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Harry Whittington Speaks Out; Port Security Deal Stirs Controversy; Alternative Minimum Tax Impacting More Americans; Virginia Cops Receive Sex Favors To Crack Down On Prostitution; Skater Emily Hughes In Torino; Reclaiming What Was Stolen By Nazis; 5-year- old Hero; Agnes Chan Helps Children
Aired February 17, 2006 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's the top of the hour.
He's definitely bruised. He says he's blessed, and he even invited the man who shot him to come back and hunt some more -- Harry Whittington, out of the hospital today, several days sooner than expected, his face and neck bruised from shotgun wounds inflicted accidentally by Vice President Dick Cheney six days ago.
Whittington told reporters that accidents do happen, will happen, and that's what happened to him.
Here's his statement to reporters in full.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Harry Whittington.
HARRY WHITTINGTON, ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING VICTIM: How are you all?
Good afternoon.
All of you media have been very patient, and waiting for me to make my appearance here. I hope you understand. I'm sorry I have delayed you, but I know your role is to get the news out to the public. I compliment you on what you have done. I have read and seen many of your reports, and I know your job isn't easy. I regret that I couldn't have been here earlier, so you could see what a lucky person I am.
For many years, my family have been friends of the Armstrongs down in Kenedy County. We have visited them for over 25 years, and have had some wonderful trips and visits and pleasant memories that we cherish forever.
However, this past weekend encompassed all of us in a cloud of misfortune and sadness that is not easy to explain, especially to those who are not familiar with the great sport of quail hunting. We all assume certain risks in whatever we do, whatever activities we pursue. And, regardless of how experienced, careful and dedicated we are, accidents do and will happen. And that's what happened last Friday.
I am very grateful and want to thank all of the people who have remembered me in their prayers and the kindness that I have -- that you have extended to my family, who has been here this week.
My family and I are deeply sorry for all that Vice President Cheney and his family have had to go through this past week. We send our love and respect to them, as they deal with situations that are much more serious than what we have had this week. And we hope that he will continue to come to Texas and seek the relaxation that he deserves.
I also thank all of you for understanding, the best you can, that medical attention is very important to someone my age, and you haven't failed to give my age.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITTINGTON: Finally, I want to say, there's simply not adequate words to express my gratitude and appreciation to the very talented physicians, medical staff, nurses of this great Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital system here in Corpus Christi and in Kingsville.
They have given me exceptional treatment, care and compassion, for which I am very grateful. They are truly remarkable servants of God, and I am extremely blessed for all they have done.
Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the Austin attorney was wounded in the face, neck and chest.
Right after Harry Whittington talked to reporters, Vice President Cheney talked to a joint session of his home state Wyoming legislature. He was obviously relieved by Whittington recovery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD B. CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a wonderful experience to be greeted with such warmth by the leaders of our great state. That's especially true when you have had a very long week.
(LAUGHTER)
CHENEY: Thankfully, Harry Whittington is on the mend and doing very well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Earlier this week, Cheney took full blame for the accident, calling last Saturday one of the worst days of his life.
Big questions over a big sale -- a $6.8 billion deal lets a company controlled by an Arab government take over port operations in six U.S. cities. The Bush administration says it's OK.
Bill Tucker investigates the high-level questions about the deal. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No review of the takeover of Dubai Ports World's acquisitions of P&O's operations and ports in the United States. Administration officials made that clear.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: And we're here...
TUCKER: But a bipartisan congressional group wants a delay, calling for a full review of the deal announced on Monday, by which D.P. World will take control of some operations in six ports, New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. Dubai Ports World is owned by the government of Dubai.
SCHUMER: Outsourcing the operations of our largest ports to a country with a dubious record on terrorism is a homeland security accident waiting to happen.
TUCKER: They're asking for a 45-day review of the deal.
REP. MARK FOLEY (R), FOLEY: This is, after all, a country that still sees the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan and still fails to recognize Israel as a sovereign state.
TUCKER: Yet, it's a deal which has already received the blessings of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
REP. CHRIS SHAYS (D), CONNECTICUT: The last thing you want is for a country like this to have control of five of our ports.
TUCKER: Because it raises security concerns. Only five percent of all containers entering American ports are ever inspected by the Department of Homeland Security.
SEN. TOM COBURN (R), OKLAHOMA: The thing that concerns me about this is, the one area where we haven't done as good a job we need to do so far has been in our port security.
TUCKER: Officials for the Department of Homeland Security say the deal has been rigorously reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Bill Tucker, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: So, is enough being done to protect our ports? American longshoremen are still working the docks, and federal agents still screen containers. What else should or could be done?
Joining us with more on the issue of safety at U.S. ports, Captain Bill Uberti, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard station San Francisco on Yerba Buena Island, California.
Captain, nice to have you with us.
CAPTAIN BILL UBERTI, U.S. COAST GUARD: Thank you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Listen -- just, I want to get your first reaction to the story that we just aired. Should we, as American citizens, be concerned about companies in the Middle East operating U.S. ports?
UBERTI: Well, Kyra, I can't comment directly on that.
But the American citizens absolutely should be concerned about the security in their ports. And, because of that, the Coast Guard here works with other federal maritime agencies and our facility operators and longshoremen to make these ports secure.
PHILLIPS: Captain, take us through a typical day about security at your port. Let's say a container is coming in from overseas. Tell me how the day would go with regard to security.
UBERTI: Well, each facility is required to have a facility security officer, who writes a facility security plan.
And in this plan has procedures for port access, for restricted areas, for screening cargo, that type of thing. And, so, every day, the facilities are doing this. Now, what the Coast Guard does is, we ensure that those plans are being properly executed here. Every day, we patrol the waterways. We use -- we patrol the air above the facilities.
And we also have land patrols to make sure that everything's in place here.
PHILLIPS: Now, in that -- in the piece that Bill Tucker reported, he said that U.S. seaports handled two billion tons of freight each year. But only 5 percent of those containers entering the U.S. or exam -- are examined. Is that true?
UBERTI: There's -- all containers are -- are screened, but not all of them are opened. You don't have to open every one. But they are all looked at by -- through a screening process. And the agency that does -- is primarily doing this is Customs and Border Protection.
PHILLIPS: So, when they are examined, this process of examining, like you say, without opening them, can you still detect, say, weapons, or bombs, or anything that could be a threat to the ports or to the U.S. waterways?
UBERTI: OK. Well, that's more of a Customs and Border Protection Agency procedure there.
So -- but they do have procedures in place to deal with that.
PHILLIPS: Now, you have to operate through the -- the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. Whether you're a U.S. operator at that port or a Middle East company operating the port, no matter what, you have to abide -- or obey that security act, right?
UBERTI: Yes. Each -- any facility that has a foreign or a U.S. ship that trades there commercially has to have a facility security assessment, and a facility security plan, and a facility security officer, and procedures in place.
PHILLIPS: So, that's everything that's under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002? Nobody is exempt from that?
UBERTI: No commercial facilities, correct.
PHILLIPS: OK.
So, now, taking a look at these containers coming in, let's say there's a big container coming in from Seattle, but there's also a container coming in from the Middle East. Do you look at the container coming in from the Middle East with a little -- maybe a little more scrutiny than the one coming in from Seattle? Does it raise any red flags?
UBERTI: Again, this is a Customs and Border Protection program. And they would deal with that.
But, then, if they found something like that, the procedure is, they would alert us. And, together, we would do joint boardings on these ships and examine it before it actually came into the port.
PHILLIPS: Have you had any close calls, Captain, since 9/11?
UBERTI: We have had a couple ones that were false hits. So, we have been lucky so far on that, yes.
PHILLIPS: When you say false hits, is it a phone call? Is it paperwork? How do you know that something may seem a little strange or a little fishy?
UBERTI: Well, sometimes, we get intelligence tips. And, when that happens, we will board the ship offshore. Sometimes, we get phone calls, and we investigate it. So, there's all kinds of sources that come up, and we investigate each one.
PHILLIPS: Now, I remember being overseas in Iraq, and the Coast Guard was highly involved in trying to protect vessels and the waterways, and any type of illegal cargo coming back and forth. As a matter of fact, the Coast Guard had trained SWAT teams armed and in the ribs.
Do you have that type of capability and that type of response at these various ports, your port and these other ports that may be purchased by this company, this Dubai company?
UBERTI: We have Marines' safety and security teams that are very specialized in this that would help us deal with a situation, if we had an emergency situation like that.
PHILLIPS: Captain Bill Uberti, appreciate your time, sir.
UBERTI: Thank you very much.
PHILLIPS: Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. The news keeps coming. We will keep bringing it to you -- more LIVE FROM next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Was it necessary restraint or a brutal beating? Florida officials have released a videotape recorded just hours before a 14-year-old boy died at a juvenile detention camp.
CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti joins us live -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
And that's the question here.
A medical examiner in Bay County, Florida, in the Panhandle here, says that this youngster died of natural causes brought on by a complication of having a sickle cell trait. However, there are others who are questioning, as you indicated, whether excessive force was used to control this young man at a juvenile boot camp.
His name, 14-year-old Martin Anderson. This happened early last month. It was his first day at a boot camp for juvenile delinquents, nonviolent offenders. Now, you are going to see a series of moves here. This first one, an officer knees him, and they do their first throw-down on the boy, as he was running around the track.
About 13 minutes later, an officer is seen punching him in the arms. You might see that off to the left side of your screen. Then, about four minutes after that, he is pulled, his head back -- is pulled from the back, thrown to the back. And, three minutes later, a nurse who had been standing around finally approaches him, gets out her stethoscope for the very first time.
And, a good nine minutes later, a stretcher arrives at the scene and the boy is put on there. He is airlifted to another hospital in Pensacola, Florida, and eventually dies.
Now, the medical examiner has told CNN that the boy was being uncooperative with the authorities and unresponsive, but that he was not complaining of having any trouble breathing, while there are others who question that, question the kind of control techniques that were being used on this youngster and others at the boot camp.
And they also want to know, why did it take so long to call for help, when, in their view, the boy was not offering any kind of resistance? Why did it take so long to recognize that he was in medical distress? His mother is reacting this way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINA JONES, MOTHER OF MARTIN LEE ANDERSON: I couldn't even watch the whole tape. Me, as a mom, I knew my baby was in pain. And I'm in pain just looking at the tape. I couldn't even watch the whole tape. My baby didn't even deserve this right here. I think I walked out on the part when they had him, throwing him against the pole. You could see one of his knees, where he could -- barely standing up. And they was still restraining him, throwing him against a pole.
Martin didn't even have a chance. I feel like my baby was just being picked on. They picked on him so much, until they murdered my baby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now, of course, this is a controversy that clearly will be going on for some time. There are investigations going on, one that is being conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for the state attorney's office in that county.
As well, the federal prosecutors from that area, joined by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, are looking into whether excessive force was used and whether he was deprived of medical care.
So, again, a lot of questions, not many answers at this time -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Susan Candiotti, thanks for that report.
The parents of a missing Alabama teenager are suing one of the young men questioned in her disappearance. Natalie Holloway disappeared in Aruba last May during a high school graduation trip. Eighteen-year-old Joran van der Sloot and his father were served with the lawsuit Thursday, during a trip to New York. The lawsuit calls van der Sloot a predator and accuses him of sexual assault and malicious, wanton and willful disregard of Holloway's rights, safety, and well-being -- no comment from the van der Sloot family.
The FBI has dropped its investigation of former Spokane, Washington, Mayor Jim West. West was voted out of office in December, after the local newspaper reported that he offered city jobs to gay men that he met over the Internet. And a city council probe concluded that he violated state law and city computer use policies.
The FBI also launched an investigation, but authorities now say the FBI probe found no evidence to support federal charges. West calls that finding exoneration, and he won't rule out another run for office.
They will have to be quick, because she is. The hunt continues for Vivi, the missing show dog. As a winter storm approaches, time could be running out. We will hear from one of Vivi's owners straight ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, she has almost certainly shucked her sweater. Now temperatures are dropping. Today is a crucial day for Vivi, the lost whippet -- that is, if she is still alive in the marshlands surrounding New York's JFK Airport. While the official search has ended, the owners are still trying to find their beloved pet and show dog.
One of them described their plan to CNN's Miles O'Brien today on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AMERICAN MORNING")
PAUL LEPIANE, CO-OWNER OF LOST DOG: Today, we hope to get some search and rescue dogs out there to go into the wooded area and sniff her out. If that -- if we can't get that organized, I want to place lots of, like, cans of cat food, something with a lot of odor, all along the perimeter fence, so maybe she will come out with that smell. So, we're hoping to flush her out today.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And she's worth a lot of money, isn't she?
LEPIANE: Yes, but it's hard to put a price on it.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
LEPIANE: And it's Jil's, the co-owner's, only dog, and it's her house pet. She's with her 24 hours a day. So, how do you put a value on that?
O'BRIEN: So it's really not just a show dog...
LEPIANE: Right.
O'BRIEN: This is a member of the family to her?
LEPIANE: Oh, totally. Totally.
O'BRIEN: How did it happen? How could she possibly have gotten out of the cage? There was a lock on it, right?
LEPIANE: Well, a latch. It wasn't padlocked.
O'BRIEN: Right, one of those squeeze latches that you're more familiar with.
LEPIANE: Yes.
And she -- she has traveled in that crate a lot. She has flown in that crate a lot. And all we know is, we checked her in at 9:45. Jil did. And everything was fine. Jil was waiting on the plane. And, at noon, when -- right before the plane was due to take off, they notified her the crate was there, but there was no dog in it.
O'BRIEN: Wow.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: So, no one knows. LEPIANE: We don't know. And there was -- a Port Authority policeman followed her for a while and saw her go through a break in the fence out into the marshlands.
O'BRIEN: All right. Is there a chance there was any malicious foul play involved in all this?
(CROSSTALK)
LEPIANE: We don't know.
O'BRIEN: You don't know.
LEPIANE: We just don't know.
O'BRIEN: All right, quickly, if somebody should see this dog, what do they do?
LEPIANE: The most important thing is call Port Authority at JFK or animal control. Don't chase her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And you can start your morning off right. Join Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien on "AMERICAN MORNING." That is at its new time, 6:00 a.m. Eastern.
(MUSIC)
PHILLIPS: Not to be a killjoy, but we have to talk about your income taxes right now. And, if that wasn't depressing enough. There's a wrinkle in the tax code that affects a lot of you. It's called AMT, the alternative minimum tax. And it's the cause of many a migraine this tax season.
CNN's Valerie Morris here to help us understand it, help beat those migraines.
Valerie, good to see you.
All right, we need a quick history of this tax, how it got started, and what went wrong, and why it's catching more people.
VALERIE MORRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the first thing is that most Americans don't realize that many taxpayers must compute their taxes twice, first, the way that you do regular taxes, and, then, refigure the thing under the alternative minimum tax.
And, then, you have to pay the higher of the two. Under the AMT, you lose your ability to take some big deductions, including those for state and local taxes. Also, the interest that you pay on certain home equity loans, you lose that. You will also owe tax on certain kinds of municipal bonds, which are normally tax-free.
You will owe even on some big-ticket health cost -- health care costs. And you lose the benefit of your personal exemption. So, the AMT is really costing more and more middle-class tax payers thousands of dollars each year. And, Kyra, even scarier, people don't know that they are being hit until they do their returns.
Now, you had asked me for a quick history. About 40 years ago, this was developed. The goal was to stop millionaires from having loopholes and deductions to avoid taxes. It started to hit Middle America with those 2001 tax cuts, which gave the various tax credits. Income is taxed at a lower a rate for inflation, but the AMT has never been indexed for inflation. And that's the reason now more average Americans will pay it.
As a specialist on this, Mary Beth Franklin at "Kiplinger" magazine says what was a class tax is now a mass tax.
PHILLIPS: Well, this is a pretty scary subject for lots of taxpayers. And we have taken some viewer questions on the subject.
The first one comes from Tom in Boston. He wants to know: "Where is the danger zone? At what income level should I be concerned?"
MORRIS: Well, the reality is that it's not just based on income.
But people in the danger zone of AMT, let me profile it this way, married couples who earn $100,000 or more income, although some families who have earned just $75,000 have been caught in the AMT crosshairs. But one of the bigger factors, Kyra, is where you live. People who live in high tax states, like California and New York, are potentially more susceptible to the AMT, and people will children, especially large families.
And the reason is that the AMT doesn't allow for any usual deductions, like the personal exemption, claiming dependents, which is $3,200 a person -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So, how many people are hit by this tax every year? And how much more do they have to pay?
MORRIS: Oh, are you ready for this? I mean, the numbers are staggering.
PHILLIPS: I don't know.
(LAUGHTER)
MORRIS: According to the Policy Center, nearly four million last year, about 15 million in 2006, 28.5 million in 2015. And the typical extra ding is about $3,000. And according to the Congressional Budget Office, it says that, in 2006, a family of four can step into the AMT quicksand once its adjusted gross income exceeds $67,500.
PHILLIPS: So, where can people go for help?
MORRIS: There's taxware software that will automatically show it. Your tax preparer can figure it out to let you know if, in fact, the AMT is going to hit you this year and warn you about the potential liability next year.
Also, IRS.gov, the Web site, has a new tool that's called AMT assistant. And that will help you figure it out, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, thank you so much, Valerie Morris. This weekend, I'm going to be a busy woman.
(LAUGHTER)
MORRIS: Oh, get it done.
PHILLIPS: Thank you.
MORRIS: Get it done.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: I know. This is the goal.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: I'm telling you, I have blocked out two days.
All right. Thanks, Valerie.
MORRIS: All right. Sure.
PHILLIPS: Well, depending on your point of view, it's either a great way to stop prostitution or a total outrage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Spotsylvania County, Virginia, is a family place, an hour south of Washington, D.C., 115,000 residents, not much crime -- but, last month, authorities say some police detectives here walked up these stairs to this massage parlor, paid for and received oral sex.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Shocking law enforcement tactics -- straight ahead on live FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: A controversial ruling from an Italian court is drawing fire. That ruling was in the case of a man in his 40s accused of sexually abusing his 14-year-old stepdaughter.
In an appeal, he argued that her previous sexual experience should have been taken into consideration during his trial.
Italy's Supreme Court agreed, which means the man could receive a lighter sentence. Female politicians and women who work with sex abuse victims are expressing outrage over the court's decision. Almost anyone would agree that it's important to stop prostitution and sex slavery but are some cops going too far under cover?
CNN's Tom Foreman has a pretty shocking report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Spotsylvania County, Virginia is a family place, an hour south of Washington D.C., 115,000 residents, not much crime.
But last month authorities say some police detectives here walked up these stairs to this massage parlor, paid for and received oral sex. The county prosecutor, William Neely, knows it's true. It was his idea, a way to crack down on prostitution.
WILLIAM NEELY, COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY: The officer obviously can't wear a wire because he's naked. So, you know, the primary way to build evidence is to use marked money and to follow that transaction. That's the only way you can shut a business like this down.
FOREMAN: The program, which relies on only unmarried officers, is raising eyebrows from some locals who imply it is improper at best, immoral at worst. The sheriff is not talking about it now, but earlier said prostitutes are wise to the law, won't say anything that could put them in jail.
So, he says, paying them for sex acts, and again, receiving what they pay for, is the best -- maybe the only way -- to prove what these women are up to.
"If I thought we could get the conviction without that, we wouldn't allow it," he said.
KATHERINE CHON, POLARIS PROJECT: Yes, it's a very serious problem. It's actually ...
FOREMAN: Still, up in D.C., Katherine Chon is skeptical. She helps women out of prostitution and thinks officers paying for sex favors may doubly victimize some and not do much good anyway. She says nationwide, massage parlors are often full of illegal immigrants, hired for massages, and then coerced into more.
CHON: But they operate on this national network of transporters, of traffickers, of smugglers who are always bringing new women in every few weeks, every few months.
FOREMAN (on camera): So even if a method like this works in the short term, it's not addressing the bigger problem?
CHON: It's not hitting the root of how these organizations operate. It's a short term situation, because for the long term, they are going to continue to operate because they have that support structure. FOREMAN (voice-over): William Neely, however, says officers paying for sex acts is legal. He's used the technique before and police often buy drugs to nab dealers.
NEELY: This is the exact same type of police strategy.
FOREMAN: Like it or not, he says, having police pay for a few private moments is the best way to protect and serve the public.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: One minute a village full of life in the eastern Philippines, the next, utter devastation and death -- the village swallowed whole by wall of mud and boulders that swept with terrifying speed from a mountainside.
Officials fear the death could top 1,500. Many victims are children. In some places the mud is 30 feet deep. Twenty-three people are confirmed dead, 1,500 missing. The mudslide was triggered by two weeks of torrential rain.
To the Japanese, it's sacred and beautiful. To the rest of us, Mt. Fiji is one of the most famous volcanoes in the world. It's also active. Last time it blew its top was 1707, but the government isn't taking any chances.
An emergency evacuation plan was unveiled today. Mr. Fiji lies -- or Fuji, rather, lies only 60 miles from Tokyo, home to a fifth of country's 127 million people. It's estimated that an eruption could cause up to $21 billion in damage.
A victory of sorts today for a Chinese news journal that covers stories the government considers off limits. We told you earlier this week that the China Propaganda Department had closed the publication "Freezing Point." The closing triggered a flood of angry protests, including a statement from a dozen former top communist officials denouncing the move.
Now officials say "Freezing Point" may resume publication March 1st. But there's a catch. Its two top editors are being transferred to another department. The editor says the staff may protest by refusing to return to work.
She's only 17 and has just set foot on the biggest stage in her sport. We are going to hear from Emily Hughes, newly arrived in Torino, as the news keeps coming right here on LIVE FROM.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER WESTHOVEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Susan Watts (ph) left the corporate world and started a home business training dogs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We opened a little place in the basement and I immediately started getting some clients, just people and pets. Nothing big. And it got really busy.
WESTHOVEN: Her dog started winning awards. And she started spending almost every weekend showing off her champion canines. This week, she was at Madison Square Garden where her dachshund, Simone (ph) made it all the way to the Westminster Dog Show.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like goose bumps. You know, you are really excited. I wasn't -- I have to say I was not nervous until I stepped out onto the green carpet when I went to get my arm band this morning.
And then it really hit me that it's like oh, my gosh. I'm really at Westminster. If you are nervous it goes right down the leash. And she knew right then. Oh, all I have to do is just misbehave a little and mom will give me bait. And she was right. I broke down and gave her the bait. Which got her to stand nicely and helped us make the first cut. So I was glad of that.
WESTHOVEN: Simone didn't make it to the final ring. But her owner says they'll both be back next year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll keep at it. You know, I don't know if I'll ever get a best in show at Westminster but I'm sure, you know, in the next ten years if I keep going I'll end up eventually with a best in show. I'm certain of that.
It's just a big family. And, I mean, when you come here, it's hard not to root for your friends. We are very, very competitive with each other. But it's also a very supportive area. And you just make the best friends.
Jennifer Westhoven, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Mo, the women wore that. The women wore that beret. Well big sister Sarah won gold four years in a row. Now it's Emily's turn to skate. The younger of the Hughes sisters tried out the ice in Torino this morning, just hours after arriving in Italy.
The 17-year-old, a last-minute replacement for nine-time U.S. champion Michelle Kwan. Emily Hughes says she doesn't have any expectations when competition begins on Tuesday, and after the whirlwind week she's just had, well, she has plans to quote, "go out and attack everything and skate my best."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMILY HUGHES, OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATER: It's just been amazing because no other alternate has ever competed at the Olympics. So I figured I'd just really focus on worlds because that was definite and that was what my next competition was. And it's next month. So finding out that I was actually going to get to come here has just been great. MICHELLE KWAN, FIGURE SKATER: We've added flowers, and we're just waving the flag and just screaming and running and doing all sorts of fun things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Michelle Kwan, who had to pull out of the games because of an injury last weekend, is moving on. The Walt Disney Company confirms she has just signed on as a celebrity spokeswoman.
Olympic competition may bring gold. But for most athletes it doesn't. And it may bring riches. But for more athletes, it doesn't. Here's a look at how some make their money.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): High profile Olympians like skier Bode Miller and snowboarder Shaun White have major corporate sponsors. White earns more than a million dollars a year in prizes, endorsements, and sponsorship money.
Other Olympians are not so well financed. Bobsledder Brock Kreitzburg says he only made about $2,000 last year. The U.S. Olympic Committee does provide all the athletes with some perks. They receive free health insurance and get bonuses for Olympic medals, $10,000 for a bronze. $15,000 for silver and $25,000 for a gold.
Some countries have similar bonus programs. Italy will give its athletes $157,000 for a gold medal. The Czech Republic awards $42,000 for a gold. But other countries, including Canada, offer athletes no medal bonuses.
The U.S. Olympic Committee also partners with corporate sponsors to help athletes find other ways to make money. Home Depot has given hundreds of Olympians subsidized jobs where they work part-time but get paid full-time even when they are away at competitions.
Many athletes also receive money from sporting federations. The U.S. women's and men's soccer teams have a deal with the U.S. Soccer Federation that pays each of the players a monthly salary and bonuses for victories in the Olympics, the World Cup, and other international competitions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: A superstar athlete and he even called me baby. Shaun White thrilled the crowds in Torino just a month after wowing them at the X-Games. Now he's back home sporting gold and having us rolling in the aisles.
All I did last hour was ask him what he was going to do with the gold medal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAUN WHITE, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLIST: I'm trying to figure out where to put it. I mean I asked my teammate Danny Kass who got silver. He said I should put it in the rearview mirror.
PHILLIPS: Oh, that would be kind of cool. Forget the dice.
WHITE: Yes, he was claiming it the ultimate parking pass. So I don't know.
PHILLIPS: You'd probably get whatever you wanted if you were showing that to anybody.
WHITE: For sure. It's pretty crazy though. I mean, it's heavy. And I don't know. I think it really hit me that I got the gold when I went to bed and then I woke up the next day and this thing was just sitting on the dresser next to me. It was cool.
PHILLIPS: You weren't sleeping with it?
WHITE: No, you know what the worst was? I kind of blew it and I was flying home, and I almost checked it under the plane. And I was like maybe I should hang onto that.
PHILLIPS: I wouldn't let it go. Were you showing people on the airplane? Were people asking to see it?
WHITE: Yes, what happened was the funniest thing is the stewardesses had all seen the games, and they were just so excited to see me. And they were like do you have the gold? And I had unlimited service after that. I was getting drinks and I was getting snacks. And I mean I was taking photos in the back with all the stewardesses. It was fun.
PHILLIPS: Wait a minute, drinks. You are 19 years old?
WHITE: I'm talking about Mountain Dews, baby.
PHILLIPS: He called me baby. He called me baby. That's right. Ginger ale for Shaun White, outstanding. OK. Getting a little warm here. So do you have a girlfriend? I mean you're rich. You're 19. You have got your own clothesline. You've got a gold medal that looks like a donut.
WHITE: Yes, I mean, things are going good. I haven't really had time for the girlfriend so far. I mean so much training going into the Olympics. But I'm looking forward to some time off. And we'll check it out. I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Coming up on LIVE FROM, unearthing a family fortune amid a painful journey through a father's tragic pass. You won't want to miss this story. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Now the story of a lost family fortune. Not squandered but stolen, seized outright by the Nazis in the days before the Holocaust. Today part of that fortune is being recovered by a rightful heir in America. But not without a price.
CNN's Richard Roth reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA PRINCIPE, WERTHEIM HEIR: This is the house where I lived most of my life. It's been badly let go at this point. There used to be a huge chicken coop over there.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seventy-three- year-old Barbara Principe recalls how her family scratched out a meager living on this New Jersey chicken farm after they fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
What she doesn't remember much of is what her family, the Wertheims, lost when they escaped Berlin.
GIDEON TAYLOR, JEWISH CLAIMS CONFERENCE: The Wertheim family was one of the most prominent Jewish families in pre-war Jewish Berlin.
ROTH: Her grandfather owned a large stake in a major chain of retail stores. And the family was the largest property owner in the center of Berlin. The Wertheims had to give up control of their holdings under Hitler's arianization policy. And the Nazi leadership took particular interest in the Wertheim properties.
GARY OSEN, BARBARA PRINCIPE'S ATTORNEY: That same land became the center of the Third Reich. And as a result, the property was seized and taken to build Hitler's infamous Reich chancellery. And across the street on the other side was Herman Gurring's (ph) headquarters.
ROTH: Barbara was six when the family escaped. Her parents never told her about the fortune that was.
PRINCIPE: How do you explain to a child you were born into a very rich family now here you are. That is a Cinderella story backwards.
ROTH: After the war, Barbara's father, Gunther (ph), tried to get his shares back but was told his interests in the company were virtually worthless. Much of the property was in the treacherous no- man's land between East and West Berlin. Parts of the Berlin Wall snaked through the land. But in 1989, the wall fell.
OSEN: Reunification of Germany freed up that land and suddenly this undeveloped track of land became the most valuable available parcels for development.
ROTH: No-man's land turned into modern office buildings and hotels with more development to come. Estimates on the value of the Wertheim property range from $3 to 500 million, something Barbara finally learned about five years ago.
PRINCIPE: I was totally flabbergasted by all of it. I don't remember what I thought. I was just like good Lord, all of these properties I never knew existed.
ROTH: But getting compensation would not be easy. A Jewish claims organization which fights for restitution in such cases had been pressing the Wertheim claim with the German company and the government since the 1990s.
Just last year a German court ruled in favor of Barbara and other family members other the German company that claimed ownership. It has turned into one of the largest single-family Holocaust restitution cases in history. Barbara could receive between $5 million to $10 million.
But her father would not know of the victory. He died of a heart attack in 1954.
PRINCIPE: I understand now everything that my father must have gone through. And I just wish I would have known it before. Because it's horrendous what this man went through. And that's one of the reasons that I say every day -- and I speak to my dad and say -- we're getting there, father, we're going to get it back.
ROTH: Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Victims of a crash on a dark Alabama road have an unlikely hero: a 5-year-old boy who doesn't mind telling you he's brave. Brian Henry of our affiliate WSFA sits down with the quick- thinking Zach Gunter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN HENRY, WSFA TELEVISION: Zachary Gunter is a little man -- maybe three and a half feet tall, 40 pounds.
ZACHARY GUNTER, SAVED HIS MOTHER'S LIFE: I saved by mommy.
HENRY: But in the eyes of those who know him, Zachary stands tall -- a hero.
GUNTER: I'm brave.
HENRY: I'm brave, he says. It happened at the corner of Lee County Roads 266 and 265 near the Beulah (ph) community. Zachary believes his mom was reaching for something when she lost control of her car and struck a tree. Mom was knocked out and bleeding from the head. That's when Zachary went to work.
GUNTER: I undid my seat belt.
HENRY: He unbuckled his 8-month-old brother. Carried him. Knocked on two doors but never got an answer. Zachary finally got help at the third house he knocked on -- a quarter of a mile away, all in total darkness.
GUNTER: And I knocked on the doors. Somebody was there. HENRY: What made you go get help? How did you know to do that?
GUNTER: My brain.
HENRY: Your brain? Lee Chambers volunteer firefighters responded to the call and didn't realize what little Zachary had done until after the fact. Chief Leroy Kelly is still amazed.
LEROY KELLY, CHIEF, VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT.: Well, it's just unusual that any small kid that young to know what to do. Most of them get shook up.
HENRY: Zachary Gunter doesn't say much. But he doesn't have to. His courage says it all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: She's an international pop star, author of 70 books plus. Helped children in dire circumstances and chances are, you've never heard of her. You'll never forget her now. Meet Agnes Chan, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: She's a pop star, an internationally famous singer/song writer. She raises money and awareness for kids in war zones or trapped in child prostitution. And no, this musician, humanitarian, is not Bono.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SINGING)
PHILLIPS: (voice-over): Her name, Agnes Chan. No relation to Jackie Chan, though he does sing on her latest CD. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. She's the Madonna of Hong Kong and Japan -- a chart topper at age 14. From singing artist to activist, creating a feminist controversy in Japan when she brought her son to work in 1989. From activist to author -- a true renaissance woman.
AGNES CHAN, SINGER/UNICEF AMBASSADOR: I cook Chinese. Three books out this year. I teach in two universities. I've also just finish a cook book.
PHILLIPS: From Ph.D. author to ambassador for UNICEF, reaching out to former child soldiers in Sudan.
CHAN: Nice to meet you. You are Santino?
He saw his father get killed right in front of his eyes when he was only 6 years old. He joined the army when he was 8, and he was shot down when he was 11. And when I met him, he was only 12.
PHILLIPS: Girls caught up in sex trafficking in the Philippines.
CHAN: She was forced to sell her body for food. PHILLIPS: Displaced children in Darfur.
CHAN: With their last breath, they try to smile with me. They try to play with me. Many of the children actually died in my arms. And their stories need to be told.
PHILLIPS: Which brings us back to Agnes the artist, telling these children's stories through music. This week, she debuted her first CD released in the United States, with an unforgettable message.
CHAN: After listening to the songs, I hope that Americans will understand that there's a lot of needy children around the world. And people will carve a little space in their heart to let children live there. And I want everybody to look at these children with a positive attitude, like as if they are our own.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Agnes Chan says a lot of those proceeds from the CD "Forget Yourself" will go to UNICEF to help the children who inspired her songs.
If you go to unicef.org and make a donation you can download the song where film star Jackie Chan sings along with her. Pretty amazing woman.
Here's a show tune for you: The hills are alive with the sounds of shredding. Sounds a little off key, but it could happen. Susan Lisovicz has the scoop on the musical situation in the works.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, well we had of course Enron: The Bankruptcy, Enron: The Trial, now Enron: The Music? A Houston theater company wants to try -- the show titled Enron: The Musical.
Playwright Mark Frazier says each of the 28 songs were takeoffs from Broadway musical hits. Songs that include "The Sound of Shredding," that is of course based on "The Sound of Music." Another big number is named "Primetime for Skilling," which is a take-off on "Springtime for Hitler," from the hit musical and film, "The Producers."
By the way, the big trial of Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay wrapped up its third week yesterday and will resume next Tuesday. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Susan Lisovicz. Have a wonderful weekend. I'll see you back here on Monday.
LISOVICZ: You too. Great interview with the Flying Tomato, baby.
PHILLIPS: You got to love him, dude. Shaun White.
LISOVICZ: Surf's up. See you next week. It's a three-day weekend for investors. We're ending on a down note. But a nice week for the Dow Industrials, which for the week will end up nearly two percent, the NASDAQ, one (percent). One of the reasons, for the sell- off today, weak reading on inflation, a weak forecast from Dell, but a nice week overall.
Now let's go over to Wolf Blitzer, in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
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