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CNN Live Today

26 Hours of Terror; Man Arrested in Case of Lost & Found 13- Year-Old Girl; Ports Deal Fallout; Homeowner's Association Threatens Fine For Sign Supporting The Troops; One School Bans Sugar

Aired March 10, 2006 - 10:59   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning on this Friday morning. Welcome to CNN LIVE TODAY.
From CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan.

It was a routine Friday at a busy courthouse that erupted into gunfire and panic, setting in motion 26 hours of terror. That happened a year ago, almost to the day, at the Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta.

This morning, a memorial service was held for the three people gunned down in the rampage. Portraits of Judge Rowland Barnes, court reporter Julie Brandau, and Deputy Hoyt Teasley were unveiled.

Our Kyra Phillips is covering the aftermath of the tragedy one year later.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It should have been a day like any other at the Fulton County Courthouse -- business as usual. It would be anything but.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police are everywhere. There are sheriff's deputies flying around. What we know is two people have been shot. One is a deputy. The other we believe may be a judge. This is just a chaotic scene with emergency vehicles flying everywhere.

PHILLIPS: March 11, 2005, 33-year-old Brian Nichols is transported from jail to the basement of the county courthouse. Nichols is on trial for a second time in as many weeks on charges of rape, burglary, false imprisonment.

ASH JOSHI, FORMER PROSECUTOR: I was quite confident Brian Nichols knew the trial was not going well. It was the fourth quarter, and we were up by a few touchdowns, and I think he was concerned.

PHILLIPS: Faced with the very real prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison, police says Nichols takes matters into his own hands.

At 8:49 a.m., he is escorted up to the holding cells on the eighth floor of the new courthouse. There he assaults and overpowers Deputy Cynthia Hall. RICHARD MECUM, U.S. MARSHAL: He knocked her out. She had a key on her that unlocked the gun box, and so he unlocked the gun box which is in the holding cell and took her gun out, also got her radio.

PHILLIPS: As Nichols makes his break, Judge Rowland Barnes is presiding over a civil matter on the eighth floor of the old courthouse. Court reporter Julie Brandau is next to him.

(on camera): By now, Brian Nichols, armed with Cynthia Hall's handgun, is calmly walking away from the holding cells. But instead of easily escaping, he is making his way across this sky bridge to the old courthouse.

MECUM: The judge was already on the bench with the court reporter, and when Brian Nichols came through that door he then shot the judge and the court reporter.

PHILLIPS (voice over): Judge Barnes and Julie Brandau are killed instantly. Nichols then turns his attention to the prosecution table. But there were no prosecutors. Instead, he locks his eyes and his gun on attorney Richard Robbins.

RICHARD ROBBINS, ATTORNEY: A lot of thoughts went through my mind. He just killed the judge, now he's going to kill the prosecutor, then he's going to kill everybody else. And I'm sitting at the prosecutor's table. So I decided at that point that I needed to get out of that courtroom, and I wasn't going to let him shoot me straight in the chest.

PHILLIPS: Judge Barnes' wife Claudia also works at the courthouse and remembers all too vividly the chaos that followed the shootings.

CLAUDIA BARNES, JUDGE ROWLAND BARNES' WIDOW: One of my good friends came and got me, and at that point I knew something was wrong with Rowland. So we went over to his courtroom and they had already taped it off.

PHILLIPS (on camera): They wouldn't even let you in the courtroom?

BARNES: Oh, no.

PHILLIPS (voice over): In a matter of 12 short minutes, so many lives are changed forever at the Fulton County Courthouse. And it's about to get worse.

Brian Nichols is on the loose.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And we're live outside the Fulton County Courthouse right now. Renee Rockwell also remembers that chaos that took place inside the courthouse.

You were in there when this was all happening. Take me through that quickly, and then we'll talk about what happened when you came outside.

RENE ROCKWELL, ATLANTA ATTORNEY: I was on the eighth floor, actually on my way to Judge Barnes' courtroom. I had a hearing that morning

I got off the elevator. As I came around the corner, on the ground I saw a deputy's hat and a clipboard. When I looked up, there were a number of deputies running at me and I made a joke. I said, "What happened, did somebody escape?" they whisked me into one of the elevators.

PHILLIPS: And that was the elevator that's right in between the two courthouses, right? Or here in the new...

ROCKWELL: In the new building.

PHILLIPS: OK.

ROCKWELL: I was in there, it seemed like, with about six or seven deputies. A female deputy just put her hand on the wall and she started crying. And I said, "What happened?" She said, "The defendant got the gun and shot a judge."

I said, "What judge?" And she said, "Judge Barnes." And I knew immediately who it was. I knew it was Brian Nichols.

PHILLIPS: So you knew you had to get out of the courthouse immediately. You worked your way out the front door.

ROCKWELL: Well, they actually brought me out of the courthouse. When I came out of the front door, I walked down Central Avenue and just -- I was in shock. I came around the corner. At that point, I saw Teasley laying down on the sidewalk, like -- like on some steps, just outside of the door of the exit stairwell.

PHILLIPS: And of course we're talking about Sergeant Hoyt Teasley, one of the sheriff's deputies. He was just getting to work. He was talking -- listening on the radio to what was going on, didn't even have a chance to put his vest on yet. He was just arriving to work.

You come across and see him lying on the ground. Did you try and talk to him?

ROCKWELL: No, I didn't. His eyes were open, but there was another witness who had actually seen the shooting who was screaming and hollering, describing that the guy that had just shot him was actually running across the street shooting.

It appeared that maybe he had drawn a gun. I don't remember seeing anything except one of his thumbs, Teasley's thumbs, one of his thumbs were bleeding. My understanding is that's where he took one shot.

At any rate...

PHILLIPS: Did you try to talk to him? Did you try to see if he was conscious?

ROCKWELL: No. No. His eyes were open. I just couldn't go any closer to him.

At the time, police cars were coming and blocking the street, and it upset me because there was no -- there was so much traffic, a number of deputies and police officers had picked him up and tried to get him actually into a cruiser. It was too busy to get an ambulance in, and they tried to put him in the front seat, back seat.

He just wasn't fitting, which was so frustrating because Grady is just right here. It just seemed like he was alive and maybe could have gotten -- gotten there in time. I guess not.

PHILLIPS: And here we are. Just real quickly, it's been a year later. Is it strange coming back here and just seeing that area and walking into this? I mean, you're an attorney. You have to go in here every day.

ROCKWELL: Every day. And I can tell you, it's changed. The security is a lot more heightened. You have more deputies in the courtroom.

But like any other courthouse in the nation, it's better, but it's not perfect. And no courthouse I think is immune from another tragedy.

PHILLIPS: Renee Rockwell, thank you so much.

ROCKWELL: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: And Daryn, Rene is one character that's in this two- hour documentary that's going to air tomorrow night. You'll see a lot of interviews for the very first time.

We talked with Teasley's widow, Deborah (ph). We go home with her, we go through pictures. We see a memorial that she's set up for him. We talk to their kids.

It's pretty emotional, not only to go back to that day -- I'm sure you remember that day very well. We were all working very long hours. But just hearing what people are saying a year later and how they just haven't forgotten any of the details or the losses.

KAGAN: Yes. That story unfolded during my shift and your shift, not too far away from where we sit here at the anchor desk. I know you put a lot of work in on this documentary. I look forward to seeing it.

Kyra, thank you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Daryn.

KAGAN: And this just in. Federal officials are expected to announce today a massive crackdown on suspected gang members across the country. They say hundreds of suspects have been arrested over the last two weeks. The sweep is the latest result of a year-long investigation led by the Homeland Security Department.

It's dubbed Operation Community Shield. We expect to hear more from the Department of Homeland Security next hour.

More now on that case of the New Jersey teenager who had text- messaged her mother saying she had been abducted. There has been arrest in the case.

Our Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff joins us now by phone with the latest developments.

Allan, hello.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

The Bergen County, New Jersey, prosecutor has brought charges against a 19-year-old, charging the young man with criminal sexual contact. This with a 13-year-old girl from Jersey City.

What's really brought so much attention to this case is that the girl had been missing for three days. She had sent text messages to her mother saying that she had been abducted, that she had just woken up somewhere in a basement. She said she was scared and also said in the text messages that said she was being forced to do things she didn't want to do.

Yesterday, the girl finally called home. A cab driver took her to a police station in New York, and at the police station she told officers that she had been abused.

She was examined at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, but doctors found no serious injuries. And the Jersey City police chief, Robert Troy, even held a press conference yesterday saying that the girl's credibility is in doubt.

Now we have word from the Bergen County prosecutor that they are bringing a charge of criminal sexual conduct against a 19-year-old.

Now, it's not clear if the sexual contact was consensual, but under New Jersey state law, a 13-year-old is incapable of granting legal consent to sex -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And where does the case go from here, Allan?

CHERNOFF: Well, it appears that there were two other young men who were involved. We understand from the Jersey City police that this girl had met one of the young men at a shopping mall, the Newport Mall in Jersey City, and that that young man had brought her back to a home where she met two other fellows, and apparently the sexual contact occurred at that home.

So whether or not there will be further charges brought, we just don't know yet. But the investigation is continuing.

KAGAN: Allan Chernoff live on the phone.

Thank you.

A controversial ports deal is dead in the water and President Bush is out of hot water with his fellow Republicans. A Dubai company has given up on plans to manage operations at six U.S. ports after the agreement touched off a political firestorm.

President Bush says he's concerned about the message the dispute sends to the world, especially the Middle East. He vows to work with Congress to improve the process for future decisions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm sure that the decision by DP World was a difficult decision to hand over port operations that they had purchased from another company. My administration was satisfied that port security would not have been undermined by the agreement. Nevertheless, Congress was still very much opposed to it.

My administration will continue to work with the Congress to provide a greater understanding of how these transactions are approved. In other words, the process and how we can improve that process in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Meanwhile, newspaper editorials in the United Arab Emirates blame the failed ports deal on political posturing and anti- Arab sentiment. A Dubai-based investment banker wrote a scathing opinion piece in "The Khaleej Times."

He says -- and we're quoting here -- "Ironically, the U.S. should subcontract its own airport security to Dubai. After all, more U.S. naval ships call on Jebel Ali than any other port in the world, and DXB is one of the safest, fastest-growing and hippest airports on the planet. Not exactly shabby mafia-infested joints like JFK or LaGuardia, as I remember them."

He goes on to say, "We need to heal the wounds of civilization inflicted by the 9/11 terrorists, not inflame them."

End of quote there.

Our Kevin Flower joins us on the phone -- by videophone, actually, from Dubai with more reaction on that.

Kevin, hello.

KEVIN FLOWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Here in Dubai, the two reactions that we hear the most are disappointment and bewilderment. Disappointment here by many that what was considered a sound financial deal has been scuttled for domestic political considerations, and a general level of astonishment and bewilderment at the criticism that's been leveled against the United Arab -- United Arab Emirates government from members of Congress and the American public. So a bit of astonishment here in Dubai today.

KAGAN: Kevin, is this a story that, as we say, is going to have legs, or is it just a temporary newspaper story in Dubai?

FLOWER: Well, that's an interesting question. The amount of coverage this story has been receiving here in the United Arab Emirates is not a lot, compared to what you've seen in the United States.

So, today, for instance, in the state -- the state published newspaper, there is mention of the story, but not the front page treatment that you would have expected here. So it's hard to say. I think it probably -- within a week or so, this probably will go away, but behind the scenes it will linger at the political level and the economic level.

KAGAN: What about official government reaction to the end of this deal?

FLOWER: Another interesting thing. We've heard nothing officially from the UAE government today on this, but prior to this, officials had told CNN that the cancellation of this deal could impact the amount of UAE investment in the United States, which is billions of dollars a year though, most officials here and other observers say that the relationship between the United States and the UAE long term will probably not suffer.

KAGAN: Kevin Flower, live from Dubai.

Thank you.

The question of control helped sink the Dubai ports deal, but at dozens of seaports around the U.S. there's no question about who is control. It's the states.

That story from CNN's Bill Tucker.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The debate over whether a foreign government should be allowed to take over port operations in American ports was never of any concern to the Port of Charleston.

LUCY DUNCAN-SCHEMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO, SAFE PORTS: It just can't happen here because of the way our port is authorized to operate. It is not a landlord port.

TUCKER: That's because the Port of Charleston is owned and operated by the state of South Carolina. It's what's known as an operating port.

Charleston is the biggest such port in America. It operates the cranes, loads and unloads the ships, it's responsible for port security. It has an operating profit margin of 30 percent. BERNARD GROSECLOSE, PRESIDENT & CEO, STATE PORT AUTHORITY: Last year alone, we increased our container volumes by over 14 percent. Our revenues went up 18 percent. And our operating expenses went up less than one-third of 1 percent. So it is a very effective model.

TUCKER: Maersk, the world's largest shipping line, acknowledged that fact by recently naming Charleston it's second most productive port in the world.

There are roughly 30 operating ports in America, according to the American Association of Port Authorities. Charleston is one. The port of Savannah, another, and the Port of Norfolk, Virginia, yet another.

The difference between these ports and the Port Authority of New York-New Jersey, which is a landlord port, is that landlord ports lease out control of operations to outside companies. Operating ports don't. Control is central.

ROBERT BRAY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA PORT AUTHORITY: The operating port has been by far the better way to go, because we were able to control the operation, which means you control the service to your ship line customers. And then we were also able to rationalize a service that we didn't have to build any more facilities that were absolutely necessary. And that, of course, with the security concerns we have, we're able to control the security environment.

TUCKER: But there is only so much that the ports can do in regards to security, and port operators say the single biggest issue they face is the failure by the federal government to take security seriously.

Bill Tucker, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And we're giving you a chance to weigh in this morning. Should foreign-owned companies be prohibited from managing U.S. ports? Let us know what you think.

E-mail us at LIVETODAY@CNN.com and we will read some of them later this hour.

There could be something in the failed Dubai deal for you, actually. It could bring on higher interest rates. If it scares off foreign investors.

Business Correspondent Susan Lisovicz looks at some of the scenarios this morning.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: And stay with us here. In a moment, we're going to space out. But I mean that in a good way.

An explorer makes an intriguing discovery in Saturn's neighborhood. Our space aficionado is working overtime to tell us about it.

Miles, it's practically your bedtime.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: It is, but there's no one I'd rather space out with than you, Daryn.

KAGAN: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: There's a spacecraft homing in on Mars, and the odds are it will not have a successful conclusion today.

Mars is kind of the Bermuda Triangle of space destinations for NASA. The hope is they're successful and there will be a big scientific payoff.

We'll tell you about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Mars, get ready for your close-up. A NASA spacecraft is set to go into orbit around Mars today. If everything goes right, the orbiter will circle low over the planet for a few years, snapping some extreme close-ups. NASA says the cameras on the orbiter are so sharp they can pick up objects the size of a kitchen table.

Exciting news today, as well, about a moon. Not our moon, but one of Saturn's moons.

NASA is pretty sure that there is water on the moon Enceladus. Not enchiladas. Enceladus.

That would be news.

CNN's Miles O'Brien is with us this morning from New York, a little punchy. He's been up since probably about 1:00 in the morning.

So there's life on enchiladas (sic), huh?

O'BRIEN: It's the big tamale, you might say.

KAGAN: The big tamale, absolutely.

O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes. No, it actually is -- I'm told it's Enceladus, but who knew?

KAGAN: Who knew?

O'BRIEN: I mean, who knew about this thing?

It's 300 miles in diameter, tiny little moon of Saturn. And all of a sudden today it is at the top of the list for scientists who are interested in learning about origins of life in our solar system.

We're talking about Cassini's mission to Saturn. The Cassini spacecraft homing in, taking a close-up look at Enceladus and coming up with these little fractures here. Check out these kind of fractures. They call them tiger tails there. Take a look at those things.

And they apparently are part of an ice structure on the surface. Beneath it, we believe, is some liquid water.

How do we know that? Well, take a look at this animation. That will give you a sense of what we're talking about.

But look at these images which came as Cassini came within fairly close proximity of Enceladus a year go. And what you're seeing down here are little plumes.

Think of it as Old Faithful, only frozen solid. Maybe Cold Faithful would be better in this case.

The question is, what is inside Enceladus that is heating things up? That's a big question. And how long have the conditions been this way?

If it has been a long time, in fact, it's quite possible that beneath that surface, even though it's so dark there, there might be enough energy in order for life to possibly exist. We're talking about not little green men or Enceladonians (ph), but microbial life. And so now scientists searching for water, which is, of course, the key elixir of life, are focusing heavily on this.

Meanwhile, they're also focused on Mars today -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Yes. Let's talk about Mars. Kind of -- it could be a nasty place to send your favorite scientific probe.

O'BRIEN: Yes. They've had a bad track record.

One in three Mars missions over the course of the years succeed. Now, that -- that'll get you into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

KAGAN: Right.

O'BRIEN: But that shows you how difficult it is. NASA -- of course, if you remember back in '99, they lost two probes that terrible season, that fall. This time around, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is on its way, and hopefully all will go well, it will fire its retro rockets, slow itself down just a little bit to be kind of ensnared in Mars' gravitational pull.

But then it will take several months for it to slow down in a process called aerobraking. And then the scientific mission begins.

This spacecraft has the most powerful telescope ever sent to another planet. If you refer to that thing, it would see a kitchen counter.

So who knows what it will find as it begins its scientific mission, assuming it all goes well today.

KAGAN: If nothing else, it got 310 million frequent flier miles just to get there. So...

O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes, it did.

KAGAN: So, there's that. Miles, thank you.

Now, go get some sleep.

O'BRIEN: OK.

KAGAN: Have a good weekend.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Daryn.

KAGAN: Thank you, Miles. Thanks for staying up late with us. Appreciate it.

O'BRIEN: My pleasure.

KAGAN: Let's check in on your cold and flu update. Reynolds Wolf has that for us.

Reynolds, hello.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hello, Daryn.

And, you know, if you happen to be tuning in from the great state of Texas and you've been coughing and sneezing and wheezing and all that jazz, well, you're not alone. Many places in the Deep South, your neighbors just to the east, pretty much the same deal. And that includes all the way up towards the Northeast in, let's see, Pennsylvania and New York.

However, in Arizona, New Mexico and in Utah, things are kind of sporadic in terms of the flu.

Coming up in just a few moments, I'm going to let you know if the possibility of severe weather this weekend will be widespread or sporadic.

That's coming up in just a few moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We've been talking about the failed ports deal today. And in light of that, we're giving you a chance to weigh in this morning.

The question we asked in our e-mail question, should foreign- owned companies be prohibited from managing U.S. ports? Here's how some of you responded. I've got tell you, this answers were pretty much uniform across the board. This one is from Rita, who writes in, "You asked if it was 'wrong' for another country to 'manage' our Ports. My simple answer is YES! Our forefathers didn't break ties with England, so we could give this country away piece by piece. Or more correctly, port by port." And then there's this answer from Don in Exeter, New Hampshire, "No foreign company or even its American subsidiary should be responsible for any of our ports, land, sea or air, especially after 9/11. This is not discriminatory. It's common sense. I strongly believe that we should never, ever entrust our security to a foreign entity. Governments may be regarded as loyal, trusted allies, but individuals that control the day to day operations may have other ideas."

And finally from heather in South Carolina, she writes in, "I do not believe that any outside country should be in control of our ports. I also believe that we are sending too many of our jobs out of the country."

We'd like to give you a variety of opinions, but today it pretty much was a slam dunk. It seems our viewers today not in favor of any foreign-owned company having control of U.S. ports.

And there's a big mess to clean up across Arkansas this morning. Powerful thunderstorms and a tornado raked the state in a violent spring preview. The twister sliced an eight-mile path through one eastern county. The weather service think the tornadoes winds hit about 150 miles an hour. Several dozen homes and other buildings were damaged across Arkansas. At least two deaths are linked to the weather.

In the west, a cold storm system from the Gulf of Alaska will bring chilly rain and snow to California this weekend. The storm stirred up this funnel cloud as it passed over the Sacramento area.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(NEWSBREAK)

KAGAN: Outrage as protesters make a mess out of funerals across the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those guys knew how I'm appreciating all this work they're doing. I think they quit doing it just for spite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

The man behind the whole thing speaks to CNN straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Giving away all of our state secrets there.

Well, the battle over gay rights is being fought on many fronts, but most people would agree that funerals of fallen troops is not the place for the fight, not the Phelps family. They're determined to take their anti-gay message to military funerals across the country, and new laws are aimed at stopping people like them.

Our Ed Lavandera has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred Phelps is on his way to another military funeral, laughing at all the people trying to silence him.

FRED PHELPS, PROTESTING AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY: It is like popping popcorn. Here goes the kernel. Pow. Here goes the kernel. Pow in this state, that state.

LAVANDERA: He says that's how lawmakers are reacting to the military funeral protests Phelps and his family have launched. They believe U.S. soldiers deserve to die because they fight for a country that tolerates homosexuality.

Now four states have recently passed laws that restrict how close Phelps and his family can be to the funerals. Another dozen states are considering similar laws.

PHELPS: If those guys knew how I'm appreciating all this work they're doing, I think they would quit doing it, just for spite.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You crossed the line. Now God is your enemy!

LAVANDERA: The Phelps family says it has picketed more than 100 military funerals since last summer, but, because of these new laws, the Phelps say they will stay away from funerals in Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana, and Oklahoma, but not for long. Several family members are attorneys, who say these laws violate their First Amendment right to free speech.

PHELPS: I want Congress to pass a law that says I can't picket, so we can immediately get it all brought to the nation's attention in one gulp.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a hero. You're slime!

LAVANDERA: The protests have sparked great outrage. They carry signs that read "Thank God for IEDs" and "Thank God for dead soldiers." The message is so callous, nasty and disruptive, it inspired a group of motorcycle riders from around the country to show up in support of the military families.

RANDY WENDLING, FATHER OF KILLED U.S. SOLDIER: ... to keep peace.

LAVANDERA: Randy Wendling lost a son in Iraq. He still struggles to understand how anyone could be so mean-spirited. Today, he welcomed the news that these new laws might be slowing down the Phelps family.

WENDLING: Families that are mourning should have the freedom to privacy, to mourn the loss of their loved one. And it is very important that this situation never arise again, that the people would be protected.

LAVANDERA: The Phelps family says it will continue picketing legally. These new laws won't slow them down, because, they say, there are plenty of other funerals in other places that will get their attention now.

PHELPS: Love it. You got to love it.

LAVANDERA: Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: I think you've heard it all.

All right. Let's move on to another story. This one is about a woman whose husband is a U.S. soldier in Iraq but Stacey Kelley is locked in a battle of her own. Her neighborhood homeowners association is threatening to fine her $100 a day for an unapproved yard sign. The message? It says, "support our troops." We get details now from reporter Tanya Arja of our CNN affiliate, WTVT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TANYA ARJA, WTVT REPORTER (voice-over): It stands just two feet high and is barely noticeable as you drive down the street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did not even notice it until today.

ARJA: But this "support our troops" sign is getting a lot of attention. It's been in the front yard of Stacey Kelley's West Chase home since her husband, David, went to Iraq last November.

STACEY KELLEY, SOLDIER'S WIFE: I feel that your home is where your heart is and right now my husband's in Iraq and that's where my heart is so I want to show everyone that I support what he's doing.

ARJA: But the homeowners association says the sign has to go.

DARYL MANNING, HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION: The concern that we have is what if the neighbor across the street does not support the troops or is against the administration and starts putting up those type of signs, so here we have a war of the signs and we definitely do not want to get into that.

ARJA: Deed restrictions prohibit any signs except for sale or for rent signs or small home security signs.

(on camera): The homeowners association is threatening to fine the Kelleys $100 a day until they take the sign down.

(voice-over): Kelley's husband told his wife to keep the sign and pay the fine if it comes to that. Many think the homeowners association is being unpatriotic. Manning thinks that's pretty ironic.

MANNING: I've served in Operation Iraqi Freedom for almost 20 months, and prior to that, I was in Operation Desert Storm, so I know what soldiers go through when they deploy. I know what their families go through. I went through the same thing.

ARJA: He says rules are rules, but Kelley thinks they should be able to make an exception.

KELLEY: I know about the rules but I didn't consider that we couldn't ever have something like that sign in our yard that's telling everyone to support our troops.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: That story from WTVT in Tampa, Florida.

Kids and sugar, for some it's like throwing gas on fire. Now, one school declares itself a sugar-free zone with what they say are some sweet results.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Federal authorities have posted a reward in the case of a fugitive father who disappeared after promising to give his son a kidney. The U.S. Marshal Service is offering $25,000 for information leading to the arrest of Byron Keith Perkins and his girlfriend.

Perkins was awaiting sentencing on a drug and gun conviction when he told authorities he would donate one of his kidneys to his son. But he disappeared after he was released from jail for medical tests. Witnesses have reportedly spotted the couple in Mexico.

The bird flu's deadly impact in Indonesia tops today's "Daily Dose" of medical news. Indonesian officials confirm a 12-year-old girl has died from the virus. The child had apparently been in contact with infected poultry. Her death brings the number of bird flu fatalities in that country to 22. Half of those deaths occurred in just the last 10 weeks.

In our weekly series "Fit Nation," students at one elementary school are learning early how what they put in their mouth affects what goes on in their heads. Our senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Inside this red brick schoolhouse is a sugar-free zone. When principal Yvonne Sanders-Butler arrived at Browns Mill Elementary School eight years ago, she says she noticed something: a direct link between diet and academic performance.

What are we having today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ham and cheese.

DR. YVONNE SANDERS-BUTLER, PRINCIPAL, BROWNS MILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: I saw kids very overweight. I saw a large percentage of kids come into the clinic for headaches and stomach aches even before we started class. And I would look at what they would eat in the morning or what they would not eat.

GUPTA: Butler could relate. At one time, her nickname was "sugar woman." She remembers feeling high after first tasting chocolate milk at school in rural Mississippi. Her sharecropper parents served food that they grew, but her mother was also known for baking sugary treats.

As an adult, Butler packed on the pounds. At age 39, she was obese and she was in trouble -- dangerously high blood pressure, joint pain from the weight, almost suffered a stroke. After 20 years of yo- yo dieting, Butler joined Overeaters Anonymous and started to take control.

SANDERS-BUTLER: It's a lifestyle change. There is no magic bullet. There is common sense.

GUPTA: And that's a lesson she brought to Browns Mill.

SANDERS-BUTLER: We took out everything that was obviously sugar. We took out chocolate milk. We took out sugary desserts, we took out ice cream. Children were more on task, more attentive in class during class time. The other thing that we saw our test scores increase by 10 percent.

GUPTA: Children at Browns Mill now start their day with stretching ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Relax, stand up tall.

GUPTA: ... lots of exercise ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exercise.

CROWD: One, two, three, one.

GUPTA: ... and lunches with whole wheat bread, fruits and vegetables. The Georgia Department of Education says the best approach to combating obesity in elementary school is a greater emphasis on nutrition education for students and their parents. Yvonne Sanders-Butler says she knows some may see her approach as radical but she's out to change the world one child at a time.

SANDERS-BUTLER: We all have so like a treadmill life and so we're just trying to maximize the moment. I know that we can do that and still be healthy.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Cold, hard cash. When we come back, the billionaires' club gets bigger.

And, oh, baby, it's time for the panda cubs. Too cute. We're going to see what's up with this zoo crew in the snow. Hey, stop that. Stop that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Cutest picture of the day. We could have just run this over and over again for two hours. Absolutely cutest thing you're going to see. China is showing off its new panda kindergarten. Obviously it's time for recess, and the 16 cubs -- yes, 16. The babies are between five and seven months old. They were born at a breeding center. Most will be set free in the wild as China tries to rebuild the panda population.

Hey, kids, get along. Get along, come on.

More cuteness is on the way: 38 giant pandas at the breeding center are expecting little ones. Does not get much cuter than that.

(MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: "The Sopranos" do return on Sunday night. This will be the sixth and final season of family violence. The Jersey burbs have been quiet for almost two years, way too long for us die-hard fans. Now 20 episodes of the landmark drama are coming up. One cast member sat down with our AMERICAN MORNING crew earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It was kind of odd, to take 18 months off. They stopped production in 2004, and that picked up again. So was that strange for you as an actor?

MICHAEL IMPERIOLI, ACTOR: We had a long time of. It was our longest ever. For an actor, to be honest, it's really kind of great because on most series, you get two months off, maybe three months. And you don't get to do a whole lot. But we get to do -- I did a movie. I directed a play. I was on "Law & Order" for four shows.

S. O'BRIEN: Are you worried that you lose the viewers, though? Because there is always that concern that, you know, if you're off too long, people sort of get out of the habit of watching, or is there an upside. Now everyone is going to rush back to their TVs?

IMPERIOLI: I think it's going to work in our favor to be honest with you. I think we've been gone so long, there's a lot of hype, there's a big momentum, and we're back with a vengeance.

S. O'BRIEN: And everybody knows -- everyone was talking about sort of where we left it last, which of course, Christopher, who had been struggling with a drug problem, which is still sort of a problem, your character, Christopher, and his girlfriend, FBI informant, kind of frees everybody up to -- she gets whacked. That's where it ended. Let's listen to a clip of the new season first.

IMPERIOLI: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IMPERIOLI: You won't find any of that. I'm reading. I'm lifting weights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: We'll have to watch for Sunday night. By the way, Tony and Carmela get some new TV neighbors now that they're back. The desperately popular ladies of Wisteria Lane over on the other channel. Sounds like Tony may need to order another hit.

I'm Daryn Kagan. International news is up next. Stay tuned for YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'll be back with the latest headlines from here in the U.S. in about 20 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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