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Live From...
Seeking Answers From Sago Mine Disaster; Decider in Chief?; Energy 'Crisis'; Do Illegal Immigrants Steal American Jobs?
Aired May 02, 2006 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Lost tears and lingering questions. A two-day hearing into the Sago Mine disaster is going on right now. And this morning, families of the 12 victims spoke, something they're usually not allowed to do at this type of thing. But they wanted to make sure that their sons, husbands and fathers are not forgotten.
The miners were trapped by an explosion four months ago today because of safety concerns. Rescue teams weren't sent in until 11 hours later. After that, you'll remember, false information spread that most of the miners had been found alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the opening of this public hearing this morning, we continue the ongoing process to determine exactly what happened at the Sago Mine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The one thing we must do is to make changes and make these mines safe for the other miners that continue to work. We must do something to prevent any more miners dying and their families having to endure this pain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dad in my eyes was perfect. He was a fantastic role model, a devoted father, a loving companion, and a reliable friend. Terry Michael Helms is why I'm here today. I hope that being here today and tomorrow I can have several questions answered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's many things that went wrong. The rescue efforts -- or should I say recovery efforts -- the response time was unacceptable. The decisions made to wait, not to go in, that's unacceptable.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today, not only do I speak for my sister and my nephew and my entire family, I'm going to take it upon me to also speak for the rest of these families. We expect to get answers to these questions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the reason that I'm here today is to get some answers to some of the questions that I have. For example, what caused -- what really caused the explosion? And why did it take so long for the rescue crews to be called? And I also want to make sure that this doesn't happen again.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Only one man alive knows what the Sago miners endured, how they suffered and how they died. And it was just last week that Randy McCloy shared those painful memories with the dead miners' families.
Here's that story from CNN's Randi Kaye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The letter is two pages, typed, addressed, "to the families of the loved ones of my co- workers." McCloy describes in haunting detail the miners' desperate attempts to signal the surface for help using a sledge hammer and how some of their breathing equipment failed.
McCloy has no memory of the blast itself, but remembers what happened next. The "mine filled quickly with fumes and thick smoke" and "breathing conditions were nearly unbearable." He writes, "the first thing we did was activate our rescuers." Those are the air packs used to buy miners in trouble an Hour of oxygen. But according to McCloy, "at least four of the rescuers did not function. There were not enough rescuers to go around." So the miners shared oxygen.
WANDA GROVES, JERRY GROVES' MOTHER: Jerry's didn't work. His oxygen didn't work and Randall shared his with Jerry.
KAYE: Two hundred, sixty feet blow ground, short on air, the men "took turns pounding away" on the mine bolts to make noise. "This effort caused us to breathe hard. We never heard a responsive blast or shot from the surface." So they huddled in an area "of about 35 feet" with only a safety curtain between them and the carbon monoxide.
McCloy writes, "the air behind the curtain grew worse, so I tried to lie as low as possible and take shallow breaths." Miner Martin Toler and Tom Anderson tried to find a way out but smoke and fumes caused them to quickly return. "Worried and afraid, we began to accept our fate." Junior Toler led us all in the Sinners Prayer. "We prayed a little longer and then someone suggested that we each write letters to our loved ones." Randy Toler, the nephew of Martin Toler, says he was surprised to receive McCloy's letter.
RANDY TOLER, MARTIN TOLER'S NEPHEW: You just want to know what your loved one experienced in the final moments. You just want to know that -- you just want to know everything that you can find out about it. And it's just -- it's just still, nevertheless, very painful.
KAYE: As carbon monoxide slowly asphyxiated his friends, Randy McCloy remembers feeling like this: "I became very dizzy and lightheaded. Some drifted off into what appeared to be a deep sleep, and one person sitting near me collapsed and fell off his bucket, not moving. It was clear there was nothing I could do to help him. As my trapped co-workers lost consciousness one by one, the room grew still and I continued to sit and wait, unable to do much else."
McCloy closes by writing, "I cannot begin to express my sorrow for my lost friends. I cannot explain why I was spared while the others perished."
Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Randi Kaye is one of the many contributors to "Anderson Cooper 360," seen weeknights at 10:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
Broken neck and left for dead. A high school junior is an Illinois hospital after a horrible attack last weekend, but the beating is only part of the shock. Samson Shelton, a teacher at another high school, has been arrested and charged.
Reporter Roche Madden of our St. Louis affiliate KTVI has more on the stunning allegations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I met Sam a couple years back, about five, six years ago.
ROCHE MADDEN, REPORTER, KTVI (voice over): And it didn't take long for Chris Vance (ph) to consider Sam Shelton his best friend. In fact, Shelton was his best man at his wedding only two weeks ago.
You know, he says, "I've been so honored to be your best man."
MADDEN: A happy memory that a phone call suddenly shattered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was actually working, and my phone had rang and I answered it. And he, you know, with the Sam, murderer (ph) in jail all in one sentence, you know, my mouth dropped, my heart stopped, my stomach turned. I mean, it was just -- it was a shocker.
MADDEN: At Freeburg High, the morning announcements included the name Sam Shelton, and the same name was on a note sent home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we certainly have had kids who have been confused and upset, but again, not very many. But, in all, I think we've had about the best day that we could have given the circumstances.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like -- it's unreal that something like that would happen here.
MADDEN: Like Shelton's many friends, students had few explanations but plenty of reactions to what the PE and Driver's Ed teacher is accused of doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't think it was true at first. And it's just crazy. Like I said, I was talking to him Friday, and we were going to -- talked about playing golf, and that was -- and this happened Thursday night. Or -- it's just complete shock.
MADDEN: Even as they wrestled in local matches, Vance (ph) says Sam Shelton was known as the teacher and always played the good guy in and outside of the ring.
As this wedding video can certainly attest to, friends say Sam Shelton always wanted to be the center of attention. They never imagined he would be the center of this kind of attention.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm always going to have him as my friend. I mean, he's never going to lose me as a friend. But for what he did, I'm very ashamed of. And I just don't -- I can't believe it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Shelton is charged with two counts of attempted first- degree murder and one count of kidnapping. He's being held on a million dollars bond.
For the family of Ashley Reeves, there's been more trauma. An uncle died of a heart condition after hearing about that attack.
Well, the biggest fire in New York City since 9/11. Here it is.
It spread through a block of vacant Brooklyn warehouses this morning and it's still burning. More than 400 firefighters, dozens of trucks and five boats are going up against it. So far, 12 firefighters have been hurt. The chief calls the nine-alarm -- the nine-alarm blaze, rather, suspicious.
Three children are charged in Florida, but their parents may pay the price. A 14-year-old girl and two younger boys are accused of setting brushfires over the weekend. Now Lee County (ph) is contemplating billing the parents for what it cost to fight them. The largest and most destructive fire charred 1,500 acres, damaged dozens of homes and it still burning.
Katrina devastated his city, and he made a vow, no more long pants until Bay St. Louis is back on its feet. I'll speak to the mayor as the 2006 hurricane season approaches straight ahead on LIVE FROM.
A reminder. A LIVE FROM pop quiz.
Look at this map of the southern United States. Can you find Louisiana? You're not alone if you can't. We're going to show and tell coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: USS Enterprise headed out to the Middle East to help play its part in the war on terror. Five thousand men and women are going to live on that floating city for a number of months.
This video courtesy of WABY, one of our affiliates there, heading out of Norfolk. We're going to keep our eyes on those sailors as they head out to see.
Well, locating Louisiana, you'd think after months of Hurricane Katrina coverage, anybody could pick out the Bayou State. But a new geographic literacy study finds a third of Americans age 18 to 24 can't even do it.
How did you do?
Before the break we showed you a map of the southern U.S. And I'm told we don't have the map. Maybe because we couldn't figure out where Louisiana was. We're going to work on finding that map and giving you the answer.
Can you believe that, 18 to 24 -- hey -- where did you find it, Scotty (ph)? Queue the music, Otis, so I don't have to talk.
Now, that same study found that about half of young Americans can't find New York or Mississippi. And they do even worse finding places outside the U.S.
We're going to have more results later on LIVE FROM.
Don't go far.
Well, he's commander in chief, head of state, leader of the free world, even, but President Bush gave himself another title the other day, and his critics haven't given him some minutes of peace.
CNN's Jeanne Moos has a story you may have seen first on "THE SITUATION ROOM".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To his critics, he has become the decider-in-chief ever since these fateful words escaped his lips.
BUSH: But I'm the decider and I decide what is best and what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain.
MOOS: But what also remained with was that quote.
JON STEWART, "THE DAILY SHOW": The decider.
STEPHEN COLBERT, TALK SHOW HOST: He's the decider.
MOOS: It made it onto blogs. It made it onto T-shirts. You could be the decider or undecider. Robin Williams chose decisively.
ROBIN WILLIAMS, ACTOR: The decider just seems to be a progression. You just kind of go -- every time he stands next to Tony Blair, I just want to put a telethon number.
MOOS: "The Daily Show" turned the quote into a comic strip.
STEWART: It's time for another exciting installment of "The Decider."
MOOS: It shows W. as a superhero with a "D" on his chest and his cape.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow, he's also wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But he sure is decisive.
MOOS: Big-named columnists like Maureen Dowd and Frank Rich chimed in, as did regular folks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But when somebody calls themselves the decider, it's more parental or omniscient or god-like.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It reminded me the kind of language games my 6-year-old plays.
MOOS: A little like the kid's rant in the film "Gloria."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am the man. Do you hear me? I am the man, I am the man.
MOOS: But before you circle it as wrong.
(on camera): We report, you decider. Is it a real word?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I think it's a made-up word.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sure in his world, it is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well I suppose you could use it -- decider, yes, it's a real word.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To me, it is not, no.
MOOS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it is?
ERIN MCKEAN, OXFORD'S AMERICAN DICTIONARIES: The decider is a perfectly fine, perfectly acceptable word.
MOOS (voice-over): It's listed in dictionary as a noun, though dictionary editor Erin McKean says...
MCKEAN: The word usually used is "decision maker".
MOOS: If the president had said "decision maker," the trackers wouldn't have the decider to derive.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Get the latest from the White House weekdays with Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM" beginning at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, a live prime-time edition at 7:00 Eastern.
You can buy a lot for 99 cents, a soda, an order of fries, your favorite song. But will iTunes remain under a buck? We'll explain.
More LIVE FROM next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: The world's largest oil consumer and the world's largest oil supplier got together today in Washington. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and Saudi Arabia's oil minister talked about their trade relationship and global oil supplies. Bodman also addressed rising gas prices.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMUEL BODMAN, ENERGY SECRETARY: Individual families in the -- in this country where they have not -- where they're dealing with gasoline prices, in particular, they're much beyond anything that we've seen historically. They haven't budgeted for it. And it's a real problem. And it's -- that's the reason that -- that we are all as concerned as we are about it.
The -- so the idea of who can afford what, there are many families today in this country that can't afford today's prices, let alone prices that might be created in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, as you probably know, $3 gas leads to quite a few four-letter words, and I can't really repeat them here. But Washington is now using six letters to describe the surge in gas prices, and I can tell you about that.
Better yet, here's CNN's Ed Henry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For the first time, a senior Bush official is calling America's energy problem a "crisis," and said it may take three years to lower gas prices.
BODMAN: There's apparently some evidence that we have a crisis. There's a lot of concern about this. And so the president is looking at everything, every tool at his disposal to put to work on it. And so, you know, I'm not embarrassed by that.
TIM RUSSERT, "MEET THE PRESS": Do you call it a crisis?
BODMAN: I would call it that, yes. I think that there is great concern.
HENRY: Democrats charge this shows President bush's plan to increase supply, promote investment in alternative fuels, and investigate price gouging falls short.
SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: Well, all we had to do was look at Mr. Bodman's body language and what he said. We think we have a crisis. "I'm not embarrassed." What is that?
HENRY: And the White House is facing new pressure from a conservative Republican, Trent Lott, who says he's now open to a Democratic plan to tax the huge profits oil companies are reaping.
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: This may come as a shock to you, but I'm going to keep my options open. The message to the oil companies is, hold down your price of gasoline, and it better start sliding back the other way. If they don't control it and if they continue to have prices go up, profits go up, and salaries go up, Congress will do something.
HENRY: But experts point out raising taxes or a Senate Republican plan to give consumers $100 gas rebates will have little impact on prices in the short term. The long-term problem is America's dependence on foreign oil.
JAMES WOOLSEY, FMR. CIA DIRECTOR: And that's why we need to keep -- need to start dealing with these problems now so the next time this comes up we won't be wringing our hands.
HENRY (on camera): Democrats are now threatening to break up the oil giants, charging that a lack of competition is only driving up the price of gas. Democrat Chuck Schumer said the Senate needs to explore what he called a little good old-fashioned trust-busting.
Ed Henry, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Good news for everyone who downloads songs from iTunes. Susan Lisovicz live from the New York Stock Exchange with all the details.
Do you have an iPod?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: I sure do, with 2,200 songs on it -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh. And I know you didn't download every single one of those by yourself?
LISOVICZ: I did.
PHILLIPS: Wow.
LISOVICZ: Absolutely. That's just from my rock collection. That doesn't include jazz and classical. I have yet to get to that.
PHILLIPS: Very impressive. What's the favorite song out of the 2,200? Can you name it?
LISOVICZ: No.
PHILLIPS: OK.
LISOVICZ: No. I can name a few artists, but no. I mean, it's just too vast for -- to pinpoint one song. But, you know, they're great on the treadmill. PHILLIPS: Yes, they are. That's the only way to keep going. What are you talking about? You've got all the specifics songs just to keep moving.
LISOVICZ: Exactly.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: American jobs, non-American workers. Non-American, undocumented workers. Are they stealing jobs here or merely filling jobs that wouldn't or couldn't be filled otherwise?
CNN's Tom Foreman investigated for "ANDERSON COOPER 360".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A successful growing season at Angelica Nurseries comes from 2,100 acres, four million plants and 130 Mexican workers.
BERNIE KOLE, ANGELICA NURSERIES: From my perspective, I don't need cheap labor. I need labor.
FOREMAN: And Bernie Kole says they're all legal participants in the guest worker program and not much would get done if counted on only Americans.
KOLE: Many of the jobs in agriculture and in this nursery are very tough, physically demanding jobs, working in very cold, wet environments to very hot, dry environments, and working with very heavy plants. I mean, our...
FOREMAN (on camera): And a lot of Americans don't want to do that?
KOLE: No.
FOREMAN (voice-over): These guest workers come for three to eight months each year to make a federally-mandated wage of $8.95 an hour, above the prevailing wage for low-skilled jobs here. They live in clean dorms, rent free, pay $9 a day for all the food they want, work until 6:00, and, to remain in the program, must go home by fall.
"In Mexico," they tell me, "we would make less in a week than we make here in a day."
KOLE: No, the guys are pretty well-rounded.
FOREMAN: Won't Americans do this? By law, Bernie must advertise all these openings far and near before he can bring in guest workers. But year in and out, he insists virtually no Americans, not even the locals, will take the jobs.
(on camera): Do you think that Americans have grown lazy? KOLE: I think we have become soft. So, we tend to gravitate toward those jobs that are easier on us.
FOREMAN (voice-over): That talk infuriates immigration critics, who say places that rely on immigrant labor undercut wages for Americans, create indentured servants, and draw more legal and illegal immigrants.
Still, where manual labor is needed, it seems American applicants are often hard to find.
(on camera): Whether Americans like it or not, the simple truth is, immigrants have become a cornerstone of the American economy. And changing anything about where they work or how they work or how they get here is going to take time, and it's going to be difficult.
(voice-over): The critics say we could make a start; if people like Bernie paid enough, young Americans who have moved away to cities might move back, reinvigorating rural America and the working class. He doubts it.
KOLE: Farming is a very tough job. And many of them just want out of this type of environment. It's just what the younger generation seems to want to do.
FOREMAN: And many people who hire laborers insist he is right. When they go looking for people who can take on hard, manual jobs with enthusiasm and energy, the only players come from south of the border.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Kennedyville, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER 360" continues to follow the immigration debate. Watch weeknights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Pacific.
The day after a "Day Without Immigrants," reviews are mixed on the nationwide demonstration/boycott, aimed at showing immigrants' impact on the U.S. economy. One newspaper editorial calls it a "nationwide temper tantrum," but organizers say it did what it was meant to do, send a message.
Javier Rodriguez is a spokesman for the March 25 Coalition. He joins me now live from Los Angeles.
Javier, you were behind a tremendous part of this. Did you achieve what you wanted to yesterday?
JAVIER RODRIGUEZ, MARCH 25 COALITION SPOKESMAN: Absolutely. Absolutely. We couldn't have been more successful. At this time, this after March 25th, over a million people on the streets. This after April 10th, when millions in the streets.
And now on yesterday, May 1st, celebrating International Workers Day, we not only had millions in the street, we had millions boycotting the economy and sending a stronger message to Washington that we want a full legalization for the 12 million estimated undocumented folks so that we can empower them, so that we can fight for better wages, so that we can vote, we can legalize, register, become citizens and, of course, vote and participant fully in what this Constitution gives in this country.
PHILLIPS: Javier, I have a question. At the very beginning we saw demonstrations with Mexican flags. That's all we saw, were immigrants, illegal immigrants, carrying the Mexican flag.
Then a few weeks later, all we saw were American flags. And then yesterday we saw a little bit of everything. Why the change in tactics? Why start with the Mexican flag only and then the American flag and now a little bit of everything?
J. RODRIGUEZ: Well, let me say that the image that you have there on the Mexican flags is basically the students. This is after March 25th. It was the Mexican students that came forward. Now, the reason students carry that flag is because students are stigmatized. They are discriminated.
They are stopped from getting a higher education. They feel discriminated, so they look for symbols that will embrace them, that will make them feel good. And, I mean, don't -- after you stigmatize them, don't expect them to embrace the flag. But in the rest of the demonstrations, it has been primarily the American flag. No doubt about it.
PHILLIPS: Hispanics Against Illegal Immigration and Amnesty held a news conference in Washington -- you probably remember this -- yesterday to tell illegal immigrant protesters, you don't speak for me. That was the title of it. Colonel Alberto Rodriguez, U.S. Army retired had this to say about the demonstrations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. ALBERTO F. RODRIGUEZ, U.S. ARMY (RET.): The bold and absolute defiance of our laws by self-identified lawmakers taking to our streets in neighborhoods with impunity under the banner of Mexico, and I know you've seen it, the Che Guevara banner, to demand Americans surrender to mob rule is reprehensible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, "self-identified lawmakers" and "mob rule." How do you respond to that?
J. RODRIGUEZ: Well, it is not mob rule. I mean, the massive demonstrations that we've had are the best example of civic conduct that is exemplary and that the rest of the American population is definitely appreciating.
Look at -- the opinion polls are clearly telling us that over 70 percent, over 70 percent of the American population supports legalization. And I'm almost sure that in a few weeks it may be -- maybe in a week or so, you will see a national poll with Americans saying yes, we support that boycott.
PHILLIPS: But it's illegal immigration that people are saying -- the critics are coming forward and saying look, pay your taxes, be here legally. It's more fair on all levels within this debate.
J. RODRIGUEZ: Well, let me say that this old story about paying taxes and being illegal has gotten really old. The fact is that these people have paid taxes. There's all kinds of studies that either say, yes, they pay less, or yes, they pay more.
The fact is that they are needed, just like that grower, that nursery owner says I have 127 employees that are part of a program where he gets his workers from Mexico, not from here.
PHILLIPS: Javier, let me ask you a question. Let me just ask you this. What if every single one of those demonstrators, every single one that came out yesterday, went to Mexico and walked the streets and said Vicente Fox, give me a better life, give me a better economy?
Let this not even be an issue in the United States. We want to be here with our people, with our families and make this economy better? What if everybody would have done that instead?
J. RODRIGUEZ: Well, let me say this that if all these people that are walking the streets, all these people that participated in the boycott left this country, this country would definitely come down. It would break the economy. It would create a crisis, a havoc.
Let me say that Vicente Fox is a very close ally. As a matter of fact, we call him a lapdog of President Bush. So he's not going to do anything for us. He is in the same boat as George Bush. His popularity is way, way down.
PHILLIPS: And his time is almost up, so maybe it's time for the people of Mexico to raise up against the new president and say, hey, we need a better life?
J. RODRIGUEZ: Well, the same thing as we -- we are moving toward impeachment of our president that fabricated a war amongst many other things.
PHILLIPS: Javier Rodriguez, it's always very interesting to talk to you. I appreciate your time today.
J. RODRIGUEZ: Thank you very much.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, it's one of the biggest four-letter words in politics: Iowa. And guess who's making an appearance there. Does Rudy Giuliani have been plans for 2008? The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM, next.
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(WEATHER REPORT) PHILLIPS: If it's Iowa and it's an even-numbered year, can the presidential hopefuls be far behind? It's a rhetorical question. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is in the hawkeye state, raising money for Republicans in the midterm elections. But he admits he hasn't lost his taste for public service and is thinking about running for president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, FMR. NEW YORK MAYOR: It's a great honor to even have anybody consider that you could be a candidate for president of the United States. So, of course, you have to consider it. You know, there's something that, you know -- sometimes when you sit back and you think, well, people are saying to you, you should run or you should think about running, you feel humbled by that. So it is something you have to think about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Polls show Giuliani and Arizona Senator John McCain among the strongest Republican candidates to succeed President Bush.
Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice -- well, let's just say there are more questions for the Harvard sophomore whose novel was pulled from bookstores after she admitted plagiarizing another writer's book. "The New York Times" now reports other passages in Kaavya Viswanathan's novel appear to have been copied from a second author. A reader pointed out at least three suspicious similarities to "Can You Keep a Secret?" by Sophie Kinsella. Well, "The Times" says the plots of those books are distinct, but the phrasing and structure of some paragraphs is almost identical. Neither Viswanathan, her agent, nor her publisher are commenting.
Camera phones, the Internet and simple cruelty. Three key ingredients in the perverse and outrageous phenomenon known as happy slapping. Paula Newton filed this report for "PAULA ZAHN NOW."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's violent, voyeuristic video, and incredibly they call this chilling craze happy slapping. Just watch what happens. One person holds the camera phone and gets the schoolboy's attention. Then there it is. Out of nowhere, he's whacked. It's brutality that passes for entertainment. E-mailed to friends, posted on the Internet, and even rated for its gotcha value. Look closely as this man is hit twice. He staggers away. His attacker so bold tells the victim to go home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go home now. You're bleeding.
NEWTON: Police in Britain say these are sadistic crimes.
ELLIE O'CONNOR, BRITISH POLICE INVESTIGATOR: These assaults are far from happy. They are vicious, unprovoked attacks on persons ranging from 12 years well into their 30s and 40s.
NEWTON: Attacks that can kill. Tristan Christmas died when he was smacked to a cement floor and the camera just kept on rolling.
SIOBHAN CHRISTMAS, TRISTAN'S MOTHER: Makes me ill. It makes me ill.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel it's a dream. It's not real. How can people do that? It's sick, absolutely sick.
NEWTON: The attacker is now behind bars. To cope with their grief, Tristan's family has issued blunt appeals especially to teenagers.
CHRISTMAS: This isn't a joke. This is not funny. Someone died. A young,, young man with his whole life ahead of him.
NEWTON: There is no denying the cult status of happy slapping. Again and again, thousands of people click and get millions of hits, outrageous video to be downloaded for its shock value.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to go happy slapping.
NEWTON (on camera): It used to be that some just craved their 15 minutes of fame. Now it's 15 megs of fame and it's really easy to get. You shoot just a few seconds of video and within hours, you're a star all over the Internet.
(voice-over): What some seem to forget is this is assault, a crime, but one that goes largely unreported. That makes attackers bold enough to broadcast the slapping, just for kicks.
DR. GRAHAM BARNFIELD, UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON: If you were a career criminal, the point is to make the evidence disappear. If you're a happy slapper, you're manufacturing evidence against yourself. It's that use of humiliation as entertainment that makes it so disturbing.
NEWTON: Disturbing and so outrageous some of the video has captivated millions. Take this footage, it may have been staged, but even so it got the whole country talking. Watch as this happy slap victim turns the tables.
Just the thought that one brave soul slapped that happy slapper back consoled many. They called him the have-a-go-hero and it speaks to how fed up and fearful many now are about a prank that sounds innocent and is anything but.
Paula Newton, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, you can see more stories like this on CNN's "PAULA ZAHN NOW," weeknights, 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.
Straight ahead, entertainment news with Brooke Anderson of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." Hey, Brooke, what's on tap?
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kyra. Well, an actor is living the life of a Soprano, unfortunately, and some fun facts about the wildly popular "American Idol." We're going to tell you which judge's opinion is valued most by viewers. All that and more when CNN's LIVE FROM continues.
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PHILLIPS: Star trouble, judging the judges on "American Idol," and new tunes from some popular rockers. Our entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson has it all for us. Brooke.
ANDERSON: Hi there Kyra. Nineties grunge rockers Pearl Jam are back with a new disk. It is their eighth album, it is self-titled, called Pearl Jam. On this 13-track set they don't hold back. They tear into the Bush administration. Pearl Jam will kick off a world tour May 9th in Toronto.
This story sounds like an episode of the HBO series "The Sopranos," but it's not. It's real life. John Ventimiglia, who plays chef Artie Bucco on the mob drama is in a dishload of trouble. The 37 year old actor was arrested yesterday about a block from his home in Brooklyn for drunken driving and cocaine possession. He was released on his own recognizance.
If you're an "American Idol" fan, you know these names, Chris, Elliot, Harris, Katherine and Taylor, they are the five remaining finalists.
Folks are glued to their TV sets, hanging on to each and every last note. Viewers give the most merit to what Simon says about each contestant. A new study released by the Washington D.C.-based public opinion research firm, Persuant Incorporated, found that the always honest Simon Cowell's opinion is valued twice as much as Randy Jackson's and nine times as much as Paula Abdul.
The poll also found that 73 percent of the voters are women, and that one in ten adults in the general American population has voted this season. The survey, I want to say, only talked to adults, so there's no telling how kids cast their votes or how much they actually listen to Simon. The poll talked to a little more than 1,000 people at random. The polling company also said that viewers really believe they're judges and have a stake in creating a potential superstar. I agree with that. Every vote counts, right?
PHILLIPS: That's right. I can't tell you how many kids -- I would say a lot of people that work in this news room and their kids talk about it. What's coming up tonight?
ANDERSON: Tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" the sexual confessions of a desperate housewife. Why Teri Hatcher is speaking out now about her disturbing past and how it could help other women who have been sexually abused. That is "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 7:00 and 11:00 eastern and it's on CNN Headline Prime.
PHILLIPS: Shaq and Kobe had good timing when they played for the L.A. Lakers. Off the court, it's their wives who rule the clock. The two NBA superstars became fathers yesterday, again. Their wives gave birth to girls just to six minutes apart. This is the second child for the Bryants and the sixth for the O'Neils.
Trapped underground, but they still have a sense of humor. Hear what two miners are telling their rescuers. The news keeps coming, we'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM next.
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