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Man Wielding Knife Shot Dead by New Orleans Police; Mass Grave Discovered in Iraq; Accused Rapist Recaptured; Laser Therapy Last Resort for Smokers Trying to Quit; Two U.S. Pilots Killed in Chopper Crash; Update on Tsunami Baby 81

Aired December 27, 2005 - 13:00   ET

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


BETTY NGUYEN, HOST: From CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Kyra Phillips today. Here are the stories we're working on for you.
A man swinging a knife shot dead by New Orleans police. It is caught on tape. We've got the latest on this investigation.

Baby Nora, the sick Iraqi girl a soldier is trying to save, now just one step closer to getting life-saving treatment in the United States. We'll tell you about that. There's Baby Nora.

And are your tunes making you a target? A word of warning for people caught in iPod oblivion. All that and much more straight ahead.

CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

A confrontation near downtown New Orleans. A man with a knife surrounded by police with guns drawn. Moments later he's dead. CNN's Sean Callebs from the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The shooting came to a deadly conclusion right here on the corner of Felicity and St. Charles in the lower Garden District of the city.

Now authorities say the victim forced the officer's hands by lunging at them with a knife that he had been wielding as he made his way up and down the street.

The drama began right across the street in a Walgreens. Police say the suspect first assaulted an employee there. As he came out, he was confronted by officers, who asked him to get down and surrender to authorities.

Now we have very dramatic pictures that show just a number of officers who had surrounded this individual. They had actually hit him with pepper spray. They say it had virtually no effect. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket, wiped his face off. You can see him wielding a knife. And police say he was acting in a menacing fashion.

When they finally did corner him, at least ten shots were fired by officers. So a question, was it too much force? Here's what the New Orleans' police force has to say about that.

DAVID ADAMS, NEW ORLEANS POLICE SPOKESMAN: Several officers out here, police officers right in front of them, life is in imminent danger. He has to back out of the way to keep from being stabbed in his chest. I don't think it's too much force.

CALLEBS: Still, some residents here in the lower Garden District say that lethal force was not necessary. They say that this individual was well known in this area. And it appeared he was mentally unstable. He was it frequently seen at a fast food restaurant talking to himself, gesturing.

Now, also this shooting comes at a time, a difficult time, for New Orleans police officers. First, there was a very publicized beating that took place in the French Quarter that led to the dismissal of two officers. Also, New Orleans police officers were accused of looting and stealing vehicles from a car dealership at the height of Hurricane Katrina.

However, police say this case is totally different. They say the officers did what they had to do to end this situation.

Sean Callebs, CNN, in New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Now the man who captured the drama on camera is video journalist Phin Percy. He joins us from our New Orleans bureau.

We want to thank you for being here. I don't know. Were you in the right place at the right time? How did you happen to capture that video?

PHIN PERCY, VIDEO JOURNALIST: Well, I actually returned from Seattle home to New Orleans shortly after the hurricane hit to take care of my family. I quit my job to come back and begin documenting what was going on here. I happened to be staying with my dad in his apartment on St. Charles, directly above where this all began.

I became quite used to hearing police cars and fire engine and ambulances racing by on St. Charles since the storm and the flood. It's basically become the main thoroughfare in New Orleans.

But because I'm a news photographer, instinct always draws me to the siren, and yesterday at 3 p.m. I happened to look out the window and I heard a police car and was astonished to see this gentleman with his arms up, and a knife in his right hand, surrounded by maybe a dozen officers, slowly backpedaling his way down St. Charles Avenue. And again, the news instinct kicked in, and I grabbed my camera and began shooting.

NGUYEN: Well, let me ask you this. We're looking at that video now. You see about a dozen officers, many of them with their guns drawn. Were you surprised by that and do you feel that excessive force was used? PERCY: You know, I've been asked that question a number of times. Again, I did not see the shooting. I didn't videotape the shooting.

But my perspective, everything that I saw that led up to the shooting, I saw an individual who had a weapon. He was acting very erratically. He was not responding to the police commands.

And having done stories similar to this in the past, I know that these police officers, they're not trained to be sharpshooters. They're not trained to shoot knives out of hands.

What you can't see in the video is that there were citizens on the sidewalk. And as this confrontation came to an end, from where the suspect was down on the ground, it was apparent that he was moving from the street towards the sidewalk.

What I've heard and what's been reported from the New Orleans police is that this individual lunged at the officers, which certainly doesn't surprise me. He was very erratic. You can see in the video he's flailing his arms...

NGUYEN: Waving arms. Yes, let me ask you this. We can't hear this, but looking at the video, what was the conversation between the man and officers? What was being exchanged there? What were they saying?

PERCY: Well, I'm at the same disadvantage as you are not hearing the audio, because the building has double pane windows. The only things I were able to hear is when the cops got extremely loud and were very insistent that this man drop the weapon and get on the ground. This I heard numerous times. And in the video, you can actually see most of these police officers mouthing what appears to be "Drop the knife, get on the ground."

The suspect's back was to me. I know that at one point he turned and I could see he was talking. What he was saying I don't know. But it wasn't until I actually was heading down once they went out of my view, I wanted to go down to the street and continue shooting, that I was running up the driveway with the camera when I heard the shots.

So I got out on St. Charles Avenue probably less than 10 seconds after the shooting. And as you can imagine, that's when it got extremely loud. More police officers showed up, EMS unit, standard procedure for police, roping off the area, setting up a perimeter. As I don't believe at the time they knew whether this individual was alone or not. It turns out he was.

NGUYEN: And you also mentioned witnesses were around. Some witnesses have been saying that this man was well known in the neighborhood and he was known to have had mental problems.

You're from that area. Had you seen this man before? What do you know about these mental problems that witnesses say?

PERCY: I've been in the city since about mid-September and have seen some of the people come back. And I honestly don't know if I'd seen this individual before. It's possible I may have. I'm always out in front of the building.

As far as the mental problems, I don't know. I know that when the police are in a situation like this they don't have time to determine what someone's mental state is. Just from when I saw the police were doing what they had to do. And if this man -- was a threat.

I mean, it's very sad that it had to happen this way. But I just -- I don't see how it could have been handled any other way if this individual indeed lunged at the officers.

NGUYEN: We're going to leave it there. Phin Percy, video journalist, we thank you for your time and your insight.

In other news, a gruesome discovery in Iraq: a mass grave full of remains of people believed to have been killed by Saddam Hussein's security forces in 1991.

CNN's Arwa Damon is covering developments in Baghdad and she joins us now. Tell us about the mass graves, or this one in particular. How massive was it?

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Betty.

This one was about 20 bodies, or what is believed to be the remains of 20 bodies. Now at this point, all that they've found has been bags of bones and skulls, about some 800 meters away from the al- Hussein (ph) holy shrine in Karbala, south of the capital.

Construction workers were essentially digging, laying down water pipelines and they came across this quite gruesome discovery, a reminder of Iraq's history under Saddam Hussein and some of the things that, you know, people here have suffered.

Now, officials down there are saying that they do believe these are Shias who were killed in Iraq's 1991 Shia uprising against the former president, against Saddam Hussein, where about a total of 30,000 Shias were killed across the country.

Now officials are saying that since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime about 300 mass graves have been uncovered, this being the latest that was found yesterday morning -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Also want to move on to another story, as well. This one about a little baby called Baby Nora. She has spina bifida and looking for surgery here in the U.S. What do you know about the chances of Baby Nora getting to the U.S.?

DAMON: Well, Betty, I have to tell you at this stage, if all goes well, it seems like her chances are quite strong.

She was found by soldiers with the 1st Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division, Charlie Company, in fact, about two weeks ago. They were just conducting a routine cordon and search in Baby Nora's neighborhood when they entered her house. As they were searching it, her mother comes forward to the soldiers, to the medic there, and asks for help, showing what looks like, at first glance, this massive tumor on the baby's back, that the soldiers have then diagnosed to be, as you said, spina bifida.

Now Iraqi doctors had essentially written off Baby Nora as dead, saying she would not survive anymore than a few months, if that. The family had pretty much lost hope. And then that's around the time when Charlie Company, these U.S. soldiers, took on the cause of trying to help Baby Nora.

Now since then, they've arranged for a free flight home for the family, for free medical care once she arrives in the Unite States. Right now, as we speak, she is being looked at on the U.S. military base. She's been moved there with some of her family members, who hopefully will be traveling with her. They're still awaiting visas and passports.

But there are a few interesting things to point out about this case. First of all, is that when the soldiers are traveling there, they only travel at night. They're really trying to keep a low profile. The family does not want the insurgents that exist there -- it's still a very dangerous place. They don't want their identities disclosed. They don't want the insurgents to know that they're accepting help from the U.S. forces.

In fact, when I was there about a week ago, the grandfather made a slitting motion across his throat, indicating that they would possibly be beheaded if this was found out.

And another interesting thing really to point out is that, as much as the U.S. soldiers have gone to great lengths to help this child get to America, get medical care, hopefully in the future be able to get on with her life, she is also really helping them. She has become something of a rallying point for this entire company, something tangible that they can actually, they say, measure what good they're able to do, every day, one step at a time.

They say even if it's one child at a time, this is something that we're doing that we can measure that give us hope for the future. And she really has become a rallying point for these soldiers as they go through their daily hardships of their entire mission here in Iraq -- Betty.

NGUYEN: And if they could save her life wouldn't that be just so remarkable? But I have to ask you, realistically here, when she does come to the U.S., do you have a time frame on when that may be? And if she even gets here, what are the chances of her surviving? I mean, how far along is she?

DAMON: Well, from what we know, her chance of getting to the states right are pretty strong. There's a number of individuals who are working around getting the family the passport, getting them the visas. Like I said, there's the free flight that's been arranged. There's the medical care that's been arranged. From what we know right now, doctors do believe that she can be saved, that her chances will be quite high that she will make a full recovery. And probably, hopefully, you know, be able to carry on with a normal life.

But one thing is for sure that, since the Iraqi doctors had written her off, at least getting her to America, she's being able to be given something a little bit more than this country right now is able to provide for her -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Baby Nora is her name. And if she does get to the U.S., hopefully it will be sometime very soon, and she'll be coming to Atlanta, as far as what I know, to get medical attention right here. Thank you so much for your time, Arwa. We appreciate it.

Well, it is cold and flu season. So you keep some pills on hand to relieve those symptoms. We all do. But before you take that pill, there is some vital information you need to know. We'll have it for you, coming up on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: A man wanted in a string of notorious rapes in south Florida is off the street and back in jail. Reynaldo Rapalo was recaptured last night in southwest Miami, days after escaping from jail. Rapalo is accused of sexually assaulting seven women and girls aged 11 through 79.

Now, earlier today, a judge called him a danger to the community and ordered him be held without bond.

Joining us from Miami with the latest is CNN's John Zarrella. How did this all unfold, John?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, the way it unfolded was that, you know, police have been looking for him since December 20 when he rappelled out the side of the jail, where he was held, on bed sheets tied together.

Of course, that sent shockwaves through the community, in not knowing whether he was still in the neighborhood, in the area, where he was going. And they put out flyers with his pictures all over. And had been very high profile -- obviously high-profile case, during the last week.

And then last night, after about 280 tips during the past seven days, they got a tip from someone, anonymous, who said that, in fact, that they spotted a man that looked like Rapalo in a strip mall area.

Police who happened to be in the area, a narcotics team, approached the man, who fit the description that the tipster had phoned in, started talking with him. Rapalo then told them that he was a hopeless man, that he was here from Nicaragua. They became very suspicious. And while they were continuing to question him, he bolted, ran across the parking lot. They pursued him with -- with search dogs, with canine units, and were able to catch him and then bring him into custody.

So it was from one of the tips, paid off last night finally, and got this man off the street, who as you said is accused of these seven rapes of women and is considered -- was considered very dangerous, became known as the Shenandoah rapist for the neighborhood in which those attacks were carried out in 2002 and 2003 -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Have you learned anything more about this anonymous tipster? Who is this person, what led to this?

ZARRELLA: Well, police, we believe, know who the tipster is, but the person has decided to remain anonymous. It was apparently, according to authorities, just someone in the area there who happened to spot this man, looked suspicious, appeared to fit the description of Rapalo. They did what good people do, what good citizens do. They called it in. And now they stand to make $36,000. That was the reward money for tips leading to his arrest -- Betty.

NGUYEN: John Zarrella, thank you so much.

Other news to tell you about right now. We want to go live now to a news conference. Tony Dungy, the Indianapolis Colts coach, was having a funeral today for his 18-year-old son. Let's take a listen.

TONY DUNGY, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS COACH: ... growing up. And James was a good young man with a compassionate heart and we were glad to have him for 18 years. We're also glad that he accepted Christ as his savior so that God has him now for the rest of eternity. Thank you.

NGUYEN: And that was Tony Dungy, the Indianapolis Colts coach. His son, 18 years old, appears to have committed suicide. The funeral today. But toxicology will determine the exact cause of death.

But as you can imagine, a very difficult day for the Dungy family and many of those involved with the Colts organization. Many of the players were on hand today for this funeral to pay their last respects and say their last good-byes to Tony Dungy's son, 18-year-old, just 18 years old. Having a funeral today and it appears that he died of suicide and a toxicology study will determine the exact cause. Right now that's what we are learning from reports. We'll keep you posted.

Well, the medication made him do it. And police in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, say that is what former baseball star Jeff Reardon is saying after being arrested on charges of robbing a jewelry store.

Reardon, one of the top relief pitchers in history, is expected to be released shortly on $5,000 bond. Police say Reardon walked into a store yesterday, gave an employee a note saying he had a gun, took a bag of money and then ran. He was found at a nearby restaurant without a gun.

Reardon retired in 1994 after earning more than $11 million in his Major League career. Now his attorney says Reardon is on anti- depressants following the death of one of his children and he' also taking medication for a heart condition. He underwent angioplasty just last week. A popular painkiller may get rid of your headache but take too much and it could also do terrible damage to your liver. Millions of people safely use acetaminophen every year. You probably know it best as Tylenol.

Well, the problem comes when people ignore the safe dose or unwittingly take too much. Acetaminophen is in hundreds of products, including other over the counter remedies like Theraflu and Excedrin and prescription drugs like Vicodin and Percocet.

The recommended dose for adults is no more than 4,000 milligrams a day, which is equal to eight extra strength pills. But more people are taking more than the recommended dosage. New study finds acetaminophen was blamed for 28 percent of liver poisonings in 1998. But in 2003 that figure almost doubled.

Countless people make quitting smoking their new year's resolution. But many find going cold turkey or using nicotine gum just doesn't work. Now, laser therapy could come to the rescue.

Here's CNN's Heidi Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joanne Singer has been smoking a pack a day for 40 years. She's tried to quit four or five times.

JOANNE SINGER, SMOKER: When I've tried to use the patch or to be hypnotized, that didn't work.

COLLINS: Going cold turkey didn't work either.

SINGER: I started gaining the weight, and then you don't feel good about yourself. And then you crave the cigarette again, and it's like what am I doing to myself?

COLLINS: Joanne hopes a new treatment will put an end to her smoking once and for all. It's called laser therapy. Anne Penman, a former smoker and pub owner from Scotland with no medical training, says the treatment worked for her so she marketed it.

ANNE PENMAN, ANNE PENMAN CENTER: I'm so happy to see you here today.

COLLINS: Opening her first clinic in Glasgow in 1982. In the past two years, she has franchised 34 clinics in the U.S., like this one in New Jersey.

PENMAN: It's a cold (ph), noninvasive laser, and we use it on 27 energy points on the body. We use it on points on the ears, hand, nose and wrists. These are specifically chosen energy points to help stimulate the endorphin level.

COLLINS: Endorphins relax the human nervous system. The body produces them naturally, especially during stress, pain or exercise. Penman says that can curb a smoker's nicotine cravings when they are the strongest, just days after quitting.

The therapy costs $350 for three sessions performed by technicians, not doctors. Penman says she has tracked the success rate of the more than 8,000 people in the U.S. and 25,000 in U.S. who have tried the therapy.

PENMAN: In America, we have followed the success of our clients and have a documented success rate of 64 percent. Here in the U.K., we have followed our clients right up until six months and have a 52 percent success rate, dropping down to 46 percent at the end of the first year.

COLLINS (on camera): The numbers sound good. But the truth is there have been no clinical trials on Penman's laser therapy. Organizations like the American Cancer Society say there are other methods to help people stop smoking with proven track records. Five nicotine replacement therapies and one antidepressant are FDA approved, and each have a 10 percent to 20 percent documented success rate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My concern with going directly to laser therapy is that you may squander an opportunity to use a method that we do have data on. I would only say that laser therapy is something that's an absolute last resort after a smoker has made good solid attempts to quit smoking with the proven methods.

COLLINS (voice-over): Penman says a clinical trial of laser therapy is set to begin early next year.

SINGER: I'm looking forward to never having another cigarette again. I really -- I really feel hop hopeful that this is going to be the aid that I needed to get me to quit smoking for good.

COLLINS: Heidi Collins, CNN, Hamilton, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, the road to recovery in New Orleans. We're going to talk to former sitcom star Harry Anderson. Coming up, find out how he's using his nightclub and his big name to bring the Big Easy together. That's next on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Three more American soldiers have been killed in the war on Iraq. Two Army pilots died when their Apache helicopter crashed in west Baghdad yesterday. For more now, we want to go to CNN's Jamie McIntyre.

Jamie, what do you know?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, we have learned that the deaths of these two U.S. soldiers have been the result of a midair collision between two Apache helicopters.

It happened the night, last night in Iraq, December 26. The Apaches were flying close to each other when they clipped each other. One of the helicopters, we're told from sources, crashed and caught fire on impact. The two soldiers in that helicopter were killed.

The pilots of the other Apache helicopter were able to return to their base in Taji, northwest of Baghdad, suffering some structural damage to the helicopter.

Obviously, an investigation is under way to figure out how this happened. We don't know what the weather was and whether that was a factor in these helicopters coming too close.

But again, not a result of hostile fire, but a result of a midair collision, an accident between these two helicopters. And again, it just shows how dangerous it is, flying these helicopters in that environment at night. They're often using night vision goggles. They're watching for threats from the ground. And in this case, it appears the two helicopters did come in contact in the air and that's what caused the death of those two American soldiers -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Jamie, you mentioned weather. That was a question I was going to ask, if weather played a factor at all. You said they were low to the ground. I imagine there had to be some kind of a conversation between them. Would they know they were so close to each other? Is that something that maybe would have happened on them out of the blue? I mean, it seems like there would have been some kind of contact.

MCINTYRE: Well, they train for this all the time. Obviously, they're flying in these kinds of conditions. They know how to do this safely. They know the things that have to be done in order to ensure this doesn't happen.

But in any case where you have this kind of a mishap, usually more than one thing has gone wrong. Either there's a distraction on the ground, there's a weather problem, somebody comes disoriented. Somewhere there's a breakdown in the system. Unless, of course, it turns out there's some sort of mechanical problem with one of the helicopters.

At this point it doesn't appear that's the case. It appears it's simply some factor intervened that caused the two helicopters to become too close.

NGUYEN: Well, it is under investigation and, hopefully, we'll know more very soon.

Jamie McIntyre, thank you for that report.

(MARKET REPORT)

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHO: Well, there's no laugh track here. Former sitcom star and Katrina survivor Harry Anderson is taking on a serious cause, rebuilding his beloved New Orleans.

CNN's Alina Cho talked to him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Harry Anderson sees a bit of humor in everything. Even tragedy.

HARRY ANDERSON, COMEDIAN, NIGHTCLUB OWNER, RESIDENT: We haven't caught Osama, but we've pretty much ruled out the ninth ward.

CHO: The actor/comedian who used to perform every week at the New Orleans nightclub he owns, is now giving his audience a different kind of show.

ANDERSON: Tonight is election night. In case you didn't know it, our election has been postponed.

CHO: Every Wednesday, Anderson opens his doors to the public. His dark, smoky nightclub serves as a backdrop for a little laughter, information . . .

ANDERSON: You can make your opinions known to the governor regarding this issue.

CHO: And lively debate.

ANDERSON: Ray Nagin can get up there and say whatever he wants and nobody calls him down on it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

ANDERSON: Huh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's tyranny.

ANDERSON: We can laugh, we can cry often over the same thing, you know? What doesn't seem to be horrifyingly tragic seems to be unbelievable absurd. There's very little middle ground. We're an exciting place.

CHO: Anderson should look familiar.

ANDERSON: Boy, I must really be depressed.

CHO: He played Judge Harry Stone in the popular TV series "Night Court." But after several years in Hollywood, he wanted a change and settled in New Orleans, the same place he performed magic tricks in the 1970s. Today, he and his wife are business owners in the French Quarter. Anderson says post-Katrina the jokes come easy.

ANDERSON: Wilma, you know, took out hotels in Miami like God intended hurricanes to do. But Katrina and Rita, don't trust a hurricane named after a stripper. This is, I think, the lesson we've learned. Next year when Hurricane Tiffany comes, we're all out of here.

CHO: Joking aside, he says the weekly meetings at his club are not just a forum for discussion, but change. In October, the group held a sit-in at a local bar to protest curfews. The curfews were later extended. And now, he says, not even enforced.

ANDERSON: We have to accept the things that we can't change and we have to roll up our sleeves and start dealing with the things that we can change.

CHO: Anderson says the new New Orleans is not perfect, but he still can't imagine being anywhere else.

ANDERSON: We laugh more hours. We enjoy more of our day. We do have things that we have to deal with now, but we're still oddly very happy.

CHO: It's home.

Alina Cho, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Harry Anderson's club is called Oswald's Speakeasy. It's named after Lee Harvey Oswald. Of course it features a drink called The Grassy Knoll.

Amid the misery inflicted by last year's Asian tsunami, an unexpected breakthrough in the long and bloody war. The peace that came to fruition in Indonesia still eludes Sri Lanka. We're going to a look at the reasons behind that when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Amid all the stories of terrible loss in last year's tsunami, there was one of rescue that touched so many hearts. A story of a baby known only by a number. A little boy who more than one mother desperately wanted to take home. CNN's Satinder Bindra updates us on Baby 81, a story seen first on "ANDERSON COOPER 360"

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On December 26, last year, a raging sea tore a four-month-old boy from his mother's arms. Hours later, he was found floating on this tire by a school teacher who took him to a hospital in Eastern Sri Lanka.

The staff there called him baby 81. The 81st patient seen in the wake of the tsunami. Word spread of the infant's survival. And several couples who lost children in the tsunami began claiming the baby boy was theirs.

One couple, the Jayarajah took a DNA test and won a lengthy court battle to get their son back. Baby 81 is now 16 months old. His name is Abilash, it means hope and he's come to symbolize the aspirations of all Sri Lankans trying to forget the tsunami and build a future.

"I pray when he grows up, he does good things that make us all proud," says his father. "I trust that will happen." Abilash and his parent's home was destroyed by the tsunami. They now live in a rented house. Despite several pledges, the Jayarajah's say they're disappointed they haven't received any funds to rebuild their lives.

"I'm not angry, but feel sad we didn't get anything," he says. "We couldn't rebuild our home and are still not settled."

BINDER (on camera): Murugupillai Jayarajah he now runs this small hair cutting salon with his brother. He says business is good because of his family's fame with many customers coming here just to meet Abilash's father.

BINDER (voice over): Murugupillai makes about $8 a day, a decent wage in these parts. He and his wife dream of giving their son the best possible education.

"Our only hope is to keep him happy," she says. "And bring him up in the best possible manner."

The Jayarajah's says they feel the pressure of raising such a famous son, a baby whose story marks the triumph of the human spirit against a savage sea.

Satinder Bindra, CNN, Eastern Sri Lanka.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Two of the country's that were ravaged by last year's tsunami had been ravaged for decades by civil war. In Indonesia, however, the epic disaster prompted Aceh rebels and government forces to work together.

Today, a year and a day after more than 130,000 Indonesians were swept to their death, the rebel fighters officially disbanded.

Not so in Sri Lanka. There, encouraging overtures gave way to entrenched hostilities. And now, while Indonesians are savoring their breakthrough, Sri Lanka's military is reeling from the latest attack attributed to the Tamil Tigers.

Iqbal Athas is a journalist based in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. He joins me on the phone to talk about these attacks. Before we get to that, I want to ask you, as we look to the tsunami last year and all the cooperation it caused, people focused on relief efforts and put down their weapons, a year later it seems like the violence is picking up. How much has it picked up, especially in Sri Lanka?

IQBAL ATHAS, JOURNALIST: There are increasing fears that a war may resume between the Sri Lankan security forces and the Tamil Tiger rebels. The near-four-year cease fire is increasingly becoming fragile. And in the last two weeks, we have seen more than 50 soldiers and sailors of the Navy being killed.

Today, 11 soldiers were killed in an attack in Northern Sri Lanka near the neat the northern capital of Jaffna.

NGUYEN: How is this affecting civilian life there on the ground? Has it come to a standstill? Has it caused all kinds of problems there?

ATHAS: In fact it has taken a disturbing turn. Because civilian front organizations of the Tamil Tiger rebels have already staged a civil disobedience campaign in the Northern Jaffna Peninsula.

Beginning yesterday, all government offices have been closed. And today saw the closure of all banks. And gradually, civilian life is coming to a standstill as a result.

NGUYEN: We want to talk about this latest violence as being reported. Some ten Sri Lankan soldiers reportedly killed by the Tamil Tigers and they're blaming this violence though -- that group, the rebels, are blaming it on civilians. So kind of give us the history here with the Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan government.

ATHAS: Well, Indonesia parts, stability from 2002, the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tigers have entered into a cease fire. And Norway has been playing the role of peace facilitator. But the peace talks have remained stalled in bickerings between both the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels.

In the recent wave of violence, the rebels have been disowning, they have claimed that this is done by civilian organizations protesting against what they call attacks by the security forces. However, the government of Sri Lanka has pointedly accused of rebels of being responsible for these string of attacks.

NGUYEN: Iqbal Athas, a journalist there in Colombo, thank you for that update on this latest upsurge in violence there. We appreciate it.

Well, don't let your favorite new toy make you a target for thieves. That's right, thieves. What one city is doing to help people lost in the music when LIVE FROM continues.

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NGUYEN: You've seen them. Maybe you're one of them. People who can't go anywhere without their trusty iPods. Well, take note, police in Boston are warning commuters with iPods to be very alert. That is because thieves have been targeting people who get lost in the music.

More now from Boston bureau chief Dan Lothian.

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DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The crushing crowds and deafening noise of Boston's busy rail commute a potential thief's paradise. Their targets? Passengers lost in their iPods.

LT. DET. MARK GILLESPIE, MASS. BAY TRANSIT POLICE: When you have them on, you've signed off mentally as to paying attention to anything other than you're doing than walking and listening to your music.

LOTHIAN: This passenger seems completely oblivious to a transit order wearing a bright-colored vest warning passengers to be on the lookout.

GILLESPIE: Sir? Sir?

Some of the people we have to actually take a couple extra steps after and actually physically touch them to hand out these flyers to get their attention.

LOTHIAN (on camera): Being zoned out has cost some commuters dearly. Investigators have seen a rise in robberies around the transit system. Cash, credit cards and other valuables snatched from the pockets and purses of commuters who are either listening to music or deep in a cell phone conversation.

GILLESPIE: If you have an iPod or you talk on a cell phone you should read this.

LOTHIAN (voice over): Fearing these crimes could escalate, especially during the busy holiday season, Boston Transit Police and other law enforcement agencies have launched a safety campaign, handing out flyers with tips like staying alert or removing earphones when entering or leaving a subway station at night.

GILLESPIE: But if people don't take these measures of safety, that they could potentially become victims.

LOTHIAN: Undercover officers will also be working the crowds at some stations. Elvis Hernandez loves his music but won't let the volume drown his sense of awareness.

ELVIS HERNANDEZ, TRANSIT RIDER: But I do pay attention. I do be careful of my surroundings, especially in the holiday season. It gets a little crazy around here.

LOTHIAN: This commuter stays safe by dropping the stereo.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I usually keep one off, so I don't really -- I can still hear what's going on around me.

LOTHIAN: An effort to keep commuters tuned in to their surroundings and not just their iPod.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

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NGUYEN: You may not have known his name, but it's likely you'll always recognize this face. Take a look. Fans are mourning the death of character actor Vincent Schiavelli. His droopy eyes and gloomy look earned him many creepy or eccentric roles. He appeared in movies including "Ghost," "Ammadeus," and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." He also wrote three cookbooks and many food articles. Schiavelli died of lung cancer yesterday at his home in Sicily. He was 57. Well, a trip to the mall turns into a deadly terrorist disaster. Could that happen right here in the U.S.? Security experts fear it could, so they are looking outside the U.S. for a little help and granting CNN exclusive access. That's straight ahead.

And a sense of relief in Miami today after a suspected rapist is recaptured. We're going to go live to Miami for the latest when LIVE FROM returns.

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