, at least for now.
What we know, the 41-year-old man accused of kidnapping them is in jail. But what kind of prison held the boys, one for four days, the other, more than four years?
The latest from CNN's Chris Lawrence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): From the few people who knew Michael Devlin, answers are emerging to the question, who is this alleged kidnapper?
BILL ROMER, DEVLIN'S LANDLORD: Very kind of soft-spoken, low key.
LAWRENCE: And how could Devlin do what he's accused of, hiding two boys in plain sight, an hour's drive from their families? MIKE PROSPERI, OWNER, IMO'S PIZZA: There was never any mention of any children at all.
LAWRENCE: Investigators have filed a first degree kidnapping charge against Devlin with possibly more to come.
ROBERT PARKS, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: He's behind bars. He's not going anyplace. And now we have a little bit of the luxury of time to really pull this case together.
LAWRENCE: The case turned Thursday on a lucky break. Police working an unrelated case spotted a white pickup outside Devlin's apartment. It matched one described in last week's kidnapping of Ben Ownby. The officer who discovered the boys inside his apartment say initially Devlin was happy and respectful to police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the questions began to get more specific, that's when the attitude changed. And as the attitude changed, it was like a 180-degree difference and it threw a lot of red flags up for us.
LAWRENCE: The middle-aged, heavy-set man grew up in Missouri. He has a lot of family still in the area. One of his brothers worked at the same pizza place Devlin now manages.
PROSPERI: I talked to Jamie and, I mean, they're holding up, but they're not doing well. You know, Jamie's response was a one-word response. He said, "Mike, he's my brother. He's our family. And we're lost."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And Chris Lawrence joins us now from Kirkwood, Missouri.
And Chris, what are the authorities saying about Shawn's kind of state of mind, his mental state?
LAWRENCE: Tony, I spoke with the local sheriff here who talked with Shawn one on one, face to face, and he said on the surface, Shawn seems happy, but he could tell there was something there deep down, and it may take some time to bring out exactly what that is.
Also, CNN has now discovered that back on December 1, 2005, there were two postings on the Web site Shawn shawnhornbeck.com. And those postings were both signed "Shawn Devlin."
Now, we don't know if it was Shawn that wrote these or if it was Michael Devlin, or perhaps neither one of them wrote it. But the first posting asked the family, "How long do you plan to look for your son?"
There was another posting later that same day that said, in very bad English, "I'm sorry for what I wrote earlier, but I write poems. Would it be OK if I wrote a poem in honor of Shawn Hornbeck? But I can understand if you don't want me to." Again, we don't know if it was Shawn or Michael Devlin that wrote these, or perhaps neither. But again, very interesting postings on the Web site shawnhornbeck.com from a little over a year ago -- Tony.
HARRIS: That's the latest bizarre twist in this story from Chris Lawrence in Kirkwood, Missouri.
Chris, thank you.
COLLINS: And something else to bring you on this story as well. Apparently, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was at an MLK event at a suburban D.C. high school this morning. He had this to say about possible federal charges in this Missouri kidnapping case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBERTO GONZALES, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: That's great. I mean, you know, I think we need to do a lot more to protect our kids. And that's great. I'm sure the families are delighted.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)?
GONZALES: Listen, let's work with the local authorities and we'll see what happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Well, not quite an answer yet, but I'm sure that as we learn more details about this case, as the police continue to investigate and to get more answers, we will have an answer to that question of possible federal charges.
So stay with CNN throughout the day as we shine a spotlight on America's missing children. From survival tips to tracking your kids, complete coverage of America's missing children only on CNN.
HARRIS: Ice-coated roads, trees, power lines, hundreds of thousands of people in the dark. That is the scene this morning across a big part of the nation's heartland. From Missouri to Texas, a major winter storm has left its mark. And now parts of the Great Lakes and Northeast are feeling its impact.
At last count, about 330,000 homes in Missouri were without power. The number in Oklahoma, 122,000.
The storm blew in on Friday. It's blamed for at least 29 deaths in five states -- 15 in Oklahoma; six in Missouri, five in Iowa, two in Texas; and one in New York. And these storms move traditionally from west to east.
Let's check in now with Chad Myers in the severe weather center.
And Chad, where is this system now?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The head of the system, or the low itself, is now right over Cincinnati and moving over to Pittsburgh.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: All right, Chad. Great update. Thank you, sir.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Let's go ahead and get more on that big oil refinery fire in Richmond, California, now. Less than three hours after it started, it is under control, but still, a lot of work ahead.
Here now, Kraig Debro of affiliate KTVU in Richmond, California.
Kraig, tell us what you know at this point.
KRAIG DEBRO, REPORTER, KTVU: Good morning.
Things are about the same as they were about a half hour ago. They have the fire contained. There's been one injury to a worker inside the unit where the fire began, but not much more information is coming out from company officials at this hour.
The aerials of what's going on right here are simply spectacular. You can see they're still fighting the fire from early this morning. It started around 5:15, and it began in that one unit.
We're getting calls from people who work inside the Chevron oil refinery here telling us that when it started, they left immediately. There was some concern that there were some toxic chemicals that might get into the air that might be very, very harmful.
Again, a shelter in place extends to the neighborhood around this oil refinery. It's one of the oldest on the West Coast.
We talked to a city council member earlier, and he tells us that there was not very good communication between the company and the local residents. One of the ways they notify the local residents is to sound this loud, loud siren, and it's been going off all morning long. But at this point, we're not sure if that siren means that they are sounding further warnings or they're giving the all-clear.
Again, one person is injured. It's a worker inside the unit where this fire began. We understand that person has just first- degree burns.
We don't have any reports of anybody in the neighborhood have any breathing problems, but we've been seeing trucks from all around the surrounding areas. They've called in Mutual Aid. They've also got the -- this refinery is located in Contra Costa County. They have got the Contra Costa County hazmat team out here taking air samples.
And again, they've got the fire under control, but just when it will be out, they're not sure.
COLLINS: And Kraig, we had learned a little bit earlier from one of the public spokespeople from Chevron that sometimes when there are fires like this there is a smell of sulfur in the air. Are you smelling anything?
DEBRO: Periodically we've smelled things. We've been standing next to an entrance here, so we've been unable to determine whether or not it's the fumes from the big rig trucks that have been going in here, or if it's something coming from the fire. And I think behind me you can see some steam or some smoke coming out from one of the pipes here. That is not part of the fire area, but there could be some odor from that as well.
Nothing really distinctive that we're smelling right now. And in talking to a lot of the people who live nearby, none of them is smelling anything either.
Again, we are standing south of the refinery. So it's possible the wind could be blowing it in another direction and people up there could be smelling it.
COLLINS: Sure. All right. Kraig Debro, we certainly appreciate it from KTVU. Thanks so much.
HARRIS: Implementing the president's new Iraq strategy. The top U.S. commander there says it won't be easy. General George Casey and U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad held a briefing this morning in Baghdad. They say Iraqis will stick with the plan to target all lawbreakers regardless of sectarian affiliation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: This is a defining moment. We're in a new phase.
While some question the Iraqis' resolve to rise to the occasion and take the hard, necessary steps to break the cycle of sectarian violence that's tearing Baghdad apart, I'm encouraged by what I have seen in recent weeks. And I'm confident that the Iraqi leaders understand the gravity of the moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Standing firm and digging in, President Bush says he will not budge on sending more troops to Iraq, despite congressional opposition. In a CBS News "60 Minutes" interview which aired last night, the president insisted it is the right thing to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some of my buddies in Texas say, you know, let them fight it out, what business is it of ours? You got rid of Saddam. How come -- you know, just let them slug it out. And that's a temptation that I know a lot of people feel, but if we do not succeed in Iraq, we will leave behind a Middle East which will endanger America in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Two of Saddam Hussein's co-defendants executed in Iraq today. Hussein's half-brother and the chief judge under his Ba'ath Party regime hanged at the same gallows as Hussein. An Iraqi government spokesman says one of the men's heads was severed by the hanging. Still, he says the scene was less chaotic than Hussein's execution.
The men were executed for their roles in the killings of 148 Shiites in the village of Dujail in the 1980s.
HARRIS: Reviving the roadmap. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice drumming up support for Middle East peace talks, and an agreement reached today. Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert saying he'll take part in talks with Palestinian president Abbas. Secretary Rice will be there as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: I explained that I will soon meet with Prime Minister Olmert and with President Abbas to have discussions about the broad issues on the horizon so that we can work on the roadmap to try and accelerate the roadmap and to move to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: No date has been set yet. Rice is continuing her Middle East swing right now with a stop in Egypt.
They're called orphan drugs. And they're needed when kids have rare diseases. Too expensive to treat. Ahead on a special Dr. Sanjay Gupta "Saving Your Life" report.
COLLINS: The nation remembers a general in the civil rights battle. Honoring Dr. King, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And hold your water and you win one of those new -- brand-new electronic games, the Wii.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said, "Honey, honey, do you know that girl that was a runner-up with me?" I said, "She died."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A contest goes wrong. Very wrong.
Details ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Celebrating a life and remembering a legacy that changed a nation. Today is the national holiday honoring Martin Luther king Jr. A service this morning at the church where his powerful voice still echoes.
Our T.J. Holmes is at the King Center outside Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
And T.J., we've been saying that the weather isn't all that great today, but it looks like the crowds have really picked up, huh?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: The crowds have certainly picked up. And you're talking about powerful voices, I just heard a few powerful voices from a few young kids out here just yelling, "Cheese!" You know, taking pictures, that's the kind of thing we're seeing now.
People are coming by this reflective pool and stopping by the crypt as well. A lot of people just stopping and taking a quiet moment, actually. Others taking pictures and whatnot. But certainly now that the weather's cleared up and things are a little better out here, the crowd is certainly picking up as well.
That service you talked about is going on at the Ebenezer -- the historic Ebenezer Church, which is just next to me here. The new church, the new Ebenezer, is across the street right now, which they have taken some of the overflow people who didn't get a chance to go into the actual service, which is more for VIPs and family and whatnot -- so they're across the street. A lot of people getting a chance to participate.
And kind of a new -- a new sadness today, because we don't have Coretta Scott King with us for the first time, who, of course, died last year. But excitement as well. And a buzz really just all around town because of the Dr. King papers, the new papers that are going to be out in a new display.
The Atlanta History Center having some of his -- some of his papers on display. So people excited about that. Giving a new sense, really, of Dr. King and his legacy, his mission, of course that dream that people talk about that still lives on today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: I have a dream.
HOLMES (voice over): From his most famous speech at the march on Washington, to his first sermon in Montgomery, Alabama, today the nation gets a chance to see Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through his own words. More than 600 personal documents go on display at the Atlanta History Center.
CNN's Soledad O'Brien gave us a sneak peek at her series, "Words That Changed a Nation."
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the actual sermon written on four pages, back and front, of lined notebook paper in Dr. King's own handwriting. It's preserved here at the library for Morehouse College, the start of what is literally a treasure of Dr. King's thinking at the critical moments in civil rights history.
HOLMES: After the exhibition, the papers will be preserved at Morehouse, Dr. King's alma mater, until a new museum for civil rights is completed. Today is also a poignant holiday, the first without Coretta Scott King, who died last January. Today at Ebenezer Baptist Church, their family will celebrate their lives in a commemorative services, carrying on the dream spelled out in their father's speeches that inspired and changed a nation.
KING: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty we are free at last!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And finally here, by so many accounts, indeed, this crowd has been a little smaller here this year. Maybe the rain had a lot to do with that. But now that the rain has stopped, it's cleared up a little bit, starting to see more and more people file by.
And, of course, so many people off work today. So many people with kids out of school and whatnot. But really, the message of the day is really, this is supposed to be a day on to think about service and really not a day off -- Heidi.
COLLINS: He would have been 78 years old today.
All right. T.J. Holmes, thanks so much for the update from right here in Atlanta.
And they are called orphan drugs. They're needed when kids have rare diseases too expensive to treat. Ahead on a special Dr. Sanjay Gupta "Saving Your Life" report.
And an environmental catch-22. Saving the planet can be dirty work, but is a grand plan to recycle actually doing more harm than good?
Find out next in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Police on patrol after fires at two Baptist churches in North Carolina. The blazes reported late Saturday in Greenville. The churches about a mile apart. Authorities say they are treating both as crime scenes.
Meanwhile, a break-in reported at another church in the same area. Federal investigators are in Greenville now to help.
HARRIS: Deadly and rare, added trouble when too few people have a disease. Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at this dilemma in his special series "Saving Your Life."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Eight-year-old Kohl Benjamin spends most of his time inside, away from dangerous germs that could threaten his life. KOHL BENJAMIN, 8-YEAR-OLD CANCER PATIENT: I used to like to play football. And me and my dad used to wrestle a lot. And now I can't play with my friends on the monkey bars.
GUPTA: You see, Kohl has Ewing's Sarcoma. It's a rare type of bone cancer. Childhood cancer in general is considered rare. The American Cancer Society estimates 9,500 children under 14 were diagnosed last year. Fifteen hundred died.
DR. EUGENIE KLEINERMAN, M.D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER: Cancer will kill more children in the United States than any other disease.
GUPTA: The problem is that drug companies can lose money developing medicines for rare diseases, because only a few will buy them. These drugs are known as orphan drugs and can receive federal funding to entice companies to make them.
Dr. Kleinerman is head of pediatrics at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
KLEINERMAN: There are drugs out there right now that may help us save lives in children with cancer. And because they're under 18, we can't enroll them on a clinical trial.
GUPTA: The director of the FDA's orphan drug development plan says children with cancer are neglected but stresses that the law does not need to change.
DR. MARLENE HAFFNER, FDA: We need to improve our knowledge about the science of developing drugs, and we'll be able to move more quickly and companies will be able to move more quickly.
GUPTA: Kleinerman says let parents make the decision whether to use experimental drugs.
For now, Randy and Kim Benjamin don't have to worry about an experimental drug to help their son. Since Kohl's cancer was found early, they're hoping the next step, surgery to remove the tumor, cures Kohl's cancer.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Hangings in Iraq, and they didn't go as planned. Questions about what happened at the gallows ahead in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: A slippery and dangerous start to the new week. A big ice storm spreading misery across the heartland.
The latest in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Piecing together the puzzle in Kirkwood, Missouri. Police there trying to unravel a pair of kidnappings. Both ended happily, with one shocking discovery. One boy found after vanishing four days earlier, the other missing more than four years. Their alleged captor, a 41-year-old man who is being held on $1 million bond.
On CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," neighbors described Michael Devlin as a loner with a short temper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB BUSHELLE, MICHAEL DEVLIN'S NEIGHBOR: He called the police on me for parking in his parking spot one time in a building where -- a parking lot where most of the parking is unassigned. You know there's a few labeled handicap spots and it said that the parking was for that building in particular. I was kind of in the spot right next to where he normally parks, double parked a little bit and he just got completely irate about the situation.
BILL ROMER, MICHAEL DEVLIN'S LANDLORD: From my sort of external landlord perspective, he was a fine tenant. He paid his rent on time, he was always pleasant to me. I never received any calls complaining about him directly. But in fact, I inherited him as a tenant two years ago. From what I understand, even if I had done a background check, I would have maybe pulled up a traffic violation.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: An unspectacular apartment and unsuspecting neighbors, both parts of the puzzle in Kirkwood, Missouri. CNN's Rick Sanchez takes a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OFFICER GARY WAGSTER, KIRKWOOD POLICE: We had an uneasy feeling. And as for one of us to have that, that's one thing. But for both of us to have it, as much as we work together, we knew.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Yet no one else seemed to pick up on what two Missouri police officers sensed right off the bat. Something wasn't quite right. Inside Michael Devlin's nondescript Kirkwood apartment.
HARRY RICHARD, MICHAEL DEVLIN'S NEIGHBOR: I was told that he was Devlin's son. And, you know, at first, obvious thought, I believed him.
SANCHEZ: Harry Richards wasn't alone. For more than four years, neighbors, strangers, you name it, they all saw Shawn Hornbeck and the 41-year-old man now suspected of being the teen's kidnapper numerous times and never suspected anything. Last year a neighbor, Rick Butler, says he found a cell phone in front of his apartment and called a stored number. Devlin picked up. And then put Hornbeck on the phone.
RICK BUTLER, MICHAEL DEVLIN'S NEIGHBOR: And he said, oh, I live right across the street. It will take me just a few minutes. So he came over and picked up his phone. He seemed a little bit nervous. But nothing -- you know, didn't act like there was anything out of the ordinary.
SANCHEZ: A few months ago Butler once again saw the two, pitching a tent in the grass.
BUTLER: H was just a single father with his boy getting ready for a camping trip. So I didn't think anything unusual about it.
SANCHEZ: No one, other than the two Kirkwood Police officers sensed that anything was wrong. Including Devlin's boss, who's known the pizza parlor manager for decades.
MIKE PROSPERI, OWNER, IMO'S PIZZA: He's worked for me for 25 years. There's not too many people that stay with the same job for 25 years. I mean, I never had any problem with him at all. I mean, he was my manager. He counted my money. You know, and you just don't do that with somebody that you don't trust.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: The kidnappings, the trauma, the most horrific nightmare of any parent. Earlier on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING", we heard from John Walsh, a child safety advocate whose own son was kidnapped and murdered. He says parents need to limit the risks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN WALSH, HOST, "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED": There's this new phenomenon of bus surfers. These are pedophiles like this alleged kidnapper who follow school buses, particularly in rural areas, where they think people are not so street smart, not sophisticated, and there's not a great concentration of law enforcement, they're stretched thin and they wait for the kid who has the long walk home to school. And I think parents should be very vigilant and talk to their kids about that and I say don't take the crapshoot. If your child is a small child, if you can help it, don't make that child make that long walk from the school bus stop home. It's insane.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Stay with CNN throughout the day as we shine the spotlight on America's missing children, CNN prime time tonight at 8:00. What role does race play in the media coverage of missing kids. Paula brings it out in the open. At 9:00, how did police crack the case? Larry King talks with the officers who found the boys, the suspect's attorney, and more. Then at 10:00, the Missouri Miracle, "AC 360" takes an in-depth look at the kids, the suspect and the investigation.
COLLINS: Ice coated roads, trees and power lines, hundreds of thousands of people in the dark. That's the scene right now across a big part of the nation's heartland. From Missouri to Texas, a major winter storm has left its mark. And now parts of the great lakes and northeast are feeling its impact. At last count, about 330,000 homes in Missouri were without power. The number in Oklahoma, 122,000. The storm which blew in Friday is blamed now for at least 30 deaths across six states. Fifteen in Oklahoma, six in Missouri, five in Iowa, two in Texas, and one in each New York and Maine. Chad Myers joining us now with the latest in all of this. Boy, 30 people dead from this.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know. And at least a million people without power, because you talk about households, that's how many houses are without power. And in fact, the i-Reporter that we have here right now, Vickie Chapman is out of her house because last night it went down to 40 degrees without any power. That's not any fun. Vickie is from Springfield, Missouri. That's what her backyard looked like and these were all the trees that were coming down. She said there's not a single tall tree left. They have all now come down. A little bit of a prettier picture though if you zoom in a little bit. For a time, there was a little bit of snow covering up as well. That snow on the Japanese maple there, kind of an interesting shot. That will be great when it blooms in the spring. But for now, no. If you shake all that snow off, what do you have underneath? You have ice. There it is. I hope they bought the four matic, which is the four door Mercedes Benz there. Obviously that car didn't go very far. That was from Kevin Gutner from Sedalia, Missouri. Thanks for those shots there. If you have an i-Report, go to cnn.com/ireport and send them in. I would love to be showing them all afternoon long as well. Especially if you have power and tell me that you've finally gotten your power back on.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Segues us perfectly into this next story. This unusual cold snap, Chad's been telling us about in California, and now a major industry could be staring at some big losses. A weekend freeze brought record low temperatures to the state's major citrus growing counties, damage to the orange, lemon and tangerine crop is already said to be widespread and significant. The total crop is valued at nearly $1 billion.
COLLINS: A young California woman is dead after competing in a radio station contest. The prize? A Nintendo Wii video gaming system. To win it, drink the most water without a bathroom break. Mike Bond of affiliate KCRA on how the game went terribly wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God, oh my God.
MIKE BOND, KCRA: That's how Lucy Davidson said she reacted after learning that the extreme water drinking radio contest that she won had apparently turned deadly.
LUCY DAVIDSON, CONTEST WINNER: I woke my husband and said, honey, honey, the other girl that was a runner-up with me, I said she died. It was like, I was just in tears.
BOND: Davidson said the contest was to see who could drink the most water without having to use the bathroom. Initially they were given two minutes to drink each of these small bottles. But after eight of them, the bottles got bigger.
DAVIDSON: It's so horrible. You know, because you don't think water's going to kill you. You know? You're having fun. You're at the radio station trying to, you know, to win a little contest. You know, you don't think it's going to turn deadly.
BOND: Doctors say enormous amounts of water can cause your organs to swell, especially your brain. Water intoxication, while rare, can be a silent killer.
DR. JONATHAN KEI, U.C. DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER: Obviously your brain's in an enclosed space with your skull. If that swelling continues, there's no real place for your brain to go.
DAVIDSON: I was sick. I was throwing up. I was miserable. I was just -- I laid on the floor the rest of the day. I just couldn't even function. I couldn't do anything.
BOND: A whole lot of suffering, including the apparent death of a 28-year-old for the chance to win this, a video game system.
DAVIDSON: It was devastating. My husband goes, that could have been you. I go, I know.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Once again, that was Mike Bond reporting from CNN affiliate KCRA in Sacramento.
HARRIS: And in just a couple of minutes we'll be hearing from the president.
COLLINS: Yes, we will. In fact, of course as you know it is MLK Day today, a federal holiday, a lot of people off today. He was visiting Cardoza Senior High School, so we want to go ahead and take a moment to listen in to what he had to say to the kids and the volunteers on this important day.
BUSH: This has been my honor to be here. One of the things that Mrs. King wanted was for MLK Day to be a day of service. It is not a day off, but it's a day on. So I'm here at Cardoza High School to thank the hundreds of people who have showed up to serve the country. By volunteering.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.
BUSH: And right here in the library, we're with a group of folks who are sending postcards to folks who have been affected by Katrina. Cards of hope, opportunity for a citizen here to say to somebody in the New Orleans area, we care about you, people are thinking about you. And all in the hopes of lifting somebody's spirit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.
BUSH: So I not only want to thank the folks involved in this project and thank the attorney general for volunteering, but I encourage people all around the country to seize any opportunity they can to help somebody in need. And by helping somebody in need, you're honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, and by helping somebody in need, you're really helping yourself, because you're lifting your soul. So I want to thank the principal of this fine high school and I want to thank the organizers of the event and I want to thank the volunteers, young and old, for setting aside time to make somebody else's life better. Thank you all for coming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
COLLINS: President Bush visiting with -- great agreement from the gal next to him at Cardoza Senior High School, that is in northwest D.C. An important point by saying that if you are off today, you should be thinking about this and helping other people.
HARRIS: That's what's happening around the country. A lot of folks participating in sort of community service activities. There at Cardoza, the volunteers are putting a fresh coat of paint on the school and folks around the country taking part in prayer services in remembrances of Dr. King. What a great day, that was wonderful.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM this morning, and the winner is --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILL SMITH: Hey. Don't ever let somebody tell you, you can't do something.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The award season gets under way with tonight's Golden Globes. A look at who may have the inside track ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: And the winner is -- well, we have no idea yet. But there is a good chance, at least a couple of tonight's Golden Globe awards that will go to actors and actresses with an independent streak. CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
What? What? Little Miss Sunshine?
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They have small budgets and are distributed by small studios.
Babel, thank you for smoking, little children.
VARGAS: But when it comes to Hollywood's award season, independent movies are definitely big players.
AARON ECKHART, GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEE: That's what feels best is that really we're not the sexiest film out there. It's an independent film. And this, I think, we're the little engine that could in a lot of ways.
VARGAS: At this year's Golden Globe nominations, little engines filled the track. Six of the ten movies in the two best picture categories are independent films. MIKE FLEEMAN, PEOPLE MAGAZINE: The studios have gotten out of the business pretty much of making award quality movies. They've left it now to the independent elements of the studios to make these things, or Indie's straight out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what to do. I feel like they're taking her away from me.
VARGAS: "People" magazine's Mike Fleeman says its no surprise the majority of actors nominated for Golden Globes also come from independent films.
FLEEMAN: Smaller films rely on good acting and good writing. They don't rely on special effects.
PENELOPE CRUZ, GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEE: I knew it was a very talented and difficult character, but I love that and actors, we always want that.
VARGAS: Both critics and actors like Forrest Whitaker from the "Last King of Scotland" agree just being nominated serves another very important purpose for smaller films.
FORREST WHITAKER, GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEE: Hopefully people will go see the movie and know more about it.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Wow, that's a loud one. Sibila Vargas joining us now live. What can you tell us, Sibila, about the Golden Globe parties, huh?
VARGAS: Oh, I can tell you a whole bunch. First of all, let me give you a sense of how this is going to go down, ok? As soon as the celebrities start to make their way down the red carpet, they're going to talk to some of the press. There's about 100 outlets waiting for them to promote their films, to talk about their love lives maybe, I don't know. The dresses, of course. And once they start going into the Beverly Hilton, they'll be handed these little Moet Chandone bottles, and they will have these little flutes and they'll start drinking them, with the weather out here being so cold, they probably will need a little bit of that. But the parties, there's going to be about seven of them going down at the Beverly Hilton. And I've got a sneak peek at the "In Style" Warner Brothers party and let me tell you Heidi, do you like chocolate?
COLLINS: Yeah, it's ok. Gummy bears I'm more of a fan of, but chocolate works.
VARGAS: Chocolate works, ok. There's a chocolate lounge. It's unbelievable. They have wall-to-wall chocolate where from floor to ceiling they have panels of dark chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate, everything you could possibly imagine. And there's also the Godiva chocolate towers --
COLLINS: And chairs? VARGAS: They have chocolate martinis, yes. I mean it's absolutely serious. I was sitting there and I'm thinking, you know I'm smelling it, and it feels like you're in a bathtub of chocolate. So if you like chocolate, that's your thing. And they also have champagne, of course. So they're going to be in very good spirits.
COLLINS: Yeah, I bet. What's to complain about with champagne and chocolate, huh?
VARGAS: Exactly. They don't call it Hollywood's biggest party for nothing.
COLLINS: No, they don't. We'll look for a full report immediately after that party. Sibila Vargas, thank you, live from the Golden Globes today.
HARRIS: "Your World Today" coming up, there are about 50 things I could say that no, we're not going to do it.
COLLINS: I know, contain.
HARRIS: "Your World Today" coming up at the top of the hour. Jim Clancy standing by now with a preview. Jim, good morning.
JIM CLANCY, CNNI ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Tony and to Heidi. Of course we'll have the latest on all the developments coming out of the Middle East. But also we're going to look at the protests over a new law in Northern Ireland that bars discrimination against gays. Some are saying well that violates our religious freedom.
Iran's president goes to Latin America. Are the leftist forces there, which are on the rebound, building a new anti-U.S. partnership with Tehran?
Well it's not Hollywood, it's Bollywood. India's film fans see stars as the leading lady gets an engagement ring from the leading man. So it's not walls of chocolate there, it's just a single diamond. All of the news with an international perspective coming up at the top of the hour. Heidi and Tony, back to you.
HARRIS: Jim Clancy bringing us back full circle. Jim, thank you.
COLLINS: I think we're going to Susan Lisovicz for some business.
SUSAN LISOVICZ: Good morning Heidi and Tony.
COLLINS: Hi Susan, I could tell you were there.
LISOVICZ: Familiar face, unfamiliar surroundings perhaps. When we come back, we'll be talking about a big corporate heavyweight. Says it's going to continue to take care of our financial needs but that familiar umbrella is going away. I'll have the details when NEWSROOM continues. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A construction site collapsed in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Look at this, at least one person on foot. Possibly four others in a minibus plunge into a massive hole.
HARRIS: Whoa!
COLLINS: It happened over the weekend. The first body was recovered just this morning. Workers had been burrowing underground for a new subway station. The builders say heavy rains may have contributed to the collapse.
HARRIS: Man, what pictures. Citigroup may be folding up its umbrella. What is that about? Susan Lisovicz joins us now from the New York Stock Exchange with a view of the company's new image, new profile. Susan, what gives here?
LISOVICZ: You know, it's subtle, but the company believes it is significant nonetheless, Tony. So we can lose the word group. "The New York Times" says the banking giant is looking to change its name to just Citi, four letters. The company may also throw away its familiar red umbrella logo. That's what we're talking about, Tony. The changes will be presented to the board this week and if approved, a rollout could begin next month. Instead, the new logo will be similar to the arc that is now on Citigroup's credit cards and some of its office buildings. However, the color of the arc may change depending on the division. Companies spend millions of dollars and a lot of time on these sorts of things Tony.
HARRIS: They sure do. But you know what, it seems a bit like a trend developing here. Didn't Apple computer just change its name?
LISOVICZ: Yeah, it kind of got buried under all the hype with the iPhone last week at Mac World. But yes, it is significant that with all the diversification, Apple Computer is simply now legally Apple. Dell computer is now Dell. Several years ago Morgan Stanley lots its Dean Witter suffix. And of course Federal Express basically relented to what we were all calling the company, FedEx. With many companies now offering a variety of products and services, some businesses are looking to simplify their logos. In the case of Citigroup, the bank has added the citi prefix to its consumer businesses. For example, Citi Bank and Citi Mortgage, but that's led to multiple logos and titles. "The New York Times" said the bank's CEO is trying to spark more cooperation between those businesses. So being under one umbrella, even though it's folding the umbrella, it could help to do just that. It's kind of confusing. But the real question here in New York is, what will happen to the 16-foot 5,000- pound steel umbrella that sits outside the bank right here in Manhattan. No word on that yet. One final note, it's kind of obvious, I'm not at the New York Stock Exchange today, because all U.S. financial markets are closed today in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King. The Dow industrials closed at a record high Friday. The NASDAQ closed above the 2,500 level for the first time since early 2001. That's the latest in business news. Heidi and Tony, back to you. HARRIS: Thank you Susan. Appreciate it.
COLLINS: In just about an hour or so, Kyra Philips and Don Lemon will take over at the desk for the rest of the day's news. Hey Kyra?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: This is the place to be for MLK Day.
HARRIS: Of course.
PHILLIPS: Because you've got his church where he preached, his house where he grew up.
HARRIS: It seems like it's just across the street, yeah.
PHILLIPS: I know, it's the best thing to do here in Atlanta. Every time someone comes to town. We're going to be talking about priceless pieces of the dream and now a permanent part of Atlanta history. The writings of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were bound for the auction block until Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin got wind of it, and went on a fund-raising binge to bring the papers home to King's birthplace. She's going to join us live in the NEWSROOM with the story.
Then, a little Golden Globe warm-up with nominee Jeremy Piven on HBO's "Entourage", great show. He plays a Hollywood agent with a heart of cold. But stick him in an anchor desk? Well, the smooth operator just falls apart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY PIVEN: I couldn't be an anchor and I'll tell you why.
PHILLIPS: Because of IFB in your ear?
PIVEN: Because it keeps popping out?
PIVEN: It would pop out and I would be fired.
PHILLIPS: Is it too big, too small?
PIVEN: Yes. I would be like, war at a glance, ow!
PHILLIPS: Let me know and I'll help you with that.
PIVEN: Ok, yes.
PHILLILPS: So I see you've still got the flip.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: No worries, Piven's not looking to quit his day job. More on his smoking out career ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM, it all gets started, 1:00 p.m. eastern time.
COLLINS: It's a hard job.
HARRIS: Yeah.
COLLINS: It is a really hard job.
HARRIS: Yeah, we're going to get all kinds of sympathy. Sure, for the anchors, not going to happen.
PHILLIPS: I want his job. Matter of fact, I want that gig on "Entourage."
HARRIS: That's a good show, he's great on it.
COLLINS: Kyra thanks. As she said, CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now.
HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home, I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins, have a great day, everybody.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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