Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Saturday
Possible Reason for Milosevic's Death Stirs Controversy, World Awaits Autopsy; American Pacifist Tom Fox, Killed By Kidnappers In Iraq, Remembered By Quaker Fellowship, Friends; GOP Candidates For '08 Test The Waters At The Southern Republican Leadership Conference; Glitch In Razr Phones Slice Out Countless Callers
Aired March 11, 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, CNN LIVE SATURDAY: ... trouble, actually arrested in Maryland. Claude Allen was arrested this week for allegedly scamming two department stores to the tune of more than $5,000. Allen resigned from the White House staff last month without explanation.
The U.S. Agriculture Department is checking into a possible case of mad cow disease. That's after a routine test in Iowa indicated a possible infection. A USDA official said such inconclusive tests happen from time to time. But they're going to know the results in a few days.
And a 28-car pileup near the Golden Gate Bridge. Two people were killed in a crash on highway 101 at about 2:30 this morning; 12 other people were hurt. An unusual snowstorm blanketed the Bay Area with about three inches of snow overnight.
The world will never know how one of the most important war crimes trials in history would have ended. That's after the death of the defendant. A former president, a hero to many, the Butcher of the Balkan to many others, Slobodan Milosevic died earlier today in his bed in a Dutch detention center.
He was Yugoslav's president when the Balkan civil war began and allegedly orchestrated a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing throughout the Balkans, including the conflict in Kosovo.
After the initial reaction to his death, the question now is -- what now? CNN's Paula Newton at the Hague -- Paula.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INT'L. CORRESPODENT: Carol, it's going to be very few controversial days here in The Hague. Just a few hours ago the body of Slobodan Milosevic was taken from the detention center, where he was being held for almost five years, and to a morgue. There it will go undergo an autopsy sometime tomorrow. It will be the Dutch officials carrying out that autopsy.
But very couldn't very controversially there will be some Serbian authorities there. Right now, already, in Serbia, tomorrow's newspapers are blaring that he was murdered, that he was poisoned. And right now the credibility of the war crimes tribunal is on the line. Slobodan Milosevic had been complaining about his health, had made a petition to go to Russia for specialized treatment, although, that appeal was denied.
The reason, Carol, was that here at the war crimes tribunal, they had said after consulting with doctors, that there was really no need for him to go to Russia, that he was getting all the medical care that he needed right here.
It's highly controversial right now. And the person on the hot seat is war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte. She, of course, was his legal adversary for so many years. And she says that she felt she was very, very close to getting a conviction. Of course, when she heard of his death, she really couldn't have been more shocked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLA DEL PONTE, U.N. TRIBUNAL CHIEF PROSECUTOR: I was informed about the death of Milosevic half an hour after he was found dead in his cell. I regret deeply what happened. First of all, because after more than three years trials, we are reaching the end of the trials by the beginning of this summer. And, I think, although that it is regrettable for all witnesses, for all survivors, for all victims that are expecting justice, but we must expect now the result of the autopsy to see what is the cause of death. It will be much more clear in the next days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: That will take several days, though, to really know the results of that autopsy. They could have preliminary results a lot sooner than that. Really, Carla del Ponte is in a bit of a fix right now. She's always said Slobodan Milosevic had used his medical condition and that it was a convenient excuse for him not to attend trial. It was a very big controversy about whether or not he was even taking the high blood pressure medication that he was on -- Carol.
LIN: Paula Newton, live for us at The Hague. Thank you.
Now, Milosevic got the label butcher of the Balkans for his alleged brutal leadership during the break-up of Yugoslavia. He is suspected of ordering death squads to go across the countryside and rape and kill women, and children, and young men and boys.
Now, it led to his indictment at the International War Crimes Tribunal. And that was a first for a sitting head of state. The strongest charge against him revolved around incidents that happened in Kosovo, where more than 10,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died at the hands of Serbian troops.
Dreadful news from Iraq and the last thing a Virginia family wanted to hear about a long held American hostage. Tom Fox, Christian Peace activist, kidnapped in November; he is dead. His body was found in a western Baghdad neighborhood. He had been shot. With more on reaction to the death of Tom Fox, CNN's Gary Nurenberg joins me from Washington.
Gary, such sad news. GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it is especially when you talk to his friends, Carol. You know, Tom Fox, today is being remembered as a man of peace, who believed he was doing God's work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NURENBERG (voice over): Tom Fox was part of a Christian Peace team that was investigating possible human rights violations and helping Iraqi families find missing loved ones.
DAVE BOYNTON, FRIEND OF TOM FOX: He was a man who listened to what God had to say, and then did it.
NURENBERG: Fox and three others were kidnapped in November by a group that threatened to kill them if prisoners held by the United States and the Iraqi government were not released.
He was last seen in a video provided by his kidnappers in December. But he did not appear Tuesday in a new video showing the three other hostages. His body was discovered Thursday in a garbage dump, shot in the head with indications of torture. Fox knew the dangers, and wrote a statement in 2004 read Saturday by an old friend.
ISABELLA BATES, FRIEND OF TOM FOX: We reject the use of violent force to save our lives should we be kidnapped, held hostage or caught in the middle of violent conflict situation. We also reject violence to punish anyone who harms us.
NURENBERG (on camera): Fox taught for years at this Quaker meeting house in McLean, Virginia, where former students said his lessons will remain with them for life.
SEAN WILNER, FOX'S FORMER STUDENT: There are plenty of people out there in the world who are willing to die for war; but there are so few who are willing to die for peace.
NURENBERGER: Representatives of the local Muslim community visited his church Saturday to say they had prayed for his release.
FRAHANAHZ ELLIS, LOCAL MUSLIM SOCIETY: We are mourning also because it feels like we have lost one of our own.
NURENBERG: His friends say Tom Fox took the risk because of a strong belief.
MARGE EPSTEIN, FRIEND OF TOM FOX: The direct action of connecting to people, one human being, and one heart at a time, is what we're all called to do if we ever expect to get out of this cycle of violence.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NURENBERG: Friends said what he would want most now is to have his work continue, and those friends vowed, Carol, to continue that work.
LIN: Indeed. Thanks very much, Gary.
Wrapping up some other world news as well. Spain marks the two year anniversary of the Madrid train bombings. Schoolchildren laid a wreath at a city park and 191 trees are planted there, one for each person killed; 116 people have been charged with the attacks.
And Condoleezza Rice was at today's inauguration of Chile's first woman president. Rice says the election of socialist Michelle Bachelet shows that democracy triumphed over Chile's troubled history. The former health and defense minister was jailed and tortured under dictator Augusto Pinochet.
President Bush calls remote control bombs the greatest threat to troops in Iraq but he says he's optimistic things will improve under Iraq's new government. Monday he begins a series of speeches on Iraq.
He was a top white house aide. In fact, when he resigned earlier this year, President Bush called Claude Allen a trusted advisor. Well, now Allen faces felony charges for allegedly scamming a pair of department stores. White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano has more on Allen's arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPODENT (voice over): President Bush says he was shocked to learn through media reports that a former trusted aide, Claude Allen, had been arrested in Maryland for retail theft.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If the allegations are true, something went wrong in Claude Allen's life, and that is really sad.
QUIJANO: Allen served as deputy Health & Human Services secretary, then became the president's domestic policy advisor for a year, until he resigned last month. Allen's lawyer says his client is determined to prove his innocence.
MALLON SNYDER, ALLEN'S ATTORNEY: It's disheartening to have these types of allegations made against you, especially when it's wrong.
QUIJANO: Police in Montgomery County, Maryland say they began investigating him after a manager at this Target store alleged he saw Allen make a fraudulent return on unpaid merchandise on January 2nd. Allen was stopped, police were called, and later that night, according to McClellan, Allan called White House Chief of Staff Andy Card to report the matter.
The next day McClellan says Allen told Card and White House Counsel Harriet Miers, the incident was a misunderstanding. That there was confusion over his credit card because he had moved several times. McClellan says because he had undergone extensive background checks as a White House staffer, and as a one-time federal appeals court nominee he was given a benefit of a doubt.
Just a few days later he told the White House he wanted to resign, citing family reasons. In court documents obtained by CNN, police allege their investigation found Allen had been conducting refunds in an amount over $5,000 during 2005, that there were approximately 25 known refunds crediting Allen's American Express or Visa Card.
He is facing one count of theft by scheme, and one count of theft over $500. Allen could not be reached for comment, but his attorney denies the allegations.
SNYDER: He's confident that the confusion is going to be explained and that everything is going to work out and the charges will be dropped.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Now, Allen was released on his own recognizance. Meantime, President Bush says if the allegations are true, then Allen did not tell officials here the truth. The president said he felt disappointed and added he also felt sadness for Claude Allen's family -- Carol.
LIN: Thanks very much, Elaine. Yet another embarrassment for the president.
And in the wake of the fight over the ports deal with Dubai, Republican leaders say the party is still behind President Bush. Privately, some congressional Republicans believe members will put some distance between themselves and the White House before this fall's election. They point to record low public approval of the president. Now, in the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, 38 percent of Americans approve of the way President Bush is doing his job, while 60 percent disapprove.
The Democrats aren't done with criticism over port security either. Party Chairman Howard Dean delivered the party's weekly radio address saying the controversy wasn't about the government behind Dubai Ports World but about the people in charge here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD DEAN, CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CMTE: We need to do more to ensure the security of our ports. It's unacceptable that five years after 9/11, only 6 percent of cargo coming into America's ports is inspected. Republicans have shown a pre-9/11 mindset when it comes to closing the gaps in security in our ports. Democrats will continue to fight --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: John McCain heads to Memphis and so do a lot of other Republican big shots as presidential wannabes strut their stuff down south.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When Brian Nichols came through that door, he then shot the judge, and the court reporter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Twelve horrifying minutes. One year later, remembering the courthouse shooting that shook an entire city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to run. I want to swim. I want to mountain bike. The biggest goal of all is just to do what I did before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: A new life with new limbs. One vet wounded by war but guided by love. You're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: More on the road to the White House, which apparently is going through Memphis, Tennessee this weekend. Presidential hopefuls want to see how they do in a straw poll of party activists Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
Now, on hand, Arizona Senator John McCain, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist, Virginia Senator George Allen, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Kansas Senator Sam Brownback.
Senior National Correspondent John Roberts has more from Memphis right now.
John, what's the mood like there?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Carol. This is a big weekend for Southern and Midwestern Republicans. This is the first time in almost 100 years that a sitting president or vice president has not run for reelection. The Republican field is wide open, and looking for recognition.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Photo ID ready for when you go in to vote.
ROBERTS (voice over): It is the day's big event, a straw poll for presidential preference. A first glimpse at who is up, who is down and who sold the delegates in Memphis.
SEN. GEORGE ALLEN, (R) VIRGINIA: Let's keep winning, keep smiling and standing strong for freedom.
ROBERTS: Some tried out presidential slogans. Others sought to burnish their conservative credentials.
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK, (R) KANSAS: I'm Sam Brownback, and I'm a Ronald Reagan Republican.
ROBERTS: And while most of the potential candidates like Senator Bill Frist played down aspirations for '08.
SEN. BILL FRIST, (R) MAJORITY LEADER: Way too early to say.
ROBERTS: Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee joked, who are you trying to kid?
GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) ARKANSAS: Nobody at all is thinking about 2008, and we don't know why in the world anybody is already going to New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina right now.
ROBERTS: For the delegates, it was a weekend shopping spree, whether for Republican souvenirs, or the party's next standard bearer. Most were looking for the vision thing, though South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham painted a picture of a party in trouble.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: And I am sorry we're letting you down when it comes to spending your money and I am sorry that we've gone native. And we're going to turn around. If we don't, we're going to be in trouble in '06.
ROBERTS: But if the pundits were looking for potential candidates to run away from President Bush and his problems, they're disappointed. None were critical. In fact, former rival John McCain played the president's chief defender, even on the ports deal.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: I would have at least allowed the president the 45 day delay before we had hammered him.
(APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: And I think the president --
(APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: I think the president deserved better.
ROBERTS: McCain remains the front-runner among possible Republican candidates. The open question, can he appeal to the base after the bitter battle of the 2000 campaign? Republican strategist Charlie Black thinks he can.
CHARLIE BLACK, RUPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: He might need to do some personal repair work with some of the Bush campaign organization, but he'll certainly be acceptable to most conservatives.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: There's still overwhelming support for President Bush here in Memphis, but for some time now Republicans have become increasingly worried that the president is not being well served by his staff that is just plain exhausted, and is making a lot of mistakes. There was talk back in the fall about a shakeup of staff at the white house. That went away for a time. But after the ports debacle and the president's sliding poll numbers, we're beginning to hear talk here in Memphis that the White House is urgently in need of some new blood -- Carol.
LIN: John, thank you.
Now, coming up, a small glitch causes a big problem. If you or someone you know has a Razr cell phone, we have some information you need to know.
And debit or credit? If you use the former more than the latter, you could become a fraud victim. Find out why, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: It is one of the hottest cell phones on the market, but two companies put Motorola's Razr on hold this week. Cingular and Motorola halted it because of a glitch. CNN's Chris Huntington joins us from New York to explain.
Chris, these are pretty popular.
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I have one right here. These are the razor thin Razrs. They are very, very popular, quite a statement, although, what kind of statement if you can't get hooked up when you are trying to make the call.
This has been embarrassing for Motorola over the last couple of weeks. And, as you mentioned, T-Mobile and Cingular had to pull the phone temporarily from selling it to customers, because there was a glitch in a big batch of these phones produced during February.
This is for folks that use the GSM standard. That means T- Mobile and Cingular customers only. But the glitch basically meant some of these phones would drop calls unintentionally, or not be able to connect at all. We spoke to one woman who described the problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA CIPOLLA, RAZR OWNER: I couldn't dial out. And I couldn't get in. Like there was no reception on the phone, the actual phone, so --
HUNTINGTON (on camera): So like you picked it up and what would happen?
CIPOLLA: Nothing. You can't hear anything.
HUNTINGTON: You wouldn't even hear a dial tone?
CIPOLLA: Yeah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTINGTON: Now, we spoke to Motorola earlier today and would only give us a formal statement saying they're addressing the issue affecting what they say is a very limited number of Razr handsets sold, again, for the GSM system. That basically means in the United States, T-Mobile and also Cingular.
Motorola saying it continuing to ship new handsets and hopes to have replacements in the hands in all of the retail outlets within the week, or so. Now we're here obviously at a Cingular outlet in Manhattan. And these folks here say they do have replacement phones. So, if you are a customer of T-Mobile or Cingular, and you think you're having trouble with your Razr phone, you can walk in and get it swapped out immediately.
The one trouble, though, that Motorola still faces is it doesn't know exactly how many phones actually have the glitch. They're pretty sure it was only phones that were produced and sold during the month of February, but still trying to get a handle on it. And they won't put out a firm number.
This is a very popular phone, sold more than 23 million units since being introduced just a little more than a year ago. So you can do the math, and understand, you could be talking about millions of phones worldwide that have the problem -- Carol.
LIN: All right. Chris, thank you very much.
All right. More consumer news here; a debit card scam has gone international. So if you have a debit card, listen up.
Financial giant Citibank has blocked transactions in Canada, Russia, Britain, after someone started using counterfeit cards at ATMs. Citibank, Bank of America and Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual, have had to reissued debit cards after spotting fraudulent activity, i.e., stealing money out of people's accounts.
Analyst Avivah Litan, of Garner Research, call it the biggest scam to date. The former World Bank expert joins me now from Washington.
Viva, this is really frightening because I would say just about all of us have a debit card. How did these con artist get the PIN number? Because one couple reported having $3,000 taken out of their account?
AVIVAH LITAN, VICE PRES., GARTNER: The investigators are still trying to figure out exactly what happened. But somehow they got a hold of this key that's used to lock the data. And by getting hold of the key, they were able to unlock lock probably --
LIN: OK? Let's -- what key? Because I'm thinking the only way -- where do I use my PIN? I use it on a keypad at the ATM machine, I might use it on a keypad at the local store if I want to use my debit card. So does that little box store my PIN information?
LITAN: It's not supposed to, but that information was stored somewhere and it was in -- it's encrypted, meaning it was scrambled. And they got hold of the special key from a retailer's system, and they were able to unlock all the PINs.
LIN: So would it be one-stop shopping? Would it be one vendor, like a big retail chain, nationwide?
LITAN: The investigators are still trying to figure that out. But there has been a retailer that's been named, although they deny it. So it's probably one of their outsource vendors that was doing the work for them.
LIN: So how does that work? I mean, if I'm making -- if I swipe my debit card at the checkout counter, and my information is stored in this box, where would it go in order for it to go out into the wide world?
LITAN: It basically goes from the retailer to a processor and then to your bank and then to the merchant's bank. So it goes among a number of companies before it comes out of your bank. The compromise may have happened anywhere along the route, although it looks like it happened at the retailer outfit.
LIN: So would it be somebody who worked for the store, then?
LITAN: It could have been an insider, someone who knew how to get hold of the key. It may have been a hacker, it could have been an insider. But basically they found the key to unlock all these PINs.
LIN: So, is there enough electronic data so that they can actually narrow down the possible suspects and even find the specific vendor or the specific person?
LITAN: There should be enough data, because usually all these transactions are logged. So there's an audit trail of every single transaction. And that's what they're trying to figure out right now.
LIN: All right. So do you use a debit card? Do you feel comfortable using a debit card?
LITAN: Personally, I don't use PIN debit at the point of sale at a store. I only use it at a bank ATM machine. I would stay away from putting my PIN in at a store. Instead, you can just sign a slip.
LIN: Right, wow. Avivah, great advice. Thank you.
LITAN: Thank you.
LIN: Coming up, a wounded war vet meets his commander in chief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hoping that I can be an inspiration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: He lost his legs on the front lines but he didn't lose his passion for life. How this double amputee is beating the odds.
Plus, sometimes a doctor is not enough. How about seeing a teacher for what's ailing you? It's happening, a health coach.
And no dogs allowed, at least not any more. The crackdown in California.
Your watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Here's what's happening right now. An autopsy will be conducted tomorrow on Slobodan Milosevic. The 64 year old former Yugoslav president was found dead in his cell today. He was on trial for war crimes in the Balkans conflict.
And an American hostage has been killed in Iraq. Tom Fox's body was found in Western Baghdad. He had been shot in the head. Fox and three other Christian peace activists were kidnapped in November.
And authorities in Evansville, Texas, say a house fire has killed at least eight members of one family. Four of the victims were children. One man managed to escape. The cause of today's early morning blaze is under investigation.
And a welcome return home for 5,000 U.S. sailors. The USS Theodore Roosevelt docked at Virginia's Norfolk's Naval Station. It had been a six month deployment for the war on terror.
Those are the kinds of pictures we like to bring you in the war on terror. And, also, every week we like to bring you the more personal stories from the front lines.
Many troops come home from the front lines with shattered bodies and shattered dreams. At Brook Army Medical Service in San Antonio, they learn to put their lives back together. Kelly Wallace was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bring it up and hold it. Hold it, hold it, hold it. Hold it. Down.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is a lot that 24-year-old Christian Bagge wants to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Attack that cone. Attack that cone. Push, push, push. Shuffle, keep going, keep going, keep going.
STAFF SGT. CHRISTIAN BAGGE, U.S. ARMY: I want to run, I want to swim, I want to mountain bike. The biggest goal is to do what I did before.
WALLACE: What he did before the attack in Iraq, before the Humvee he was driving was blown apart by a roadside bomb and his life forever changed.
BAGGE: I told one of the guys to tie my wedding ring around my wrist and they did. That was last image I had in my mind was my wedding ring being tied around my wrist. I woke up in Germany with my amputated legs.
WALLACE: Before going off to war, Christian's passions included playing drums in a Christian rock band and a gal named Melissa. The two were good friends in high school who fell in love about a week before he left for Iraq. They married while he was on leave just three months before he became a double amputee.
MELISSA BAGGE, CHRISTIAN'S WIFE: There's been times when I thought, how am I going to do it. There's always someone there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dig in. Last cone. Dig in.
WALLACE: And always someone who knows just what they're going through. The Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio is home to one of only two U.S. Army amputee care centers in the country.
BAGGE: It's like a brotherhood. We're all rooting for each other and pushing each other to do the best that they can.
WALLACE: The pushing comes not just from peers but from a team of physical therapists.
CAPT. JUSTIN LAFERRIER, U.S. ARMY: Some people come in and say, wow, I never thought I would be able to do that again and they need to be pushed to be shown that it is possible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good. You look good.
WALLACE: Also available to amputees like Christian, state of the art technology to create custom made legs for any activity they choose.
Christian's immediate goal, to run with President Bush. When the president visited the center on New Year's Day, Christian asked if they could jog together sometime. He says Mr. Bush said yes.
BAGGE: He said I would be an inspiration to other people and I think he's right. Hopefully I can be an inspiration.
WALLACE: His positive outlook doesn't mean there haven't been really hard times. In the beginning he was angry and depressed and every day there are reminders of what life used to be like.
BAGGE: It takes me longer to shower. It takes me longer to get my legs on, get dressed. Putting pants on is a 20-minute process and I hate it.
WALLACE: But Christian and Melissa are adjusting, even thriving, gearing up for their second wedding ceremony this weekend, this one for family and friends since they eloped the first time.
BAGGE: You learn a lot about true love being away from your family and you learn the important things in life.
WALLACE: Charting a new life with new limbs and new friends with friends who know what it's like to walk in their shoes. Kelly Wallace, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LIN: Your health watch now. Imagine having a personal health expert to talk about your health issues any time of day or night. At an affordable rate. Imagine no more. That is what Kaiser Permanente is offering its members, your own personal health coach available 24/7. Joining me to talk more about this is Kaiser's Senior Vice President Mary Jane Favassa. She is with us today. Hey there.
Good to have you.
So this health coach, I've heard the ads on the radio. Who is this person on the other end of the phone?
MARY JANE FAVAZZA, SNR. V.P. KAISER PERMANENTE: Health coaches are professionals, nurses and other clinical professionals with a lot of clinical experience who are help to answer any questions about any healthcare concern.
LIN: Why did you start the service?.
FAVAZZA: It started earlier this year and been in development some time.
LIN: But why?
FAVAZZA: Healthcare is much more confusing and complex and really requires support. People are operating in an environment today where information is changing on a daily basis and they really can become better partners with their doctors if they're more informed, they have help answering questions and being well prepared for their doctor visits.
LIN: How prepared are they to deal with a very serious situation? For example, bringing specialists in if somebody has cancer or some kind of chronic condition?
FAVAZZA: The key really is to understand when you need the help of those specialists by understanding what's going on with your health and working together with your doctor to understand the variety of treatment options which ones might be right for you. It's important for people to understand what options are available?
LIN: What if it's outside of Kaiser? What if the best option is a specialist somewhere in Chicago? Will Kaiser make that reference?
FAVAZZA: Yes. The idea here is to say what is the best option for you and there are decisions people need to make today about how to seek those treatments, where those things may go. The point here is to provide enough support to help people make the decisions that are right for them. It may mean leaving a local area to seek specialist treatment elsewhere or they may find it well within Kaiser.
LIN: But it's also an indication that the patient can really be his or her own worst enemy, right? If somebody is going to smoke or continue to eat high fat foods and they come in and Kaiser is treating them for health problems, it's in Kaiser's best interest to say, listen, you need to see a nutritionist or a cardiologist to get you back on track or you're going to be in serious trouble and cost Kaiser a lot of money.
FAVAZZA: And also in the person's best interest obviously to understand what to do to take better control of their health. Oftentimes there's a knowledge gap and a health coach can help someone understand why the nutrition or better diet is important. When they understand the benefits they can receive from making some of those changes, then you see the motivation and confidence to help make that change.
LIN: So what kind of a difference have you seen with patients? I know it just started in January. But do you have any anecdotes to support this notion that people just need this extra leg up?
FAVAZZA: The personal stories obviously are unbelievable. From story to story we hear from the health coaches and also Kaiser members and others writing in that let us know that these nurses have made a big difference in their lives. They have taught them what they need to know to take control of the healthcare, where to go, to better communicate with providers and they've made life differences in terms of turning their world around.
LIN: So from a business standpoint do you see in five, ten, 15 years that this is in the end going to save Kaiser some money.
FAVAZZA: We hope it saves from the standpoint of total healthcare costs. We hope this means people take better control of their healthcare, do what they can do to prevent unnecessary setbacks, unnecessary hospitalizations. We also hope it helps people lead more productive lives which is better for our nation's employers and better for the people themselves in terms of quality of life.
LIN: As you know, Kaiser is a big target in the HMO industry. You're one of the largest. I think whatever you do is going to be the precursor for what other services might be available for patients.
FAVAZZA: I think it's about leading by examples, health coaching is first and foremost the right thing to do in a complex environment --
LIN: It is complex you have to go from one end of the Earth to the other to get care.
FAVAZZA: Being a successful consumer in healthcare is about understanding how to navigate the complex system.
LIN: Thank you very much.
LIN: One year ago today, Atlanta was the scene of a horrific courthouse killing spree. Up next, we're going to take you back to the moments of terror. And I'm going to be talking with a prosecutor who, believe it or not, is probably alive today because he was late for work in that courthouse. Stay right there
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: We have a special look now at tonight's "CNN PRESENTS: 26 Hours of Terror." The fear that gripped the city of Atlanta one year ago today. At the top of the hour, the desperate and deadly actions blamed on Brian Nichols which triggered the largest manhunt in Georgia's history. CNN's Kyra Phillips has this preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It should have been a day like any other at the Fulton County Courthouse, business as usual. It would be anything but.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police are everywhere here. What we know is two people have been shot. One is a deputy, the other we believe may be a judge. This is a chaotic scene with emergency vehicles flying everywhere.
PHILLIPS: March 11, 2005, 33-year-old Brian Nichols is transported from jail to the basement of the county courthouse. Nichols is on trial for a second time in as many weeks on charges of rape, burglary, false imprisonment.
ASH JOSHI, FMR. PROSECUTOR: I was quite confident Brian Nichols knew the trial was not going well. It was the fourth quarter and we were up by a few touchdowns and I think he was concerned.
PHILLIPS: Faced with the very real prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison, police say Nichols takes matters into his own hands. At 8:49 a.m., he's escorted up to the holding cells on the eighth floor of the new courthouse. There he assaults and overpowers deputy Cynthia Hall.
RICHARD MECUM, U.S. MARSHAL: He knocked her out. She had a key on her that unlocked the gun box. And so he unlocked the gun box, which is in the holding cell, and took her gun out, also got her radio.
PHILLIPS: As Nichols makes his break, Judge Rowland Barnes is presiding over a civil matter on the eighth floor of the old courthouse. Court reporter Julie Brandau (PH) is next to him.
(on camera): By now, Brian Nichols, armed with Cynthia Hall's handgun, is calmly walking away from the holding cells. But instead of easily escaping, he's making his way across this sky bridge to the old courthouse.
MECUM: The judge was already on the bench with the court reporter. And when Brian Nichols came through that door, he then shot the judge and the court reporter.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Judge Barnes and Julie Brandau are killed instantly. Nichols then turns his attention to the prosecution table. But there were no prosecutors. Instead, he locks his eyes and his gun on attorney Richard Robbins.
RICHARD ROBBINS, ATTORNEY: A lot of thoughts went through my mind. He just killed the judge. Now he's going to kill the prosecutor. Then he's going to kill everybody else and I'm sitting at the prosecutor's table. So I decided at that point that I needed to get out of that courtroom and I wasn't going to let him shoot me straight in the chest.
PHILLIPS: Judge Barnes' wife, Claudia, also works at the courthouse and remembers all too vividly the chaos that followed the shootings.
CLAUDIA BARNES, JUDGE ROWLING'S WIDOW: One of my good friends came and got me. And at that point I knew something was wrong with Rowland. So we went over to his courtroom and they had already taped it off.
PHILLIPS (on camera): They wouldn't even let you in the courtroom?
BARNES: Oh, no.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): In a matter of 12 short minutes, so many lives are changed forever at the Fulton County Courthouse, and it's about to get worse. Brian Nichols is on the loose.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: One of the people we just saw in that report is Ash Joshi. He was a prosecutor in the Brian Nichols retrial on rape charges and he joins me now to tell us what happened to him on the day of the shootings. Ash, I want to apologize. The story goes, here, that you were late to court and that's what saved your life. But you weren't late. You were on your way to work. When you heard that Brian Nichols had turned his gun to the prosecutor's table, it could have been you.
JOSHI: Absolutely. And it doesn't surprise me. Mr. Nichols knew what he was doing. If he was interested in killing a judge, he was certainly aware of the fact that the two people who were trying to put him in jail for the rest of his life, if we had our way, were Gail Abramson (ph) and myself, the two prosecutors. It didn't surprise me one bit that he had turned the gun on the attorney who was sitting at the prosecution table.
LIN: Tell me more about that morning. How did you hear about the shootings? Where were you?
JOSHI: I was in the courthouse. The way the district attorney's office is set up, my office was one floor below Judge Barnes' courtroom. So when I walked up to the courtroom at about 9:05, 9:10, after leaving Gail Abramson's office, because we had been going over some strategy for the closing argument, I walk up outside Judge Barnes' courtroom and there's chaos, there's deputies all over the place screaming at me to get off the floor, there are some of Judge Barnes' staff members off to the side hugging each other and really crying uncontrollably. And, frankly, I didn't know what was going on at that time. It was just obviously a very serious situation.
LIN: Did you know that it was involving Brian Nichols at that point? JOSHI: I -- I didn't know it. I suspected it when I went back to the district attorney's office. I found Gail Abramson. We started talking. And we both had this very uneasy feeling that it was somehow connected with the Nichols case, especially in light of the fact that there was maybe an aborted or unsuccessful attempt by Mr. Nichols the night before to bring some weapons into the courtroom.
LIN: Ash, at one point, I mean, you made a decision to leave town with your family. We called this documentary coming up "26 Hours of Terror" because for all of us who live in this city, nobody knew where this man was going to turn up next.
You must have been terrified for you life and the lives of your family.
JOSHI: There's no question I was in a great deal of fear at that moment. I don't know who I was more fearful for, myself or my family. I think I was thinking more in terms of my kids and my wife and what would happen to them if this man was to come to look for me.
And I told my wife at about 7:00 or 8:00 that night a year ago today -- and I said, look, I'm useless here. I'm pacing all over the house. I keep watching every light that goes by, every car that drives by the house, let's just get out of here. Let's get away from this place, because we're not doing anybody any good by being here right now.
LIN: Ash Joshi, it's good to know that you're alive and well on this one year anniversary. Brian Nichols goes to trial in October. I know you'll be watching that very closely. Thank you for being with us.
At the top of the hour, we are taking you on a never before seen look at the Atlanta courthouse shooting esprit and its aftermath. Please join CNN for a special two hour edition of "CNN PRESENTS: 26 Hours of Terror."
Is your dog at that age where she can have puppies? Well, a crackdown by California lawmakers could soon prevent new pooches. We're going to tell you why in just a moment.
But first the most popular stories on CNN.com. Teenage Buddha goes missing. A boy in Nepal whose followers believe he's the reincarnation of Buddha is nowhere to be found.
Plus, compared to some high schools, Harvard's a bargain. Some private high schools now charge more than Harvard University.
For details on these stories and much more, just click on to CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: According to some, Los Angeles faces a canine crisis. Streets filled with stray and vicious dogs. And that got the county looking at passing the nation's toughest pet law, a million pet owners are waiting to see what happens. CNN's Kareen Wynter is looking behind the move.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Vicious dog attacks like this prompted Los Angeles owners to clamp down on pet owners specifically those with pit bulls or rottweilers and doesn't sit well.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Using it as leverage for a vicious dog law.
WYNTER: This pit bull breeder says legislators are aiming at an unfair target and she suspects there are more political motivations.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: They're targeting these dogs because this makes good news.
The proposed law initially required pit bull and rottweiler owners spay or neuter their pets. The legislation now applies to all dogs, which, if passed, would make it the toughest requirement in the nation for pet owners, breeders and show dogs excluded.
It's just another restriction on your freedom.
WYNTER: The county says it's not just a safety issue but a canine crisis. On the streets, filled with stray, unlicensed dogs. And in shelters, packed with unwanted pets.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: We don't want to -- see, I don't want a dog like that.
MARCIA MAYEDA, L.A. COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL: The fact that thousands and thousands are dying in Los Angeles County shelters is upsetting. And we don't like it either and we want to see it end.
WYNTER: Some dog owners torn over the proposal say the tough restrictions are an unfortunate necessity. One that could curb the endless cycle of ailing or unadopted dogs euthanized each year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I left in tears and cried all the way to work because it just -- I have not seen anything like that.
WYNTER: Some dog owners say they also hope to see less of this. The tragic headlines of innocent lives lost by pets turned predators. Kareen Wynter, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Sometimes a picture comes along that even for us journalists surprises us. This is the scene out of Carefree, Arizona. Cactus there, lots of snow. But look. There's our little friend. The owl. They've been getting a little bit of snow there, so there's a little nest. He looks pretty comfy, don't you think. By the way, if you want to know the weather, 44 degrees in Carefree, Arizona. Light rain.
Lots more ahead on CNN tonight. Up next, "CNN PRESENTS: 26 Hours of Terror." One year after the Atlanta courthouse shootings, hear from witnesses and family members as well as hostage Ashley Smith.
A check of the hour's headlines next and then "CNN PRESENTS."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
