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CNN Live Today

Final Moments of Flight 93; California Weather Watch; Rumsfeld Under Fire; IAEA Fact Check; Duke Lacrosse Probe

Aired April 12, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We have news developing already. There -- this is a quote that we're starting out with, that "there is a bomb on board." Those are words of a 9/11 terrorist and they were just heard publicly for the first time. Cockpit tapes from United Flight 93 are being played right now. Jurors and relatives of those killed in that Pennsylvania field are hearing the heroic efforts of the passengers and the crew. The tapes are part of a dramatic closing moments of the prosecution's case against Zacarias Moussaoui.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve is covering the trial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): We know how Flight 93 ended, the plane in fragments, 44 dead. But the cockpit voice recorder, or CVR, will shed light on events leading up to the crash. Hamilton Peterson is among the Flight 93 family member who have heard the 30-minute tape.

HAMILTON PETERSON, SON OF FLIGHT 93 PASSENGER: At times it's absolutely clear. At other times, there's background noise.

MESERVE: When Flight 93 left Newark Airport on the morning of September 11th, all of the hijackers had seats in first class. Zia Ajarrah (ph), who was a pilot, was in 1b, closest to the cockpit. Ahmed Alnami (ph) was in 3c, Siad Algandi (ph) was in 3d and Ahmed Alhaznawi (ph was in 6b. But 45 minutes into the flight, three of them left their seats, taking over the cockpit. The jury heard the pilot say, "mayday, get out of here," in a radio transmission played in court Tuesday. Another radio communication captured what is believed to be Jarrah (ph) trying to speak to the passengers.

JARRAH: This is the captain. Would like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb on board.

MESERVE: Herded to the back of the plane, passengers and crew made phone calls and plans after learning of the World Trade Center attacks. Todd Beamer (ph) was speaking to telephone operator Lisa Jefferson.

LISA JEFFERSON, GTE AIRFONE OPERATOR: Had said, OK, let's roll. That was the last I heard from Todd.

MESERVE: Passengers and crews stormed forward. The hijackers gyrated the plane to try to knock them off their feet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could hear the terrorists. You could hear in the end they were actually the ones who were terrorized.

MESERVE: Though government investigators do not believe passenger and crew ever entered the cockpit, their revolt sent the plane into the ground, rather than what is believed to be its intended target, the U.S. Capitol.

PETERSON: That sends us the message, we cannot exclusively rely upon our police or our military. Every one of us has an individual responsibility and obligation to take action.

MESERVE: Peterson is ecstatic that the tape will be played in court, but he worries that the public, which will only see a transcript, won't learn the lesson of Flight 93, which is, he says, that good can triumph over evil.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Alexandria, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And as we said, those tapes are being played inside that Alexandria, Virginia, courtroom right now. We have producers and correspondents inside listening and we expect to hear from Kelli Arena as those plays -- that playing video and audio wraps up.

So the question now is, are movie audiences ready to relive the horror of 9/11?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's too soon for that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I definitely don't want to see it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Two studios are betting against those moviegoers. That story is still ahead.

CNN Security Watch keeps you up-to-date on safety. Stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Right now on to weather. A mudslide is leading to an urgent rescue effort in California. Firefighters in Mill Valley are searching for a man believed to be trapped after a wall of mud slid past his house. Authorities think the man may have been trying to clear debris from the back of the house when he was trapped. Firefighters have evacuated three other homes in the area. We are following this developing story and will keep you updated.

Meanwhile, Chad Myers has his eye on California, the west coast, and, boy, that's a big chunk of glue behind your right shoulder there, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And, you know what, Daryn, I could have taken the same map from yesterday and put it on the same map behind me and it looks . . . KAGAN: Or the day before. Or the day before.

MYERS: It would looks just the same. Yes, this heavy rain. Some of the areas that have the darkest blue and the greens and even a couple yellow spots at time, that's where the heaviest rain is today.

Let me get you into a couple area of concern. The Santa Cruz area, Santa Cruz Mountains between San Jose and the shore, between the coast there, that area is very bumpy. I'm going to flatten it out, I'm going to take the rain off so you can see the topography of this area.

And when you get three to four areas of rain on top of very steep slopes, slopes that are made of dirt, now made of mud, those slopes are going to want to start to move. Right up here is the Mill Valley area. That's the area that had the little movement there. That one missing man there. That 70-year-old man missing at this point. But we'll keep watching that.

The rain is not going to stop any time soon. In fact, we go back to this side. This map. This wider view. And now I'm going to put in the forecast. This is a radar estimate of what the forecast is going to be for the next 48 hours. Everywhere that you see the green and the yellow come together, that's right here. That's three quarters of an inch of rain.

Everywhere that's red, that's an inch of rain or more and there are some very dangerous spots in here that are purple. That's two to three inches of rain expected in the next 48 hour. They don't need any more rain and you'll going to get two to three more inches. That's going to cause more mud slides.

Daryn.

KAGAN: No place for the water to go. Chad, thank you. You'll be watching that for us.

On to other news now.

There is a new call this morning for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to step down. It's the fourth time in a month that a retired general has called for Rumsfeld's resignation. But Major General John Batiste is the first who was in combat command in Iraq. Batiste spoke to CNN's "American Morning."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. JOHN BATISTE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): When decisions are made without taking into account sound military recommendations, sound military decision-making, sound planning, then we're bound to make mistakes. When we violate the principles of war with mass and unity of command and unity of effort, we do that at our own peril.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: So the secretary should step down?

BATISTE: In my opinion, yes. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Strong words. More on the story now from our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.

Barbara, the general speaking out now that he no long -- not that he is retired. What about that timing?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's something that is certainly capturing the Pentagon's attention, Daryn. You say, General Batiste, the fourth in essentially a month, but he is different because he was the commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in charge of thousands of troops in combat. The first general in combat in Iraq to make this call. So this is all getting a lot of attention here.

As you say, the Pentagon, however, is making the point very strongly that all of these generals had the opportunity, while they were on duty, to dissent. And that, in fact, according to General Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, they had a sacred obligation to voice that dissent while they were on duty. Listen to General Pace from yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: We had then and have now every opportunity to speak our minds. And if we do not, shame on us because the opportunity is there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: But nonetheless, Daryn, a growing number of generals who clearly are maybe not household names, but very respected commanders within the military community voicing their concerns, voicing their dissent, and absolutely capturing the attention of the highest levels of the U.S. military as they continue to make these public statements.

Daryn.

KAGAN: And, Barbara, for those who are critical of the media, if a general had just retired and came out and was all supportive of Donald Rumsfeld and how things were going, would we do that story?

STARR: Well, I think we certainly have. We -- you know, our network and other networks and major newspapers continue to interview generals and senior leader whose have retired and who are very supportive of the Bush administration's position. But the Pentagon is feeling a good deal of sensitivity about this question of how it is that these generals are now coming out and saying this. There are some generals I have spoken to who raise the issue of so-called legacy. The question that they wonder about is, are there a number of generals who think that their legacy will be that, that they did not speak up when they were on duty?

But let's be very clear. It's a complicated issue for people outside of the military to understand. When you dissent in the military, you do so behind closed doors. You do not make your views public. And then if a decision is made against you, then you either fall in line and get with the program or you choose to retire. And that's the way it works. So within the military, when you're on duty, you're never, never really going to hear a lot of public dissent from national policy.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Barbara Star at the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you.

His mission, to keep a standoff from turning into a crisis. The top U.N. nuclear watchdog heads to Iran today. Mohamed ElBaradei's trip comes as at a sensitive time. Iran claiming it has successfully enriched uranium on a small scale. It's a key step toward making nuclear energy and Iran says that it its intention. But the move is drawing condemnation. Some western powers are afraid Iran really wants to make nuclear weapons.

Let's get a better idea of what ElBaradei's organization, the IAEA, is all about. Here's Kyra Phillips with a fact check.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The International Atomic Energy Agency, more commonly known as the IAEA, has been called the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog. Established in 1957 as an autonomous organization under the United Nations, President Dwight Eisenhower actually proposed the creation of the agency in 1953 to monitor the spread of nuclear technology.

The IAEA is headquartered in Vienna, Austria. It has 139 member states who meet annually. The IAEA current has safeguard agreements with more than 145 countries around the world. Under these agreements, inspectors are sent out to monitor nuclear reactors, to make sure nuclear material is not being made into weapons. More than 900 facilities around the world are under IAEA safeguards.

Since 1997, Mohamed ElBaradei has been the director general of the IAEA. Along with the agency, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his efforts to limit the spread of atomic weapons.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: What she says has sparked a firestorm at one of the country's most prestigious schools. We're going to find out more about the woman at the heart of the Duke rape investigation. That's ahead on LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: The Duke rape investigation, we're learning more today about the woman who says she was attacked by lacrosse players. Here with more is Amanda Rosseter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE NIFONG, DURHAM DISTRICT ATTORNEY: This case is not over.

AMANDA ROSSETER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong says he will continue to pursue sexual assault allegations again members of the Duke lacrosse team, despite the lack of DNA evidence.

NIFONG: For most of the years I've been doing this, we didn't have DNA. We had to deal with sexual assault case the gold good old- fashioned way. Witnesses got on the stand and told what happened to them.

ROSSETER: The announcement came on the campus of North Carolina's Central University where the alleged victim is a student. Classmates there held a healing forum and expressed their concern over the way she's being portrayed.

SHAWN CUNNINGHAM, NCCU STUDENT: Anyone that would take the position that this is her fault, shame on you.

ROSSETER: Family members of the alleged victim are also speaking out on her behalf, including her cousin who did not want to be identified.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're portraying her as this you know, jezebel, that, you know, and that seems to be the thing. It goes from stripper, to escort, to back to striper. She's a human being. She's a very sweet girl. Very humble. You know, she's very quiet. And she loves her kids.

ROSSETER: The D.A. insists the absence of DNA evidence does not mean there was no crime.

NIFONG: I hope that you will understand by the fact that I am here this morning that my presence here means that this case is not going away.

ROSSETER: Amanda Rosseter, CNN, Durham, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: A New York City police detective dies more than four years after the September 11th attacks. Now a medical examiner is linking his death to toxic dust and fumes at the World Trade Center site. James Zadroga died in January of respiratory failure. He was only 34 years old. This is the first official cause of death directly tide to the 9/11 cleanup.

The Massachusetts governor puts pen to paper this morning. His signature could mean health insurance for everyone in the state. Supporters called the bill a model for the nation. It would provide subsidies for sliding scale premiums, for poor and low-income residents. Those who can afford coverage but don't get it would face tax penalties. Governor Mitt Romney is expected to eliminate one part of the bill, a $295 per worker annual fee for businesses that don't provide insurance.

Gerri Willis is looking at another cost to many of us, the cost of gas. Having some tips on how you can save on gasoline.

Good morning.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Daryn, good to see you.

You know, the prices may be up at the pump, but your wallet doesn't have to take a beating. "Five Tips" is next.

KAGAN: Gerri, thank you.

And you are never too young to make a difference. One amazing little girl proved just that with her hospice work. Her inspiring story ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and check the markets. They've been open about 50 minutes. The Dow is up some. It's up 40 points. And the Nasdaq also is moving up a little bit. It is up about four points.

This just in. We're watching Alexandria, Virginia, and a courtroom there. They are playing tapes of United Flight 93. That is the plane that crashed into that Pennsylvania field back on 9/11. Our Kelli Arena in the courtroom to listen to those tapes and has just stepped outside to tell us more.

Kelli, hello.

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, I'll tell you, pretty intense inside. I just realized that my whole body was just, you know, tight through the whole listening of the tape. Right about 30 minutes. It was the cockpit voice recording, as you know. It's the first time that that tape has been played publicly. There were families -- family members from Flight 93 who were there also listening to that tape being played.

It started with -- some of it was unintelligible and I didn't write it all down because it went by very quickly. But they said, we have a bomb. Don't move. Shut up. Don't move. Sit down. Sit down. And so you could hear the hijackers that are directing people. Then they're praying. In the name of allah, the most merciful. You know. And then you hear, no more. No more. No, no, no. Lie down. Lie down.

Then we get to a very disturbing part of the tape where we have somebody who we believe is the flight attendant pleading for her life. Saying, you know, no, please, please, don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. Oh, God, please, don't hurt me. Down. Shut up. Shut up. Then you have more, you know, screaming. Sit down. Sit down. Sit down.

After that it goes into the -- a lot of discussion from the cockpit. You know, are you -- are you taking the time? Down. Go down. And I think he was -- we don't know if he was talking to passengers or giving the other hijacker direction. We hear more pleading. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. No, no. Horrible moaning sound, Daryn. Then another voice saying, everything is fine. I've finished. You hear some scuffling noises. Then you hear one of the hijackers say, this is the captain. Obviously he pressed the wrong button because he was talking to air traffic control and not to the passengers. Because then you hear air traffic control come in and say, United 93, who called Cleveland? What's on? And then you hear air traffic control saying, what did you say about a bomb? What did you say? And then, again, go ahead. Go ahead, Flight 93. Obviously the hijackers did not talk again to air traffic control.

Then we hear some confusion in the cockpit saying, this green nob. Yes, that's the one. Push that. Very confused about what to do. All the while you see the dial on the screen, Daryn, descending very, very quickly. So that plane was falling at a pretty rapid speed.

You hear the alarm go off, which meant that the autopilot disengaged. The hijacker got very distressed at that point saying, turn it off. Turn it off. Should we let them in? Should we let the guys in? Maybe talking about the pilots. Maybe they thought they might have needed some help.

In the name of allah, I bear witness, there is no other god but allah. Some more prayers. Another alarm goes off. Allah knows. Allah will know what to do. Another voice. Set course. The plane has been turned around.

And then you hear, from outside it seems, the best thing, the guys will go in. They put an ax in it. And then you hear the voice from inside the cockpit, let them look through the window. At this point one can only imagine that perhaps some passengers on that flight had gathered toward the front of that plane.

We see the plane at this point swaying -- violently swaying back and forth. You hear somebody moaning, ah, ah. Oh, allah, oh, allah. Stay back. Stay back. They want to get in. Hold the door from the inside. Hold it's. Stop him. Stop him. Sit down. Sit down.

Then it goes on, trust in allah. Sit down. Then you hear what sounds like glass break, Daryn, a scream, you know, then saying, you know, this is -- shall we finish it off? Shall we finish it off? Someone's screaming, I'm injured. Someone's saying, you know, in the cockpit, if we don't, we'll die. In the cockpit. Assuming that is the passengers.

You hear the famous Todd Beamer (ph) quote "roll it." You hear crashing. It sounded to me like they were pushing the carts that the flight attendants used to serve people into the cockpit door perhaps. Alarms going off. Plane is swaying. You hear someone screaming, allah is great. Shall we put it down? Shall we put it down? Cut off the oxygen, someone screams. Up and down, what next? Another crashing noise. Go, go, go. Move, move, move. Turn it up. Turn it up. Sounds very much like an American voice.

Then you hear, give it me. Give it to me. No, give it to me, like there's a struggle over something. A horrible, horrible screeching noise after that. And then you just hear, you know, a big no. Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest and we go to silence, Daryn.

I did not do this justice. I can't do it justice. It was incredible to listen to. Unfortunately, that tape will not be released to the wider public. Families of the victims of Flight 93 have heard that tape before. But the judge ruled that because there were some families that did not want that released, they just didn't want to hear it over and over and over again that she would only release the written transcript which will be much better than mine as I was trying to write on the fly.

But I can tell you that everyone in that room was just riveted. As for Moussaoui, though, at first he just sat there with his eyes closed, hanging back. Then he started grinning as he heard, you know, someone pleading for their life. The flight attendant pleading for her life. And then he just completely was disinterested. And, you know, just sort of checked out while the rest of us just sat there, just gripped, just only imagining what was going on on that flight, Daryn. Pretty amazing stuff.

KAGAN: Yes, a few questions for you.

So as you're telling us what you were listening to and what you're hearing on the tape, it's really two things happening at once. You have the hijackers in the cockpit and then you have these heroes, the passengers, in the back . . .

ARENA: That's right.

KAGAN: Trying to get in and trying to save the day. And actually, in many ways, did save the day because of where that plane ended up crashing.

ARENA: That's right. That's right. And it did sound like there was a struggle over the controls. I mean, obviously, there was a major effort to get into that cockpit. So those passengers on that plane, you know, saved a lot of lives in doing what they did because, as you know, investigators have said that that plane was headed back here towards Washington. Possibly to the Capitol building.

KAGAN: And this all, of course, is all the hearing to decide if Zacarias Moussaoui spends the rest of his life in prison or if he gets the death penalty.

ARENA: That's right.

KAGAN: But as I was reading about this this morning, I was talking to the person next to me and I said, you know, this is really sick because he is going to get some kind of weird pleasure out of sitting in court not only getting to listen to this and hear this terror, but also knowing that there's family members right there listening and suffering as well. It's kind of like a payoff for him.

ARENA: You know, Daryn, we've had that discussion ourselves among the journalists here and he seems to take great satisfaction in putting on a display. You know, every time he leaves the courtroom, you know, he has something, you know, nasty to say. And, you know, he'll appear totally disinterested. And then if he notices that he's being watched, you know, he'll start smiling and, you know, sort of talking to himself.

It's been really interesting to watch him and I know that there were also some, you know, psychologists and psychiatrists who are watching him as well, Daryn, which is going to get us to the second part of this penalty phase, which is when the defense will have their say. And part of what they're going to say is that they believe he's a paranoid schizophrenic. That the way that he's reacting to this just is not normal and that's a mitigating factor and one of the reasons that he shouldn't be put to death and should spend the rest of his life locked up.

KAGAN: What was the jury reaction as they were listening to this?

ARENA: You know, I usually watch them a lot more than I did this time. I was so frantically trying to write down, you know, what was being said. You couldn't really understand it. You had to read the font that was up on the screen. And it was very small. So I was really trying to judiciously get as much as I could.

But I did manage to glance over at them. You know, it's been remarkable because they have, for the most part, remained pretty stone-faced. I was talking to one of the lawyers and he said, you know, who was it that gave out the rule book to the jurors who said that you can't show any emotion or reaction? He said more and more we see juries that come in and just completely have no reaction to what's going on in front of them.

You know from previous reports that we've done that several of them have broken down on occasion, but not as many as you might think, Daryn. And I mean there are more journalists crying than there are the jurors crying. And today, you know, they just -- they watched their screen, they listened -- they're right in front of them. You know, they listened very intently. But no sign of any emotion.

KAGAN: And so what happens now?

ARENA: Well, they're still going on. Prosecution is still going on. They just called a witness right when I left. We do expect them to wrap up today. We're expecting an early day of court, actually.

And then tomorrow, the defense should start. And the defense would actually like to call Richard Reid (ph), the shoe bomber, who Moussaoui said was supposed to be part of his team on September 11th. And one can only imagine that if the defense is calling him, Richard Reid is probably going to say something like, well we don't know what he's talking about. And we do know that the defense is going to try to bring up Moussaoui's troubled past, mental health issues, as I said before. And then we expect that to wrap up within a week. And then it will go to the jury. And then they get to decide.

KAGAN: Kelli Arena, live from Alexandria, Virginia. Thank you for that reporting, Kelli. ARENA: You're welcome, Daryn.

KAGAN: Another big story is Iran. And Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice just minutes ago came out of a meeting in Washington, D.C., and had these comments to make about Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: Let me remind everyone that the international community made a very clear statement through the presidential statement that was adopted by the Security Council. And that that statement required Iran to live up to the obligations that were to be imposed upon it by the IAEA from its February board meeting. That meant that Iran was to suspend its enrichment activities, and it was to return to negotiations.

This was a clear indication that the world is very concerned about the course of nuclear developments in Iran. It -- this is not a question of Iran's right to civil nuclear power. This is a question of -- that the world does not believe that Iran should have the capability and the technology that could lead to a nuclear weapon. Iran has a long period of trying re-establish confidence with the international system, given its behavior.

Now, this latest announcement yesterday by the Iranian regime is just a step that is going to further isolate Iran. It demonstrates that Iran is not adhering to the international community's requirements. And I do think that the Security Council will need to take into consideration this move by Iran and that it will be time, when it reconvenes on this case, for strong steps to make certain that we maintain the credibility of the international community on this issue.

Iran has been offered many opportunities to negotiate in good faith by the Europeans, by the Russians. They've never taken though opportunities. They are -- we had a presidential statement that made -- that reinforced those requirements. The Iranians have not reacted to that. And, so, yes, the -- when we're consulting now and when the Security Council reconvenes, I think it will be time for action. We can't let this continue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: And that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice just moments ago, making comments on Iran as the stakes continue to get higher as Iran perhaps tries to become a nuclear power.

Still ahead, you might know a girl like this. A girl who talks with her fists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A teacher was yelling at us, so we got up in her face, and she hit the teacher. And then I came in and hit the teacher also.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Aggression crosses the gender line on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Now we go ahead and talk about gas prices. We're talking about prices at the pump. You might cringe at the cost of filling up. Well, you can't do anything about the high prices, but you can trim your costs. It's really easy. At least it is according to our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, who's here with her "Top Five Tips" today.

Gerri, good morning.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey, good morning, Daryn. Good to see you.

You know, those gas prices there on fire, and they could easily hit $3 a gallon this summer, particularly in California and the big cities across the country. You've probably seen prices of gas soaring 33 cents a gallon in a month. Now, that peak summer driving season runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. And to get more detailed estimate of just how much you're going to pay to drive to grandma's, go to fuelcostcalculator.com.

KAGAN: Here's a really simple thing. Just park in the shade?

WILLIS: Yes, no kidding. This is fascinating. Did you know that for cars that are older, five years or older, if you park them in the sun, the gas evaporates. It's called evaporative admissions by the geeks. It means your gas essentially evaporates out of your tank, you lose money, you get worse fuel efficiency. And, of course, parking in the shade also helps to keep your car at the same temperature. So when you drive away in the summer and it's hot, you don't have to hit the air conditioning so much.

KAGAN: What about al the fancy stuff that people like to put on the outside of their cars?

WILLIS: Leave out the bling. You know, people think spoilers actually help them save gas. No. Guess what? There's actually no -- virtually no aerodynamic benefit, unless you're driving like 100 miles per hour or so. Very negative impact on fuel conservation. And if you have that really fancy-schmancy sound system, rethink the 50-inch subwoofer. Leave off the larger tires, too. The larger the tire, the more gas it takes to accelerate and stop that car.

KAGAN: There's times to use cruise control and times not to.

WILLIS: Cruise control is great if you're on the expressway, it's flat. You can keep the same speed at the same time and it really saves you a lot of gas. But if you are in hilly terrain, forget about it. You get less bang for your buck because the car has to keep speeding up and slowing down. So keep that in mind. KAGAN: And next time around, you might want to really think about the kind of car that you're buying?

WILLIS: Right. MPG. That's what you need to know about. Miles per gallon. You need to understand that number to understand the impact on your wallet. Look, gas guzzlers get less than 20 miles per gallon. A car that gets ten more miles to the gallon could save you $550 a year.

Cost savings of hybrid cars, of course, though, as you know, Daryn, it's been under scrutiny. "Consumer Reports" estimates it could take you 21.5 years in gas savings to pay back the extra money you paid for that hybrid car. If you want to know miles per gallon, go the ratings of fuel efficient cars on fueleconomy.gov. Great Web site. Check it out, Daryn.

KAGAN: Gerri Willis, thanks for the great tips, as always.

WILLIS: Thank you.

KAGAN: Comfort for the dying. You're about to meet a little girl who made a big difference through her volunteer work.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's talk about girls now, a left hook, a right jab. Girls are mixing it up on the playground. One expert says that girls are getting more violent, and the trend is tied to what they watch.

Jonathan Freed has the story, that first aired on CNN's "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kristen (ph) is a teenager who's found a way to be at peace with herself. Even animals feel it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE : When I used to be scared, the horses used to be scared.

FREED: But not so long ago, Kristen had serious behavioral problems.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I turned 10, I'd start hitting walls when I was at angry. At times, it felt good to feel pain, just so I wouldn't have to feel the pain inside.

FREED: Soon, walls weren't enough.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first fight I got into, it was actually with a guy. We were like 11-years-old. And I jumped in and I started just swinging at the kid and kicking him and just screaming at him and cussing at him.

FREED: She says her unbridled rage led to her using and selling drugs and fighting with anyone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Getting suspended in school and -- like I got suspended for me and my friend, a teacher was yelling at us and we got up in their face. And she hit the teacher and then I came in and hit the teacher also.

FREED: We met Kristen (ph) at a treatment program for troubled kids called "Three Springs" in the mountains outside Huntsville, Alabama. Her case, though extreme, is by no means unique.

(on camera): Were you surprised by your findings?

PROFESSOR JAMES GARBARINO, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY: In a way, what I was surprised by was why it hadn't occurred to me earlier to look at this.

FREED (voice-over): Psychology professor James Garbarino, who's written a book called "See Jane Hit," argues aggression among girls is on the rise.

GARBARINO: Well if you look at some of the numbers, you see the Justice Department, the various state agencies that compile arrest rates saying that a generation ago for every one girl arrested for assault, there would be 10 boys arrested for assault. And more recently it's more like four boys for every one girl.

FREED: He says the problem goes beyond arrest records. Garbarino interviewed 200 girls for his book. And he says these days your daughter is likely to be bombarded with all kinds of aggressive images in pop culture, examples which could cause your child to act out at school, at home, everywhere.

(on camera): Tell me what it's like when you're starting to feel angry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I'm starting to feel angry, like my fists get all tight and my jaw clenches up.

FREED (voice-over): Kristen says she was influenced by pop culture.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you see things on T.V. or like on MTV, BET, girls fighting or -- you know, that's cool to fight you know -- people don't look up to you if you don't fight.

GARBARINO: In the past you might have said to your girl, girls don't hit and be able to back that up with what she saw in the larger culture. Today that's simply not true. It's not true. Girls do hit. And they can see evidence of that, so that they are being given permission.

FREED: Garbarino says a widely-publicized hazing incident at a suburban Chicago high school in 2003 is a perfect example of girls acting out. Five girls were hospitalized, 15 charged with misdemeanor battery.

MIKE MALES, SOCIOLOGIST: This is not a real increase in violence.

FREED: Sociologist Mike Males says society is simply more sensitive to violence now and quicker to make it a big issue.

MALES: There's very little statistical evidence that we've seen more violence among young girls. In fact, they seem to be safer and less violent today than in the past.

FREED: Karen Tisdell says she's seen girls becoming more aggressive in the 10 years she's run the treatment program here. But she doesn't put all of the blame on pop culture.

KAREN TISDELL, THREE SPRING: I don't think it's the cause. I do think that it's fueling it. I think a lot of the issues are more deep seated.

FREED: Issues like anger and abandonment. Kristen started feeling angry when her parents split up. But after a year at Three Springs, Kristen's learned to refocus her aggression.

(on camera): Do you feel that you're going to be able to keep it together? Are you going to be able to stay the person that you've become?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, I think like yes I'm going to be able to be who I am. I'm not perfect and I'm going to mess up, like that's OK with me. Just as long as I'm able to bounce back up from that.

FREED (voice-over): She wants future without violence and she's convinced it's possible if she tries.

Jonathan Freed, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And you can see more stories like this one on CNN's "PAULA ZAHN NOW," "PAULA ZAHN" weeknights at 8:00 Eastern.

Disaster lessons: federal officials fine-tune their emergency plans, trying to avoid mistakes they made during Katrina. We'll tell you about their new strategies. That's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Help for the dying. This isn't the stuff most kids think about, but our next guest is not like a lot of kids. She is this year's winner of the Butterfly Award, named for Alexandra Scott, a child whose lemonade stand raised money for pediatric cancer research. Alex was eight when she died of cancer, but her legacy lives on through her stand and also this award.

And today Grace Farnan will receive it for Hospice volunteer work. Grace and Alex's mother Liz Scott, who's a longtime friend of this program, live with us from New York.

Ladies, good morning.

LIZ SCOTT, ALEXANDER SCOTT'S MOTHER: Good morning.

GRACE FARNAN, WINNER OF BUTTERFLY AWARD: Hi.

KAGAN: Grace, I'm going to learn all about your project in just a second. But Liz, we go way back, so I want to go ahead and start with you. What is it when you met Grace and when you learned about Grace that stood out and what is it about her that captures Alex's spirit?

SCOTT: Well, I think all of the child heroes who were nominated were incredible, and it was very difficult to choose. But Grace I thought captured Alex's spirit because she's working in a field and trying to make a difference in a field that no one would really expect a child to make a difference in, and that's Hospice care. It's difficult enough for adults to work in that setting.

KAGAN: Sure.

SCOTT: And as Alex surprised people with her plans to cure childhood cancer, I think Grace's efforts really show us that if you believe in something and want to make a difference, you can do it, no matter what your age.

KAGAN: Well, let's meet our honoree. Grace, tell me about what brought you to Hospice work. This isn't something that a lot of 12- year-old kids think about.

FARNAN: Well, I wanted to help Hospice because they took really good care of my grandma before she died, and I wanted to give back to them.

KAGAN: So let's talk about some of these specific projects that you do. You make what you call happy boxes and guest books, and then you bring it to people who are in Hospice. Tell me about the boxes and the books.

FARNAN: Well, the happy boxes have a lot of things that people can touch and play with. There is play-doh and playing cards and river rocks and shells.

KAGAN: And then the guest book, what's that for?

FARNAN: Well, the guest books are for people who come to visit the person, or the patient who's in Hospice care. And they can write little notes or how the person's doing so the person can remember who's came to visit them.

KAGAN: Those are great ideas. You know, Liz was making a good point. You know, a lot grown-ups wouldn't want to go near Hospice because they would say it's too sad and depressing. How do you keep it from being that way for you?

FARNAN: Well, I just know that what I'm doing is helping a lot of people. KAGAN: It certainly is. Definitely. And you've actually asked for help, too. You asked to get help from the community and got a big response?

FARNAN: Well, for my bronze award for Girl Scouts, I had to collect picture frames, and I wrote letters to my family and friends and I asked them if they could donate picture frames.

KAGAN: And what kind of response did you get?

FARNAN: Well, a lot of people seemed really happy about it.

KAGAN: I bet they were happy to get that! What would you say, Grace, to other kids, to encourage them to volunteer and maybe even go to a place that they might not feel comfortable?

FARNAN: Well, I would say it's good to volunteer, because you're giving back to the community.

KAGAN: It certainly is. And, you know, not just kids, but grown-ups can learn from you, as well. Liz, final question to you. You have experienced what many people would consider be to be the most difficult thing in life, and that's the loss of a child. And yet you've taken Alex's memory and her legacy and turned it into something positive. For somebody who's out there today who might be struggling with something really hard, what would you say to them?

SCOTT: I think, you know, we're parents like everybody else, and there are difficult days, but we do try to keep in mind that our daughter was a person who taught us how to live each day to its fullest. And we are very proud to be carrying her legacy on, whether it's through Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, or just through doing something special every day to remember that person and keep them your heart. But at the same time know that you need to live your life to the fullest, and that's really the best tribute you can give to them.

KAGAN: Well, we love being part of remembering Alex. And you're welcome to stop by any time.

SCOTT: Thank you.

KAGAN: Liz Scott and Grace Farnan. Grace, congratulations.

FARNAN: Thanks.

KAGAN: You're going to inspire more people than you even know telling your story. Thanks for stopping by. Grace Farnan and Liz Scott.

SCOTT: Thank you.

KAGAN: Great way to have our Wednesday move along.

All right, we're going to show you an egg. You definitely -- this one does not just get tossed into a basket.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe I see Jesus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Yep. It would be an Easter egg that some people think they see Jesus. Do you see? We're going to take a closer look when we get back on LIVE TODAY.

And if you're looking for something a little different for your Easter basket, how about this one? An egg worth a bundle. We'll tell you why, ahead on LIVE TODAY.

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