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CNN Live Saturday

Search for Kentucky fugitive Byron Perkins may have new lead in Mexico; Pentagon orders Army CID to reopen investigation into NFL's Pat Tillman's death in Iraq; An unprecedented wave of deaths leads to unprecedented reactions among California CHP officers; A new book discusses whether race and class were a factor in the belated rescue efforts for thousands of Katrina victims

Aired March 04, 2006 - 18:00   ET

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

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: ... criminal investigation. Tillman was an Army Ranger and former NFL standout, killed almost two years ago in Afghanistan.
An initial probe settled on friendly fire. The Pentagon's been ordered to look into possible negligent homicide.

Byron Perkins may be in Mexico. That's what U.S. Marshals tell CNN. Perkins is the convicted felon missing since late January after a judge released him temporarily for medical tests. Witnesses report a man fitting Perkins' description in Puerta Vallarta.

Winging their way homeward this hour, President Bush and first lady. They are coming off a four-day tour of south Asia. That included an no-announced stop in Afghanistan. They're due back in the nation's capital at about 9:00 Eastern Time.

And a dreadful scene in Charlotte, North Carolina. Police say a man there shot his two children dead. And then set their apartment on fire. Responders found the bodies of the 7-year-old girl and her 5-year-old brother after putting out the fire. The father is in police custody.

And how about a break from the wet weather in Hawaii? Take a look at that. Flooded homes and landslides and nearly a foot of rain on Oahu in the past two days. The governor is preparing the National Guard to activate and provide disaster relief.

We'll have a live forecast in a moment to see whether more heavy rain is on the way.

To our top story now, the death of Pat Tillman under scrutiny once again. This time though, it is a criminal investigation.

Tillman, you might recall, is the former Arizona Cardinals' safety who joined the military after the terror attacks of September 11th. He became an Army Ranger.

Tillman was in the prime of his football career and walked away from a multi million-dollar NFL deal in order to serve. Well, he was killed in April 2004, in Afghanistan. An investigation concluded he had been mistakenly shot by American forces.

Now, on the line, from the Pentagon, CNN's Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

LIN: Barbara, what does this new investigation mean?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, details are still unfolding, but it was yesterday that the Tillman family was notified by the Pentagon that a criminal probe would be opened.

What has happened is the Department of Defense's inspector general had been looking into all of the previous investigations into Pat Tillman's death. Those investigations had concluded that it was fratricide, friendly fire, if you will, the mistaken shooting of a soldier by another soldier in battle.

But what the inspector general found was that the Army never went through the process of conducting a criminal probe. So now, they are ordering the Army's Criminal Investigative Division, the CID, to open a criminal probe and to review the death, review the circumstance using criminal investigatory (ph) rules and procedures under the criminal portions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

That does not mean that they will find someone criminally responsible for the death of Pat Tillman. But what it does mean is that, after all this time, after three major investigations, that the higher levels of the Pentagon found the Army still did not conduct a full proper investigation, that a criminal probe should have been conducted to see if there was the potential that someone should be held responsible for something such as negligent homicide.

What officials are telling us this afternoon is that no one can come to any conclusions yet. This does not mean that anyone will be held responsible. But what it does mean is so many months after his death, still the matter is not fully resolved, and that this criminal probe will take place.

I would add finally, as we have discussed, you and I earlier today, what military commanders say is to please remind everyone what we already know, of course, Pat Tillman was a famous American, a famous football player, but, of course, so many families still mourning their dead that they have lost in the war. People of course who were not famous, who were unknown to the rest of us.

A lot of attention to this case. But an awful lot of families always mourning their loved ones.

LIN: Oh, absolutely. Barbara, very good point. Thank you very much.

(END AUDIO FEED)

LIN: We have much more on this story. I'm going to be speaking with an investigative officer, someone who actually worked in the system when this kind of probe was conducted to see what they're looking for and what it might mean.

In the meantime, the search is on for a Kentucky fugitive, who duped police and lied to his own family. Byron Perkins convinced authorities that he would donate a kidney to his ailing son. So he was released from prison for those medical tests, and then he disappeared.

Now two tourists say they may have spotted Perkins in Mexico.

CNN's Susan Candiotti updates this case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From an ailing son, to his fugitive father.

DESTIN PERKINS: I just want him to come back.

CANDIOTTI: Destin Perkins, whose career criminal dad ditched him instead of donating a life saving kidney might have some new hope.

CANDIOTTI: What did he say they were doing down there in Puerto Vallarta?

PERKINS: A tip from a Washington state couple vacationing in Mexico, is convinced they spent time with Byron Perkins and his fugitive girlfriend Lee Ann Howard. The man and woman used the name Perkins.

CHUCK GILBERT, DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL: They say he's 100 percent positive that's who it was.

CANDIOTTI: A deputy sheriff in Washington calls investigators leading the manhunt in Kentucky. Tourists called the cops after seeing Destin's story on CNN last night.

DAWN IZGARJAN, DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL: The couple who called in had landed at the Phoenix Airport, CNN -- the segment was on CNN, and they just thought, "Man, this is who we were vacationing with."

CANDIOTTI: According to the tipsters, the man and woman said they were vacationing in a small fishing village near Puerto Vallarta earlier this week. The couple's physical description appears a match.

GILBERT: They described a tattoo on the gentleman's chest. It is identified with, on Perkins, as being an identifying mark.

CANDIOTTI: The same caller said the man went by Eric. The woman used insulin and Perkins' girlfriend is a diabetic.

IZGARJAN: He told them he was in a Harley accident waiting for some money to come in and money was going to be, I guess, wired. He really didn't say how he was going to get the money, but he kept going into town to see if the money was in. CANDIOTTI: Perkins and his girlfriend talked about getting money. In recorded jailhouse phone calls before Perkins was released for a court ordered kidney donor test and never came back. The calls were obtained by CNN.

LEE ANN HOWARD: Do you want me to get my mom to write me a $100 check?

PERKINS: If you want to.

HOWARD: Do you think you can get it cashed?

PERKINS: Some way.

CANDIOTTI: Perkins, with a string of convictions for bank robbery, drugs and guns, even left behind a letter promising he would quote, "Come through for his son, Destin."

ANGELA HAMMOND, DESTIN'S MOTHER: No, he ran. That doesn't say much about his feelings for Destin.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Perkins' deal for a temporary freedom that backfired so badly raises troubling questions. Why did authorities, the judge, prosecutors, U.S. Marshals, public defender allow Perkins to leave jail trusting his word that he would return, and a $10,000 unsecured bond? That mean he is didn't have to put up any money for it.

Remember, one month later, Perkins faced a minimum 25-year prince sentence on a gun and drug conviction. Those in charge now say "some policies will be reviewed."

(voice over): U.S. Marshal Service policy states, "Taxpayers won't pay for elective or preventive medical interventions and procedures unless ordered by the court."

As CNN reported Wednesday, authorities said Perkins successfully duped them, literally in tears, that he would be true to his word.

Doctors told the court an ankle bracelet would have interfered with medical tests.

Bottom line, those in charge told CNN a good faith humanitarian decision was compromised.

RONALD MCCUBBIN, U.S. MARSHAL: It's starting a new "what will happen tomorrow." Certainly it's not going to be a repeat of what happened yesterday, so to speak. So changes obviously are going to have to be made.

CANDIOTTI: For now, the authority's focus is on finding a fuvenive dad. And to making him keep his promise to donate what may be the key to saving his son's life.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Louisville, Kentucky. (END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Joining me now from Louisville to talk more about this, Deputy U.S. Marshall Dawn Izgarjan, is a lead investigator on this case.

Can you tell us whether you know where Byron Perkins is right now?

IZGARJAN: At this time, we do not know where he is. We still believe that he is in Mexico based on the information we received a couple of days ago.

LIN: When you received that information a couple of days ago, how much work could you do within that 48 hours before this was plastered all over the media?

IZGARJAN: I typed up the report. I immediately contacted our Mexican liaison office there where we have U.S. Marshals. And they were able to get the information from me. They made copies of the photographs and forwarded the information to that region.

LIN: Did anybody go to the resort?

IZGARJAN: I do not know if they had gone to the resort yet. I believe that they have, but no one has contacted us to let us know what the results are.

LIN: Boy, and that's the tough thing then, you don't really control the investigation in Mexico, that you can't tell them, "Quick, get to the resort, they might still be there or they might check out?"

IZGARJAN: Exactly. I'm pretty confident that they are not in Boca because of what the couple said. They said that they had left on that Tuesday. So I do not think they're there. I still believe they are in Mexico.

IZGARJAN: All right. But how far, how deeply underground can they go? I mean, there was some discussion that the girlfriend was waiting for money to come. Do you know who that money was coming from and, if they get that money, how far they can go?

IZGARJAN: We do not know who is helping them. We don't know where they're getting the money. Right now, we're just waiting, waiting to see what they find out in Mexico.

LIN: So, are they considered armed and dangerous?

IZGARJAN: We consider them arm and dangerous based on their criminal history. Both have past criminal histories.

At this time, I don't know if they have any weapons. However, I would like to say that we have information that Byron has made comments that this will not go smoothly and he wants to go out in a blaze of glory. So I just want people to know not to approach them if they see them.

LIN: Right.

IZGARJAN: That they need to just -- they just need to contact the local authorities.

LIN: All right, Dawn. Thank you very much. Obviously, complicated by the fact that, if goes down in a blaze of glory, his son may need his kidney. I don't know how that complicates the investigation, but let's hope you find them soon.

Thank you.

IZGARJAN: Thank you so much.

LIN: Now, remember, you can learn much more about this story on- line. Just log into our website at any time at cnn.com.

All right, right now, we have got the latest also on the reinvestigation of Pat Tillman's death. He is the former NFL player who joined the Army Rangers after 9/1.

The family was initially told that he was killed by enemy fire, but it turned out that he was killed by friendly fire. Subsequent investigations indicated that, but now the inspector general at the Defense Department is opening a criminal probe.

So with me on the telephone is Scott Sillman. He is a former Air Force attorney. He is with the Duke University Law School.

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

LIN: Scott, first, are procedures different for this kind of probe in the Air Force versus the Army?

SCOTT SILLMAN, FORMER AIR FORCE ATTORNEY: No, they're going to be exactly the same, Carol. And what's happening now is that the Criminal Investigation Division for the Army is opening up a criminal probe, which really so have been done some time ago.

There's no indication, whatsoever, that anyone will be charged at this point, but possible offense could be destruction of evidence or past possibly even negligent homicide. We'll have to wait to see what that probe reveals.

LIN: What are you looking for in this investigation? Because the family wants to know, were they lied to, was there a cover-up? Was there intent by the Army or the Bush administration to exploit Pat Tillman as an American hero?

SILLMAN: Well, that should all come out in this probe, Carol. There's no question that the Army's Criminal Investigation Division will basically go over every bit of evidence that they can possibly find. They'll go back and reconstruct exactly what happened. One of the things that they're going to be looking at is why were Tillman's body armor and uniform destroyed before they could be preserved? All those things need to be looked at. A full investigation will be done. Then the lawyers will get involved to decide if there's evidence of any kind of criminal conduct.

LIN: Would you expect there would be charges filed in this case?

SILLMAN: Well, again, it's too early to tell, Carol. But the very fact that the Army is opening a criminal probe suggests that at least the inspect general and, perhaps, others in the hierarchy of the Army think there may be some evidence of criminal conduct. We're just going to have to wait and see.

LIN: But, Scott, already, many of the players on ground, some of the Rangers who were actually there, who even fired upon Tillman, have talked to reporters, have said, "Well, we burned his uniform because it was so bloodied and there were circumstances -- we couldn't take it with us. It wasn't about destroying evidence."

One of the Rangers had told the "Washington post" that he knew, as soon as he opened fire, that he had hit Tillman and that, if he could do things differently that day, he would.

SILLMAN: Well, again, these are statements made to reporters. What the Army is going to have to do, Carol, is go in, interview each one of these individuals under oath, advise him of his rights, do the criminal probe properly the way it should have been done. Then, and only then, can decisions be made as far as whether any of these people should be charged?

LIN: Yes. And the difficulty is, I think, it was 2004. So much time has passed. So much has been in the media. You know, no lawyer would want to try this kind of a case after its been heard by the public.

SILLMAN: Well, you're exactly correct, Carol. But, again, it's got to be done. I'm sure that Pat Tillman's family will not settle for anything less than a full investigation. Nor should we as American people be satisfied with anything less than a full investigation about what happened at that particular transaction.

LIN: Scott Sillman. Scott Sillman, thank you very much. That's no less than what Pat Tillman's family wants, too.

Thank you.

(END AUDIO FEED)

LIN: Well, for police officers even a simple traffic stop can be deadly, especially, it seems, on California highways. You're going to find out.

Also, were race and class a factor in the belated rescue efforts for thousands of Katrina victims? There's a new book that explores that, by a well-respected player.

And you may think your teenage kids don't lie to you. But can you really be sure? Well, I'm going to talk with a former CIA agent who knows how to detect the truth.

You're watching "CNN SATURDAY."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Other news across America. The chief of the U.S. capitol police force has resigned. Terence Gainer says he was unaware he broke a 19 67 nepotism law when his son in law was hired as a police officer. D.C's police chief says the resignation is a blow to the entire region.

Now police in metro Atlanta have issued arrest warrants for two men in the shooting of a renowned primate researcher. Shelly Williams was paralyzed in November after being shot in the back at a strip mall in Smyrna, Georgia. Police believe shots were fired during an argument in a truck over a drug deal.

And the Navy says it will ground all its aircraft for a half day next week for an internal safety review. The move comes after a series of Navy aircraft crashes, including one over Oregon on Friday. Ten Naval aviators have been killed in crashes since last October.

Now the threats to police and highway patrol officers seem to come from all directions. Even routine traffic stops can turn deadly. In recent months, six California highway patrolmen have been killed on the job. CNN's Kyung Lah reports that their deaths have shaken the CHP to its core.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONNA MARTINEZ, OFFICER, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL: One, twelve, nine, one, 10-8 and good afternoon.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Never has Donna Martinez felt, so intensely, the risks of her job with the California Highway Patrol.

MARTINEZ: Do you have a driver's license, registration, proof of insurance.

When you go to work every single day, you've got to be able to be ready no matter what.

LAH: Most CHP officers who die on the job are killed by other drivers during retune traffic stops. Which means every time they pull over a driver, they're putting their lives at risk.

MARTINEZ: Every time, you've got to make sure that you're looking at traffic on all sides. You think about your own family, of course. You think about other ways that you possibly might change doing something because of whatever incident may have happened.

LAH: The incidents have come too quick, too often, lately. In just five months, six CHP officers killed, one from Officer Martinez' own division.

Andrew Stevens, gunned down as he pulled over a car on a rural road. Officer David Romero, his motorcycle struck from behind during a traffic stop in Los Angeles. Eric Manny, killed during a pursuit. Lieutenant Michael Walker, struck by an out of control car as he set flares on a highway. Earl Scott, shot and killed during a traffic stop. And Gregory Bailey, the Army National Guard vet returned home from Iraq to be killed by a drunk driver.

An unprecedented wave of deaths leading to often unprecedented reaction among officers.

MIKE BROWN, COMMISSIONER, CHP: Because I don't want to go to another cop funeral. Because I don't want to look into the eyes of a family member or a member of the CHP family in sadness. I think we need to take a step back, a deep breathe and take a look.

LAH: The patrol's commissioner went beyond lowering flags, he ordered every officer into grieving sessions with the 108 commanders in the state reviewing safety and talking about their feelings.

BROWN: Just because you're a tough guy or gal doesn't necessarily mean that you're not, you know, affected by something. Underneath that badge, underneath that uniform, there's a human being, a very special human being that's there to protect all of us.

LAH: It's a badge that's feeling the weight of the black band, marking an officer's death.

MARTINEZ: Watch traffic. Build your speed up here on the shoulder. We have our feelings and we are emotional at times. If you don't have your mind together, then you're not going to be focused on making sure that you're doing things properly.

LAH: Properly, so the people who guard the road will drive home in one piece.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Sacramento, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Black and poor, were those the reasons not to rescue people after hurricane Katrina? I'm going to talk with someone who claims this is true. And he wrote a book about it.

And it don't mean a thing if you ain't got that bling on Oscar night. We're going to be live from the red carpet with a preview of what some of your favorite stars are going to be wearing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Katrina's floodwaters receded a long time ago. But the controversy still swirls about the government's response to the disaster.

Michael Eric Dyson is among those who say race and class were big factors in the slow response. He's written a book "Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the color of disaster."

He joins me now from Philadelphia.

Good to have you, Michael.

MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, AUTHOR: Always good to see you, Carol.

LIN: Who is your audience for this book, do you think?

DYSON: Well, people who are interested in the disaster, first of all, those were who were victims of it, those who have family members that were a victim of it. But more especially, a broader reading audience that is concerned about how our government has failed to come to the task of rescuing those who were most vulnerable, and exercising our citizenship right to demand that that government do so.

So those people who are interested in those, and who are just interested as citizens in the plight of those who are more vulnerable.

LIN: You know, because you say that you wrote this book so that people would not forget the poor of Katrina.

DYSON: Absolutely.

LIN: CNN has just come off of a huge sort of retrospective around the Mardi Gras celebration, of what is happening, what is being done and what's not being done. Why is it that you feel that the poor are being forgotten?

DYSON: Well, the reality is that it's an episodic character of the American consciousness to be concerned about the poor and move on to the next thing. It's the miners in Sago and then it's the next thing. It's the poor in Katrina that's the next thing.

So I think it's necessary for us to constantly get engaged with trying to tell the truth about a segment of society that doesn't receive as much ink in the positive aspect, as it does the negative aspect.

And plus, we do live in the United States of amnesia. And so people are tending to forget things as they pass along anyway.

I wanted to make sure that they were at least reminded of and riveted by the plight and predicament of these people who were vulnerable.

LIN: Because I think, when you go in, you're going to be hearing stories that we, the big media, are not always going to hear or maybe even pay as close attention to. What struck you about your conversations with those people? What did they tell you?

DYSON: Yes, that's a great point. One of the things that comes out is their utter humanity. Many people don't get a sense to comprehend how amazingly talented, gifted and resilient these people are, number one.

Number two, many of them were outraged that the government that they had given tax money to, that they had paid money into the coffers of American citizenship and democracy, failed them acutely when they were in need.

And thirdly, I think what's remarkable here, is that their claim of citizenship is one that says look, "We have served our country, loved our country, sacrificed for our country, we are hard working people who are being stigmatized in the broader society as somehow lazy or disinclined to work, and that's just not true. And I found those things out.

LIN: So Michael, why wouldn't somebody watching right now think, well, this is just another rant about the lack of response for Katrina?

DYSON: Well, my book is an analysis, not a rant. My book is an extended investigation...

LIN: I just wanted to be clear about that.

DYSON: Right, right.

LIN: Because you really went in and you investigated. And you took a look at the facts on the ground.

DYSON: Yes. Absolutely. And that's what I'm trying to do here. My book, long before the government accountability office or White House itself issued its own self-serving report, or other governmental agencies, Congress and the like, looked at this issue.

I spent, you know, 18 hours a day for three months digging into the archives. You know, my book has over 500 footnotes. I tried to make an analysis of what was going on calmly and dispassionately. And distribute the responsibility broadly, not only the federal government but the local state government and especially, the city government bears some responsibility for what occurred as well.

LIN: Michael, you know what? It's a work of passion. And I know this means a lot to you. So I appreciate your time.

DYSON: No doubt. Thank you for having me.

LIN: Michael Eric Dyson, "Come Hell or High Water."

Now, you can always tell if your teenage son or daughter is lying to you, right? Maybe you're not so sure. Maybe you shouldn't be. Advice is on the way from a CIA officer.

And we are going to take to you Iraq to see how children in violence-drenched Baghdad cope with bombs and explosions and bullets. And among the most popular stories this hour on cnn.com, rumor has it that Kate Moss returns to the catwalk in Paris for the first time after her drug scandal broke.

And Starbucks gets serious about breakfast. To fight back attempts from companies, like Dunkin Donuts, to break into the lucrative market of high-end coffee.

And also gay cowboys party in Sydney. Half naked, parading through the city in the Down under.

Click onto cnn.com for, maybe, pictures and details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: This just in to CNN, there is a new tape by al Qaeda's deputy leader, Ayman al Zawahiri, who spoke out against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published in the West. In a newly broadcast video on the Arabic news network al Jazeera Television, Zawahiri also condemned the latest images of torture at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. He also complimented the Islamic militant group Hamas on its Palestinian election victory. Now there's no way to know exactly when the videotape of al Zawahiri was made, but clearly it is current.

Also happening right now in the news, the Army will be -- will be starting a criminal investigation into the death of former NFL player Pat Tillman in Afghanistan. Now Tillman was killed in what was described as friendly fire back in 2004. The Pentagon's inspector general ordered a new investigation to determine whether the death was the result of negligent homicide.

Also, authorities believe they have a lead in the search for Byron Perkins, a fugitive who promised to donate a kidney to his ailing son. Perkins disappeared a month ago after duping Kentucky prison officials into releasing him for medical tests. A Washington state woman says she saw Perkins and his girlfriend in Mexico.

President Bush is on his way back to Washington after ending his first visit to Pakistan. Following talks with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Mr. Bush reaffirmed what he called a lasting strategic partnership between Washington and Islamabad.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns says that the United States is getting ready for a likely outbreak of avian flu. He warned we could see bird flu in domestic flocks as well as wild birds. But Johanns assures consumers that U.S. poultry will remain safe to eat.

And the Pentagon has released the names and nationalities of some of the detainees being held at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A lawsuit filed under the Freedom of Information Act forced the disclosure of those names. Some of those detainees have been held for four years.

Time now for a reality check about communicating with your teenaged children. How do you know when they're telling you the truth? To find out, we have turned an expert in communication and lying.

Barry McManus is a former CIA agent and an expert in deception detection. We thought, who better at CNN would know.

So your teenager looks at you in the eye and want to know what, are you having sex? Are you having drugs? How does that conversation go down? And how do you know that your teen is lying?

BARRY MCMANUS, DECEPTION DETECTION EXPERT: First off, Carol Lin, I think you have to understand you have to establish a baseline of communication. I'm hoping that over the period of time you have this teenager, you know what good behavior is and bad behavior.

You have to establish a baseline somewhere. If not you're going to be misled. You establish this baseline for those 15 or 16 years that you've spent with your teenager. You understand what good behavior is and bad behavior is. You understand what verbal and nonverbal and physiological responses are in your teenager, so when you ask those questions and you notice abnormalities, you'll notice the difference.

LIN: Give me an example.

MCMANUS: Let me give you an example of nondeceptive behaviors in the sense that.

LIN: He's telling the truth.

MCMANUS: Right. Generally a kid will be spontaneous, give you yes or no answers, no hesitation, looks you straight in an eye in a sense. But let's look at some nondeceptive clues or indicators that your child may have. Those nondeceptive behaviors that are nonverbal that a child will give to you. He fidgets in the chair. He's uncomfortable looking at you, he turns away. These are things that he's going to do non-verbally.

Also let's think of verbal things that a child would say.

LIN: They're just going to deny. Charlie, are you using drugs? No, Mom, come on.

MCMANUS: But look at those behaviors. Carol Lin, think of all those things that you know about your child. That contact you've had with him for all those years. All of a sudden, things aren't normal. His verbal disclosures aren't normal. His nonverbal behaviors aren't normal.

So you're going it see all those things and look for combinations of behaviors. Combinations of things your child does that are different from things before. But also there are a number of other things you have to think about, too. Because beyond knowing what is truthful and what's not, what do you do even when you think something is not correct, when you think your child is doing something.

LIN: Right. So there's that confrontation.

MCMANUS: What do you do then? I'll give you some suggestions.

LIN: Most parents threaten. If you don't tell me the truth. I know that this is what you're doing.

MCMANUS: I say that's not the thing to do. I say stay involved with your teenagers throughout. What I mean by stay involved, get to know what is on their mind. Get to know who their friends are. Get to know what books they're reading. Get to know what music they're listening to.

LIN: So you're saying if you know all that in the same way that say a CIA operative is scoping out bin Laden's habits and hideouts and friends and family and if you have all that information about your teenager, you're going to know what's amiss.

MCMANUS: What I'm saying is information is power. We do know that. The more I know about you, the more facts I'm going to have when I do elicit information from you.

Beyond being involved, you have to think about your own behavior that you give off. Things you may not have taken into consideration. Things that when you talk to a person, of course, your own communication is both verbal and nonverbal.

LIN: What if your teenager is a really good liar. Looks you right in the eye, no, I'm not taking drugs.

MCMANUS: The key is not just about being a good liar. Things still ooze out. Things still will leak out based on behavior. No one necessarily can hold all that in. Because we're dealing with emotions, also understand with the idea of privacy which also plays an important part, a teenager sometimes will want to share information with you. But they feel there's no confidentiality there.

They feel that if I tell Mom or Dad something, Mom or Dad is going to run and tell somebody else. So you have to consider privacy is very important for that confidentiality.

LIN: Give them a safe place.

MCMANUS: Give them a safe place to come. Also what about active listening? Have you ever thought that maybe you're not really sure that you're doing all the talking instead of doing all the listening. What about being an active listener? Where it's not necessarily what the teenager is saying, but how they're saying it. These are some examples of things you have to keep in mind.

LIN: Well, you have a grown son. It's it's going to be a while before my kid is a teenager, but I'm going keep this all in mind.

MCMANUS: Thank you very much.

LIN: We're going to take you inside the war zone through the eyes of young children. Just ahead, we're going to go on the front lines with a very different perspective of war in Iraq.

As the saying go, diamonds are forever. Especially on the Hollywood red carpet, right, Brooke?

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm here at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, where tomorrow the stars will be lighting up the red carpet with some mega watt bling like these $200,000 20 karat earrings I'm unfortunately just borrowing right now and these bracelets. Stay tuned, the jewelry of the Oscars coming right up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Time now to check the stories making news around the world. A series of deadly attacks has hit Iraq. For more on that, Shannon Cook. Shannon?

SHANNON COOK, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Carol. One of today's attacks in Iraq occurred in a busy marketplace in a Baghdad suburb. A mortar round killed seven people and wounded 15. In the southeast, two people were killed when a car bomb exploded near a police patrol. And in Baquba, a bomb killed a girl and wounded eight people.

To Britain now, where Prime Minister Tony Blair says it's up to God and history to decide if it was right to invade Iraq. Blair made the remarks in a television interview when asked if he'd struggled with the decision. About 100 British troops have died in Iraq since the war began.

And in a remote region on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, clashes have killed about 100 people. We're told fighting broke out between local villagers and Pakistani security forces. The area is considered a hideout for al Quaeda and Taliban militants. The clashes come the same day President Bush visited Pakistan.

In Germany, you probably heard of speed skating. How about speed stacking? At this competition in the town of Butzbach (ph) near Frankfurt, the objective is to be the fastest to stack and unstack 12 plastic cups. One of the winners, a 12 year old girl named Miriam Crize (ph) who got the job done in just 2.63 seconds. Carol apparently this activity helps children to develop skills that they can apply to other sports, skills like speed, of course, and hand and eye coordination.

LIN: OK, well, you know, good for the girls, they're fast and smart, too. Thanks, Shannon.

Every week, we like to bring you the more personal stories from the front lines. So today we are going to bring you the story of the children of Baghdad and what it means to grow up in a war zone.

CNN's Arwa Damon has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): These school boys don't even flinch at the sound of gunfire. Six-year-old Houda walks to school with her brother and sitter. Her tattered backpack almost as big as she is. "I'm scared to go out," Houda says, but she has to overcome her fear every day.

Miss Rahama (ph) is trying to get her kids to concentrate on math class. Houda is paying more attention to her coloring book than what's on the chalk board. She doesn't care much for math. She wants to be a gym teacher. Barbie sneakers, Barbie pencil case, and her mom promised her more.

"I am happy," Houda says, "because my mom said she would buy me toys and things and new clothes. But I said, 'Daddy, I don't want,' because daddy needs to make money."

Like many students here, her parents don't talk to her about the country's violence. They just say don't go out.

As Houda's classmates compete to answer Miss Rahama's (ph) questions, Mohammed (ph) in the back is not being called on. But it's not his favorite subject, anyway. That would be religion. Ask him if he's ever scared and the answer's a defiant "No."

At recess, our camera gets the attention, though Mohammed (ph) just wants to eat his apple.

(on camera): Violence, sectarian divide, insurgent attacks are not topics of conversation here. Professors say that the kids go through so much trauma outside of school that they want this to be an environment where the kids can just have fun, focus on their studies and just be kids.

(voice over): The fourth grade divas, Hanan (ph) and her gang, rule the playground. She likes showing off her sense of fashion. But then it's to religion class, and the vivacious girls are subdued.

The scarves that were draped on their shoulders now cover their hair. The parents of Hanan (ph), the wannabe engineer, tell her not to be afraid. She'll do her chores when she gets home and then play, but not outside.

"I don't go in the streets," she says. "I just go to my friend's house."

These kids may seem like any others, but teachers say the effects of the war can be found just below the surface.

"I am scared of the explosions," Houda says. "Now at night..." -- but she's lost her thought before she's able to finish.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Rolling out the red carpet for the biggest night in Hollywood.

ANDERSON: I'm Brooke Anderson at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and I am draped in about oh, a million dollars worth of diamonds. You can expect that celebrities will be donning SOME magnificent jewels for the Oscars tomorrow. Coming up, Carol, we take a closer look at that very important Oscar accessory, diamonds.

LIN: Looking good.

First, here's what's coming up on CNN's "ON THE STORY."

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: We are "ON THE STORY." Elaine Quijano was on the story with President Bush traveling to India and Pakistan. Jamie McIntyre talks about his tour of Afghanistan and Sibila Vargas is getting ready for the Academy Awards. All "ON THE STORY" coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Oscar's big night may be tomorrow but there's plenty of excitement outside the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles right now. CNN Entertainment Correspondent Brooke Anderson joins us from the red carpet in diamonds, no less.

ANDERSON: That's right. I am draped in what is it about $1 million. I feel like a million bucks, and I'm joined by Greg Kwiat from Kwiat Diamonds. We are her to talk Oscar jewelry. What kind of jewelry trends are we going to see on the red carpet?

GREG KWIAT, KWIAT DIAMONDS: I think Oscar's going to be very exciting this year. The theme is everyone is looking back to look forward. Looking back to Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn.

ANDERSON: Throw back to old Hollywood glamour.

KWIAT: A piece like this, for example, very classic Hollywood. Very exciting, very Edwardian, it's a 20 carats of diamonds and platinum surrounding a 20 carat amethyst.

ANDERSON: How much would something like that cost?

KWIAT: This is a $200,000 piece.

ANDERSON: And this brooch is absolutely lovely. You can wear that on a dress or in your hair. I've seen some celebrities wear jewels in their hair as well.

KWIAT: That's a big trend we're going to see at Oscar time is diamonds in the hair. It's all about the balance though. If you want to wear a brooch in the hair, you want to keep it simple with a classic pair of stud earrings.

ANDERSON: You don't want to be over accessorize.

KWIAT: That's absolutely right.

ANDERSON: How do you decide who wears what? Because these jewels are so valuable, it's got to be a big name, right? KWIAT: We work with our friends in Hollywood all year round to develop the perfect red carpet look. So when they pick the dress, we discussing the right jewelry options. We're picking things that have the right look for the dress. If it's an open cut dress maybe we'll do a long choker, if it's a high cut dress, we'll do the right pair of earrings, matching hair styles. It's all about balance.

ANDERSON: So you work with the entire look. Do you send them out with your security detail trailing them down the carpet?

KWIAT: It's certainly a crowded place because there are security guards trailing the jewels on Oscar night.

ANDERSON: Also, these earrings that you've let me borrow, they're dangles, so are the chandelier earrings not really in anymore?

KWIAT: We're seeing less of the big overpowering chandeliers. More delicate, straight line drops.

ANDERSON: These are beautiful.

KWIAT: Perhaps these earrings, things like that.

ANDERSON: Thank you for letting me borrow them for a very brief time. Thank you for being here and sharing with us Oscar jewelry. Carol, back to you.

LIN: Such gorgeous pieces. Thanks Brooke.

CNN's Oscar coverage begins tomorrow at 5:30 eastern. So please catch a special edition actually of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" on Headline News and then right here at 6:00 eastern, it is "Hollywood's Gold Rush." We're going to tell you everything you need to know for Oscar's big night.

In the meantime, lots more ahead on CNN tonight. Up next, at 7:00 eastern "ON THE STORY." Then at 8:00, "CNN PRESENTS." Tonight, "Saving my Town: The Fight for Bay St. Louis." At 9:00, Larry King. Larry's guest tonight is Oscar host John Stewart. I'll be back at 10:00 eastern tonight.

We are going to go behind the scenes with Oscar host Jon Stewart.

A check of the hour's headlines next and then "ON THE STORY."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: "ON THE STORY" is coming up in just a moment, but right now, this is what's happening in the news. Just moments ago a new videotape of al Qaeda's deputy leader surfaced. Ayman al Zawahiri was seen in the video on the Arabic network al Jazeera and in it he calls on Hamas not to accept any compromises with Israel. There is no way to know when the tape was made.

Now Pat Tillman's death is now a criminal investigation. The Army Ranger and former NFL standout was killed almost two years ago in Afghanistan. An initial probe blamed friendly fire. The Pentagon has been ordered to look into possible negligent homicide.

Fugitive Byron Perkins may be in Mexico. That is what U.S. marshals tell us. Perkins is a convicted felon missing since late January. A judge released him temporarily for medical tests to see if he could donate a kidney to his son

President Bush is on his way back to Washington after ending his first visit to Pakistan. Following talks with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Mr. Bush reaffirmed what he called a lasting strategic partnership between Washington and Islamabad.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns says that the United States is getting ready for a likely outbreak of avian flu. He warned we could see bird flu in domestic flocks as well as wild birds, but he assured consumers that U.S. poultry will remain safe to eat.

Coming up next, "ON THE STORY" will look at that controversial ports management deal. The question on the table is should an Arab country take control of some American ports? That's coming up at 7:00 p.m. eastern.

Then later, "CNN PRESENTS" the fight to save a town devastated by Hurricane Katrina. CNN's Kathleen Koch returns to her hometown of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and gets a look at the progress so far. That's later at 8:00 p.m. eastern.

That's what's happening rights now in the news. I'm Carol Lin.

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