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Iraqi Government Imposes Ban on Private Vehicles; New Ad Campaign Targets Teen Meth Use; CNN Kicks Off "Fit Nation"
Aired March 02, 2006 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Developing news out of Baghdad -- after another day of lawlessness, the government has imposed a ban on private vehicles in Baghdad tomorrow -- that announcement made a short time ago on Iraqi television.
The prime minister's office says the police and army are instructed to seal off the capital and seize any private vehicles that defy the ban.
With the latest on the country's downward spiral, here's CNN's Aneesh Raman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A spate of attacks throughout Iraq has left over two dozen people dead in the capital, the southeastern part of Baghdad, a predominantly Shia area, a bomb exploding at a market there, killing at least four.
And, just north of the capital, 10 Iraqi security forces were killed after their checkpoint came under attack -- all of this while leaders still say the only solution to bringing stability here is a political one. There is now a brewing political battle. A meeting that was set to be held within all leaders, Sunni, Shia, Kurdish and secular leaders, has been canceled, by the behest of Iraq's prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who today came under fire from essentially the opposition, the Sunnis, the Kurds, and the secular politicians, who want someone else as the country's prime minister.
Jaafari just recently was nominated by the Shia Alliance to retain his post.
What this means is that the timeline for forming a permanent government now gets pushed back by months. Before last week's attack on the sacred Shia mosque, many observers thought, by the end of March, a unity government would form. It now seems it could take the better part of this year for a permanent government to form. And the notion that a unity government could be in the works is now explicitly on hold.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: On his first visit to India, President Bush got what he wanted today, a controversial nuclear agreement. The U.S. will provide nuclear technology. In return, India will separate its military and civilian facilities. But the military -- the military ones, rather, won't be open to international inspection.
Critics argue, the deal sets a double standard, because past U.S. policy has denied such deals to countries that refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Mr. Bush dismisses those concerns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We conclude today an historic agreement today on -- on nuclear power. It's not an easy job for the prime minister to achieve this agreement. I understand. It's not easy for the American president to achieve this agreement. But it's a necessary agreement. It's one that will help both our peoples.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The deal draws focus to the rivalry between nuclear- armed India and Pakistan. They have fought three wars since 1945.
Analysts say, Pakistan may ask for a similar deal, which would likely be turned down. The Indian accord must be approved by Congress.
The next country on Mr. Bush's South Asia tour was the scene of a massive suicide car bombing today. It happened just outside the U.S. Consulate in Pakistan's port city of Karachi. An American diplomat and three others were killed, including the bomber. The prime suspect is al Qaeda. Mr. Bush says his weekend visit to the Pakistani capital of Islamabad will go ahead as planned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Terrorists and killers are not going to prevent me from going to Pakistan. It's an -- my trip to Pakistan is an important trip. It's important to talk with President Musharraf about continuing our fight against terrorists.
After all, he has had a direct stake in this fight, four times that terrorists have tried to kill him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well, Karachi has been a key base for al Qaeda and its allies, ever since they were driven out of Afghanistan by the U.S. invasion back in 2001.
The ports deal could be one step closer to done deal. That's after a ruling today in London's high court. The British government had to sign off on a Dubai firm's proposed takeover of the British company running six major American ports. The court tentatively approved the deal, but stayed the approval until tomorrow, pending a promised appeal by an American cargo handling firm.
The port security debate, divisive in Congress and at watercoolers across America, but it claims the rare effect of unifying some Democrats and Republicans. London's "Financial Times" reports, former President Clinton advised Emirate officials how to handle the controversy, even while his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, leads a bipartisan movement to derail the deal.
Last week, CNN reported, the UAE had hired former Republican Senator Bob Dole to lobby on behalf of the merger. Even out of office, politics makes strange bedfellows.
Well, for years, there has been a theory that Moscow was behind the 1981 attempt to assassinate Pope John Paul II. Today, an Italian commission says it's more than just theory. John Paul was seriously wounded in Saint Peter's Square on May 13, 1981. A Turkish man, Mehmet Ali Agca, was convicted of attempted murder.
But there have always been questions about motive. Now a parliamentary commission in Italy concludes beyond a reasonable doubt. It says that the Soviet Union was involved. A Russian Foreign Intelligence Service spokesman calls the accusation absurd.
CNN Rome bureau chief Alessio Vinci is here in Atlanta.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Fredricka.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Good to see you.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: All right. So, does this report name names?
VINCI: Well, it does, Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet leader at the time of the assassination attempt, and Yuri Andropov, who was the leader of the -- of the KGB, who eventually then replaced Brezhnev when he was -- he was killed.
And this report basically states that the Soviet leadership took the initiative to kill John Paul II, and then relayed a decision to the secret services for -- for action.
Now, this is obviously nothing new. You may remember Ali Agca, which you just mentioned. When he was first arrested, immediately after the assassination attempt, he said that he was acting on behalf of the Bulgarian secret service. At that time, Bulgaria was within the Soviet Bloc.
And, so, the Soviet involvement was already always something that was out there. Pope John Paul II, himself, he wrote in his last book before dying that he believed that -- he didn't believe that Agca was acting alone, that he was, you know, acting on someone else's orders.
And, of course, he also said -- you know, he also said that he never believed the Bulgarian connection was true. He went to Bulgaria in 19 -- in 2002. I was with the pope then there. And he said, I don't believe the Bulgarian connection. So, the Soviet sort of involvement into this alleged -- in this plot has always been there. And now the Italians are saying, it's proven.
WHITFIELD: So, while there's countries accused, there are certain names that are being revealed as well -- as well. What about proof or any kind of physical evidence?
VINCI: Well, the...
WHITFIELD: Is that a factor?
VINCI: Well, yes.
I mean, the evidence that this report now puts forward is -- is a picture, the photograph that already had -- was part of the trial that went on. And that basically puts in Saint Peter's Square a Bulgarian agent known as Sergei Antonov.
Sergei Antonov, who has already denied involvement, was arrested in Italy, was put in prison for five years, tried and acquitted of the conspiracy charges then. The -- his involvement was always sort of never really proven, because this picture that was taken in Saint Peter's Square, he always maintained, his lawyer has always maintained that they were the pictures of a -- of a tourist that really looked like him.
Now the report says that not only the picture is him, that proves that it is him, that it's beyond reasonable doubt, but he also basically says that this picture has been analyzed by experts. And these experts believe that this picture is indeed Antonov in -- in -- in Saint Peter's Square. And that creates the link between Antonov and Ali Agca, eventually, Ali Agca and the Soviet Union to Antonov.
WHITFIELD: So, while a lot of these theories have been spoken of before, why is it so important to hear it in this commission report now?
VINCI: Well, I don't think it's that important, honestly. I think this is -- you know, we are at the very end of a legislative year -- a legislative -- legislature in Italy. The parliament has already been dissolved. This parliamentary commission will cease to, basically, exist in -- in a matter of weeks.
There's an -- there's an election next year and next month. And, so, I believe that this all going to end in a couple of weeks, really.
WHITFIELD: All right, Alessio Vinci, very good to talk to you in person, as opposed to...
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: ... always via satellite.
(LAUGHTER)
VINCI: Yes. I love being here.
WHITFIELD: Good to see you. All right. Thanks so much.
Well, six months after Katrina, New Orleans' worst-off neighborhoods are familiar territory. And so are the areas that almost look back to normal. But, a short drive away, lots of other areas are struggling or languishing, with very little notice from the outside world.
Our Gary Tuchman visited the community of Arabi, just up the river from the Ninth Ward.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The tens of thousands of people celebrating Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street were only a few miles away from the city of Arabi, Louisiana. But Arabi looks like it's on a different planet. Six months after Hurricane Katrina, houses still sit in the middle of the street. Neighborhoods still look like aerial bombing targets. Very little has been cleaned up. And the few residents who are left, like Rudy Aguilar, feel betrayed.
RUDY AGUILAR, HURRICANE KATRINA VICTIM: I feel like the United States of America has -- has left my family behind, has forgot about us, and gone on their business.
TUCHMAN: Rudy, his wife, Rosalee, and three children share a cramped FEMA trailer in the front of their decimated home. They had a five-bedroom house. Rudy was an environmental engineer for Saint Bernard Parish.
AGUILAR: They laid me off. They -- they eliminated the environmental engineering position.
TUCHMAN: Finding another job has been very difficult, and the family is running out of money. Rudy, a Tulane University graduate, now receives donated Red Cross food to feed the family.
(on camera): Do you believe what has happened to your life over the past six months?
ROSALEE AGUILAR, HURRICANE KATRINA VICTIM: No, it's like a nightmare. I'm still -- I still feel like I just -- if I wake up, it won't be here. You know, it won't be reality. But it is, in fact, reality. That's what the kids -- that's what my daughter keeps saying.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Rudy Aguilar was born in this house. He doesn't want to move the trailer elsewhere, because he wants to keep his eye on potential looters.
RUDY AGUILAR: The bat is for protection, for anyone who decides to loot.
TUCHMAN: And he also wants to rebuild the house, but he says working on it makes no sense, because the politicians haven't decided if people will be allowed to rebuild in this low-lying area. The Aguilars believe Arabi is not at the top of any decision-maker's priority list.
ROSALEE AGUILAR: We're in limbo.
TUCHMAN: The children play in the dirt and the germ-infested refuse that remains from Katrina.
RUDY AGUILAR: My kids used to look up to me. Now they wonder why dad don't have a job, you know, why dad is constantly looking at the newspaper. You know, then you slip into a depression, and you kind of lay down and don't want to move, you know?
TUCHMAN: Because Rudy was working the day of the hurricane, the family did not evacuate.
ROSALEE AGUILAR: I saw the water bust through the door like a tidal wave.
RUDY AGUILAR: I actually had to go under water and come up here. When I came up, my children and wife was up there in their life preservers.
TUCHMAN: Understandably, it was traumatizing for the children. Their dog disappeared during the storm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a German shepherd. So, police probably took him.
TUCHMAN (on camera): The police probably took him. I think so. You're right.
(voice-over): Almost all the residents in Arabi are gone. Many say they will never come back. The humor there is often a bit dark.
(on camera): If there was another hurricane, do you think you would go far away from it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would go to Timbuktu.
(LAUGHTER)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): But, for now, they stay on a trailer what was their front lawn.
AGUILAR: Six months and look, look around you. Six months, this is what I have to offer my family.
TUCHMAN: Their lives totally upended, their disillusionment continuing to grow.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Arabi, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, you have to ask the pharmacist for certain over-the-counter cold medicines these days, because they can be used to make an illegal drug. That drug is methamphetamine. And now one man is launching a campaign to try to stop it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MONTANA METH PROJECT AD)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Stop looking at me!
(SCREAMING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Will intense ads like this convince young people, the high is not worth the life-threatening risk?
That straight ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Charles Cullen calls himself an angel of mercy. Others call him a monster.
A New Jersey judge calls him locked up for life. Cullen is the one-time nurse who pleaded guilty to killing 29 patients. He received a sentence today, 11 life terms. The judge allowed the relatives of Cullen's victims to speak at his sentencing. And they did not hold back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY BURKE, DAUGHTER OF CULLEN MURDER VICTIM: You are a coward. You deserve to be tortured. You deserve to be injected with every ounce of medication you gave your victims. You, Mr. Cullen, deserve to die.
MELISSA STRENKO, SISTER OF CULLEN MURDER VICTIM: A registered who was supposed to be a caretaker took the life of my brother for his own personal, selfish, and twisted gain. Charles Cullen, you are a coward. I am very brave for standing here today. But you, yet, cannot even look me in the eye and face me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well, Cullen was found guilty of giving lethal doses of medication to men and women entrusted to his care. He's working with law enforcement to identify more victims, in fact.
Well, it's made from household cleaning products and cold medicine. And police say it's now America's leading drug-related crime problem. It's methamphetamine. And a software billionaire hopes his hard-hitting experiment in one rural state will have a national impact.
Here's CNN's A.J. Hammer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MONTANA METH PROJECT AD)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Stop looking at me!
(SCREAMING)
A.J. HAMMER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a commercial sure to stop you in your tracks: a teen, high on meth, robbing a laundromat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MONTANA METH PROJECT AD)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: This wasn't suppose today be your life!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Dramatic, but driving the point home that methamphetamine is a growing problem in America, especially among teens. It's known by many names, speed, crystal, crank and Tina. But, whatever you call it, whatever the form, it's highly addictive. And "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" can report, it's to blame for an increase of some 70 percent of robberies and burglaries nationwide.
Made from common household products, like fertilizer and cold medicine, meth is an easy, cheap drug that's taking America by storm -- most at risk, teens in the West, Pacific Northwest, and Midwest rural areas. Eighth-graders in rural areas are 59 percent more likely to use meth than their counterparts in big cities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MONTANA METH PROJECT AD)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: I'm going to sleep with him for meth just once.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Montana is one of the states that's been hit the hardest. Of all the people serving jail time for drug-related crimes in Montana, an unbelievable 70 percent are due to meth.
And Montana teens are most susceptible. Forty-four percent of them say they know exactly where to get meth, a scary notion. Even scarier, one out of five Montana teens say they have close friends who use meth.
Government agencies and private organizations are mobilizing across the nation to do something about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MONTANA METH PROJECT AD)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: My parents think I'm sleeping at your house. Yes, I'm just jumping in the shower.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: At the forefront, the Montana Meth Project. They're targeting the most at-risk age group, teens ages 12 to 17. Through print ads and TV commercials, they're spreading the word about the dangers of meth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MONTANA METH PROJECT AD)
(SCREAMING)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Don't do it. Don't do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And joining me now from Thomas Siebel, founder of the Montana Meth Project.
Good to see you, Tom.
And, in Butte, Montana, Peg Shea -- Shea, rather -- a drug treatment counselor and the project's executive director.
Good to see you, Peg.
All right, well, Tom, let me...
PEG SHEA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MONTANA METH PROJECT: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Let me begin with you, because, as a software billionaire, public service announcements, drug intervention, not your things, yet, somehow, you were inspired to want to do something to launch this campaign to try and get a grip on methamphetamines. Why?
THOMAS SIEBEL, CHAIRMAN, MONTANA METH PROJECT: Well, I spend a lot of time in Montana.
And, if you assess the situation up there, the meth problem has reached epidemic proportions. As a matter of fact, it has reached epidemic proportions across America. It's the number-one crime problem in America.
It's a social and health problem that is crying out for a solution. And, so, we thought, in this concept of the Meth Project, which is a very large-scale experiment in prevention, that there might be a solution available.
WHITFIELD: And...
SIEBEL: And...
WHITFIELD: And, so, along the way, you and others in your project really learned a lot while doing research for this and trying to understand the behaviors of. And what is really astounding is some of the reasons why some of these teens reveal they actually wanted to get involved with meth -- for one, weight loss, another, to try to get energy.
How shocking were these details and this kind of research result for you? SIEBEL: Well, meth is a consumer product. It -- it comes from an alternate distribution channel, but a consumer product, nevertheless.
And they're -- we did a lot of research to understand the perceived benefits of this product. And -- and there are many perceived benefits. About 44 percent of young people perceive significant benefits associated with methamphetamine.
WHITFIELD: And, so, Peg, you have been involved with intervention as a counselor, etcetera. But, in the past, you really didn't think ads or these kinds of campaigns were very effective. In fact, in your words, you called them "kind of dorky."
So, what was it about this project that inspired you to think, you know what, maybe he's on to something?
SHEA: Well, I had opportunity to participate in the development of the ads. And watching the impact of those ads on me, and just adults, as we went through our development, was pretty amazing.
These are high-quality, high-impact ads. As, hopefully, your viewers -- your -- your viewers heard, the scream of the girl in the shower, I must have spoken to 1,000 kids who will talk about that scream and the impact it has on them emotionally.
WHITFIELD: So, you felt like there were certain -- certain qualities that needed to be in these ads to really get folks' attention, not necessarily the parents and what things to look for, but to really get the attention of teenagers, to help encourage them how to say no or just step away from, I guess, the temptation.
SHEA: Well, these ads were developed based on fairly extensive research with teenagers throughout Montana. And what they told us were really three things.
One, we don't want to have an adult lecturing us. That doesn't work. Two, we want to hear from other kids. We want kids talking to kids about this problem. And, three, almost in a daring way, if you have a television commercial, you need to have it such that it's going to get our attention. We are a media-savvy group of kids, and we need to have a hard-hitting, edgy, get-our-attention conversation with kids about this drug.
WHITFIELD: And even...
SHEA: And that's what they produced.
WHITFIELD: And even...
SHEA: And that is what we produced.
WHITFIELD: ... you were taken aback by the numbers, the increase of teens being involved with meth in one year, from 10 percent up to 50 percent.
SHEA: That's correct.
Previous to this job, I was working in a treatment program. And we serve adolescents. We were averaging about 10 or 12 percent of our kids coming in to our treatment program with using meth.
In one year's time, that went to 50 percent of the kids in our treatment program...
WHITFIELD: Wow.
SHEA: ... reporting that they used meth recently. And that number is staying the same.
And, in fact, I just talked to a treatment provider yesterday. It's up to 60 percent in our treatment centers.
WHITFIELD: Wow. That is remarkable.
Well, one more time, let's take a look at these ads and see, in fact, why they are so effective.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MONTANA METH PROJECT AD)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: I'm going to try meth just once.
I'm going to smoke this just once.
I'm going to steal just once.
I'm going to sleep with him for meth just once.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: I'm going to try meth just once.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Wow, some incredibly impactful stuff there, Tom.
And, so, how have you been able to gauge how effective this really has been in just the last six months?
SIEBEL: Well, we have done quite a bit of research on the effectiveness of these ads, focus groups in Kalispell, Great Falls, what have you, interviews with teenagers.
There's no real -- no question they are listening. Our messages are getting across. The perceived risk of the drug is going up. The perceived benefits are going down. And the -- we have been very, very encouraged by the data that suggests these ads are being very, very effective.
WHITFIELD: And you're helping to convey that in Washington. That is why, in part, you're there, to broaden this out, not just Montana, but across the country, right?
SIEBEL: Well, there seems to be a lot of -- a lot of interest. We met the -- this week, with the Western Governors Association. We met today with the Democrat Policy Committee in the -- in the United States Senate.
So, there appears to be very, very high levels of interest about what is going on in the Meth Project and how these tools can be utilized in other places.
WHITFIELD: All right.
Tom Siebel, founder of the Montana Meth Project, as well as Peg Shea, a drug treatment counselor and the project's executive director, thanks to both of you. And good luck on continued success on the project.
SIEBEL: Thank you.
SHEA: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Living in fear -- constant dangers in Baghdad are keeping many Iraqis from venturing outdoors. We will show you the heavy toll that it's taking on one family in particular straight ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Vice President Dick Cheney is urging Americans to save more. Cheney spoke at a retirement savings summit in Washington today, where he also had a message for lawmakers: strengthen pensions and fix Social Security. The vice president also managed to inject a little bit of humor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD B. CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As individuals, we have more and more reasons to consider retirement as something to look forward to. Come to think it, I know some folks who probably look forward to seeing me retire.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well, on a more serious note, Cheney says too many workers live paycheck to paycheck. Last year, Americans' personal savings rate dropped to the lowest level since the Depression.
So, how well do Americans save, or, should we say, avoid saving? Here's a quick look at how the U.S. ranks against the rest of the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Americans as a whole are big spenders and among the world's worst savers. The highest savings among developed nations is in Japan, where people save almost 28 percent of their income.
The average savings in Europe is about 21 percent. Britain is on the low end there. The British save less than 15 percent of their income. Surprisingly, people in developing countries tend to save more. Low-to-middle-income Asian countries save as much as 38 percent of national income, Africans, 22 percent. And Latin Americans typically save about 21 percent. The U.S. has the lowest savings rate of all of these. Americans save only about 13 percent of their income.
That's the lowest U.S. rate in 75 years. Many Americans may not have money to save. In a recent survey, about 22 percent of Americans said they had no money left after paying their essential living expenses each month.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, Napster's creator is singing a different tune these days. This time, he wants to work with the record companies.
Susan Lisovicz has that story.
Huh?
(LAUGHTER)
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you can't beat them, join them, Fred.
WHITFIELD: I guess.
LISOVICZ: I guess that is the approach here.
It wasn't that long ago that Napster, of course, was the bane of the music industry. And it eventually forced the company to shut down. Now Shawn Fanning, the creator of Napster, and the former president of the now defunct file-sharing site Grokster are teaming up with music labels like Universal Music and Sony BMG, to start selling authorized downloads by this summer.
This, all an effort to recover a piece of online music sales from Apple. And that's a big challenge. According to the tracking firm NPD, Apple's iTunes controls about 70 percent of online music sales. The music industry is rooting for both parties to succeed. CD sales fell 8 percent last year.
(MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, in just a few minutes, CNN is kicking off a nationwide event called "Fit Nation." Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has teamed up with the American Heart Association, governors, celebrities and some of America's top universities to encourage all of us to adopt healthier lifestyles.
And Sanjay joins us now with a behind-the-scenes preview. Hello, Sanjay.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred.
Yes, we're really excited about this project. We are inaugurating the event today, tonight here at Spelman College. Let me just give you a behind-the-scenes look. This is an auditorium. We're going to fill this with about 300 students in just about a half an hour from now. We've been spending really months working on this particular presentation.
You know, Fred, the thing that sort of struck me the most was that, as journalists, so often, we dive into stories. You know, the tsunami, the earthquake in Pakistan, the war. But a lot of times, we're sort of left feeling helpless, unable to do something after that.
We wanted it to be a little different when it comes to something that we consider another great tragedy in our country: childhood and adulthood obesity. It is the -- the warning bells are ringing, the alarm bells. We need to do something about this.
So we decided, and the medical unit, to get off the television screen and actually come to college campuses to try and inspire some of what we believe are the best and brightest advocates to do something. We're done talking about it. Let's actually do something about the obesity epidemic.
Let me just share one stat with you that President Clinton shared with me, and that is that the generation of children that are being born right now have a very good chance of having an shorter life-span than their parents because of obesity. And I just found that absolutely remarkable. Everyone needs to do their part. So we're doing our part here, Fred. All of us, you as well, at CNN, trying to fight this epidemic of obesity.
WHITFIELD: And Sanjay, I'll know you'll be wearing your workout gear, as well. But after Spelman, then what is the next stop?
GUPTA: Yes, we are going to be traveling all over the country. We've picked seven universities around the country that we believe are reflective of America. We're obviously here in Atlanta. We're going to be in Iowa. We're going to be in Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina. We're going out west to Berkeley, south to UT Austin.
We want to inspire an many students as we can. We hope that they are actually going to be some deliverables. We're actually -- Fred, you'll be interested in this. We're going to have a contest among the students to develop a news program of their own that they'll put on CNN that will actually -- you know, their own ideas, their own project, to try and inspire people to do something about obesity.
WHITFIELD: Oh, that is neat. All right, well I know you are leading by example because I know you try to stay physically fit after seeing you jog through town at least once. You are still doing that, right?
GUPTA: I am. I take my dog just about every other day. I try to, you know? It's hard. And that's part of what we're talking about. It's not easy, but, you know, some real creative ways for people to do this.
WHITFIELD: It is, but we know you're passionate about it and this really is a great, great event. All right, thanks so much.
Well, Sanjay's "Fit Nation" event starts at 4:30 p.m. Eastern and can be seen live on CNN Pipeline, our CNN news service available right on your computer. Go to CNN.com to find out more about Pipeline, and go to CNN.com/fitnation to learn more about this new initiative.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: Well, the news keeps coming. We'll be bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Bombs and shootings killed dozens across Iraq today. A blast went off at a vegetable market in a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, killing at least four people and wounding 11.
Also in Baghdad, five people died when a bomb went off on a mini bus, and a Sunni political leader fled his stricken car before gunmen shot it up. A Sunni cleric was gunned down in Basra.
Bombings happen almost daily in Iraq, meaning even the most mundane of activities -- grocery shopping, banking, running simple errands -- can be life-threatening.
CNN's Arwa Damon shows us how the insecurity is affecting one family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ask carpenter Nassir Najib what he's thinking. He may look like he's focused on building a door, but his mind is somewhere else.
NASSIR NAJIB, CARPENTER (through translator): I wonder if my kids made it to school. I worry about my family's safety, even at home, how to get around. It's not so much living in fear, but we feel that danger is all around us.
DAMON: The power is out as usual. On average, most of Baghdad gets a few hours of electricity a day. Najib used to work on the sidewalk outside his shop and enjoyed the sunshine, but these days, only goes out when necessary.
NAJIB (through translator): Now I wait for the household needs to pile up and I go myself. I go shopping to spare my kids, because an explosion can happen at any moment. I don't feel safe at work. And I don't feel safe walking home.
DAMON: Najib's fears were reinforced when a suicide bomber detonated himself in front of a bank. Najib was just meters away. NAJIB (through translator): I saw them lifting chunks of flesh of people who are brothers from rooftops, from sides of building.
DAMON: The mood at home is gloomy. Three years of violence is wearing the family down. But like other parents, Najib and his wife keep on their kids about their studies.
NAJIB (through translator): Pull yourself together. You need to concentrate daily. If you study, you'll find the questions easy.
DAMON: Just getting to school is the hard part.
NAJIB (through translator): Cross the main road as fast as possible. Stay away from crowds. Just rush home from school.
DAMON (on camera): Most of the world does not think twice about a trip to the grocery store for milk or stopping by the bank. But Iraqis like Nassir Najib ask themselves if a loaf of bread is really worth the risk.
(voice-over): But people have to take risks. And shop owner Moyaed al-Hassani (ph) has to make a living.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This whole area is just patrols, so it's targeted 24 hours.
DAMON: His store is across from one of Baghdad's prime insurgent targets, the Green Zone, and between two Iraqi checkpoints.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The glass here I had to replace like three or four times and then I finally gave up. I left plywood and aluminum instead, and I fixed the roof three times.
DAMON: And he says that's the last time he will fix his shop. Like other Iraqis, he has learned to accept that even the simplest things in life are not so easy anymore.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And this just in out of Washington. The U.S. Senate votes to renew 89-10 some -- what were controversial provision in the Patriot Act. The -- those provisions were to expire on March 10th and now it will head to the House where they are expected to approve it next week before it heads on over to the president for his signature.
A Beatle heads up our animal adventure as Paul McCartney stands up for seals, hacking off some of the locals.
And a wallaroo takes on intruders with deadly results. What is a wallaroo? We'll find out later on LIVE FROM.
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WHITFIELD: Harp seals in the Canadian arctic -- aren't they adorable? But also a moneymaker for the locals. The infamous hunting of the harp seals draws protests every year, often with a celebrity spokesman posing with the big-eyed beauties on behalf of the Humane Society.
This year, music legend Paul McCartney and wife Heather hoofed it north to hold hands with harp seals. The pair caused a minor sensation at a small airport before being whisked away on their next leg of their journey.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He looks great. I thought he was going to be a lot older, but he looks just like I remember in the '70s growing up listening to him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it was really great to see him because he's a legend and he's, like, really great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well what about the seals? Well, by the way, not everyone is a fan on Prince Edward Island. Many locals poo poo the famous faces who criticize the hunt saying they don't realize the impact of the large seal population on fishing and the island's economy.
Well now some advice. Don't get between a wallaroo and his lady friend. You just might get your butt kicked. Amy Wegmann of our affiliate WFTX has the story of good intentions gone rather wrong in Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN ROGERSON, WALLAROO ATTACKED HUSBAND: This is how they are. And this, you're approaching the female and he's scared.
AMY WEGMANN, WFTX CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Susan Rogerson lovingly talks about her neighbor's wallaroos, just hours after her husband was attacked by one. Many people mistake these animals for kangaroos, including Sue. But FOX4 learned today that wallaroos are a mix of a wallaby and kangaroo and are usually less aggressive.
ROGERSON: The male kangaroo, the dominant male kangaroo and two of the females got out of the cage.
WEGMANN (on camera): Neighbors tell me that they always keep an eye on the farm next door because the owner, Dr. Berdick doesn't actually live there. They came out of their house early this morning to see that three of wallaroos had gotten out of their cage. So they went over to try to coax them back in and that's when things went down hill.
(voice-over): The dominant male looks much like this one, but is twice the size. The animal didn't bother Susan or her husband at first, until her husband got near the females. ROGERSON: But once he got to the barn where the females were and he got out of the golf cart to pick up my cell phone, which I dropped, the kangaroo hit him and my husband hit him back.
WEGMANN: Susan says the fight went on and her husband was losing so more neighbors came over to help, one with a handgun.
ROGERSON: He came over and -- to get him away, he shot him in the shoulder.
LAURI CARON, OCTAGON WILDLIFE SANCTUARY: One of the bullets went in the right front arm around the muscle. It looked like it went in and exited, and then the other one was right in the side.
WEGMANN: Lori Caron, owner of Octagon Wildlife Sanctuary, was called to the scene to sedate the injured wallaroo and transport it to CROW, a wildlife hospital on Sanibel Island.
After an unsuccessful surgery, it was determined that the animal's condition was too bad and it was put down, with permission from the owner. Everyone involved today defends the action of the wallaroo, saying he was acting as animals do, instinctively.
CARON: You always like a good outcome on something like this. type of outcome is not something that we like to hear.
ROGERSON: We entered their territory and on farms, we realize, when you enter a male's territory and he's protecting his female, you're going to have an accident.
WEGMANN: There's no doubt the owner, neighbors and these rue (ph) companions will miss their furry friend.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And more of LIVE FROM straight ahead.
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WHITFIELD: Some pretty big bucks for a race horse that hasn't even run a race. This 2-year-old colt, which doesn't even have a name, by the way, was auctioned in Florida yesterday for a record price, $16 million. The buyer has a stud farm based in Ireland. The buzz began when the colt ran an eighth of a mile in less than 10 seconds, 12 seconds is considered average.
Well starting today, new $10 bills will start showing up in banks and stores, and eventually, we trust, in your pocket. Here are the facts behind the most current of U.S. currency.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): The first thing you'll notice about the new 10 is the addition of new colors: orange, yellow and red. You'll also see new symbols of freedom on the bills: the torch from the Statue of Liberty and the words "We the People" from the Constitution.
The traditional parts of the 10 are still there, Alexander Hamilton's portrait on the face and the Treasury Department on the back.
Like other American currently, the paper is about 25 percent linen and 75 percent cotton. The Treasury Department says a little more than 10 percent of the bills it prints are tens. It prints ones more than any other denomination, though tens do have a shorter shelf life.
A $10 bill's average life expectancy is only about 18 months before it gets worn out and pulled from circulation. It takes money to make money. The government spends nearly six cents for every bill that's printed. Each bill weighs about one gram. That means, if you had a pound of $10 bills, it would be worth about $4,500.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well a pair of high school wrestlers in Lakewood, Ohio, have an unfair advantage over the competition, it seems. They practice against lions, tigers, and bears in the off season. Yes Lance Palmer and his brother Collin are allowed by their wildlife- training father to wrestle the animals. Cruelty or family fun? Well LIVE FROM isn't sure, but the unusual practice only lasts until the powerful predators are old enough to eat meat. After that, Lance says "They don't play, they'll kill you." By the way, Lance has earned a full athletic scholarship to Ohio State.
And on Wall Street, we know that the preference there is either running with or playing with the bulls. Susan Lisovicz is live from the New York Stock Exchange -- or wrestling or whichever.
LISOVICZ: You know Fred, we had the story the other day story about the grandmother wrestling a crocodile, I believe.
WHITFIELD: I know. What has gotten into folks? Wrestling other humans just isn't enough anymore.
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