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Anna Nicole Smith Dies; FDA Approves Over-the-Counter Diet Pill; Snow Blankets Upstate New York
Aired February 08, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Phillips.
A pill to make you thinner, could it be? Better check the fine print. Are a few pounds worth the side effects?
LEMON: The political flap are up and over Nancy Pelosi's travel arrangements. Fasten your seat belts for this one.
WHITFIELD: And a whole lot of flaking going on in Upstate New York. And it's not stopping at -- any time soon -- the latest snow totals straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
Piling up -- snow already six feet deep and still falling in Upstate New York.
CNN's Rob Marciano made his way to Oswego, where it started snowing on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Eighteen inches of snow fell last week in Oswego, New York. And that doesn't include all the snow that past -- fell the past three or four days -- a four-day snow total of over 70 inches on this town just east of Lake Ontario.
Lake-effect snow is pretty light stuff, very powdery. It has got a very high snow-to-water ratio, which means that, while it's easy to move, that also means that the wind can move it around as well. So, snow drifts are a huge issue.
Also, when you get this much snow on the roads, moving it aside with a plow, that's just not enough. You actually have to physically pick it up and pile it up via snowblowers and front-loaders. And scenes like this, big piles of snow 10, 12, even 15 feet high, are all over Oswego County -- very warm waters out there in Lake Ontario, more so than in most years, because it was so mild in January and in December. And this air is so cold.
So, because of that, even though we are in a brief break this afternoon, there is a lake-effect snow warning in effect until Friday at 6:00 p.m.
Rob Marciano, CNN, Oswego, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Forty-below windchills in some places? That just doesn't seem right. And six feet of snow in others?
What is going on, Bonnie Schneider? And it ain't over yet.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, no, Fredricka.
It will run straight through the weekend, as Rob mentioned. And we even have more new information regarding our snowfall totals. That's right. The numbers have gone up since early this morning. Look at this: Parish, New York, 88 inches. That's close to breaking the record of 127 inches. Now, that was set quite a ways back.
But we're looking at these incredible numbers. It's actually hard to keep records in these areas, because a lot of these small towns don't do that. So, we're doing the best we can. But you can see Oswego right now has 71 inches of snow. Before this snow event is completely over, we may see 100 inches of snow.
Now, for a real-time view of what is happening, we have some terrific I-Reports to show you around the region. And we will show you some pictures where you are going to have to try to find the object.
The first I-Report is a car that is completely buried in snow. That's right. There is a Chrysler Sebring under there, if you can find it.
(LAUGHTER)
B. SCHNEIDER: And this picture was taken by Andrea Conley from Camden, New York. That's just to the north of Syracuse.
And he says four feet of snow on the ground and on top of the car. That is going to take a while to get out.
All right, we have another picture to show you from Susan Peters in Pulaski, New York. And she says her kids are in that picture. She has got a son and some grandkids and their friends having a good time in the snow. That is who enjoys the snow, certainly, the kids, no doubt about that.
If you would like to send your I-Reports, just go to CNN.com and click on I-Report. We want to hear from you. And, of course, I bet you that a lot more will be coming in straight through the weekend, because this lake-effect snow machine is not shutting off.
Here's the reason why. We have winds right now that are kind of fluctuating here from the west to northwest, and just now to the due west to the south. What has happened is, the snow bands that were working their way through Oswego has pushed further south.
As that wind teeters a little more to the northwest, the result is the snow bands push southward -- so, Syracuse getting hit with snow right now. But I just spoke to someone at the airport. The airport is open. I only found one flight that was delayed to New York. So, if you're flying in and out of Syracuse, call ahead. You may have an individual delay, but, right now, the airport still is open.
And, as we take a look at the radar picture, I want to show you some of the snow bands that we are seeing. We are also getting light to moderate snow here through Niagara Falls and into Buffalo. That will continue straight through tonight -- snow totals in Buffalo only another inch or so, but you could see several more inches of snow in Syracuse. And certainly more snow is in the forecast for Oswego.
What happens with these snow bands, Don and Fredricka, they kind of fluctuate and oscillate. So, we see them kind of waving about much of the day, straight into tonight and straight through the weekend -- a lot of snow there.
WHITFIELD: All right, Bonnie, thank you so much for that update.
LEMON: A new weapon in the battle of the bulge -- for the first time ever, the FDA is giving its blessing to an over-the-counter diet pill. But there are potential side effects.
I spoke with CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen earlier right here in the NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: When you go to the drugstore, you will see shelves and shelves of diet pills. Well, those are not actually approved by the FDA.
This will be the first officially FDA-approved diet pill that will be sold over the counter. A stronger version is sold currently by prescription. It is called alli. You can see the Web site there. It won't be available for several months.
Of course, the big question is, how much weight will it help you lose? Well, we took this right from one of the studies that they did with this pill. The folks in the study started out at about 220 pounds. When they just dieted, they lost nine pounds in one year. When they dieted, plus took this pill, they lost 16 pounds in one year.
And, again, they started out at 220. So, you can see that there is a difference there. It's not gigantic, but there definitely is a difference there.
Well, what will it cost you? It will cost you about $600 per year. You take three pills a day, and you take them with meals.
LEMON: Yes. OK. So, there are these side effects.
COHEN: Right. We have got to talk about these side effects...
LEMON: Yes. COHEN: ... because they are a real problem for many people.
LEMON: And you know, before you get to that, I just want to say that, on the thing, we just -- results -- and we're going to talk to people about that -- 53 percent now say, yes, that they would take it. Forty-seven percent say, no, they wouldn't.
But we -- we have got to talk about those side effects.
COHEN: You do, because that is why many people, of course, don't want to take it.
So, we will be frank here. We will use -- hopefully, no one is eating lunch.
LEMON: Yes.
COHEN: We will use some frank language right now.
The way that this pill works is that you eat food. It has fat in it. The pill bonds with the fat. And, so, you expel the fat. So, unfortunately, what can happen when you take this pill is, you get side effects, such as loose, more frequent stools that may be hard to control, gas, and bloating.
Of course, not everyone experiences these, but some people do. In fact, I talked to some people who took the prescription version of this, which is stronger and, therefore, has more side effects. And I talked to them. And they said: Gosh, I just -- I had to stop taking the pill. I couldn't get through a workday without running to the bathroom all the time.
And one lady said: I didn't even make it to the bathroom on time...
LEMON: Yes.
COHEN: ... all the time.
Again, not everyone has those effects, but they can be really annoying, to say the least.
LEMON: Yes. But, you know, if you're morbidly obese, you may. I mean, what are the benefits? Does it outweigh the cost of -- of -- of this, and -- and the possible side effects? Do you think the benefits outweigh that?
COHEN: You know, it is something that you really have to think about.
I talked to several doctors who prescribe this drug to many people. And they said, look, the weight loss is not gigantic. It's not huge. It's not as if you go from being 220 pounds to 150 pounds. The weight loss is not absolutely gigantic.
And, in addition, they said, with these side effects, their patients, some of them, just decided to stop taking it. So, those are two things that you really have to think about. Is that amount of weight loss worth it, 16 pounds vs. nine pounds that you could do on your own? Is it work the side effects and the $600 a year?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And that was just a couple moments ago.
Alli is basically a weaker form of the prescription drug Xenical. But both have potential side effects. Now, you saw the list. It is something you would take to lose weight. Would you?
Well, here is what a few people had to say when I asked them about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Would you take it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
LEMON: Why not? You lose weight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. You're losing everything else, it looks like.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I would not take it, not if I was going to lose -- that's not the price to pay there to lose weight. You can get on an elliptical trainer, a treadmill, do something else, instead of take a pill.
LEMON: Would you take it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all, because I definitely will read it before I buy it, purchase it. If I am going to use anything, I'm going to read it. Those side effects, no.
LEMON: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Too much. There's just too much going on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I'm going to lose weight, I'm going to do it the right way. I'm going to cut down, exercise, and just push back the fatty foods, the fried stuff, and, you know, do it the natural way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I would not.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Did you read them?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I did. Yes, I did.
LEMON: And?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I wouldn't take it.
LEMON: You wouldn't?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. But I do think people would do that without telling people that they're taking a diet pill. The reason I say that is people like to do things on their own, without the help of others. And they think they can do it. And, if it's something, oh, there is a quick fix to my body, they're going to do it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right.
Well, in addition to the new alli, here is another diet resource. It has everything from an interactive guide to creating healthy meals, to a chart on which foods contain antioxidants or other nutrients. It is CNN.com, and just click on the health tab at the top of our home page. And, from there, you will see it there on the left-hand side of the screen.
And we want to thank everyone for taking part in our little unscientific poll and speaking to us about -- about this pill.
WHITFIELD: Yes. It's been very revealing in a lot of ways.
Meantime, this just in out of South Florida -- we are learning that Anna Nicole has collapsed while at Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Florida. You are looking at taped pictures of her, not in relation to what has transpired today.
However, we also do have pictures of the Seminole Hard Rock Casino...
LEMON: Right.
WHITFIELD: ... in Florida, where she apparently collapsed, and is soon to be taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in nearby Hollywood, Florida. We don't know exactly why she collapsed...
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: ... and what kind of condition she's in right now.
LEMON: Yes.
Well, you know, it's been a very stressful time for her. As you know, late last year, her son died just unexpectedly.
WHITFIELD: The loss of her son.
LEMON: And he was a teenager, a young, really young teenager, or early 20s. He died.
And, then, recently she has been sued by someone who is taking the diet drug that she had been hawking. She was a spokesperson for this diet drug -- so, not exactly sure. But, again, this is according to people who were there. They said Anna Nicole -- she was a spokesperson for this diet drug. Not exactly sure but this is according to people who were there. They say Anna Nicole -- Anna Nicole Smith collapsed at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. That's according to officials and according to eyewitnesses.
Emergency responders performed CPR at the scene. And a breathing apparatus was inserted in her throat. This is according to eyewitness. And she was transported to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, shortly after that -- details, of course, to come right here in the CNN NEWSROOM, as they develop.
WHITFIELD: Meantime, still ahead: the flap over flying. Even the White House is fielding questions over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should get home to California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't -- I'm not aware that this is a primary concern at this point. I don't believe she's asking to be sent on -- you know, on the space shuttle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And foam from the runways -- the NEWSROOM is coming in hard with that one straight ahead.
LEMON: And, as a presidential hopeful, Barack Obama could hardly be hotter. Well, that's not what I mean, but that doesn't mean he should smoke.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Obama's campaign to clear the air -- straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: We are trying to learn more about what has happened to Anna Nicole Smith, who apparently collapsed while at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Florida.
She has been -- and you're seeing the casino there on the left- hand side of the screen. She has been taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where we are expecting her to arrive there any moment. We don't know what kind of condition she is in or what caused her collapse.
But we do know that, at least in recent months, it has been made very public the kind of stresses she's been going through after the birth of her daughter, all coinciding with the loss of her son. We're trying to learn more information about what has happened to Anna Nicole and why she collapsed there at that casino in South Florida -- more on that as we get it.
LEMON: And he's not the DA, though he plays one on television. He's not a politician either, but Sam Waterston thinks you should be, if you're fed up with politics as usual.
CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider explains all that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Let the politicking begin.
SAM WATERSTON, SPOKESPERSON, UNITY08: Today is a great opportunity for everybody to register and become a delegate to the virtual convention on -- on the Internet.
W. SCHNEIDER: Say, isn't that Jack McCoy from NBC's "Law & Order"?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LAW & ORDER")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I didn't.
WATERSTON: Stock fraud, assurance fraud, payoffs, finally murder -- all crimes of opportunity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
W. SCHNEIDER: Yes. But, right now, actor Sam Waterston is concerned with political wrongdoing.
WATERSTON: The way we nominate people burdens them with debts to partisans and to moneyed interests.
W. SCHNEIDER: Waterston is promoting Unity08.com, an online nominating process. It's for people who believe politics is the enemy of problem-solving, like Waterston and many Americans.
WATERSTON: Every day, when you pick up the newspaper, there's an article that makes you think, gee whiz, wouldn't it be great if there was a way to just put this straightforwardly in front of the people?
W. SCHNEIDER: Like, say, the Iraq war issue, which can't even come up for debate in the Senate because of a partisan impasse. Unity08.com is asking ordinary citizens to help break that impasse.
WATERSTON: We're saying, help us define what the major issues are. And, then, we will bring those issues to the table.
W. SCHNEIDER: Unity08 intends to get on 50 state ballots and find candidates, draft them, if necessary, someone with bipartisan appeal, maybe New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Democrat-turned- Republican, or anti-war Republican Senator Chuck Hagel. Will it work? We will let Jack McCoy answer that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LAW & ORDER")
WATERSTON: Let's do what we think is appropriate and let the chips fall where they may.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
W. SCHNEIDER (on camera): Unity08 intends to stay in business only long enough to bring the two parties back to the middle, where problems get solved. They will provide ballot access and a platform for any candidate who wants to step forward and say: I can bring this country together.
Any takers?
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she doesn't care how she flies home to California. She just wants the same consideration shown her predecessor.
At issue is the type of Air Force plane the speaker is provided. Some House Republicans have criticized the cost of the jet Pelosi would need to fly home without refueling, compared to those of the smaller jet that got former Speaker Hastert, Dennis Hastert, home to Illinois. Pelosi says she hasn't been involved in the decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Why would the Department of Defense be putting forth any of this information, which is misinformation and a mischaracterization of a request by the sergeant at arms for security?
I know it's not coming from the president of the United States, because he has really been insistent that I have the security that I need. And I, myself, would rather not have security. So, no, we haven't asked for any larger plane. B, this is not my -- a -- B, this is not my request, is a request of the sergeant at arms. C, I don't know why they would say: This was necessary for the previous speaker, but it's not necessary for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well, the White House does agree with Pelosi. Spokesman Tony Slow says -- Snow, rather, says the whole thing is being blown out of proportion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: We think it's appropriate. And so, again, I think this is much ado about not a whole lot. It is important for the speaker to have this kind of protection and travel. It was certainly appropriate for Speaker Hastert.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Pelosi says her criticism of the war in Iraq and former Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld could have something to do with the fuss over her plane.
LEMON: Well, as if running for president wasn't enough, well, Democratic Senator Barack Obama has taken on another challenge. You probably didn't even know this. He is quitting smoking.
Obama tells "The Chicago Tribune" he has never been a heavy smoker. But, over Christmas, he decided, with the help of his wife, Michelle, that now is the time to quit. He tells "The Tribune" he has been chewing nicotine gum strenuously.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: So, one thief thinks that he is at the top of his trade. Well, maybe he should steal a copy of robbery for dummies. The heist turns out to be a real headache -- that pain straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, this just in to the CNN NEWSROOM -- the special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has rested his perjury and obstruction case against former vice presidential aide Lewis Scooter Libby. Of course, we know, today and yesterday, Tim Russert from NBC testified in all of that.
But the prosecution has rested in that case. Any more details that are available to come, we will have it for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: Meantime, photography has been going digital for some time now, but Kodak is still trying to play catchup. To do so, it will have to lay off even more people than first thought.
Susan Lisovicz is at "The New York Times" with details on that -- Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred.
Kodak is slashing another 3,000 jobs, bringing the total job losses to 30,000 in just three years -- the layoffs expect to be completed by the end of this year. And Kodak's chief executive says, there won't be any more announcements of job cuts any time soon.
The company that pioneered film photography has been in the midst of a massive restructuring -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: And, so, earlier this week, we were also talking about Kodak's new ink-jet printers, all that to kind of coincide with this?
LISOVICZ: That's right. I mean, it just seems out of -- out of the norm. And that is part of this transition for Kodak, a painful one, to the digital word.
Its new selling strategy for those printers deviates from the industry norm, higher-priced printers, but much cheaper refills of those ink cartridges. The company may have created the world's first digital camera back in 1975, but Kodak was reluctant to move away from film.
It only began selling mass-market digital cameras six years ago. Kodak, however, is starting to make up for lost time. In the last quarter, Kodak generated more earnings from digital than the film and paper business. And that is the first time ever for Kodak.
The company says it expects growth in digital imaging to continue. Shares of the Eastman Kodak are losing 2.5 percent. And that is the story for the Dow Jones industrials as well -- that is, moving downward. The Nasdaq, however, is trying to stage a late- session turnaround -- investors today digesting a mixed bag of retail sales -- among the winners, luxury stores like Saks. Its shares are up 3 percent.
And, over at The Gap, sales may have declined last month, but Wall Street was expecting much worse from the sluggish retailer. Gap shares are rising more than 2.5 percent -- the Dow, however, under a little bit of pressure, down 27 points, about a fifth of 1 percent. The Nasdaq composite is down one point, at 2489.
And that's the latest from Wall Street. I will be back in 30 minutes for the closing bell -- back to you, Don and Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Susan, we look forward to that.
And I, of course, am one of those folks. I'm, you know, among the last bastion of folks that are still doing film in their camera.
(CROSSTALK)
LISOVICZ: Kodak loves you.
WHITFIELD: So, I hope that Kodak and Fuji -- I know -- I hope they, you know, hold on tight to that film.
LISOVICZ: Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot, Susan.
LEMON: Well, she certainly has been under a lot of pressure lately, with the death of her son, and then a lawsuit.
We are hearing Anna Nicole Smith has collapsed in a casino in Hollywood, Florida -- more on that with "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT"'s A.J. Hammer in just a few minutes.
WHITFIELD: And it's the middle of the night. Is someone harassing your daughter?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAINA WEISBROT, VICTIM OF ABUSE: He kept calling me over and over. He must have called me 100 times that night.
And I would not answer the phone. And, finally, I answered the phone. And I said, are you going to be nice to me now?
And he said, I know where your classes are, and I'm going to kill you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Harassment on the phone, on the Web -- teen dating. Can you believe that? That abuse, it has come to this -- in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A developing story here in the CNN NEWSROOM: Actor and former model Anna Nicole Smith collapsing at a Florida hotel and casino.
Let's get straight on A.J. Hammer in New York to tell us what is going on.
A.J., what do you know?
A.J. HAMMER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, we can confirm that Anna Nicole Smith was, in fact, rushed to the hospital after she collapsed in her hotel room at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Hollywood, Florida.
She was taken to Hollywood Memorial Regional Hospital, which is just a short drive from that particular hotel and casino. And the unconfirmed reports that we're getting is that CPR was performed and that she was intubated. She had to have a tube inserted. Those reports are unconfirmed.
By way of background, what a crazy and wild several months for Anna Nicole Smith. You, of course, remember, back on September 7, Anna Nicole Smith was in the Bahamas and she gave birth to a baby girl, Dannielynn.
Well, a few days later, in the hospital, while visiting his mother and new sister, her 21-year-old son, Daniel, died. And reports were, it was a lethal combination of over-the-counter medications and antidepressants that led to his death.
Now, Anna Nicole has all along maintained that Howard K. Stern, her longtime lawyer and we later learned her partner, is the father of DannieLynn. Now, that has been contested in a paternity suit filed by an ex-boyfriend of Anna Nicole's, Larry Birkhead. And this is a battle that's been going on, trying to get the paternity testing done for some time. And of course, all of this set against the backdrop of a longtime battle with the estate of J. Howard Marshall, Anna Nicole's last husband who died in August of 1995. And, Don, as you know in that particular case there are hundreds of millions of dollars at stake there.
So what we can confirm right now is that Anna Nicole Smith was, in fact, rushed to a hospital after collapsing at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. And that's what we know right now.
LEMON: And, A.J., you know, we don't know the circumstances of this, but as you said, we certainly can -- stress is likely to have played a factor in no matter what it is because she has been under a lot of stress lately. She's also a party to a lawsuit against a diet pill that she endorses. Again, she has that DNA child paternity test that is supposed to be handed over. She's got that. She's got the death of her son. She has a newborn baby, a lot going on in her life at this point.
HAMMER: Yes. Tumultuous several months going back, as I said, to September when it at all really started to unfold when she gave birth to her baby daughter in the Bahamas.
LEMON: Now, according to some reports that we have here -- and I think you eluded to it as well, it said according to eyewitnesses that emergency responders performed CPR at the scene and a breathing apparatus was inserted into her throat. Now, this is according to eyewitnesses. What do you guys at "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" hearing about that particular situation?
HAMMER: That's exactly the same thing we're hearing. This is unsubstantiated by us, but the reports are coming in from several sources, from eyewitnesses that CPR was, in fact, performed and she was, in fact, intubated. What we can confirm is that she collapsed in her hotel room. And the eyewitnesses are also reporting that it was just chaos there at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Hollywood.
LEMON: A.J., do we know why she's back in the States? Because she was in the Bahamas, she said didn't want to return to here after all of the scrutiny she got after the birth of her baby and then, of course, her son's unfortunate death. She said she never really wanted to return to the U.S. Is she here because of those lawsuits?
HAMMER: Don, I have to tell you when the news broke of Anna Nicole collapsing in Hollywood, Florida it took all of us at "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" and in our newsroom by surprise. We've been following the story of the paternity suit very closely. In fact, we were talking about it last night on the show. And one of the conditions that Anna Nicole most lately was agreeing to was she would submit to the paternity test, but only if she could do it in the Bahamas. The courts are trying to have her do it here in the United States and in California. So we were surprised to learn that she was, in fact, even out of the Bahamas, where she basically has been holed up to avoid the media scrutiny and to maintain some degree of privacy. LEMON: Yes, and, of course, with everything that's going on with Anna Nicole Smith, that's the reason we're covering it -- because it sort of supersedes entertainment. There are a couple of lawsuits at stake here and it's just been a very tumultuous time with her.
A.J. Hammer, if you find out any more information, promise to get back to us?
HAMMER: Absolutely.
LEMON: All right. Thank you so much.
More details to come if we get them.
WHITFIELD: Arrested in Baghdad by an American and Iraqi troops. A senior government official, the Deputy Minister of Health. Troops raided ministry offices and took Hakim Abbas al-Zamili into custody. He is accused of corruption and funneling millions of dollars to Shiite militias. Al-Zamil's boss, the Iraqi Health Minister, is angry he wasn't told what was happening.
And across Iraq today, at least 50 people killed in bombings, ambushes and grenade attacks. This, in Aziziya, 100 miles south of Baghdad. A bomb went off at a crowded market, killing at least 20 people. In the capital a bomb exploded outside a mosque, killing seven people and wounding more than twice that many.
We also hear that you U.S. troops launched an airstrike near Fallujah that killed 13 insurgent fighters.
It's called Adhamiya, possibly the most dangerous neighborhood in the most dangerous city in the world. U.S. forces call their little piece of it the Alamo. CNN's Michael Holmes spent a day there with the men of Charlie Company.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Adhamiya is one of Baghdad's oldest neighborhoods, birthplace of the Ba'ath Party, once very upper class, home to kings.
(on camera): But not anymore. This is a Sunni stronghold, and it's surrounded by Shia areas. Now, both of those areas have hard- core insurgents who fight each other and target the Americans.
SGT. KENNETH HENDRIX, U.S. ARMY: A lot of hand grenades, a lot of improvised explosive devices.
HOLMES (voice over): So many hand grenades tossed from buildings, that the men have built homemade protection for their exposed gunners.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of our guys got hit by a grenade in here. And an IED went off two days ago here right behind our truck.
HOLMES: We're with Charlie Company, 126th Infantry, based at forward operating base Apache. Although it's not really a base, it's actually a house. A hundred and twenty men in the middle of probably the city's most dangerous area.
HENDRIX: Some guys call it the Alamo, you know. It's just a house in the middle of Adhamiya. Nobody else around. No other units.
HOLMES: They are fired on regularly by insurgents, both Sunni and Shia. The house shows the scars.
A couple of months ago, insurgents attacked her. Charlie Company killed 38 of them. Around here, something as simple as leaving a house after speaking with the owners requires smoke grenades for cover.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We unfortunately, you know, learn some hard lessons.
HOLMES: Since arriving here in August, Charlie Company has never left, never stopped patrolling, 24/7. They've lost five men, two dozen wounded, and earned a fistful of medals for bravery.
(on camera): Is there a day here where something doesn't happen?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No.
HOLMES (voice over): One soldier, 19-year-old Specialist Ross McGinnis (ph), is being nominated for his country's highest award, the Medal of Honor, after throwing himself on a grenade that had been tossed into his Humvee, saving the lives of four comrades.
LT. RYAN MARAVILLA, U.S. ARMY: I have four killed in action due to sniper attacks and roadside bombs, and four wounded in action.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take it slow.
HOLMES: But Lieutenant Ryan Maravilla says those losses brought the men who live and work here even closer.
MARAVILLA: You would not have even thought that we lost four guys. It's not because we don't remember them and we don't think about them. It's just we know that we've got to carry on.
HOLMES: Carry on in a place where the camaraderie might be ever present but so, too, the urban warfare that is Adhamiya.
HENDRIX: I'll look back on it as probably -- probably the hardest tour I've ever done. Hopefully that is my first and only year in Adhamiya.
HOLMES: Michael Homes, CNN, Adhamiya, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And of course we're going to have more on the developing story out of Hollywood, Florida. An unconscious Anna Nicole Smith rushed from her hotel room to a hospital. Details as we get them right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Plus, e-mails, cell phones, text messages. Lots of ways for people to reach out and touch your teens these days. But what if it's abusive and flying under your radar? A disturbing new report straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: New information on a developing story right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's go back to New York now. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," A.J. Hammer, what have you found out?
HAMMER: OK, well what we can tell you now about Anna Nicole Smith and the fact that she has collapsed in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
What we've learned now is that Hollywood fire rescue is telling CNN paramedics were called in after she was apparently found in her room by somebody she was staying with and the reports are that she was unconscious and unresponsive and she was taken to Hollywood Memorial Regional Hospital, which is just a short drive from this particular Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
And again, we have unconfirmed reports that Anna Nicole Smith had CPR performed on her and she was intubated, had a tube placed down her throat, she was intubated. But at this moment, we cannot get confirmation of Anna Nicole's condition in the hospital, Don.
LEMON: And we were talking about all the stress she's been under lately, A.J., and just back in November, stress-related as well, but she was recovering from -- she went to the hospital and was recovering from pneumonia and a collapsed lung that was according to her lawyer, which now her lover or husband, Howard Stern -- Howard K. Stern.
HAMMER: Yes, it's really just another tragic chapter in what has been a very tragic story going on 12 years now for Anna Nicole Smith.
LEMON: OK, so again the new information found unresponsive in her room. That's according to paramedics in Hollywood, Florida?
HAMMER: That's correct.
LEMON: All right, A.J. Hammer in New York, thank you so much for that.
HAMMER: All right, Don.
WHITFIELD: Cell phones, computers, most teens can't imagine life without them. But what happens when they become tools for abuse? It is happening across the country. Our Brianna Keilar joins us now from Washington to explain all of this -- Brianna?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fred. If you're the parent of a teenager, or if you just know a teenager certainly this is not an unfamiliar sight to you, the constant talking on the phone, the text messaging, the constant e-mails and the Instant Messaging. But what you may not realize is this is one sign that your teenager could be in danger.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHAINA WEISBROT, VICTIM OF ABUSE: There was a lot of shaking. There was a lot of covering my mouth. There was -- he pulled my hair, and pushing me.
KEILAR (voice over): Shaina Weisbrot started dating her high school boyfriend when she was 15. At first things were great, but over the next four-and-a-half years he became more and more controlling, and she felt forced to tell him her every move.
WEISBROT: Where I was at all times. I always had to answer my cell phone.
KEILAR: Eventually the relationship turned violent.
WEISBROT: He kept calling me over and over. He must have called me 100 times that night, and I would not answer the phone. And finally I answered the phone, and I said are you going to be nice to me now? And he said, I know where your classes are, and I'm going to kill you.
KEILAR: Her story is terrifying but it's not unique. In a new survey, one in four teens in a relationship say their boyfriend or girlfriend has text messaged them at least hourly between midnight and 5:00 a.m. Even more say a partner who has text messaged them 10, 20, up to 30 times per hour to find out where they are and who they're with. The scariest part, almost half say their cell phones or computers make abuse easier to hide from her parents.
WEISBROT: I'd be in my room, I'd pretend to be sleeping, I'd shut the lights, and I'd be quiet, and no one would know the difference, because all you have to do is hide your cell phone.
KEILAR: Last year, Shaina severed all ties with her ex- boyfriend. She's now 20, and a sophomore at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and is a founding member of a non-profit organization called Teens Experiencing Abusive Relationships. Shaina tries to help other teens recognize the signs of teen-dating abuse so they, too, can escape it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Aside from the constant communication with their boyfriend or girlfriend, experts say teens who may be in an abusive, either physically or emotionally abusive relationship, will also isolate themselves from their friends and their family and they could follow every word of their partner when it comes to choosing their friends and even how they dress and the makeup they wear -- Fred?
WHITFIELD: All right so Brianna, the tough thing for a lot of parents is how to even know this is happening. So what can parents do?
KEILAR: One psychologist who specializes in this teen dating violence says think about having your teenager actually turn over their telephone, their cell phone to you before they go to bed and also password locking the family computer or the computer that's in your teen's room so they can't be using it when they're supposed to be sleeping.
And of course, Fred, it's really the parents' discretion how far they go in monitoring what their kid is doing on their cell phone. But if you look online at your bill, you see a run down of calls. Who they are calling, who they're talking to, how long those calls are lasting and even what time those calls are being placed or being accepted.
WHITFIELD: Bottom line, open communication between parents and their kids. Thank you very much Brianna, out of Washington.
KEILAR: Exactly.
LEMON: And the CNN NEWSROOM is following a developing story out of Hollywood, Florida. An unconscious Anna Nicole Smith rushed from her hotel room to a hospital. Details as we get them right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN BREAKING NEWS.
LEMON: New information now on Anna Nicole Smith. A law enforcement source close to the investigation in Hollywood has confirmed that 38-year-old actress and model Anna Nicole Smith has died. Anna Nicole Smith has died, according to a law enforcement source in Hollywood, Florida that is confirmed to CNN. Let's bring in now "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT'S" A.J. Hammer to give us more details. A.J., what do you know?
HAMMER: It's just shocking news, Don. Now Anna Nicole was born on November 28th, 1967 by my information. That would have her at 39- years-old.
Just a short time ago, she was rushed to the hospital after she apparently collapsed in her hotel room at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Hollywood, Florida.
Now, Hollywood fire rescue tell CNN the paramedics were called to the scene after she was found there in her room by somebody she was staying with and at the time she was unconscious and unresponsive.
She was taken to Hollywood Memorial Regional Hospital apparently after reported CPR being performed and being intubated on the scene there. And as you just said, 39-year-old Anna Nicole Smith now confirmed to CNN as having died this afternoon in Hollywood, Florida.
LEMON: And A.J., according to the source that she, Anna Nicole Smith, was dead on arrival. She was undergoing CPR at the time but she died, she was dead by the time that she got to the hospital.
Now, again, we talked about the stress and all of this that she's been under. We don't know the exact circumstances surrounding her death, what the causes might be. But certainly is going to be a big story in entertainment news and also throughout the broadcast tonight.
This is really sad, considering what she's gone through, not only in the past couple of months, A.J., but also the past couple of years as well.
HAMMER: That's right. And going back to September 7th, Don, when the story started to unfold with Anna Nicole Smith down in the Bahamas as she gave birth to her daughter, Dannielynn Hope.
Just a few days later, September 10th, very tragically her 21 year-old son Daniel Wayne Smith was visiting his mom and the newborn. He died in the hospital room of a lethal combination of over-the- counter medications and antidepressants. Very tragic, she had just given birth, immediately lost her son, who was her best friend.
She had maintained all along Howard K. Stern, her attorney and partner, is the father of Dannielynn. A recent paternity lawsuit followed by ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead. We've been dealing with that extensively on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" this week.
And of course, all of this set against the fact that she has an ongoing battle with the estate of J. Howard Marshall, who died in August of 1995, her elder former husband worth hundreds of millions of dollars that Anna Nicole has been battling for all this time. Really just a tragic and totally shocking twist of events here with the passing of Anna Nicole Smith at the age of 39 just moments ago in Hollywood, Florida.
LEMON: And you know what? A.J., we don't want to forget in all of this, she just had a baby, what, six months ago? She is not close to her mother. She has publicly said that. And now there is some concern, at least, a wrangling over who the father might be. So we have a small child in all of this. Sad that, you know, Anna Nicole has died, but there's also the baby that she left behind. And who knows what's going to happen.
HAMMER: Yes. You know, we've been working on this story every day on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT". And certainly the last news that any of us expected to hear. We have been waiting on decisions and court rulings about this particular paternity test, which Anna Nicole's lawyer has said that she would of submitted to and Anna Nicole said she would submit to it herself, had it taken at the Bahamas. So even the news that she was suddenly in Hollywood, Florida came as a surprise to many. And, of course, tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" we're going to have much more on this tragic turn of events and the death of Anna Nicole Smith.
LEMON: All right. A.J. Hammer, thank you so much. Don't go anywhere. We want you to stick by. We may need you before we get off the air. Thank you, though.
WHITFIELD: And, Don, our John Zarrella is on his way to Hollywood, Florida, where Anna Nicole Smith has been pronounced dead. John on the phone with us right now.
John, what are you able to learn from your sources as you continue your travels toward Hollywood, Florida?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're here now. We've just arrived outside of Hollywood Memorial Hospital, where Anna Nicole Smith was transported to. Don't know how much you've already reported on this, but according to our source, she was found dead in her room by a roommate who was with her. That would have been around 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. That was at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino, which is not too far from the Hollywood Memorial Hospital. She was immediately transported by the Seminole Fire Rescue to Hollywood Memorial Hospital. They, according to our source, asked that Hollywood Police help them clearing the roads and getting her transported as quickly as possible.
But, according to our source, Anna Nicole Smith was already dead by the time they found her in her room. That is pretty much, Fredricka, everything that we know to this point.
WHITFIELD: And so, John, at least one entertainment show online service is reporting that she and her partner, Howard K. Stern, may have been in south Florida shopping for a boat, and, at the same time, Mr. Stern had noticed that her temperature was running high last night. And, you know, none of this information being confirmed by any other independent sources. But are you hearing anything about how well she may have been feeling within the past 24 hours?
ZARRELLA: No, nothing at all. And I think as everybody was saying, it wasn't even, you know, common knowledge that she was even here in town in the Miami area, the Ft. Lauderdale area. So, no, not hearing anything like that. The only thing, of course, that we were hearing was that it's, you know, part of standard procedure, the Fire Rescue folks did immediately try to work on her, even though it appears as if she may well have been deceased by the time the transport of her to the hospital already began.
So, again, no clear indication as to, you know, what her condition was prior to them finding her in the room.
WHITFIELD: And so, John, you mentioned a roommate with her in the room, the roommate finding her or actually witnessing her collapse? Would that roommate be Howard K. Stern or someone else?
ZARRELLA: No, no. I don't know. And it would only be assumptions to say who it might have been. But our indication was found her in the room. So, would not have necessarily been there at the time, but maybe walked in and then found her.
WHITFIELD: all right. Well, describe the scene there outside of the hospital that you mentioned, the place where she was pronounced dead.
ZARRELLA: Well, here at the hospital now, I can just tell you that there are Hollywood Police cars in the drive-through by the emergency room entrance, several Hollywood Police cars. Certainly numbers of members of the media here. There are Broward County Sheriff's officers and deputies here, as well. Now, let me also say that that doesn't necessarily mean everyone is here because of this particular incident. There could be other things and other reasons why these police are here. Certainly numbers, again, of members of the media, satellite trucks have begun to pull up. There are helicopters now, of course, flying overhead as the word is spreading rather quickly as to what has happened here.
WHITFIELD: All right. John Zarrella, thank you so much. Don...
LEMON: Yes. Let's go back to A.J. Hammer of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" in New York.
And, A.J., this is, you know, right up you guys' up your bailiwick. You cover this every day. You've been covering Anna Nicole Smith in numerous situations throughout the years. This one definitely, I mean, it was a shock when her son died. And a lot of things that are shocks, but this one is unbelievable. Are you finding any more information from there?
HAMMER: No. Basically what we're just hearing is everything that I have as well, Don. You know, shocking is almost an understatement because everybody who has been following this story knows that the paternity battle is really has what about going on with Howard K. Stern, which, of course, is Anna Nicole's partner and attorney for a long time now. He is claiming to be the father of the newborn, Dannielynn, who was born back in September.
Her ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, came forward and said that he was the father and filed a lawsuit and was suing for a paternity test to actually take place. That has been undergoing quite a bit of legal scrutiny.
LEMON: A.J., you know what I want to know? I mean, considering that guys cover her, you've inter interviewed her, I would imagine, recently. Was there any indication from people in the business or just from seeing her that she may have been on a road to where she was in ill health at least or where things weren't going quite right?
HAMMER: Don, not that I've heard particularly. And I think anything I would say at this point is speculation. If you can only imagine, as you've pointed out earlier, the amount of stress that this woman has been through. Within a matter of three days, she gave birth to her baby daughter and lost her 21 year-old son -- her 21 year-old son who was her confidant, who was one of her best friends -- and under what is still considered to be mysterious and very unusual circumstances, in that he overdosed from a lethal combination of over- the-counter medications and antidepressants. Then the paternity lawsuit. Then there were some financial issues that were coming into question with her living down in the Bahamas and being evicted from the house that she was staying in down there.
Yet, at the same time, to hear the reports that possibly she was in Florida shopping for a boat with Howard K. Stern, it's really difficult to understand exactly what was going on with Anna Nicole.
LEMON: I think it's fair to say, too, she led a pretty unusual life. And we got -- actually got a glimpse -- everyone got a glimpse into her life because she had this reality show, "The Anna Nicole Show", and because it's great TV, you know, she made great television.
HAMMER: She made great television. And from a lot of people's vantage point, it was great television because it was trainwreck television. We were quite accustomed to seeing her appear on television -- and I'm not suggesting that she may have been intoxicated, but she always had an air of not being quite there.
LEMON: Something wasn't quite right.
WHITFIELD: And, you know, A.J. -- this is Fredricka. You talk about trainwreck television. And even following the death of her son and just leading up to the past week and recent days, it seems as though Anna Nicole Smith's story and her, as a personality, and all of the trappings that have come along with her publicity has been right out front and center.
HAMMER: There's no question. No question about it. And what raises a lot of eyebrows was after she had given birth to Dannielynn and then her son Daniel died, it was just a very short amount of time before we were seeing pictures of her and Howard K. Stern on a boat in the Bahamas celebrating their union.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEMON: All right. A.J. Hammer, thank you so much for joining us. I understand you've got to get to work because your show is coming up shortly.
So thank you very much for that, A.J.
HAMMER: You got it, guys. We'll have all of the details for you tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT".
LEMON: In case you're just tuning in, 39 year-old actress and model Anna Nicole Smith has died. That's according to a law enforcement source telling CNN that.
And Wolf Blitzer is going to pick up with the coverage.
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