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Americans at war as Reds row escalates

LONDON, England — Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks has branded the club’s chief executive Rick Parry a disaster as he once again urged his partner George Gillett to sell him his stake in the Premier League club.

Gillett later vowed never to sell his 50 percent stake to the Texan — and told his co-owner to stop causing trouble.

I am saddened at this latest outburst from Tom Hicks, Gillett said in a statement from Vail, Colorado. If Tom wanted a serious discussion on the issues to help the club move forward, he should bring his views to the board.

Five-time European champions Liverpool are just two matches away from another final and host Chelsea on Tuesday in the first leg.

Here we are, a few days away from a vital Champions League semifinal match and Tom has once again created turmoil with his public comments, Gillett said.

Tom should stop. He knows that Rick Parry has my support and that airing his comments in this way will not change my position.

His failure to discuss this with the (Liverpool) board or the management committee is significant.

Hicks, who also owns the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars, said his goal was to relieve Liverpool of its debt except for the working capital needed to get the new stadium built.

I want the finances of the club to be secure, Hicks told Sky. I want to be the majority owner of a group that buys the club and I have got a 25-year track record of being a very successful investor around the world. The fans don’t like the fact that we borrowed a lot of money to buy the club but I will fix that.

For now, despite Hicks pledging to make Gillett an attractive offer, it appears the duo are stuck with each other.

Tom needs to understand that I will not sell my shares to him and that we need to find a way forward that is properly funded and truly in the best interests of Liverpool Football Club, Gillett said.

The real business of winning matches and running and developing the club is what we should all be focused on at this moment.

Hicks reiterated his support for manager Rafa Benitez, saying he would secure the Spaniard’s future at the club if he was successful in buying out Gillett.

The first thing I would do is offer Rafa a one-year extension, Hicks told Sky. Hopefully, we could have some success and then extend him again.

Hicks is blaming Parry for Liverpool’s failure to match the commercial pulling power of arch-rivals Manchester United and their delayed move to a bigger capacity stadium.

Look at what’s happened under Rick’s leadership. It has been a disaster, claimed Hicks. We have fallen so far behind the other leading clubs.

We should have the stadium built three or four years ago. We have two or three major sponsors when we should have 12 or 15.

We are not doing anything in Asia, the way that Manchester United and Barcelona are, and we have a tremendous number of fans in Asia.

Rick needs to resign from Liverpool FC. He has put his heart into it but it is time for a change, he added.

Parry, who has been chief executive at Anfield for 10 years, responded quickly to Hicks’ latest criticisms.

It’s for the board to ask me to resign — and they haven’t, Parry told BBC Radio on Thursday.

It’s clear it’s a matter for the board — I’m accountable to the board and this is not something the board has discussed with me.

Hicks and Gillett took over at Liverpool in a 50-50 partnership in February 2007, but their relationship has soured, with both men openly airing their views in a battle played out to an acquisitive media.

Despite the off-field distractions, Liverpool have prospered on the pitch of late, cementing fourth place in the Premier League and beating Arsenal to reach the semifinals of the Champions League.

Results have eased the pressure on Benitez, whose position looked uncertain when it was revealed that Hicks and Gillett had met with former Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann in New York last year.

Hicks is now claiming that the meeting, which was also attended by Parry, was instigated by Gillett. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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German police probe animal beheadings

BERLIN, Germany (AP) — Police are investigating who might have decapitated scores of animals and drained them of their blood in a west German city, a spokesman said Thursday.

Over the past year the corpses of 21 rabbits, three chickens and four wild birds have been found headless in and around the city of Bochum, police spokesman Volker Schuette said.

Police have formed a special commission to investigate the grisly discoveries, but so far have no clues about who may have killed the animals.

There is a person out there who urgently needs to be arrested, Schuette said, describing the acts as very disturbing.

Police urged people with information to come forward, saying the suspect may have been seen smeared with blood because he or she would drain the animals’ blood and take their heads.

In one case, two rabbits were decapitated while three others were taken from the same pen in a person’s yard. The next day, another rabbit was decapitated and left in the same pen.

That was naturally particularly awful for the owner — to know that the suspect was back a day later on their property, Schuette said. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Custody hearing to begin in polygamist case

SAN ANGELO, Texas (CNN) — A custody hearing scheduled to begin Thursday morning will decide the fate of more than 400 children taken from a polygamist sect’s ranch in central Texas amid allegations of abuse.

Two weeks after pulling all children from the YFZ (Yearning for Zion) Ranch, outside nearby Eldorado, the state must tell Judge Barbara Walther why it felt the move was necessary.

Because of the sheer size of the case — 416 children represented by 350 volunteer attorneys and lawyers for the parents — the hearing will be staged at multiple locations around town, hooked up by closed-circuit television and funneled into the Tom Green County courthouse.

The YFZ ranch is owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FDLS), a Mormon offshoot that practices polygamy. Followers say the accusations of sexual abuse are false.

This, what is happening to them, is the worst abuse that they have ever had, said Esther, one of three FDLS mothers interviewed by CNN’s Larry King on Wednesday night. I just don’t understand why you would want to just come right into our community and do this.

The often-tearful mothers pleaded to be granted access to their children.

Our children need us, said one of the women, only identified as Sally, and they have been torn from us illegally with officers with guns. Watch women plead for their children

Some of our children we have not been able to have contact with for 10 days to almost two weeks.

Although they appeared on camera, the women only used their first names, because they worry about the effect that revealing their last names might have on their children in state custody.

State officials took the children into temporary legal custody after a 16-year-old girl made a series of phone calls to authorities in late March, claiming she had been beaten and forced to become a spiritual wife to an adult man.

Acting on her calls, authorities raided the ranch in Eldorado, about 40 miles south of San Angelo, on April 4. Two men were arrested for obstructing the raid, and it remained unclear whether the 16-year-old who made the initial call has been located by authorities.

Rod Parker, an attorney acting as a spokesman for FDLS families, said authorities acted on information not supported by evidence.

They have an unsubstantiated allegation of abuse, Parker said in an interview on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 Wednesday night. And, in response to this unsubstantiated, uncorroborated allegation, they removed not just the children from one home, but every child in the community …

The children range in age from infants to teenagers, including teenage mothers.

I think that the state should have corroborated … the phone call, to see if it was real, Parker said. The people on the ranch tell me there is no person named Sarah Jessop Barlow, who allegedly made the phone call.

Texas Rangers have questioned Dale Evans Barlow, 50, the man who was accused by the teen of abusing her, but he was released Saturday. His attorney, Bruce Griffen, said the meeting was voluntary.

Griffen said he and Barlow are working to gather evidence that his client could not have been in Texas when the crimes allegedly happened.

FDLS leader Warren Jeffs is serving time in Utah after his 2007 conviction for being an accomplice to rape — charges related to a marriage he performed in 2001. Jeffs also faces trial in Arizona on eight charges of sexual conduct with a minor, incest and conspiracy.

The Mormon church, which gave up plural marriage more than a century ago, has no ties to Jeffs’ group. E-mail to a friend

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Clinton, Obama face off in Pennsylvania

(CNN) — Neither Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton nor Sen. Barack Obama would commit Wednesday when asked in a debate if they would take the other as their running mate should they win the nomination.

Both candidates responded to the first question of the debate with smiles, prompting laughter from the audience. After a moment, Obama said he was happy to respond.

I think it’s premature at this point for us to talk about who vice presidential candidates will be, because we’re still trying to determine who the nominee will be. he said.

Clinton echoed those comments. I’m going to do everything I possibly can to make sure that one of us takes the oath of office next January, she said. I think that has to be the overriding goal, whatever we have to do.

Each candidate said they thought the other was capable of winning the presidency.

Initially Clinton did not respond to the question directly but then agreed that Obama could win the presidency.

Yes, yes, yes, she said. Now, I think that I can do a better job. Obviously, I believe I would be the best president, or I would not still be here standing on this stage. And I believe I’m the better and stronger candidate against Senator McCain, to go toe-to-toe with him on national security and on how we turn the economy around.

Obama replied in kind to the same question: Absolutely, and I’ve said so before. But I, too, think that I’m the better candidate.

Clinton and Obama faced off at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just six days before the Pennsylvania primary. There was much at stake for both.

This was the 21st Democratic debate, and although that seems like a lot, much has happened since their last debate, in Ohio in late February.

While Obama was riding an 11-contest winning streak back then, Clinton won comeback kid honors when she took three of the four primaries held March 4. But Obama still leads Clinton in states won, pledged delegates to the Democratic convention and the overall popular vote in the primaries and caucuses held so far this campaign season.

Clinton needed to change the momentum in the battle for the Democratic nomination, and the best way to do that is to win big in Pennsylvania. But a new CNN Poll of Polls puts Clinton’s lead at just 5 points over Obama in Pennsylvania, down from a double-digit lead two weeks ago.

The debate was probably her last opportunity to change the momentum in the campaign, CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider said.

Clinton might be helped by Obama himself.

By the second question of the debate, the senator from Illinois found himself explaining, yet again, just what he meant when he told campaign donors at a San Francisco-area event 10 days ago that small-town Pennsylvania residents are bitter over their economic circumstances and cling to their guns and religion. He acknowledged that it is not the first time he has mangled a statement.

Obama went on to say that people who feel that they are not being heard will rely on what they know, such as religion and traditions.

The problem that we have in our politics, which is fairly typical, is that you take one person’s statement, if it’s not properly phrased, and you just beat it to death, he said. And that’s what Senator Clinton’s been doing over the last four days. And I understand that. That’s politics. And I expect to have to go through this process.

In a response Clinton said that my comments were about your remarks. And I think that’s important, because it wasn’t just me responding to them, it was people who heard them, people who felt as though they were aimed at their values, their quality of life, the decisions that they have made.

The reporting of the initial comment Friday sparked a controversy that put Obama on the defensive as both Clinton and presumptive GOP nominee, Sen. John McCain, tried to portray Obama as elitist and out of touch with average Americans.

Obama’s been on the defensive over these ‘bitter’ comments, and this is Clinton’s opportunity to exploit that, Schneider said. So far, we haven’t seen any shifts in the polls in her direction, and tonight’s debate is her last chance to exploit the situation.

Obama’s objective in this debate is to say ‘let’s move on’ and that Clinton’s trying to distract us from the real issues.

But both candidates would use the debate to reach out to voters outside Pennsylvania, CNN Political Editor Mark Preston said.

While Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be making appeals to Pennsylvania voters tonight, they will also be hoping to build support with some very important audiences who won’t be casting ballots next week, he said before the debate. Clinton and Obama will also be trying to reach voters in Indiana and North Carolina, which hold primaries two weeks after Pennsylvania’s April 22 contest.

And there’s another more narrow electorate that both candidates hope to reach in Wednesday night’s debate.

The two Democrats will also be making indirect appeals to the undecided superdelegates, who will cast the deciding votes for the next Democratic nominee, Preston said.

Clinton must score a knockout blow in tonight’s debate as she attempts to prove she is more qualified to assume the role of commander in chief on day one. For his part, Obama must avoid making any mistakes and finally put to rest the controversy over his remarks about bitter Pennsylvanians who cling to their guns and religion.

The superdelegates are crucial to determining the Democratic presidential nomination. The primary calendar ends June 3, and neither Obama nor Clinton is expected to reach the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the nomination by then. So the decision is likely to come down to the 800 or so superdelegates, who are Democratic governors, members of Congress and party leaders.

Wednesday night’s debate was also another opportunity for the candidates to tell voters where they stand on the issues, especially the economy and trade issues, which are very important to Pennsylvania’s large blue collar and union voters. Polling by CNN and other news organizations indicates that the economy remains the top issue in the minds of Americans.

The 90-minute debate was sponsored and televised by ABC News.
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CNN Student News Transcript: April 17, 2008

(CNN Student News) — April 17, 2008

Quick Guide

Remembering Virginia Tech - See how the Virginia Tech community marked the anniversary of a tragic day.

Going, Going, GREEN! - Take a tour of a new baseball stadium that’s a hit with environmentalists.

Year of the Potato - Celebrate the Year of the Potato with a look at the venerable vegetable.

Transcript

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

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: You’re just two days away from the weekend and two seconds into this edition of CNN Student News. From the CNN Center, my name is Carl Azuz.

First Up: Remembering Virginia Tech

AZUZ: First up, Virginia Tech honors the victims of last year’s deadly attack on the college campus. Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of this tragic event, when a gunman killed 32 people at the university before taking his own life. Members of the Virginia Tech community gathered to mourn those who were killed. And at a memorial ceremony on the Blacksburg campus, the state’s governor reflected on what’s truly important in the wake of this kind of tragedy.

GOV. TIM KAINE, (D) VIRGINIA: If we realize how short life is, how brief all lives are, we will focus on the things that are important. We will not worry so much about the kinds of things that can preoccupy us that aren’t important, but we will instead focus on the things that really matter: faith, relations with family and friends, dedication to great causes and principles, service to others.

AZUZ: Kate Bolduan talked with one student who wasn’t on campus the day of the shooting. But she had been there a few days before, visiting Virginia Tech as a high school senior. The way this community came together after April 16th is why she decided to attend the university.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY FREKING, CHOSE VIRGINIA TECH: I mean, just look around. It’s a great school.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN REPORTER: Haley Freking, one of Virginia Tech’s 5,200 freshmen, fondly remembers her campus visit one year ago.

FREKING: The people here are incredible. And it was just like everybody was really, really, really friendly, and that’s really nice.

BOLDUAN: But it’s what happened just two days after her college tour that Freking and the world will never forget: 32 students and teachers killed in a shooting rampage in what seemed like an instant. The shooter: a Virginia Tech student himself.

FREKING: I was really sad for the people on campus. I’m, like, I remember crying when I got back home, like, watching all the stuff on TV.

BOLDUAN: Freking’s experience was even published in an essay titled My Decision To Attend Virginia Tech. I was given a chance to see a school that went through so much pain, only to rise above it, she wrote. I chose to attend Virginia Tech in the hope that, one day, I will be as strong as those people.

FREKING: I was really proud of the fact that everybody was so united.

BOLDUAN: It’s that unity, known as the Hokie Spirit, Haley says was the deciding factor in choosing Virginia Tech, a feeling apparently shared by many of her classmates. The university’s vice president of student affairs says they welcomed a record number of freshman last fall.

ZENOBIA HIKES, V.P. OF STUDENT AFFAIRS, VIRGINIA TECH: We actually were oversubscribed for our first year class. We had to buy back beds, as it were, from some of our upper class students in order to house our first year students.

BOLDUAN: Now, looking toward her sophomore year, it’s the fighting Hokie Spirit, not that fateful day, that defines Haley, her classmates and their university. Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Is this Legit?

GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Is this legit? Pope Benedict XVI is the first pope to visit the White House. Not legit! He’s the second. Pope John Paul II visited the White House in 1979.

Coming to America

AZUZ: Pope Benedict XVI’s White House welcome is part of his first trip to the U.S. since being elected pope, and he actually got to visit on his birthday! More than 13,000 people turned out on the South Lawn yesterday to welcome the religious leader and of course sing happy birthday. Afterwards, President Bush and the pope met in the Oval Office and discussed topics including immigration and poverty. This was the first official event of the pope’s six-day visit, and he offered his thanks and blessing for the U.S.

POPE BENEDICT XVI: As I begin my visit to the United States, I express once more my gratitude for invitation, my joy to be in your midst and my fervent prayers that Almighty God will confirm this nation and its people in service of justice, prosperity and peace. God Bless America.

Going, Going, GREEN!

AZUZ: Today, the pope is leading Mass for tens of thousands of people at Nationals Park. The new baseball stadium opened this year with a lot of green features, and we don’t just mean the field. Miles O’Brien gives us the grand tour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILES O’BRIEN, CNN REPORTER: The grass is always greener at the old ballpark, isn’t it? But at this new one, that’s not all that is green. Environmentalists say Nationals Park, the new home to baseball in Washington, D.C., is a big hit. Let’s start with the power-stingy lights that are…

SUSAN KLUMPP, PROJECT MANAGER: Projected to save 21% in energy consumption during the course of the year.

O’BRIEN: The stadium sits right on the Anacostia River, so designers focused much attention on filtering things like peanut shells out of the water runoff. They even planted greenery on the roof of the concession and restroom facility. And inside, they installed some dual flush toilets, and there are water-stingy faucets.

KLUMPP: Estimating 3.6 million gallons a year in water savings.

O’BRIEN: Security and utility vehicles are electric. Valet parking for bicycle riders. And the stadium, built with a lot of recycled materials, sits right near a Metrorail station. So, even if the Nationals can’t turn things around on the field, their home is surely a diamond in the rough. Miles O’Brien, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Climate Change

AZUZ: Back over to the White House now, where President Bush is calling on Congress to take the lead in addressing climate change. After the pope’s visit yesterday morning, the president turned his attention to the environment. He announced that he wants to put a stop to increasing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions - those are thought to play a part in global warming - by the year 2025. Congress is scheduled to consider several environmental bills this year, and Mr. Bush is urging lawmakers to avoid tax increases and offer incentives to businesses that develop new ways to approach the issue.

U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I am confident that with sensible and balanced policies from Washington, American innovators and entrepreneurs will pioneer a new generation of technology that improves our environment, strengthens our economy and continues to amaze the world.

Shoutout

RAMSAY: Time for the Shoutout! Which of these is NOT made from potatoes? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it: A) Mash, B) Chips, C) Grits, D) Hash browns, E) Latkes or F) Tater tots? You’ve got three seconds — GO! Grits, also called hominy grits, are actually made from corn! That’s your answer and that’s your Shoutout!

Year of the Potato

AZUZ: Grits may not be on the list of potato products, but there are lots of other ways to enjoy a savory spud: baked, boiled, even julienned. Potato possibilities are endless and in high demand. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, more than 350 million tons of tubers are consumed worldwide each year. Mallika Kapur digs into the popular product.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN REPORTER: When there’s an ode to this venerable vegetable on Youtube, it’s time to take the spud seriously.

JANE CLARKE, NUTRITIONIST: The potato has a lot going for it.

KAPUR: The potato is being hailed an unsung hero of the vegetable world by the United Nations. Apart from its nutritional value, it’s cheap and easy to produce. It can grow in different climates and heights, requires little water and matures quickly. In areas where food prices are soaring and crops are being cultivated for biofuels instead of food, the potato is a practical solution, says Britain’s leading nutritionist.

CLARKE: You can do a lot with it. Add milk powder to make something like mashed potatoes. You could actually incorporate some essential nutrients to that mix which I think a lot of palettes would enjoy.

KAPUR: Chef Theo Randall says the idea that potatoes are fattening is a myth.

THEO RANDALL, CHEF: Potatoes can be good for you! Depends on how you use them, if you use olive oil instead of frying them, and just boil them and just dress them in some oil or some lemon or something. It’s when you start using oil or any kind of fat. That’s when it becomes unhealthy. Like chips, for instance. Deep frying, that’s the worst thing you can do to a potato.

KAPUR: Or the best, say some, especially if you follow this advice.

MAN ON THE STREET: Best way to eat chips? Probably out of a newspaper, I think. Newspaper, bit of salt and vinegar is probably the best.

KAPUR: There’s no doubt about it, the Brits love their chips. Some even call it a national treasure! In fact, one out of every four British potatoes is made into these, an all-time favorite. The U.N.’s food arm has declared 2008 the Year of the Potato, saying it wants to raise global awareness about the tuber. These singing and dancing potato heads on YouTube may help them do just that. Mallika Kapur, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Goodbye

AZUZ: That singing spud is where we sign off. But before we go, a reminder to send us your Talking Democracy iReports! This month’s topic is campaign finance. You can learn all about it and find out how to send in those iReports at CNNStudentNews.com. Have a great day, everyone. E-mail to a friend

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