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Gas Explosion Destroys Apartment Building In Harlem; Two Missing, Five Injured; Virginia State Police Pick Up Registered Sex Offender Who Allegedly Kidnapped Florida Girl
Aired October 06, 2007 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: How about this? The chilling sounds of a convoy attack in Baghdad. The provincial governor pinned down by gunfire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARION JONES, OLYMPIC MEDALIST: It is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: She's given an apology. Now Marion Jones is being pressed to give up her Olympic medals.
And --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not allowed to I say these words on television in front of your camera, but Mr. Mitchell, you're going to get what's coming to you, boy. I tell you, you're going to get what's coming to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Whoa, angry words for a registered sex offender a captured today accused of luring a teen from her home. We hear more from the girl's father, next in the NEWSROOM.
Hello, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
First this hour, arrested at a truck stop. A high-risk sex offender is now off the streets. Authorities picked up with William Joe Mitchell in Virginia today. He is accused of using MySpace to lure a Florida teen from home. And then abandoning her at a Wal-Mart store. Mitchell was captured at the Flying J Truck stop in Winchester, Virginia. Last hour the victim's father and Polk County sheriff spoke exclusively to Fredricka Whitfield about Mitchell's arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RODGER FRANK, VICTIM'S FATHER: It was the absolutely most joyful feeling I've ever experienced getting my daughter back. I'm glad he's gone. It's so hard to explain the feeling. I screamed at the top of my lungs and my neighbors came out. That's how excited I was. My wife's crying. I'm still shaking. It's an amazing feeling.
SHERIFF GRADY JUDD, POLK CO., FLORIDA SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Virginia state police took him down at gunpoint. He did not resist. Once he did that, and we were able to get to his car, he was still in his original car, we determined he had no money on him, but what he did have was our victim's personal effects, visible in the car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Police stay 46-year-old Mitchell has a violent past. He has 14 prior arrests and was under state supervision in Florida.
Disgraced sprinter Marion Jones is under growing pressure today to surrender her Olympic medals. An attorney for Greek athlete Katerina Fano (ph) says she deserves the 100-meter gold from the 2000 Games in Sydney. Fano finished second and was later at a scanned of the doping scandal herself.
The head of the U.S. Olympic Committee is demanding Jones give up all the medals she won, quote, "in violation of the rules". His call comes after Jones' admission she used performance-enhancing drugs and lied to government investigators, which is likely to land her in prison. With the latest on this story, CNN's Jim Acosta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you feel, Marion?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As it turns out, Marion Jones wasn't the fastest. She was a fraud. But after Jones finally came clean admitting she had used steroids, the disgraced Olympic athlete suggested she could be a role model once again, for what not to do.
MARION JONES, PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE: I promise that these events will be used to make the lives of many people improve. That by making the wrong choices and bad decisions, can be disastrous.
ACOSTA: Just 24 hours after her stunning downfall, runners and their parents at this high school cross-country meet in New York City had a brand new impression of Marion Jones.
(On camera): Is this somebody that you looked up to as an athlete?
BIANCA RODRIGUEZ, CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNER: It was someone that I looked up to, until she actually admitted that she did that. And then like everything just went a totally different way.
ACOSTA: The transformation of Marion Jones from sports hero to sports zero may stop today's young athletes from turning to steroids, because it's re-enforces that old adage that winners never cheat, and cheaters never win.
LUIS FERNANDO LLOSA, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": It's a caution to parents in America. ACOSTA: A wake-up call that couldn't come soon enough, says "Sports Illustrated's" Luis Fernando Llosa, who has investigated steroids use in athletics.
LLOSA: If she gets all of her Olympic medals taken away from her and she ends up in jail, and broke, then they see the arc of this story and the denouement is horrific.
ACOSTA: A recent federal study found that steroid use at the high school level has doubled since the '90s. Even some eighth graders are experimenting with performance enhancing drugs. Columbia University sprinter Whitney Crayton hopes to see a change in the attitude at the track.
WHITNEY CRAYTON, SPRINTER, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: I've won races, I've lost races. But the struggling, the fighting, the losing that you go through as a growing process; it makes the winning that much more valuable. Winning is important but winning with integrity is paramount.
ACOSTA: Winning with integrity is something Marion Jones proved along the way, would not happen for her.
JONES: There exists no one who can truthfully testify that I have ever used performance-enhancing drugs.
ACOSTA: She won five Olympic medals. But as the entire world, including many of her youngest fans found out, Marion Jones couldn't outrun the truth.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: That was CNN's Jim Acosta.
And a little later CNN's Larry Smith joins us to talk about the Marion Jones situation, whether it might help deter illegal doping at the Beijing Olympics next summer.
Some breaking news we want to get to here at CNN. We're getting reports of an explosion at a building, an apartment building in New York City, Uptown New York, Harlem. The Bronx at West 119th and West 10th Street, I understand.
We understand that two people are reported missing at this time. As many as 200 firefighters are on the scene right now. It is a developing story and certainly a situation that we're going to watch closely here. We are mobilizing some teams into that area right now. We'll get you first pictures as soon as they become available.
Again, an explosion at a building in Harlem, West 119th Street and West 10th. Two people reported missing at this time.
Are these the first pictures? First pictures of the scene from our affiliate in New York. Anyone who wants to communicate with me in the studio is fine. First pictures. Great, new video from WABC in New York, our affiliate there. Five people reported injured with major burns as you can see here. Two people reported missing.
This is in a building. Once again, let me locate it for you. West 119th Street at West 10th. And as you can see, some of the people arriving on the scene to kind of the shock and horror of what has happened here. Can't get a real good look at the building in question here. Maybe we'll see video of that in just a moment.
You can see firefighters on the scene right now. Don't know if this is a gas explosion. Don't have those kinds of details for you right now. But as you can see from these first pictures, some of the people who either live in that building, or have people that they know in that building, are arriving there to the shock and the horror of what has happened here.
An explosion at this building, West 119th Street, Uptown, New York, the Bronx, Harlem, West 119th and West 10th. An explosion at this building. As many as 200 firefighters are on the scene right now.
We are going to re-rack some of these pictures. We'll get you some new information and we will update this story for you on the other side of the break.
Also still to come in NEWSROOM, the fall of track star Marion Jones. More on this story. A former hero reduced to tears, now looking at time in jail. More on this story, just ahead.
Also ahead, a symbol of hatred. Resurfaces, prompting some to wonder whether it really went away in the first place. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Once again, we want to update you on the breaking news coming out of New York City. Uptown, New York, the Bronx, Harlem, West 119th Street at West 10th Street, some kind of an explosion at a building there. Let's show you the first pictures in to CNN, just a short time ago, from our affiliate there in New York, WABC, of the building itself.
As many as 200 firefighters are on the scene. We have reports of at least two people missing. Several distraught people on the scene now worried about what has happened there. So what we'll do is we'll continue to monitor this story and get you some new information and update the story as soon as we can here in the NEWSROOM.
Let's get to stories "Across America", right now. Our news "Across America" begins with another story out of Queens, New York, where police have arrested a mother for allegedly trying to sell her infant. Police say, Yoa Fanjo (ph) planned to hand her newborn son over to an undercover officer for $25,000. If convicted of child abandonment and other charges, she faces up to seven years in prison.
Off the shores of the South Florida, a maritime memorial for the four missing crew members of Joe Cool. The boat was found nearly two weeks ago, adrift in the Gulf of Mexico. But its captain, his wife, and two crewmen weren't aboard and are presumed murdered. Two men found on a near by life raft are in custody and are considered prime suspects but have not yet been charged.
Red hot sex? It may sell but it is not going over too well in east Tennessee. A local pastor mailed out some 50,000 fliers like this promoting an upcoming marriage seminar. But a few recipients think the clergyman may have pushed the envelope a bit too far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENE WOLFENBARGER, PASTOR, THE GATHERING: At the end of the day, mom, dad, did I mean to offend your kids? Absolutely not. And again, I'll apologize.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wolfenbarger says this is the last time this church will mail out such a spicy material.
Sometimes you've got to work out the bugs and in rare instances you've got to work through the bugs -- midges, miggs, migess, midges -- that was the scene last night in Cleveland -- well, they're gnats. This was last night in Cleveland when the Indians hosted the New York Yankees. A couple of million flying insects, the swarm didn't bug The Tribe too much. They're used to it. They spanked the Yankees again, taking a 2-0 lead in the divisional playoff series.
Let's get a check of weather now. Jacqui Jeras, gnats? What are those things?
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: And coming up in just minutes into CNN NEWSROOM, Larry Smith joins me. We're talking about Marion Jones, disgraced. How about this moment yesterday? Is there the possibility that this moment can be turned into something of a cautionary tale for young people? For anyone participating in sports?
The rules are there for a reason, not to be broken. Play the game by the rules. Larry Smith here after the break. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So all the glitters certainly isn't gold. And disgraced U.S. track star Marion Jones certainly knows that, going from Olympic gold medalist to -- that's a little harsh, by uttering just one word, guilty. After years of emphatic denials Jones came clean yesterday admitting that she did cheat and used steroids.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: And so it is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust. I want all of you to know that today I pled guilty to two counts of making false statements to federal agents. Making these false statements to federal agents was an incredibly stupid thing for me to do, and I am responsible, fully, for my actions. I have no one to blame but myself for what I have done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: All right. So what lesson, if any, will Marion Jones' fall from grace teach up and coming athletes? CNN Sports Larry Smith here. You've been working this for the last couple of days. We first found out about this late Thursday afternoon, on the website.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
HARRIS: CNNSI. And you were great with us, helping us understand this story much of yesterday. We come to this question today, sort of a day after question. Is there -- I think it's an important question. Is there an opportunity here for the Marion Jones story to be used to deterrent for young athletes, young people in general, to play by the rules?
SMITH: I think there is. I think it's not only Marion Jones, it's the different -- the numerous people who have been caught with this, the Floyd Landises, in cycling, and Jason Giambi his admission in baseball.
I think many people would like to see her -- if you're going to do this, blow the whistle and blow this wide open and find out who also is on this. As we have said before, there are always going to be those people who are going to want to toe that, or maybe even cross that line. And the question -- I've talked with former players and coaches in the past 24, 36 hour or so about this. The big question is what else is going on that we don't know?
HARRIS: So are there more there?
SMITH: Oh, yeah. For instance, human growth hormone has been a big topic, HGH, as it's known. There's no accurate testing for that right now. So in sports, really you can't really -- there's nothing that really will detect positively that someone is or is not taking it. That right now, many people that I've talked to, think that that could be kind of the enhancer of choice because right now it is undetectable.
HARRIS: Larry, why? Why? Marion Jones, my goodness. So maybe she doesn't win by five meters, she wins by three. She has been a star on the radar since she was, what, 15, 16 years old.
SMITH: Sure. She was running Olympic times in high school.
HARRIS: So you wonder why these athletes will push it, and toe that line, as you mention, and take it right up to the edge. Is it the riches? Is it the fame? Is that why these athletes will continue to push this?
SMITH: I think with every person it probably they would have their own thought. But one person I did talk with, and we discussed this earlier here in the NEWSROOM. Is that the money is so big now. You know, 20, 30, 40 years --
HARRIS: To be number one?
SMITH: Sure.
HARRIS: Or to even to be number two.
SMITH: If you're number one, there's the money, the endorsements that come in and the big appearance fees. And not just the knowing that you are better than the next person, just because you're better naturally, not because of that. Because if you are number one, here comes the spoils, here come the endorsements, here comes the adulation, and the riches, and all of these other things that come into it.
It's so much different now than what it was 20 years ago. Back in 1988 when Ben Johnson, of Canada, when he was caught for steroids, we were so stunned. Because, normally in the Olympics, that was something that happened over in Europe, the Europeans seemed to do that. Not teams here in the Northern --
HARRIS: And you remind us with that, that we've been dealing with this, the specter of the drugs, the cheating -- since '88.
SMITH: Yeah.
HARRIS: Probably before that. There were the East Germany athletes. There was always suspicions about some of the Chinese athletes. We've been dealing with this for a long time.
SMITH: Keep in mind, too, as I mentioned on one of the earlier shows today. I was in Athens in 2004 at the Olympics and it was so disappointing as a journalist, because we want to go to an Olympics and we want to talk about the great accomplishments of the human spirit.
And instead we spent the first half of those games discussing steroids. Keep in mind, again, the sprinter who stands to gain a gold medal if Marion Jones has her 100 meter taken away, she was involved in a big doping scandal at the 2004 games.
So it's not that her record has been totally clean. That's what we're talking about with not only the number one to go down, but number two, while she was clean in 2000, has not necessarily had a sparkling clean record herself.
HARRIS: I've been handed more reaction from other athletes to the Marion Jones story.
Larry, great to see you. Thanks for your time.
SMITH: OK.
HARRIS: Thanks for your help on this story.
This from former Australian sprinter Melinda Gainsford-Taylor: "You feel so disappointed as an athlete, especially when it is someone you have raced against. At Olympics you've just got to believe that everyone's worked hard and hasn't cheated and we are all out on this even playing field.
"So when you find at one of the best in the world has been taking drugs it just makes you sick in your stomach."
This reaction from Australian track legend Raelene Boyle, "Fancy having to live with those lies for eight years. How is she going to tell her baby she's a liar and a cheat?"
Oh, boy.
"She needs to give her medals back."
All right, let's move on now. Enough of that for now. Do you want to add something else, Larry?
SMITH: No. You're doing a great job.
HARRIS: All right.
SMITH: It's like, I've talked enough. Taken up enough of your time.
HARRIS: No, no, no. Good to have you here. Thanks for your help on this story.
SMITH: OK.
HARRIS: We want to get to some breaking news we've been telling you about throughout the hour here in the NEWSROOM.
Jim Acosta now has some new information on the pictures that you're looking at right now. Firefighters on the scene of an explosion in Harlem, West 119th Street, West 119th and West 10th, is the location that we have.
Jim, what can you add to this story? It looks like someone on the gurney right now has suffered some kind of an injury?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony. I'm standing underneath the sign that says West 119th and 5th Avenue. That's the intersection in New York City, in Harlem, where this explosion happened.
This was some sort of gas explosion inside an apartment in a five-story apartment building. And it happened about an hour and a half ago. According to firefighters on the scene, there are five people injured; two missing, at this point. But those are preliminary numbers and they could change.
One neighbor, area businessmen, here on the scene said he assisted in helping people out of the building says there was some sort of illegal restaurant in the bottom floor of the apartment building. And that there is some sort of explosion coming from that restaurant that led to this explosion inside the building.
But apparently the damage inside was quite serious. It blew out the windows, as you can see in some of this video. And there were injured people coming out of that building thanks to firefighters, and neighbors in the area.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, I can tell you right now, has just arrived. He has just walked up to the scene of this incident. And he's being briefed by fire officials at this point.
HARRIS: Jim, we'll let you do more reporting on that. Jim Acosta on the scene there in Harlem for us.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM this evening, nooses in the news. We're seeing more of them lately, and we will hear from CNN's Josh Levs about that.
Josh, good to see you.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony, good to see you, too.
We are seeing them a lot more. Everyone seems to have a theory about whether these are copycats, or if we're just paying more attention to something already been going on. Well, I looked into the numbers. So, coming up in the CNN "Reality Check" we'll have that for you from right here, in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TONY HARRIS, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Dramatic new video out of Iraq. A convoy comes under attack with a cameraman inside who captures the scene on tape. Take a look and listen.
(VIDEO)
HARRIS: There you go. That's Iraq. The target of this attack, a Baghdad governor, security guards fired back at the gunman. Everyone in the convoy, including the governor escaped without injury.
Top U.S. commander in Iraq is speaking out about Iran's involvement in Iraq. And for the first time, he is pointing a finger at a high-level Iranian diplomat.
CNN's Jim Clancy has been traveling with General David Petraeus today and joins us now live from Baghdad.
Jim, great to see you. What did General Petraeus have to say? Anything new in tone or substance?
JIM CLANCY, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Tony, he's coming off a month ago he was in Washington, a partisan battlefield if you will. Actually looks a little bit relieved to be back on the battlefield in Iraq stressing the same strategy he has.
As he went up into Iraq north of the capital of Baghdad, about an hour's drive from the Iranian border, to present some citations to members of the 82nd Airborne that's been battling al Qaeda for the past year. The issue of Iran, arms and explosive smuggling, all came up. We sat down and talked with General Petraeus, asking him what was going to be the outlook for release of six Iranian detainees. One of them captured just last month in northern Iraq. And said even by President Jalal Talabani of Iraq saying he's only the businessman. The others were said to be only diplomats. General Petraeus said, if you only you knew the truth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ: Jim, let's be very clear. There is no debate that the individuals who we have detained are Quds Force members and detained in northern Iraq. We have absolute assurance of who he is, what he has done in the past, what he has provided in terms of accelerants, what his position is in the Quds Force. Again, these are not in question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Now, the accelerants, Tony, that General Petraeus was talking about there, those include those shape charges, the explosively shaped detonators that pierce through U.S. armor and have been blamed on a lot of deaths.
The Iranians have promised to Iraqis that they were going to control, rein in those arm shipments and shipments of munitions and explosions. General Petraeus said, who is negotiating all of this? One of the negotiators at least is Baghdad's ambassador to Iraq right here in Baghdad and he, too, could be involved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETRAEUS: The Quds Force controls the policy for Iraq. There should be no confusion about that either. The ambassador is the Quds Force. He has diplomatic immunity and therefore he is obviously not subject and he is acting as a diplomat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Now, all of these people, these detainees that are being held, he says many of them have admitted on videotape to their responsibility, what they've really been up to. So it's not a possibility that they're going to be set free any time soon. He said he hopes that Iran fulfills some of its promises and he hopes that will lead to a reduction in violence in this country. Back to you, Tony.
HARRIS: Jim Clancy for us in Baghdad. Jim, appreciate it. Good to see you. Thank you.
President Bush denies plans to attack Iran. In an interview with the Arab TV station, the president brushed off Arab media reports of an attack plan calling it baseless gossip. The president repeated his commitment to working diplomatically to resolve the nuclear standoff with Tehran.
Ugly symbols of racism appearing in public and in headlines pretty frequently lately. Is there an increase in noose incidents or just better reporting?
Josh Levs is here with a reality check.
JOSH LEVS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: A lot of us talking about this. There's a lot of concern about this. Is this a new phenomenon or us just paying attention? One of the sound bites we're about to hear is from one of the interviews you did last week.
We have been bringing you a lot of stories about nooses in the last weeks. It seems to keep coming. The question today is this, is this part of a new national trend?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS (voice-over): Nooses at the Coast Guard, the help stead New York police station, a high school in high point, North Carolina, and the University of Maryland. Two hung from this red truck in Louisiana right after the protests in nearby Jena where nooses were hung from a tree at a local high school last year.
Are these kinds of incidents on the rise or have all the events in Jena got us paying more attention? The Justice Department says it doesn't know. The government doesn't specifically track noose incidents.
The head of a group that watches hate incidents says he thinks there is an increase.
MARK POTOK, SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER: Nooses have come to replace in many people's mind the burning cross, as the kind of symbol of the Klan or of racial hate.
LEVS: In 2000, the government did report an increase in nooses in the workplace, calling it a disturbing national trend. Now the equal employment opportunity commission says it is still a problem, though not necessarily still on the rise. There have been at least 20 lawsuits involving nooses in the workplace since 2001.
If there has been a jump in noose incidents lately, it just may be because certain people want to capitalize on the new wave of attention nooses are getting.
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS, (D), MARYLAND: I think some of this is copycat stuff. But I think that there are some people who don't like the fact that our country is becoming more and more diverse and they want to do whatever they can to block that or make people feel uncomfortable.
LEVS: Now in the wake of all this, educators and also civil rights leaders are launching new efforts to educate people about what this symbol means to so many people.
And also, Tony, they're trying to convey the horrifying history that it represents.
HARRIS: Grambling State University, another incident recently, a week ago now, and I know that was a situation where the folks responsible, including a couple of teachers there, are saying it was a teaching opportunity.
LEVS: Right. So it wasn't meant to be a racist statement or attack but that does set off a controversy. I listen to that and we're seeing more things like that, too. One earlier this year in Tallahassee, Florida, where a museum put up an exhibit that included a noose and images of a confederate flag. That's it. It had a noose and confederate flag. A lot of people were offered by the noose being there.
It's an incredibly powerful symbol and set off a whole new controversy there. I found it's something we're seeing in more places. A lot of people want to teach about it. Very wary of using one in doing so.
HARRIS: A lot of copycat folks out there seeing it.
LEVS: They know it will get attention. It's a vicious cycle.
HARRIS: World War II veterans, amazing story, in charge of interrogating Nazi prisoners. Their work so secret none of it haves have talked about it until now.
CNN's Kathleen Koch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was called P.O. Box 1142, so secret it was known only by its Virginia postal code. From 1942 to 1945, U.S. servicemen there pried secrets out of high-value German prisoners of war.
John Gunter Dean was 18 when he started there.
JOHN GUNTER DEAN, P.O. BOX 1142: You were nice to people. Yes, I did go and play cards with prisoners and trying to establish a relationship that he would be helpful to what we wanted to know.
KOCH (on camera): You got information that way?
DEAN: We got a lot of information.
KOCH (voice-over): Chief Interrogator Henry Comb once played chess with Hitler's deputy.
HENRY COMB, CHIEF INTERROGATOR: We got more information out of a German general over a game of chess than by threats and brutality.
KOCH (on camera): There was no head slapping, no water boarding, no torture?
COMB: None of that. I was appalled when I read in the "Washington Post" that these methods had been employed. It was totally against my humanitarian instinct. KOCH (voice-over): Werner Moritz said his team discovered Germany developed deadly V-1 and V-2 missiles by eavesdropping on prisoners.
WERNER MORTIZ, FORMER INTERROGATOR: It took us three or four days and three or four people constantly listening to the recording was scratchy. Became a very important part of the Second World War. And the fact that we discovered it that way was wonderful.
KOCH: The men of P.O. Box 1142 were brought together this weekend by the National Parks Service. It stumbled across one of the veterans while trying to piece together the history of their Alexandra facility, now a recreation area owned by Parks Service.
Historian Brandon Bies was stunned the men had kept their work secret for so long.
BRANDON BIES, HISTORIAN: They took their oath of secrecy very seriously for 60-plus years. And only after we were able to convince them this has been declassified, it's important to tell their stories, that they really felt the need that it was okay to tell these stories. And they realized that, yes, maybe what they did may have made a difference.
KOCH: A difference with lessons they believe still apply today.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Up next, a Bush cabinet member making a name for himself but not for the right reason.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: In our "Fit Nation" segment today, food labels, health advocates say knowledge is power in the battle against the bulge. Consumers, like you, who are used to trying to decode the information on new packages. But could new labels simplify that process?
Here's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The choices can make you dizzy. Healthy heart logos, zero trans fat stamps, low cholesterol, jam-packed nutrition labels.
Now manufacturers are introducing new packaging aimed at making the information clearer, consequently, decisions easier.
(on camera): Here's what you see on most of today's labels. The government actually requires that packages show you the bad stuff, such as foot tall fat, cholesterol, sodium, trans fats. But there's good stuff, such as Vitamin A, Vitamin B, to the phosphorus, magnesium and zinc. Now companies like Kellogg's and General Mills are take that information and putting it right on the front of the box. Big bold letters. They call it an effort to try and educate consumers.
(voice-over): But in countries like the United Kingdom and Sweden, the government is actually mandating label changes.
SUSAN ROBERTS, DRAKE UNIVERSITY AGRICULTURAL LAW CENTER: They're doing things like red light, green light, yellow light kind of thing. Very simple for people to see. Is this a healthy food or not a healthy food?
GUPTA (on camera): These products here are from England. They're actually color-coded according to a traffic light system. Take a look. Actually green if they're considered healthy. The yellow or orange if they're considered sort of boarder line. And they're just plain red if they're considered unhealthy.
(voice-over): English food makers say that since the label changes, sales of green and yellow light products have jumped.
Back in the states, the FDA says it has no immediate plans to require new food labels with cereal makers out in front of the issue other companies might follow suit.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We'll update you on the breaking news this hour here in the "NEWSROOM." an explosion in the basement of a Bronx apartment building, as many as seven people injured, as many as 200 firefighters are on the scene right now. New video into CNN at this hour. Five to six people being treated at Harlem hospital's emergency room. Eyewitnesses telling us the explosion occurred at an illegal restaurant in the bottom of this building and of the explosion blew upwards two to three floors and not outward, which is why you don't see debris on the sidewalk there.
Again, as many as 200 firefighters on the scene, some suffering some minor injuries. Some being brought out, on a gurney to be taken to a local hospital for treatment there. Again, this is a story we'll continue to follow in New York City. Uptown New York, Harlem, the Bronx, New York. Five to six people being treated at a local hospital there. Impacted be this explosion in an apartment building. Eyewitnesses telling us the explosion actually occurred in an illegal restaurant in the bottom floor of that apartment building. We'll get back to you with any new information as soon as we get it.
In the meantime, the United States Congress lost one of its members today. Representative Joanne Davis died in her home in Virginia after a battle with breast cancer. Three-term Republican was diagnosed with cancer in 2005 and had a recurrence this year. Congresswomen Davis was 57 years old. Another appointee of President Bush's reportedly under scrutiny by the FBI and a host of other agencies. It is Housing Secretary Alfonso Jackson and allegations that he played favorites when it came to awarding government contracts.
Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's an old political friend of the president and it got him appointed to a cabinet post. Now the FBI is investigating whether Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson improperly awarded another friend. An associate of Jackson's may have gotten a no bid contract to help rebuild New Orleans. And was paid $400,000 for it.
A former special prosecutor explains what the feds will look into.
SCOTT FREDERICKSEN, FORMER SPECIAL PROSECUTOR: What were the circumstances? Was it friendship involved? Was there quid pro quo? Was there something more? Was there quid pro quo? It was r was there an award.
TODD: Jackson is identified by the "National Journal," who first reported the story as South Carolina construction contractor Williams Hairston. The magazine says Jackson gave Hairston's name in two others to officials in New Orleans. Our calls to Williams Hairston were not returned, but he's quoted as telling the National Journal", "The secretary asked me if I would go to New Orleans and help them out."
Jackson, through a spokesman, said, "I intend to fully cooperate with any possible investigation and to clear my name." The White House isn't saying much.
DANA PERINO, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president expects that Alphonso Jackson will comply fully with the investigation. He has said he would do so. We've been in touch to make sure that is happening and we are sure that it is.
TODD: This isn't the first time Jackson's faced scrutiny over contract awards. During a speech last year, Jackson said one potential contractor told him he didn't like President Bush. Jackson said, "He didn't get the contract. Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president?"
Jackson later apologized, told HUD's inspector general he never prevented that contract from being issued and said he lied when he made the remark.
In an interview last year, he said: "It was really a simple -- I was very tired, had a very sore throat, had a cold. And I told the story probably 14, 15 times. And that was the first time that the ending came out right." TODD (on camera): In that interview and elsewhere Jackson stressed when he first became HUD secretary he created a review board to make sure he would never get involved in contract awards.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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HARRIS: Once again, the breaking news this hour with the news we're just getting here that this is a briefing from the scene coming up in just a moment. What we're talking about is this explosion in the basement of a Bronx apartment building. As many as seven people injured, as many as 2 HUD firefighters on the scene. A number of injured. Five to six people being treated at Harlem's hospital emergency room. We learned a short time ago there will be a briefing any moment now. When that begins we will bring it to you right here in the "CNN NEWSROOM."
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HARRIS: It's one Toyota dealer is really getting the message of his viewers from his new TV ads which target the sizable Latino community. Some people are furious while some are furiously buying into it.
CNN's Susan Candiotti reports from south Florida's latest linguistic flash point.
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SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Without cue cards Earl Stewart doesn't speak a lick of Spanish but he knows how to sell cars. His family's been in the business for 70 years at West Palm Beach, Florida. He figured why not advertise in Spanish with subtitles on English language TV to reach Latinos who might be watching.
EARL STEWART, TOYOTA BUSINESS OWNER: I wasn't trying to make a political statement. I was trying to sell more Toyotas.
CANDIOTTI: Viewers started calling with a vengeance.
CALLER: We'll never buy anything from your dealership. Thank you.
CALLER: This is not right. Your advertisement is unbelievable.
CANDIOTTI: Within days he got more than 200 angry e-mails.
STEWART: I find your Spanish commercial stupid and insulting. I would never buy a car from someone who doesn't know which country he lives in. This is not Mexico.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): This one says, tell Earl he's a traitor and un-American.
When you started doing these, did you ever think it would create such a stir?
STEWART: I had no idea. I was in shock.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): On the other hand, Hispanic supermarket chain is running a combo Spanish-English commercial on Miami's English language TV with no complaints.
MERCEDES CUBAS, SIBONEYUSA: People who advertise in Spanish are just trying to expand the consumer base. They're being smart. They want to sell their products.
CANDIOTTI: We asked one of Stewart's customers to watch the ad. She gets it but doesn't think it helps Hispanics assimilate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They help to draw the people in, which is what he wants. But they don't help them learn English.
STEWART: I think it's nonsense that a car dealer's commercial on television is not going to encourage anyone not to learn English.
CANDIOTTI: He slugs off e-mails like, anything to make a buck, right, Earl?
STEWART: I did it for the all mighty dollar and to sell more Toyotas.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): If you think they have a negative impact on car sales, remember those people who said they would never set their foot inside this dealership? Apparently just the opposite has happened. Earl Stewart says he had a record sales month in September. He says he won't mess with success.
In the words of Tom Petty, you "will not back down."
STEWART: I'm not going to back down. I'm going to continue to run my Hispanic TV commercial and it will be a permanent part of my television advertising from now on.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Susan Candiotti, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Let's tell this story once again. Out of New York City. Harlem, New York, rolling some of the latest video on CNN. Explosion in a basement of an apartment building in Harlem. As many as seven people we understand injured in all of this, as many as 200 firefighters working the scene. Five to six people we know of being treated at Harlem hospitals emergency room.
We understand Mayor Bloomberg has visited the scene, left the scene now. We are expecting a briefing at any time. When that happens we will bring it to you. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: And now we go out on a him limb -- bad pun -- it's a story about a severed leg found by a North Carolina man, who first turned green, then saw green realizing that was money to be made with this rather disgusting discovery. But that is not sitting well with the leg's original owner who wants it back. Can't make this stuff up.
Here's the story from CNN's Jeanne Moos.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forget the Britney Spears custody battle, in North Carolina a one-legged guy is fighting for custody of his own severed leg.
JOHN WOOD, LEG OWNER: This has become a freak show.
MOOS: His rival to the leg, founded in a meat smoker.
SHANNON WHISNANT, FOUND LEG: But this is off the wall, man, you know? I mean, a real foot with five toes.
MOOS: When you find something like that in a smoker, you just bought at auction, you call 911.
911: What's the problem there?
WHISNANT: I got a human foot.
911: You have a what?
WHISNANT: A human left foot.
911: What's your name?
WHISNANT: My name is Shannon Whisnant. I'm grossed out.
MOOS: Don't say that to the original owner.
WOOD: It actually looks pretty good. I had a real nice pedicure before it was done.
MOOS: John lost his leg in a plane crash a few years back and had it embalmed. He wanted to keep it so he could some day be cremated as a whole man. He kept the leg at this mini storage in the meat smoker. When he got behind in his storage rent his belongings were sold, and with it the smoker with the surprise inside.
WHISNANT: It's still got meat and bones, you know, toe nails.
MOOS: He turned it over to police. Soon after decided he wanted to display the leg as a tourist attraction, charging adults $3 bucks a peep. As for the original owner...
(on camera): It's his leg. It's his very own flesh and blood leg.
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