Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Deep Freeze; Missouri Kidnapping Charges; Cancer Rates; Gerri's Top Tips; Oregon Weather
Aired January 17, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Spend a second hour in the NEWSROOM this morning and stay informed. Here's what's on the rundown.
Icy in Austin. Much of Texas glazed by a big blast of winter weather. The chill stinging Americans coast to coast.
COLLINS: Cancer death rates down dramatically for the second year in a row. The new numbers released this hour from the American Cancer Society.
HARRIS: Look at this. Hit, punched, kicked, slammed. New York high school girls on tape on the Internet. They're facing charges at a vicious beating on this Wednesday, January 17th. You are in the NEWSROOM.
Misery coast to coast. We mean misery. Much of the country reeling from snow, ice, freezing rain, bitter cold. Parts of the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, the deep South, the East Coast, all a big wintry mess. Some of the worst weather is in Texas. CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras now in San Antonio.
Jacqui, how is the city handling this cold snap? After all, we're talking San Antonio here.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, San Antonio. You know, it's been two years since they've really seen any ice and snow here back in 2004. The granddaddy was back in 1985 where they had 13 « inches. And that's pretty much it, you know. So like 30 out of the last 100 plus years, that's how often they see any kind of know snow or ice this far south.
You know, we're here in the River Walk area. Just a couple of weeks ago, this price was bustling with 80 degree temperatures, people all over the place in short sleeves and shorts. And now look at the ice accumulating on these tree branches. They're totally bended over here. And you can see the ice just crumbling right off of it. In fact, you can even see the detail. I don't know if you can see that, that far away. But you can see the leaf in here.
Here's the railing. This is completely coated with ice as well. The ice just coming off of here. And it's mostly elevated surfaces that are dealing with the solid ice. It's a little patchy on some of the roadways in town. You get outside of town, those bridges and over passes are a nightmare and really impassable. Cars have been spinning out all day.
This has been going on for two days. So this isn't just a fast blast of winter weather that we're having to deal with this far south. This is an on going event and it looks like we could have a little more icy weather potentially by tomorrow afternoon.
Kids are out of school. The schools are closed. Many businesses are closed as well. Had a hard time finding a Starbucks this morning, Tony, but we did manage to do that one. Also a lot of people without power. About 22,000 people here in San Antonio without power, with many more outside into the hill country. They had quite a bit of ice there as well. And you get up into the higher elevations a little bit more, they had some snow. Two to four inches of snowfall and still coming down in many areas.
HARRIS: Hey, Jacqui, what are you doing there? We didn't send you down there to cover this story.
JERAS: We did not, but we were prepared meteorologists and knew that we should have brought our CNN coats with us as we came down here. Yes, there's an AMS, the American Meteorological Society. You know, you see Chad and myself with the seals on the bottom of our thing. Well, that's the Meteorological Society.
There are about 1,000 people across the street over here at the convention center all gathering here, learning about more meteorology. The latest and the greatest. And we had a nice interview on "American Morning" too this morning about the new warning system, the polygon warning system. So it's been kind of fun.
Actually on Sunday many of us arrived, Tony, and so we kind of started placing bets, freezing rain, sleet, what do you think? Everybody's at their little computers with their models trying to figure it out. Yes, definitely the weather geeks are here, myself included.
HARRIS: And you stumble into a pretty nice weather story down there as well. Jacqui Jeras for us in San Antonio. Good to see you, Jacqui.
COLLINS: Oklahoma's governor visits the town of Mcalester today where they are struggling to recover from a paralyzing ice storm there. Joining us by phone from Mcalester is Assistant Police Chief Darrell Miller.
Darrell, do us a favor, if you would. Tell us the situation where you are and what you see around you.
DARRELL MILLER, ASSISTANT POLICE CHIEF, MCALESTER, OKLAHOMA: Well, right now the lines are still covered with ice. The roads are covered with ice. There's probably 14 to 15,000 people still without electricity. PSO (ph) is working day and night trying to get us restored. As of last night, we got power back on at city hall. We've been running on emergency generators. So it's going slowly but surely.
COLLINS: Yes, we're looking at a live shot now of Oklahoma City. Where you are is actually south of Tulsa. But it gives us an idea of the condition. We see lots of snow, people driving, you know, regular speeds, I guess, there.
But where you are, it's been four days now without power. I know that the shelter in your area, you've got about 18,000 residents, I believe?
MILLER: Yes, ma'am.
COLLINS: How are those shelters handling this many people?
MILLER: Well, we've got two shelters set up. One's at our First Baptist Church. Another one's at our Stop (ph) Center right now. And they're pretty well full. And we're just coping to get by and hopefully we'll make it until the ice storm goes over.
COLLINS: Yes. Any idea what the people at the shelters are needing? Are they doing OK with the food and blankets and all of those things?
MILLER: I think right now we're doing OK. Like I said, PSO's getting our electric on slowly. So hopefully some of these people will have their electric back on in their homes pretty quick and make room for more if need.
COLLINS: What will people be asking for from the governor who is on his way, as we've just mentioned, to Mcalester today?
MILLER: Well, I'm sure that when the governor gets here, he'll see Mcalester, how devastated our town is. And we'll just work with him to see what we can do to speed up our recovery service and help the people that's been hurt in this devastation.
COLLINS: Yes. And as I said, it's been four days without power. It always makes everything so much more difficult and cold, obviously. Remind me again what you said about the outlook for getting the power back to your city.
MILLER: Well, according to PSO, we're looking at anywhere from -- as of yesterday, they were saying it could be anywhere from around 20 days. Now they're saying anywhere from nine to 20 days.
COLLINS: Goodness sakes. Nine more days?
MILLER: Yes, ma'am.
COLLINS: Nine more to 20 more days.
MILLER: Right. Now granted, you know, every day they're getting electricity up.
COLLINS: Sure. MILLER: So, you know, like I said, you know, it could be nine days for the latest one. It could be sooner or latest. We just really don't know.
COLLINS: Maybe you'll have to turn city hall into another shelter, huh?
MILLER: That very well could be.
COLLINS: Getting that up and running.
All right, Darrell Miller. He's the assistant chief of police there in Mcalester, Oklahoma. A very, very hard hit area from all of this ice and snow and flooding and all the things that we're experiencing across the midsection of the country.
Thanks so much for your time here, Darrell. Appreciate it.
HARRIS: And Chad Myers, all you can do is sort of just weather the -- sorry about that, the elements and just, you know, do the best you can until relief, warmer temperatures, better times come along.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: No let-up today in the bloodshed in Iraq. New attacks after the carnage at a Baghdad university. In the latest violence, a car bomb explodes at a market in the Sadr City section of Baghdad. At least 15 people are dead, almost three dozen wounded according to an interior ministry official.
An explosion also rocks the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk today killing 10 people there. Authorities say the bomber parked a truck next to a police station and ran off. They think the explosives were detonated by remote control.
All of this follows attacks that killed more than 100 people yesterday. Seventy died in attacks on a Baghdad university. In a briefing in Iraq today, U.S. military officials were asked whether Iraqi forces can get a handle on the violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAR ADM. MARK FOX, MULTINATIONAL FORCE IRAQ SPOKESMAN: I think that the months to come will tell, quite frankly. And we've certainly seen good examples of inadequate units that had problems and after either putting good leadership and additional training that have come back and have served well. But it's not something that -- it takes a certain amount of time and it will take -- I think a certain amount of time for it to tell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Under President Bush's plan, the goal is for Iraqis to take over security by November, with support still in place from U.S. troops. HARRIS: The Missouri kidnappings suspect, an alleged double life exposed. Prosecutors today building their case against Michael Devlin, the pizzeria manager accused of kidnapping two boys and making them his prisoners, one for four days, the other more than four years. CNN's Chris Lawrence outside the courthouse in Union, Missouri.
And, Chris, good morning to you.
We understand that you actually have a copy of the motion filed last night by Devlin's attorney. What's he asking for?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, we have read a copy of this motion that was filed by Michael Devlin's defense attorney. And basically what they're asking for is to allow Mr. Devlin to appear in this arraignment in civilian clothes and without handcuffs. They feel that with all the publicity that this case is getting, that these images of him in that prison jump suit shackled would be slightly prejudicial to any potential jurors out there if indeed this case ever does go to trial.
Now, Devlin will be arraigned tomorrow. Right around this time tomorrow. The actual hearing will take place right there in the building behind me. But Devlin will actually be several miles away because the jail and the sheriff's office is a few miles away from the courtroom. For security reasons, they're going to do a video arraignment, in which case they'll just put a camera in there with Mr. Devlin and there will be a video uplink with the court here.
Tony.
HARRIS: Well, Chris, I have to ask you. You talk about the potential to prejudice a jury pool. How big a media presence are we expecting at this arraignment tomorrow?
LAWRENCE: Probably considerable. If you consider just how many people have been around. I mean I can look down the street and see, you know, one, two cameras set up right down the block right now. So there will be, you know, a lot of media here.
And again, this is something that his lawyers have been saying for the past day or so, is not to jump to conclusions. They say there's still evidence to be brought out and there has to be that presumption of innocence before you even get close to a trial.
HARRIS: Yes. CNN's Chris Lawrence for us.
Chris, thank you.
COLLINS: House Democrats back on the clock today. They're putting student loan interest rates on the chopping block. One hundred-hour agenda in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Also, a beating videotape up loaded to the Internet for all the world to see. High school girls flat out out of control.
COLLINS: Making advances in the war on Cancer. New numbers show a significant drop in deaths. The reasons why coming up next.
HARRIS: And covering conflict on the horn of Africa. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr back stateside. She talks about her assignment and the turbulent region in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Want to quickly take you back to a developing story we're watching here this thorning. This is Grant County, Kentucky. Some responders to that. It's a school bus crash. Not exactly sure how it happened. But according to our affiliates there in Kentucky, we are learning that that bus may have hit a power pole. You see the damage all across the front of the vehicle. Looks like it might have rolled or something because we don't see other vehicles involved.
But again, pure speculation at this point because we have not gotten confirmation. But we do know that seven people were taken to the hospital. Apparently there were 17 on board that bus. So the driver, along with six others taken to a nearby hospital. And we're going to continue to follow this one for you and find out what we can.
HARRIS: An encouraging trend in cancer rates to tell you about today. It appears deaths have dropped for a second straight year. Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here with new details of this new report just out.
Elizabeth, this sounds like great news.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is great news. This is the biggest drop that they've ever seen in the number of cancer death in 70 years. That's the 70 years that the American Cancer Society has been keeping track.
Let's take a look. Between 2003 to 2004 there were 3,014 fewer cancer deaths in the United States. Compare that to the previous year, where there were 369 fewer deaths. These are the only two years that they've seen drops in the past 70 years. All the other years the number of deaths were about the same or higher.
HARRIS: How do we explain such a big difference?
COHEN: Well, there seem to be three major reasons why we're seeing this big difference. And you can probably guess it -- what they are. Better prevention. Simply put, people are smoking less than they used to. That's really the big one. Improved screening. People are getting mammograms more than they used to or also getting tests for colon cancer more than they did before. More effective treatments, better chemotherapy, better hormonal treatments. Also, doctors are getting better at combing those two different kinds of treatments for certain kinds of cancer.
HARRIS: So prevention efforts working out especially well for men. What about women?
COHEN: Right. They seem to be working better for men. Men seem to, over the past years, got the message to quit smoking more than women have. This might be kind of surprising because we often think of women as doing a better job at making themselves healthy and going to the doctor and whatever. But when it comes to tobacco, the early prevention efforts were more geared at men and men heard them more, which isn't surprising. Women, however, have stopped smoking, but they did it later on. So they're not reaping the same benefits that the men are. So I think that doctors are beginning to get the message that they need to aim prevention efforts at women now as well as men.
HARRIS: Death rates topping. Any bad news?
COHEN: There is one piece of bad news here, and that bad news is that when it comes to minorities, cancer is, unfortunately, those rates are still higher in minorities than they are in white Americans. Let's take a look at African-American men compared to white men.
And what you see here is that African-American men have a 15 percent higher cancer rate than white men and a 38 percent higher death rate from cancer. In other words, when white and black men both get cancer, black men have a 38 percent higher chance of dying from cancer. That is a huge number and doctors know they need to do something about that.
Let's take a look at women. African-American women actual I have a 9 percent lower cancer rate compared to white women. However, they also have an 18 percent higher risk of dying from cancer. An 18 percent higher death rate.
Now, the reasons for that, there are many. But one of the reasons is the minorities tend to have less access to medical care and also tend to take advantage of medical care less even when they do have access to it.
HARRIS: Good information.
Elizabeth, good to see you.
COHEN: Thanks.
HARRIS: Thanks.
And you can be proactive in fighting cancer. CNN has developed a special website to help. Go to cnn.com/savingyourlife and click on web extras. You will find a link to a cancer screening map resources in all 50 states. If you don't have access to the Internet, visit a local community center or library to log on. It's information that could actually save your life. And cancer prevention is a big part of Dr. Sanjay Gupta's series "Saving Your Life." Watch it right here this weekend Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Eastern and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
COLLINS: Fidel Castro's health depends on who you ask. A Spanish surgeon who examined him last month tells CNN the Cuban leader is showing, "progressive improvement." No specifics, but the doctor made a point of contacting CNN to deny a Spanish newspaper's report. That account cited hospital sources and called the Cuban president's condition grave. He has not been seen in public since last summer when he handed power to his brother Raul.
Two missing boys found in Missouri. Inspiration for families who have lost so much.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, it gave us a lot of hope. A lot of inspiration to keep on searching for our babies because we do want them back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The desperate search for two little girls. Their story coming up in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And Gerri Willis with us this morning.
Gerri, is it possible that Congress could actually make higher education a little more affordable?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You betcha. There is good news, Tony, for students trying to pay for college. But the devil is in the details. We'll tell you all about it next on "Top Tips."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: All right. There's the big board now, down about 20 points or so. Resting at 12,563. A big stories today we're talking about, oil, low. Good for us. And foreclosure rates up pretty big last month. So we're going to be checking in a little bit later on with Susan Lisovicz talking business for you in just a few moments.
HARRIS: College may soon be more affordable for some. Today lawmakers in the House set you cut interest rates on certain student loans. Here with details, CNN personal finance Gerri Willis.
Gerri, I have pen in hand taking notes because I hope that one day soon, you know, big boy is going to be in college soon, I will be the beneficiary. I'm ready.
WILLIS: Yes, you are on the hook for a lot of dough because college costs are through the roof. But this is good news today. Let's talk about, first off, who will benefit. Since the subsidized Stafford loan is need based, low and middle income students are most likely to qualify. Now a majority of boroughs are from families making $67,000 annually or less. And it's estimated that it's going to help 5.5 million students. Good news. So we spoke to the bill sponsor, Congressman George Miller, about his initiative.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. GEORGE MILLER, (D) CALIFORNIA: This is just the beginning of a comprehensive program to try to keep the cost of college down, to contain the cost of college and to make it more affordable for more Americans who are fully qualified to go to college.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIS: OK. So, Tony, the other thing you need to know here, the bill is specifically for undergraduates.
HARRIS: So, great, undergraduates. How will it work?
WILLIS: Well, if this bill is passed by both the House and the Senate, interest rates on subsidized Stafford loan will be cut from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent beginning this July. Now the rate cuts will be phased in over the course of five years. A long time. So this year the interest rate will be cut to 6.12 percent. In 2008, the rate will go to 5.44 percent. A little small cuts continue until 2011 when the rate cut will go to 3.4 percent. A luscious interest rate there.
HARRIS: Yes, that's more like it. What ultimately would it mean, could it mean for your wallet?
WILLIS: OK. Look at this breakdown. OK. Assuming a student has $10,000 in subsidized Stafford loans on a 10-year repayment schedule, pretty typical, a freshman this fall will save an average of nearly $1,100 over the life of the loan. And if you want to look at the potential monthly savings between these rates, for a loan at 6.8 percent, as you can see, you'd pay about $115 a month. With a 3.4 percent loan, you're paying less than $100. So that is a savings of about $17 a month, then more money for pizza, which would be important.
HARRIS: Yes, sounds good. But I'm wondering, it almost sounds like it might be a little too good to be true. Anything in the fine print to be concerned with?
WILLIS: What people have not been talking about, what really hasn't been reported, is how long the 3.4 percent interest rate will be in effect according to this bill. It is set to expire on January 1, 2012. So, in effect, that 3.4 luscious rate will only be in effect for six months. And if there's no extension of the cuts, the rate will revert back to 6.8 percent. The moral of the story, get on it because you want to take advantage.
HARRIS: OK. Let's assume that all of this passes. We still need to be mindful of the developments as the story unfolds, don't we?
WILLIS: Well, I know people will really want to follow this closely. Once this bill is voted on, it will make its way to the Senate. To follow the status of this bill, just type the bill number, which is HR05, into the Library of Congress website. That website is thomas.loc.gov. And, of course, we're going to follow this for you, bring you all the latest developments.
If you have a question about this or other money issues you're facing, send us an e-mail to toptips@cnn.com. We answer them right here every Friday.
HARRIS: That is outstanding. And we will talk about the big "Open House" show tomorrow, correct? WILLIS: That's right. But just in case, 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
HARRIS: There you go.
All right, Gerri Willis, good to see you.
WILLIS: Thank you.
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: Among our top stories this morning, slipping an sliding from coast to coast, really. Ice, snow, freezing rain and bitter cold making for another miserable day across a big part of the country. Wow. That's a lot of snow. Not much comfort in Comfort, Texas. That town and many others in the lone star state paralyzed by a blast of ice and snow. A 300-mile stretch of Interstate 10 shut down after snow started falling over a layer of ice.
And more misery in the Midwest. Nearly a foot of snow has fallen so far on parts of Indiana. And to New Hampshire. A struggle just to stay warm. Thousands of homes and businesses still without power after Monday's ice storm there.
A slippery mess. Ice and snow causing a lot of problems in Portland, Oregon. Schools shut down and a rash of car crashes. KATU's Brian Barker reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN BARKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): In Tiger (ph), this may be the only reliable way to navigate the roads. Nearby a cash smashes through a fence. On Shoals Ferry (ph), some car just spin their wheels. And everywhere you look, cars and trucks are stopped and traffic is snarled.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was coming this way on Walnut and this SUV, that one right there, was coming down 135th sideways, so I stopped in time.
BARKER: Wherever there is even the slightest of hills, cars careen out of control. This SUV (INAUDIBLE) bounces back and forth in a slow-motion, out-of-control slide.
(on camera): Hey, Take a look at this -- this is the I-5 off- ramp to Barber (ph) Boulevard. All of these cars are stacked up here along the shoulder, because they can't make it up the off-ramp. This is too steep for them. This is hardly any hill at all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can't go up the hill, at all.
BARKER: Have you seen a plow come through here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nope.
BARKER: Reporter: Not one plow? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
BARKER: And you've been sitting here two hours?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two-and-a-half hours.
BARKER (voice-over): Olivia Helmet (ph) sat stuck on this off ramp for four hours.
(on camera): It's 12:20. You've been here since 7:00 in the morning?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You morons! Stay home.
BARKER (voice-over): Driving anywhere is treacherous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Folks should stay home and stay off the road.
BARKER: And even as snowplows bat to clear the roads, the city worries about the next 24 hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our concern is that about the time it gets dark, it's going to get really icy. And I really think that the mayor is making the right call in terms of sending people home.
BARKER: As snow on the roads melts in places, it's already beginning to freeze again, and the sliding has never stopped.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: We've been telling you about the school bus accident in Grant County, Kentucky this morning. Want to get an update on the rail there.
Nancy Howe is on the line with us from Grant County schools.
Nancy, good morning to you.
NANCY HOWE, GRANT CO. SCHOOL DIST.: Good morning.
HARRIS: Nancy, thanks for your time.
What can you tell us about this accident?
HOWE: Just to confirm that, yes, we did have an accident this morning. It was a bus that was transporting 17 students from Pritna (ph) Mount Zion Elementary to the Grant County Middle School. All 17 students were Grant County middle school students. We did take everyone to our local hospital, which is St. Elizabeth Hospital, Grant County, where they were checked out, and we had three students that moved on to larger hospitals. HARRIS: Can you give us any idea of how serious the injuries are, particularly to the three students who were moved on to another hospital?
HOWE: We are waiting for that information ourselves with regard to whether they will be released or what the extent of their injuries are.
HARRIS: Any reporting on the accident from the driver?
HOWE: I'm sorry?
HARRIS: Any reporting on what caused the accident from the driver?
HOWE: That's all being investigated by the police.
HARRIS: How's the driver?
HOWE: She went to be checked out as well.
HARRIS: There are reports that the bus may have hit a utility pole. Can you confirm that for us?
HOWE: Like I said, I haven't received any specifics yet with regard to how the accident happened, or the extent of damage to the bus or whether even if anybody else was involved or not.
HARRIS: And probably another question you can't answer, do you know whether or not weather was a factor? Looks pretty dry now, but...
HOWE: I do not know.
HARRIS: OK.
So 17 children, let's sort of recap this. 17 children on the bus.
HOWE: Yes.
HARRIS: The initial reporting was that seven were taken to the hospital; now we understand that all of the children were taken to local hospitals, and three have been moved on to another, a larger facility?
HOWE: Yes.
HARRIS: OK.
All right. Anything more, Nancy?
HOWE: That's all we have right at present. We're getting -- we'll doing a press release in the next few minutes.
HARRIS: Nancy Howe with the Grant County Schools with an update on this school bus accident. We'll continue to follow this story.
COLLINS: From the school yard to cyberspace, a teenaged spat turns ugly, and Internet surfers flock to watch. But the story doesn't end there. More details coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And an update now on the story we told you about earlier this week. A Sacramento radio station firing 10 employees after the death of a listener. Jennifer Strange died after taking part in a water-drinking contest. Strange and other contestants tried to win a Nintendo Wii by downing a lot of water without a bathroom break. One contestant said Strange seemed ill when she went on the air. Hours later she was found dead in her home. The coroner believes she died from water intoxication. Authorities not pursuing criminal charges.
Police say it's a teenage spat that first simmered on the Internet, then came to a full boil, three girls accused of attacking their rival, videotaping the assault and then posting it online. It got the attention of a lot of people, including the police. Details now from reporter Lucy Yang of CNN's New York affiliate WABC.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LUCY YANG, WABC REPORTER (voice-over): The victim, we're told, is an eighth grade student who just turned 13. Her attackers, two 14- year-old girls and one 13-year-old who go on a frenzy. The video showing them beating, kicking, and pulling the victim's hair. All the girls' faces protected because they are minors.
LT. ROBERT EDWARDS, SUFFOLK COUNTY POLICE DEPT.: Parents are pretty shocked, and you can understand why, and traumatized. As a parent myself, if this was my child, I'd be pretty traumatized.
YANG: Suffolk County police believe the ambush took place outside the Woods Road Elementary School in North Babylon back on December 18th.
Somehow, the video made its way through the Internet, and when high school administrators learned of it, they called the police. Today all three girls seen doing the attacking were arrested at North Babylon High School, where they are ninth graders. The victim, we're told, is also from North Babylon, but attends a private school, and apparently remains humiliated and horrified by what happened. Investigators say the girls met online and got into a dissing match over someone's boyfriend, the hostility eventually bubbling over from cyberspace to reality. Afterwards, there appears to be gloating over the beating.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, let's go back. I want to go back.
EDWARDS: The reason they stopped is because some sort of unknown good samaritan pulled up in his, you could see the car open, and they scatter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And still to come -- the rush to deadline, did it become a rush to judgment in the Duke assault case? A closer look ahead in the NEWSROOM.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. Myspace could soon become momspace in many households. I'll explain when NEWSROOM continues. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
COLLINS: And oranges, lemons, limes, the tarty tang will soon cost you more. Wintry blast hits the groves.
Cancer, poverty, and high fashion. An unusual combination, but it's saving lives in Harlem. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with more ahead here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK, you already know to catch us weekday mornings from 9:00 a.m. until noon Eastern. But, did you know that you can take us with you anywhere on your i-Pod? Since we're getting a couple of coins for per download, Heidi -- not likely. The CNN NEWSROOM podcast available 24/7 right on your i-Pod. Heidi's great on that thing.
When the Duke assault case broke nearly a year ago, the media just ran with it. But did they drop the ball along the way? Howard Kurtz reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): From the moment last spring that three Duke University lacrosse players were accused of raping a young woman who had been hired to strip for some members of the team at a party, the story rocketed into the media stratosphere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA")
ROBIN ROBERTS, CO-HOST: Now to that explosive Duke sex scandal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TODAY SHOW")
MATT LAUER, CO-HOST, "THE TODAY SHOW": First, we want to talk more about the Duke rape case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CBS EVENING NEWS")
BOB SCHIEFFER, ANCHOR: The case that has rocked one of America's elite college campuses and divided the community around it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a story that everybody is talking about. Television can't seem to get enough of it, the Duke University rape case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: And there were, to be sure, developments that were hard to ignore. The university canceled the rest of the lacrosse season. Mike Nifong, the DA in Durham, North Carolina, obtained indictments against the three players. Their denials that any sexual contact had taken place were duly reported, but did nothing to quiet the media frenzy.
"Newsweek" put two of the defendants' mug shots on the cover. What would have been a local crime story needed a larger narrative to go national, a narrative that media organizations rushed to provide.
ABC's Elizabeth Vargas raised "the question of whether college athletes feel they are above the law."
CBS' Trish Regan: "There's a sense that it's the wealth and the privilege and the power behind this university that's protecting these students."
CNN was no exception.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Pampered, privileged athletes getting away with just about everything, does that sound like Duke to you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE")
MARK GERAGOS, ATTORNEY: If this were black athletes, would they be in jail right now? Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Sometimes, words like "alleged" got dropped in the process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "NANCY GRACE")
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Oh, you know what, Kevin? I'm so glad they didn't miss a lacrosse game over a little thing like gang rape.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Camera crews were dispatched to the players' homes in New Jersey and Long Island, as journalists pumped up the angle that these were affluent white kids, while the unnamed accuser was a single mother who went to a black college in Durham, a stark contrast, built on the assumption that they had abused her.
Sportswriter Christine Brennan says, the coverage was an embarrassment.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, "USA TODAY"/ABC NEWS: We saw a story, all of us, around the country, and especially, I think, TV, but the print media, too, and -- and just went wild. It was -- it was a wildfire just raging out of control.
KURTZ: No expertise was required to sound off.
CLARENCE PAGE, "THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE": When you get this debate set up between people who were never even there and aren't even in the town, don't know much about it, but they start talking more in the abstract about race and gender and class, and then you get this much larger drama going on, that stirs up talk around the country, and stirs up circulation and ratings, too.
KURTZ: Newspapers joined the stampede as well. A "Washington Post" story began: "She was black, they were white, and race and sex were in the air."
A "USA Today" headline: "Race and Sex Cast Long Shadow Over Duke." "New York Times" columnist Selena Roberts wrote of a male "locker room culture" that encouraged "the tacit acceptance of denigrating behavior."
BRENNAN: To turn it into racial terms, it's just made for cable television. It's made for the bloggers, for the Web sites. It's made, really, for all of us, even those of us who consider ourselves in the mainstream, more reputable media.
KURTZ: It was like a mini-replay of the O.J. Simpson trial, with the pundits choosing up sides.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "RELIABLE SOURCES")
CALLIE CROSSLEY, MEDIA COMMENTATOR: Then, you have this incident, which is really based on what the old South was all about, that historical context of the sublimation of black women by white men.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "HANNITY & COLMES")
SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: We don't have, at the end of the day here, not one little itty-bitty bit of evidence from this DA, not one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Journalists gradually turned more skeptical as the case began to crumble. Now that the rape charges have been dropped, many news organizations that jumped on the allegations are criticizing the prosecution. But is it too late?
PAGE: These kids, for the rest of their lives, are going to be known as the Duke rape case suspects, regardless of how this all comes out.
KURTZ (on camera): The Duke story was impossible for the media to ignore, but there was clearly a rush to judgment, which turned one woman's shaky allegations into a racially charged morality tale.
By the time journalists woke up to the fact that there was little evidence against these three young men, their reputations had been blackened.
Howard Kurtz, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: I'm sure you've heard it before, don't mess with Texas. Well, Mother Nature completely blowing that off today. Big ice storm, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
Also for a second day, a poor Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad hit by a bomb blast. Today's developments coming up next.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: According to a United Nations report released Tuesday, more than 34,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in 2006. CNN.com has the latest information on the ongoing war in Iraq.
The relentless sectarian violence gained momentum after last year's bombing of a Shiite mosque in February. The gallery has a time line highlighting the bloodiest days in Iraq year by year since 2003.
Suicide and car bombs are almost a daily occurrence. Targeting mosques, marketplaces, police recruitment centers and other areas where crowds gather. The U.N. report says an average of 94 Iraqi civilians were killed each day in 2006. Triple the number reported by the Iraqi government. And it suggests there's a significant population shift as neighborhoods become divided among Shia and Sunni- armed groups.
Take a look at this map which has a breakdown of the population in Iraq and the various religious groups in the country. We'll find more details online at CNN.com/Iraq.
For the dot-com desk, I'm Veronica de la Cruz.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
