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CNN Live Today

Fatalities, Injuries From Texas Tornadoes; Death in Darfur; High on Tanning

Aired May 10, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to move right into our second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY.
We're looking at Texas and watching severe weather as it moves across the U.S. Birmingham, Nashville, Cincinnati, you have to look out today. A big part of the eastern U.S. under the gun today from explosive weather.

In north Texas, a tragic toll after tornadoes spattered the region overnight. At least three deaths are confirmed in Collin County. That's just north of Dallas. The victims, a teenager and an elderly couple.

CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano is with us now. He is in the town of Anna, Texas.

Rob, what can you tell us and, just as importantly, show us?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Daryn.

Aside from the fatalities, there were 10 injuries, three of which were actually life-flighted away. So still -- still a serious note on that account.

The other, obviously, issue is damage and destroyed homes. At least six completely destroyed homes, more than that damaged here across part of Collin County.

This particular home obviously completely destroyed. People here just picking up the pieces. The people that live here were not here last night, but the friends of the owners are here today trying to, well, basically pile this stuff up and take whatever personal belongings are left behind and just move them off-site.

Really, the only thing that didn't move a whole lot is this cast iron bathtub, because obviously of the weight. Everything else destroyed or moved off this concrete foundation with a 2x4 and studded walls. So this is not just a trailer home. And there are several of these homes like this around here in Collin County.

Grayson County also affected by this, right on the borders where these two tornadoes ripped through.

Over a hundred people used the Red Cross shelter last night down across the Anna High School -- Anna High School. And also we're told that emergency crews are going house to house, using heat-sensing equipment and also K9 units to see if there are -- anybody is maybe trapped or left stranded behind.

We couldn't get down the road completely. They were blocked off by -- by emergency crews, our power lines down there. So we haven't seen the whole swathe of damage. So there have been aerial crews up and giving you a better sense of what's happening there.

But, you know, besides the damage and the destruction, there's another facet to storms like these. And we talked with the Red Cross representative earlier today and this is what she had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANITA FOSTER, AMERICAN RED CROSS: One of the target areas that we'll be looking at today is our Red Cross disaster mental health team, because this particular disaster isn't going to be just about food, clothing and shelter. It's also going to be about the emotions, because people lost lives, and they lost lives in this community of folks who all know each other. So people are going to take that pretty hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: That's a good point. I mean, you talk to anybody that's lived through something like this, sure, they got through it, they survived, but the psychological effects certainly go on. Any time they hear a clap of thunder or see a flash of lightning, certainly memories of last night across parts of north Dallas will ring vividly through their mind.

And these storms continue to roll east, Daryn. Good news today here in Dallas. It's a sunny, beautiful day, much cooler. Yesterday's high was 96 degrees, plus humidity. It felt more like 110.

KAGAN: Wow.

MARCIANO: And certainly that was one of the trigger mechanisms for spawning these killer storms -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Interesting those houses, they're on concrete slabs, no basements that people could have escaped into.

MARCIANO: No. You know, this part of the country, including Oklahoma -- you know, when I covered the storms that rolled through there back in 1999, nobody had any basements for reasons of economics and probably a bedrock issue as well. So just concrete slabs.

The best thing people can do in this situation is go into the center of their home, or many seek refuge into the bathroom, which is typically the -- you know, the safest place to be when something like this happens in order to survive the storm.

It could have been a lot worse, Daryn. You know, we are just five, 10 miles away from very populated suburbs of north Dallas. And if this storm was any further to the south, we'd be talking about a lot more damage and likely a lot more loss of life.

Back to you.

KAGAN: Right. And of course that's of little comfort -- a little comfort to the people, the family members who did lose loved ones from the storm.

MARCIANO: You're right.

KAGAN: Thank you, Rob Marciano.

Now, let's see where the weather is going now and who needs to be alert today. Chad Myers is watching that for us -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Daryn.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: We'll be watching out here as well. Chad, thank you.

Now to parts of Florida. No relief for exhausted firefighters there. They're on the front lines again today. Just over 100 wildfires now burning across the state. Nearly 25,000 acres already scorched.

In central Florida, about 50 blazes are burning, and rain has done little to put out the flames. For motorists, roads shut down because of thick smoke are now a daily routine.

The changing face of America. The latest census report has a surprising result on a population shift. The story is in today's "The Washington Post."

Forty-five percent of U.S. children under 5 are now minorities. One in three Americans is a number of a minority group. What's behind the diversity? The booming Hispanic population. The Census Bureau says Hispanics accounted for nearly half the country's growth from 2004 to 2005.

People slaughtered, starved and running for their lives. Each time it happens, the world says never again. And then it happens again.

We do want to warn you, we're about to show you some graphic pictures. This time the crisis is in Sudan's Darfur region. Days after the signing of a new peace deal, many still question if the violence will end.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN (voice over): It is the greatest humanitarian crisis in the world today. More than 200,000 people dead, according to some estimates. More than two million left homeless.

The U.S. calls it genocide.

The victims are black Sudanese peasants, men, women and children. The attackers, Arab militias known as the Janjaweed.

Human Rights Watch accuses Sudan's Arab government of ethnic cleansing. It began three years ago. The black Africans launched a violent rebellion. They were demanding an official position in the government and a share in Sudan's newfound oil wells. The Arab government responded by arming the Janjaweed and allowing them to systematically kill, rape and burn down entire villages in a scorched earth campaign.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They set fire to everything. They looted and killed. And these problems continue unabated. Only when peace is fully restored will people be able to settle down in places where they will have their dignity and no longer be exposed to danger.

KAGAN: The international community is hoping that last week's peace deal is a step in that direction. The deal calls on Khartoum to disarm the Janjaweed, and it gives the rebels the fourth highest position in the Sudanese government.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our goal in Darfur is this: we want civilians to return safely to their villages and rebuild their lives. That work has begun, and completing it will require even greater effort by many nations.

KAGAN: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has also put the international community on notice.

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: We must do everything in our power to ensure that those who have signed the agreement actually implement it on the ground, and that the people of Darfur can survive the next few months. For that, they need both protection and sustenance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: A rush is now on to provide enough food and real safety to the displaced people of Darfur.

Gerald Martone of the International Rescue Committee joins me now from New York City.

Gerald, good morning. Thank you for being here with us.

GERALD MARTONE, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE: Good morning.

KAGAN: Let's start with the newly-inked peace agreement. Do you think it's going to help? And will it work?

MARTONE: Yes, most people feel that it is a step in the right direction. Perhaps a little too little, a little too late in how representative is it, do we have all of the parties to the conflict represented in the agreement? So that's some of our concerns.

It will take a bit of time before it's actually implemented on the field. So we still have a gap we're going -- before we see some results in the peace agreement.

KAGAN: So everything not perfect right away. But also this week we saw President Bush announce a big emergency aid package, including a lot of food to be delivered to this region. Are you hopeful about that?

MARTONE: Yes. Once again, this is good news. The United States has been quite generous to the people of Darfur. We welcome this.

We are seeing significant funding shortfalls from other donors. And there will be a lag. We're entering into the hunger season now, so there's going to be a lag of a couple months before we see the effects of the increases in the food pipeline and the increase in humanitarian assistance.

KAGAN: We're seeing celebrities pay attention here. Most recently, George Clooney and his father Nick paid a visit to the region, including one of the places that your organization runs. How big of an effect does celebrity attention like that cause?

MARTONE: It's vital. George Clooney's visit to International Rescue Committee's programs in Chad was a vital way to bring attention to this problem. It's been very hard for humanitarian aid agencies to tell the story, to get the public's attention. So visits by celebrities like this really do a service to the people of Darfur.

KAGAN: And besides celebrity visits, how do you make the average American relate to what's happening so far away and why it's important to them to pay attention?

MARTONE: We have to tell the story better. We have to engage the public and let them know what's happening.

Americans traditionally are very compassionate and quite generous in situations of horror like what we're seeing in the Darfur region of Sudan. We need to tell the story. We need to make it public. And people need to get engaged and tell their politicians to take action.

KAGAN: Gerald Martone with the International Rescue Committee.

Thank you for your time today.

MARTONE: Thank you.

KAGAN: And as we move on to our other top stories, severe weather -- and we are your severe weather headquarters. Getting new live pictures into us from Collin County, Texas.

A number of tornadoes touching down in the area. We've seen homes destroyed. At least three people lost their lives, including two elderly people and one teenager. More rescue teams are out searching today, searching with using a grid system to make sure that they've accounted for everybody who might be listed as missing.

Our Rob Marciano on the ground there. Also, Chad Myers has been charting that weather as it moves on to other parts of the country. We'll have more coverage as the hour goes on.

Also looking at high gas prices. Are you fuming over them? Well, in one state, they're cashing in on your pain at the pump. Find out who is overflowing with oil money.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: And now to a face-off all over a smiley face. There's a legal battle brewing between Wal-Mart and a French journalist. Caught in the middle, that yellow smiley face logo. Wal-Mart uses it, you know, on everything from shopping bags to employee uniforms. But Frenchman Frank Lufrauni (ph) claims that he invented the happiness in a circle.

His company owns the rights in more than 80 countries, but not here in the U.S. Wal-Mart wants exclusive retail use here. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will decide that dispute.

Lonely days for the Maytag repairman. Parent company Whirlpool says it is slashing 4,500 jobs and closing three Maytag plants. The job cuts are part of Whirlpool's recent acquisition of its rival. The former Maytag plants that will be shut down are in Iowa, Illinois and Arkansas. Whirlpool says the company will also consolidate former Maytag offices in Canada and Mexico.

Let's check in with Susan Lisovicz. We put her on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

KAGAN: We are going to talk about finding Mr. Right just head. He is out there. You know that he's out there somewhere. Mr. Right, how do you know? Simple, you turn on your radar, ladies.

We're going to show you how in a moment.

And they are high on tanning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know tanning is bad for you, Tara (ph). How come you do it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, from what I know of addicts, which I may be one...

ZARRELLA: Apparently you are.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Apparently I'm an addict and I didn't know it -- they're in denial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Researchers find results that surprise even them. That bronze glow ahead on LIVE TODAY. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: And we have breaking news out of Florida. Fredricka Whitfield has the details for us -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Daryn.

In south Florida, in Broward County, in Weston, 911 got a call about an hour ago of something crashing down on the rooftop of an apartment building. Well, these are the pictures.

It turned out to be a huge crane that crashed dune on the rooftop of this apartment building in Weston, Florida. But no reports of any injuries. No one is trapped. And they are continuing to work the scene. Those pictures just coming in.

And then, if you move further north up to Volusia -- the Volusia County area, where the fires continue to burn there, we've seen that over the past few days, almost inside an entire week now, lots of brushfires burning in central Florida. About 103 fires are burning right now across 25,000 acres throughout the state.

Well, in this area of Volusia County, near Edgewater, Port Orange, New Smyrna Beach, now we're hearing reports that I-95, both northbound and southbound traffic, have been closed because of falling trees that have resulted to the many fires burning throughout the last couple of days.

So that's the update taking place in central Florida, as well as south Florida -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Fred, don't go anywhere, because actually I need some girlfriend feedback on the next story.

WHITFIELD: I'm here for you.

KAGAN: OK. Got to -- all right. Here's the idea, that Mother Nature has given us women built-in radar. Research showing that you can look in a man's face...

WHITFIELD: Yes?

KAGAN: ... and instantly tell, is he a fling, a "wam, bam, thank you, ma'am" hottie, or a keeper, a husband and daddy material.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

KAGAN: This is what scientists say they found out.

WHITFIELD: OK.

KAGAN: They took a group of men and they had them rate men's faces on these topics: masculinity and kid-friendliness, kindness and looks. Women inevitably chose men who expressed an interest in children and family as long-term mates. Women went for men with square jaws and prominent cheekbones as a short-term partner. They weren't part of the study, but these would be some examples: Charlie Sheen, Nick Lachey, Ryan Seacrest -- I don't see as daddy material.

WHITFIELD: No.

KAGAN: Oh, OK.

WHITFIELD: I don't see it.

KAGAN: But a rounder man's face...

WHITFIELD: Although we know, you know, Charlie Sheen.

KAGAN: Well, that's true.

WHITFIELD: We know he's a daddy. But -- OK.

KAGAN: OK.

WHITFIELD: Go on.

KAGAN: OK. But the rounder faces may indicate that he's a kind, caring and family guy. Stevie Wonder, Tom Hanks, recently departed White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan coming to mind there.

WHITFIELD: OK. Maybe I'll buy that one.

KAGAN: OK. Well, scientists finding that men that women chose for flings consistently had higher testosterone levels than the family guys.

What about your dear, John? He's a good family guy.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Oh, yes, he is.

KAGAN: Oh, yes, the guy you're married to.

WHITFIELD: No, no. I know who you're talking about. I'm thinking, what do you want to put him in a category there?

KAGAN: Yes. I mean, did you look at him and say...

WHITFIELD: Yes. I'd say kindness right away.

KAGAN: Family guy.

WHITFIELD: Masculine, family guy, all those things.

KAGAN: Yes. Commitment, the whole thing.

WHITFIELD: That's why I married him. He's got all that.

KAGAN: And you chose well.

WHITFIELD: The total package.

KAGAN: He is the total package. We love him.

Thanks, Fred. Just needed some feedback there.

WHITFIELD: All right. OK.

KAGAN: OK. From that, on to drugs. Cocaine heroin, UV rays? Researchers say frequent tanning is not only dangerous, it can be addictive.

John Zarrella has the story. You might have seen it first on "PAULA ZAHN NOW".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What is it? What kind of spell does a broiling sun hold over some people? What makes people like Vince (ph) and Ursula Celeste (ph) soak it in for hours at a time?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It makes me feel alive. It makes me feel like there's nothing that can go wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I always felt better about myself.

ZARRELLA: And Bob Lubart (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The heat just feels nurturing.

ZARRELLA: Three days a week, he's in a tanning bed. Indoor tanning is one of the nation's fastest growing industries -- $5 billion a year. A good tan seems synonymous with good health.

Studies found the number of people using tanning salons is increasing. And among 16-year olds to 18-year-olds, 30 percent to 40 percent are tanning booth regulars.

(on camera): There may be a reason those sun worshipers simply can't get enough. Doctors here at Wake Forest University's Tanning Research Center say frequent tanners may, in fact, be addicted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They decided -- they couldn't tell the two beds apart?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

ZARRELLA: Doctors Steve Feldman and Mandeep Kaur, dermatologists at Wake Forest, knew that skin cells exposed to ultraviolet light appear to produce endorphins, the human body's natural feel good molecules, kind of like narcotics. Suddenly, a light bulb went off.

DR. STEVE FELDMAN, WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY: Whoa! That explains why people go to the beach. You know? That explains why tanning is an epidemic in America. ZARRELLA: To prove people can be addicted to tanning, two tanning beds were set up in this room at the tanning center. Tara Burton, and 11 other frequent tanners, people who tanned more than eight times a month, were selected. What they didn't know was that the UV light was being blocked in one bed.

FELDMAN: What we did, was we put people in both beds on Monday, both beds on Wednesday and then said to them on Friday, get in whichever bed you want.

DR. MANDEEP KAUR, WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY: Eleven out of 12 ended up preferring the UV bed.

ZARRELLA: Not knowing that it was the UV bed?

KAUR: Not knowing that it was the UV bed.

ZARRELLA: Then, eight frequent tanners and eight infrequent tanners were selected. Again, Tara Burton participated.

KAUR: So our next step was, how about if we block those feel good receptors, the endorphins, and see what happens to these people

ZARRELLA: The test subjects were given a drug, a narcotic blocker, to see if it interrupted their ability to distinguish between the two beds.

FELDMAN: We had no idea people could get sick. When you think about it, it makes sense.

ZARRELLA: Four of the eight frequent tanners suffered withdrawal-like symptoms, including Tara Burton.

TARA BURTON, STUDY VOLUNTEER: I took the drug, and on the first -- I had to drop out on the first time that I tanned. I had jitteriness, I had nausea.

ZARRELLA: None of the infrequent tanners suffered any reaction, further convincing the doctors that frequent tanning is addictive and may lead to a dramatic increase in skin cancer.

(on camera): If you know tanning is bad for you, Tara, how come you do it?

BURTON: Well, from what I know of addicts, which I may be one...

ZARRELLA: Apparently you are.

BURTON: Apparently I'm an addict and I didn't know it, they're in denial.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): The dermatologists worry that as more and more people seek out that bronzed is beautiful look, many will, like Tara Burton, become addicted to tanning. Getting high on sunshine and not even know it.

John Zarrella, CNN, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: You can see more stories like John's on "PAULA ZAHN NOW". Watch weeknights at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.

Major-leaguers swing pink on Sunday. Dozens of players will use pink bats at the plate on Mother's Day.

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