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American Morning
Genarlow Wilson Released; Oil Prices Surge; Olmert's Health; California Wildfires; New Autism Report
Aired October 29, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A strong tropical storm right now, maximum sustained winds at 50 miles per hour but gusts beyond that, you can see that down the line it kind of curves away from the U.S. with time, so that's some good news. However, it is impacting us indirectly. We've got that low pressure area well to our south. We've got high up to the north. What that's do something bringing in some very strong winds across Florida's coastline.
Let's show you that map and show you where the radar is. Those winds creating very rough surf and also bringing in the high risk of rip currents today. Coastal flooding can be expected and watches are in effect, especially on the north Atlantic beaches of Florida, including the Jacksonville area. High tide comes in about 11:00ish this morning, so that's when we expect the conditions to be the worst.
Now how much rainfall are we going to be getting out of this system? Could be hefty. Looking at a good one to two inches today. You see that big bullet here near Orlando. Off the screen, look at that rain right there, that is all from Noel, and could see 10 to 20 inches there, possibly as much as isolated totals around 30 inches, Rob. Devastating.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. Devastating for them and again not getting that tropical moisture where the folks in the southeast desperately need it this year. Jackie Jeras, thanks very much.
Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Oil prices surging past a new record in overnight trading. Stephanie Elam is in for Ali Velshi. She's Minding Your Business at the update desk this morning.
Hi Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Kiran.
Well, as we take a look at oil prices, on Friday, we hit a new all time high, $91.86. That was up $1.40 on Friday. Now, overnight we see oil topping $93. Obviously before we used to think that it was out of the question about $100 a barrel but it looks now not that way. Now there's a few factors here that we need to look at. Mexico shut down production because of the storm that we were just hearing about. Also, the tensions between Iraq and Kurdish rebels, that is factoring in as well. Also, Iran and their nuclear efforts there also factoring into the cost of oil. So all of that factoring in and we may be seeing gas up about $3 a gallon by the end of the year.
Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: All right. Stephanie, thanks a lot.
New this morning as well, the young man at the center of a teen sex case that sparked national outrage spoke to CNN after getting released from prison. Genarlow Wilson sat down with Rick Sanchez over the weekend. He says his sentence was absurd but that he is not bitter about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENARLOW WILSON, FREE FROM PRISON: What happened that night, I don't think any of us made very wise decisions but I don't think that any of us can go back then and change what happened. You know, for the most part, I think all we can do is mature from it, make sure it doesn't happen again, you know, and someone can get caught up in the same thing, but you know, I was young then. I've done some idiotic things in my teen years, but you know, every average teen does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Wilson also said he's been studying for the S.A.T. and he's ready to pursue a college degree in sociology or business. We'll talk with Rick Sanchez. We're going to hear more from Genarlow Wilson coming up in just a few minutes.
Well, breaking just minutes ago, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced that he is battling prostate cancer. An Israeli government official says the disease is not life threatening. Olmert is 62 years old. He is not going to step down. Olmert came into power earlier last year when his predecessor Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke.
Well, it was a history-making election in Argentina; the first lady succeeding her husband as the country's next president. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is the first woman elected president of Argentina. The lawyer turned senator has been called the Latin Hillary. She'll take on the economy and rising crime. Those two major campaign issues when she assumes office in December.
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani blasting Hillary Clinton for her diplomatic plan, saying it undermines President Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary's not even the nominee of the party. So this is very premature to talk about sending ambassadors around the world before she becomes president to in essence interfere in the foreign policy of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Clinton has said if she wins the election she'll send representatives out the next day to "tell them that the era of cowboy diplomacy is over." Giuliani says Clinton is being arrogant and may hurt the United States in long-term interests in the Middle East.
Late last night, Iowa Democrats decided to make sure they'll still be the first to vote on the presidential candidates. They're now joining with Republicans holding caucuses January 3rd. Republicans made a move a few weeks ago. New Hampshire is expected to announce a move to keep its primary the first in the nation. They said their primary will not be later than January 8th.
Rob.
MARCIANO: Kiran, also new this morning, 23 schools in southeastern Kentucky are closed this morning because of worries about a confirmed case of antibiotic resistant staph infection. The superintendent says there hasn't been a large number of breakouts but he just wants to make sure it's safe. Workers will spend the day disinfecting classrooms, restrooms, cafeterias and other rooms as well.
Well, Qualcomm Stadium is back in business. The San Diego Chargers crushed the Houston Texans 35-10, in their first home game since the devastating fires. Qualcomm as you know was used as a major evacuation center. There was a special ceremony held before the game to honor the police, firefighters and national guardsmen. They all got a standing ovation from the crowd. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was also at the game.
It's back to school this morning for kids in southern California. A school that's been the base of operations for fire officials is now reopening, a sign that life is starting to return to normal for hundreds of students and teachers who lost everything.
Here's CNN's Kara Finnstrom.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For seven days of wildfire wars, it's been base camped to nearly 700 firefighters. Now the soot and ash are being blasted and wiped away, and the students are coming back to Poway High. Are you nervous about going back?
LYN GALE, STUDENT: Kind of.
FINNSTROM: Lyn Gale is one of 300 students in this district alone left homeless by the fires.
GALE: I got like photos and my camera, and this blanket I made.
SCOTT FISHER, PRINCIPAL, POWAY HIGH SCHOOL: Kids who lost textbooks, we've got them ready for them in the library.
FINNSTROM: The principal at Poway High says counselors, teachers and friends will help students try to regain some sense of normalcy, after a week of horrific chaos. Lyn Gale is struggling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going up to see our home.
FINNSTROM: Lyn's family invited us long. As for the first time the children return to their neighborhood.
ALEX GALE, STUDENT: How did the fire get to our house?
FINNSTROM: Lyn became too emotional to go, but her brother and sister did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kristie, that was your room.
KRISTEN GALE, STUDENT: My bedroom's right there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your bedroom is this one right here.
FINNSTROM: 9-year-old Alex and 13-year-old Kristin could barely recognize what they once called home.
GALE: When we were evacuating I really, really thought that we were going coming back to a house that wasn't in ashes.
FINNSTROM: This week with more than 30,000 other children in Poway, they'll start the overwhelming task of piecing whole lives back together. Ly did want to have a normal day, and see my friends.
GALE: It's kind of boring in the hotel we're staying in.
FINNSTROM: It will be good to get back with your friends.
GALE: Yes.
FINNSTROM: And going back to school will be that first step.
Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Poway, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: So far 2,800 homes have been destroyed by the fires. They're also being blamed for seven deaths.
There's joy in Red Sox nation this morning, that's for sure. Boston swept the Colorado Rockies last night to win their second World Series since 2004. Pitcher Jon Lester got the win after coming back from cancer earlier in the season. Third baseman Mike Lowell named most valuable player. Fans in a frenzy around Fenway Park last night and riot police out just to keep things under control. Sort of a pre- game for the parade expected later on this week.
And Yankees news now, it looks like the Yankees have lost their biggest superstar, A-Rod has opted out of his ten-year, $252 million deal. The Yankees without a manager. They have yet to name a replacement for Joe Torre.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Baseball's fortunes change year to year so don't worry. Keep your chin up, Rob.
Well experts say that autism effects 1 in 150 children in the U.S. Now there are some new recommendations to screen for one of those most mysterious and potentially devastating conditions imaginable. Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is at the medical update desk with more on these new recommendations about what they want pediatricians to look for and at what ages.
Hi, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, this report is not only to let pediatricians know what they have to look for but what parents ought to look for. Parents according to the doctors I talked to are usually the first to realize that their child is autistic and needs special help. So parents should really look out for the signs of autism and sometimes they can be subtle, and sometimes they're not subtle.
Now I'm not going to tell you what the signs are, I'm going to show you. There's some videos now on the internet that are meant for parents to look at and to say gee, is this my child? Is this what my child acts like? First, let's look at the video of a typical child, a typical child, when they are with adults or when they have a stuffed animal near them, they interact with them, they interact with a child. They here you see right there this child is interacting with the person of the people on both sides of him, trying to give big bird a bottle, this child is engaged. This child is smiling and laughing. However, in an autistic child, you don't see all of these things, instead what you see is a child who is much more focused on the things that are directly in front of him. These adults are trying to engage him but he is just not going there. He's not engaging with Big Bird. He's not offering Big Bird anything. You see the woman's trying to feed him and he really kind of wants nothing to do with it.
So let's go over in summary what some of the signs are of autism that the American Academy of Pediatrics wants people to be on the lookout for. If by one year your child isn't babbling and it's ba, ba, ba, ma, ma, ma, kind of sound or if your child isn't pointing at things. If at 16 months your child isn't saying any words, another red flag and two years in your child isn't saying phrases you should go to your pediatrician and bring this up and the reason why you want to be so vigilant is that the earlier you get an autistic child help, the better.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Very true. When you look at the videos and look at some of these things there must be some parents out there saying my child does some of these things or doesn't do some of the things. Does that mean they're autistic?
COHEN: Right, in a way it's a little bit scary to put out these things like if your child doesn't say words by one year, a lot of children don't say words. One of the things that autistic children do is repetitive motions. For example, take the bowl and throw it, take the bowl and spin it. While I was preparing the segment I looked up and my 1-year-old was taking magnets off the refrigerator and putting them back on but it's no one behavior. If your child is doing one of these things that doesn't mean they're autistic. It's the whole constellation of things. If your child isn't making eye contact, isn't engaging with other people, and doing these repetitive behaviors and isn't talking, those are things that you should look at as a group and talk to your doctor.
CHETRY: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks a lot.
Rob.
MARCIANO: Apparently pot is not a drug, just a leaf. That's what California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is quoted as saying in a British version of "GQ" magazine. His press secretary says it was a joke and Schwarzenegger told the magazine he hasn't taken drugs even though he admitted using marijuana in the 70s. He was shown smoking a joint in the documentary "Pumping Iron." The magazine quotes him as saying it's not a drug, it's a leaf. My drug was pumping iron, trust me. We trust you.
A rolling thermos sparked a terrorist scare on a plane from Albuquerque to Phoenix. The U.S. Airways plane had to turn around after the thermos rolled into the aisle and no one claimed it. HAZMAT crews say the thermos only contained water.
Well coming up, tired of hearing stories about your ancestors arriving on the Mayflower? Well, now you can find out whether any of that is true by simply mailing in your DNA.
CHETRY: Still ahead, a CNN first. Jailed for teen sex, Genarlow Wilson speaks out about the night that landed him behind bars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILSON: What happened that night, I don't think any of us made very wise decisions but I don't think any of us can go back in and change what happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: His one on one with CNN's Rick Sanchez ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Some of the shots in your "QUICK HITS" now. It was free-falling in Moscow. The base jumpers marked the 40th anniversary of TV tower's construction by what better way to mark it than leaping off of it. 475-foot leap, 46 jumpers got a view of the Kremlin that few people will ever see.
Well, a nasty NASCAR crash sparks flying as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jamie McMurray collide in the final laps of Sunday Pep Boy's Auto 500. This was at the Atlanta Motor Speed Way. Junior lost a wheel. Both drivers are doing okay. There you see a picture of the cars. Jimmie Johnson went on it win his second race in a row. Literally riding out the flood. Motorcycles getting people through the high water in Ho Chi Minh City. The streets filled after flood tides burst dikes. Water levels are higher than they've been in almost half a century.
Rob.
MARCIANO: Kiran, Genarlow Wilson says his sights are set on going to college. The 21-year-old was released from prison Friday after the Georgia Supreme Court ruled his ten-year sentence amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. His four-year court battle drew national outrage after he was sent to prison after having underaged sex with his teenager in 2003. Our own Rick Sanchez sat down one on one and joins us live this morning.
Good morning, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Hey Rob. Good to see you as usual.
MARCIANO: You spoke with Genarlow back when he was in prison and now out of prison, obviously a little happier now. Is he bitter about the whole thing, angry at the whole experience?
SANCHEZ: You'd think you'd be bitter after going through something like this, two and a half years in prison, hard time with rapists, with murderers, with all types of really bad people, and basically for a law that most people in the state, including the legislature, has decided, ruled that it's outdated, that shouldn't be on the books, that really it should amount to nothing more than a misdemeanor. Yet he sits there for two and a half years. Finally, the Supreme Court says this is really just unusual punishment against this young man. He gets out, not bitter at all, not even a little bit as a matter of fact. I was curious when he said this to me. In fact take a listen for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILSON: You can't let everything that you have been through you know, get the best of you and turn you bitter, because you will never achieve anything. I feel like everything I've done and everything that I've endured is all made me stronger as a person. You have to be very open-minded to the situation. Of course, I believe that it was absurd, but you know, I had to look at it as these gentlemen were doing their job, and they felt like they were carrying out the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Certainly a matured young man there, Rick. Another question for you, there were five other defendants in this case. They entered guilty pleas. Got out a little earlier. Wilson could have done the same thing and been freed a long time ago. Did he say why he chose not to do that in?
SANCHEZ: He chose not to do that from the very start and his argument is, Rob, I'm not a child molester. I was 17 years old, and I had a relationship, albeit stupid, using bad judgment at a party where there were drugs and alcohol with a 15-year-old girl, that's a teenager with another teenager. Does that make me a child molester? And his main reason for not wanting to do so he says he's got a little sister and if he had done this, he wouldn't be able to be around her by law. Here is his explanation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILSON: It wasn't necessarily just about the time, it was a principle. I didn't want to be labeled as a sex offender, because I am not one. I might have had lesser time but then again, I'd have nowhere to go because I would have no home, I wouldn't be able to stay with my mother because I have a little sister. When you're a sex offender you can't be around kids. It's like I can't even have kids myself so what is the point of life?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: You really see in the video, Rick, when he's reunited with his family, all of the decisions and emotions he made he went there. Did he talk about the night this went down, New Year's Eve, 2003, his behavior with the 15-year-old girl. Did he say why he did what he did and furthermore why did he videotape it?
SANCHEZ: Because he was a stupid teenager, that's why.
MARCIANO: Fair enough.
SANCHEZ: Really, I mean let's just call it what it is. He was 17 years old. It's a youthful indiscretion. He got invited to a party. A bunch of his buddies were there. They were getting high, they were, pardon me, they were drinking, and they behaved in a stupid way, as people sometimes do in their lives.
That's why, you know, Rob, we at CNN and I took it on to do and continue to follow this story because, as a dad, with teenage boys, I asked myself, what would I do if my son did something like this, heaven forbid, because I'd be really, really angry at my son and I would have a right to but do I want the state to step in and say we're taking your son and putting him away in prison for ten years because of something like this? This is the parents' job and that's where I think maybe it was an overreach on the part of the justice system but I asked him these questions and he does own up to it. Here's what he says.
WILSON: I don't think any of us made very wise decisions, you know, but I don't think that any of us can go back then and change what happened. You know, for the most part, I think all we can do is mature from it, make sure it doesn't happen again and you know, and someone can get caught up in the same thing but you know, yes, I was young then. You know, I've done some idiotic things in my teen years but you know, every average teen does.
MARCIANO: It seems like our friend here has grown up quite a bit.
SANCHEZ: He has, Rob, and there was a certain understatedness about him now, you know, a quietness about him. I think he's learned his lesson, one never knows. We all grow throughout life but I think he's going to do well and I think he's very committed now to helping others not make the same mistake that he has as well.
He says he wants to go to college, maybe study sociology. Should be an interesting story. We're going to have a lot more on this tonight at 8:00 p.m. Our exclusive first time interview with Genarlow after getting out of prison, Rob.
MARCIANO: We look forward to that. Always good to see you Rick. Thanks very much. Catch Rick's entire interview with Genarlow tonight on "OUT IN THE OPEN" at 8:00 eastern time.
CHETRY: Some big trouble for the Gap, undercover video found children, some as young as 10 years old, making clothes at a sweat shop in deplorable conditions in India.
MARCIANO: We talked with the Gap's president. She says the subcontractor was violating Gap's policies and the clothes made by the children will be destroyed.
CHETRY: So we want to know what you think, given this report and Gap's response, will you continue shopping at the Gap? Cast your vote CNN.com/am.
MARCIANO: Right now, 26 percent say yes, 74 percent say no. We'll keep tallying the votes throughout the morning.
CHETRY: All right. Well, you may think the safest place for your child is at your house. Every year millions of kids are hurt at home. Our Greg Hunter will show us hidden dangers and show you what you can make sure to end up they're not trouble in your house.
Also, do you have royalty in your blood line? There are new ways to find clues to your past. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Welcome back. You've heard about Barack Obama and Dick Cheney sharing the family line. What about Brad Pitt and Obama or president bush and Dracula? Take a look at this, the "New York Post" asked the folks at ancestry.com to put together the rather sizable family tree of the president. It seems the commander in chief it seems is related to Celine Dion, Senator John Kerry and yes even his right-hand man Dick Cheney. The company used archive census, immigrant, military and birth record.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Madonna and Celine Dion related to the president in one way, shape or form. There's a new tool to help you out with this type of thing. AMERICAN MORNING our contributor Polly Labarre joins us now. What websites are launching DNA testing services, taking out your genealogy one step further. It's very interesting. They send you this kit. You actually swab your cheek to get some DNA, you send it in and what happens next? POLLY LABARRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's pretty much what you see on "CSI" you send it in. You know you do the DNA swab, you send it in, three or four weeks later you get back information. This is super charging researching your family history online. It's the second most popular pastime on the internet, the first one being something we don't talk about on morning television and people are really interested in solving mysteries of their families, seeing who they're connected with.
So ancestry.com and genetree.com launched the service to do the genetic testing. Once you get your matches, you code back you can discover a lot of things. For instance, you could discover what your ancient deep ancestry is, your original tribe from Africa that migrated to Europe or Asia, 70,000, 170,000 years ago, so you learn what's called your Haplow Group. So that's when you're interested in the deep, deep ancestry. Then you can match up with folks in the database and figure out people who are alive that you're connected to, your more recent genetic cousins and most interesting, you can connect to people who you wouldn't have found otherwise, solve family mysteries. I'm supposed to be related to Emily Dickinson. Is that really true, and figure that out.
CHETRY: I understand how the DNA would match you up with current people but how does it match you up with people from several generations ago when they didn't have DNA testing?
LABARRE: The gene tree actually has a database of about 100,000 samples, they've been sampling for a long time. There's some DNA in databases that we saw you can figure out if you're related to Dracula or Marie Antoinette or George Washington. There's only sort of spotty samples there but the "Y" chrome some and mitochondrial DNA, not to get too deeply into the genetic science, can link you back to your ancestors. You can find out who you're related to but not the relationship.
CHETRY: And how much does it cost you to do the swab?
LABARRE: It costs $99 to $200, depending on the test you decide to take.
CHETRY: Very interesting. It is taking it to a whole new level. The internet has opened up one door because my mother is very into this genealogy, and it opened up a whole new door because of the Internet and now it's interesting to see if this DNA takes it to a whole other level.
LABARRE: You have social networking in so you're connecting and collaborating with people online researching families.
CHETRY: Real quick before I let you go. How do you make sure they're not using that for other purposes, how do you make sure once you give it it's protected?
LABARRE: They have privacy protections and the DNA is considered junk DNA, not the DNA that insurance companies or police investigations would use to identify you as a specific individual. CHETRY: Very interesting, so the two sites again for people, the names of the two sites?
LABARRE: Ancestry.com and genetree.com.
CHETRY: Pretty neat. Polly Labarre, great to see you as always.
Rob.
MARCIANO: Kiran, here's a look at a story coming up you can't miss. It's a slick, new campaign played at select airports to promote U.S. tourism and welcome visitors to America, but the ad may not tell the whole story. Just where do you get this view of Niagara Falls and the story of today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. Good morning, Norfolk, Virginia, wavy. I hear you have some ties to wavy there, Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: No, no., no. A different TV station. We're going to show it a little later, sorry.
MARCIANO: Well, nonetheless, it's a beautiful morning there in the Hampton Roads area.
CHETRY: Yes, now we have you. So you can actually tell us. What are those -- what are the cloud formations mean?
MARCIANO: It looked like blue clear skies and it's going to be pretty dark --
CHETRY: Sure, 80 degrees and sunny.
MARCIANO: I don't know. But Michelle, our producer just -- now I know how you guys make your forecasts.
Michelle, our producer says, "Oh, it's going to be 53. It's going up to 70 later on today."
CHETRY: That's why she tells us that.
MARCIANO: So you are going to blame it on her if you can't (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: Right. Because you're way too busy in the morning for us to call you down in Atlanta.
MARCIANO: I always been told. Oh, feel free to call any time.
Good morning, everybody. It's Monday, October 29th. John Roberts is off today, that's why I'm here. I'm Rob Marciano.
CHETRY: Good to have you, by the way, Rob. And I'm Kiran Chetry. New this morning. Right when many people in the northeast are going to be starting to crank up the heat at home, oil prices are going up again, way up in fact. There is another new all-time high that was set overnight in trading in Asia, passing now $93 a barrel.
Analysts are blaming a weak U.S. dollar, as well as new tensions in the Middle East and supply worries here at home with a long, cold winter ahead.
Surprise on the campaign trail. Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee saying that maybe Iraq did have weapons of mass destruction before the U.S. invaded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just because we haven't found them, doesn't mean they didn't exist. We haven't found Jimmy Hoffa either, but we know he exists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: He now says there were not weapons of mass destruction at the time of the invasion. On Iran, Huckabee says that he is prepared to do whatever it takes to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
And concerned at top talk could trans (ph) a force in a nuclear standoff with Iran. A U.N. watch dog's top watch dog says that he's worried the U.S. won't give diplomacy a chance.
Yesterday on CNN's late edition Mohamed Elbaradei said Iran is still at least a few years away from being able to build a nuclear bomb and that there is time to head off a military confrontation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMED ELBARADEI, EAEA DIRECTOR GENERAL: We haven't seen any concrete evidence to that effect. We haven't received any information that there is a parallel ongoing active nuclear weapon program.
What we have seen in the past, that certain procurement that have not been reported to us, certain experiments, and that's where we are working now with Iran to clarify the past and the present. But I have not received any information that there is a concrete active nuclear weapon program going on right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, last week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced new sanctions against the Islamic Republic's military en bancs.
MARCIANO: Grief counselors will be on hand to help students on two college campuses this morning, after a tragedy at a beach house in North Carolina. Officials say it was packed with students when a fireball erupted. Six students from the University of South Carolina died, along with one from Clemson. More than a dozen college kids lived there. Still no word on how it started.
We'll have a live report from the scene coming up at the top of the hour.
And as victims of the California wildfires are finally returning home to survey the damage, we're hearing some truly amazing stories of survival. One couple barely escaped the deadly fire in Rancho Bernardo by jumping into their pool.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER BIELASZ, FIRE SURVIVOR: We ducked our head under that overhang.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: For how long?
BIELASZ: Three hours.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think about three hours.
BIELASZ: About three hours.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
BIELASZ: Actually, it was about eternity and a half. It's the longest wait I've ever had for a ride, and that -- thank heavens we never filled the pool in.
We talked about that. We were going to fill it in, not fill it in. But we needed the escape plan if it ever happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Wow. That same fire killed some close friends of that couple. The winds are back this morning, but some moisture over the weekend helped the situation a bit. The fires have now destroyed 2,800 buildings and killed seven people.
Hundreds are running from wildfires in a place you might not expect this morning, Hawaii. Officials there say someone set nine small fires along the coast of the big island. They're not threatening homes or buildings yet, but a change in the wind could steer them towards residential areas. Around 500 people have been ordered to evacuate.
CHETRY: Well, there is no waiting 86 years for this one. The Boston Red Sox won their second World Series since they reversed the curse of the Bambino back in 2004. Well, a parade is now scheduled for tomorrow, but some fans have already started the party.
Gail Huff from affiliate WCBB joins us live from Boston. You know, we have "The Boston Globe." It's so understated. It just says "On Top of the World Again." What's it like there this morning, Gail?
GAIL HUFF, AFFILIATE REPORTER, WCBB: Well, I think "The Globe" doesn't want to be a little too pompous. After all, no doubt about the fact that New England's sports fans have a lot to celebrate these days.
But yes, two World Series victories in four years, it is tremendous. Many people partying well into the morning. In fact, you know Boston is a college town so a lot of the folks out in the streets were college kids.
Boston police certainly had their hands full, too. As you know, we have had riots after games in the past. They certainly wanted to be prepared for any type of trouble they may have. There was some destruction.
There were at least 40 arrests. Those folks will be in court this morning. But overall, things fairly peaceful, nothing like the riots we had back in 2004, when two people were killed. So thankful for that.
But now, people will start gearing up for tomorrow's rally as it's anticipated. And of course, we'll get a chance to see hopefully the trophy.
CHETRY: Yes, there we see a shot of it. You can't see it but we can. We just saw a quick shot of it.
Also, the other interesting thing is this furniture store, Jordan's Furniture Shop...
HUFF: Yes.
CHETRY: ... that offered rebates to everybody who bought if the Red Sox won. It looks like they're insured for some -- what, $10 million, because everyone's going to be cashing in.
HUFF: Oh, my goodness. Thirty thousand customers actually took advantage of that promotional deal. So some 30,000 customers are going to get reimbursed for all the furniture they bought. I can't imagine how they were able to procure that kind of insurance, but they did. Probably won't happen again.
CHETRY: No, I'm sure that the insurers probably thought lightning wasn't going to strike twice, and indeed it did. Well, a real celebration going on in your town. You guys deserve it.
HUFF: Yes.
CHETRY: Gail Huff from affiliate WCBB...
HUFF: Thank you.
CHETRY: ... thanks for being with us.
HUFF: You're welcome. MARCIANO: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Congratulations to Boston.
All right from the "You Got To Be Kidding Me File," right next to their second World Series win in the last few years - it seems that the Bush administration - this is a different story, by the way. The Bush administration had annexed a major Canadian landmark and passed it off as one in the U.S. You can find the goof at the State Department Web site. This is the offending video. Something that was supposed to be shown in airports promoting U.S. tourism that you just saw. It shows Niagara Falls among other sites, except the production company showed Horseshoe Falls. That's the only one that's in Canada.
We did some checking. Here is a map of where the falls are. Check it out. Let's go to the map. I love saying that.
Sure enough it's in Canada, but that seems to have escaped the notice of the State Department who presumably vetted the video before endorsing it and posted it to its Web site. They say Niagara Falls is "a shared natural wonder." We're still waiting to hear what Canada thinks about all of this. I mean, that's pretty cool.
CHETRY: It is neat. What's the ship you ride back and forth on that little ferry, though?
MARCIANO: I'm afraid of boats. I didn't get on the ship, but I did get close.
CHETRY: It's pretty cool.
MARCIANO: Yes?
CHETRY: Yes, the Maiden in the Mist or something like that.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: Oh, everybody gets rain gear.
CHETRY: You get to wear the rain gear - yes, but when you're getting beaten down with the water and everything, you don't notice. I'm at Horseshoe Falls or am I at the one that belongs to America?
MARCIANO: Did you enjoy that?
CHETRY: It was fun.
MARCIANO: Did it rain on?
CHETRY: Of course. It's a blast.
MARCIANO: It's underrated.
CHETRY: You're afraid of boats? I learned something new about you.
MARCIANO: No, I just made that up. I was too cheap to pay the 10 bucks or whatever it was to get on the thing.
CHETRY: All right. We're going take a break. When we come back, it's a new heart and a new chance at life.
But coming up, how one transplant patient's candid memoir sparked outrage from the community. We're going to hear her story when we come right back.
MARCIANO: Still ahead, are your kids safe at home in their own rooms?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD PIERCE, NICHOLAS PIERCE'S FATHER: We always put him in his room. It's a safe place to be. It wasn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Consumer Reporter Greg Hunter on the dangers at home and how you can keep your family safe. Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: As you've heard here, Genarlow Wilson is a free man this morning. He served two -- a two-year sentence, two of his 10- year sentence for having consensual sex with another teenager. Wilson walked free Friday after the Georgia Supreme Court ruled the sentence as cruel and unusual punishment.
AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst Sunny Hostin is here or is in Chicago with more analyses on this, on the legal sense.
Good morning, Sunny. How are you this morning?
SUNNY HOSTIN, AMERICAN MORNING LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning, Rob. I'm fine, thank you, in Chicago right now.
MARCIANO: Well, it's good to see you nonetheless. Let's talk about the legal aspect of this. He was convicted for having oral sex for someone who was two years younger than him at that time.
Why was he arrested? And how was this a more serious crime than if they just had a regular sexual intercourse?
HOSTIN: Well, the thing is when people look at this case, they have to look at the facts of this case. This was not sort of a typical Romeo and Juliet case, two kids, 15 and 17 years old in the back seat of a car.
This was a party with -- on New Year's Eve with drugs, with alcohol, five guys, two girls, a 17-year-old, a 15-year-old. The 17- year-old alleged she was raped. The 15-year-old says that she wanted to perform oral sex on several of the guys there.
But at that time, in Georgia, the age of consent was 16, so she couldn't have consented. So it really wasn't when this case came to trial, it wasn't about two people that could consent. One couldn't consent, and one was 17.
MARCIANO: It's important to point out that, you know, it's kind of a -- it's been kind of a happy news story because he had been released from prison. But he is a convicted criminal, so that's an important point that you make.
The laws have changed now, Sunny, since his arrest. Explain that.
HOSTIN: That's right, the laws have changed. In 2006, the law was changed for, you know, sex between let's say a 13-year-old and a 17-year-old is now considered a misdemeanor. And so the law that he was convicted of does no longer exist in Georgia.
MARCIANO: Now there's got to be some kids who are maybe in jail with a similar situation or potentially go on trial for a similar situation. What does this do? What kind of precedent does this set?
HOSTIN: Well, you know, this was a very -- again, very special case. He was convicted under a law that doesn't exist. The other co- defendants pled guilty prior to the indictment, and so four out of the five are still in jail.
So for people that perhaps this happens to now, you have a new law on the book. For those that were convicted under the 2005 law, I think they're still out of luck. I think the law stands.
MARCIANO: I'm told I'm out of time. But I'm curious because you have been a prosecutor. What goes through a prosecutor's mind when they have to prosecute this case? When do they press charges? When does common sense take over? When do they -- how do you go about thinking through this?
HOSTIN: That's a great question and I have to tell you, I've been watching this case. I'm a former sex crimes prosecutor, and I'm horrified at sort of how this is framed. You know, the prosecutors were overly zealous. That is not what happened here.
When you're a prosecutor, you're looking at the videotape in this case. You're looking at what happened. You're looking at one woman saying that she was raped. You're looking at a 15-year-old, so you're making the tough calls. I made the tough call.
The prosecutors in this case followed the law as it was then. Prosecutors make tough, you know, decisions every day. And I don't think that it's fair to say that those prosecutors were overly zealous and did the wrong thing. It's a very, very difficult thing to do. But they, you know, followed the law as it was at that time.
MARCIANO: It's very much in the public eye. Sunny Hostin, thank you very much for your insight this morning. Good to see you.
HOSTIN: Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, hundreds of thousands of kids are injured and some even killed at home every year. AMERICAN MORNING'S Greg Hunter is live in Rockville Center, New York with some simple things that parents can do.
You know, Greg, we know about baby-proofing or child-proofing. But some of the things you are about to tell us, you would just never think of as a parent that could, you know, put your child in harm's way.
GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lots of things around the house that could be a danger to your kid. And most people think the inside of their house is the safest place for a kid, but something as simple as this blind cord could be something dangerous for your toddler.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTER, (voice-over): Richard Pierce had put his 2-year-old son, Nicholas, down for a nap. Fifteen minutes later, his wife went to check on him, he was on the floor dead.
RICHARD PIERCE, VICTIM'S FATHER: My wife found this dresser on top of him, and he was in the dresser.
HUNTER: Nicholas had climbed into the second drawer of the dresser, toppling it over and suffocated. The Pierces now chain their furniture to the wall. They never imagined that a four-foot-tall dresser could actually kill their son.
PIERCE: And, you know, we always put him in his room. It's a safe place to be. It wasn't.
HUNTER: Accidents can happen anywhere, inside or out. Recently in Texas, a toddler died while playing around a home soccer goal. He was strangled when he became caught up in the netting.
Safety experts say even ordinary household items can be lethal to kids.
HUNTER (on camera): Can a home be full of hidden dangers?
CHRISSY CIANFLONE, SAFE KIDS WORLDWIDE: It really can be. It takes a lot of diligence for a parent to go through the home. In every room, there are different, different hazards for each room that presents themselves.
HUNTER (voice-over): We checked out an ordinary home with a safety expert from the nonprofit organization Safe Kids Worldwide.
We found chairs and tables by open windows, where kids could climb up and fall out. Dangling cords that could wrap around a tiny neck.
CIANFLONE: Forms almost a noose.
HUNTER: Wide screen TVs at risk of toppling.
CIANFLONE: On top of themselves or perhaps even a younger sibling. HUNTER: And loose screws in a crib that could fall out and create a choking hazard. Parents should get down on the ground for a toddler's eye view of any potential home hazards but still keep a close eye.
CIANFLONE: The key word is active supervision. We don't want a parent on the phone and reading and not paying attention to their child when the child happens to be playing. Eyes are on the child.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTER: OK, this is what Pierce came up with. This is a simple chain and a wall anchor and something to the back of the furniture. Very few products but there are some that help chain or bolt your furniture to the wall.
And about those cribs, this the ugly secret about baby cribs. There's a warning label in the crib that talks about loose screws. They fall out all the time. So much so, there's a warning label as I said in the crib. If you're a parent, you have a young kid in a crib, make sure you go around and periodically tighten up those screws. Back to you guys.
CHETRY: You know, it's good advice, Greg. You don't even think about it. But just this weekend, my 20-month-old learned how to get herself out of her crib and fell. You know, it was something that we didn't know, we had to worry about quite so soon.
So a lot of hidden dangers. Toddlers are sort of just very curious, and they're always going to try to test their limits. So some good advice, Greg, thanks a lot.
HUNTER: OK.
CHETRY: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, 90,000 people waiting for organ transplants and a new shot at life. She's one of the lucky ones, or so you'd think.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMY SILVERSTEIN, AUTHOR, "SICK GIRL": The miracle that you see also has another side to it. It is a miracle but not a cure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Why her candid memoir is sparking outrage, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: A scary kind of...
CHETRY: I know.
MARCIANO: ... Halloween. Sorry if we scared you with that music but it's that time of year, isn't it? About eight minutes prior to the hour, good morning, if you're just joining us.
Here is a look at what's making headlines this is morning. Oil prices have shattered another record surging to $93 a barrel overnight in Asian markets. Analysts blame a weak U.S. dollar, tensions in the Middle East, and supply worries here at home with the winter home heating supply.
And they still have not identified the seven college students killed in a fire at a beach house in North Carolina. Officials say six people survived, including one who jumped from the burning home into a waterway. Still no word on how that fire started.
And tropical storm Noel bringing lots of rain as it passed over Haiti this morning, still doing so. Noel is the 14th-named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, and it could dump close to a foot of rain in places like the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica.
CHETRY: When a donor organ is found for a critically ill person in need, we think that it means a chance at a new life and hopefully a happy ending.
But there's a candid new memoir by a woman who received a heart transplant when she was just 24 years old showing that it's not nearly that easy.
"Sick Girl" is the book, and Amy Silverstein joins us now in the studio. Great to have you with us.
AMY SILVERSTEIN, AUTHOR, "SICK GIRL": Thank you.
CHETRY: You know, you've written this really heartfelt book that just exposes what a journey and what a difficult journey it is at times to live with a transplanted heart.
SILVERSTEIN: Yes, it is wonderful that I was given life by this heart, absolutely. I was not steps away from death but a hair's breath away. But there is another side to transplant that is not really out there and that is, that it is hard work and comes with a lot of medical problems, post-transplant.
CHETRY: You know, you describe in your book some of the things like the pain of getting a heart biopsy.
SILVERSTEIN: Yes.
CHETRY: And how you have to have it more than 60 times. And some of the other things, the nausea that you feel from taking the anti-rejection drugs and how you were able to hide this for so long from your friends and even from your family. You wanted to spare them.
If I looked at you right now, you look completely healthy. I would never know the daily struggles you go through. Why did you decide to try to keep that under wrap?
SILVERSTEIN: Well, it was my goal to be normal so I did put on a mask and hide it as much as I could. And as you say, I do a pretty good job, you know.
CHETRY: You know, it's interesting because your book has received some criticism as well.
SILVERSTEIN: Right.
CHETRY: In fact, there was a U.S. news in the "World Report," they wrote about your book and they said they got several e-mails back from transplants, people who had them and from people that were actually very hard on you. One saying that, "I fear that Amy's feelings may discourage other heart patients from taking the risk and going for transplant or worse, Amy's book could discourage potential donors from donating their organs."
How do you respond to some of that criticism?
SILVERSTEIN: In terms of lowering organ donation, I think anyone who really reads my book will see that I have been given life. And the post-transplant, I finished law school. I became a mother. I got married, I'm a sister. I'm a daughter. I'm a friend. I'm a community member.
I am living, and I'm living for one reason only. And that is that donated organ. And I think that's quite clear in the book.
CHETRY: I can't even imagine. You know, for those of us who have never met someone who has had a heart transplant or have anyone in their lives that have a heart transplant, what is the message that you want people to take from this book?
SILVERSTEIN: I want them to know that organ donation saves lives and that transplant is a life-saving fact, absolutely. But that the miracle that you see also has another side to it, and that is hard work and a host of medical problems.
And so, you know, just know that there is something beyond, beyond what is portrayed in the media as a miracle cure. It is not. It is a miracle but not a cure.
CHETRY: Oh, the book is very touching. It's very eye-opening, and I'm glad we had a chance to talk to you.
Amy Silverstein, author of "Sick Girl," thanks so much for being with us this morning.
SILVERSTEIN: Thank you.
MARCIANO: And forget about gas prices. Beer prices are heading up. Oh, goodness. Call the National Guard. Why a pint of brew is going to cost you more.
Stay with us. That story is coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Welcome back. Stephanie Elam now in for Ali Velshi, "Minding Your Business," with the breaking news and disappointing news -- apparently, that beer prices are going up.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I realized it's Monday morning, but I figured I better prepare you -- everybody for the weekend. But a cold one is going to cost you more. That's because barley costs are going up. Wheat costs are going up, and it's factoring the cost of beer.
And the smaller breweries are really going to feel more of the hit because the larger breweries, they can negotiate. They have more leeway to negotiate things. They're also aluminum, glass, other ingredients for beer going up. And so, therefore, it's going to cost you more.
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