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Missing Sheriff; NFL Extends Negotiations; Libya's Fledgling New Government; Bloody Attack on Women Peacefully Protesting in Ivory Coast
Aired March 05, 2011 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tom Foreman, in today for Fredricka Whitfield. Here's what we're watching this hour. Marisol Valles Garcia is unaccounted for. You may remember her. She made news last year when at just 20 years old she became police chief in one of the most violent towns on the U.S.-Mexico border. Now she's not been seen for several days. A Mexican newspaper reports that she's fled to the U.S. for safety. The mayor of her town says, no, she's on personal leave. We have no way of knowing which one is true but we'll try to find out.
Libya, a transition council has formed not in Tripoli but to the east in Benghazi, which is held by rebels. The new council calls itself the only legitimate government in Libya. This is big news. We'll have more on that in just a second.
And the NFL players and owners have another week to hammer out a labor agreement. Both sides say in fact they're still talking and that's a hopeful sign.
There really are two Libyas today. The chaotic Libya of the present and the unknown of tomorrow. It's that tomorrow Libya that we're talking about now. While officials from all over the world weigh options aimed at ending the violence and removing Moammar Gadhafi from power, the seeds of a transitional government may be germinating this weekend. An interim council centered for now in Benghazi and claiming itself to be the only legitimate controlling body in the country has been formed. A few minutes ago, I talked with Arwa Damon who is in Benghazi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (ON THE PHONE): This is a very significant development in terms of the opposition trying to set up something of a shadow government. They have established the interim transitional national council which held its first meeting in Benghazi. They then put out a statement saying that the council is authorized and that it declares itself the sole representative of all of Libya. And basically they are trying to put themselves forward as being an entity which can then negotiate with the international community.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN There's some help today for people who fled turbulent Libya for the relative safety of Egypt or Tunisia. The U.S. military and other NATO cargo planes began arriving in Tunisia. They're delivering humanitarian aid supplies, blankets, water, bottles, sheets, plastics, all sorts of things that can help people, tens of thousands who are living in camps there. They're also evacuating citizens of Egypt in Mali back to their homeland.
Here's the part of the Middle East unrest that affects you directly. Soaring gas prices. The trouble in Libya is making it happen here. Since yesterday, you are paying on average two cents more for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline. The national average is now can say - $3.49. And this may shock you. This time last year the average price of that same gallon of gas was $2.72.
And of course, Libya really is part of this. Higher gas prices are tied to the price of oil. It's above $104 a barrel and investors are worried about supply disruptions if the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East keeps spreading.
Here's some good news. A big break in a multi-state crime investigation. For 13 years, 13 years, police in four states have been looking for a man they call the East Coast rapist. Investigators say thanks to an anonymous tip, they have now made an arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. JULIE JOHNSON, NEW HAVEN POLICE DEPT.: Twelve cases have been linked by DNA to the same offender. Yesterday on March 4th, 2011, at approximately 2:15 p.m., Aaron Thomas was taken into custody without incident by the U.S. marshals and the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Forces while walking on Cooper Place in New Haven, Connecticut.
Investigators worked tirelessly for years pursuing this case. This was truly a joint collaboration on all levels. We are proud of our investigation and hope the arrest of Aaron Thomas brings some closure to our victims in our communities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Police in south Florida say the bodies of two children found in a canal this week may be connected to a woman found dead months ago in a landfill. The woman is believed to be the children's mother. Her body was found last August in West Palm Beach. The two children were found dead inside pieces of luggage Wednesday in Delray Beach. A suspect is in custody. It's the mother's former boyfriend.
You are looking now at a newly released photo of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Her office says it is the last image taken before she was shot January 8th. We're told the man over there on the left, you can just see him, was shot twice but like Giffords, he survives.
The congresswoman was meeting constituents when a gunman opened fire killing six people, wounding 13. There's this development in the shooting investigation as well. A federal grand jury in Arizona has expanded the list of charges against the suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, this weekend faces 49 charges. They include murder and attempted murder. The standoff over the Wisconsin budget continues to rage on. In week four of protests over collective bargaining rights, yesterday, Governor Scott Walker sent notices to the unions threatening to lay off 1,500 workers if Senate Democrats did not come back to work within two weeks. The 14 AWOL senators say they're planning their return but they say meaningful negotiations stopped when Republicans passed a measure to detain Democrats.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON ERPENBACH (D), MIDDLETON, WISCONSIN: I thought we were fairly close yesterday based on what I heard from my colleagues, but here we are today.
STATE SEN. MARK MILLER (D), MINORITY LEADER: It looks as though the governor is not serious about negotiating, so we will assess the timing of when we return.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: When it comes to the federal budget, it's cutting wasteful spending while creating more jobs. That's the balance President Barack Obama says lawmakers need to weigh in his weekly radio and internet address. The president says he's willing to make deeper cuts but he's pushing Congress for more bipartisan cooperation before the temporary spending bill expires on March 18th. But the question remains how Congress would bridge the $50 billion gap that divides the two parties and their budget plans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My administration has already put forward specific cuts that meet congressional Republicans halfway. And I'm prepared to do more. But we'll only finish the job together, by sitting at the same table, working out our differences, and finding common ground. That's why I've asked vice president Biden and members of my administration to meet with the leaders of Congress going forward.
REP. DIANE BLACK (R), TENNESSEE: Job creation has to be the number one priority for both parties. The policies of the past haven't worked, and despite some signs of life in our economy, the unemployment rate is still far above the levels that the president's advisers promised when the stimulus spending bill was signed into law. What we need is a new approach. A path to prosperity that gets government out of the way by cutting unnecessary spending and removing barriers to job growth. We need to unleash our nation's economy instead of burying it under a mountain of regulation, taxation and debt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Hope is still alive this weekend for a deal between the NFL and its players. The two sides agreed yesterday to extend the deadline for a new labor agreement again, this time until March 11th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: We continue to work hard and I think the fact that we're continuing this dialogue is a positive sign.
DEMAURICE SMITH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NFLPA: here's a commitment from both sides to engage in another round of negotiations at the request of the mediation service. We look forward to a deal coming out of that. What we have always had as our core is the football that our players love to play and the fans who love to watch them. And there's never going to be a day where we're not going to have those two things first and foremost in our minds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: The two sides are duking it out over roughly $9 billion in revenue. If no deal is reached, the league is expected to lock out the players and that means we'll all be out of a season this fall.
Stay with us, because coming up in just about a half hour, I'll sit down with someone who has been at the NFL negotiating table before. Some interesting insights.
In Michigan, what really should have been a day of celebration turned into a day of mourning. 16-year-old Wes Leonard suddenly collapsed. There he is, number 35, as his high school basketball team was celebrating a big win. Just moments before, the star athlete had made the game-winning shot, ending a perfect 20-game season. Doctors tried to revive Leonard for nearly an hour and a half before he was pronounced dead of a heart attack. Earlier we talked with a sports physician Dr. Ken Mautner, and he says there is more that can be done to monitor the health of teen athletes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. KEN MAUTNER, EMORY UNIVERSITY: This is a very rare condition, but there are screening protocol that they use in Italy which they have been using for years where they will do EKGs on all their athletes and they have shown that it has worked to save lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: A Facebook page created Friday for Leonard quickly filled with thoughts and prayers for him and his family.
There is a flood threat this weekend for the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys and it's a big one. We're getting reports of a tornado that has touched down. The weather is coming up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: A powerful storm system is making a mess all across Louisiana, even disrupting Mardi Gras in my old hometown of New Orleans. Police in the aptly named rain, Rain Louisiana, west Baton Rouge reported a tornado touched down there.
Jacqui Jeras is in the severe weather center and is tracking all this nasty stuff today. Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Tom, it's moving eastward so that's the good news is that things are looking better (INAUDIBLE) to the west of there where the damages already occurred. Check out these pictures. This is from rain but it's Rayne so no pun intended there, but it was a very serious situation. A likely tornado. The National Weather Service actually can't get in there because of a gas leak to be able to determine if it was officially a tornado or not. We think it very likely was and a tornado was confirmed 15 to 20 minutes earlier than this touchdown in Crowley, Louisiana.
There were several injuries, about a dozen of them. That number could continue to climb. And those evacuations continue to take place and they're going door to door to check on people in the town. There you can see quite a bit of extensive damage in that area. Let's show you where the threat is at this hour. A tornado watch in effect to the east of there. Look at this, I love our weather system because it automatically updates on the spot so there you can see a brand new tornado watch has just been issued to the east of the previous one and that's going to include places like Mobile, over towards Tallahassee, all along the i-10 corridor. So this is ongoing through the evening.
Tornadoes a possibility and a real strong threat of damaging winds too. We've seen a lot of wind damage today. Trees down, power lines down and we could see winds in excess of 70 miles per hour. Sometimes that's as bad if not worse as a tornado. This is a huge system. It's a really slow mover, unfortunately, and there's a ton of moisture with this thing.
Look at it just feeding in from the Gulf of Mexico all the way up into parts of Canada. So with two to three inches of rain we're talking about on top of already saturated ground, we've got flood watches and warnings which are going to remain in effect through the weekend. If you're traveling, use a lot of caution. There's a lot of roads which are covered in water and that's how most people die in flood situations is driving through a situation and they don't know how deep that water is.
So stay out of it and watch for the rain from the system then to push into the northeast and east coast for tomorrow. Cold air behind it so that rain is going to change to some snow. We could see heavy accumulations in the interior parts of the northeast but the megalopolis already looking good unless you're trying to fly or travel around the area tomorrow.
Tom, back to you.
FOREMAN: You know, Jacqui, you know what all those storms tell me? They tell me that wedding season is approaching.
JERAS: Well, they kind of go hand in hand, don't they, Tom.
FOREMAN: They do, in a way.
If you're a bride looking for a deal, how about Costco?
You know.
JERAS: Cakes? What are we talking about?
FOREMAN: No, no, no. I'm talking about - it's the same place, yes, you can get cakes there or toilet paper or great big jugs of ketchup. But now you can also get up to six exclusive wedding gown designs by bridal designer Kirstie Kelly.
JERAS: OK.
FOREMAN: Look, there it is. There's your Costco dress. You're having a good time, I guess.
JERAS: It's gorgeous.
FOREMAN: You have to be warned here though, the price tag isn't exactly cheap, it's just cheaper. The dresses range from $700 to $1,400. I guess if you get a case of them maybe you get a better deal.
JERAS: The more you buy, the -
FOREMAN: Half the normal retail value. I guess if you're buying that many wedding dresses, there's a problem anyway.
Talk about these designer names, some of them are in your face but others are a lot more modest. When we hear big names, we know exactly what they are. You know, this is a deal. How can you make such an impression yourself? This is an important thing in this economy. CNN's Christine Romans says it's all about branding.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What do Lady Gaga, a can of Coke and Apple computer have in common? More than you think. They're brands. You recognize them immediately. You know what you're getting. But it's not only the uber famous who can brand themselves. Digital media, Twitter and Facebook make it easy for almost anyone to create a brand. From skateboarder Tony Hawke.
(on camera): It's something that you started before everyone was trying to become a brand.
TONY HAWKE, PROFESSIONAL SKATEBOARDER: Firstly, you have to have something to offer. I don't really believe in being famous just because you're famous.
ROMANS (voice-over): To Chef Paula Deen.
PAULA DEEN, CELEBRITY CHEF, AUTHOR: You know, you kind of have to reinvent yourselves. You have to keep things fresh. I did start this little lunch business called the Bag Lady.
ROMANS: What about the average person, could creating your own brand give you an edge?
SAM CHAKO, JOB SEEKER: I don't know how to market myself to get employers to notice me.
FORD R. MYERS, CAREER COACH, AUTHOR: The market is too tough. Unemployment numbers are still high. Every candidate needs to find a way to stand out.
ROMANS: So how do you create your own brand? Career counselor Ford Myers has some tips.
MYERS: Every candidate can identify what is their unique selling proposition or what is their special brand. Look through their own background, their own resumes, their letters of recommendation, their performance reviews and find what stands out.
ROMANS: Leadership and management author Bill Taylor has a cult following.
(on camera): You walk into the board room, when you walk into the job interview, when you walk into your dining room, you are now a brand.
BILL TAYLOR, LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT AUTHOR: Yes.
ROMANS: Are we al becoming brands?
TAYLOR: I think, you know, being a brand is not being flamboyant. It works for Lady Gaga, it wouldn't work for you in your organization. Being a brand, as everybody knows, when I meet Christine Romans, this is what she stands for, this is the impact she's trying to have.
ROMANS (voice-over): Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: Well, are you wondering whether this new movie "The Adjustment Bureau" is worth the price of a ticket? Well, stick around, our critic rates this weekend's new releases. It's well worth your time to save a few bucks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: Thinking about seeing a new movie this weekend? Then you'll want to hear what our movie critic has to say about a couple of new releases, but first let's look at some of today's top stories and see what's breaking lose out there.
Libya is sinking deeper into violence on day 19th of protests. The Libyan opposition forces claimed victory today on two key battle fronts. In Zawiya near the nation's capital, rebels held off Moammar Gadhafi's forces from taking control over the city. Anti-government forces also announcing the formation of a national transitional council with representatives from all across the country. That's a big development.
A Houston day care owner has made it onto the U.S. marshals' most wanted list this weekend. This comes more than a week after authorities say she left children alone at home to go shopping and a fire broke out. Four children died. Investigators say she refused questions and then later referred questions to her lawyer. The marshals later discovered she flew to Georgia and may have gone to Nigeria.
We're waiting on NASA's launch of its secretive X37 B space plane. It was supposed to go up yesterday but that was (INAUDIBLE) until this evening. The exact mission of the rocket remains a mystery. It will lift off aboard an Atlas 5 rocket.
We came across some pictures this week that had everyone in our newsroom buzzing. They show movie stars in Disney fantasy settings. They're amazing so we wanted to share them with you. This one was a group favorite. Take a look. There she is. That's Queen Latifah as the villainess Ursula from the "Little Mermaid". Check her out.
The photographer f this fantasy photo is, of course, who else? The acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz. Just for fun, we wanted to know about what happened behind the scenes. These are pictures of Leibovitz getting the shot she wanted that would turn Queen Latifah into one of Disney's villainess faves. Let's move on to Leibovitz's vision of Snow White. Look closely, do you recognize the evil face in the magic mirror there? That's Alec Baldwin, if you look very closely. And the evil queen seen here getting made up for the picture made up, that's starlet Olivia Wild. Maybe you saw her on "Tron the Legacy" or on TV's "House."
And what Disney collection would be complete without homage to "Beauty and the Beast." That's Penelope Cruz as Belle with Jeff Bridges as her prince. It's a bit of a feast for the eyes for anyone who has watched the Disney Classic. With two girls growing up in our house, we watched all of them. So that's all of us, I guess.
Let's see what's new at the movies this weekend. Grae Drake is a film critic with movies.com. She joins us from Los Angeles with today's reviews. New in the theaters this weekend, Johnny Depp in the animated "Rango," "Beastley" and Matt Damon in the sci-fi thriller "The Adjustment Bureau." Let's start off if we can, Grae, with a clip from "Rango."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ow! What was that for?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're funny looking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes? You're funny looking too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a funny-looking shirt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a funny looking dress.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got funny-looking eyes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got a funny-looking face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're a stranger. Strangers don't last long here. (END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: That pretty much describes my high school dating experience, Grae. What did you think about the movie?
GRAE DRAKE, FILM CRITIC, MOVIES.COM: "Rango" is really delightfully weird animated movie with Johnny Depp in the lead role as Rango, the lizard, the chameleon with an identity crisis. He falls out of a family station wagon. He ends up in a town of Dirt, faced with every natural predator that he could think of and plus a lot of really creepy, dirty, little weird woodland creatures who don't really know whether to kill him or make him their sheriff, so they make him the sheriff and he helps them solve the mystery of why the town of Dirt has no water.
So basically there's tons of voice talent in this movie. There's Ned Beatty, you heard Abigail Breslin in that clip, Isla Fisher and Johnny Depp does a really wonderful job of bringing this bizarre little lizard to life. I thought the movie personally was just a touch too long. However, it has a great sense of humor, really a funny movie.
FOREMAN: So what kind of grade will you give this thing?
DRAKE: Well, I'm going to give it a "B" because I felt like it maybe should be maybe 20 minutes shorter but if you think their description of heaven being Kim Novak eating Pop-tarts, you think that's funny. Go see the movie. Otherwise, it's just like watching (INAUDIBLE) commercial. They're good.
FOREMAN: Oh, really. Yes, well, I love animation so I'll probably check that one out. The next movie is "Beastly."
DRAKE: Definitely check it out.
FOREMAN: This is "Beastly." Take a look at the clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beautiful people get it better. That's just the way it is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meet Kyle. He's one of those guys in high school who thinks he's god's gift. He'll never change. Unless something or someone changes him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have a year to find someone to love you or stay like this forever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Based on the trailer, I'm going to say high school chick flick. What about it, Grae?
DRAKE: Oh, my god, I wish it was that good. "Beastly" - yikes.
FOREMAN: Really? DRAKE: The latest adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast" story, obviously. I'd much rather see Penelope Cruz and Jeff Bridges in this remake from that photo. This was not a good movie. It was quick on the way to becoming like a so bad it's good film because of Mary Kate Olsen who plays the witch who casts a spell on Alex Pedifer, who we just recently saw in "I Am Number Four," really hitting it out of the park in that movie. But this movie he just ends up being an ugly kid with staples in his face who we hate. And I could care less if he fell in love or not.
This movie was not good. And I was sad for that because, you know, talented kids in it. Vanessa Hudgens from "High School Musical" and Neil Patrick Harris playing a blind guy which came out of nowhere, but if anybody can pull off blind, I guess it's NPH. So -
FOREMAN: I don't know about this one. (INAUDIBLE) This is not a good movie. What grade to you give it?
DRAKE: Unfortunately I had to give this movie a "D" for don't see it because I wanted to watch the movie about Mary Kate Olsen dressing up in top hats and crazy wigs casting evil, horrible spells on people. That's the movie I want to see.
FOREMAN: The next movie is "The Adjustment Bureau." Here's the clip.
DRAKE: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god. What's happening to me? What's happening to me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're being chased. I need you to trust me. I need you to trust me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Door, door, door, door, door. Find another door.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Is this like one of those Bourne movies where I'm just going to be confused the whole time?
DRAKE: No. I think you'll be able to keep up. This one is - it's an adaptation of a short story by Philip K. Dick, so that means there's a lot of paranoia and a lot of sticking it to the man. Matt Damon plays a politician who just wants to make beautiful babies with dancer, Emily Blunt. And John Slattery, he's from TV's "Mad Men," keeps showing up telling him it's not part of the plan and that he can't be in love with her.
So Matt Damon gets fed up like Matt Damon often does and he just goes on a rampage of changing his own fate. This movie is pitch perfect. Unbelievable film. I think that it works on every level. There's something for everybody. There's a lot of intrigue. Oh, there's romance. It's just so much fun to watch and it really just kept be interested. And John Slattery, Terrance Stamp and Anthony - oh, my gosh, I'm misplacing his last name right now. They all play members of the adjustment bureau that are keeping things in line. They were so good in this role I'm actually kind of convinced that they really control my life and are maybe watching me right now.
FOREMAN: Well, that's (INAUDIBLE) Anthony Mackey I think is who you were thinking about?
DRAKE: Yes, thank you so much. Anthony Mackey from "The Hurt Locker." He was just spectacular.
FOREMAN: I'll go see that one.
DRAKE: Please do. You'll be glad you did.
FOREMAN: Excellent. Are you giving that an "A"?
DRAKE: I gave that an "A," A plus, a, like I want to marry this movie.
FOREMAN: All right. Thanks so much, Grae. Good talking to you.
DRAKE: Thank you very much.
FOREMAN: More news in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: Some video has appeared this weekend that's very troubling and very graphic. I'm warning you in case you have children in the room, or if you don't want to see it yourself, you have plenty of time to turn the set off or go do something else. It does show people being hurt, so brace yourself for that.
At least seven people, all women, were killed during an anti- government protest march. It happened, here, in West Africa, Ivory Coast. There's a fight over who did it, who ordered it. And we'll talk about all of that and the confusion over that in a moment.
But first, watch and listen to what happened as these women went out to protest this election result.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD NOISES, WHISTLES BLOWING, CROWDS CHANTING, SINGING)
(GUNSHOTS, SCREAMING)
(BODIES IN THE STREET)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: So what you saw there was what appeared to be a peaceful protest. These women all walking along, protesting this election, when the gunfire broke out; at least seven women gunned down in the suburbs of Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan They were marching in protest, as many have done in the months since the Ivory Coast disputed the presidential election in November.
Let's bring in Elise Labott, she is a senior State Department producer, who knows more about these things than most of us ever will. She's been following developments at the Ivory Coast since this happened.
Elise, what do we know about this?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN SR. PRODUCER, STATE DEPARTMENT: Tom, it is just horrific. This happened on Thursday and this video has made its way to YouTube and it has really become viral.
The-basically forces loyal to the self-proclaimed president, Laurent Gbagbo, opened up on these women. They were just protesting his rule over the last four months since he basically stole the election doing what we've seen protesters in throughout the Middle East are doing. Just peacefully protesting, and these forces opened up against them, and now their brutality really evident for the world to see. It's really horrific.
And the United States has come out very strongly against this video. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying that "Gbagbo and his forces have shown a very callous disregard for human life, and the rule of law, preying on the unarmed and the innocent. He should step down immediately in the name of peace," Tom. And the U.S. basically has been calling for Gbagbo to go since that disputed election, but certainly the calls now are getting a lot louder because of this violence.
FOREMAN: What else are they doing, if anything? What else can they do, Elise?
LABOTT: Well, when the election results came in and Gbagbo did not step down to the internationally recognized president, Alassane Ouattara, the United States imposed sanctions against Gbagbo and his family and members of his regime. They imposed travel ban, asset freezes, and also the international community has closed international banks. Basically feel that Gbagbo is feeling the heat but it's going to take a long time to shake out.
The U.S. has been calling for him to go and imposing these sanctions, but really letting the African Union handle these mediation efforts. Certainly now that we've seen this video and the violence of the Gbagbo loyalists against these innocent protesters, this horrific video, we will certainly see a lot louder calls from the U.S. and possibly a more robust action, Tom.
FOREMAN: All right. Elise, thanks so much for your insights into all of that.
LABOTT: Sure. FOREMAN: Moving on, you know, we get a lot of things from our mothers, but a new study says when it comes to Alzheimer's disease, there is a link between our mom's side of the family and your risk of inheriting it. We will have more on that in just a moment. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: You ever have anyone tell you that you got that from your mom, your nose or your hair, or something like that? A new study suggests you're more likely to inherit Alzheimer's disease from your mom than your dad. But before you blame mom, let's dig deeper into the facts. Dr. Bill Lloyd joins me from San Antonio, Texas.
Dr. Bill, let me ask you this, how did they arrive at this conclusion? This is quite a finding.
DR. BILL LLOYD, SURGEON: It's a very interesting story about the inheritance of Alzheimer's and they didn't use genes, or fancy blood tests, or biomarkers to get to this information. They brought together a group of 53 healthy adults at the University of Kansas.
These were senior citizens, they were all tested and none of them had Alzheimer's. Then they went back and checked their family history. Guess what, 11 of those 53 had a mom with Alzheimer's, 10 had a dad with Alzheimer's and the other 32 had no Alzheimer's in their family. So what did they do? They brought them over to radiology and they did 3D MRIs on them and repeated the study in two years.
Now, Tom, our brains shrink as we get older. Some of us, our brains shrink faster than others. Among this group with Alzheimer's disease, there's enormous, very fast-paced shrinkage of brain tissue. In the group of those 11 individuals whose mother had Alzheimer's disease, they had a phenomenal shrinkage or brain atrophy over those two years compared to the images of the other volunteers in the study.
FOREMAN: We're all getting older in this country, the whole country is getting much older at the moment. When people are worried this sort of thing, what should people be doing? Do you look at mom and say does she have it, I have a higher risk? Or does it not quiet work that way?
LLOYD: There are two important risks everyone has to know about. The obvious one is age. Beginning at age 65, about 3 percent are at risk of getting Alzheimer's disease. But, Tom, with each five years of age, that risk doubles. By the time you're 85, the risk is now 50 percent.
The other risk is family history. If someone in your immediate family already has Alzheimer's, your risk jumps between four and tenfold. So you can't change your genes and you can't change your family. So you need to identify what other things could you do to protect yourself as you get older, so that even if you had the genetic chances of having Alzheimer's, you might be able to delay the disease.
The two big things that you can do to protect yourself is watch your blood pressure. Middle-aged adults with high blood pressure for which it's untreated are at grave risk of getting Alzheimer's disease. And protect your head. People who have had head trauma, football players as we know, but skiers, bicyclists, and others who are involved in active sports and don't wear helmets are also at greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease much later in life.
FOREMAN: You've said that this is different from other diseases also in the way that it's diagnosed. What do you mean, and why does it matter?
LLOYD: Tom, if you break your leg, we take an X-ray, we see the broken leg. A woman thinks she's pregnant, we do a urine test, hey, she's pregnant. With Alzheimer's disease, it doesn't work that way. There is no single test, there's no image, there's no tube of blood that's going to confirm the presence of Alzheimer's. So that means families, patients, and doctors have to work together to collect a solid history and do some important neurologic testing, specifically about memory and executive functions, like language and arithmetic to see if there's any decline in their brain power that could be suggestive of Alzheimer's disease. If there is, the magic word is early; early treatment and aggressive treatment.
FOREMAN: And talk to me a little bit about that treatment as we are all-as I said, the population is getting older. There's much more emphasis on geriatric medicine. What advances are we making in the treatment of Alzheimer's?
LLOYD: Well, first an understanding about the risk factors with age. Tom, the fastest growing population segment in America are adults 85 and older. There's going to be 6 percent of our population over that threshold. That means there's going to be plenty of people worrying about Alzheimer's disease.
There's so much denial wrapped up in Alzheimer's disease. I think Grandma's changed. I'm not sure. I don't want to approach her about it. Delay by denial is only going to hurt the patient. Early and aggressive medication treatment for people properly diagnosed with Alzheimer's can delay the onset of Alzheimer's and prolong those symptoms and protect their brains. If you put it off and you wait until it's too late, those medications aren't going to work.
Let me touch on another point about the medications for Alzheimer's disease. They start you on one category of drugs. Yes, there's going to be side effects. The important point is to burn through the side effects and keep taking the medication and keep raising the dose of the medication to get the desired effect, to get that better outcome. And once you reach the top, you add a second medication. Burn through the symptoms. If you chicken out, if you don't take the proper dosage, and you don't get onto the second medication, you're never going to get the outcome that you want, that's promised with the new therapies that are out there today.
FOREMAN: Many thanks for your expertise. Dr. Bill Lloyd, thanks for being here.
Is Lady Gaga a Democrat or a Republican? We'll have the answer after the break.
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FOREMAN: It's time for a CNN=Equals Politics update. We're keeping an eye on all the latest headlines at the CNNpolitics.com desk. Here's what's crossing right now.
Potential presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has been targeted by online tricksters. This week the Georgia Republican launched a new exploratory web site, NewtExplore2012.com. But, but if you inadvertently type ExploreNewt2012 instead, you'll be redirected to BuddyRoemer.com. That's the exploratory web site of former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer. Roemer says his team had nothing to do with the trick.
Pop star Lady Gaga helping Florida Democrats raise money? Well, the "St. Petersburg Times" says she is. The Sunshine State's Democrats hope to raise funds for its House victory 2012 campaign, by selling tickets to Gaga's April 16th concert in Tampa. We'll have to hear what she has to say about that in the future. I'm sure there will be something.
Mr. Affleck heads to Washington. Hollywood celebrity Ben Affleck brings his star power to Capitol Hill Tuesday, where he'll testify about the humanitarian crisis in Congo.
And of course for all the latest political news, you know where to go CNNpolitics.com.
And we know where to go in the next hour, to Don Lemon, who's here to tell us what you're going to do.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: I like to hear you talking about Lady Gaga. I never thought I'd hear Tom Foreman say Lady Gaga.
FOREMAN: Oh, I'm totally into her. I wear all of her T-shirts. I don't know, I do something.
LEMON: You're a Lady Gaga fan.
FOREMAN: Actually no. I like Pink a lot.
LEMON: Oh, wow.
FOREMAN: And I'm a big Gwen Stefani fan.
LEMON: Wow.
FOREMAN: Yeah, Lady Gaga, not so much.
LEMON: We're done. That is more interesting than anything I'm going to do.
Do you want to talk about sex?
FOREMAN: Yeah, sure. LEMON: Let's talk about sex, because, Tom, we're going to talk about how sex is cheap, right? Sex is cheap for men. Women --
FOREMAN: That's a straight line if I ever heard it. I'm not going to say anything.
LEMON: Women used to have the upper hand when it came to sex. Now men do. And there are a bunch of interesting reasons why men do. And we'll talk about that. But also, it's because of that, that men have the upper hand, they become slackers. Because men are dogs and they only want one thing.
FOREMAN: I don't think that's the only reason men are slackers. But that is one.
LEMON: Men are getting sex and they don't have to impress a woman. So we're going to talk about that. It's a new study that's out now.
We're also going to talk about Charlie Sheen. We cannot forget Charlie Sheen. But you know the thing that hasn't been discussed when we talk about Charlie Sheen, he said he's going to sue CBS. Does he have a case? We're going to speak to our attorney here at CNN, our legal analyst Sunny Hostin, who says Charlie Sheen may actually have a case. He may be in the right here.
And then you think about Charlie Sheen and you've seen all the rants, people think he's crazy. Don't cry for Charlie Sheen, Tom. He's making millions even without his show. It's the business of Charlie Sheen that we're going to talk about. There's a radio station on Sirius XM satellite, for 24 hours devoted to Charlie Sheen. Someone is making money off that and other things. We'll discuss all those topics and much more.
FOREMAN: We're doing the wrong thing in our lives. All right, Don, sounds like a great show. I'll stick around for it.
She was the youngest police chief in Mexico's history. You may remember her trying to clean up one of Mexico's most violent towns. Now she appears to be missing. We'll tell you what we know, next.
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FOREMAN: So Mexican authorities are now denying reports that a young police chief has fled across the border into the United States fearing drug cartel violence. The local mayor says Marisol Valles Garcia has taken personal leave to care for her eight-month-old baby. Reporter Kaj Larsen profiled Valles Garcia and the town's stand against violence in the area. Take a look.
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KAJ LARSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's early morning just over the border into Mexico. It's one of the most violent areas in the country.
(On camera): We're headed 60 miles south of El Paso, Texas, into Mexico, into the Juarez Valley, which is sometimes known by its more sinister moniker, the Valley of Death.
(Voice over): Meet Marisol Valles Garcia, a 20-year-old university student and mother of a seven-month-old. And almost by accident, she's also the chief of police. Yes, this criminology student, with no law enforcement experience, is now chief of police in one of the most violent areas in the world.
(On camera): What does your job entail? What do you do in your job as police chief?
MARISOL VALLES GARCIA, POLICE CHIEF, PRAXEDIS GUERRERO, MEXICO (through translator): We divide the down into nine different parts so the police officers go around the town.
LARSEN (voice over): With 13 officers, nine of them women, in this town of about 8,000. Praxedis has been plagued by violence from the drug war. Almost 2,500 killed in the valley just this year. It's been without a police chief for almost 18 months. Why? Because no one else would take the job.
(On camera): Are you afraid of the drug traffickers? Are you afraid of the drug cartels?
GARCIA (through translator): I have fear. I'm afraid for my security, but this is natural for the chief of police.
LARSEN (voice over): That may be true, but this place is anything but natural.
(On camera): Just to give you an idea of how acutely dangerous Chief Valles Garcia's job actually is, her predecessors in the position, the former chief of police, he was abducted and then murdered, and they took his head and they placed it a cardboard box, and placed it right here outside the building.
(Voice over): Walk around the police station and you quickly get a sense of what feels like a David versus Goliath struggle.
GARCIA (through translator): This is the weapons bank. We're going to get some new weapons but right now we don't have many. We have two pistols.
LARSEN (on camera): Do you know how to shoot a gun?
GARCIA: No.
LARSON: Have you ever shot a gun?
GARCIA: No.
LARSEN: This is their one police vehicle and you can se there's a bunch of bullet holes just in their vehicle alone. Small caliber bullet holes right here, right here, right here.
(Voice over): Even the entrance to the police station, which the Chief Valles Garcia walks through every day, was shot up. (On camera): You work underneath a photograph of a man who was killed by the cartels. It must be on her mind.
GARCIA (through translator): Yes, I'm afraid. But we're very focused on prevention.
LARSEN (voice over): Instead of fighting the cartels head on, this young woman is taking a more indirect approach. She is the face of a team of women who are going out into the community directly to talk to residents about stopping the violence.
I loaded up with some of them who wanted their identities protected because they're scared of retaliation.
(On camera): Tell me about this job.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think it's great because we're going to help the people have opportunities not to be scared anymore.
LARSEN: Yeah?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because all the people is afraid to be outside.
LARSEN: And it's because of the drug violence that they're scared?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
LARSEN: Has there been a lot of killings here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
LARSEN: When you think about fighting the drug war in Mexico, you think about the federales and the Mexican army versus the cartels, but that strategy thus far has proved to be fairly ineffective. Since 2007, almost 30,000 people have died in Mexico due to the drug violence.
(Voice over): A lot of killing, a lot of danger. But this is now more than just a job to Marisol.
GARCIA (through translator): At the beginning I didn't think about the risk of becoming a police chief but I wanted the job because of my young son. It's part of my dream to establish the calm and create the peace. I don't care about my age. I care more about what's in my heart. That's why I'm doing it.
LARSEN: Kaj Larsen, CNN, in the Juarez Valley, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: Several of her neighbors say it's an open secret that Valles Garcia has fled to the United States to seek asylum. I guess we'll find out as we continue to look into that.
Some 20 years after his beating at the hands of Los Angeles police, Rodney King was pulled over in Arcadia, California this week. He allegedly ran a red light and was cited for driving without a license. His beating was captured by amateur video and it touched off riots in Los Angeles many years ago. Tonight at 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. Eastern, CNN looks back at the Rodney King beating.
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RODNEY KING: Three steps back and said laid down. When I laid down, I laid down like this. And my face was facing this way so I could see them. They said, no, put your f'in head down, face down. When I finally was face down, bam. Took the blow. Bam. A real hard blow to the temple. When he did that, I just looked and then I went up like that and run this way with my hands up. To show no threat.
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You can catch that special tonight at 8:00 and 11:00 Eastern. In the meantime thanks for joining us today. I'm Tom foreman sitting in for Fredricka Whitfield. Don Lemon is next with the disturbing attack on women caught on tape. Some tape you'll have to see to believe. You'll see it next right here on CNN.
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