Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Saturday
15-Year-Old Longwood, Florida Boy Shot By SWAT Team, On Life Support; Al-Zawahiri Not Killed By CIA In Pakistan But Innocent Civilians Were; Louisiana's Untimely Quarter Million Dollar Renovation To Capital Building; New Orleans Blueprint; Iran's President Speaks On Nuclear Program; Alito Confirmation May Not Be Easy; Death Of 7-Year- Old Sparks Outrage In Brooklyn; Update on "New You" Participants
Aired January 14, 2006 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Unfolding this hour, the fate of al Qaeda's number two with Ayman al-Zawahiri. Osama bin Laden's right-hand man killed in an CIA air strike in Pakistan. We're live from the Pentagon with new developments.
Rebuilding New Orleans, in the aftermath of Katrina it won't be easy. This hour we'll take a closer look at what's being called the blueprint.
Plus, better health and fitness in the new year, millions made that pledge. This hour Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to people who are determined to keep that promise.
Welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, a busy hour straight ahead. Let's get right into it with the headlines, right now.
A Florida eighth grader remains in a hospital one day after he was shot why by a SWAT team deputy at a standoff at a middle school. Authorities say 15-year-old Christopher openly was chased through the school in Longwood, Florida, as he carried what appeared to be a nine millimeter handgun. The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun. Authorities say the boy was shot after he took aim at the deputy. A live report plus reaction from one of the students who was held hostage, straight ahead.
Iran president calls the United States and other Western nations "bullies" as the two sides remain locked in a standoff over Iran's nuclear plan. In comments earlier today, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country has a right to conduct nuclear research. Several days ago Teheran resumed research at an uranium enrichment plant. The U.S. and European Union believe the research is part of a secret program to build nuclear weapons.
A powerful storm system left a trail of damage as it moved across the south. This was the scene as a suspected tornado touched down at Manning, South Carolina. That happened last night. The storm hit a mobile home park injuring at least nine people, four of them critically. Earlier a tornado killed one person in south Alabama.
We begin in central Florida, where a student held hostage by a 15-year-old boy at a middle school yesterday is now speaking out. A police SWAT team member shot the teen after he aimed what aimed what appeared to be a gun at the officer. That teen is now fighting for his life. J.J. Ramberg is in Longwood, Florida with new developments -- J.J.
J.J. RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there Fredricka. Well, we just got this tape in about an hour ago, it come from our affiliate here in Florida, KMG. And we are hearing for the first time, a first- hand account of what was harrowing experience for so many students and faculty, yesterday.
This is from Maurice Cotey, he was the student who was held hostage yesterday at Milwee Middle School, by Christopher Penley, as you said, he was a student who brought a pellet gun to school, but said that it was real gun and scared much of the school. Let's hear from this student.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAURICE COTEY, 13-YEAR-OLD STUDENT: We were in the classroom and we were about to do a test and then one of my classmates said" this kid has a gun," and so the teacher, she went to the phone, and told the office. And then he, the kid, he went to the lights and turned them off and then everyone was starting to be scared.
And then everyone ran out of the classroom except for me and this one girl and we were walking, and he said, "you, stay," so the girl, she ran out of the classroom and he told me to get up against the blackboard and I did, and he put the gun to my back, and then we -- then I told him, "please don't shoot me, please don't shoot me." So, he said "go towards the closet," so I was walking.
Then he got me towards the closet door, he turned me around and he said -- and he started to point the gun at me, so I started to grab for it, and he pulled it away, and then I grabbed for it one more time, because he pointed it at me for a like a little while.
So I grabbed it and twisted it and pointed it at him, and he still had the gun in his hand, though, and I pointed it near his legs, and he kicked me into the closet and I still had the gun twisted and then he pulled -- he ran into the closet and got me up, and then I pushed him and I ran out of the classroom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAMBERG: Now KMG conducted that interview with Maurice Cotey and his mother yesterday and we know what happened after that is that Christopher Penley ran through the school, eventually was cornered by the SWAT team and, as you were saying earlier, was shot by one of the SWAT team officers.
Later in the interview, Maurice said he's just happy that everything turned out OK because he loves his family and they love him. As for Christopher Penley, he is in a hospital right now on advanced life support -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And J.J., I realize he's still on life support, but is there any explanation, perhaps, even from little Penley's parents as to why this even happened?
RAMBERG: We spoke to them earlier today and they did not want to talk to anyone or give any information on that. A few of his friends have spoken and said he was depressed. One of his friends said that he hated his life, so starting to give us a little bit of insight, but many people, of course, are very surprised that this happened.
WHITFIELD: It's so sad all the way around. J.J. Ramberg, thank you so much.
Well, now to new developments in the war on terror. Pakistan says Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number two man in the al Qaeda terror network, was not killed in an air strike in Pakistan Friday. Senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is covering that story.
And Jamie, what this is latest?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Still no 100 percent definitive word, but the clearest indication, yet, coming from Pakistan, the officials said they don't believe Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in that air strike. And that's really underscored by the fact they're now protesting to the U.S. government this strike which resulted in the deaths of up to 18 people, including women and children in this air strike in northwestern Pakistan.
Knowledgeable sources have told CNN the CIA ordered this strike based on intelligence which indicated that al Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was apparently among, or believed to be among, a group of suspected high ranking al Qaeda figures meeting in some buildings in a village, an air strike was called in and several of the buildings were leveled.
We still don't know the method of attack. In the past, the CIA has used Predator, unmanned spy planes outfitted with Hellfire missiles, but in this case, some eyewitnesses have said they believe that jet planes, manned planes, might have been used in the strike.
There have been no official confirmation from the U.S. government and even privately, officials aren't saying much about this incident, but as I said, the Pakistani government is talking about it privately and complaining that the strike may have killed innocent civilians -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And Jamie, is the Pentagon saying anything about Pakistan's concerns, or whether the U.S., in anyway, is concerned about its relationship now with Pakistan in this ongoing war on terrorism?
MCINTYRE: Well, one thing that we've seen in the past couple of months, is that the CIA has been operating inside Pakistan. In fact, back in December, they launched a strike, an air strike, similar to this that did apparently involve an unmanned spy plane and killed somebody that they claimed was the operations chief for al Qaeda.
In that case, you didn't see a protest from the Pakistani government. It appeared that they did get the person they had targeted. But, in this case, where it looks like things might have gone wrong, that causes a much bigger problem and it raises the question of what kind of abilities the U.S., CIA is going to have to operate within Pakistan after this incident.
WHITFIELD: All right, Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Thank you so much.
Well, Ayman al-Zawahiri is second only to Osama bin Laden in the hierarchy of al Qaeda, he's widely considered the brains behind the terror network. CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen joins us with more on al-Zawahiri's role, impact, and history. Good to see you, Peter.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Good to see you.
WHITFIELD: Well, what does it mean to target the number two? To kill him as opposed to try to capture him?
BERGEN: Well, I mean, we've seen, you know, high ranking members of al Qaeda have been killed or captured in either Afghanistan or Pakistan and I think the U.S. government, I think, uses its judgment about what makes most sense.
And we saw with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the operational commander of the 9/11 attacks, that he was captured in rural Pende (ph) which near the capital of Pakistan, he's now in some undisclosed location. On the other hand Mohammed Atta, who was a private military commander was killed by a U.S. Military strike in November of 2001 inside Afghanistan.
So, I guess the U.S. government makes a determination about what is the most effective strategy in terms of trying to apprehend or kill leaders of al Qaeda. It seems in this case, there may have been a mistake, according to the Pakistanis. I think, you know, this is a very sensitive issue for Pakistanis. U.S. military forces are not allow go into Pakistan.
President Musharraf comes in for a fair amount of criticism already inside Pakistan for the cooperation he gives on the war on terrorism. This incident, if indeed it is a mistake, will surely feed into criticism of the Musharraf and his role helping the United States.
WHITFIELD: Does it concern you at all this may potentially jeopardize the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan in this war on terrorism that there seem to be in agreement to move in concert, but now, as you say, this could underscore some real problems with Pervez Musharraf, if indeed the CIA were able to operate, if it were, an unmanned drone, to help in this targeted as attack?
BERGEN: My guess is that this will be -- I mean, if this is a mistake, I think this will be more of a hiccup then -- I mean, Pakistan and the United States really need each other for different reasons and some mistakes like these do happen. You may remember there was a -- in Afghanistan, a tall guy who was dressed in white, with a couple of other people back three years ago was killed in a similar predator strike, it turned out that he wasn't Osama bin Laden, as it was believed, he was just some person picking up scrap metal.
On the other hand, these strikes have borne fruit, for instance in Yemin there an attack -- a Predator strike, if indeed this was a Predator strike, of a group of five members of al Qaeda. They were killed and the Yemin government didn't protest. So, I think that -- my guess is if this is a mistake it will be more of a hiccup than, you know, the end of relationships.
WHITFIELD: Well Peter, let me ask you about the potential elimination of al-Zawahiri. We've seen in the past, whether it be in recent years or even in some of the other recent cases you cited at the top of this interview, that with the elimination of a high ranking official or a lieutenant, there seems to be a very quick replacement. Why would that not necessarily be the case if al-Zawahiri were eliminated? It would be more difficult for anyone in al Qaeda to replace him, correct?
BERGEN: I think, so because I think al-Zawahiri are an order of magnitude of more importance then the people we've either -- that either have been captured or killed so far. And al-Zawahiri and bin Laden have been friends for two decades. They've sort of been joined at the hips since '98 when they merged groups together.
Ayman al-Zawahiri a very bright guy, provided a lot of ideological balance for al Qaeda, provided a lot of his senior military commanders from his Egyptian jihad group, and all the military followers of al Qaeda have come from his group.
So, I think these men are sort of essential to the al Qaeda, the organization, and also essential to al Qaeda ideological movement. They keep releasing videotapes. We've had about 30 from both of them since 9/11. On those videotapes they sort of have, you know, they just -- broad strategic guidance for jihadists around the world, so getting either one of them would be incredibly significant.
WHITFIELD: All right, Peter Bergen, thank you so much, terrorism analyst, for join us this Saturday.
BERGEN: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, New Orleans puts its plans on the table, but not everyone is happy the blueprint for rebuilding. I'll talk live with one of the architects of the plan.
Nice walnut paneling and the chandeliers aren't too shabby either, but were the days after Katrina really the best time to spruce up the Louisiana capitol? And many Supreme Court watchers are saying that democrats didn't lay a glove on Samuel Alito. We'll look at the next step in the confirmation process.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: New Orleans unveiled a preliminary blueprint for rebuilding this week. In a nutshell, one proposal gives people until May 20th to return to their neighborhoods or at least commit to doing so. If an area doesn't draw enough residents, home owners can be bought out, their land turned into parks or marshland.
During these four months, the city would put a moratorium on rebuilding in much of New Orleans. Many residents are furious at the prospects of abandoning areas of the city. Mayor Ray Nagin is expected to receive all rebuilding proposals by Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: The realities are we will have limited resources to redevelop our city. The other realities are there's some areas of our city that today are still not safe and we need to make sure that they are the safest that they can be, to make sure that when our citizens come back that they will have a place to live that they're comfortable with.
HARVEY BENDER, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: I have to tell I it like it go. If we have to suit up like army and protect my land, that's what I'm going to do. I don't need no police to protect me. I will be -- if you try to come and take my land or whatever, that's what I'm going to have to do, just like a that lady is saying, I'm going to die on mine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Ray Manning is an architect that played a central role in drafting the initiative rebuilding plan. He joins me now from New Orleans.
Good to see you.
RAY MANNING, ARCHITECT: Good to see you.
WHITFIELD: Well Ray, was the expectation everyone would be happy with this preliminary plan?
MANNING: I don't think so. I think that most of us who are involved in this process have always known there's a great deal of anger and frustration on the part of residents. What we have to remember is that this is an unprecedented historical event, here in this city, and this country, and we have a lot of work to do and we need to stay focused on trying to create a better dialogue between the citizens and persons who are going to be involved in this process.
WHITFIELD: So, if you're a homeowner and you wanted to hear this plan, it boils down to hearing whether you would have an opportunity to rebuild or not. But it also seems as though this plan is forecasting that the footprint of this city would shrink and that that was the intent all along. How you do convey that to residents that even though we've this plan, there is an expectation that there are many of you that would not be able to come back and rebuild, even if you wanted to?
MANNING: Well, I'd like to answer that and speak to my fellow neighbors who are in other cities. We have an expectation that the basis of any plans that we will embark on will have as their first caveat that any citizen who would like to return to New Orleans should be able to do that. And we shouldn't see this as an either or ... (CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Didn't we already say -- but didn't we already interpret in the blueprint in the lead-in that if there aren't enough people who come back to a certain community then that may potentially mean the demise of that community, that it probably would not be rebuilt with not enough people?
MANNING: That is not the reading I take from the report. What I would suggest is we have an opportunity to go through this process. We're going to embark on the largest public participation process and a planning study in the history of this country.
And I believe that when we're done with that process, citizens will have an opportunity to have their voice in making those decisions. And we have to view those, as the mayor indicated earlier, that these plans be made, based on safety, and also based upon the level of services that can be provided to the citizens in every neighborhood in New Orleans.
WHITFIELD: Why do you suspect then there are so many homeowners that are so angry with this plan, this blueprint, when so many have already expressed, as we've been looking in the tape that was preceding our interview, that some people feel like they're being forced out of their neighborhood, they're being forced out of their homes.
They either didn't have the kind of insurance that would protect them against this kind of disaster, so they're not going to be able to rely on any kind of insurance assistance, so they are counting on their tax dollars to kick in, but we're hearing from a lot of those residents who are saying they're essentially being pushed out of the city. They're not part of the rebuilding plan?
MANNING: Well, let me respond to that in two I was. One, we have had the most open process imaginable, as we have done the initial phases of this work. Secondly, we have an understandable frustration on the part of residents in this community. What we have to keep in mind is that, first of all, this was not a natural disaster.
Had it not been for the failure of the levees, many of the residents who are frustrated and angry, would not have had the kind of unparalleled destruction of their homes and the fact that we are pressing very diligently to get the federal government to make a real commitment to resolve the issues of the levee is the number one issue facing our community today.
WHITFIELD: Well then, may I interject with why is there a plan in place for rebuilding before you actually have a levee system? It seems that the horse is coming before the cart. Why not go the other way around?
MANNING: Well first of all, there is already underway repairs to the levee system, to bring them back to Category 3 protection. That is ongoing. The Corp of Engineers and FEMA are in that process right now. We simply can't wait to start this planning process until that's done. Date certain, June 2, when hurricane season begins, we have to have that in place and that's the process that's already underway by the Corp. of Engineers in FEMA.
WHITFIELD: Right, I should have said it's actually the cart before the horse, is what a lot of people are in. So what's the timetable?
MANNING: The timetable is we will begin work in February. This next few weeks we'll be assembling the planning team and hope to have a preliminary report by May 20 and have another overview of that work by June 20 and issue that report to the mayor.
WHITFIELD: Ray Manning, thank you so much for being with us from New Orleans.
MANNING: Thank you very much.
WHITFIELD: Well, as we heard from Mr. Manning, the master blueprint does go well beyond housing. The city would redesign and rebuild levees to hold up against a major hurricane. A single levee district would also be formed.
Outlets to the Mississippi River and Gulf Coast would be closed to help keep out a storm surge. The city wants to repair street car lines, buses, and its battered roads, it also wants to build a light rail system. These rapid transit lines would run to the airport, the capitol of Baton Rouge, and other points on the Gulf Coast.
While New Orleans looks ahead to rebuilding, Louisiana's governor is doing a little remodeling of her own. National correspondent Gary Tuchman has that story from Baton Rouge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (VOICE-OVER): Six days before Hurricane Katrina struck, contractors had submitted bids to renovate and upgrade some of the Louisiana governor's office space in the state capitol office building. In the days after Katrina roared through the Gulf Coast, the quarter million dollar plus bid was approved.
JERRY JONES, FACILITY PLANNING DIRECTOR: We had good prices, we knew that hurricane inflation would have hit.
TUCHMAN: Reeling from the magnitude of Katrina's destruction, Governor Kathleen Blanco ordered a spending and hiring freeze and knew. She announced the state's budget would fall hundreds of millions of dollars short, and yet work on the governors' offices on the capital's sixth floor began on schedule.
The new office space, two floors above the governor's personal office, includes walnut paneling, frosted laminated glass, granite countertops. Many of Louisiana's hurricane weary residents said at the very least not a good P.R. move by the governor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her priorities are selfish I would imagine. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know what to say. That's embarrassing.
TUCHMAN: Jerry Jones is the man in charge of renovation projects in the state capital building. He says the work had to be done in this old building because of the safety code issues.
(on camera): But you're aware of the perception is are pretty crummy?
JONES: No question.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Governor Blanco, according to her aids, was not aware of the extensive renovation plans. She had been spending almost all of her time away from the state capital, Baton Rouge, during the first two weeks after the hurricane and would have postponed the work had she known. Jones says it was his decision and there were legal issues with the contractor, too.
JONES: If we terminate for convenience, he's due all of his anticipated profits.
TUCHMAN (on camera): So, you were concerned about that?
JONES: Yes. No question.
TUCHMAN: So that was an issue with that.
JONES: No question.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The contractor would not appear on camera, but he did tell us that state would have canceled the work, he would not have taken legal action and not have required any of the profits.
JONES: Probably if we had to do it all over again, we would probably figured out a way to delay the sixth floor, but we had to do it to alleviate the -- I don't know how much longer we could have delayed renovating the sixth floor with the safety issues.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Well, maybe delay it a little bit.
JONES: Maybe delay it a little bit.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Two floors were also renovated, including the floor the governor works on, but that work began before Katrina.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Coming up, a horrifying case of child abuse in New York. Why wasn't anything done to prevent it? When CNN LIVE SATURDAY returns.
(WEATHER REPORT (COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Parts of the southeastern U.S. cleaning up after day of violent weather. A suspected tornado flattened mobile homes just west of Manning, South Carolina last night. At lease nine people injured, four of them critically. The area was under a tornado warning at the time. High winds from the same weather system hammered part of subdivision in Gastonia, North Carolina, just west of Charlotte. No injuries were reported there, thankfully.
Well, from severe weather in the south to more rain in the water logged northwest. CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider joins us now with a look at the weekend weather.
Good to see you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: Well, fiery words from Iran's leader this morning. What did he say? That straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Our top stories right now.
A U.S. attempt to assassinate al Qaeda's number two, Ayman al- Zawahiri, may have failed. The CIA launched a missile strike on a remote Pakistani village targeting Zawahiri. Eighteen people were killed but Pakistani officials say Zawahiri is not among them. Meanwhile, Pakistan says it will summon the U.S. ambassador to lodge a strong protest against that attack.
A 15-year-old Florida boy is on advanced life support in a hospital after being shot by a SWAT officer in school. Christopher Penley had briefly held one student hostage and later threatened the officer with what appeared to be a nine millimeter handgun. The teenagers's weapon turned out to be a modified pellet gun. Authorities say Penley was shot after he refused to put down his weapon.
President Bush urges a quick up or down vote on U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. The judge was grilled at Senate confirmation hearings this week. Some analysts say he handled the proceedings well and will easily be confirmed, but others say it might not be that simple. Our Kathleen Koch joins us now from Washington with the latest -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, it was a contentious week of questioning up there on Capitol Hill for Judge Samuel Alito. And President Bush this morning, in his Saturday radio address, really wanted to drive home what he thought were the really most pertinent reasons why the judge does deserve a seat on the highest court in the land.
In his radio address, the president said Alito approached the law in a quote, "thoughtful, fair, and open-minded way" and would not impose his personal views. The president touted the fact that Alito had received the highest possible rating from the American Bar Association and the president sent a message to senators. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, the Senate has a duty to give Judge Alito a prompt up or down vote. I look forward to the Senate voting to confirm Sam Alito as 110th justice of the Supreme Court. America is fortunate to have a man of his intellect and integrity willing to serve, and as a justice in our nation's highest court, Sam Alito will make all Americans proud.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
KOCH: So far, the Senate Judiciary Committee does appear to be split down party lines when it comes to Alito's nomination with all 10 Republicans expected to vote to approve his nomination. The eight Democrats on the committee so far though do remain non-committal.
As for President Bush's schedule this weekend, he is spending the weekend at the presidential retreat in Camp David -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, in the meantime, the president isn't the only one on the go, but First Lady Laura Bush is as well with her planned trip to Africa.
KOCH: Quite so. The first lady left this morning and her itinerary really picks up Monday morning. Martin Luther King Jr. Day she'll be heading a delegation to the Western African nation of Liberia, where she and other leaders will witness the inauguration of the very first woman president on the continent of Africa. So a really special occasion. She'll also be joined there by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
And then later on in the week, she will visit the nation of Ghana where she is going to unveil a program that links American minority colleges with African institutions and helps provide them with textbooks and school supplies, so a very worthy, very busy trip for her.
WHITFIELD: All right. Kathleen Koch at the White House, thanks so much.
KOCH: You bet.
WHITFIELD: Well, tensions heighten over Iran's nuclear program. Its president appears headed on a collision course with Europe and the U.S. over the issue. That's after talks with Germany, France and Britain came to a dead-end.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): How will we develop nuclear energy for our peaceful purposes? But they want us to stop our progress and they think we're not allowed to have one. And we want to know why. And now, they are saying, no, we are really scared. And now they're saying, we don't want you to have any research on nuclear weapons. They want to have all those nuclear science or nuclear research for them because they can sell it to us later on for any price they want.
[CORRECTION -- Due to an error in translation, CNN incorrectly quoted Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his speech as saying that Iran has the right to build nuclear weapons. In fact, President Ahmadinejad said Iran has the right to nuclear energy, and that "a nation that has civilization does not need nuclear weapons," and "our nation does not need them." This transcript has been corrected. CNN takes this matter very seriously and apologizes for the error.]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The E.U. and the U.S. are recommending the impasse be referred to the United Nations. Five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany are scheduled to meet next week to discuss the matter.
Iraqis and the world will soon hear if the December 15th election was free and fair. International experts investigating complaints of fraud are expected to make their findings known within days. Minority Sunni Arab and secular parties have complained of vote rigging. Some 2,000 complaints were filed.
In New York, police uncover a horrifying case of child abuse. Why were they too late? And why wasn't it stopped?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: There is outrage in New York today over the death of a child and the horror she endured during life. CNN correspondent Adaora Udoji examines the case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Brooklyn today, even people who didn't know Nixzmary Brown are shedding tears.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so terrible. So terrible.
UDOJI: She was a 7-year-old with a sparkling smile, says her step-uncle.
MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ, GIRL'S STEP-UNCLE: Playful. Always, you know, jumping all around, happy.
UDOJI: But Brooklyn prosecutors say she was a second grader who lived a short and brutal life, brutal because of abuse by her mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, and her stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez.
AMA DWIMOH, PROSECUTOR: She was tortured, she was beaten repeatedly. She was starved, she was tied up, she was bound like animal.
UDOJI: Bound allegedly by her stepfather, to a chair police confiscated the same day Nixzmary's body was found naked on the floor of her apartment, dead. The medical examiner says a brain hemorrhage triggered by blunt force trauma killed her. They also say they found evidence of long-time abuse.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: We as a city have failed this child and we should do everything we can to make sure that we don't fail the next child.
UDOJI: What went so terribly wrong? New York City's Administration for Children's Services or ACS was investigating an abuse report for the second time in eight months.
(on camera): In May, concerned teachers here at Nixzmary's elementary school filed a complaint after the little girl had missed a reported 46 days of school. ACS immediately investigated and determined that the girl's mother and her stepfather were overwhelmed raising six children.
JOHN MATTINGLY, ADMIN. FOR CHILDREN'S SERVICES: The mother gave a story about having to have that child at home because she had five children, et cetera. And that it was our judgment at that time that help to the family was what was needed. As long as the child was back in school we, I think, wrongly now looking back on it, closed that case.
UDOJI (voice-over): They provided them with baby furniture and some support. The head of child services says, in hindsight, it was the beginning of missed opportunities. Teachers continued to file reports, concerned about Nixzmary's weight. Just under four feet tall, she 36 pounds, the average size of a 4-year-old.
DWIMOH: She was forced to use a litter box. She was forced to eat cat food because there was no other food for her.
UDOJI: In December, ACS was again notified after Nixzmary suffered a black eye. Teachers were also worried about her four other siblings at the school. Again, ACS says they sent out a team, met with the family and Nixzmary's doctor, who they said ruled her injuries were consistent with a fall the family said she had had.
But then ACS says the family stopped cooperating and they considered getting a warrant to get into the apartment but did not.
MATTINGLY: That was our key opportunity. People made judgments about whether it was an emergency or not, and those judgments turned out to be wrong.
UDOJI: Nixzmary's harrowing tale follows the death of three other children in the past two-and-a-half months who had contact with ACS. A troubling pattern? No says Jane Waldfogel, an author of a book about the agency. No matter how tragic Nixzmary's death, she says, the agency has improved.
JANE WALDFOGEL, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: I think we need to keep in mind that agencies are always going to be prone to making errors in this kind of business. It's just very difficult to assess risk. And no agency is going to be able to protect children 100 percent of the time with 100 percent accuracy. UDOJI: ACS deals with roughly 50,000 cases a year. In 2004 there, were seven homicides of children on its watch. Last year, that number was six. The goal is to have zero, which is why the agency is right now reviewing all of its thousands of cases. Caesar Rodriguez's brother says he never saw abuse and never saw any bruises on Nixzmary. He says she was happy, but a handful, and that his brother is a good guy.
RODRIGUEZ: Always got along with people, got along with the neighbors, family, friends. His wife was open-hearted.
UDOJI: That's in stark contrasts to brutal accusations by prosecutors. Rodriguez and Santiago face multiple felony charges. They have pled not guilty to all of them. Among the many notes left by mourners in Nixzmary's Brooklyn neighborhood, one sadly reads, "free at last."
Adaora Udoji, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez is urging cell phone users to sign up for text messages from the Amber Alert system. Most wireless companies provide the new service for free. Gonzales says Amber Alerts have helped recover 241 children since its inception in 1996.
The postal service is marking ten years of the Amber Alert with a new stamp. Amber alerts are named after Amber Hagerman, who was abducted and killed near Dallas. Her mother was on hand for the stamp's unveiling.
Well, it's been one week of the "New You" challenge, so how did the participants handle changing their habits and their lives? Well one, the pressure. Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Six participants in CNN's "New You" resolution challenge are off on their quest for better health and fitness. The first step was simple but important concept, eat less and move more. Senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a wrap-up of week one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The "New You Resolution 2006" is off and running. Intense action for six participants geared towards helping them achieve their "New You" goals.
DONNA BRIGHTHAUPT, NEW YOU PARTICIPANT: Now I pretty much know what my goal is for at least the next eight weeks.
GUPTA: The first "New You" lesson? How to improve each duo's dieting habits. For the Rampollas, the answer was fresh and frugal family eating with lasagna.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much does this cost, roughly, this dish?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It costs about six bucks, $6 or $7. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah!
GUPTA: The lobbyists learned how to make wraps on the go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you could spend 10 minutes looking that, could you find that amount of time every day?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it's precut, yes.
GUPTA: This time they ate salad, small portions, sensible snacks, sauce on the side. And more salad.
FRANK PURCELL, NEW YOU PARTICIPANT: If I could have good snacks in the fridge, that will be able to hold me over so that when I get home I'm not tipping the fridge into my mouth at 9:00 at night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reducing your intake of food and working out, everything else kind of falls into place.
GUPTA: Eating less, moving more may seem like a simple idea, but it can be intimidating. Especially for this twin.
STUART RASCH, NEW YOU PARTICIPANT: I'm going to die. I'm definitely -- definitely going to die. But I'll have a good looking corpse.
GUPTA: But their trainers help them get motivated.
DENISE RAMPOLLA, NEW YOU PARTICIPANT: I told Mary not to be easy on me and not on us as a couple.
MARK RASCH, NEW YOU PARTICIPANT: I'm going to do this, I'm going to lose weight, and I'm going to get in shape, and I'm going to eat right and change my life.
GUPTA (on camera): I applaud all of you for taking the first step. Congratulations.
(APPLAUSE)
(voice-over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, for the "New You Resolution."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, to track the progress and get motivated from all our participants on our Web site, you can follow along on the buddy blog and even join in the discussion. The address is CNN.com/newyou.
A time capsule carrying stardust -- it may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but this is real. The details on this amazing mission up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Stardust is coming home. Early Sunday morning a tiny capsule containing teeny pieces of comet tail is set to make a soft landing in the Utah desert. CNN's technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg tells us about the long mission and what scientists hope to learn from it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been a long trip for Stardust, seven years and nearly 3 billion miles through the solar system, all to collect interstellar dust particles from the tail of a comet and return them to earth.
DON BROWNLEE, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Our mission is called Stardust, in part because we believe some of the particles in the comet will in fact be older than the sun and planets, formed around other stars. We call them stardust.
SIEBERG: Early Sunday morning, the spacecraft will fly by earth and release the 100 pound canister containing the samples. It will enter the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, going almost 29,000 miles per hour. If the weather permits, sky watchers on the West Coast may be able to see it streak overhead.
As it nears the landing zone at the Air Force Utah test and training range, parachutes will open to bring it in for a soft landing. As the sky will be dark for the entire descent, NASA will track the canister using infrared cameras as seen in this test.
ED HIRST, MISSION SYSTEMS MANAGER: This is the fastest return vehicle that has ever been brought back to earth, so bringing it home for the first time is the only way to test a system like this.
SIEBERG: NASA's last sample return mission did not go as planned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like we have a no chute, sir.
SIEBERG: In 2004, the parachutes on the Genesis spacecraft didn't open and it crashed into the ground at full speed. Stardust mission managers say they are confident that won't happen this time. But they are prepared for the unexpected.
TOM DUXBURY, PROJECT MANAGER: We've been out testing and training at Utah for hard landings where we might even breach the return capsule. We might land in wet or mud or whatever. All of these possible contingencies which are low probability, we have actually test and trained for.
SIEBERG: Scientists say comets are icy, rocky debris leftover from the beginning of the solar system four and a half billion years ago. They expect analysis of the Stardust samples will help them better understand how the planets form and evolved. Daniel Sieberg, CNN. (END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: So much more ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY. "IN THE MONEY" is coming up next; here's a preview.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks. Coming up on "IN THE MONEY," good-bye and good riddance. We'll find out why you shouldn't shed any tears over the death of the corporate pension.
Plus, drop and give me 20. See why companies are telling their workers to shape up or pay up.
And the giant in Detroit's rear view mirror. We'll speak with auto visionary Malcolm Bricklin about his hot new contender for the U.S. car market. All that and more right after a quick check of the headlines.
WHITFIELD: Thanks, Jack.
Here's a look at our top stories. A 15-year-old central Florida boy is hospitalized on life support after a shooting a middle school. Police say a SWAT team member shot the teen during a standoff yesterday after the teen aimed what appeared to be a gun at the officer. Police later discovered the boy's weapon was a modified pellet gun.
A CIA strike targeting al Qaeda's number two man, Ayman al- Zawahiri may have backfired. Pakistan says it has made a formal protest about the airstrike to the U.S. ambassador in Islamabad. According to the Pakistanis, al-Zawahiri was not among the 18 people killed in yesterday's attack. But knowledgeable U.S. sources tell CNN al-Zawahiri may have been killed.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
