CNN news 2011-08-15
Checking some of the stories making news cross country.
We start in Philadelphia where three young men have turned themselves in to face assault charges. This is where these violent flash mob attacks plaguing the city. Police say these men actually put a man in the hospital. The mayor there has promised crackdowns on the flash mobs and has strict curfews in place for minors.
Also, three siblings are expected to appear in court this morning. They were arrested after high-speed chase and shoot-out with police in Southern Colorado. The sister was shot in the leg.
We are talking about Dylan, Lee Grace and Ryan Dougherty -- the three you're seeing there. They were on the FBI most wanted list. They're accused of robbing a Georgia bank and also accused of attempted murder of a Florida police officer.
Also in Texas, they're having to take some drastic measures so hot and dry there. The Houston mayor says the city will cut back on its water usage, going to limit the hours that people living there can water their lawns.
It is the world's worst humanitarian disaster right now -- men, women, and children dying every single day in east Africa. We are talking about starvation and sickness. But no matter what it is, it's pretty much preventable.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta has seen this firsthand at a refugee camp on the Somali/Kenyan border.
T.J., you've heard the numbers for some time. Still, the largest refugee camp in the world, 2,000 people still coming in every day -- that's what they expect.
And for many people, they are in search of a better life, obviously. But that's not saying much. Simply getting to the camp doesn't mean that their troubles are over. In fact, in some cases, the troubles can get even worse. And parents have had to do the unthinkable.The kids here will melt your heart.
How old are you?
Wow. How old am I? I am 41.
They impress me with their English so I spoke a little Somali with them. They loved it.
Is that good?
Yes.
Rare smiles in a place too full of heartbreak. Amin (ph) and her 1-month-old daughter Addison (ph) came here in search for a better life, fighting so hard not to starve to death. But in the end, it made very little difference. Amin lost the one thing in the world she cared about more than anything else.
We are walking to her daughter's grave. They are really piles of dirt with no name plate, no flowers, no reminders of their lives -- just small sticks with color trash blowing in the wind.
She says she brought her healthy baby girl here with dreams of new beginnings but Addison died within a month.
What went wrong?
"She started vomiting," she said. "Then diarrhea. It wouldn't stop for days and days."
Diarrhea illness, it has been the major reason 30,000 kids have died here over the past three months. So many tiny little graves like this one.
You know, part of the problem is even after you get to one of these camps, there is still not enough food here, not enough water and there's plenty of infectious diseases. There's viral illnesses. There's also diphtheria and pertussis.
And I want to show you something else. Something that's very frightening in a camp like this.
This is Osmond. He is 14 years old. You can tell here, he doesn't feel well. People are concerned here that he has measles. He had a high fever. He had the characteristic rash. He had conjunctivitis in his eyes.
He never got vaccinated. He never got any sort of treatment. And measles, as you know, is very, very contagious. He has nowhere else to go.
And so, hundreds of thousands of these adorable children unvaccinated are at risk for the same fait as Amin's daughter.
Is there anything anybody can do?
It is with God.
It is with God. And so, there is nothing else these kids can do but laugh and play, surrounded by the dead.
T.J., it's tough to think about, but it's happening all the time -- parents burying their children. Thirty thousand children have died over the last three months.
And you also learn that it's not just about food and water. It's about medical care. It has to be given quickly to make sure these types of tragedies don't continue to happen.
Back to you.