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CNN Live Saturday

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is Urging Doctors to Stick With the Flu Drugs Relenza and Tamiflu This Flu Season; One Day After He Forced a School Lockdown and Confronted Police, a Florida Teenager is Dead; Pakistan Condemns U.S. Attack on Al Qaeda; Prospective Home Buyers Turned Down Based on the Sound of Their Voice; Girl Found Dead In New York City After Repeated Parental Abuse; Who Will Win This Year's Golden Globe Awards?

Aired January 14, 2006 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, new details and developments in the shooting of a Florida middle school student. We'll have live report.
And dead or alive? Al Qaeda's number two may have escaped a U.S. air strike. We'll have the latest from the Pentagon and more background on that story.

Also ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, imagine getting your mortgage loan denied just because of the way that you sound. Linguistic profiling. Not possible? You'd be surprised. Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All of that and more after this check of the headlines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging doctors to stick with the flu drugs Relenza and Tamiflu this flu season. It says two other antiviral drugs that have been used for years are no longer effective. We will talk with a flu expert in a few minutes of what this means for you.

The chief judge of the court trying ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein for war crimes wants to step down. An official with the Iraqi high tribunal stills CNN Judge Rizhar Amin plans to hand in his resignation tomorrow. The tribunal could reject it or appoint a replacement.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon showing signs of activity in both sides of his brain, according to hospital officials in Jerusalem today. The 77-year-old leader remains in a coma 10 days after suffering a massive stroke. Keeping you informed is CNN, the most trusted name in news.

Up first this hour, one day after he forced a school lockdown and confronted police, a Florida teenager is dead. His classmates say it all began when Christopher Penley pulled out what looked like a handgun in his eighth grade class. The consequences were deadly. CNN's J.J. Ramberg is in Longwood, Florida. J.J.?

J.J. RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fredricka. Well, Christopher Penley had been on advanced life support in a local hospital here for the past day and a half. We just found out - it was just confirmed by his brother Tikom (ph) Penley that he indeed died earlier today.

Now as you said, this is a story that began yesterday morning when Chris Penley came to school wielding what we now know was just an pellet gun but at the time which many people thought was a real gun, including a member of the SWAT team who then shot Chris Penley.

Earlier today we got some exclusive footage from our affiliate here, WKMG which had an interview with one the students that was kept hostage by Chris Penley yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAURICE COTEY, STUDENT: Everyone ran out of 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. He told me to get up against the blackboard and I did. And he put the gun to my back. And then -- then I told him, please don't shoot me. Please don't shoot me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMBERG: That was the interview with 13-year-old Maurice Cotey. He did that interview with his mom standing right by. Maurice ended that interview saying he's just happy it wasn't a real gun because he thinks if it had been he too would have been dead. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: And J.J., now what about this investigation? Where does it go from here now that this teenager has died?

RAMBERG: Well, law enforcement officials aren't talking right now. They say probably won't have anything to say until Tuesday, but there is an investigation as to what happened at the school.

WHITFIELD: All right. J.J. Ramberg, thank you so much.

Well. Now to mystery and controversy in Pakistan. The fate of Osama bin Laden's right-hand man remains unknown at this hour. U.S. sources say Ayman al Zawahiri was a target of a CIA air strike near the Afghan border Friday and may have been killed. Pakistan is condemning the attack. CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre joins us with more details. Jamie?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, even with the best intelligence, it's often difficult to kill an individual from an air strike overhead. And it's beginning to look like, in this case, the U.S. may not have had the best intelligence. Eighteen people died in an air strike that knowledgeable sources tell CNN, the CIA called in yesterday in northwestern Pakistan. Believing that al Qaeda's number two, Ayman al Zawahiri, was among a group of some senior al Qaeda leaders in a village in Pakistan.

But, now Pakistani officials are giving strong indications that they don't believe Zawahiri was killed in the strike. In fact might not have even been in the area and they're beginning to protest in public, the U.S. action, which may have taken some innocent lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SHEIKH RASHAD AHMAD, PAKISTANIA INFORMATION MINISTER: We deeply regret that civilian life have been lost in an incident in Bajoragentsi (ph). While this act is highly condemnable, we have been trying for a long time striving to rid all of our tribal area of foreign intruders who have been responsible for all of the miseries and violence in the region.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: The deaths of a civilians, which apparently include women and children have sparked protests in Pakistan from Pakistanis objecting to the United States Central Intelligence Agency operating essentially inside Pakistan's borders. Not the first time. Back in December, according to sources, the CIA put missiles in a house in area of northern Waziristan. It was claimed afterwards that a top al Qaeda planner was killed in that attack.

And just last Saturday, there was another helicopter attack on houses, which Pakistan, at least believed that the U.S. military was responsible for it. It protested to the U.S. government, the U.S. military. The U.S. military said in Afghanistan, said it was not operating in Pakistan. Nevertheless, you can see, it's straining the working relationship between the CIA and Pakistan. Although, sources say the CIA's continuing to gather intelligence. And it hopes to be able to act, if and when it has the opportunity, to take out an al Qaeda leader.

FREDRICKA: All right. Jamie McIntyre, thanks so much from the Pentagon.

Well, you've probably seen al Zawahiri on video, often next to Osama bin Laden. Well in his latest taunting message, Zawahiri called on President Bush to admit defeat in Iraq. CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson takes the look at the life of al Qaeda's number two man.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI, AL-QAEDA NUMBER TWO: We want to say to the whole world who are we.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By the time Ayman al Zawahiri bursts onto the world's scene, after the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, he was already a committed jihadi. The young doctor, came from one of Egypt's leading families. There is an al Zawahiri Street in Cairo named for his grandfather.

Al Zawahiri spent three years in prison after Sadat's assassination. After he got out, he made his way to Pakistan, where he treated those who fought against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. That's where he met Osama bin Laden. And by the mid-1980s, they'd found a common cause. He talked about it a decade later.

AL-ZAWAHIRI: We are working with brother bin Laden since more than 10 years. We have thought with him here in Afghanistan and we are working with him in Sudan and many other places. ROBERTSON: Al Zawahiri was at bin Laden's side when he declared war in America in May 1998. Weeks later, they launched an attack on U.S. embassies in Africa. An after the 9/11 attacks, al Zawahiri began to come out of the shadows. Taunting the U.S. Making it clear that he was al Qaeda's number two.

AL-ZAWAHIRI (through translator): Oh, American people, you must ask yourself, why all this hate against America?

ROBERTSON: Along with bin Laden, al Zawahiri became a man on the run after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. His wife and daughters were killed in a U.S. air strike aimed at him. Al Zawahiri's frequent messages in recent years on subjects ranging from the war in Iraq to the London subway attacks showed he was up to date on the news. Nic Robertson, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And our national security adviser says the air strike wouldn't have been carried out without very good intelligence. He joins us in less than five minutes with his take on the operation. Well, log onto cnn.com for more on al Qaeda's number two man, including information on his latest videotaped message in which he called on President Bush to admit defeat in Iraq.

Straight ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, after rough weather yesterday, what will the rest of the weekend have in store? We'll look ahead.

And the story of a seven-year-old girl beaten to death allegedly by her parents. What the City of New York could have done to save her, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The setting, a remote village in Pakistan, the target, U.S. sources say is al Qaeda's number two man is Ayman al Zawahiri. The aftermath, 18 people dead. But was al Zawahiri among them? U.S. sources say maybe, but Pakistan says no. Let's bring about our national security adviser John McLaughlin. Good to see you again, John.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Good afternoon, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. We heard in Jamie's report just moments ago. He says sources are indicating that perhaps it may not have been al Zawahiri that was even among the group of people in that target. If that would be the case, how could intelligence go so wrong when it would seem the vetting process is so intense involving a CIA target that they would hope to get it right?

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, Fredricka, I think our viewers should know that it would be premature to draw any conclusions at this point. I've looked carefully all afternoon at the Pakistani statements, as best as we understand them. And it's interesting, they're not crystal clear. Some Pakistanis say things like, there no information that al Zawahiri was in the area, which is short of denial.

Others say this is an area where there was a foreign presence and trying to rid it of that presence. And others say that he wasn't in the area at the time of the strike. So the Pakistani's statements are all over the map here. And they're obliged, I think, by their own internal politics to condemn a strike like this, as they have.

WHITFIELD: Well, hypothetically speaking what sort of criteria would need to be part of this equation when the CIA goes to Pakistan or any other U.S. government agency, goes to Pakistan and says, we want to carry out this strike. We have intelligence based on subjects who have actually identified, witnesses who have seen this person, or our own agents or personnel who have seen them. What are some of the criteria that is usually expressed?

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, when the United States carries out a strike like this, the bar is very high in terms of the intelligence. You have to have high-level of confidence that you know who you're going after. It's hard to tell at this point because we don't know enough about the results here. My hunch when all of the facts are known, if they are, we'll discover that there was an al Qaeda presence here and in all likelihood, some numbers of al Qaeda, people were killed.

WHITFIELD: Did it concern you that if al Zawahiri were not part in strike, if it turns out that he wasn't even there during the strike, do you worry what this might do to U.S.-Pakistani relations when it comes to the cooperation need to carry out a strike like this.

MCLAUGHLIN: I think U.S.-Pakistani cooperation would survive this incident. And the important thing at this point is we could have several options here.

WHITFIELD: OK.

MCLAUGHLIN: One is he may have been present and he may have been killed. We don't know. Other al Qaeda people may have been present and may have been killed.

WHITFIELD: OK.

MCLAUGHLIN: He might not have been there. Another option is he might have escaped.

WHITFIELD: And we will have it leave it there because running out of time. John McLaughlin, thanks so much.

Onto Afghanistan now, where a gunmen have killed a former Taliban official who was supporting the country's U.S.-backed government. The drive-by killing happened on a street in Kandahar as the former deputy interior minister was out for a walk his children. The Taliban claimed responsibility and threatened to kill anyone who joined the other side. About 50 former Taliban leaders who are believed to have done just that.

Well, still no give on the part of Iran in the stalemate over its nuclear aspirations. Iran's president today said that the U.S. and Europe are trying to bully Iran with threats of possible sanctions after Iran's recent resumption of nuclear research. The western nations worry that Iran will try to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists it doesn't want them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are a very cultural, very civilized people weapon a long history. We don't need weapon. We've got enough rich culture not to need any nuclear weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Last week, Germany, Britain and France declared talks with Iran have hit a dead end. And with U.S. backing, the Europeans said they would seek to refer Iran to the UN Security Council.

Battered landscapes and piles of rubble. In South Carolina, residents are surveying the damage today. Last night, nine people were injured when a suspected tornado record through a mobile home park near Manning. Four the victims sustained critical injuries. More than two dozen mobile homes were either damaged or destroyed.

More turbulent weather in North Carolina. Officials believe a tornado touch down there in Gastonia damaging 18 homes. No injuries were reported but power was knocked out to more than 12,000 homes and businesses.

In southern Alabama, a similar scene of destruction. A woman was killed Friday when high winds apparently caused a chimney in her home to collapse. Trees, houses and vehicles were damaged. Debris liters many of the areas around the town of Belleville.

Well, shifting weather patterns across the country could cause more problems today, keeping tabs on the weekend outlook. Meteorologist Monica McNeal. Hello to you, Monica.

MONICA MCNEAL, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hello, Fredricka. And I have got some pictures to show you. Take a look at this. This came in from Richard Turk (ph) in level plains, Alabama. This is what's left of his chicken house after wind damages literally destroyed this and this is just some of this stuff that happened upon yesterday.

After that strong system moved through, now we're dealing with some very blustery northwest winds. Get a load of this! In Wilmington, Delaware the winds are blowing out of the north and west at 30 miles an hour. Atlanta, winds out of the north and west at about 28 miles an hour, gusting between 35 and 40 miles per hour. So some very, very strong winds as we take a look at the temperatures right now.

Very cold air has surged very far south. It's 37 degrees right now in Atlanta. Get a load on Orlando's temperature! Fifteen-nine degrees. It's warmer in Orlando than it is in New York. It's 54 degrees in New York. And that colder air will continue to make its way into parts of New York as well. Quickly taking a look across the Pacific Northwest, it is raining and that football game, Washington and Seattle, you need an umbrella. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Go Skins.

MCNEAL: Yeah, exactly.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot, Monica.

Well, imagine not getting the apartment you want because of the way you sound on the telephone. Impossible? Well, it's called linguistic profiling and we found somebody who says that's what happened to him.

And what could the City of New York could have done to save a seven- year-old girl from her own parent? That story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's the height of the flu season and the Centers for Disease Control and prevention has a warning. It announced today, this year's most dominant flu strain, h3n2 has become almost completely resistant to two long used anti-viral drugs but it adds the flu drug Tamiflu is still effective. Doctor and author Dr. Marc Siegel is with New York University School of Medicine. He joins us from New York. Good to sea you, Dr. Siegel.

DR. MARC SIEGEL, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Nice to see you.

WHITFIELD: How concerned are you now that the discovery is people have developed a resistance to what were fairly popular anti-viral drugs?

SIEGEL: Well, Fredricka, as Dr. Gerbading (ph) said during the press conference, any known infectious diseases that if you use, you lose it. This particular drug, amantadine and rimantadine (ph), they have been around for a long time. Amantadine has been used since the 1970s. We tend to use them in nursing homes if someone gets it there to take the whole nursing home and protect them. But they're fairly inexpensive and I think it's predicted that this was going to happen because we have been using them more and more. The current strain, h3n2 is -- appears to be sensitive to Tamiflu and Relenza. So we do have other choices available.

WHITFIELD: And that is of course the concern that a lot of people have. The choices that are available, are they good enough for everybody or are there always kind of preexisting conditions that people may have that may preclude them from being able to use, like a Relenza or a Tamiflu.

SIEGEL: Fredricka, that's a very good question. Relenza has limitations because it's inhaled so we can't use it easily in asthmatics or people that are having respiratory difficulties. Tamiflu can be used in everyone and it's useful for both influenza a and influenza b. It's better tolerated than the older drugs because it doesn't cause irritability or insomnia or anxiety. But I would caution if we're too busy stockpiling Tamiflu on a personal basis worrying about pandemic might not have enough available for use for regular, garden variety yearly flu when which is currently in its throes right now.

WHITFIELD: Well, before this flu season I remember a lot of talk about the concerns of the flu virus and its mutations. And with that means the anti-virals have to change all of the time. So this year, it might be Relenza and Tamiflu which are very effective, but are you concerned that perhaps next year because of mutation, it'll be something else that needs to be on the market because of a resistance built up to these two anti-virals.

SEIGEL: Well, you know flus change very, very quickly and mutations develop. And luckily for us so far, Tamiflu and Relenza have not shown that tendency to cause a lot of resistance. This problem with amantadine and rimantadine has been growing over years. But this is a very dramatic change to 91 percent this year.

WHITFIELD: Wow!

SIEGEL: I am concerned, and we need to keep an eye on this and we always developing newer drugs but this is the good reason not to use these drugs inappropriately. They should only be used within the first 24 to 48 hours of coming down with flu symptoms.

WHITFIELD: Good advice. All right. Dr. Marc Siegel, thanks so much.

SIEGEL: My pleasure. Right.

WHITFIELD: Well, imagine, someone turning you down for a mortgage or an apartment just because of the way you sound over the phone. You're about to meet a man who says it happened to him and he's fighting back. Here's Jason Carroll in this report first broadcast on CNN's PAULA ZAHN NOW.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I'm calling about the sales position I saw advertised.

CARROLL (voice-over): What can you tell about someone simply by the way they sound on the phone?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I'm calling to get information about mortgage rates.

CARROLL: A caller's gender might seem obvious. But what about other characteristics?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. I read your ad in the paper about the apartment for rent.

CARROLL: Like a person's race. It is a sensitive subject for James Robinson (ph), a mental health professional living in Saint Louis.

JAMES ROBINSON, APARTMENT SEEKER: The more I thought it, the more angry I was becoming.

CARROLL: Robinson believes he was denied an apartment because, he says, he has what linguists call an African-American dialect.

(on camera): And this was the sign that you saw.

ROBINSON: This was the sign that was posted out front. And I got the number that you see at the bottom. And that's when I made my call.

CARROLL (voice-over): Robinson was told at first he had reached an answering service. Then, he says, something else odd happened.

ROBINSON: And I hear the voices muffled in the background. And she was telling the woman I was on the phone inquiring about a two-bedroom apartment. And the other woman asks, what does he sound like?

CARROLL: Robinson says the woman then told him nothing was available and hung up.

ROBINSON: I just kind of sat there for a moment and just kept rethinking the whole conversation over and over.

CARROLL: Suspicious of his treatment, Robinson decided to conduct an experiment. He had a Latino friend call and then an African-American friend call the building. Both were told nothing was available. Then Robinson reached out to one of his white friends.

JIM LADD, FRIEND: James did call me and said, will you -- will you call this complex and....

CARROLL: Who says he called and got a much different response.

LADD: She said, we do have some apartments available.

CARROLL: Robinson took his findings to the Saint Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council.

KATINA COMBS, SAINT LOUIS EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY COUNCIL: We definitely hear and see a lot about voice profiling.

CARROLL: The EHOC conducted their own investigation, finding similar results, and filed a complaint on Robinson's behalf with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights. An attorney for the building told CNN, "There is no evidence of any discrimination on my clients' part. The building in question is racially mixed."

(on camera): Would you call it a subtle form of discrimination or no? I mean, maybe that's just my words. What -- what -- what do you -- how do you qualify it?

COMBS: It is very subtle, extremely subtle. It is not like it used to be years ago, where you had signs in the yard that said, "For whites only" or "No coloreds allowed."

CARROLL (voice-over): So, to keep tabs on voice profiling, the EHOC constantly run tests. On the day we visit, a white and black tester call a different building, where another complaint has been filed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you looking for yourself?

CARROLL: Both are asked about employment and the type of apartment they need. But the black caller is told he needs to check out the area first.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. You can stop by and see the area. And if you like it, then you can call us and we can show you the apartment.

CARROLL: He's then asked more questions never asked of the white tester.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much approximately -- I don't want to know exact -- but approximately how much you are making every month?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I make about $31,000 per year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And never had any problem?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No. I have never been late on my rent.

CARROLL: The white tester is told of the apartment's amenities, never mentioned to the black caller.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it has washer and dryer in it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dishwasher also, has garbage disposal, self- cleaning oven and a refrigerator.

CARROLL: In the end, the white caller is offered an appointment to see the unit. The black caller is never contacted.

PROFESSOR JOHN BAUGH, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: We have seen it throughout the country.

CARROLL: Professor John Baugh isn't surprised by the experiment's outcome. He's a linguistic expert who has written extensively about voice profiling and has run many tests of his own.

BAUGH: Using my professional voice, I called around and was told, please come and look at the apartments. But I would call back, and I modify my dialect a little bit, you understand, and I will call and I would say, hello, I'm calling about the apartment you have advertised in the paper. And when I used that rendition, I found that I got less of a positive response rate.

CARROLL: Baugh says only through testing, accountability and education can there ever be change.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, it's pretty much a shame, you know, that a person is not even given the chance to at least apply.

CARROLL: James Robinson's case is still pending. He says, despite the effort he has put into this, it has been worth it to show that a person's true character isn't determined by how they sound.

Jason Carroll, CNN, St. Louis, Missouri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories now. More tragedy in the wake of a middle school shooting in Florida on Friday, the teen accused pointing a pellet gun at police and shot by SWAT team member has died. A sad note from Tinseltown today. Film star Shelly Winters has died of heart failure. Many view the 85-year-old legend as one of the most respected actress of Hollywood's golden age, Winters won Oscars in the films "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "A Patch of Blue."

Firefighters are keeping an eye on hotspots in Southern Oklahoma today. Wildfires have charred more than 411,000 acres in the state since November. More than 200 homes have been destroyed. Fire crews are worried that high winds could spread the flames out of control again.

Next on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, did officials in New York do everything they could to save the life of a seven-year-old girl? A community in shock wants answers on why Ms. Mary Brown couldn't be saved.

And on a much lighter note.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She plays a man on a mission to get a sex change and he plays a world-renowned author on a mission to write his groundbreaking book. We'll focus on two of this year's most talked about Golden Globe contenders when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Another child in New York City has slipped through the cracks. Young, Nixmary Marie Brown is dead. Both parents are under arrest and people are asking why the city didn't respond to warning signs that should have been clear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AWILDA CORDERO, GRANDMOTHER'S SPOKESWOMAN: When the grandmother saw the injury, she was in a state of shock. She says how could anyone not see this? Not only the mother, but a neighbor? How could not anyone see what was going on? This is so obvious. The little girl had black eyes. She had a cut in her forehead. I mean, just by me looking at the child, you could tell this child was abused.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We have more now on the story of Ms. Mary. CNN's Mary Snow reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A city mourns the death of a defenseless seven-year-old girl. The alleged crimes against Nixmarie Brown are hard to fathom. Her mother and stepfather are now under arrest. The city is checking into whether it missed opportunities to save her life after signs of trouble were first reported last spring.

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.

SNOW: Investigators say the child, who weighed only 36 pounds, was allegedly systematically tortured.

AMA DWIMOH, BROOKLYN D.A.'S OFFICE: She was beaten, repeatedly. She was starved. She was tied up. She was bound like an animal.

SNOW: Among other charges, the girl's stepfather, Ceasar Rodriguez, was charged with murder and sex abuse.

Her mother, Niczala (ph) Santiago, charged with manslaughter. The Brooklyn District Attorney's office says, they pled not guilty.

The city's Administration for Children's Services says it first checked on Nixmary Brown back in May when her school reported long absences. It says the family cooperated at the time, but in November the ACS was called again. This time it says, the family allegedly refused to allow case workers into the home. The Child Services commissioner says not getting a warrant was crucial.

JOHN MATTINGLY, CHILDREN'S SERVICES ADMIN: The one thing we're sure of is that was our key opportunity. People made judgments about whether it was an emergency or not and those judgments turned out to be wrong.

SNOW: Now the city is reviewing all open cases of abuse and neglect reports. It's estimated there are as many as 10,000 of them. Child advocates say the review is a good move but have questions.

MARCIA LOWRY, EXEC. DIR., CHILDREN'S RIGHT: One has a concern about how thoroughly that's going to get done of course, but it's also in many reasons, an extraordinary admission. It's a brave thing to be so forthcoming.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that report from CNN's Mary Snow. There were five other children in the home, by the way. All are now in state custody.

It's hard to go to the grocery store or your local health food store without seeing the signs, organically grown, but is organic the best way to go? Doctor Bill Lloyd is standing by to explain the pros or cons of going organic.

But first the competition at this year's Golden Globe Awards. Will it be Huffman or Hoffman? CNN's Sibila Vargas takes us down the red carpet next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Well, Hollywood's glittering award season is getting in gear. The 63rd Annual Golden Globes Awards ceremony takes place in Los Angeles on Monday. And it will be a star-studded affair of course, CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas joins us now from Los Angeles with the scoop on the awards show that may shine the spotlight on some lesser-known Oscar contenders. At least that's their hope, right?

VARGAS: Well in this year's Golden Globe Awards race, the actor and actress in the motion picture drama category is a tight one. "Desperate Housewives'" Felicity Huffman takes on a transgender role in "Transamerica," and Philip Seymour Hoffman takes on the role of one of this country's most mysterious and prolific writers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica."

MARK WAHLBERG, ACTOR: Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote."

VARGAS (voice-over): Felicity Huffman and Philip Seymour Hoffman -- their sound-alike names aren't the only things they share. Both are up for Golden Globes, both for playing outsiders.

In "Transamerica," Huffman is a transsexual who bonds with her son on a crosscountry road trip. "Capote" explores the gay author's encounter with the rural heartland while writing about the infamous in cold blood murders.

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, NOMINEE: Ever since I was a child, folks have thought they had be pegged because of the way I talk. They're always wrong.

VARGAS: Both Hoffman and Huffman say their roles forced them to really raise the level of their game. For Huffman that involved extensive research including interviews with transsexuals.

FELICITY HUFFMAN, NOMINEE: What was it like the first time you dressed as a woman? What's it like when you told your family? What's it like the first time you tried to speak in your female voice? What's the surgery like? How do you feel when you wake up in the morning?

VARGAS: Hoffman's challenge was to go beyond a mere impersonation.

HOFFMAN: I wanted to make sure that this film -- you actually got to meet him, you know what I mean? That it wasn't a mimic, it wasn't aping him or anything like that, that you actually hopefully at the end of this film, you got a really strong sense of what he must have been like.

VARGAS: Award show expert Tom O'Neil feels Huffman is, quote, "a slam dunk shoo-in" to win, and that while he's in a tight race with "Brokeback Mountain's" Heath Ledger, Hoffman has the edge.

TOM O'NEIL, AWARD SHOW ANALYST/LATIMES.COM: They love actors' actors at the Globes. And That's what Hoffman and Huffman both are. Felicity Huffman got her start in the theater. She's only now becoming famous but she's been out there for 20 years. Philip Seymour Hoffman has been a darling of film critics on the indie scene for many years. Just now he's coming into the popular forefront.

VARGAS: On January 16th, perhaps they'll wind up having another thing in common, winning a Golden Globe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS: And Felicity Huffman has two chances to take home the gold at this year's Golden Globe Awards. That's because she's also nominated for her role on "Desperate Housewives" in the TV comedy actress category. But in the motion picture drama race, she's in good company with Maria Bello, Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlize Theron, and Ziyi Zhang.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was truly superb in "Capote" -- his voice and body language, let me just tell you, was fascinating to watch. He's also facing some stiff competition in the motion picture drama category. He's up against Russell Crowe, Terrence Howard, Heath Ledger and David Strathairn. All great actors, all deserving.

We'll see what happens come Monday night and I, of course, will be on the red carpet at Golden Globes all day long bringing you live reports. Back to you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Of course that's where you will be. Well, you know, you have to wonder when you talk about the Huffman and Hoffman, it always seems like the actors that do this real transformation, these unbelievable, you know, turnarounds in their character, they always seem to really take the acting world by notice. So it would seem a lot of actors kind of look for those kinds of opportunities because ...

VARGAS: It does. It pretty much almost kind of guarantees them.

WHITFIELD: ... that's when, you know, they make their mark.

VARGAS: Yes. It guarantees them almost that Golden Globe or that Oscar. You know, but it's true. It absolutely is true. And he was unbelievable. I don't know if you got it see "Capote."

WHITFIELD: I haven't seen "Capote" but I want to see that.

VARGAS: His voice and the way he stood. He kind of leaned the entire time. Never got out of character.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

VARGAS: And also Felicity Huffman was tremendous. You've got to see them both. WHITFIELD: All right, well, I want to see both. I want to see both of them. You convinced me, Sibila. Thanks so much, and of course we'll be watching you all day Monday and Monday night. Thanks.

VARGAS: OK.

WHITFIELD: Well, checking some other stories making news across America, a reputed Chicago mob boss is in federal custody. FBI agents say they arrested Joey "The Clown" Lombardo in an alley in Elmwood Park yesterday. He had been on the lamb since April. Lombardo and 13 others are accused of plotting 18 organized crime murders.

San Francisco police are investigating a grisly discovery. Several people out on a sailboat ride yesterday found a suitcase floating in the San Francisco Bay near the Golden Gate Bridge. It contained human remains. DNA tests are being done to identify the remains.

Former First Lady Nancy Reagan has dedicated a U.S. Air Force plane to her late husband. The C-17 cargo plane was named the "Spirit of Ronald Reagan" at yesterday's ceremony in California. It will help transport supplies to U.S. forces in Iraq and the Middle East.

In our "Living Well" segment today, buying organic -- many people view organic foods as worry-free, foods that are free of pesticides, chemicals and genetic engineering but not all food labels mean the same thing. Just because the product says natural or preservative- free, doesn't make it organic. And are organic foods really healthier?

Dr. Bill Lloyd with the University of California Medical Center has some tips for savvy shoppers. Good to see you.

DR. BILL LLOYD, UNIV. OF CALIF.-DAVIS MED. CTR.: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: I think in the past most people would associate organic as meaning hard to come by, expensive. But now you're starting to see it in a lot more mainstream grocery stores, not just natural food stores. So does organic mean better for us?

LLOYD: Yes, organic usually also meant covered in dirt. It seems to me that the produce in the organic counter always was a little dusty. The actual word, organic, means that the food has been inspected and has met standards that some people say makes the food more healthy.

Now these inspections follow along every pathway, not just the growing and handling, but also the marketing and the retailing of it as well. You want to make sure that organic foods don't get involved in chemical fertilizers or pesticides, no antibiotics or hormones.

And, Fredricka, it's also important to know that there's no genetic interruption in that food. So don't expect to get any organic lamb chops from some those cloned sheeps.

WHITFIELD: Goodness. LLOYD: And we also mentioned about handling of the fruit as well. Here is two apples. Now here is your ordinary apple and here is the organic apple from the same store. This was one was actually kept in a refrigerated display case and actually comes to the market sooner than the ordinary fruit.

WHITFIELD: Yes, because the preservatives will help with the, I guess, the shelf life of a lot of produce.

LLOYD: And some people say that makes them taste better.

WHITFIELD: Now, the government is getting a lot more involved. For a long time it was kind of hands-off. What's different now?

LLOYD: Well, the government's involved because $8 billion of organic commerce cross cash registers every day -- or every year. So there's a chance for fraud and misrepresentation. You want to look for the label that actually says, USDA organic. If it says 100 percent organic, then it is 100 percent organic. If it just says organic, then it means that it's 70 percent or more organic.

WHITFIELD: Really?

LLOYD: And if see the label that says organic ingredients, then it could be up to 70 percent.

WHITFIELD: So you need to have a chart with you because there are a lot of different stickers that are in a lot of produce these days and just because it says the word organic may mean that it's any of those combination of things?

LLOYD: That's right. And the combination, those parts that are organic have to follow all of the rules, and no commingling with nonorganic foods.

Now, Fredricka, people who like organic foods say there's very specific advantages, that the fruits were prepared in a safer environment, that the soil was safer, that there were fewer toxins, as we said, fertilizers and pesticides.

And as we've already claimed, the food actually may be fresher by the time it gets to the table and therefore, better tasting, but there's no scientific proof that says that organic foods specifically are any more nutritious.

WHITFIELD: Food for thought. Thanks so much. Dr. Bill Lloyd.

LLOYD: We'll talk again soon.

WHITFIELD: All right.

Well, to think or to blink? That the question. Still ahead, the author of "Think" and why he says crucial decisions can't be made in the blink of an eye. We'll explain all that.

And then, a sea lion or is it a seal with an environmentally friendly disposition? From the CNN Center in Atlanta, you're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

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WHITFIELD: Well in ten minutes of course news continues here on CNN. Carol Lin will be pick up the baton here.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, lots of news of course that you've been covering this afternoon. We've got an update on several things.

But a really interesting story out of California. A school there, and a small town north of Los Angeles, is teaching a class on intelligent design. The possibility that there is a God that created the world and created mankind, that nature is too complicated for it just to be evolution to explain the creation of man. So, there are some parents who are suing.

WHITFIELD: I was going to say, it also speaks controversy.

LIN: It's a nationwide issue, actually. But the school board passed it and they may have to reconsider now but it's a voluntary class. So you don't have to have your kid sign up for it but the parents are saying just the existence of it in public school is what bothers them.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. We'll be listening and watching?

Thanks, Carol.

Well, an award winning writer and social critic says America needs to put on its thinking cap. The name of his book -- "Think." Michael Legault believes the country is admired into intellectual softness, too much emotion, too much instinct, not enough hard-nosed thought. He's with us now from Toronto. Good to see you.

MICHAEL LEGAULT, "THINK": Nice to be here.

All right, well, last year, the book "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell caught people's eye because it was talking about split decision-making and intuition. And then, just by looking at the book covers, "Think," and "Blink," you think that this has to be a direct response to "Blink."

You're taking the complete antithesis approach of the way of thinking. Is this an exact response, a specific retort?

LEGAULT: Yes, it is a start. I take as my starting point that the dispute, or that I disagree with, Malcolm Gladwell's claim that the best way it make decisions is very rapidly by intuition and instinct.

When I look out at society and culture and I see things such as, declining educational performance, demise of the American automobile industry, botched decision-making before and during after Hurricane Katrina, I think there are a whole bunch of people out there that are already practicing the power of thinking without thinking. We don't need more of it. We need to get back it our roots which is, critical thinking based on logic, evidence, and reasoning in order to ensure our continued standard of living and freedom.

WHITFIELD: Are you encouraged that people want to go back to the roots, as you say, in critical thinking especially when people want to hurry up and get results? So that quick response thinking really did resonate with a lot of people because they thought that is what my lifestyle is all about. I don't have time to think things over. I need to go with my gut, go with my instinct and hurry up and make a decision.

LEGAULT: I actually acknowledge in my book that intuition is part of our mental process. We use it. But the problem that I have is that Gladwell goes well beyond that and claims that intuition and instinctive snap judgments are a power unto themselves.

I think we need to make the distinction between using intuition to guide us in sort of our daily lives, and as a sort of all-powerful tool that we can use to solve complex problems.

The entire history of progress, human progress, is the progress -- is the history of overturning our intuitive snapped judgments. For thousands of years, people thought the world was flat. Ten years ago, the medical profession believed that ulcers were caused, intuitively, by stress and in fact they are caused by a bacterial infection. I believe that's wrong and dangerous to think that way.

WHITFIELD: Well, Michael Legault, the book "Think." You got us thinking and talking?

Thank you very much.

LEGAULT: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: In noteworthy animal adventures, we're not sure if we're dealing with a seal or a sea lion here. What do you think? But we can tell you it is perched atop a Toyota Prius in this Seattle parking lot. We figured that means thumb's up or at least fin's up for this environmentally friendly hybrid. The car that is.

After a bit of coaxing, this pinniped rolled back into Elliott Bay, leaving behind some great pictures and we've got to be honest, a bit of a dent in the car. Can't wait to see the insurance agent's face when this claim comes in.

So much more ahead on CNN. Carol Lin coming up next with more of CNN LIVE SATURDAY right after this.

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