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Amber Alert Search Expands to Oregon; "The Rollout was Abysmal"; New Details in Snake Deaths; Hot Chocolate May Boost Brain Power; Dog TV Targets Canine Viewers

Aired August 08, 2013 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Ok we want to take you back now to our top story this morning. An Amber Alert now in place for the entire state of Oregon as police intensify their hunt for kidnapping suspect James DiMaggio and the missing teenager Hannah Anderson -- the two seen here on a Facebook photo. The alert issued after police received a tip that DiMaggio's car, a blue Nissan Versa had been seen in the state.

Meanwhile back in California, an arrest warrant has been issued for DiMaggio for the murder of Hannah's mother. Christina Anderson her body was discovered in the burned ruins of DiMaggio's home. A second body found at the scene may be Hannah's eight-year-old brother Ethan.

We want to remind you that this is the first time California has used a statewide cell phone Amber Alert system. And this is also the first time many of California's residents actually realized their state had this type of alert. Now imagine this noise coming from your mobile phone late at night. Listen.

(ALARM)

LEMON: Ok so that is pretty jarring. And not everyone found it helpful, including Marc Klaas, whose daughter Polly Klaas kidnapped -- was kidnapped from her bedroom in 1993. He tells CNN's Brooke Baldwin why he was disappointed with the alert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC KLAAS, FATHER OF KIDNAP VICTIM POLLY KLAAS: That the rollout in California was pretty abysmal. I think that there should be geographically located and state located. I think given the circumstances they should have probably done a 200 mile radius distribution on that.

I know I received it very late at night, as did my wife. And we had no idea it was coming, we were rather alarmed by it and were unable to really find out any more information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right so let's discuss this now. I want to bring in Joe Serna; he is a reporter for the "Los Angeles Times." Joe, what are some of the responses that you're hearing about this particular alert? JOE SERNA, REPORTER, LOS ANGELES TIMES: Well things like what Marc said, a lot of people were alarmed by it. Some people thought it was too wide as far as the radius that it went to because it started in San Diego and then went to all of the state. But that only happen after the first four hours over at San Diego. From there they spread it, when they thought that Mr. DiMaggio might be going north. But some people were alarmed by it.

LEMON: It seems like you know, you would want to get the alert out there that there is a missing child or missing children right away, but some wonder if, you know, could -- the statewide system, this massive statewide system be doing more harm than good.

SERNA: Well, I guess you have to consider what is the harm versus what is the good. Certainly it was an inconvenience to a lot of people. I talked to a gentleman in Sacramento who said he was watching a DVD with his girlfriend and then it just scared the heck out of him, it went off in his pocket. He didn't know what it was. It was an inconvenience to him.

Other people said they got it multiple times and it woke them up or they couldn't go back to sleep and it's a huge inconvenience.

But proponents of the system say again that the benefit that it could save a kid might outweigh that. If that's the way to frame the argument I'm -- and that's for other people to decide but that's certainly how people are framing it now.

LEMON: If could you save a life to be inconvenienced I mean at this, I mean, really? Why would it matter?

SERNA: Well that's -- that's -- that's what some people are saying.

LEMON: Yes.

SERNA: But then you have to talk about you know how wide should that Amber Alert go and that's something I think is on a case-by-case basis.

LEMON: So a Twitter exploded Joe after the alert. And not everybody was spreading the message. One user wrote this is -- "I don't think I'm ok with this Amber Alert stuff on my phone."

Another said this, "This Amber Alert just scared the crap out of me." Is there a chance that people will get frustrated and opt out of the alerts or maybe they'll just start overlooking them and not really paying attention to them because they are frustrated by them?

SERNA: I mean it's certainly I think a concern. When I talked to people from missing children that people could opt out but they did have an opt-in program before. The National Amber Alert Program was an opt-in. And over seven years, only 800,000 people opted into it. So they decided when they go in 2013 and automatically almost everyone is involved in it. You have millions of people that are already getting -- getting an Amber Alert. So that's why they like it that way. Some people might think it's a little bit of overreach but on your phone you can disable it. And you just have to find the settings. They're kind of difficult to find. But if you can find the settings, you can disable Amber Alerts and weather alerts -- just not presidential alerts.

LEMON: All right Joe Serna from the "Los Angeles Times". Thank you.

SERNA: Thank you.

LEMON: Coming up a community in mourning after two brothers are killed by a 100-pound python. Now there are new details about what may have led to their deaths. We'll have them for you next those details.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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LEMON: New details in the death of two Canadian brothers killed by a 100-pound python. According to preliminary autopsy reports, six-year- old Connor Barthe and his four-year-old brother Noah died from asphyxiation. And now these photos of the two boys playing in snake cages are causing many to wonder how this could have happened.

CNN's Pamela Brown joins us live with more details on this. Those images are disturbing, Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Really disturbing and such a tragic story here, Don. I mean we have had some questions answered but many still remain after the death of these two little boys six-year-old Connor Barthe and his four-year-old brother Noah. Last night the community gathered to mourn their deaths during a vigil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN (voice-over): a somber vigil held last night as family and friends remembered Noah and Connor Barthe. The young brothers killed by an African rock python like this one during a sleepover that took a nightmarish turn. Disturbing new photos have emerged of the brothers inside glass cages that held snakes. Family members say the children loved animals.

DAVID ROSE, VICTIM'S GREAT UNCLE: They played with llamas and goats and horses. That's the type of life they have and that's what we're going to try to remember.

BROWN: Jean-Claude Savoie is the family friend who was hosting the boys at his apartment. His own son was unharmed in the next room. The boy also owns the reptile store downstairs.

JEAN-CLAUDE SAVOIE, OWNER, REPTILE OCEAN: I turned the lights on and I seen this horrific scene and the snake was gone.

BROWN: The python was a household pet and is kept in and custom-built glass enclosure similar to an aquarium. SGT. ALAIN TREMBLAY, ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE: The snake went into the ventilation system, crawled inside and moved on towards the living room where the two boys were sleeping.

BROWN: Snake experts tell CNN that this type of python typically only kills when it's hungry. An earlier statement by police said the snake may have fallen from the vent in the ceiling, which also could have scared it into attack mode.

JAY BREWER, FOUNDER, "PREHISTORIC, INC.": If it was -- you know dark house, they'd been handling animals all day, and it may be mistaken the kids as a food item.

BROWN: As investigators look for answers, the Barthe family is grieving the loss of their little boys.

ROSE: They were two typical children. They enjoyed life to a maximum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Now again the preliminary autopsy results showed that these boys were -- died from asphyxiation. The Royal Canadian Police have launched a criminal investigation into the death. It's unclear at this point whether the store owner had a permit for the Africa-rock python, which again they are typically only allowed in zoos.

Now the last attack on a human by this kind of snake was in 2002 in South Africa. And Don, in the U.S. there have been 34 incidents on record of children being attacked or sickened by constrictor snakes. That's according to the Humane Society. Certainly a rare situation but heartbreaking nonetheless -- Don.

LEMON: Absolutely heartbreaking. Pamela, thank you so much.

A breakthrough in medical science. How dementia patients could get help from a cup of hot cocoa. Stay with us.

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LEMON: So here's some tasty news for you. Chocolate may boost brain power. It's really good news. That's according to results from a new study that asked people older than 65 to drink two cups of cocoa a day. Those with narrow arteries saw increased blood flow to the brain and improved memory. Benefits were similar among dark and milk chocolate drinkers.

Finally, some good news -- Kat Kinsman. Can you see the prompter in there? It said "blow flow". I was like what is that? Increased blood flow -- right. Kat Kinsman is the managing editor of CNN's eatocracy blog. Kat, so this means older folks should start stocking up on some maybe Hershey syrup.

KAT KINSMAN, MANAGING EDITOR, CNN EATOCRACY: I wouldn't start sending them to the candy aisle instead of the medicine aisle quite yet. As much as we would all love to think that chocolate is this tremendous cure-all it showed increased blood flow in patients who already had some sort of impairment and not necessarily any improvement on people who had normal blood flow.

And I'm going to be a kill joy here too and say that those same flavonoids also exist in onions, in cranberries, in apples, but luckily also red wine. So moderation, everybody.

LEMON: You know what; you're right, everything in moderation. I was talking to producer Brian Bell (ph) before we did this story and we were both saying just everything in moderation, right? AS long as you just don't overdo it.

KINSMAN: Exactly.

LEMON: But you are -- you are a kill joy in a different way because I know what your answer to the next question is going to be that's why I'm asking it. Dark chocolate -- we always hear it's better for you. And I always go for the dark chocolate candy bar but is there really a big benefit when you do that?

KINSMAN: Well, you see personally I like the taste of the dark chocolate better but the great benefit of the dark chocolate is it's not all packed with as much sugar and cream and all those sort of extra fats. So you know, there are studies that show that maybe an ounce a week or something like that can have benefits -- it can actually help with -- you know, fight harmful UV rays. It can help your skin some. But again, everything in moderation.

And if you're going to be eating all this chocolate, you have to make sure to be a little bit moderate about everything else you eat, especially if you're getting chocolate that is mixed in with whipped cream and nuts and all that kind of stuff. You're not going to snack your way to health, sadly.

LEMON: Come on. Why not? One day we will find a way to do that. But I've got to -- can we just talk here Kat Kinsman?

KINSMAN: Yes.

LEMON: Right. Because you know we have this love affair with chocolate. And I've heard the reports before that it sort of mimics orgasm, right in certain -- you've heard that before.

(CROSSTALK)

KINSMAN: Oh, of course. Yes, it helps in many, many ways. Makes your mouth happy, makes all kinds of other things happy, too. And you know, did you know that the average American eats about a half a pound of chocolate a month.

LEMON: Now we know why.

KINSMAN: A $4 billion a year industry, it's not going away any time soon, whether it's healthy, orgasmic, whatever it is. People still are going to love it for a long time.

LEMON: I think there are certain receptors, certain endorphins or something they say is similar to that, yes.

KINSMAN: Great for cramps.

LEMON: Yes. We're going. Producers are like wrap it up because Don will go off the rails. Thank you Kat Kinsman.

KINSMAN: Thanks Don.

LEMON: Always a pleasure.

If you thought Shark Week was exciting, get ready for DOGTV. I can't wait for that. A new television network is hitting the airwaves and it's targeting an unlikely audience.

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LEMON: Ok. We all know yawning is contagious. And now a new study suggests that's true -- that is true for dogs, too. Look at that cutie. Researchers say dogs are more like to yawn after observing their owners yawn compared to strangers.

Japanese researchers studied 25 dogs including a mix of pit bulls, papillons and poodles. They measured the dogs' heart rate and determine that the emotional bond between owner and dog contributed to the animals' physical responses. Look at that little cutie right there -- all of them.

And you may want to wake up that tired pooch. The first network designed just for dogs is hitting the airwaves. CNN's Jeanne Moos explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who would sit and watch three minutes of a dog running through a cornfield? Not Ginger. Look, it looks just like you. Look. Just like you. No wonder it is just like her, it's DOGTV.

The first television network for dogs has just gone national on DirecTV. What's the target demo?

RON LEVI, FOUNDER AND CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER, DOGTV: Wherever there is a dog that is home alone we feel this is the perfect baby sitter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Been there, done that. Been there, done that. Don't let your dog get lonely -- DOGTV.

MOOS: The creators say they did three years of research on dog behavior watching video from surveillance cameras set up in 38 apartments to see what dogs do when they are alone and how they react to TV.

LEVI: We learned that a lot of dogs were not too happy with the barking noises. I mean some of them got irritated and angry and anxious -- whatever. MOOS: Romeo, for instance gets so excited his owners can't even watch shows on Animal Planet so DOGTV features almost no barking and just the occasional squeaky toy. They have enhanced certain colors to make them more visible to dogs since canines don't see as many colors as humans.

There are three types of doggy programming: stimulation, relaxation and exposure to get dogs used to things like car rides and babies and thunderstorms. DOGTV costs $5 a month and at least your dog won't have to sit through erectile dysfunction ads.

(on camera): Are there commercials?

LEVI: It's commercial free. It's ad free. It's 24/7.

MOOS (voice-over): Forget channel surfing. Some trainers think DOGTV is silly. That it makes dogs hyper trying to make sense of stuff coming out of the box. The Humane Society recommends leaving a TV on if your dog has separation anxiety. DOGTV is even being tested in veterinarian clinics and shelters.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Immediately the dog sat down and watched it.

MOOS: DOGTV's creators say some dogs are mesmerized while others can't be bothered. Ginger, try to stay awake for this. Want the remote?

LEVI: We don't expect dogs to sit all day and become canine couch potatoes.

MOOS: Ginger became a couch potato without showing even the remotest interest in DOGTV unless she is dreaming of leaping through that cornfield.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Cute. I like big couch potatoes, too.

Ok. Thanks for joining us, everyone. I'm Don Lemon.

The "CNN NEWSROOM" continues right after a quick break.

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