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Your World Today

Amber Alert Issued in Florida; Clinton, Obama Spar Publicly

Aired February 23, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, along with Tony Harris. And we continue to watch this Amber Alert in Florida.
The search is on for Clay Moore, a 13-year-old allegedly taken from his bus stop earlier today. A press conference is just about to get under way involving the sheriff, Sheriff Charlie Wells of Manatee County.

Here he is.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SHERIFF CHARLIE WELLS, MANATEE COUNTY, FLORIDA: And we've checked out all of those, and we've come up drive thus far.

We have -- our deputies are completing field interrogation cards on all of those vehicles that we stop. And we're obtaining that information. In addition -- and I think we've probably stopped about 20 to 25 vehicles that looked like a match that didn't pan out.

We're also getting an awful lot of response from the local community here that's interested in volunteering to help us out. And we're coordinating those efforts through one of our captains that will be working on that.

Our nonessential personnel, all sworn law enforcement officers, we're moving them away from -- many of them that may have desk jobs, or involved in inside jobs, are out on the streets involved in this search. Many of our jail personnel as well. We've placed them on alert, and they're out involved in the search. So, virtually all of our qualified people that -- in law enforcement are involved.

The FBI is on the scene. They arrived about 30, 40 minutes ago. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is here, and they're cooperating with us as well, and assisting us.

This is -- as you know, you local people, you know that this is a largely rural area here. And so we're having to canvass this area one section at a time. There's a lot of citrus, you know, tomato farms, just farming community and rural, so there's a lot of places to hide.

And obviously, we've asked for your own choppers to report anything back down to us. If they see anything that's suspicious, we have our air cover up as well. Our choppers are up. And so we've got our fingers crossed. I know that many of you have asked to speak with family members. And I don't really think that they're quite ready to talk to you yet. I understand we're coming back out at 2:00 to talk with you, and we'll see if maybe one of the family members would like to come out with us.

But they're very emotional at this time. The father and the mother are here on site with us. We've had them in the command bus. And also, they're roaming outside looking for information. They're anxious to hear any information that -- that we can give them.

QUESTION: Sheriff, would it be a good time for you to talk to the families right now, everyone at home and at work? What should they do right now?

WELLS: I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you.

QUESTION: What should the families at work and at home that are not related to this incident right here, what should they do in terms of their kids at schools in the surrounding areas?

WELLS: Well, I think it's business as usual with everybody not involved in this incident. Because we have nothing -- no reason to believe that this has stretched anywhere beyond just one incident.

So, I think carry on as usual. People -- kids in school need to stay there. Their parents pick them up this afternoon when school is out.

QUESTION: You've got 15 kids who were also at the bus stop, sheriff. They're still inside. How are they right now?

WELLS: They're doing fine. And their parents -- many of them have their parents here with them. And we are re-interviewing those kids, and I'm glad you brought that up, because as a result, I wanted to change our earlier description.

The initial description, as for the kids, was that this was an Hispanic male. But after re-interviewing, we have determined that it's possibly a white male with a dark tan and not necessarily Hispanic.

We have reason to believe that while he looked Hispanic, he did not sound Hispanic. So it could very well be a white male with a dark tan.

QUESTION: Was Clay Moore simply the closest person to his truck?

WELLS: We believe that's true, that it was -- it was just the opportunity that presented itself was the reason that he chose him. He was the closest one, he was the one in the street. And was obviously -- there's no doubt about it in our minds that he was taken against his will, he was taken at gunpoint, and he was forced into that vehicle.

QUESTION: Was there any conversation or shouting during that time? WELLS: There was conversation along the lines as, "Sir, I don't know you. I don't know you." And other than that, I can't really get much more specific than that.

QUESTION: What did the family say?

WELLS: The families?

QUESTION: Yes.

WELLS: Well, you know, they're just emotional, and they're very shook up right now, as we all are, because, you know, they -- they know that their child is missing, and they don't know who he is with. And so they're hopeful, and we're hopeful as well.

QUESTION: Sheriff...

WELLS: What direction the truck went? I'm not sure I know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: East. East.

WELLS: Possibly east.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Toward Fort Hamer (ph).

WELLS: Toward Fort Hamer Road (ph). Possibly east, toward Fort Hamer Road (ph), but we don't know that for sure.

QUESTION: Sheriff, we're not far from I-75. How concerned are you that this man has left the area?

WELLS: Well, on one hand, I'm very concerned about that. Obviously, we would like to keep him pinned in the local community here. But at the same time, thanks to Amber Alert and thanks to the media, we're able to get this information out regionally and then statewide.

So, yes, it's a concern. I think we have more of a sporting chance to -- you know, to bring the child safely home if we can keep him localized.

QUESTION: What sort of tips are you receiving, Sheriff?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WELLS: Just mostly the tips are suspect vehicle. You know, a red, maroon, pickup truck, those kind of tips. So, I mean, that's basically it.

QUESTION: Are there any (INAUDIBLE) or anything like that stopping cars? Or is it just in this immediate area?

WELLS: Yes, we have visual roadblocks. In other words, the units -- our department units are there. And they just observe. But not stopping every vehicle that comes through.

QUESTION: Where are those?

WELLS: Those would be up on 301 and 41 and at Interstate 75.

QUESTION: Sheriff, getting back to the interstate question, have you talked to the FHP? Do they have -- did they mobilize more people...

WELLS: Yes, we have FHP here as well. A Florida Highway Patrol lieutenant is on site with us, and just making it a lot easier to coordinate our efforts with them. But, yes...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

WELLS: Well, at last they have -- the information is out to all the troopers. And they will be -- they will have their watchful eye on the interstate for the suspect vehicle. And in the past in these kinds of cases they've been most helpful and have apprehended -- in many cases, apprehended the suspect.

QUESTION: Sheriff, it would seem logical that you would talk to sex offenders in the area. Can you give us any idea, are you doing that? How many in this area? That kind of thing.

WELLS: Well, that would be -- that would be a common sense approach. And obviously we will do that. And we do have sex offenders that are registered. Sure, we'll be check that out.

QUESTION: Are you in the process of doing that now?

WELLS: Absolutely. There's about 300 of them. And so it will -- you know, it's a tasking job but, yes, that would be one of the first things that we do.

Yes, sir?

QUESTION: Sir, can you give me a sense of how big the search is at this point in terms of the manpower that you have?

WELLS: It's huge. It's huge.

All of my department -- our department size is about 1,200 people. We have everybody that we can scrape out of nonessential personnel, along with our sworn deputies, and we'll use whatever it takes, whatever it takes.

QUESTION: Any chance you have any home video of this child taken before today?

WELLS: I don't know the answer to that right now. We -- the photograph -- the pictures that we presented in the last press conference, to my knowledge, is all that we have available. But we will be doing more of that as the day goes along.

We're just trying to give the -- give the parents a little chance here, you know, to maybe -- calm down is not the word, but, you know, so that they'll be better to assist us. It's just a real emotional situation, as you might imagine, so you have to proceed slowly in the information that you get out of his folks.

QUESTION: Are there other witnesses other than the students that were at this bus stop?

WELLS: Other witnesses? Well, we had maybe a couple of reports, possible witnesses that -- other than the students, and one we're still trying to locate. Another that we have interviewed. Three comes to mind. And so, by a witness, you know, not necessarily -- some of them not necessarily a good eyewitness, but saw something that looked suspicious prior to the -- prior to the actual incident.

QUESTION: What about plans after school for bus stops? Any plans to have extra deputies or anybody there to keep an eye on the kids?

WELLS: Well, in this area, let me assure you, we've got extra deputies. I mean, this should be about the safest area in the county right now.

So when they drop kids off out of the -- off the buses, I think everything is going to be OK here. This would be the last place that we would expect to see any kind of offender until we've resolved this issue.

QUESTION: Still not sure if it was a Florida tag on the pickup? Is that right?

WELLS: Yes, right. No information on the tag. None whatsoever.

QUESTION: Sheriff (INAUDIBLE) -- can you tell me, is there any report that this vehicle may have been seen in the area before? Some people say that might be possible.

WELLS: We've had reports of possible -- possible sightings in the past. We have not confirmed whether it's the same vehicle or not, but obviously a similar vehicle that reported in this area.

We're trying to nail that down right now. It will take us a while.

QUESTION: Does his description match any sex offenders in the area?

WELLS: I don't know that yet. We'll know that soon, though. It won't take long to be able to identify those people.

We're in the process of doing that. People are working on that now.

QUESTION: A sketch I think you were referring to, Sheriff? You were referring to a sketch?

WELLS: Not a sketch, but we have the identification -- you know, description of the suspect. And the sexual offenders that he was asking about, we have photographs of them. So, yes, we'll try to do some piece-matching of those to determine if that's -- if they would be a possible suspect.

QUESTION: Sheriff Wells (OFF-MIKE)?

WELLS: Well, no. Earlier -- in the earlier press conference somebody asked me that, and so I went back and tried to verify if we've had any reports of attempted abduction here. They -- I am told that there was an attempted abduction in Pinellas County, one in Hillsborough, and one in Sarasota. But nothing that we can confirm here in Manatee County.

QUESTION: Sheriff, does the victim have a cell phone?

WELLS: We...

WHITFIELD: You're listening to Manatee County sheriff Charlie Wells talk about the search intensifying for Clay Moore, a 13-year-old boy who was allegedly taken from his bus stop earlier today. He is believed to be wearing a green polo shirt, khaki pants, and a black jacket with the markings of Manatee School of the Arts.

It's believed according to eyewitness accounts that he was taken from a group of kids who were waiting at the bus stop. He was a little isolated, standing closer into the street, making him an easy target for this man who allegedly came in with his older red pickup truck. And according to eyewitness accounts, this man had a gun.

There were some words exchanged. And all that the sheriff would say is that the little boy said, "But I don't know you."

And so now the search intensifies throughout Manatee County and beyond for this little boy right here.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And a short time ago, former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack -- you see him here live continuing on with his press conference in Des Moines, Iowa -- announcing that he is dropping out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

A short time ago, he answered the "why" question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM VILSACK (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The reality, however, is that this process has become to a great extent about money, a lot of money. And it is clear to me that we would not be able to continue to raise money in the amounts necessary to sustain not just a campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire, but a campaign across this country.

So it is money and only money that is the reason that we are leaving today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And there you have it. Tom Vilsack from just a short time ago explaining why he is dropping out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. It comes down to money. We have heard figures of $120 million to $200 million to run a presidential campaign to get to the finish line. Tom Vilsack saying that he just does not believe he could raise the money necessary to compete.

Tom Vilsack with his wife by his side live there in Des Moines, Iowa.

At the top of the hour, our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, will be joining Kyra Phillips and Don Lemon in the NEWSROOM to talk more about this decision from former Governor Vilsack. And if you would like to follow more of this press conference ongoing right now, you can go to cnn.com/pipeline and you can follow more of this press conference going on right.

And another press conference, another briefing, an update on the search for this 13-year-old boy is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. this afternoon.

WHITFIELD: That's right.

HARRIS: That is something else you can find, we will cover right here with Don and Kyra in the NEWSROOM throughout the afternoon here on CNN.

But right now, let's take a quick break and join YOUR WORLD TODAY in progress.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone.

This is CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

A special welcome back to our viewers of CNN USA.

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, we bring you, CNN international, and our viewers all across the world, up to speed on the most important international stories there of the hour. And we start with this -- U.S. politics, where there are more than two dozen declared or potential candidates for president, minus one Democrat, Tom Vilsack, considered a long shot. And he announced he is pulling out of the race, of course.

Meantime, two of the top Democratic contenders have already sparred publicly, and the pundits are scoring the outcome.

Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley has the play by play.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And on the second day, camp Obama was in above-it-all mode. Barack, said an aide, considers Senator Clinton a friend, an ally, and thinks there's bigger stuff to talk about. They were less sanguine in camp Hillary, where the feeling is Obama is getting a free ride in the media. The politics of hope, insisted one, is the politics of trash.

DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You know, as someone who is very excited about seeing the first viable woman, the first viable African-American compete for the White House, it was quite disheartening to see this story play out. But I think it's over. I think the campaigns are regrouping.

CROWLEY: To review the bidding: David Geffen, a former fund- raiser and friend of the Clintons, is now an Obama supporter. He gave an interview and laid into the Clintons, calling them among other things, liars.

Camp Clinton demanded that Obama immediately condemn Geffen's remarks and give back the money Geffen raised. Obama then responded with a caustic note saying the Clintons never had problems with Geffen when he was fund-raising for them and staying in the Lincoln bedroom.

Anyhoo, add up the score of the first mud wrestle of the season, you must give camp Clinton points for following the candidate's rules laid out in her first trip to Des Moines in late January.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK; When you are attacked, you have to deck your opponent.

CROWLEY: She was talking about Republicans at the time, but if the shoe fits.

On the other side, give Obama props for neatly sidestepping the fact that Mr. Geffen had just helped raise $1.3 million for Obama's presidential bid.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: My sense is that Mr. Geffen may have differences with the Clintons. That doesn't really have anything to do with our campaign.

CROWLEY: So, who won? Answer: Well, naturally John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Tom Vilsack, et al.

BRAZILE: So I think round one went to what I call the second- tier candidates, who are waiting for the top-tier candidates to stumble so that they can get on stage.

CROWLEY: And so it goes, 11 months before anybody casts a vote, they are throwing punches. There are plenty of rounds ahead.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, you heard Hillary Clinton there saying you have to deck your opponent? Well, Hillary Clinton is probably the best known U.S. politician outside the United States. Barack Obama, certainly many people looking at him, wondering whether America is ready for its first black president. But very interestingly, as Bill Schneider raises the point, the question is whether the punches being thrown in all of this are going to knock both candidates out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice over): The Tinseltown tussle between the Clinton and Obama campaigns, what does it all mean? Like a billboard on the Sunset Strip, it showcases a big issue in the primary campaign.

STUART ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG REPORT: There are questions about electabilitiy. Both of Senator Obama and Senator Clinton. There are some Democrats that wonder if either one can win.

SCHNEIDER: Obama supporter David Geffen raised the issue front and center about Senator Clinton. He called her "...incredibly polarizing" and said Republicans believe "... she's the easiest to defeat."

The Clinton campaign's tough response sent a signal.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: For Hillary Clinton, it shows that she is willing to hit back when somebody comes after her.

SCHNEIDER: Does she have too much political baggage? The issue is now on the table.

Obama had denounced what he called "slash and burn politics" just last Sunday, but his campaign issued a slashing attack on Clinton before getting back on the high road.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: You know, I've said repeatedly I have the utmost respect for Senator Clinton, and, you know, have considered her an ally in the Senate.

SCHNEIDER: Is Obama really a different kind of politician? The issue is now on the table.

In a polarized political environment, there's a lot more strategic voting in the primaries.

ROTHENBERG: Democrats want a winner. And it's not just the party insiders, and it's not just the political consultants. It's real people, real voters. And so I think electabilitiy will be a crucial issue.

SCHNEIDER: The rule in politics is that when candidate A and candidate B start attacking each other, the benefit goes to candidate C.

PRESTON: I think that if we continue to see an ongoing feud between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, then someone like John Edwards is going to come out in front.

SCHNEIDER (on camera): Do the polls say anything about who is electable? Five national polls have come out this month pitting Clinton and Obama against Republican front-runners Rudy Giuliani and John McCain. The results are all very close, usually within the margin of error. Nobody is unelectable, but nobody is a sure winner either.

Bill Schneider, CNN Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: All right. A short break here on YOUR WORLD TODAY.

We'll check the financial markets when YOUR WORLD TODAY returns.

CLANCY: And then a little bit later, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, or at the very least, a close-up. Look at your world today.

GORANI: Also, it is Oscar time. As Hollywood gears up for the ceremony, we want to know about how you feel about the movie-going experience. So today we are asking you, do you prefer to watch movies in the theater or at home or on a plane?

Our address, yourviews@cnn.com. We'll read some of your replies later in the program.

Stay with CNN.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR, YOUR WORLD TODAY: Hello, everyone and welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR, YOUR WORLD TODAY: I'm Hala Gorani. Here are the top stories this hour. Britain is planning to send 1,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to help NATO fight a promised Taliban offensive in the spring. Britain's defense minister is expected to give details of the deployment on Monday. A top Taliban commander vows this will be the deadliest year for foreign soldiers in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion.

CLANCY: A U.S. soldier sentenced to 100 years in prison for his part in a gang rape and murder of a Iraqi girl who lived in this house in Mahmoudiya. Three members of the girl's family were also killed in that tragedy. Twenty four year-old Paul Cortez wept as he apologized at his sentencing. Under terms of his plea agreement, Cortez will testify against others in the case.

GORANI: Also in the headlines, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country quote, should stand up to the world, unquote and pursue its nuclear program. His comments follow a U.N. report that Tehran hasn't complied with the Security Council resolution demanding that it stop enriching uranium. Mr. Ahmadinejad said critics of Iran's nuclear program are trying to bully his country. CLANCY: The United Nation's secretary general and the head of its nuclear watch dog agency weighing in on Iran and North Korea a little bit earlier today. Senior UN producer Liz Neisloss joins us now live from New York with the details of that. Hi, Liz.

LIZ NEISLOSS, CNN: Hi Jim. Well, on North Korea, potentially some encouraging news. This is a major announcement that the head of the international inspection agency will visit that country probably in the second week of March. This is four years after North Korea dropped out of membership of the inspection agency and four months after they tested a nuclear device. So significant promise here, at least initially that they are following through on the recent agreement that they would proceed to shut down its main plant, put seals on it and allow inspectors in and eventually move toward dismantlement. But a lot of details still remain, Jim.

CLANCY: All right. If you look at North Korea and the developments for the positive there. But on Iran, not going so well.

NEISLOSS: So a little good news and not such great news. On Iran, the head of the IAEA said earlier today that he hopes that the Iranians still take advantage of the window of opportunity before the diplomats start moving toward more sanctions on Iran which, given the negative report, Jim, seems likely on Monday. We're going to see in London a meeting of the major powers who are dealing with the issue of putting sanctions on Iran. They are going to start talking strategy. So the sanctions track still moves forward while there's hope for diplomacy. Jim.

CLANCY: Liz Neisloss, live from the United Nations headquarters in New York. As always Liz, thanks for being with us.

Let's take a look at Oscars big night coming up.

GORANI: And the Oscars have an international flair this year, more so than usual. Preparations are underway for Sunday's Academy Awards presentation in Hollywood.

CLANCY: And this year of course, many films nominated have more of an international feel than in the years past.

GORANI: Well, the actors of these films are more ethnically diverse as well, African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians taking many of the lead roles.

CLANCY: And you've got your regular contingent of the Brits there too. Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima" almost entirely in Japanese. The film has been nominated now in four categories, including the best film and best director.

GORANI: Now the film "Babel" features several interwoven story lines across four different countries. It received seven nominations, including best director.

CLANCY: "Blood Diamonds," another one is bringing the world's attention back to the violent diamond trade in West Africa, in fact all over Africa.

GORANI: And as we mentioned, Britain very well represented this year with Helen Mirren nominated for the title role in "The Queen." You have Judy Dench, Kate Blanchett (ph) in "Notes of a Scandal," Kate Winslett (ph) for "Little Children."

CLANCY: And Spain, hardly a day goes by without a photo of the best actress nominee, Penelope Cruz, nobody complaining about her photo in the newspapers. She's been nominated for her role in (INAUDIBLE)

GORANI: All right, did a great job there. Sibilia Vargas joins us live from Hollywood with a preview of what to expect on Sunday. Sibilia.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I got to tell you, it's extremely exciting. It's hard to believe that I'm actually standing on a street right now. This is Hollywood Boulevard which has been turned into the stage for one of the biggest award shows in the world, if not the biggest actually. But as you can see, if my camera man can catch, the red carpet is actually covered by plastic right now because it has been raining and they want to make sure that they want to protect this carpet, so that when the stars come, it's pristine.

This place is absolutely buzzing. There are workers surrounding this area and my camera man is going up, because as you can see also, there's a tarp and a tent that has been hanging over us. And it will be hanging over us until the big day. Hopefully it will not rain that day. Last year it rained for four days before the actual Oscars. That day, everything broke, the sun came out and the stars looked lovely in their outfits and they weren't rained on but there, you have some carpet as well. This is like the last bit of carpets that you're seeing right now because most of it has been laid out. It's about 500 feet of red carpet that the stars will be walking on, about 33 feet wide.

This place again buzzing with excitement. There's workers all around me. There's people getting the dos and don'ts in front of me. People behind me that are working on all the media outlets where everything is going to take place. It's a very well oiled machine and they want to make sure that security-wise and just looks-wise, everything is pristine for that very, very important day here in Hollywood. For me, it's the Super Bowl, its our Super Bowl. And you know, it's the awards show of all awards shows and it's the end of the awards season. Of course it's going to go out with a big bang.

GORANI: All right, well, Sibilia, a quick question there on the international films because this program of course is seen all over the world. You expect international films and actors to be nominated and even to win a Golden Globe for instance. But as far as the Oscars are concerned, is this signaling a change, Hollywood expanding its reach all over the world, you think?

VARGAS: I think so and I think part of it is just the film making. If you look at what - if you're looking at Iwo Jima, Clint Eastwood's companion piece for "Flags of Our Fathers," this was something that he brought to the screen. It takes individuals to do these films, like Alexandro Gonzalez (ph) (INAUDIBLE) to create "Babel" and again, Clint Eastwood to do "Letters from Iwo Jima." Not every director is going to do that. To give you a film about the enemy's perspective and to decide to do it on the very year that you do "Flags of Our Fathers" was pretty extraordinary. But I think I guess Hollywood is sort of starting to kind of embrace the international flavor and the international feel, but again, it takes individuals to put these pieces out. And that's what is really wonderful about this year, is just being Latino myself, it's nice to see that you are represented. You've got Penelope Cruz in (INAUDIBLE). You've got (INAUDIBLE) in "Babel." (INAUDIBLE) a Japanese actress in "Babel" again. It's really nice to see different faces, ethnicities. It's definitely a good year internationally.

GORANI: It doesn't hurt to be as talented as Helen Mirren and Judy Dench. That's for sure. Sibilia Vargas, thanks so much there for that report live from Hollywood.

VARGAS: Thank you.

CLANCY: And this programming note for our international viewers. CNN's Jonathan Mann sat down with Oscar-nominated actor (INAUDIBLE) and "Blood Diamonds" director Edward Zwick to talk about the relevance of their work, share some stories behind making the movie. You can watch "The Diamond Trail" at 2100 hours Greenwich Mean time.

GORANI: CNN will be glamming it up this weekend. Can you recognize him there, dreaming, fantasizing of his own Oscar? Richard Quest will be hitting Sunset Boulevard in his smartest tux as he takes us along on his quest for the Oscars. Tune in for that at the times shown on your screen.

CLANCY: And e-mail us as Hollywood gears up for the Oscars. We want to know what you think about the movie-going experience. So we're asking today, which do you prefer, watching those movies in the theater or staying home and watching it on DVD? Our address, yourviews@cnn.com, one word, yourviews@cnn.com.

GORANI: Still ahead, we'll bring you some award-winning images from the world press photo competition. Don't miss the selection of photos. We'll talk to the winner of that competition.

CLANCY: Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello everyone and welcome back. You're watching YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN international.

GORANI: All right, we're seen live in more than 200 countries across the globe. Now we turn our attention to good pictures, excellent pictures, memorable photos. They say of course that a picture is worth 1,000 words and every day press photographers from all over the world, often at great personal risk, bring us images that depict life at its best and at its worst. The annual world press photo contest is considered the top prize in photo journalism. This year, more than 4,400 professionals entered, more than 78,000 images in the competition.

Here's a sample. First prize in the spot new single category went to this picture from Nigeria. It shows a man rinsing soot from his face after one of those gas line explosions, almost looks like an oil painting. Another prize went to this shot from an Italian photographer showing Israel's bombing of southern Beirut and you see a big crater there formed with smoke billowing. This award winning photo shows Darfur refugees on the Sudan Chad border. We're going to wait for it to pop up. There it is. Also a winner is this picture showing night raids in Iraq with soldiers on the right and a young boy leaning against the wall there on the left hand side of your screen.

A top prize went to this picture. Take a look. Taken in Lebanon by Getty Images photographer Spencer Platt, one of the judges say, this is a picture that you can keep looking at it, keep looking at it. There you see, in a convertible, young Lebanese women driving through the ruins of southern Beirut. It shows of course the contradiction of real life amidst chaos.

We're happy to have Spencer Platt, the winning photographer join us now from New York. Spencer, thanks for being with us and congratulations to you. Say a few word about that winning picture, where we see these young Lebanese people in that convertible. Tell us what was going on when you took that picture?

SPENCER PLATT: It had been a long day, a long month, in Lebanon, and I was at the end of the day, and I had decided that I probably head back to my hotel to file the pictures that I shot that day. And, you know, my colleagues had gone back. And I was standing on a road in the southern district of Beirut and I saw out of the corner of my eye, I was with my translator (INAUDIBLE) and we were standing on the road, I saw out of the corner of my eye this red car coming our way. And I just -- I literally had a second to turn around, to -- I really didn't have much time to compose, to focus. I turned around, I snapped off four, five frames. Someone walked in front of me. They ruined the other four frames. I just had this one image. After I walked on after I took it and I didn't really think much of it, until I got back to my hotel room that afternoon, later that afternoon and started to edit my work. I saw it was a little different.

GORANI: Right. This was the day of the cease-fire. So presumably these are young Lebanese citizens who don't necessarily live in southern Beirut but were probably out there driving around taking a look at the impact of the bombings.

PLATT: Exactly. Interestingly enough, some of them apparently, a few of them had come from that area.

GORANI: Oh, had they?

PLATT: Yeah, yeah.

GORANI: All right, Spencer, let's take a look at a couple more of your pictures. Some of them are really fantastic. I'd say all of them are fantastic. Some of them stand out more than others. I love this one. This is a funeral procession and you see caskets wrapped in the Lebanese flag.

PLATT: Yeah. This image - it was after a day -- about two days after a bombing of a residential area and this was a mass public funeral. I had just been in the mosque shooting women wailing and crying and I stepped out and I looked up and I saw a stairway and I just kind of ran up and it just gave me a different perspective.

GORANI: It's a different perspective. When we cover this, we cover it from the ground. We don't usually see this from high up above. So it's great to see your perspective on the same story. Tell us about this. This is the great thing. This is why I love photo journalism and still photos. You really need to hear the story behind the story. It almost gives it more impact. Here you see people searching at night. They look like rescue workers. Tell us about this picture.

PLATT: I actually had been in my hotel room and I had CNN on obviously and started to go to bed and we heard this bang. I ran out and we got a taxi. This was in -- this was very close. The important part of this picture is very close to central downtown Beirut. And this was a residential building. I think it's about 11 stories that was just flattened.

GORANI: That's the Shia one wasn't it?

PLATT: I believe so. Yeah. They were franticly searching for survivors.

GORANI: Let look at the next one, next one of your pictures, a man clearly distraught there with destruction all around him. Tell us about this Spencer.

PLATT: This was actually I think my first day in country. And I had been covering, I think some military activities and I heard a bombing off in the distance and I literally got a car and ran over there. I had about three minutes to work because we could hear Israeli planes flying over us. And I was extremely apprehensive that they were going to hit this target again. And this man's coworker was killed in the building behind him so he was crying.

GORANI: Real quickly, because we really have 30 seconds left so we're going to just go through these quicker than we would want, looking up at the sky.

PATT: Yeah, Israeli planes flying overhead and just a group of guys on a corner looking up at them.

GORANI: And one of my favorite ones, there it is, a man praying in the rubble. Where is this?

PLATT: Literally, my last, I think my last day in the country and one of my last photographs. Walking around the rubble on the border of Israel and I came across a kid in just Friday afternoon prayer, I believe it was.

GORANI: You can tell somebody swept around that area and threw the prayer mat down. Thanks so much. Spencer Platt of Getty Images, congratulations again on your win. Best of luck to you. Quick break here on YOUR WORLD TODAY. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back. The Anna Nicole Smith legal saga shifts from who gets her body to who gets her baby now that a decision has been made to bury her in the Bahamas.

CLANCY: That's right. There was bound to be tears and there was bound to be high drama in the battle over custody of her body.

GORANI: But you may not have expected the judge himself to be part of the courtroom theatrics.

CLANCY: And he really was as Jeanne Moos explores looking at, what really looked like a real life soap opera unfolding right there in Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's hard not to be judgmental about the judge, when he starts to choke up even before he gets to his ruling.

JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, BROWARD COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT: I hope when it's read, we keep our cool.

MOOS: But the one who lost his cool was Judge Seidlin, who let out a groan as he started to read the ruling. Anna Nicole's boyfriend, mother buried their heads when the judge spoke of burying Anna Nicole.

SEIDLIN: I want her buried with her son. I want them to be together.

MOOS: It's tough enough to lose control but worst to know that your loss of composure will be the media's gain destined to be shown over and over again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like I should apologize for being the only person who wasn't crying.

MOOS: Some refer to Judge Seidlin as Judge Larry intimating he wanted to be the next Judge Judy. The entertainment website TMZ even reported he once compiled an audition tape. We have no idea if that's true. But his folksy comments --

SEIDLIN: This is life. We all come with some broken suitcases.

MOOS: Earned him headlines like nutso judge.

SEIDLIN: And I was a former taxi driver.

MOOS: ... from the Bronx, drove a taxi as he worked his way through school, became famous at the Anna Nicole hearing for nicknaming attorneys after where they were from.

SEIDLIN: Texas this testimony doesn't help you. California you'll do the speaking. You two are very fine, my Florida ones.

MOOS: The attorney nicknamed Texas caused a flap when he fainted just hours before the ruling.

SEIDLIN: What do you need as a diabetic right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Orange juice.

SEIDLIN: Here's my credit card.

MOOS: The witness ended up fishing a protein bar out of her purse and she handed over to Texas, the diabetic. After all the pithy quotes.

SEIDLIN: Don't test me anymore. Don't test me. I've been tested by the best. Find out who the father is. There's enough baloney here.

MOOS: After a video presentation of a pregnant Anna Nicole stoned on something, the judge finally got to his ruling and choked, drumming his fingers as he tried to regain his composure.

SEIDLIN: I hope to God you guys give the kid the right shot.

MOOS: The judge empathized with Anna Nicole.

SEIDLIN: She had to live all her years under this kind of exposure. I just get a week and a half and it's ready to flatten me down.

MOOS: There's nothing the unblinking eye of the courtroom camera likes better than eyes blinking back tears. Jeanne Moos, CNN New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: That wasn't in the movies. That was in real life but our question today was about the Oscar preps underway in Hollywood and really thinking about the movies and what you think about the way that you see them.

GORANI: We've been asking you, do you prefer to watch movies in a movie theater or at home? Here's how some of you replied. Ricardo writes from Singapore, the ritual of buying popcorn and soda and watching a good film can only be experienced at the cinema.

CLANCY: Gustavo in Argentina had this to say. Watching a movie in the theater is better than in your house since the sound and the screen are completely different.

GORANI: Well, Gillian from California says, as a grandparent, we find a lot of enjoyment and excitement from our grandkids who love to go to the movies. Gillian goes on to write, however, but a couple of old fogies, it's much more comfortable and inexpensive to sit at home, eat cheap popcorn instead of the $15 variety and press the pause button when necessary.

CLANCY: Don't press the pause button. Thanks for e-mailing. I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Stay with CNN.

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