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CNN Live Today

Brangelina Baby; Orphan's Transplant; Debate Over Global Warming

Aired June 07, 2006 - 11:30   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And today, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt arranged a news conference to talk about their baby and their lives. They invited a select group of journalist, but no baby, and they had no baby pictures on hand. So everybody wants to see those baby pictures, of course. And it seems some people can't even wait for the photos to be officially released.
The British magazine "Hello" says it's taking legal action against two Web sites that it says leaked an exclusive shot of the couple with their newborn daughter. Only one photo agency was given the rights to market those pictures. An experts say that deal could be worth $7 million. The celebrity couple is giving all of those profits to charity. The $7 million baby, huh?

Well, these are bigtime movie stars, and we don't live in their world, but we sure want to know about it.

Here's our Brooke Anderson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Brad and Angelina have been chased around the globe as the paparazzis pursue this holy grail. Now the photos are out, shot by Getty Images, a commodity so guarded and valuable we can't show you them here. Even its CEO hasn't seen them yet.

JONATHAN KLEIN, CEO, GETTY IMAGES: The reason I haven't seen them is because of the security around the pictures. It's the first time we've done a major shoot where the only people to have seen the pictures are the photo editors and the sales people who are working with customers to sell the pictures.

ANDERSON: "People" magazine won a tabloid bidding war, and paid a reported sum of $4.1 million for the exclusive North American rights to the first glimpse of baby Jolie-Pitt, and says it will public the pictures in this week's issue on newsstands Friday.

When the tabloids began heralding the news in January, the couple was with child, this was the big money shot: a visibly pregnant Angelina. "People" paid an estimated $500,000 for exclusive rights to it. The money went to one of Brad and Angelina's favorite charities, Yele Haiti (ph). The philanthropic group is one more and more stars, such as Julia Roberts and Courtney Cox, have taken to relieve the stress of being pursued by tabloid photographers. Photos of their firstborn were sold, and the money given to charity. "People" magazine reportedly gave $500,000 to a Hurricane Katrina relief fund for the first photos of Britney Spears' firstborn, Sean Preston.

In 2002, after giving birth to son James Wilkey (ph), Sarah Jessica Parker tipped off photographers to when and at which exit she and her newborn would be leaving the hospital. The family stood and posed on the steps for several minutes. Everyone had the shot, turning what some predicted would be a million-dollar photo into a discount special.

Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And we'll be checking in with our reporter in Africa to find out about the meeting of Brad and Angelina before the press, and we'll get an update on this lawsuit now surrounding this reported picture on the Web.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So it's been a story that's hard to miss, two super celebrities traveling to Namibia in Southern Africa to welcome their baby daughter into the world. And today, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt arranged a news conference talking about their baby and their new lives together.

Robyn Curnow is on the phone with us to tell more about what happened at this presser.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there.

Well, the Namibian journalists I've spoken to are very excited about this presser because, of course, it's the first public appearance by Brad and Angelina in front of the media there since the birth of Baby Shilhoh, and generally, of course, no surprises in the press conference. Brad and Angelina saying that they were very thankful to the Namibians for the time they had had in Namibian, for making it a special time. They said that the Namibia was considered -- they considered it to be an undiscovered jewel of Africa, and they both loved that part of the world. They were also very grateful and kept on repeating their praise for the medical facilities in (INAUDIBLE), which is a very small little town on the West Coast on the west coast of Namibia, and they were very grateful, they said, for the help they received in the delivery of baby Shiloh, which was apparently by cesarean section, according to Angelina's doctors.

So, all in all, all positive feelings, all very lovey dovey from the press and also from Brad and Angelina.

WHITFIELD: One big love fest.

CURNOW: Reporter: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Particularly since these press members were hand selected by Pitt and Jolie, right? And no photographs allowed, so how do you get on the list? How do you be among the press folks invited?

CURNOW: Well, first of all, you have to have a Namibian press card. It was only the Namibian media who were allowed. And among them also, a very handpicked, a very selected bunch.

I think if you put it in terms of the journalists that perhaps the Namibian authorities and Brad Pitt's and Angelina Jolie's security detail, those journalists who, as they thought, had behaved well. Anybody who was, you know, thought to maybe have been a little intrusive or, you know, tried to get a snap, or put a story out seemed to have been excluded. So the Namibians particularly have been very area controlled about how this story and this couple were covered, so this is another example of very hard to get to the media.

WHITFIELD: And so much being made about the photograph that's swirling around the Internet, and now "Hello" magazine, which is supposed to have exclusive the rights to least oversee the first image of the baby and this couple, a lawsuit now is taking place. What's at issue here? What happened?

CURNOW: Absolutely. As you've said before, I mean, the price on baby Shiloh's head, you know, in terms of pictures, is worth millions, and that excludes the first photographs were distributed to Getty Images for, you know -- around the world from the Pitts, and you know, all money going to charity. Now, "Hello" magazine apparently paid however money they did for this picture, and somehow, they don't know how, at least one picture, it looks like a cover photograph for Thursday's magazine, was released on the Internet. Two Internet sites printed it. And "Hello" magazine saying that they're absolutely shocked and horrified to see that the embargo has been broken. But very tricky, because they say they're going to take legal action, but very difficult to take legal action against Web sites, and it's, obviously, a whole different aspect of media and all. When you really have -- it's very difficult to control what's goes on and what is published on the Internet.

But at the moment, they say they have no idea how the picture was leaked.

WHITFIELD: So what do you know about when the general public will get a chance to see this image, whether it be through "Hello" magazine, or maybe even "People" magazine, which apparently has the U.S. exclusive rights to the first image?

CURNOW: Absolutely. Well, I mean, it is -- we all want to see the picture. We all what baby Shiloh looks like. So at the moment, it looks like "Hello" magazine, which is published in the United Kingdom, is going to publish it in its Thursday edition, which is tomorrow. And then "People" magazine is going to publish its edition on Friday, which is, you know, obviously within the U.S., and I would say if you go on the Web site, at least "Hello" magazine, tomorrow, you might have a chance of getting it, though I don't know if that is certain. You might have to pay the fee in pounds for this elusive photograph. So anybody with friends in London might have to be sending over pictures, yes. WHITFIELD: Wow! All right. All about the fascination of this young family. Something else. All right, Robyn Curnow, thanks so much reporting from South Africa, even though the couple and their presser happened in Namibia today.

Well, it is a matter of life and death for a little orphan girl. She's in a desperate need of a kidney transplant. But the 2-year-old must first get adopted to even be considered for one. Jeff McShan of CNN affiliate in Houston KHOU explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF MCSHAN, KHOU REPORTER (voice-over): Behind the wheel on a playground at CPS, little Carolina tries to act like a bigtime grown up, taking us for a ride. But where this precious 2-year-old ends up, her life journey is the big question.

ESTELLA OLGUIN, CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES: Little Carolina goes to Texas Children three times a week to have dialysis, and we'd like her to be able to get, you know, a family and also to be able to get a kidney so that she can stop having to go to dialysis.

MCSHAN: Estella Olguin is with CPS. She tells us Carolina is currently living with ten children in a foster home, a home run by Trista Moore's mother.

TRISTA MOORE, CAREGIVER: It's just funny to hear her talk sometimes and try to understand her. But she walks around the house. She likes watching TV and being -- basically being the boss of everybody, the mama.

MCSHAN: Carolina was taken away from her mom by the courts when she was 10 months old.

OLGUIN: Well, all our children that are in our custody are in our custody because they've either been abused, neglected or abandoned. And in Carolina's case, she did suffer from her mom not being able to provide for her medically. She was not doing what she needed to do to take care of her.

MCSHAN: Carolina is one of approximately 800 local CPS kids that are looking to be adopted. But her situation is unique. She does need a kidney transplant, and right now, Texas Children's Hospital told the family she isn't on the transplant list.

MOORE: They won't put her on one until she gets adopted. We've tried to get her on there, even though her mom did sign over her rights, but they still said they want an adoptive family to put her on the list.

MCSHAN: Moore says the hospital has given transplants to kids in foster homes before, but then the children weren't getting the proper care at home, mainly because, she says, they were passed around in foster homes. CPS hopes the special family will adopt Carolina soon so her life journey will be a long one.

Jeff McShan, 11 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: When William Gray talks about hurricanes, people usually listen. But when the scientist speaks about global warming, he says he get the cold shoulder. CNN's Mary Snow filed this story for "THE SITUATION ROOM."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): In one corner, former vice president Al Gore making the movie, "An Inconvenient Truth" to focus attention on a global crisis.

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: the Arctic is experiencing faster melting. If this were to go, sea level world wide would go up 20 feet. .

SNOW: In the other corner, renowned forecaster Dr. William Gray, who accurately predicted last year's hurricane season better than the National Hurricane Center. Two men with a focus on the environment with a divide over the science of global warming, with Gray skeptical that humans are having a major impact on the warming of the planet.

WILLIAM GRAY, COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY: I think this threat of human-induced global warming is largely manufactured. I don't think it's real.

SNOW: That puts Dr. Gray at odd odds not only with former vice president Al Gore, but with over 2,000 of the world's leading climate scientists. They say, yes, because humans are burning things like oil and coal, it is contributing to global warming. So why aren't there more skeptics?

Dr. Gray claims that scientists, especially younger ones, are afraid to voice skepticism.

GRAY: There has been, I might say, a mild McCarthyism running against skeptics like me. I believe I lost some government money and funds over the years because I have been a skeptic on this topic.

SNOW: Not so says one of those younger scientists who said she is surprised by Gray's global warming claims.

BRENDA EKWURZEL, UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS: If we wait till every last person understands the data as most of the scientists do, then it may be too late.

SNOW: Just last month a scientific panel set up by the Bush administration concluded there is no more debate on this point. The Earth's climate is burning up and there's only one explanation: human burning of oil and coal.

Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, go inside the biggest issues in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Join Wolf Blitzer at 4:00 Eastern and again in primetime at 7:00.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Can yoga help women battle breast cancer? Find out next in our "Daily Dose" of health news. LIVE TODAY is back after a quick break. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Can yoga help breast cancer patients? It's not such a stretch. Texas researchers took a small group of women receiving radiation treatment. Half did yoga, the other half did not. After six weeks, the women in the yoga group said they felt better. Yoga's discipline includes meditation, controlled breathing and stretching.

To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.

Now let's check in with CNN International's Jim Clancy in the CNN International control room. Hello, Jim.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi there, Fredricka.

Well, coming up at noon Eastern on YOUR WORLD TODAY, we're going to have the latest on Iran and Afghanistan, of course, but then we're going to venture a little bit further afield, and I think this is where it gets interesting.

Take, for example, Somalia. We know this week that Islamic leaders laid claim to Mogadishu, the capital. They say they're going to finish off the U.S.-backed warlords and put the Sharia law as the law of the land throughout Somalia. Who are these people? Who is backing them financially? Are they really linked to al Qaeda? And what's Washington going to do about it? Really important questions.

Then we're going to take you to Colombia, where child soldiers are still being recruited and they are still being put through their paces to go into battle. Who's doing it and why? Karl Penhaul will have a report for us, and it's going to be a jam-packed hour.

We'll even go to the World Cup and take a look at soccer hooligans, the people that are really the scourge of the game. A lot of concern about that before the World Cup -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes, frightening situations all over the globe there. Thanks so much, Jim.

Hybrid vehicles are becoming more popular because of high gas prices and concerns about greenhouse gases. Now major company could give hybrid sales an even bigger boost.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A very pregnant elephant, a very difficult fourth labor. Its calf and its own life are now at risk. What happens next is a big question at the Rosemon Gifford (ph) Zoo in Syracuse.

An update now from Michael Ricky (ph) of CNN affiliate WSYR.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL RICKY (ph), WSYR REPORTER (voice-over): This is Rominey (ph) week ago. She was overdue, but feeling fine. It became clear Rominey's contractions were neither long enough nor strong enough to push the 300-pound calf through the birth canal. An ultrasound was of little help to doctors, as is often the case with thick-skinned elephants.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have seen two feet at the birth canal, and on Monday morning when the Dr. Schmidt was doing that, the baby actually kicked up and kicked him.

RICKY: That was the baby's last sign of movement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: We'll try to bring you the rest of that story later. We've got to go straight to Carol Lin now in the newsroom with an update.

Sorry about that. All right. News international -- or CNN International is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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