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CNN Saturday Morning News
Police Arrest Suspect in Philadelphia Shooting; Flies Bug Game; Marion Jones Pleads Guilty
Aired October 06, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TJ HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, SATURDAY MORNING: All right. From the CNN center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is October 6th. Is that right?
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR, SATURDAY MORNING: Yeah, you haven't been at work for a couple of weekends.
HOLMES: A couple weekends.
NGUYEN: How easily we forget.
HOLMES: I don't know how well deserved the time off was, but it was much needed. It's good to be back with you everybody. I'm TJ Holmes. Good to see you all.
NGUYEN: Glad to have you back TJ. Good morning everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. We want you to take a look at this. Right there in your face. A police officer uses pepper spray on a teenager. Find out what is behind this arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARION JONES, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: And so it is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: One of the world's fastest women admitting it was more than her God-given talent that helped her cross that finish line.
NGUYEN: And dramatic new pictures just released from the final moments of Princess Diana.
HOLMES: First here we're going to begin with this breaking news out of Philadelphia. Police have charged a man with the murder of two armored guards at a Wachovia bank. Our affiliate WPVI is telling us the suspect has confessed. The armed robber, you will remember, happened on Thursday. Three armored car employees were servicing an ATM when a gunman opened fire. He killed two of those guards and wounded the other. He got away with cash. Police say the suspect has a record that includes bank robbery. We'll have much more as these details continue to come to us throughout the morning.
NGUYEN: Myanmar's crisis draws attention and outrage from around the world. These picture are from Bangkok, Thailand, just one of nearly three dozen cities taking part in a day of global protest against the reclusive nation also known as Burma. The human rights group Amnesty International organized the marches to denounce the violence against pro-democracy demonstrators, mainly Buddhist monks.
Myanmar's military regime began cracking down more than a week ago and official reports say 10 people have been killed and hundreds of monks detained. But dissident groups say the death toll is more than 200. Nearly 6,000 people are being held.
HOLMES: We got yet another health warning centered on frozen hamburger patties, this one at Sam's Club stores. E-coli concerns causing the Wal-Mart subsidiary to pull American Chef's selection angus beef patties off the shelves nationwide. The patties were produced by Cargill. Cargill says the recall affects boxes purchased after August 26th. The suspect patties have an expiration of February 12, 2008. Four cases of e-coli in Minnesota have been traced to this meat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. KIRK SMITH, MINNESOTA HEALTH DEPARTMENT: To the best of our knowledge, it's just Sam's Clubs right now, but, of course, it's being investigated much further and we may come out with additional information sometime here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Actually, one child remains hospitalized because of illness. There are more than 500 Sam's Club stores nationwide.
Topps Meat company going out of business. The closing comes less than a week after the company recalled more than 20 million pounds of frozen hamburger patties. There have been 32 cases of e. coli poisoning in eight states linked to this Topps meat. Investigators are still trying to pinpoint the source of contamination in Topps New Jersey plant.
NGUYEN: Well, Marion Jones can no longer call herself an Olympic hero. The three-time gold medalist has admitted to using performance- enhancing drugs and lying about it to a Federal agent. That admission could now lead to jail time. CNN's Gary Tuchman has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She won five medals in the 2000 Olympic games, but maybe Marion Jones should have won a sixth -- for best liar.
MARION JONES, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: I have never, ever used performance-enhancing drugs and that I have accomplished what I have accomplished because of my God-given abilities and hard work.
TUCHMAN: Pretty audacious comments if you're not telling the truth. And now Jones, one of the most famous female athletes in the world, admits that, indeed, she was not.
JONES: So, it is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust.
TUCHMAN: In Federal court, Jones told a judge she lied when asked if she had used a performance-enhancing drug known as "The Clear."
JONES: Today, I pled guilty to two counts of making false statements to Federal agents.
ANGIE DEMENT, ATTORNEY FOR JONES' EX-HUSBAND: CJ feels vindicated.
TUCHMAN: Angie Dement is an attorney. She represents CJ Hunter, who used to be married to Jones. Hunter was shot-putter who tested positive for steroids in 2000 and then told a grand jury under subpoena that Marion Jones had used performance-enhancing drugs.
DEMENT: Well, obviously, he was happy. It's been a long three years of everybody in the world calling him everything from a liar to a bottom feeder. And it's nice to be vindicated.
TUCHMAN: Jones, the fourth woman to the right at this Indianapolis track meet, had a goal of winning five gold medals at the 2000 games. It turns out three of her five medals were gold. Still, she captivated the world with her talent, poise and good lucks. Olympic track star Carl Lewis says he was caught off guard by Marion Jones' admission. He finished second to Ben Johnson in the 1988 Olympic sprint but eventually got the gold after Johnson was caught using steroids.
CARL LEWIS, OLYMPIC CHAMPION: I was surprised because it's very rare that people that get away with it ultimately admit it.
TUCHMAN: Why she has now admitted to using the clear isn't yet clear. But Jones has now become the first athlete convicted in connection with the Balco Laboratories steroids scandal, which has left other athletes implicated, including home run king Barry Bonds. Jones will now lose her medals and possibly her freedom. She faces up to 10 years in freedom. She says her family didn't even know about her lies.
JONES: I have let them down. I have let my country down. And I have let myself down.
TUCHMAN: And she will go down in athletic infamy. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: OK, got some dramatic dash cam video to show you now. Police in Ft. Pierce, Florida, trying to arrest a 15-year-old girl said to be breaking curfew. Take a look at this and see how things played out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not doing anything. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, sir. But I'm not doing anything. UNIDENTIFIED POLICEMAN: Stop fighting me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yeah, kind of tough to watch here, but the officer says the girl actually became violent and bit him as he tried to handcuff her. The police chief says the officer acted appropriately. The teen now faces a felony charge of battery and a misdemeanor charge of resisting a law enforcement officer.
NGUYEN: What you didn't see right there was how she was sprayed in the face with pepper spray. We'll have much more about that case, I'm sure.
HOLMES: A lot.
NGUYEN: We move on to this one though, President Bush says the United States is not preparing to attack Iran. In an interview with Arab television, Mr. Bush says he is committed to working to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program diplomatically. The president says he would be happy to negotiate with Tehran if it gives up its nuclear ambitions. Now, Arab media have reported Mr. Bush ordered top military officials to prepare for an attack on Iran in January or February. The president called those reports baseless gossip.
Now to Iraq. A Sunni member of the Iraqi parliament remains in U.S. custody this morning and that word from U.S. military and Iraqi officials.
HOLMES: U.S. military officials say the lawmaker was captured in a U.S. and Iraqi military raid on a gathering of suspected al Qaeda insurgents. The U.S. says 23 people were captured in that raid. Meanwhile, Congressman Henry Waxman says the State Department may have withheld critical information about a fired Blackwater USA worker. Waxman leads a House committee looking into allegations of abuses by Blackwater. The private firm was hired to protect State Department personnel in Iraq. It has come under scrutiny since an incident in Baghdad in which more than a dozen Iraqis were killed. In a letter, Waxman had demanded that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice turn over a list of documents related to Blackwater's operations. The dispute centers on Andrew Munis (ph). He's a former Blackwater worker fired for violating alcohol and firearm policies. He also allegedly killed an Iraqi security worker. Another private security firm hired Munis weeks after that incident.
Congress is calling for stricter oversight of contractors. And tonight on "This Week at War," security for hire. Plus, fewer troops are dying in Iraq. Is it a turning point or a statistical blip? "This Week at War" airs tonight at 7:00 Eastern and tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
NGUYEN: One woman got the diagnosis of her life and had radical surgery only to find out she was fine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something should have been done to tell me that there wasn't anything wrong with me before I had a radical double mastectomy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Can you believe? What led doctors to perform a double mastectomy on a healthy woman?
HOLMES: Also coming up this morning -- final moments. New surveillance video of Princess Diana and Dodi al Fayed together before their fatal crash. Stay tuned for that.
Also, it's time for us to say good morning to Mr. Reynolds Wolf.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And good morning to you. We got a big storm system that is rolling out of the Rockies into the central plains and that's going to bring some strong storms into the Dakotas, but at the same time, we're talking about some heavy, heavy snowfall into the Rockies. We'll let you know how much you can expect there and what you can expect in your neighborhood this morning. That's all coming up right here on CNN. We'll see you in just a second.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And breakout the industrial-sized bug spray for last night's Yankees and Indians game in Cleveland. An awful lot of insects descended on the field beginning in the eighth inning. It seemed to be worse around the pitcher's mound. These are tiny little bugs called midges and they feasted on --
NGUYEN: What are they called?
HOLMES: They're called midges.
WOLF: How do you know that? Are you a bug expert?
NGUYEN: He just Googled it.
HOLMES: Oh, OK. I know they were midges, but they were harder on the Yankee pitchers and I think some of the midges were wearing Cleveland Indian uniforms. The Indians actually won that game. Did you see the end of that, 11th inning.
NGUYEN: I couldn't see it for all the midges.
WOLF: So they beat the Indians and the midges.
HOLMES: Yes the Indians and the midges...
NGUYEN: It looks like the midges won that one.
WOLF: Does that count as part of the attendance? Do they have to pay to get in? If they can bat, do they bat clean up in the lineup?
NGUYEN: Let me ask you this. WOLF: Bring it on.
NGUYEN: Scientifically, come on, is that something that comes with the weather?
WOLF: Well, Cleveland -- they do have a lot of bugs in the Cleveland area, absolutely. They constantly - they're in orbit around my head. The Cleveland Indians, back in the 1890s, used to be known as the Cleveland Spiders. Kind of makes you think doesn't it? More spiders at the game, maybe they wouldn't have had your midges.
HOLMES: Did you say the 1890s?
WOLF: Yes.
HOLMES: You just pulled that out of where?
WOLF: I'm old school.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Imagine this -- you're told that you have breast cancer, right? Then you find out that you don't. But unfortunately, that news came four months after this New York woman had a double mastectomy. It happened because a pathology lab got Darrie Eason's tissue sample mixed up with someone else's.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN PEGALIS, DARRIE EASON'S ATTORNEY: The pathologist read the slide correctly. The report was not attached to the correct patient.
DARRIE EASON, HAD UNNECESSARY SURGERY: I have a philosophy that you have to laugh to keep from crying, so I try to laugh as much as I can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Goodness. Eason has filed a lawsuit against the lab for an unspecified amount.
HOLMES: That is a heck of an attitude to have after that.
NGUYEN: Exactly.
HOLMES: Laugh to keep from crying.
NGUYEN: Can you just imagine?
HOLMES: Well, good luck to her down the road, whatever happens with her. Good luck to her.
Ten years now here we are, can you believe that, after the death of Princess Diana, still some new video still coming out about that night. So, what does it suggest about the princess' final moments? We have a report on a new inquiry into her death. NGUYEN: Also, a noose in Jena, Louisiana, sparked outrage across the nation. Well, now it's the subject of a pop singer's song that's also causing controversy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: A decade has done little to diminish fascination over the death of Princess Diana of Wales. A new inquest though, may only fan the flames of speculation about how the people's princess died in a Paris car crash. CNN's Phil Black has new images from that fatal night which may spark new questions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the scene Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi al Fayed, were desperate to avoid the night they died, a crowd of paparazzi and onlookers waiting outside their hotel. These images were captured by an Australian tourist and shown to the jury at the inquest into the couple's death to give a sense of the atmosphere that night. To bulldoze photographers, two cars were left waiting outside the front entrance shown here on the hotel's closed-circuit TV. Meanwhile, Diana and Dodi rode the service lift to the ground floor and a staff entrance at the rear of the building. There they waited for about seven minutes for the car to arrive. And in that time, the security camera captured the couple's intimacy. Diana and Dodi are seen standing close, sometimes holding hands, sometimes holding each other. At one point, Diana is seen speaking to driver Henri Paul and she appears to salute him.
ROBERT JOBSON, ROYAL AUTHOR: The fact that she saluted Henri Paul, almost mocking him, really, it seemed to me, that the security arrangements were a little bit - well, they weren't really well organized.
BLACK: In the 90 minutes of security video played to the court, Henri Paul is seen often, but at no time does he appear drunk. The jury was shown images, him bending down to retie both shoe laces without any problem. Previous investigations had found Paul's high blood-alcohol reading was a likely contributor to the accident that killed himself, Diana and Dodi. Other CCTV images showed Paul talking to members of the paparazzi on three occasions. Just before Diana and Dodi left the building, he is seen gesturing in the direction of two waiting photographers.
JOBSON: Henri Paul races him (ph) as if to wave at the photographers, almost a signal that they were coming out any second. Now, we don't know if that was the case, but the truth is when you see the footage like that, it's quite compelling.
BLACK: The photographers start flashing as Diana and Dodi, their bodyguard and driver, walk out onto the street and get into the car. Shortly after, three of them would be dead.
(on-camera): The hearings have adjourned for the week. On Monday, they move to Paris, where the jury will see the key locations first hand -- the hotel and the site of the accident. But it's still being investigated 10 years later. Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Coming up here, a military mystery in Afghanistan. An American soldier is killed on a base that was thought to be secure. Her family now demanding answers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All these incidences with nooses in recent weeks. Is this some kind of new trend we're seeing or are we just suddenly paying attention to something that's been going on in this country for a long time? I'm Josh Levs. I've got that coming up in the CNN reality check. Betty.
NGUYEN: And Josh, I want you to take a good look, because in just a few minutes the building that you see right there will be turned into rubble. Yes, you don't want to miss an implosion. Love them, right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do not want to complete an adoption that is anything but completely legal and where this little girl has been relinquished willingly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Hope and heartbreak. One couple's agony trying to adopt a child from Central America. It's a special report all you parents out there should see. In the meantime there everybody, welcome back on this Saturday morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm TJ Holmes. The news we're just getting out of Philadelphia this morning, police have charged a man with the murder of two armored guards at a Wachovia bank. He has been identified as Mustafa Ali. The armed robbery happened Thursday. Three armored car employees were servicing an ATM when a gunman opened fire, killing two and wounding another. Police say the suspect got away with an undetermined amount of cash. He is expected to be arraigned within 24 hours. Michelle Durham of KYW news radio joins us now on the phone from Philadelphia with the latest on this story. Tell us what do we know about this suspect, Michelle?
MICHELLE DURHAM, KYW CORRESPONDENT: We don't know much, TJ. This is what we do know, that homicide detectives are confirming that Mustafa Ali has now been charged with two counts of murder, robbery, and related offenses in the deaths of those guards as you just described. They were former Philadelphia police officers and they were gunned down while they were servicing an ATM at a northeast Philadelphia bank, really shocking the surrounding community on Thursday. Police say a tip call from the public about a car matching the description of the one fleeing the murder scene is what drew their attention to Ali. They swooped down and arrested him yesterday on an outstanding warrant. Today he's charged with much more.
HOLMES: And Michelle, did it appear he was hiding in plain sight, if you will? Did it appear that he was attempting some kind of getaway or he was where they thought he would be, living there wherever he might have been?
DURHAM: Well, what we're hearing from Philadelphia police today, TJ is that he actually had the black Acura which was the getaway car allegedly, covered with a tarp and he was driving a rental vehicle. So, he was about to leave his apartment to go somewhere when they swooped down and got him on an unrelated warrant. But today, he is charged with two counts of murder.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Are police talking much? There are some reports out there that he possibly had a history of bank robbery. Do we know much about that just yet, Michelle?
DURHAM: Police are being extremely tightlipped about this. We are expecting a press conference sometime today, T.J., but they're playing this pretty close to the vest. This hit them very close, two of their own, and so they want to make sure that everything is in line before they say anything.
HOLMES: Michelle, is there much debate just yet about these armored employees, these armored car employees, not wearing vests? They were not wearing bulletproof vests at the time. Has that been much part of the debate in the aftermath of this whole incident yet?
DURHAM: Well it is interesting because the company in question is actually going back and rethinking about their policy about this. It certainly stands to reason considering what happened here. It's just so unfortunate that it took the deaths of these two for that. And we'll see what happens in the future.
HOLMES: All right. Michelle Durham for us from KYW News Radio. Thank you so much for your time this morning, Michelle.
DURHAM: My pleasure, T.J.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well in other news, a legal win for McDonald's worker strip searched at work. A jury has awarded Louise Ogborn $6 million. Ogborn was forced to take her clothes off to be searched after a prank caller accused her of stealing money. Other restaurants had been hit by prank callers a little bit earlier, and Ogborn says McDonald's never warned anyone about the ongoing prank.
HOLMES: We got new fallout from the Jena 6 case in Louisiana, this time it's over a song by John Mellencamp.
(MUSIC)
HOLMES: Now, Jena's mayor says the video is, quote, "so inflammatory, so defamatory, that a line has been crossed and enough is enough", end quote. The song makes reference to nooses hung from a tree outside Jena High School. Six black teenagers were arrested for beating a white student during racial tensions that followed. And a statement on his Web site, Mellencamp says the song was not written to indict the people of Jena but, rather, it was written to condemn racism.
NGUYEN: Well the Coast Guard Academy, a police station in New York State, and a major university in Maryland, just some of the sites of racially charged incidents involving nooses. Seems like a sudden onslaught around the country. But is it? Or are we just paying more attention to something that happens all the time?
Well CNN's Josh Levs is here with a "Reality Check." You've been looking into this.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.
NGUYEN: And is it just the case that we're just paying more attention or are we seeing more of this happening?
LEVS: That's what we're trying to find out. It's a little scary, isn't it?
NGUYEN: Yes.
LEVS: I mean it's just in a few days even you're seeing -- every few days we're hearing another case of this. And it seems to keep happening all over the country. We're definitely hearing about it more there's no question at all. We're hearing it more. We're seeing it more, but does that mean it's actually happening more or is it just being reported more? What's really changing in this case? What we're looking to into in today's "Reality Check" is whether this is a new national trend.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS (voice-over): Nooses at the Coast Guard, the Hempstead New York Police Station, a high school in High Point, North Carolina, and the University of Maryland. Two hung from this red truck in Alexandria, Louisiana, right after the protests in nearby Jena, where nooses were hung from a tree at the local high school last year. Are these kinds of incidents on the rise, or have all the events in Jena got us paying more attention? The Justice Department says it doesn't know. The government doesn't specifically track noose incidents. The head of a group that watches hate incidents says he thinks there is an increase.
MARK POTOK, SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER: Nooses have come to replace, in many people's minds, the burning cross as the kind of symbol of the Klan or of racial hate.
LEVS: In 2000, the government did report an increase in nooses in the workplace, calling it a disturbing national trend. Now the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says it's still a problem, though not necessarily still on the rise. There have been at least 20 lawsuits involving nooses in the workplace since 2001. If there has been a jump in noose incidents lately, it just may be because certain people want to capitalize on the new wave of attention nooses are getting. REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: I think some of this is copycat stuff, but I think there are some people who don't like the fact that our country is becoming more and more diverse, and they want to do whatever they can to block that or make people feel uncomfortable.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: Now, in the wake of these events, educators and civil rights leaders around the country are putting some new focus on making sure people understand what that symbol means to so many Americans. And Betty, they're trying to convey the horrifying history that the noose can represent.
NGUYEN: Well you know we also have been reporting on a story where teachers were trying to convey that horrifying history, but they did it in a way that may have them fired.
LEVS: Right, because they actually used a noose, put it around the head of one student. And one thing we're also looking at also is whether we're seeing more nooses used that way or nooses being used in educational ways. And it is interesting Betty points that out, because that is something that also causes controversy.
For example, earlier this year in Florida, over in Tampa, there was an exhibit that used a noose. Now, this was inside a museum. Trying to teach people about the history of the noose, but a lot of people were offended by it. That's how powerful that symbol is, even using it in a teaching atmosphere. Betty, obviously, people have to be very careful, so now we're hearing more of a national dialogue, how do you to teach without offending at the same time.
NGUYEN: Right. All right, I'm sure we'll be talking much more about this. Josh, we appreciate you digging into that for us.
LEVS: Yeah. Thanks.
NGUYEN: T.J.?
HOLMES: Well Betty, a suicide attack today in Afghanistan claimed the life of a U.S. soldier. The car bombing happened near the Kabul airport and also killed an unknown number of Afghan civilians. It's the third major attack in Kabul in the past week and coincides with the sixth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, a Massachusetts National Guard specialist killed in Afghanistan, as well, but it happened on what was supposed to be a secure U.S. base. Now the family is demanding answers.
CNN's Kathleen Koch with the special report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): The Massachusetts National Guard delivered the news that Army Specialist Ciara Durkin had been killed in action in Afghanistan September 28th. Her family was devastated.
PIERCE DURKIN, BROTHER OF SLAIN SOLDIER: It's my birthday on the 27th, on Thursday, and we found out on the 28th, and it was at 1:00 a.m. on the 28th that there was a voice mail on my phone. I just missed her call. And she was -- she said, hey, little bro, I love you very much. I can't wait to see you. And then she started singing "Happy Birthday."
KOCH: Then, the family says word came from military officials that Durkin had been found shot in the head near a church inside a secure area of Bagram Air Base.
MAURA DURKIN, SISTER OF SLAIN SOLDIER: We need answers. We'd like answers. We want to know how our beloved Ciara spent the last moments of her life and why was she taken from us?
KOCH: Right now the Pentagon will only say that Durkin's was a non-combat-related death and that within minutes Army criminal investigation division agents were on the scene. Thirty-year-old Durkin was lesbian and never complained of harassment. But her family says on her last visit home she made a frightening comment.
STEVE RALLS, SERVICEMEMBERS LEGAL DEFENSE NETWORK: That should something happen to her, to demand an investigation, because she had uncovered something in her unit that apparently made many of her fellow service members anxious or upset.
KOCH: The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which represents gays in the military, is now helping the family. Durkin, who worked in finance and processed payroll for her unit, never told her family what she had discovered.
(on camera): Both Massachusetts Senators John Kerry and Ted Kennedy are calling for an investigation. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is urging anyone who served with Durkin who wants to pass on information anonymously to go to their Web site, www.sldn.org.
Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, you definitely want to stick around for this story, because they went to great lengths to try to adopt a little girl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do not want to complete an adoption that is anything but completely legal and where this little girl has been relinquished willingly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: But some legal concerns about one adoption agency left them without a daughter. We'll explore that story. Plus Reynolds joins us now with the latest. Good morning. (WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
NGUYEN: How is that for a little morning music pleasure? That is the group "Fastball" (ph), one of many bands that have been on the long-running television program "Austin City Limits." Well "Austin City Limits" is celebrating its 33rd season, and music legends have played on this stage over the years starting with Willie Nelson to Ray Charles. You see him right there. And even Johnny Cash. This all takes in a city that claims to be the live music capital of the world.
(MUSIC)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The quality of the playing down here in Austin it beats anywhere else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Austin is a really unbelievably nurturing city for musicians and the show is a reflection of that.
TERRY LICKONA, PRODUCER, AUSTIN CITY LIMITS: It's no wonder that people, when they think of Austin, they think of music.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The group Wilco will be among 20 musicians and bands kicking off the 33rd season tonight.
HOLMES: You know when you think of Austin, you think of music, but some people when they think of Austin, Reynolds, they think Betty.
NGUYEN: Longhorn...
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Spent a long time in Austin. You got all choked up over that.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I really did. I still am. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) myself. Our producer, Deana...
NGUYEN: Yes.
WOLF: ... she is from Austin. She lived there for a while. Some great blurred memories of Austin.
NGUYEN: Blurred memories, huh?
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: I second that.
WOLF: But happy 33rd, you say, 33rd birthday?
NGUYEN: Yeah, 33rd.
Good deal. There you go. Keep them rolling.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
NGUYEN: Hey we do have a mystery at sea for you and another dress code violation on an airline. Veronica, boy you have your hands full.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Yep. Good morning to you, Betty and T.J. you know, someone else this time kicked off a plane. It is the second time in recent months that a certain budget airline says that your outfit simply will not fly. What that passenger was wearing; it is all coming up next from the CNN.com/desk.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, track superstar falls from grace, Marion Jones' admission that she used steroids and her tearful apology getting a lot of attention online.
NGUYEN: You know it. Veronica de la Cruz joins us now from the dot com desk and she's been looking at that, plus some of the some of the most popular stories on CNN. We tease it a little bit earlier. You got some good stuff for us.
DE LA CRUZ: Oh yeah, we've got some good stuff and we're going to get to that in a second, but let's go ahead and start with this Marion Jones story, a lot of people angry, some people sad. And you know this is a woman who for years denied that she was using performance-enhancing drugs, and now she's pleading guilty to lying about using a steroid. It is known as "The Clear."
She says because of her action she is retiring from track and field. She's due back in court in January for sentencing. And Jones may lose her five medals from the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and she may not be the only one affected. Members of her entire relay team could also lose their gold medals.
OK, other stories this morning that are popular. The mystery at sea continues. A fourth bullet casing has been found in the cabin of a fishing boat Joe Cool. It is also according to the uncle of the boat's captain. A memorial will be held later this morning for the missing four-member crew. Authorities are investigating whether two men who chartered the boat killed the crew. They're all being held without bail.
All right, Betty, this is the story you were just talking about. Sorry, man, wrong shirt, no service apparently...
NGUYEN: Wrong shirt.
DE LA CRUZ: ... for Southwest Airlines. The airlines is apologizing to a guy who was told to change his T-shirt or turn it inside out or simply just get off the plane. The T-shirt for a fictional fishing shop featured the words "master baiter". And the airline employee says the employee who made the man change his shirt made a mistake.
NGUYEN: I'm sorry.
DE LA CRUZ: I mean it is an offensive T-shirt, but should he have been forced to get off the plane?
HOLMES: It's offensive?
DE LA CRUZ: It is. It is an offensive T-shirt. I mean I'll be the first one to say that.
NGUYEN: ... go there. You know what? We'll just leave it at that. How about that?
DE LA CRUZ: OK. OK. OK, so we won't touch the T-shirt story, but let's go ahead and get back to the Marion Jones story...
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Quickly.
DE LA CRUZ: ... because that's a little bit more safe. Our question this morning is do you think Marion Jones' teammates should have to forfeit their medals? You can -e-mail us at weekends@cnn.com. We'll stay away from that Southwest story in the meantime, but you can find all the details at cnn.com. There's no picture of the T-shirt, unfortunately.
NGUYEN: That's the problem. And the thing about it, it was master -- m-a-s-t-e-r...
DE LA CRUZ: It's a fishing T-shirt.
NGUYEN: And then another word...
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. Right.
NGUYEN: Baiter -- b-a-i-t-e-r.
DE LA CRUZ: Right.
NGUYEN: But of course, when you roll that together, well then you get you know what.
DE LA CRUZ: It is a fishing T-shirt offensive to a lot of people. The man was asked to step off the plane. So, you know.
NGUYEN: All right. We'll just leave it at that.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: OK. Thank you, Veronica.
HOLMES: Thank you, Veronica.
NGUYEN: And from that...
HOLMES: We will turn now to this.
(SOUNDS)
HOLMES: Yeah, you all know what that one is.
UNIDENTIFIED ANCHOR: It is implosion time folks.
(SOUNDS)
HOLMES: This is what we do, yes, on the weekend.
NGUYEN: You weren't here last weekend, and you missed a stellar implosion. Look at that one, though.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: ... that you all would do one without me, Betty.
NGUYEN: This was a massive one...
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: ... beautiful.
NGUYEN: It goes from one end to the other end of the block.
HOLMES: Progress. This is fantastic.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED ANCHOR: ... implosion.
HOLMES: I love the smell of crumbled buildings in the morning.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: It is incredible. It is intoxicating. Look at this. See, that's progress.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: You can't think about what's going down. You have got to think about what's going to be replacing it, what's going to be going up later on.
NGUYEN: Well let me tell you about that because Kodak is getting rid of two more buildings in Rochester, New York. This is where Kodak researchers developed film -- remember that thing? Yeah, few of us use it anymore, but since digital cameras are just so popular, Kodak doesn't need those buildings anymore, so they all went up in smoke. In fact, it's not even over yet. Oh yes, there's much more to come folks. Get excited because Kodak is going to implode three other buildings as well. They've done some over the summer, and we're going to be watching more as they happen.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: A Kodak complex but a Polaroid moment.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: No, it was a Kodak moment.
HOLMES: And for that, Kodak, I say thank you. You have implosions all around. We have months of this stuff.
DE LA CRUZ: Yeah, we're going to have months, weeks to come. Great. Good stuff.
NGUYEN: All right. Let's get on to some big business, shall we, of international adoption.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was the end of the assembly line. They had the final product. And they had to send it (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Fulfilling a family's dream or selling babies? CNN investigates. That's straight ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well Americans often look overseas for a child to fill their lives.
NGUYEN: Yeah, there are countless stories of successful global adoptions, but for some families who relied on a Guatemalan agency, a dream has been deferred and possibly lost.
CNN's Harris Whitbeck has this special report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ring around the rosy...
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sean and Ellen Darcy wanted a family, so, like thousands of other Americans, they traveled to Guatemala. Their adopted son, Dylan, thrived in suburban Boston. So, they decided to go back for a girl. Guatemala's government says the country provides more babies per capita than any other country in the world, an average of 17 a day to the United States. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We contacted them probably early March, end of February, and within two weeks Carolina was born and we were told that we could proceed with this adoption. These were before we went to visit her.
WHITBECK: An American agency named Casa Quivira told the Darcy's they could visit baby Carolina...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Carolina...
WHITBECK: ... and have her home within six months, but without warning, one night in August...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WHITBECK: ... police raided Casa Quivira and seized 46 babies, including Carolina.
(SOUNDS)
WHITBECK: They arrested the agency's lawyers and charged them with child abduction. No plea has yet been entered, but the agency's owners deny doing anything illegal. Prosecutors allege that some babies were conceived simply for adoptions and that other mothers were coerced into giving up their children. Now Guatemala's chief prosecutor plans to investigate allegations several other U.S. agencies trafficked in babies, and the Guatemalan government says it won't allow any more American adoptions under the current system after the first of the year. But what will happen to the 46 babies seized from Casa Quivira?
(on camera): Many of the children from Casa Quivira were placed in foster homes like this one run by Sheryl and Steve Osbourne (ph) in Guatemala City. And even here, there are questions about the origins of these children. Sheryl believes that these two little girls are identical twins, but they'll be separated today. One of them will be turned over to American adoptive parents as part of an adoption that was run by Casa Quivira and then there's a question about little Carolina.
(voice-over): We wanted to see what kind of oversight there had been in the case of baby Carolina. We started by interviewing the midwife whose name appeared on the birth certificate. But the midwife told us she never even met Carolina's mother.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WHITBECK (on camera): (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
WHITBECK (voice-over): No. As for Carolina's mother, Casa Quivira gave authorities an address just across town.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) WHITBECK: But after searching for more than an hour, we found the address doesn't exist. We were introduced to this woman, who asked us not to show her face. She came accompanied by another woman she called her translator. I asked if money problems motivated her to give up her baby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I would love to raise my child, but I can't afford to. I have other children, and I am too poor.
WHITBECK: Skeptical of our interview, we challenged one of Casa Quivira owners, Sandra Gonzalez, who insisted the mother gave up her baby because she could not afford to keep her.
(on camera): Are you confident that every baby that has passed through Casa Quivira was a legitimate baby, a child that had legitimate means to be adopted?
SANDRA GONZALEZ, CASA QUIVIRA: Yes. Some of them, there are very bad stories like rapes. They come from persecution. Their mothers have a bunch of kids and they can't support this kid anymore. Some of them have come very ill (UNINTELLIGIBLE) straight to the hospital.
WHITBECK: But are these documents enough to prove that there is no baby stealing going on, no coercion going on, no baby trafficking going on?
GONZALEZ: Yes.
WHITBECK: Is this enough?
GONZALEZ: Yes, for us it is.
WHITBECK (voice-over): Casa Quivira says it is fighting to get adoptions back on track. Meanwhile, of the 46 babies seized by the government, 38 remain in foster care. This week, the U.S. government urged Americans to stop adopting from Guatemala until the country can answer those questions.
JAMES M. DERHAM, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO GUATEMALA: The amount of money that is involved in this process in a country that's very poor, almost all the babies come from the indigenous regions here in Guatemala. In many cases, people who are very unsophisticated, and do they really understand what kind of decisions they are making.
WHITBECK: But for baby Carolina and hundreds of others, the decisions were made, and parents like the Darcy's sit in the U.S. hoping an adopted boy or girl will soon make their family complete.
Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Antigua, Guatemala.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Good morning everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes.
Coming up this morning a frightening story about child porn and predators.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNE MILGRAM, NEW JERSEY ATTORNEY GENERAL: I will tell you that it is impossible to sleep at night when you view them. They are horrific, horrific videos.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And New Jersey police nab dozens on child porn charges. How myspace and facebook play a part.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're the couple in the world. We truly are. (INAUDIBLE) we're rich right there where it counts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Some parents found out the hard way what their daughter was doing on the computer. She's finally back home, but this sexual predator remains on the loose this morning.
HOLMES: Also, check out the ink, a lot of ink to go around. If you all don't know, Betty has one under her hair here just like that.
NGUYEN: You'll never find it.
HOLMES: We will tell you where all of this is happening. That story coming up but we will start this morning with story, a breaking story out of Philadelphia. Police have arrested and charged a man in the deadly armored car robbery we've been telling you about this week. It happened on Thursday. Police say three armored car employees were servicing an ATM when a gunman opened fire. Two of those guards were killed, another was wounded. The suspect got away with the cash. Police say an anonymous tip led them now to arrest 36-year-old Mustafa Ali. They confiscated his vehicle and he is expected to be arraigned within 24 hours, a developing story we are on top of.
NGUYEN: New developments in New Jersey this morning where police say at least 41 people are charged in a child pornography ring. More arrests are expected and authorities say the suspects in the custody case here range from 14 to 71. They allegedly sent and received child pornography including rape photos and videos over the Internet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILGRAM: What we've seen from the case today is that we know that there are individuals who trade and distribute child pornography who have specific profiles on myspace and facebook. That concerns me deeply.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Police say they know of many more people who have distributed the material and authorities say they will be arrested as well. So, let's get some more information from lead investigator on this crackdown, Sergeant Gordon Samartino. He joins us now from Philadelphia. Sergeant, thanks for being with us.
SGT. GORDON SAMARTINO, NJ STATE POLICE: Good morning Betty. Thank you for having me.
NGUYEN: All right, so I'm looking at least 41 people. You say some 45 have been arrested in the past two months. How exactly are you catching these folks?
SAMARTINO: Well, exactly, we work with the Internet crimes against children task force all over the country. It's sponsored by DOJ, the Department of Justice out of Washington. And New Jersey state police coordinates the (INAUDIBLE) task force in New Jersey and we work with partners all over the country, exactly 46 other task forces in the country throughout and in doing so, we train and work on techniques to identify these individuals who are distributing child pornography. This is --
NGUYEN: I don't want to get into the details of how you're doing it because we don't want, you know, this operation that you're doing to be blown out of the water because people know what you're doing and how you're doing it.
SAMARTINO: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: But you are using tools like myspace and facebook, correct?
SAMARTINO: Absolutely. We're monitoring facebook, monitoring myspace, working along in conjunction with them to make it a safer place for kids to be. But the biggest thing is the decriminalizing of child pornography itself. Basically, it's not just an image or movie. It's actually a crime scene of these individuals being exploited over the Internet and being passed along from these individuals which we have identified and have made it available and distributed it over the Internet, not just through myspace and facebook, but in other ways. And we have identified them and arrested 45 people.
NGUYEN: Let's talk about what you found, because the people accused range -- just look at this -- 14 to 71 years old. They include students, security guards, a high school referee. What exactly is the evidence that you're finding? I mean, what are you finding on the Internet?
SAMARTINO: It's digital movies and images of these crime scenes of young children being graphically raped by individuals. And then they distribute these movies over the Internet and make them available for these individuals of different age groups to view them. There's no shock value to individuals anymore. And with all the media and press that we've gotten about child pornography over the years, it's kind of desensitized the public to what child pornography really is.
NGUYEN: We don't want to do that here because we're talking about something very serious.
SAMARTINO: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: You're talking about children being raped and that being videotaped and put out there on the web. So, when it comes to finding not only the criminals here, but what about the children? Have you been able to find some of the children involved?
SAMARTINO: Absolutely. Our task force and the task force throughout the country have worked aggressively with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to identify these children that are involved in these movies. They have been identified numerous individuals, children, all over the country, all over the world that have been involved and victims of this crime.
NGUYEN: And quickly, because we just have a few seconds, what can people at home do not only to protect their children but to help you in the search and other police officers across the U.S. as they search for criminals like this?
SAMARTINO: Well, actually, the first thing you can do is if you ever see a child being exploited on the Internet or anything that seems out of the ordinary, you should report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. They're working with the Internet crimes against children task force across the country and they distribute those investigations to the proper law enforcement and make them able to investigate these crimes. I just want to take a minute to thank all of those individuals that were involved in this investigation and the hard work that went into this. Many early morning hours, search warrants, and --
NGUYEN: And it's not over, it's definitely not over.
SAMARTINO: No, it's not over. As coined by my major, we will be there tomorrow, next week and next month.
NGUYEN: All right and we appreciate you doing what you do. Sergeant Gordon Samartino, lead investigator in this latest sting, thank you so much.
SAMARTINO: Thank you, ma'am.
HOLMES: And a warning to parents from the father of a young girl who got into trouble online. He says his daughter ran away to be with someone she met online and authorities say it turned out to be William Joe Mitchell, that guy, a high-risk sex offender. Police are searching for Mitchell now, but the 15-year-old girl was found. She's safe. Her father says he never saw the danger lurking on the computer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RODGER FRANK, VICTIM'S FATHER: Watch your children, folks. OK? My baby was in front of me on her computer. I mean, in front of me, not in her room. It's centrally located. It can be seen from the back porch of the house. It can be seen from the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, OK? She didn't act suspicious. She didn't flip screens or roll anything on the computer to hide anything as we walked by. People, you all got to watch your children. You've got to learn how to take care of them a little better than what we think we know how.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Mr. Frank and (INAUDIBLE) County Sheriff Grady Judd (ph) will be guests on "CNN Newsroom" today during the 4:00 p.m. Eastern hour.
NGUYEN: New today, a Florida prosecutor arrested in a sex sting operation has committed suicide. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Acheson (ph) was accused of flying to Detroit to molest a five-year-old girl. He was arrested after weeks of Internet conversations with authorities posing as the mother of a five-year-old. Officials say Acheson was found unresponsive in his cell yesterday. He was being held in a special unit at a Federal prison outside Detroit.
HOLMES: We continue now with some of these horrible stories of people exploiting children. Las Vegas authorities appealing for the public's help in finding a suspect accused of sexually assaulting a young girl on videotape. Chester Arthur Stiles (ph) the focus of a nationwide manhunt. Police have identified him as the man seen on a homemade videotape raping a then three-year-old girl. The girl, now seven years old, was found safe with her mother now.
New information now on Michael Devlin. On Monday, the accused kidnapper is expected to change his flee to guilty. Devlin, as you may remember, was arrested in January after police found two abducted boys in his St. Louis apartment. One of them, 16-year-old Sean Hornbeck, had been there for more than four years. Devlin is expected to plead guilty in that case, the Hornbeck case first. Sentencing for that is expected on Tuesday.
NGUYEN: Change in gold for track star Marion Jones now admitting to using steroids during her Olympic gold medal performances. Jones pled guilty to lying to a Federal agent about her drug use during the Balco Labs investigation. She faces up to 10 years in prison for that. She offered this tearful apology on the courthouse steps.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARION JONES, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: I want you to know that I have been dishonest and you have the right to be angry with me. I have let them down. I have let my country down and I have let myself down. I recognize that by saying that I'm deeply sorry, it might not be enough and sufficient to address the pain and the hurt that I have caused you. Therefore, I want to ask for your forgiveness for my actions and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. It is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust. I want all of you to know that today I pled guilty to two counts of making false statements to Federal agents. Making these false statements to Federal agents was an incredibly stupid thing for me to do and I am responsible fully for my actions. I have no one to blame but myself for what I have done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Jones will likely have to return her Olympic gold medals.
HOLMES: All right. We got to talk more about this hamburger recall, huge hamburger recall that was in the news. Topps Meat Company is going out of business because of it. Production at their Elizabeth, New Jersey, plant was shut down following last week's recall of nearly 22 million pounds of frozen hamburger patties. Thirty two e. coli cases have been traced to Topps. Meanwhile four e. coli cases in Minnesota are being traced to frozen beef patties produced by Cargill and sold at Sam's Club stores. American Chef selection angus beef patties with an expiration date of February 12th are being taken off Sam's Club store shelves nationwide.
NGUYEN: A worldwide outcry grows over the situation in Myanmar, also known as Burma. Today protests organized by Amnesty International are being held in dozens of cities from Taiwan to the U.S. While these marches criticize Myanmar's military for rough treatment of pro-democracy demonstrators, some Burmese immigrants point accusing fingers at another country. At a rally outside the United Nations, a group, Coalition for Regime Change, accuses China of propping up the repressive military regime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALA HTUN, COALITION FOR REGIME CHANGE IN BURMA: China is the main international backer of this regime. They provide diplomatic cover at the UN. They vetoed several UN Security Council resolutions. They provide military aid, guns, tanks, bombs, enabling the Burmese government to massacre its own people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Thus far, both China and Russia have opposed UN Security Council action against Myanmar, saying the trouble is an internal affair that does not threaten international peace and security.
HOLMES: Well, he was a strong, healthy boy who just went for a swim in the lake and then the unimaginable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beyond description to watch your most precious, beautiful, wonderful loved one go -- become a vegetable, essentially and then die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A killer in the lake just ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. NGUYEN: Also Olympic medal winner Marion Jones has confessed to using steroids and it looks like she'll have to give up her medals. But what about her team mates who won gold with her in the relay race? We'll hear what you're saying about that.
HOLMES: Also snow has come to the Sierra mountains. More about that and the latest weather news from Mr. Reynolds Wolf. There he is. Say good morning to us there, good sir. All right. We'll get him out from behind that desk. He'll have the forecast for you coming up. Don't go anywhere folks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right, six boys, six deaths, and a killer that lurks unseen. CNN's John Zarrella reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They were all healthy and young.
RAY HERRERA, JACK'S FATHER: Played sports, played lacrosse.
ZARRELLA: Ray and Deidre Herrera lost their 12-year-old son, Jack, in August. He'd been swimming in Lake LBJ in Austin, Txas.
HERRERA: It gets beyond description to watch your most precious, beautiful, wonderful loved one go -- become a vegetable, essentially, and then die.
ZARRELLA: Jack died from a microscopic organism, an amoeba, that entered his brain through his nose, something the Herreras had never heard of.
DEIDRE HERRERA, JACK'S MOTHER: This is the United States of America, why, cutting-edge technology. Why does no one know about this? Why have we never heard about this before?
ZARRELLA: Because, health officials say, it is very rare but not this summer. Six deaths now in lakes from Florida to Arizona. The most recent, a 14-year-old swimming in Arizona's Lake Havesu. The amoeba lives in the shallows of freshwater lakes. It flourishes when water temperatures go above 80 degrees. It can kill within two weeks. Because symptoms mimic the flu, health officials say it often goes misdiagnosed.
DR. KEVIN SHERIN, ORANGE COUNTY HEALTH DEPT.: If they've been in the freshwater bodies in the intervening week or two prior, that certainly has to be considered.
ZARRELLA: Health officials have no idea why it seems to affect primarily young boys. They may be more likely to roughhouse in the water, stirring up sediment and amoebas. But why so many now? During the past two decades, there have been only 23 cases in the U.S.
DR. REBECCA SUNENSHINE, ARIZ. DEPT. OF HEALTH: Because it's been such a hot summer it's contributed to warmer water temperatures and lower water levels, and that was an ideal environment for the amoeba.
ZARRELLA: And if climate change means hotter, drier summers become the norm, some health officials worry that may translate to more cases of amoeba deaths. Right now, the only way to reduce the risks if you're going to be going swimming in lakes that are over 80 degrees, wear one of these -- a nose clip. John Zarrella, CNN, Orlando, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: It's barely fall and already there's snow on the ground. That's in the Sierras though and some areas got up to eight inches of snow. It's a bit early, a cold storm for that area and the snow pretty much caught everybody by surprise, as you can imagine. Some say this is the earliest snowfall they can remember.
NGUYEN: Well, Reynolds, actually, we talked about some snow last week, as well, so it seems like the snow is coming early this year. What's up with all that? We can't hear you. We see you talking.
HOLMES: We see you're saying something important.
NGUYEN: The batteries aren't working. We'll get right back to you. How about that?
HOLMES: Let's just handle this weather report.
NGUYEN: You think we can do that?
HOLMES: Let's do that.
NGUYEN: OK, there's snow in parts of the country.
HOLMES: In the Sierras.
NGUYEN: Sierras and the rest of the country, a mixed bag.
HOLMES: It is.
NGUYEN: That's why he's the professional and we are not. We have a lot more coming up. Veronica has been looking at the e-mails that are coming in and what have you got so far?
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Got some rain, it's sunny in parts of - we got some snow. It's a mixed bag. That was good. To the e-mail question now, should the teammates of fallen track star Marion Jones have to forfeit their medals for the 2000 Olympic win in the relay race? That is our e-mail question this morning. Please send us your thoughts to weekends@cnn.com. We are going to be getting to some of those e-mails coming up next from the dot com desk. Back to you, TJ.
HOLMES: All right, thank you. We'll see you here shortly. First up here, we got Dr Sanjay Gupta with a preview of today's "House Call." DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks. I know you heard the story this week, President Bush vetoed a bill that would have provided health insurance to millions of American children. We look at what it means for you and your kids.
Then, do you know the difference between good and bad cholesterol? We're going to be breaking down your numbers and a lot more, as well. Plus, from acupuncture to St. John's wort, a look at alternative therapies and if they really work at all. All that's coming up on "House Call" at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Fallen track star Marion Jones in danger of losing her Olympic medals. Veronica de la Cruz has been tracking the story online and joins us now. It's not just her losing her medals. It's the relay team, people that may not have, as far as we know, have not taken any steroids, could lose their gold medals as well.
DE LA CRUZ: Exactly. It is a possibility at this point. The list of athletes losing their medals, period, to doping has grown and Marion Jones is just the latest to come forward. We want to show you a gallery that we have at cnn.com. Taking a look back, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson broke his own record at the '88 Olympics. He ran 100 meters in 9.79 seconds. Two days later, he tested positive for steroids and his gold medal was revoked. This is extremely recent, but Floyd Landis, you know won the Tour de France in 2006. It was after a dramatic comeback. He tested positive for synthetic testosterone after finishing the race. And despite testing positive for steroids in 1999, Jerome Young was allowed to compete in the 2000 Olympics after an appeal. He won a gold medal but ended up leaving the sport after a lifetime ban on two doping offenses. So Betty, here's the thing -- his teammates were never forced to forfeit their medals. So, our question this morning is do you think the teammates of Marion Jones should have to forfeit theirs? Again it is our email question this morning. You can send us your thoughts to weekends@cnn.com.
We want to share a couple that we've received so far. This is from Pete Labelle in Florida who says, afraid so. They were a team. If one cheats, they all have to pay. You can't take her time out of the relay and still let the teammates expect to keep their medals.
Rajesh Rai says no, the team won the race. The team should retain the medal except for the tainted athlete. All right, checking on the quick vote, now, more than 35,000 people have voted so far, 43 percent are saying yes, they should have to forfeit those medals and 57 percent are saying no.
NGUYEN: Oh really, so the majority so far think that they shouldn't forfeit the medals.
DE LA CRUZ: Right. So send us your thoughts, weekends@cnn.com and we are going to continue reading those e-mails.
NGUYEN: It's a good one because on one hand you say she's a part of the team, if she was tainted, then the whole team is tainted. But then on the other hand, they did it right. They did it the right way, so why should they be penalized? All right, Veronica, thank you.
HOLMES: Well, the ink is flowing in London. Not going on paper, though. It's going on skin. Tattoo fans of all ages line up for the London tattoo convention. We'll take you there.
NGUYEN: And the Humane Society is or actually in one northeast state has a beary cute idea. Let the bear pick the winner of a look- alike teddy bear. We'll explain all that when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: OK. So, it's time now to take a look at some of the stories that you'll be talking about around that water cooler or coffeepot, maybe even that dinner table.
HOLMES: Or the keg. Whatever it is.
NGUYEN: It is Saturday.
HOLMES: Yes, it is. Ink all around in London this weekend. Welcome to the sights of the London international tattoo festival.
NGUYEN: Wow.
HOLMES: Wow.
NGUYEN: That's got to hurt, huh?
HOLMES: The three-day event is expected to draw more than 15,000 visitors. Some of the best artists from around the world. I know you were upset, Betty, because you couldn't get the weekend off because you have been there I think hadn't missed the past five years.
NGUYEN: Have several tats. Can't tell you where they are though. No, I'm kidding.
HOLMES: She's not folks. She's not kidding.
NGUYEN: No. I can't commit long enough for a tattoo.
All right. Let's get to this next story. Yes, yes, it is implosion Saturday. We love them around here. This one actually happened just a little bit earlier this morning. Two big buildings coming down in a cloud of dust, part of the ongoing clearing project at Kodak complex in Rochester, New York. The Kodak people are still planning to implode a couple more this year. And TJ, maybe we can get you up there next time to push the plunger on the explosive.
HOLMES: I'm putting my bid in to do that. But you know I was upset with you last weekend.
NGUYEN: Why? What did I do?
HOLMES: You did an implosion without me.
NGUYEN: Sometimes we can't just stop an implosion TJ. It's not that easy.
HOLMES: You didn't have to do the implosion. You should have just skipped it. We'll pass because TJ's not here.
NGUYEN: Or just roll some rack video of it?
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: This is CNN. We bring this stuff to you live.
HOLMES: You wouldn't go shoe shopping without you.
NGUYEN: Anyways.
HOLMES: Well, round and round it goes, where will it stop, only the bear knows. (INAUDIBLE) They're giving away a bear. A stuffed one, though.
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