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Live From...
Holiday Shopping Season; Bush and Company; Thin Ice Mishap; Uganda's Challenge
Aired November 25, 2005 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Liquor store vandals caught on tape. Wait till you find out why these vandals went to work.
And it is being called the most dangerous spot in the world for children. We'll talk about it this hour. CNN's LIVEFROM starts right now.
Well, if you're watching me on 49 TV screens in every size and description, you have good taste in retailers and you also like to be where the action is. Apparently, that's basically any place that sells anything on the traditional first day of Christmas shopping season. Of course, there's action and there's chaos.
These pictures are pretty crazy. A pre-dawn stampede at a Michigan Wal-Mart left at least two shoppers hurt, one of them 13 years old. Shop keepers call it Black Friday, the day they expect to cross the break-even point and start making money. Pictures like those notwithstanding, you don't call it the busiest shopping day of the year. That honor last year went to the Saturday before Christmas.
The Friday after Thanksgiving came in second, followed by the second Saturday in December, the first Saturday in December and Christmas Eve eve and December 23rd. Those distinctions may be lost on CNN's David Mattingly, who spent the last several hours at a Wal-Mart just north of Atlanta.
David you are still standing; that is a good sign. Did you see any of that chaos where you were?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, we didn't. In fact, it came as sort of a surprise after we saw how orderly everything was here today. We did see people lining up as early as 3:30 this morning to take advantage of deals that went in effect at 5:00. So there was a lot of people that skipped sleep last night. But it is just one indication of the excitement that retailers have managed to get going on this Black Friday at a time when the strength of consumer spending is in doubt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'd like to ask everyone to please remain calm.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): The all-important holiday shopping rush is on and retailers are even more nervous than usual. Customers this year are deeper in debt, according to government figures and they have less money to spend because of higher home heating bills and prices at the pump. It all adds up to a seasonal retail frenzy where low price is everything.
KATHERINE FINNEY, THEBUDGETFASIONSTA:COM: Retailers are desperate to get people in the store, I think because the rise in fuel cost, the rise in other costs that people haven't been shopping as much as they usually have shopped. So, Black Friday and actually the weeks after you'll see major, major sales.
MATTINGLY: The big discount stores in particular stand to benefit from new waves of bargain conscious shoppers and have been promoting sales since early November. Retail giant Wal-Mart after downplaying the importance of Black Friday last year promises shoppers this year the lowest prices. Offering to match any Black Friday price advertised in print by local competitors. And Target even offered Black Friday wake-up calls; messages to pick from ranged from a biker dude to Kermit the frog.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The early frog catches the fly.
FINNEY: The shoppers are definitely in charge. This is a shopper's year. Seize the moment. Seize the shopping day.
MATTINGLY: But after all the hoopla, Black Friday has become just one indicator of success in an ever-growing shopping season. Sales now begin after Halloween. And the rising popularity of gift cards extends the buying, well, into the New Year. With 60 percent of gift cards bought before Christmas sparking shopping sprees after January.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: And looking at how the spending was going early this morning, a great deal of activity between the hours of 5:00 and 6:00 at this store and then shoppers went off to chase the deals in other locations, but retailers here are saying, so far, so good Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You know the talk has been about this Xbox, David, and $1,300 being sold on eBay. Were they being sold there? Were there any there? Is that what they were talking about, a lot of the parents?
MATTINGLY: Well there were a lot of crowds in the electronic section, but it wasn't for the Xbox. They were here for some of the deals being offered at this store for flat screen TV, a laptop computer, a laptop computer which is actually what caused a bit of a ruckus at a store in Orlando because of so many people trying to get it, but that's what people came here for. They looked at the advertisements, they were following the deals and that's what brought them here today.
PHILLIPS: Well we're well behaved here in the south, David. That's why we didn't see any of those fights in the store there.
MATTINGLY: I think people were just a little too sleepy. Maybe if they had a little more caffeine, who knows.
PHILLIPS: It's the lack of coffee. All right, David Mattingly, thank you so much.
President Bush plans to stay at his Texas ranch through the weekend and he's going to have some company. Anti-war activists, including Cindy Sheehan have returned to Texas to protest U.S. military involvement in Iraq. CNN's Elaine Quijano is standing by for us in Crawford with more. Tell us about the protest Elaine and did we ever find out what the family emergency was that Cindy Sheehan had? Because there was talk about whether she was going to be there or not.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is right. We still don't really know what the family emergency was, but, we're likely going to have a little bit more opportunity, in fact, we will have an opportunity later today to hear from Cindy Sheehan herself. President Bush, first of all, maintaining a low profile back at the ranch spending time with his family on the Prairie Chapel Ranch here in Texas.
No public events on his schedule but someone who is trying it increase her profile; anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan saw her arriving at the Waco Airport last night. That was video of her, she was greeted by a cheering crowd and her first stop today will be the Crawford Peace House, that's the peace house as it's known here in the Crawford area, a kind of staging area just a few blocks away from here for demonstrators.
But Sheehan is expected to give a press conference later this afternoon. She said last night that she was happy to be back with her friends, but she's heart broken, she says, that people are still dying in Iraq. And, so, she will be continuing to try and draw attention to herself. This comes amidst the renewed debate about pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq. Cindy Sheehan and other demonstrators hoping that in this holiday lull they can attract more attention to their cause. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Elaine Quijano there at the president's ranch, thank you.
Well it is a big day for the president's twin daughters there at the Texas ranch. It is their 24th birthday. They have been keeping pretty busy in recent months. Most recently Barbara has been working with children in Africa who has been diagnosed with AIDS, Jenna teaches second graders at a charter school in Washington. Apparently Jenna also has a boyfriend; Henry Hagar is the son of a former Virginia lieutenant governor. He is at the ranch this weekend and he joined Jenna at a recent White House dinner for Prince Charles. There is the scoop.
Well New Mexico's Governor Bill Richardson often makes the short list of potential presidential candidates and he has a strong resume he's been a Congressman, then a cabinet member, even a U.N. Ambassador but the Albuquerque journalist has discovered one part of his official bio that doesn't quite check out.
Contrary to reports over several decades, Richardson was not drafted by major league baseball Kansas City A's back in 1976. Instead the governor says major league scouts at the time told him he would or could be drafted. Richardson tells the paper, "My mind, that meant I had been drafted." Governor rather never pursued a pro career. He says his father insisted that he attend college instead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT Of THE U.S: Brownie you're doing a heck of a job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Oh, Brownie. We hardly ever knew him. FEMA director Mike Brown only got to bask briefly in the glow of this presidential prop just ten days later as a cascade of FEMA fumbles started hitting the fan, Mike Brown resigned. Further embarrassment Brown's Katrina- related e-mails came to light and in one he worried about whether he should wear a tie to a briefing. A lesser man might just pull a disappearing act, but not Mike Brown. He's jumping right back into the frying pan.
Brown tells Denver's "Rocky Mountain News" he's starting a emergency planning consulting business. Brown says "Hurricane Katrina showed how bad disasters can be and there is an incredible need for individuals and businesses to understand how important being prepared is." Well, what's next? Liz Taylor hangs out a (INAUDIBLE) as marriage counselor?
All right. Well as you know what to do with those Thanksgiving leftovers, including Aunt Mavous's rutabaga casserole. I had to ask what that was, by the way. We are serving up some political rehash as CNN's Bill Schneider knocks the stuffing out of some of this year's biggest turkeys. Gobble, gobble.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It seems like every day is turkey day in politics. Another chance for politicians to do something foolish. Just look at who made our list of this year's political turkeys of the year. Turkey number five, the turkey Turkeynator. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger picked fights with nurses, teachers, firefighters and legislatures. He called a special election to show them who's boss and guess what happened? They kicked his butt.
GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, (R) CALIFORNIA: I should have listened to my wife who said, don't do this.
SCHNEIDER: Turkey four, Pat Robertson called down the wrath of god upon the voters of Dover, Pennsylvania. Why? Because they voted out the school board that had mandated that teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution.
PAT ROBERTSON, CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to god; you just rejected him from your city.
SCHNEIDER: That was a few months after Robertson called on the U.S. to take out Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Ayatollah's issue to that was Pat Robertson issues Pat was.
Turkey three, in 2004 Mayor Randy Kelly of St. Paul, Minnesota, made his choice.
MAYOR, RANDY KELLY, ST PAUL, MINNESOTA: This November, George W. Bush has my endorsement for president of the United States.
SCHNEIDER: Only problem, Kelly's a Democrat and John Kerry took 73 percent of the vote in St. Paul last year. So, this year St. Paul voters made their choice. They threw Kelly out of office by a margin of better than 2-1. Nearly two-thirds of St. Paul voters said Kelly's endorsement of Bush influenced their decision.
Turkey two. In a crisis, political leaders are supposed to sound like they're in control of the situation, even if they're not. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco did not sound very reassuring during hurricane Katrina, or even three months later.
GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO, (D) LOUISIANA: You know, here in Louisiana, we feel like we are citizens of the United States who are nearly forgotten. It is a very frustrating thing. People are weary.
SCHNEIDER: The governor angered many voters by ordering huge budget cuts. "Time" Magazine called Governor Blanco's cautious and deliberative approach a liability and rated her one of the nation's worst governors. We'll let the president introduce the turkey of the year.
BUSH: Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job.
SCHNEIDER: Michael Brown failed congressional candidate, ousted commissioner of the International Arabian Voices Association, self- stationed fashion god and clueless Federal Emergency Management director.
MICHAEL BROWN FEMA DIRECTOR: The federal government did not know about the convention center people until today.
SCHNEIDER: How is that again?
BROWN: I misspoke on Thursday when I said you know we were just learning about it. What I meant was we were just learning about it 24 hours earlier.
SCHNEIDER: Can I quit now, can I come home Brown wrote to his deputy the morning of the hurricane? The answer is, yes.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, terror watch. New concerns at prisons right here in the United States are becoming a breeding ground for terrorists. We have an exclusive report. The news keeps coming. We are bringing it to you. More LIVEFROM straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Pictures just come in to us via our affiliate WITI in Wisconsin. An ice rescue taking place right now. Fredricka Whitfield working the story in the newsroom. What's going on Fred?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Kyra I want to show you these live pictures because right now some rescue divers are starting to go into this pond here in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, because a witness reported that two people may have slipped through the thin ice on that pond and are submerged there, but authorities are not confirming whether, indeed, there are two people, two victims that they're looking for, just that they are responding to the report from the eye witness.
It is a very unforgiving setting there because we're talking about temperatures of 22 degrees, overcast with a chance of snow there. This taking place in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin. You're seeing the divers there who are now going around the pond looking, possibly, for other areas to enter because it is a potentially dangerous rescue here taking place. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Fred, I don't know how long we want to stay on these live pictures, but I can tell you, this was quite a common event, I used to live in Green Bay, Wisconsin, actually this area is between Milwalkee and Green Bay and, you know, usually you hear about this with ice, people that are out doing ice fishing and a lot of times on these lakes, these small lakes or these manmade areas kids like to go out and just play on the ice and ice skate and they actually play hockey out on these ponds. But you would think, it looks awfully thin. The break up is all throughout and I can't tell how big this is. Well here we got the helicopter pilot pulling out there. I can't imagine anybody being out on that because look at how thin it is and it's broken up throughout that whole pond area.
WHITFIELD: That's right. It does look like thin ice and because we're seeing these pictures for a period of time that the rescue teams have been on the ground, not really sure if they've done, they also have some rafts out on the other side of the pound that we can't see in this view, if they have helped to break up some of the ice there or if it was like this even when they arrived. But, obviously, the ice does look pretty thin. We don't know the circumstances if people were playing in this area or if there was any type of attempted ice fishing, we just don't know, it's so early in the investigation.
PHILLIPS: All right. Fred working on the story for us there in the newsroom via affiliates WITI in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin. A rescue, an ice rescue it looks like trying to take place there. Not moving real fast, not quite sure if they have an eyeball on those who might be in that water. We'll stay on top of that story.
Well in the past four years the war on terror has taken us to the far reaches of the globe. And now there is concern that prisons right here in the United States are becoming a new breeding ground for terrorists. Our justice correspondent Kelli Arena takes us into California State Prison in Sacramento.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT 9voice over): The governor says a terrorist plot was masterminded behind these prison walls. Inmate Kevin James allegedly formed a radical Islamic group here known as JIS. Recruited another inmate and planned an attack on U.S. military personnel in the Los Angeles area. Was this a one-time affair or are there other inmates conspiring to do America harm? Prison officials here admit the environment is right for terror recruitment, but they say that hey has more to do with the people behind bars than prison practices. Prison investigator John Mahew explains.
SGT. JOHN MAYHEW, PRISON INVESTIGATOR: You get those who don't have anything and they'll embrace those individuals and they will bring them into their group and they will take care of them within the prison and then set their beliefs upon them.
ARENA: James regularly attended Muslim services at the prison. He has pled not guilty to the charges against him. The Imam here says he was shocked by those charges and says Islam can be a positive force.
IMAM GIUMAA A-SHAWESH, PRISON CHAPLAIN: Not change conditions, circumstances or people until those people have the guts, have the will to make a change within themselves.
ARENA: But some inmates warn there were many so-called Muslims in prison who corrupt Muslim teachings.
LATEEF ABDUS SABUR, SERVING LIFE SENTENCE: The Koran is clear, but man can be confused.
ARENA: Investigators can attend religious services if they have suspicions and they're more closely examining the chaplains who preach to inmates.
WALTER ALLEN, ASST. SECY., CORRECTIONAL SAFETY: One of the things we're professing is that the Imam's that work with us are good people. They are providing an adequate service to our inmates, but that's an area of concern that in terms of whom we select to come in here.
ARENA: Prison investigators admit they were unaware that James' alleged terror group even existed. In fact it wasn't until arrests were made following a series of gas station robberies that evidence led back to this maximum-security prison. Investigators say they are sometimes overwhelmed trying to track more than 200 inmate gangs and so-called disruptive groups in an ever-changing prison population.
GRANT PARKER, PRISON INVESTIGATOR: It's a never-ending rotation with these guys. Ten guys will parole over the weekend, we are going to get a bus of 15. You know, three times this week.
ARENA: Inmate phone calls and mail are routinely monitored and the FBI is now translating some inmate letters written in Arabic. Any and all communication between inmates like these notes, which are easily hidden and passed around raises, concern.
RODERICK HICKMAN, DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS SECY: You have to take this threat perspective into your day-to-day activity in a way we didn't in the past.
ARENA: But officials say nothing beats good intelligence and admit that's good to come by. Nearly half the inmates here are lifers with little gain too gain from cooperating with investigators.
Kelli Arena, CNN, California State Prison, Sacramento.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
You know the saying; diamonds are a girl's best friend. But is that still true? We're going to find out. Ali Velshi with his in-depth report, sparkling. LIVEFROM has got all the news you want this afternoon. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Not sure if it is a rescue mission or recovery mission right now. Fredricka Whitfield working this story out of Wisconsin right now. Pictures coming to us from WITI. Fred, what do we know?
WHITFIELD: Well we know they're still continuing that search. In fact rescue divers are now in greater number going out on the ice, in some cases, in addition to being tethered to their partners on the ground, in some cases they're trying to break through some of this ice, perhaps to try to make it a bit easier on them, which is a very, very difficult challenging search right now. Now, a witness reported two people may be in this pond here in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin in Sheboygan County. But authorities still are not willing to say that they feel definitively that there are two people in there, but of course, they're responding to the call and conducting the search anyway.
That same witness said he or she believed that one of the victims might be a 10-year-old, so, right now, these rescue divers are there on the perimeter of this small pond, as well as in the icy waters trying to get through this very precarious situation here and find these two reported victims in this pond. Of course, when we get more information about it, we'll be able to pass it on to you. As I mentioned earlier, Kyra, it is, you're looking at icy conditions and conditions possibly made worse by any potential snow that maybe called for the forecast in these 22-degree temperature conditions there.
PHILLIPS: All right. Fred working that story for us right now in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, Sheboygan County. Not quite sure if there are two individuals in that water right now, as Fred said. One possibly 10 years old. Witnesses say they saw two people fall through that ice. Crews, as you can see, trying to work their way through that ice and cold temperatures, low 20s right now as rescue crews are looking, possibly, for two individuals. We'll stay on it.
Fredricka Whitfield working that from the newsroom.
Well, if you're in the market this holiday season for some special bling for that special someone don't be surprised if some very familiar words keep ringing in your ears. Here's Ali Velshi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's not just the diamonds that last forever. This slogan has been around since 1947. It is part of a campaign of memorable and effective one liners backed up by an expensive marketing approach that has some men saying, I will. Two months salary too much to pay for something that will last forever?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Not if you love the girl enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Money is not an object to me when I'm making someone feel good, and on top of the something that will last forever that is something that is two months' salary. Hey you are going to work until you dye anyway.
VELSHI: Money can't buy endorsements like that, or can it? How about a couple hundred million dollars a year paid for by the diamond trading company. It is part of the legendary diamond giant De Beers.
DAREN BENEZRA, EDITOR, "BRANDWEEK:" Fairly significant from the stand point of spending $200 million a year worldwide, but compare that to McDonald's, compare that to Coca-Cola, drop in the bucket.
VELSHI: A drop in the bucket isn't more like Chinese water torture. That same message year after year after year. And it all started at the NW Heir (ph) in Philadelphia. That was the ad company for De Beers. Copy editor Francis Gerrity worked late one night to come up with the perfect slogan for them.
LINDA KAPLAN THALER, AD EXECUTIVE: She could not come up with a line. She wanted it to be something bold and beautiful and something that would go on for eternity like diamonds. She fell asleep and when she woke up in her handwriting was the line, a diamond is forever.
VELSHI: Linda Kaplan Thaler runs the ad company in New York that took over NW a few years ago. She says when you buy a diamond you buy the mastic.
THALER: You don't have one for Rubies, or sapphires or emeralds. And they're far more precious gems. They're rare, they're resilient, they're beautiful, but nobody says, my god, I hope my husband gets me a ruby for Christmas.
VELSHI: And the mastery? Telling men exactly how much to spend on a diamond engagement ring. The average American man ties the knot for the first time at the age of 27. The average 27-year-old American man makes about $30,000 a year. So if the average American guy believes the ads he needs to find a $5,000 ring and he needs it to look good. That's why any day, any time of year you'll find men jamming the stalls of the diamond district here in Manhattan looking for this, the perfect diamond.
This is a place because of its bustle and congestion thought to offer a better deal than fancy boutiques, but in the end the message that the men get here when they're here it is worth it, she is worth it. After all, forever is a long time. Like the ad says, there are only two things that last longer than time, love is one of them and any guess what the other one is?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, by the way, we're pretty sure that Ali gave that ring back; then again he's got a really good-looking girlfriend. I'll make sure I check in with him. You can also check in with him to at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. He is in the "Situation Room" today. Ali I hope you're listening.
So if that's true, then diamonds are just flying off the shelves, right? Even on Black Friday. Well the national department stores certainly hope so and made it pretty easy today for the early risers.
Joined now by telephone Barbara Johnson, sale associate for Macy's working the jewelry department says daybreak today. Barbara, are you exhausted?
JOHNSON: It's exhilarating.
PHILLIPS: I can -- well, tell me, this is -- now, I guess, for full disclosure we better set up the fact that your son is a writer on our LIVE FROM team and told us about you yesterday. And he was explaining that this is quite the family tradition from where you're from, right?
JOHNSON: Oh, definitely.
PHILLIPS: All right, explain.
JOHNSON: Well, what we see mostly with the groups that are coming in is family groups. Mothers and their daughters or nieces or whatever and they're dragging dad or grandpa along to carry the packages. But it's just kind of a fun thing for them to do to get up really, really early in the dark and to come out and go shopping.
PHILLIPS: Anybody buy any engagement rings? Have you heard any good stories today?
JOHNSON: Not really because at our department we don't sell engagement rings, so ...
PHILLIPS: Whoops.
JOHNSON: ... not too many.
PHILLIPS: What's the hot seller?
JOHNSON: Diamonds.
PHILLIPS: Well, is it necklace, earrings ...
JOHNSON: Earrings.
PHILLIPS: Oh, it's earrings. I can see maybe cutting a special deal for your daughter-in-law or maybe she's already got them.
JOHNSON: No.
PHILLIPS: Oh, now the pressure is on your son.
JOHNSON: That's exactly right.
PHILLIPS: All right, well, give us -- I mean, we've seen a lot of video so far today, pretty disappointing. A lot of scuffles, a lot of people trampling people, I mean, just craziness. Has it been that way at all where you are?
JOHNSON: Well, actually, it hasn't all. I fact, we said one of the things we were talking about is how much fun it is working on this day because people are kind of in a good mood. They're having a good time and it's fun to wait on people that are having a good time.
PHILLIPS: Excellent. All right.
JOHNSON: So, I don't think there's much of any problems around here. Nothing we've heard of.
PHILLIPS: Well, everybody is well-behaved in the south. I keep saying that. We haven't had any issues from there in Savannah all the way here to Atlanta, Georgia. So I guess we have all been brought up pretty well. That has a lot to say.
JOHNSON: Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: Barbara Johnson, thanks so much.
JOHNSON: Thank you very much. Have a good day.
PHILLIPS: Oh, it's a pleasure.
Well, we're going to talk about a pretty serious story coming up overseas. You probably heard of Rwanda and you've heard of Darfur, but have you heard about what is happening in Uganda lately? Well, we're talking about children in crisis.
It's a dire and deadly situation in a place that you probably have never really read about lately. Since the days of Idi Amin. Remember that name? Well, the news keeps coming, and we keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM straight ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOBE BRYANT, PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER: I sit here in front of you guys, furious at myself, disgusted at myself for making a mistake of adultery.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's no question Kobe Bryant was embarrassed. He was caught red-handed having an affair.
CATHERINE CRIER, ANCHOR, COURT TV: And there with his wife and flashing her new -- what was it, $4 million diamond ring on her finger and looking at him lovingly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It did cost him $4 million, didn't it?
CRIER: All I could see was managed athlete saying just as much as he thought he could say and still get away with it.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Kobe Bryant was in the spotlight from 18 years old on. How tough is that? No one of us really could know.
JIM MORET, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, INSIDE EDITION: I can tell you that while Kobe Bryant was under investigation, I remember going to a Lakers game and I saw kids and women wearing Kobe Bryant jerseys. And I thought how fascinating. Who are our heroes?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We're continuing to follow what's happening here in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, via our affiliate WITI. These are live pictures now, rescue crews. Fredricka Whitfield, once again, from the news room following this developing story for us. What more do we know about the search, Fred?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, possibly two victims that these search teams are looking for. If you look in the live picture, you'll notice that the search teams are doing a number of things. Some are tethered and in the pond conducting their searches, some even treading water.
Others are using like long, pick-like instruments to break the glass further and then on the top, right-hand portion of your screen you're going to see a rubber raft and on board there you have got a couple of search crews who are also trying to break this very, what appears to be thin ice on top of this very small pond.
They're out there because an eyewitness reported seeing two victims in that water. Possibly -- authorities are saying one of the victims possibly could be a 10-year-old, but authorities still are not confirming that they are, indeed, certain, that there are two victims.
But they are responding to the call from that eyewitness, and this taking place in Sheboygan County in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin. It's very cold up there. You can tell the divers, obviously, with their wet and dry suits and the conditions could potentially deteriorate.
Want to bring in Bonnie Schneider who's in the Weather Center to give us an idea of just how cold we're talking. Twenty-two degrees right now and I understand with overcast, the temperatures could drop and even have snow?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. We're looking at snow in the forecast, snow showers. Little accumulation is expected. The way the current conditions are shaping right now in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, it's 22 degrees with winds right now to the southwest at 11. That makes it feel like it's 17 degrees. The windchill factor very, very cold. We're not looking for a warm up.
And when we look at our satellite perspective for the area, you can see cloud coverage for much of the state of Wisconsin. The areas here in yellow indicate the higher cloud tops, and that's where we're getting some of the snow at present.
So, to the south of Cedar Grove, we are getting some snow showers and those are on the way in. Just snow showers at this point, accumulation not really in the forecast, but overcast skies and nothing in the way of sunshine, and bitterly cold conditions out there.
It's not that windy out there right now; we haven't had reports of strong wind gusts but any kind of wind coming in when you have temperatures this cold drops that windchill factor or the feels like temperature, the way your body interprets it, to about 17 degrees. So their temperature just dropped as we speak. Real-time data for you now, about 21, 22 degrees in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Bonnie Schneider, thanks so much for that update out of the Weather Center.
So again, Kyra, the search continues. Rescue dive teams are out there at this pond in Sheboygan County trying to look for these reported two victims in this pond.
PHILLIPS: All right, Fredricka Whitfield, thank you so much. We'll continue to follow up if, indeed, it becomes a rescue or a recovery. Keeping our fingers crossed. You never know what can happen there. Living in Wisconsin, believe it or not, rescue crews have pulled people out of cold ponds like that and have been able to resuscitate them. So we'll continue to follow it.
Meanwhile, a disturbing or a necessary look now at one of the world's most desperate humanitarian emergencies, and chances are, you've never heard of it. It's a long-running rebel movement in northern Uganda happening where news cameras just don't go and the word atrocity isn't strong enough to describe the barbaric acts against children and other innocent people that are caught in the middle.
CNN's Asieh Namdar is with me right now with a rare insight into Uganda's living nightmare. You actually had a pretty powerful interview with somebody from the U.N. I know we're going to talk about that in a minute, but kind of set up what's happening in northern Uganda, and what is it we need to know?
ASIEH NAMDAR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a civil war that started 18 years ago, Kyra, and unfortunately, things have gotten systematically worse in the last few years.
What is happening is children are being raped, they are being tortured, they are being forcibly removed from their homes.
And, basically, being told they have no choice but to fight in the military, in the forces of this rebel leader by the name of Joseph Kony, who describes himself as the messiah. And he wants to establish a biblical state and he's got a very distorted view of how things need to be done. Children in this war are the victims. They're the ones who are suffering and the world knows nothing about it.
PHILLIPS: We've heard so much about Rwanda, Darfur. The last time we talked about Uganda was Idi Amin. So, what -- I mean, is it the type of thing that until the media decides to focus on it, we don't get to hear about it?
NAMDAR: I think that's definitely part of the problem. I think the other problem is, it's such a dangerous place right now. And even aid agencies have trouble getting there because some aid workers actually have been killed. That's part of the problem.
The second problem is the fact that the world, Western nations, Western democracies, African nations -- I mean, these are neighboring countries who you would think would take a stand and say, these are our neighbors, these are our countrymen, these are -- you know, our own race is being slaughtered. And they're doing absolutely nothing about it.
And, of course, part of the responsibility lies on us. Journalists, you know, we can't solve every single problem, but at least we can bring an awareness that, yes, people now know where Darfur is. People know about the tragedy of Rwanda. But how many people have truly heard about the atrocities going on in northern Uganda?
And you mentioned the interview I had on CNN International.
PHILLIPS: You challenged somebody from the U.N., right?
NAMDAR: Yes, I talked to, actually, Olaro Otunnu, who used to work for the U.N. And he said the crisis in northern Uganda is actually worse than Darfur. Let's listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLARO OTUNNU, FORMER U.N. SPECIAL REP.: The rate of infant mortalities are highest in the world in this camps. And 1,000 persons are dying in this camps every week. And Uganda must be the first country in the world where HIV/AIDS is being used as a weapon of mass destruction. Because the government soldiers who are screened, found to be HIV positive, they are then especially deployed in the north to commit maximum havoc on the local women and children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NAMDAR: Frightening assessments. PHILLIPS: So what needs to be done? And who's responsibility is it -- but when you talk to him...
NAMDAR: Well, of course, Kyra, I don't have all the answers. But from the conversation I had with him, he was very adamant that Western democracies, countries like the United States, the most powerful nation on the face of the planet, needs to at least show a commitment to solve the civil war in Uganda.
Once you have a peace process back on track, you get the situation stable. The NGOs and aid relief workers can -- once they can go...
PHILLIPS: ... get in there.
NAMDAR: ... and get the area stable. Then the other issue is African nations. What are they doing? Why don't we have African peacekeepers? Not everything, of course, is the responsibility of the Western democracies. I think Africa needs to take a stand.
And then a reputable aid organization needs to stand up and say, people, you are neglecting what is a human catastrophe unfolding and we are doing nothing about it. Let's all wake up and at least bring in awareness.
PHILLIPS: So, you're continuing to follow this story, of course, on CNN International. And you'll keep us updateed.
NAMDAR: I will. I have been deeply touched by the stories I have heard and I'm bound and determined. If there is few things we can do is at least raise an awareness.
PHILLIPS: We're doing it right now. Asieh Namdar, thank you.
NAMDAR: Sure.
PHILLIPS: Well, the news keeps coming. We're going to keep bringing it to you. A lot more stories to tell you about. More LIVE FROM, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, he was the man who told the Karate Kid "wax on, wax off." Actor Pat Morita died yesterday at his home in Las Vegas after a long and successful career in television and movies.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): As a boy he battled tuberculosis and spent World War II in an internment camp for Japanese-Americans. As an adult, he rose above early ethnic stereotype roles to become a television favorite and an Oscar nominee.
Pat Morita got into show business as a comedian, frequently using his ethnicity as a source of humor. Billing himself as the "hip nip," he eventually landed spots on such popular television shows of the 1960s and '70s as "The Hollywood Palace" and "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson.
But his real television breakthrough came in 1974, when he took a continuing role on "Happy Days" as Arnold, the owner of the malt shop where Fonzie and the gang liked to hang out. Morita later starred in his own brief television series, "Mr. T and Tina."
But in 1984, it was a movie role that earned Morita the most recognition.
PAT MORITA, ACTOR: Daniel son, you trust quality, but you know, not quantity.
PHILLIPS: He earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his portrayal of the Mr. Miyagi, the wise old martial arts teacher in "The Karate Kid.
MORITA: Wax on right hand. Wax off left hand.
PHILLIPS: Despite his convincing performances in "Karate Kid" and its sequels, Morita told CNN he was no martial arts expert in real life.
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: How much did you know about karate before you ever got involved in these films?
MORITA: Zilch. That's Japanese for nada.
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: And how much do you know about karate now?
MORITA: A little. A notch above zilch because when they say, that's a wrap, everything goes.
PHILLIPS: In 1994, Morita was honored with his own star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. He continued to work until the very end. He appeared in three movies released this year. Three more are scheduled for release in 2006.
Kyra Phillips, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Yes, that's me.
Well, actor Pat Morita was 73 years old. And, of course, a lot of us remember him specifically from "The Karate Kid." And don't forget "Happy Days."
Well, more news from Hollywood straight ahead, including controversy surrounding a new film. Sibila?
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. George Clooney's slippery new film has some people up in arms. I'll tell you what the scuffle is all about when LIVE FROM returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Not quite sure if this is a recovery or a rescue mission. We don't want to say either way, but it doesn't look real good right now, as divers are going through this pond in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin.
These are live pictures right now via our affiliate. Is it WITI? Is that right? WITI. And a lot, a number of fire crew -- we first just saw divers, and now we're seeing special fire crews and special equipment.
It actually looks like a possible tube to maybe start draining the water here. They're also putting ladders out into the lake and there's a number of divers -- I should say pond, rather. There is a number of divers out there.
Possibly two people, witnesses say they saw possibly two people fall through the ice out here. There you go. You see some of the members of the rescue crew scouring through in those rafts, just looking for any signs of life, or anybody for that matter.
Possibly a 10-year-old might be in those waters. But two people, witnesses say they saw, go through that cracked ice as divers and fire crews working desperately, just to find some sign of life there at Cedar Grove, Wisconsin.
You can kind of see now, an aerial of how big this area is, and how the water stretches. Don't know what was taking place, if these folks were out there playing on the water, or they're ice skating, playing hockey, ice fishing, all the things that folks like to do out in Wisconsin, this time of year.
Temperatures really cold, about 22 degrees, we're being told. No snow at this point, but it could be possible and that could make the search very difficult. So we'll continue, now they're bringing the dogs out. You can see. So, the effort growing much larger, many more resources coming to this area of water now, to try and find two people that possibly fell through this thin ice.
We'll keep you posted as we get, of course, more information. We're following those live pictures here in the control room, minute- by-minute.
Well, it's no secret that Hollywood tries to influence Washington, but some conservatives charge actor George Clooney's new film, amounts to Bush bashing.
CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas joins us live with more on the movie and it's message. You're going to have to get into a little politics and Hollywood now, Sibila?
VARGAS: That's right, Kyra.
Clooney's film hasn't even rolled out in many theaters, and already it's managing to ruffle some feathers. Now at the heart of "Syriana" is this controversial question: how far will America go to guarantee its supply of oil? (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's running out. And 90 percent of what's left is in the Middle East. This is a fight to the death.
VARGAS (voice-over): "Syriana" weaves a complex tale of corruption and deceit in the global oil industry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no way a company like Helene (ph) pulled off a deal like this without paying somebody off.
VARGAS: That energy companies are capable of misdeed may not shock some audiences.
ALEXANDER SIDDIG, CO-STAR, "SYRIANA": I don't they will have too much trouble believing that this goes on because we've just seen Enron.
VARGAS: In fact, according to a Gallup poll in August, 62 percent of Americans view the oil and gas industry negatively. But what may be more controversial is how "Syriana" depicts American foreign policy in the Middle East, motivated first and foremost by the thirst for oil.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to create a parliament. I want to give women the right to vote.
VARGAS: A reform-minded sheik becomes the target of a CIA assassination plot after he runs afoul of American oil interests. The film's co-stars say the movie isn't pushing a political agenda.
GEORGE CLOONEY, CO-STAR, "SYRIANA": Yes, I think the message is ask questions.
MATT DAMON, CO-STAR, "SYRIANA": It doesn't try give you an answer. You know, it's not a partisan rant.
VARGAS: But some conservatives beg to differ.
JASON APUZZO, EDITOR, LIBERTAS: I think Hollywood brings its agenda to this topic. And, you know, they're free to do it. It's just that there seems to be no diversity, no variety in terms of the content. I think that's what's so troubling to people. It's the same opinion drummed in over and over again.
VARGAS: The film was financed by Participant Productions, a company which says it's goal is to make socially relevant films.
JEFF SKILL, FOUNDER, PARTICIPANT PRODS.: I think this one is not that controversial. Our dependence on oil is causing a lot of problems here and everywhere else. And the message for folks watching the film is that maybe there's a better way to go about this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS (on camera): And George Clooney, who stars in the film and produced it, insists "Syriana" is not a veiled attack on President Bush. He says rather, "it's an indictment of the system." "Syriana," by the way, is playing in limited release right now and opens nationwide on December 9th, and you can bet there's going to be a lot more discussion on this, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Sure, we'll be talking about it, Sibila. Thanks so much.
Well, we're getting some pretty disturbing news, we're going to bring it to you right after the break. It's concerning this search for two individuals believed to be underneath the ice there in this pond in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin. We've been following it for you for the past hour, and we've got some more information. Stay with us, we'll bring it to you after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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