Britain Shooting: Boy's Killers Might Also be Young; Vick Enters Guilty Plea
SESAY: Welcome back. Joining us from more than 200 countries and territories around the globe including the United States. This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Isha Sesay.</s>CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. We want to show you some of the top stories we're following right now. Police in Liverpool, England, say they do not have very many leads in this week's cold-blooded killing of an 11-year-old boy. They say they're disappointed by the public reaction and response. Rhys Jones, a little boy shot to death outside a pub on Wednesday in the parking lot, as he was walking home from football practice. Police say they believe the killer was a young teenager.</s>SESAY: A leading Senate Republican says it's time for the U.S. to begin pulling troops from Iraq. John Warner believes such a move might compel the Iraqi government to take stronger measures to combat the nation's chaos and in fighting. But U.S. commander in Iraq says that's not possible south and east of Baghdad, without losing important security gains. An Iraqi boy burned by masked assailants in the garden of his Baghdad home is going to be receiving treatment in the United States. A U.S. charity paying for five-year-old Youssif's travel and treatment, with the help of donations from private individuals, many of our viewers. An outpouring of support from Youssif came from across the globe after his case was brought to light in a report right here on YOUR WORLD TODAY. That was brought to us by Arwa Damon.</s>SESAY: As Jim was saying, the trip and treatment is being arranged by the Children's Burn Foundation. The California-based charitable organization was set up more than 20 years ago to help meet the needs of severely burned children.</s>CLANCY: We're joined now by Barbara Friedman, executive director of the Children's Burn Foundation. Barbara, what can you tell us? When might Youssif be coming here? What will he look forward to? How will it begin?</s>BARBARA FRIEDMAN, EXEC. DIR., CHILDREN'S BURN FOUNDATION: Well, we've been in touch with the U.S. embassy -- and that's really the first issue is visas -- as soon as they can get their visas, we are prepared to have them come here, set them up in a housing situation, provide support for them, and begin treatment. We expect that the treatment will be from between six months to a year with many surgeries.</s>SESAY: And, Barbara, give us a sense what those surgeries will involve? Will it be skin graphs? What kinds of things will he be experiencing?</s>FRIEDMAN: Well, in terms of the surgeries, there will surely be skin graphs, and there will be daily dressing changes. And he will -- he will be getting the absolute best care that's available with Peter Grossman doing the surgical work, and a fabulous team of nurses at the Sherman Oakes Hospital at the Grossman Burn Center.</s>CLANCY: Barbara, we had a chance to talk with Arwa Damon, the reporter that brought us the story, a little bit earlier today. She said, you know what this little boy wants? He wants to smile again. Is he going to be able to do that?</s>FRIEDMAN: We hope so. What I can share with you is this is the work we do, helping young burn survivors locally, nationally, and internationally. And we have seen just amazing transformations. It does depend on genetics, the nature of the injury, but we know we're starting off with being able to provide state-of-the-art care.</s>SESAY: And I understand, Barbara, he will be receiving psycho- social care. What exactly does that mean and how important is that component to his treatment?</s>FRIEDMAN: That's going to really depend as we talk to the father who is the person who is going to be accompanying Youssif, and really talk with him about what their needs are. And really what we're talking about is counseling.</s>CLANCY: You know, Barbara, this is a case that's pulled on a lot of people's heart strings, burns, a terrible, terrible injury, especially to a child. What's been the response you're getting at the center?</s>FRIEDMAN: At the Children's Burn Foundation office the response has been overwhelming. Sometime in the middle of the night I got an e- mail from one of our staff who checked, and we received over 3,000 responses on our website. And we have a very tiny staff, there's three of us. And we brought in an extra three people just to answer the phones because of all of the wonderful outpouring of support for Youssif. And that's really --</s>FRIEDMAN: I'm sorry. That's really as a result of the incredible job CNN has done in really calling attention to the plight of this boy.</s>CLANCY: Childburn.org, by the way, that was the web site we were just seeing, there, Isha.</s>SESAY: Barbara, you have said this, that this is a terrible tragedy, but you believe something good can come out of it.</s>FRIEDMAN: Well, really two things. One is really support for Youssif and his family. And the other is really creating public awareness about the many burn survivors locally, nationally, and internationally, who need help. This is really what we do every day, whether it's funding a full course of surgical treatment, to specialized equipment to camps for young burn survivors, locally. The need is very great and we're so grateful that people have been -- have become more aware of the needs of young burn survivors.</s>CLANCY: Well, Barbara Friedman, we want to thank you for being with us. We want to thank the Burn Center for everything that all of you people do in Youssif's case but every day.</s>SESAY: Absolutely, many thanks.</s>FRIEDMAN: Thank you so much for having me.</s>CLANCY: And this reminder to all of you, our viewers, if you would like to help we have a special section on our web site for people who want to make a difference.</s>SESAY: Go to cnn.com/impact. There's a special link for Youssif. It's called Iraq Burn Victim.</s>CLANCY: This is a story that you have really reacted to. You know, there are millions and millions of people who have visited and watched the story of Youssif. I mean, it's an incredible response from right around the world, to the case of this little boy and we're seeing it in the numbers of people visiting this.</s>SESAY: Well, Youssif's story is just one of countless tragedies in Iraq. And humanitarian agencies are calling for action to help the kids caught in the crossfire. Jonathan Mann has some "Insight".</s>JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Iraq is actually a country of kids, almost half the population is under 18. Millions of young people coming of age in conflict and in chaos. Mercifully few suffer the way Youssif has but in ways psychological and emotional, so many of them are scarred.</s>ARWA DAMON, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She's nine months old, but has already been through more than most people see in a lifetime.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are the most vulnerable victims of the Iraq war and they're facing growing danger not just from everyday violence, but disease.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are at a tipping point for children in Iraq.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The streets of Baghdad are filled with children risking their lives to support their families. These children have witnessed violence, seen friends and family die, and haven't been to school in over a year.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Violence is the wallpaper of life here. No one escapes, not even the children.</s>MANN: No one knows how many children have been killed or maimed. Here, though, is a look at how different organizations have been measuring different things. Let's start with the very youngest children, when they're first born. What does a war do to them? Well, figures compiled earlier this year by Save the Children show that in 1990 the mortality rate for under five was 50 kids in 1,000 live births; 50 in 1,000. In 2005 it had more than doubled to 125. What does a war do to kids when they should be at school? Well, between a quarter and half of Iraqi children aren't going to school, either because of the danger or because of dislocation they have fled their homes and neighborhoods. And psychological and learning problems are epidemic. How about at the most basic level? What does the war do to a child when they're hungry or thirsty? Well, two out of three Iraqi children don't have clean drinking water and the aid agency, Caratas (ph), found that 19 percent of Iraqi children were malnourished before the U.S.-led invasion. That figure has now climbed to 28 percent. That's more than one in four. Overall, Iraq is just no place for children.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who lives until tomorrow with all these explosions, who can survive until tomorrow.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no school left. They shot it with mortar and destroyed it.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How can I continue to live this life. How can you call this life? It is all fear and danger.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They killed my father and uncle in front of my eyes.</s>MANN: Now, remember, Iraq was at war in Iran and Kuwait, too. This is actually the third time in the past 20 years that children in Iraq find themselves caught in a conflict. Some of the kids today, in fact, are being brought up by adults who were children of war in their time as well.</s>SESAY: And, John, what happens when the kids get out of a war zone? Do things get better?</s>MANN: You would think, get the kids away from the problem, that's the start of solution. In fact, that's the start of new problems. When you take a child away from his or her home. What do you have? You have a child who is dislocated. You have a child who probably can't go to school in their new home. You have a family that can't collect food rations from the Iraqi government if they've left Iraq. You have all kinds of pressures on people moving into communities where they're not wanted, pressures that children feel. We know that about 1.5 million Iraqi children have been pulled out of their homes, whether to move elsewhere in the country, or to move outside of the country. It's not a solution. It's just better than the kind of tragedy Youssif has been through.</s>SESAY: And a very troubling situation. John Mann, many thanks.</s>CLANCY: Well, it was a long shot. That's what they said about Barack Obama.</s>SESAY: They weren't talking about his chances of winning the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination, though. Those are pretty good compared with the chances of him sinking this it three-point shot.</s>CLANCY: Well, it wasn't quite a three-point shot. Not bad, though. Actually Senator Obama played varsity basketball in school, so this wasn't the first time he's been on the court by any means. Look at that. He's pretty proud of it.</s>SESAY: He is really proud. Look at him strut. He's still known to champ (ph) staffers in pickup games. So, onlookers at the school he was touring there, in South Carolina, said they shouldn't have been too surprised to be honest.</s>CLANCY: Frankly, he looked a little surprised, didn't he? When it went in? Swish. It was a good shot.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is</s>CNN BREAKING NEWS. FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. Star Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, we understand, along with his team of legal counsels have entered a plea agreement there in Virginia, in Richmond, Virginia, on count one of conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce, in aid of unlawful activities, and to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture, a plea of guilty. That is the only charge. That is the only plea that we understand right now that's being filed. And according to the agreement, the government agrees to recommend sentencing at the low end of the applicable guideline range. We understand that he could face up to five years in prison along with a substantial fine for this kind of offense. We understand Michael Vick will actually make a court appearance come Monday in Richmond. Our Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin is on the line with us now. And here in Atlanta, Drew Griffin, who has been following the story as well. Drew, let's begin with you. We kind of expected this, but we're talking about one charge.</s>DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's one charge, but it is a big charge. It's the indictment charging the defendant with conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce and aid in the unlawful activities to sponsor a dog. Basically, to take a dog across state lines and to have that dog be available for gambling. The stipulation in all of this, and kind of the nitty-gritty, Fred, is the summary of facts which details that Michael Vick was heavily involved in this operation, was raising dogs, was training dogs, was presenting these dogs for gambling. But on page four of this summary says Michael Vick, or Vick, did not gamble by placing side bets on any of the fights. And Vick did not receive any of the proceeds from the purses that were won by Bad Newz Kennels, the kennel that he operated along with his other defendants on this property.</s>WHITFIELD: This is a pretty healthy plea agreement. We're talking 18 pages we just received, that have been filed, and we're still trying to get through all of the details. Jeffrey Toobin on the line with us from New York. A lot of folks were talking about, and there was a lot of speculation leading into this plea agreement that was expected, that it would mean there would be racketeering, there would be gambling, there would be the actual involvement of killing the dog. That is not here in this agreement. Can you explain why?</s>JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Michael Vick only has to plead guilty to his part in the conspiracy and according to the statement of facts, his role seems to have been as the financier of the operation. He put up the money and much of the individual dealings with dogs, apparently, was by his co-conspirators. It does say later in the statement of fact that it pretty much acknowledges that he was involved in killing dogs. At one point it says he didn't kill dogs at that time, but later on when they were testing dogs, a group of them put these dogs to death and Vick acknowledges he was part of the group. He does not -- the interesting thing is he does not say he gambled. He was much more in the role of putting up the purses for the winners of these dog fights.</s>WHITFIELD: Now his co-conspirators, in their plea agreements, have alleged that they indeed witnessed him, you know, kill dogs, and that he was very much involved more so than this kind of charge is implicating. So if his attorneys are saying this is the charge that we're pleading guilty to now, and we understand that later in September there could still be an assemblage of a Virginia grand jury to consider other charges, we really still are at the tip of the iceberg, aren't we, as it relates to this case, dog fighting related charges and Michael Vick?</s>TOOBIN: Well, I don't know if we know that for sure. I don't know if this is necessarily the tip of the iceberg. And I don't know if he will be charged in state court, but he's in an extremely vulnerable position because now having signed this statement of fact, acknowledged all these activities, these are crimes under state law. So he's essentially admitted the state crimes. Now most of the time state prosecutors defer to federal prosecutors. They don't charge the identical conduct, if he's already being punished but Billy Martin, Vick's lawyer, will have a very important task to try to persuade the state prosecutors in Virginia that this is enough of a prosecution in federal court. Let's just leave it at that.</s>WHITFIELD: OK. And, Jeffrey, take a pause for a moment. I'm going to ask Drew a question, real quick. This judge has to accept this plea deal, so it's conceivable that the judge says, you know what, I understand the agreement that you and the federal prosecutors have come to, but I'm not going to accept it. Could the judge still say I want to go forward with the trial, or perhaps bypass the recommendation of the low end of this suggested penalty from the federal prosecutors?</s>GRIFFIN: I think these are questions for Jeff. But, Jeff, I think, the judge can certainly do what he wants in terms of sentencing. I'm not quite sure he can say I don't accept this plea agreement, and we're going to trial. Is that correct?</s>TOOBIN: Well, he can say I don't accept the plea agreement. He can say, look, I have read this agreement and I don't think it constitutes facts that are enough for a guilty plea. You're not admitting enough. Frankly, having read it myself, I don't think the judge will say that. I think this is enough for the judge to accept the plea agreement. And some judges are pretty much rubber stamps o plea agreements. Judge Hudson, as I understand it, is not. But this is a fairly detailed statement of a guilty man, it sounds to me. So, I think he will accept it. As for sentence very clearly the parties agree only to recommend a sentence to the judge. The final determination belongs to the judge, so he can accept or reject the recommendation on the plea. Most judges accept the recommendation but that's all it is. It's just a suggestion. It's not binding on the judge.</s>WHITFIELD: OK. Go ahead.</s>GRIFFIN: Jeff, if I could ask you a question. It seems to me that Billy Martin got two concessions in this which, to me, seems remarkable because, as you said, Michael Vick was in a very bad position, almost a position of a no deal position. But he did get the fact that Michael Vick did not gamble on these dogs, in this summary of facts, which gives him an out with the NFL in his future. And he also avoided admitting that he actually killed a dog, which is what the state prosecutors were very interested in, so he doesn't admit in any kind of federal document that he killed dogs. So it seems like those two bargaining chips were given to Michael Vick.</s>TOOBIN: Well, I agree with you on the first, more than the second. I think you're right that he did have a potential very big problem about gambling. And he did not acknowledge gambling. Now the prosecutors had access to these witnesses. If the witnesses really said Vick gambled, and they thought they could prove it, the prosecutors didn't have to accept that stipulation. So perhaps this is all the evidence they had to show. In paragraph 32 of the statement of facts, there is this statement that the four defendants, you know, tested a bunch of these dogs to see if they would be good tests, be good dogfighters. And then six to eight of them were no good fighters, so they were killed by various methods including hanging and drowning. And here's the key sentence. Vick agrees and stipulates that these dogs all died as a result of the collective efforts of Peace, Phillips, and Vick. So, Vick is acknowledging that he caused the deaths of several of these dogs. So, I can't say he really gets out of the issue of killing the dogs. It's somewhat ambiguous, but it is a pretty big admission.</s>WHITFIELD: Jeffrey Toobin and Drew Griffin, hold on a minute. We're going to take a short break. So, once again, if you're just now joining us, a filing of a plea deal involving quarterback Michael Vick and his team attorneys, in an agreement with federal prosecutors, count one of conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities, and to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture. That is the charge, a plea of guilty, on that, being filed. Of course we have yet to hear from the judge and his considerations on this. We're going to talk more about this right after this.