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Possible Attorney General Candidate; O.J. Simpson's Latest Legal Hassle; Protestors Against Iraq War on Capital Hill; Madeleine McCann Family Announce Ad Campaign
Aired September 15, 2007 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Mukasey has gotten high marks from some liberals over the course of his career. Well in any case, the nominee is expected to be announced this coming week. Let's get more from our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
Jeffrey, I know you've worked with him, you know him well here. What is the appeal of Mukasey? I understand he has got an extensive legal background, but also perhaps also as a figure to -- a consensus figure, bring both sides together.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Absolutely. Michael Mukasey would be the choice of a weakened President Bush. He is a consensus candidate; he is widely respected in the New York legal community. Senator Chuck Schumer has had very nice things to say about him, which, earlier in the Bush administration would have meant the kiss of death for his nomination for anything, but this is a president who is having trouble getting things and people through the United States Senate, and Michael Mukasey, unless something comes up that no one expects, will be the kind of candidate who can get through the U.S. Senate.
MALVEAUX: Jeffrey, it's interesting that you mentioned Chuck Schumer as being one of those people that has signed on and he actually was on a list of people handed to the president who said would be acceptable. In speaking with the president and so many others over the last couple weeks, it seemed like he was really itching for a fight here, and one of those people that he was put on the list was Ted Olson (ph), the solicitor general, a much more contentious figure.
TOOBIN: Ted Olson has a magnificent reputation as a lawyer and uniformly praised job as solicitor general in President Bush's first term. But he is a person with a much higher political profile. He argued Bush v. Gore successfully. He was involved in anti-Clinton activities during the 1990s. And even though he has impeccable legal credentials, Harry Reid, the Democratic leader in the Senate said simply there is no way that the Senate will confirm him, and the president decided not to pick a fight.
MALVEAUX: Now, it's interesting, he has held some pretty high- regarded cases regarding terrorists. Can you tell us a little bit about what Mukasey's background is like?
TOOBIN: Judge Mukasey has been on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. That's d busiest court in the country. It's in Manhattan. There are many judges in the Southern District and Judge Mukasey was appointed by President Reagan in 1988. He is best known for presiding over the case of the blind sheikh, Sheikh Abdul Raman (ph), in that -- one of the early terrorism trials.
I think -- I believe it lasted for almost a year, a very difficult case to preside over. He won very high marks. He does not have a reputation for political partisanship one way or the other. I know the legal world here in New York pretty well. I couldn't tell you a legal position that he's associated with, pro-choice, pro-life, anything like that. He's just known as a very solid judge. He had been a corporate lawyer before he spent his 18 years on the bench. So that's the kind of person he is, a very different background from a Ted Olson, for example.
MALVEAUX: Sure. Well Jeffrey, we know there are high-level meetings that are taking place this weekend and into the coming week. Obviously, there will be an announcement very shortly, so thank you so much for giving us a little bit of context.
The final chapter of the "Jena 6" story is still to be written, but there is a new twist today in the case that has resurrected some troubling questions about justice in the south. With Mychal Bell's conviction tossed out, five other young defendants still face possible trials for beating a high school student in a mostly white town in Louisiana. The initial charges of attempted murder struck some as out of proportion and a sign that black defendants are systematically singled out for harsh prosecutions. Live for us now with the latest on the story, CNN's Keith Oppenheim.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Suzanne. Next Thursday at this courthouse in Jena is when Mychal Bell had been scheduled to be sentenced on aggravated battery charges. Now that's not going to happen. Instead, there is going to be a big rally. First, a state appellate court ruled that because Mychal Bell was 16 last December at the time of a school yard beating of a white student, that it was a mistake for him to have been tried in an adult court on aggravated battery charges. The appeals court said the case should have gone to the juvenile system. We're going to hear now from one of Mychal Bell's attorneys, Bob Noel.
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BOB NOEL, MYCHAL BELL'S ATTORNEY: We're happy right now, but tomorrow is another day. We are prepared for any contingency that may arise in this case. The first step was to get the conviction reversed. Now we have other hurdles that we have to go through in this particular case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: Some quick background on the racial tensions at Jena High School. Last year there was a black student who sat under a tree. That was a traditional gathering spot for white students. Next day, three nooses are hanging from the tree. And then after that, three white students were suspended. Then, six black students attacked a white student and were originally charged with attempted murder.
For four of those students, including Mychal Bell, those charges have been reduced and now Mychal Bell could be sent, his case could be sent to the juvenile court. We're going to hear now from Mychal Bell's mom, Melissa, who is concerned about her son who is still in jail.
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MELISSA BELL, MYCHAL BELL'S MOTHER: Actually, he's, he knows -- you know, he got life (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and now that he's been in there, he's had a long time to sit back and think about (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and that you know it can be taken away from him in a minute.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: The district attorney in this case has two weeks to appeal the overturned conviction to the Louisiana's Supreme Court, and the interesting thing, Suzanne, is on Thursday, again, there's not going to be a sentencing hearing here. There could be a very big rally led by the Reverend Al Sharpton. We've heard estimates between 5,000 people up to 30,000 people. Keep in mind, only 2,900 people live here in Jena. So it's certainly possible that the size of the rally could be much bigger than the number of people in town itself -- back to you.
MALVEAUX: Thank you so much.
O.J. Simpson is back again today in a place he knows too well, a state of legal limbo. Simpson remains a possible suspect in what Las Vegas police continue to call an armed robbery -- with the latest on the story, CNN's Ted Rowlands -- Ted.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE FROMONG, PURPORTED VICTIM: The door burst open. Guys came rushing in, one after another. Second one had a gun drawn. Just like a home invasion, you know. They came in quick, they came in fast.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bruce Fromong says O.J. Simpson and four other men took sports memorabilia from him and his business partner at gunpoint.
FROMONG: O.J. was yelling this is mine, all that stuff is mine, get it.
ROWLANDS: Fromong says Simpson and the men he describes as quote, "thugs" barged into a hotel room at the Palace Station casino and made off with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. Simpson tells CNN in a phone interview, quote, "I just wanted to get my stuff back."
Simpson says he was tipped off that some of his personal belongings, including stolen family photographs, some taken by his ex- wife, Nicole, were being sold. So he says he arranged for a friend to pose as a buyer, and they simply took back the items. Simpson says as far he knows, quote, "no guns were involved."
Simpson was acquitted in 1995 on charges of killing his ex-wife, Nicole, and her friend Ron Goldman. Nicole's family, who still believes Simpson was responsible for her death, is upset by this latest news.
DENISE BROWN, FMR. SIMPSON SISTER-IN-LAW: There was a gun involved or something like that. Wouldn't it be ironic that he can get away with murdering two people, but yet, he might be put into jail for burglary because there was a gun involved? I mean, crazier things have happened.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: And a lot would have to happen for that to be the issue in this, Suzanne. No charges have been filed in this case. The Las Vegas police are pouring over surveillance video. They're talking to witnesses. They're trying to get to the bottom of what happened here, because they have two different stories. O.J. says he went to get his stuff, that there were no guns.
These other guys say that there were guns. We understand -- we talked to O.J. today and he says that he's actually talked to one of the alleged victims in this case and one of the alleged victims has talked to the media and said that now they think it's been blown over, or blown up to more than what it should be.
It's getting murkier and it's up to the Las Vegas police to figure this out, and at this point, they say it's going to take them a couple of days. But O.J. Simpson is in town and he says he'll stay here until it's ironed out.
MALVEAUX: And Ted, as we know, he hasn't really been charged with anything. This is still kind of something that's up in the air; it's a dispute at this point.
ROWLANDS: Well, what it is, they've got these guys that claim that there was an armed robbery, that there were guns involved, so they're proceeding, assuming that these guys are telling the truth, the alleged victims here. And Simpson has been interviewed twice. They want to interview him again with his lawyer present. They haven't gotten a full interview out of him yet.
So they're proceeding as if something did happen, and that's the sense that we're getting from the Las Vegas Police Department. They're taking it very, very seriously. This isn't just something that they're brushing off, thinking oh, probably nothing happened. They think that there is something there and they are pursuing it, whether or not they'll have enough to charge O.J. Simpson that remains to be seen.
MALVEAUX: And do we know if they've actually recovered a gun in all this? Because I know that seems to be the sticking point.
ROWLANDS: According to the Las Vegas police's last statement, they have not recovered a gun. That said they are working 24 hours on this. Whether that has changed or not, we just don't know. They have not made any more declarations as to where they are in their investigation. They say if anything significant happens, they will alert us. At this point no word on whether they've recovered a gun or if they've talked to those other men yet. They were looking for them as of yesterday.
MALVEAUX: OK. OK. Ted thanks so much working the story 24 hours. Thanks again, Ted.
The O.J. Simpson story has generated a lot of buzz on CNN.com. CNN's Josh Levs is here to share some of the e-mails that viewers have sent us. This is really fascinating.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They turn out for this stuff. They turn out big-time. When it comes to icons like this, everyone has something to say, you know. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) flooded today. We have been getting so many e-mails. Nothing very dramatically pro O.J., but we do want to show you some different angles that people have written in about Simpson here. Let's start with this one.
"You would think for someone who announced right after his trial that his prime goal in life would be finding his wife's killer that finding junk stolen from his house would be pretty low on his list of priorities."
Let's move on to the next one. "A lot of the media attention is what third-rate ex in the public eye people want, it is similar to a fix of coke or heroin" -- from someone calling them self Big John in Ohio.
Next, "I find it interesting that Canadians' and Americans' view of O.J. is so different. Just because he got away with killing two people doesn't mean he did this home invasion. Please let justice take its course". That's from someone in Canada, Jeff Malloy in Collingwood, Ontario Canada.
Finally, we do enjoy this one a lot. "We've OD'd on O.J. Enough is enough." OK. That's from Liz Grange.
And a lot of people are writing to tell us that, too. Why do care people so much about...
MALVEAUX: Well Josh, people do care. They're watching. I mean I guess it's a good question.
LEVS: They do.
MALVEAUX: It is like you can't get enough of this guy...
LEVS: I know.
MALVEAUX: ... but he's in the news and people want to know. They even, you know, there are people who have been reading the book.
LEVS: Yep. People are reading the book. They're tuning in for the story. They are reading online. It's one of the most popular stories we've got online. And everybody had -- this is a story that galvanizes people. Everybody has something to say about it, and they all have different takes on the justice system and what he's been through.
MALVEAUX: Everybody has got an opinion on this one.
LEVS: Yeah and no one holds back. As you can tell, they are not holding back. I do need to tell you if you want to share your "not holding back", it is Weekends@CNN.com or just go to the story on CNN.com, click on comments and we'll be back later...
MALVEAUX: All right, Josh, looking forward to it. Thanks.
And protests against the war in Iraq took center stage today in Washington.
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(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: But they weren't alone, war supporters who countered the protest, next in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Plus, fire on a Navy ship in Virginia. We still don't know what caused it, but investigators have already ruled out one possibility. We'll explain.
And the parents of a missing British girl insist they had nothing to do with her disappearance. Now Maddie McCann's family says they're revving up the search for the real culprit. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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MALVEAUX: Dueling protests in the nation's capital today, the war in Iraq, the focus of a day of demonstrations in Washington. Anti-war protestors are holding a rally followed by a march to the capital. Groups supporting the war are also gathered in Washington today -- more from CNN's Kathleen Koch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thousands of anti-war demonstrators gathered in Lafayette Park (ph) across from the White House in a protest replete with the sights and sounds of the '60s.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pride to the people!
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Pride to the people!
KOCH: Prominent activists from Ralph Nader to Cindy Sheehan rallied the crowd. CINDY SHEEHAN, ANTI-WAR PROTESTER: It's time for us to show Congress that they need to represent we the people, not the corporations!
(APPLAUSE)
SHEEHAN: We the people, not the war machine that kills our kids and kills our brothers and sisters for profit!
(APPLAUSE)
KOCH (on camera): (UNINTELLIGIBLE) felt it was important to air their concerns in Washington this weekend to counter this week's testimony before Congress by the U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker as well as the administration's progress report on Iraq.
ALEX ROSEN, ANTI-WAR PROTESTER: Absolutely, because we seem to just be hearing the same message over and over. It's like deja vu all over again.
KOCH (voice-over): Alex and Rebecca Rosen traveled from North Carolina with their son and daughter.
REBECCA ROSEN, ANTI-WAR PROTESTER: I think it's important to show our children that if we all get together, we can do something and have a voice.
KOCH: CALVIN Smith from Florida...
CALVIN SMITH, ANTI-WAR PROTESTER: There is movement. It's like the majority of the people want to end the war, but our leaders aren't listening to us.
KOCH: Just 13 blocks away, a smaller group of nearly 1,000 pro- troop demonstrators tried to make their message heard.
CHRIS HILL, GATHERING OF EAGLES: Today I want you to raise your voices so loud that not only do those people hear us, but our brave warriors in Iraq and Afghanistan hear us and know that we've got their backs!
KOCH: Some like retired Army Colonel Harry Riley are still livid about the Moveon.org ad this week criticizing General Petraeus.
COL. HARRY RILEY, U.S. ARMY (RET.): It doesn't matter what political party it is. Everyone should absolutely call it for what it is, disgraceful.
KOCH: Anti-war protestors marched to the U.S. Capitol, where they laid on the ground to mark the nearly 4,000 U.S. troops killed in Iraq. They seemed unfazed Congress was not in session and the president at Camp David.
VOICE OF KEITH SWANN, ANTI-WAR PROTESTER: We'll just keep coming out here and protesting and protesting until we do see some changes. KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: A fire and possible explosion onboard a Navy ship in Norfolk, Virginia today. Investigators are trying to determine the cause. Five civilian contractors were hurt and officials say there is no sign of terrorism on the guided missile cruiser. It has been in the shipyard getting upgrades since the spring.
And one minute he's an airport baggage handler; the next minute he's a lifesaver. Meet one of our "CNN Heroes", next in the NEWSROOM.
And emotional testimony in the trial of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was crying and I was like please, I don't want you doing. It doesn't feel right. Please stop. Please quit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Hear from the girl who claims Jeffs forced her to marry her cousin when she was just 14.
And two auto companies announce big recalls. We'll have the details, straight ahead.
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MALVEAUX: In the war in Iraq, we are hearing a lot about IEDs, those are improvised explosive devices insurgents are using against U.S. troops. We haven't heard so much about the technology that troops are using to counteract these devices, electronic jamming. Richard Lui describes how this silent battle is being waged.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD LUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Garage door openers, toy remote controls, the common cell phone, all parts of an IED made to kill coalition forces. But there is a silent, invisible battle being fought against remote-detonated, improvised explosive devices. It's called jamming.
BRIG. GEN. ANTHONY TATA, U.S. ARMY: It's all over the Internet. Academically, anybody can download instructions on how to do this, but in reality, they have the capability or they have to have the capability to transport, assemble, and then place this. Jamming is critically important. However, there's no silver bullet, there's no one thing that's going to stop every IED, and that's why it's also important to attack the network.
LUI (on camera): Now, the construction of an IED starts with a casing as small as a soda can to as large as a vehicle. (voice-over): Builders then install an explosive of various grades, followed then by a trigger, which is more commonly remote. It is very difficult to get information on jamming technologies, and we will certainly not reveal any details that could be useful to the wrong people. Unlike other defense contractors, jamming companies we contacted politely and consistently denied comment. The Army's position, as you can imagine, provides a controlled response when it comes to jamming.
TATA: Well, it's an operational capability we have to defeat the enemy, and we want to closely guard that capability and that information. To do otherwise would be to give the enemy an advantage.
LUI: Vehicle or wearable jamming devices operate like this -- a signal first goes to a remote-controlled IED on a radio or infrared frequency. Jamming devices, known as counter radio-controlled improvised explosive device electronic warfare or cruise systems, attempt to block that signal, preventing detonation in the end. Now, one common method is a barrage jamming, which knocks out a broad range of radio signals.
(SHOTS)
LUI: This method also knocks out communications used by U.S. troops putting them at risk.
(SHOTS)
LUI: According to U.S. officials, modifications have been made to rectify that problem.
TATA: It's out, it's being fielded, and it's a very capable jam.
LUI: At least 30,000 jammers will be in the field by the end of this year, and $1.6 billion spent. This in the effort to out- improvise improvised explosive devices that employ remote detonation.
Richard Lui, "CNN Headline News", Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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MALVEAUX: Three months ago, terrorists slammed into the Glasgow Airport in Scotland, their cars bursting into flames. What happened next has turned a baggage handler, who happened to be on a cigarette break, into a CNN hero. Well meet CNN hero John Smeaton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well it crashed into the side of the door in the terminal building and I'm thinking to myself, well that's a bad accident.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A car on fire has been driven into the Glasgow Airport in Scotland. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is being treated as a terrorist incident.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just, ah, that couldn't be. It was unfathomable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in this area here and I see a gentleman coming from the passenger side of the vehicle and the police officer came from across the road and the guy just started punching the policeman, and all I could think of doing was going to help. I ran up and I try to kick the guy. And a man, Michael, he had done the exact same thing as me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I couldn't just stand there, so I just went and punched and kicked him and I ended up breaking my leg in the rumble (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was lying on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was really worried about an explosion from the vehicle, and I thought we need to get Michael and myself away from the situation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I could see the flames in the car, and as I'm sitting here, the driver of the car, he throws out petrol and that's when John Smeaton starts pulling me back. John Smeaton saved my life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My life has changed from one extreme to another. I enjoy my quiet, mundane, happy life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my uniform. This is my t-skirt, my trousers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a supervisor in the baggage sortation area. When you check your bag in, I'm on the other end of the conveyor belt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know it really does bewilder me, why everybody thinks I've done such a big thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not so, not so.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But at that time I just thought it was my duty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Democracy's all about compromise and getting on with things. You should be brought up to treat people as they come. And if these people think they're going to keep the British people down, then they've got another thing coming. (END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Amazing. And John Smeaton is in the United States this week to commemorate 9/11. Mr. Smeaton is just one example of an everyday superhero, people whose spontaneous acts of courage saves lives. To check out other incredible stories, visit CNN.com/heroes. You may also nominate a hero of your own, but you've only got until September 30th to get those nominations in. Selected winners will be honored during a special live global broadcast on December 6th, hosted by our own Anderson Cooper.
And four months and counting and still no sign of the British girl who vanished during a family vacation, the new ad campaign Maddie McCann's family is launching to help find her.
And you know the name UNICEF, but do you know how they use your donations to help children around the world? Well, find out when the head of UNICEF joins me right here in the NEWSROOM.
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MALVEAUX: And new pictures into the "NEWSROOM" at this moment from the protests we mentioned before out of Washington, anti-war protests. We have word of at least seven protestors being arrested in the first wave of demonstrations on Capitol Hill, demanding an end to the Iraq War. U.S. Capitol police, we understand, arrested some protestors after they jumped a barricade near the base of the capitol.
There are nearly 100 officers standing by, but you see the protestors laying there on the ground. There are thousands of anti- war protestors who have gathered. There are also some counter- protestors, who support the war, that line the side of Pennsylvania Avenue. So obviously, a very active day in Washington as protests gather to protest the war, and now with some arrests. We are told, however, that all has remained peaceful.
A new wrinkle today in the case of Madeleine McCann. The family of the missing 4-year-old has announced an ad campaign to keep her name in the news. That's even though police in Portugal seem to believe that the parents know what happened and had a hand in the disappearance. Gerry and Kate McCann were allowed to return last week to their home in Northern Ireland. A spokesman says the family will spend up to $160,000 from a fund established to locate the child. The campaign to be focused on Portugal, Spain, and other parts of Europe.
CNN's Anderson Cooper will have much more on the disappearance of Maddie McCann Monday night at 10:00 eastern on a special edition of "AC 360".
And in Utah, a key witness has testified in the trial of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. Jeffs leads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder-Day Saints. And yesterday, a former follower described in graphic detail being forced at age 14 to marry an older cousin and have sex with him.
Mike Watkis of CNN affiliate KTVK reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE DOE, WITNESS: I had quickly taken the dress off and thrown my pajamas on over my clothes.
MIKE WATKIS, REPORTER, KTVK: While we can't show her face, the most intimate details of her life laid bare in a St. George courthouse. The young woman, known only as Jane Doe, testifying about her wedding night.
PROSECUTOR: Did you sleep that night?
DOE: I didn't. I did everything I could to pretend I was asleep, but I didn't sleep.
WATKIS: That was the first of many nights a girl, who says she knew nothing about sex, would have to share intimate moments with a man who was not only her first cousin but now her assigned husband.
DOE: He was beginning to touch me on my private parts and under my clothes. He was not shy about feeling those areas.
WATKIS: And all building, she says, to one night.
DOE: I was sitting down looking at the stars, and I felt him get up. And I looked over at him, and he -- he had his genitals exposed to me.
WATKIS: And she says he later tried to undress her, saying that's what he was supposed to do.
DOE: This is what married people did. I was crying and I was like, "Please, I don't want you doing it. It doesn't feel right. Please stop, please quit. I can't do this." Just begging him to stop or at least explain to me what he was doing. He said, "Well, don't you ever want to have babies?" And I said "Not with you."
WATKIS: Despite her protests, she says within a matter of days, the marriage was consummated.
DOE: I was sobbing, and my whole entire body was just shaking because I was so, so scared. And he didn't say anything. He just laid me on the bed and had sex.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Two big recalls involving cars that could be in your garage or driveway. Details ahead in the "CNN NEWSROOM."
And next, the head of UNICEF joins me with some good news on the health and welfare of children around the world.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Although her husband works, Corrina Alvarez still needs help when it comes to feeding and taking care of her year-old baby.
CORRINA ALVAREZ, NEW MOTHER: I like for them to give me ideas since I'm a new mom.
GUPTA: So every month, Alvarez receives checks for food from WIC. Now this is a federal grant program designed to improve the health of low-income women and their children by providing food and counseling on good eating and health care.
REV. DOUGLAS GREENAWAY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTION NATIONAL WIC ASSOCIATION: The foods that WIC provides are really the tools that reinforce that nutrition education message that's delivered in 10,000 WIC clinics around the country.
GUPTA: Since WIC was founded over 30 years ago, thoughts on nutrition have changed. You see, the problem then was malnutrition, not obesity, so most WIC vouchers are for cereal, breads, crackers, milk products. Checks for fruits and vegetables don't exist.
So last August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture decided to add produce to the voucher system to give clients a more balanced diet. They are expected to be available next year.
But some say that might not happen because WIC is on the chopping block, slated for a $145 million cut in President Bush's 2008 budget.
GREENAWAY: It really threatens the availability of fresh frozen canned foods and vegetables, cultural diverse foods, the changes needed to reduce the incidence of obesity and overweight we're finding with most mothers and children.
GUPTA: Nutritionists say that's not good because the produce vouchers could help control obesity.
KATHERINE TALLMADGE, AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION: Studies have shown that women and children and infants who participate in the program have improved nutrition. Mothers give birth to fewer low- birth weight babies, which saves medical costs.
GUPTA: Congress is now debating the finances for WIC. The final decision will likely come in the fall.
Until then, mothers, like Corrina Alvarez, will have to continue waiting for produce checks to become available.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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MALVEAUX: Two big recalls now. Chrysler bringing back around 300,000 vehicles to fix a brake problem. Some drivers say their brakes seem to hesitate at times on hills. And the problem is linked to the computer that controls the anti-lock braking system. So here are the models to look for -- 2006 and 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Jeep Commanders. Also, 2007 Jeep Wrangler SUVs and 2007 Dodge Nitros. Look for a letter from Chrysler if you own one of these. Very important.
Also, Honda is recalling 2006 and 2007 Civics over a seal. Now, if that seal breaks, one of the Civic's wheels could fall off while you're on the road. Very important news.
9.7 million children dying worldwide in a year. Now it is a staggering number, but believe it or not, it's actually progress. The U.N. Children's Fund has found that for the first time, child deaths dropped below 10 million globally. UNICEF's 2005 and 2006 data found that little things, like vitamins and vaccines and insect netting, make a big, big difference.
So joining us now to talk about all of this, Caryl Stern, the president and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.
Thank you so much for joining us. I guess this is good news here. Tell us, what made this difference here? What actually happened?
CARYL STERN, PRESIDENT & CEO, U.S. FUND FOR UNICEF: Well, a lot of things have happened since 20 years ago when Jim Grant first threw down that gauntlet and said we can reduce the number of under-5 child deaths.
In the past 10 years, we have seen great increases in strides from something that's very comprehensive. In some places it's been because of a major vaccination program. You know, vaccinations against preventable diseases like measles, or it's been the distribution and use of bed nets for children against malaria. But our greatest success has come in those places where we've done comprehensive child survival.
MALVEAUX: I was fortunate to take a trip with the First Lady Laura Bush to some of those areas, and she really promoted those nets for malaria, saying it was just a very simple solution to the problem here. Is it better off in some countries and continents than others? Where are we seeing the progress? And what more needs to be done in some other areas?
STERN: Well, we're seeing great progress in the Middle East. We're seeing great progress in Latin America. We are seeing progress in Asia and in the Pacific. And we are seeing progress in Africa, although of the 21 countries with the highest child mortality rates, unfortunately, 18 of the 21 are in Sub-Sahara Africa.
MALVEAUX: And I understand that HIV-AIDS is complicating the situation, undermining the progress.
STERN: HIV-AIDS, also, obviously, those countries that currently are in conflict. War always hurts children most of all.
MALVEAUX: I want to show a lot of people -- we see the little cans and people put their pennies in those cans and you don't really have a sense of where all the money is going, but it certainly adds up.
I want to throw up some figures here. 4 cents boosts one child's immune system with Vitamin A capsules. 6 cents can treat one child of severe dehydration and diarrhea. And $1 can buy 40 liters of safe drinking water, which gives one child safe water for 40 days or 40 children safe water for one day.
It really is kind of extraordinary when you think about just how little money can do so much.
STERN: It really is extraordinary. It's why programs like trick-or-treat make a difference. You know, I remember trick-or- treating as a child. I'm sure many of us do. It still goes on. You don't have to be a child to trick-or-treat. You can put that orange box on your desk, and your pennies and quarters make a true difference.
MALVEAUX: Now, why is it that when we see the socioeconomic income of the families actually impacts the kids and their lives so much? Why is that such an important factor?
STERN: Well, clearly, children -- you see it here in America. The poorest child in America has it ten-fold over a child in sub- Saharan Africa, where there is no system, there is no health system, there is no support, and there is no guarantee of education. So what we have found is the antidote to that is to put a comprehensive program in, give the mother prenatal care, vaccinate the child when the child is born, exclusive breast-feeding to boost the immuno system, access to clean water, good sanitation, and then education, which clearly is the one that interrupts that cycle of poverty.
MALVEAUX: Sure. Well Caryl Stern, thank you so much for joining us. It's good to hear some good news.
STERN: It is good news, but a long way to go still.
MALVEAUX: Absolutely. Well, if you would like to help UNICEF, call the number on your screen. It's 1-800-4-UNICEF or go to unicefusa.org.
A scary scene today at Reagan National Airport in Washington, but this was only, only a test, practice for a day they hope never comes. A closer look at some controlled chaos, next in the "NEWSROOM."
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MALVEAUX: There are thousands of protestors who have gathered on Capitol Hill to protest the war. Our own Kathleen Koch is there with some news of some arrests recently that were made of some of the protestors.
Kathleen, can you set the scene for us and tell us what you know?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, you can hear the protestors still chanting. There are roughly about 1,000 still here massed on the west front of the U.S. Capitol. What happened is they started climbing over metal barricades that the Capitol Hill police had erected, and at that point, police began arresting protestors.
I just got off the phone with Sergeant Kimberly Schneider of THE U.S. Capitol Police. She gave an estimate of at least 150 protestors who have now been arrested. Our cameraman, Doug Shant (ph), got video of that. We're going to be bringing that video back right away.
But at some point, pepper spray was brought out to hold some of the protestors at bay. But still, a pretty good sized crowd gathered here, and occasionally, a couple of them are still climbing over the barriers. But now the steady flow of arrests has slowed to a trickle, looking like it's starting to wind down here now -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Kathleen, how did the protestors react when the pepper spray came out? Are you saying police officers actually pepper- sprayed some of the protestors?
KOCH: Apparently so. That's what our cameraman Doug Shant (ph) caught on camera, but he is already headed back to the D.C. Bureau with that tape, so I can't say what the reaction was, but clearly, one can imagine they were none too pleased.
MALVEAUX: Do we know if there's been any violent outbursts so far? We know there have been people arrested, and clearly, perhaps, pepper spray even used. Do we know if anything came to blows here?
KOCH: Well, certainly, Suzanne, there must have been some difficult moments up and down the parade route as they marched from Lafayette Park here to the U.S. Capitol, because there was a counter protest, roughly just about 1,000 pro-troop supporters who lined Pennsylvania Avenue and were there with their flags and were there to confront the protestors. Our cameras did not capture anything.
Our cameras did actually get in a bit of a scuffle with some of the protestors as they were coming down the avenue, just trying to, trying to cover the news. But the protestors backed off, let our cameraman, Shane McMichael, do his job and things preceded calmly after that.
MALVEAUX: Kathleen, thanks so much. Please be safe and thank you for bringing us the very latest in the middle of all of that. Kathleen Koch.
Now, you may remember the Air Florida flight 90 crashed into the icy Potomac River back in 1982. I certainly did. The accident killed 78 people, both people aboard the plane and people driving over the 14th Street Bridge. Well, today Reagan National Airport held a disaster drill based on this very scenario.
CNN's Alina Cho has that story.
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ALINA CHO, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sirens blare at Reagan National Airport in Washington, but this is just a drill. Emergency workers simulated a plane crash with volunteers donning make-up to play injured passengers. FBI agents act out what they would do if this were real.
FBI AGENT: We are going to assume that a criminal act or a terrorist act has taken place and brought this aircraft to this disastrous position.
VICTIM: Somebody's got to come and get us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll simulate that an aircraft has crashed in the parking lot.
CHO: Washington firefighters and policemen worked with the Red Cross to triage the victims, a disaster preparedness exercise that local officials plan every three years.
GARY MESARIS, FIRE CHIEF, METRO WASHINGTON AIRPORTS DEPARTMENT: Trying to help our first responders have a real practical exercise. It's critical to being able to handle the situation that shouldn't really occur.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have victims in vehicles. We have victims in aircraft. We have victims in the water.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is quite dramatic, and so it may catch some people's attention.
CHO: But officials say the point of the drill is to keep authorities trained and ready in case of an emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No single agency can do it by themselves. It requires the efforts of a number of different agencies, and today it gives us an opportunity to exercise that.
CHO: Alina Cho, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Well, it's nice and warm here, but it is beginning to feel like fall in some parts of the country. Our own Jacqui Jeras following that.
Jacqui, it's getting cooler now already?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, already. Not even just fall-like conditions, even feeling like winter for some of you. We'll have the latest on the cold snap and the tropics. That's coming up in just a minute.
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MALVEAUX: Jacqui Jeras looking at all our weather in the Weather Center.
I'm a little disappointed, Jacqui, if you're going to tell me it's getting cooler and we've got fall weather already. I was just getting used to summer.
JERAS: You know, there are a lot of people, though, I have to say, that live in the south and the southeast that are really happy.
MALVEAUX: OK.
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JERAS: Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: All right, Jacqui. Well, I'll put away my bathing suit and you and I will go shopping for sweaters, I guess.
JERAS: OK. I'm in.
MALVEAUX: OK, thanks, Jacqui.
JERAS: OK.
MALVEAUX: And there's still much more ahead on CNN. Here's Kitty Pilgrim with a look at what's coming up next on "Lou Dobbs This Week."
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN HOST, "LOU DOBBS THIS WEEK": Coming up at 6:00, alarming testimony on Capitol Hill about dangerous imports from Communist China and other countries.
Also, shocking new evidence the federal government is allowing tens of thousands of criminal illegal aliens to roam our streets.
Plus, complete coverage of the political fallout from President Bush's address to the nation, defending his conduct of the war in Iraq. All of that and much more at 6:00 in "Lou Dobbs This Week."
MALVEAUX: We're back in the "CNN NEWSROOM" tonight at 10:00. "Lou Dobbs Tonight" starts right after the headlines.
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