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CNN Live Sunday

Town Plans Parade For Hamill's Homecoming; Lost SCUBA Diver Saved By Scouts

Aired May 02, 2004 - 18:00   ET

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

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


FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: CNN SUNDAY is straight ahead but first these headlines. Macon, Mississippi is giving a lot of thanks this Sunday. Its native Thomas Hamill is now a free man after being held captive in Iraq for nearly month. His wife says she spoke to her husband and he's doing fine. Hamill was a truck driver for a Halliburton subsidiary.
In Western Iraq in the town of Ramadi, the U.S. military says a mortar attack killed six American troops and wounded 30 others. Three U.S. troops were also killed in two other attacks in Iraq today.

In Nablus on the West Bank, the Israeli Air Force attacked a car carrying four Palestinian militants from the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. All four were killed. Palestinian medical officials say three Palestinian bystanders were also injured.

Good evening, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Coming up the human toll of the crisis in the Middle East. One family caught in the crossfire. Their lives lost. The tragic story straight ahead.

Also a much more uplifting story. A SCUBA diver stranded off the California found by a troop of Scouts. The diver joins us tonight to tell us about his story of survival.

We begin with a survivor's tale of another sort. One that the White House is calling great news for all Americans. Thomas Hamill, the U.S. contractor taken hostage in Iraq last month, is now safe and free. The military says he managed to escape from his captors and then ran to a U.S. patrol passing by. The news brought joy and relief to his hometown of Macon, Mississippi. That's where we find our Mike Brooks -- Mike.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Fredricka. The town of Macon, Mississippi, is extremely happy tonight. I spoke earlier with the fire chief of Macon and he said the town had been on pins and needles. A short time ago we were at the Hamill home draped in an American flag and adorned with yellow balloons when we heard from Kellie Hamill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLIE HAMILL, WIFE OF THOMAS HAMILL: First off, I want to thank y'all for all coming. The family appreciates everything. I want to let you know i've spoke with my husband, he's fine he's doing well. We have no more information on when he'll be coming home. He said he is doing great, he misses his family. We also want to thank everybody for their prayers, their support.

We're still praying for the families that we have no information on, the soldier that's in captivity. We're going to pray and hope that they get the same good news that we have received.

Oh. I want to thank everybody for the support that they have given us at this time. But he is fine. He's doing real well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: Kellie Hamill said she was notified this morning at about 5:30 a.m. that her husband was safe. She also said that when she spoke to him, he said that he had run out of the building, he heard a convoy going by, ran out of the building, ran about a half mile down the road, caught up with the convoy and told them he was the American missing contractor -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Incredible story, Mike. Well, we know that the entire town has been holding vigils for almost a month now. I see the yellow ribbons behind you. What's it like in that town now today given this great news is spreading across the city?

BROOKS: Well, everyone we have spoken to is extremely happy. They either know Tommy or they know his wife Kellie, because Kellie was actually a 911 dispatcher for the county. So all the policemen, all the firemen know both of them either directly or through Kellie.

I just spoke with the mayor a few seconds ago. And she said that when Tommy does come home, they're going to have a Tommy Hamill Day and have a parade here in Macon.

WHITFIELD: Mike Brooks, thanks very much. In about 30 minutes we'll be talking with the mayor of that town a little bit more about how the town is indeed preparing for his homecoming.

Few details have been released about the ambush that led to Thomas Hamill's hostage ordeal. CNN's Betty Nguyen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN (voice-over): Thomas Hamill was driving a fuel truck for Halliburton's subsidiary KBR on April 9 when gunmen ambushed his convoy near Baghdad.

The father of two had taken the job in Iraq in part to pay for heart surgery for his wife. Arab TV network al Jazeera aired pictures of Hamill in front of the old Iraqi flag.

On the tape, an apparent captor could be heard threatening to kill him unless U.S. troops pulled out of the Fallujah by April 10. That deadline came and went without word of Hamill's fate.

In his hometown of Macon, Mississippi, a prayer vigil began. The community put up yellow ribbons and flew flags in a show of support for Hamill and his worried family. The next week, his wife Kellie mounted a media campaign for his release. KELLIE HAMILL, THOMAS HAMILL'S WIFE: Hello, my name is Kellie Hamill. I would first like to say to my husband Tommy, we love and miss you very much. We would also like to say to the persons who are holding him captive, our hopes that you will release him unharmed and as soon as possible.

NGUYEN: On April 14, the Hamill family was shaken by news insurgents had killed one of four Italian hostages, four other Halliburton contractors had been found dead. Hope appeared to be fading for Hamill's safe return, but 23 days after his capture, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt announced Hamill is free and in good health.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: Today, at 10:20 hours, Mr. Tommy Hamill an employee of Kellogg, Brown and Root was recovered by U.S. forces south of Tikrit. He is in good health. He was reported missing after his convoy was ambushed on 9 April.

NGUYEN: Hostages still in Iraq include U.S. Private 1st Class Keith Maupin and American civilians Tim Bell and William Bradley, two Canadian businessmen and three Italian security personnel. Also being held, a French reporter, a German embassy security official and a Geordanian businessman. Betty Nguyen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Meanwhile, the violence continued in Iraq today. Nine U.S. troops lost their lives in three separate attacks. The deadliest incident happened near Ramadi. Six U.S. soldiers were killed and 30 wounded. One was killed and ten wounded near Kirkuk. It hapened when insurgents attacked a coalition base. And 2 U.S. soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb attack northwest of Baghdad.

The deaths come a day after coalition forces raided the offices of radical Cleric Muqtada al Sadr. His spokesman says one of his deputies was killed along with four other people.

In the Middle East today, Gaza has been both a focal point politically and a flashpoint for more violence. On the political front, members of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud Party rejected his proposal for a pullout in the region and parts of the West Bank. That's according to the exit polls cited by Israeli media.

As for the violence, it began when a pregnant mother and her 4 children were attacked while traveling in their car. CNN's Paula Hancocks has her story.

We'll try to bring that story a little bit later.

The prisoner abuse scandal gets thicker. More reports of widespread abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

Plus...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I started waving that tube, and waving the other arm, and blowing the hell out of the whistle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Stranded at sea. How that man's life depended on the Boy Scouts' honor.

And they're not making them like they used to. Coming up later, find out which late model SUVs get high marks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: More news now around the world. Madrid Spain's prime minister says there's a lesson to be learned from Iraq. Preemptive wars don't work. Jose Luis Rodriguez calls the mission in Iraq a failure. He says Spanish troops should never have been sent there in the first place.

Poland has a new prime minister. Leszek Miller resigned today after his government was weakened by economic problems, corruption scandals and a split in the governing party. The former finance minister takes over promising to push through tough reforms and continue supporting the United States.

And in western Afghanistan, more than two dozen people were killed in an accidental fuel tanker explosion at a bustling bazaar. Nearby shops and cars were destroyed and 35 people were hurt.

More now on the tragic ending of a family. A pregnant woman and her 4 children killed in Israel. Here's Paula Hancocks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The pregnant Israeli woman and her 4 children were on their way to Israel to campaign against Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw their settlements from Gaza, but they didn't make it. Israeli forces say they were killed by two Palestinian gunmen on this main road between the Gush Gate (ph) settlement bloc and Israel.

Four CNN staff came under fire on the same stretch of road just minutes earlier. Two gunmen fired a number of rounds while running towards our cars. No CNN staff were hurt.

Israeli soldiers and ambulances rushed to the scene of the settler shooting. The two Palestinian gunmen were shot dead by Israeli forces.

This road is used solely by settlers to get from their homes in Gaza's biggest settlement to Israel. On many stretches, there are Palestinian houses on both sides of the road. Attacks on cars travelling along this road are not unusual, but the last time someone was killed was a year and a half ago.

After the latest shooting, the road was immediately closed, preventing hundreds of other settlers from traveling to Israel where they too were planning to lobby Likud party members against the Sharon disengagement plan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: That was paula hancocks reporting.

Well, you've likely seen the photographs first airing last week that prompted international outrage over the treatment of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison. Now more extensive details are being revealed in a "New Yorker" magazine article.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Top Pentagon and coalition officials promised swift reaction to the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners as seen in graphic photos first aired by CBS.

DAN SENOR, COALITION SPOKESMAN: Whole careers will be ended. There will be criminal repercussions for those involved.

KOCH: But debate is growing over just who is responsible.

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Well, those individuals for starters. Then we'll find out if there's a systemic problem and other issues.

KOCH: Army reserve Brig. General, Janice Karpinski, in charge of the prison told newspapers she new nothing about the incidents until long afterwards. A March internal army investigation of the Abu Ghraib prison obtained by the "New Yorker" magazine finds a pattern of abuse at the prison. The journalist who wrote it said that the investigating officer did not find those acted alone.

SEYMOUR HERSH, NEW YORKER: He said he believes that the private contractors and the civilians, the CIA, paramilitary people and the military drove the actions of that prison.

KOCH: The family of one of the 6 U.S. soldiers facing charges related to the abuse cases released photo os of Staff Sergeant Chip Frederick and a journal he kept in Iraq. It catalogs the alleged abuse and his concerns about it, quote, "leaving inmates in their cell with clothes or in female underpants, handcuffing them to the door of their cell. I questioned this and the answer got was, this is how military intelligence wants it done." Another section says, "a prisoner died during interrogation, quote, "they stressed him out so bad that the man passed away. They put his body in a body bag and packed him on ice for approximately for 24 hours. The next day the medics came in an put his body on a stretcher, placed a fake IV in his arm and took him away."

The CIA inspector general and Pentagon are investigating one Abu Ghraib prison death. But a CIA spokesman said he did not know if this was the same incident.

Frederick's family says the fault lies higher than the GIs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the time he got there, he was worried about what was going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The United States government is now trying to sacrifice and use these six soldiers as scapegoats.

KOCH: One lawmaker warns no matter who is to blame, it's a costly scandal for the U.S.

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D) DELAWARE: This is the single most significant undermining act that's occurred in a decade in that region of the world in terms of our standing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: A CIA official insists that the prison was, indeed, being run by the military. A senior defense official says no matter who was in charge, it is quote, "preposterous for any soldier to believe that in order to commit such acts was legal" -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: And Kathleen, any comment from the Pentagon on what kind of military strategy that might be soon put into place in Iraq to try to kind of clean up this act?

KOCH: Well, Fredricka, clearly these very graphic pictures do make the Pentagon's job much tougher. As it was, we all know over the last month, the U.S. military, the coalition has forced -- has faced increasing resistance in Iraq. So they know that this does not make things any easier, but at this point, we haven't heard any strategic plan revealed to really deal with the repercussions.

WHITFIELD: Kathleen Koch at the Pentagon. Thanks very much.

Well, it's a happy ending for 1 American contractor held captive in Iraq. Still to come, the mayor of his Mississippi hometown joins us live to talk about it.

Plus, we'll tell you how a Scout's honor helped save one man's life.

And later, SUV sales are up this year. Find out which ones are topping the list for best performance.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. Coast Guard in California doesn't think SCUBA divers should have to depend on Scout gruoops for their survival, but they are glad in this one case that it brought about a happy ending. Scouts rescued a diver off Newport Beach last Sunday five hours after his dive buddies and master sailed away without him. Details from reporter Nin Jimenez from affiliate KGTV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NINA JIMENEZ, KGTV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Somehow on Sunday morning, diver Dan Carlok was left behind in the ocean by his Newport Beach based dive boat.

DAVE CARLOCK, DIVER LEFT AT SEA: I thought about all the things I left unfinished in my life.

JIMENEZ: Miles from shore, Carlock drifted at sea for more than 4 hours. A heavy fog blanketed that water. Slowed down by that fog, the century old sail ship the Argos (ph). On board Grand St. Bernardo (ph) scout troop 681. And 15 sea scout trainee Zach Mayberry.

CARLOCK: I started waving that tube and waving the other arm and blowing the hell out of the whistle.

ZACK MAYBERRY, BOY SCOUT: I had to look through a pair of binoculars to see him because he was that far out.

JIMENEZ: Zach, seen in this shap shot in blue, was on watch at the stern of the boat. He was the first to spot Carlock.

MAYBERRY: I had my friend look at it, because I just wanted to make sure my mind wasn't playing tricks on me.

JIMENEZ: Following procedure Zach and his friend made the call.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A man overboard call. And instantly the entire crew reacts. We jump up from our positions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of a sudden I'm below decks and I hear man overboard. I just rushed out and did what procedures we performed yesterday.

JIMENEZ: Just the day before the troop practiced the man overboard drill.

CARLOCK: I just kind of projected, you know, ahoy.

JIMENEZ: Carlock says his prayers were answered.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; When he came on deck and they had taken his SCUBA gear off, he was completely white from head down to the toes.

JIMENEZ: The scouts gave him hot chocolate and he posed for this picture with Zach.

MAYBERRY: Everybody's saying I'm a hero. To tell you the truth, I don't really care. All I really care about is that this guy's safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ordinarily we have situations in our everyday lives where helping somebody could be a little thing, but sometimes helping somebody is a big, big thing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thanks to Nina Jimenez of affiliate KGTV for that report. Dan Carlock, the diver left stranded at sea seven days ago, is in our Los Angeles bureau. Good to see you.

CARLOCK: Good afternoon, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Well, those Scouts were really on the job. Boy, are you lucky?

CARLOCK: I'm extremely lucky and extremely blessed. I was -- it was a fantasy to see that ship. I couldn't believe it at first for a few minutes.

WHITFIELD: I'm going to ask you to relive this yet one more time. The separation takes place, you're with a big dive group. What in the world happened that you got separated from them?

CARLOCK: So, we jump off the boat. Instantly there's a minor correction to the report. The Sun Diver, which was the boat I dived off of was based -- its home port is Long Beach. But at any rate, we went out, it took about 45 minutes to get to the oil rig. It was foggy. And we had a good swim jumping off the boat. I was part of the first group. We made it to the middle underneath the oil derrick and dropped down from there. But in addition to the swell, I had problems equalizing my ear pressure. And that was the primary reason that...

WHITFIELD: Then you suddenly ascended or something?

CARLOCK: No. I saw the bubbles below me. So I said, well, it's them. So, I'm going to follow the bubbles and catch up with them down below. But the visibility got worse. I got down about 100 feet and there was no sign of them. And there was nothing to see, because it was so dark due to limited visibility. So, I decided to make a normal safety ascent.

Yes, I aborted the dive. Made it up, stopped for three minutes at 15 feet, per the standard practice. When I surfaced, I found myself down down current of the platform.

As a matter of fact it was foggy enough I couldn't even see the structure anymore. All I saw was a white tender buoy.

WHITFIELD: So, at this point, were you thinking wait a minute, I thought all of us dive buddies and a master, we're all supposed to stick together. If one seems to drift off, isn't everybody supposed to surface, what happened to the rest of the group?

CARLOCK: They were presumably below me still. Because the plan was to go down to 130 feet and stop there before ascending. At that time, no, separations do happen and of and by themselves they're not a problem because we're trained if we lose contact, to ascend.

WHITFIELD: So now the problem is, though you are at surface, there's no, you know, boat or anything, no other sign of familiarity. But then, you know, some time elapsed. At what point did you start thinking hopefully somebody will come by or will anybody ever find me?

CARLOCK: Yes, well, it was kind of the inverse, actually. I was pretty confident I was going to be picked up up to about an hour, an hour and 15 minutes after that happened. Because I was watching the time on my watch and I knew how long tanks of air last. I knew that there were two groups of divers dropping in. So even after just being logical about it. Think through, it was a tough dive, maybe somebody else got in trouble. And in the fog, one just doesn't know. I had to kind of go by the training and what might be most plausible. But when all those likely scenarios didn't seem seem to pan out, then I started to worry.

WHITFIELD: Yes, but you didn't panic. I understood you actually, you know, took some pictures of yourself, didn't you. Why did you do that?

CARLOCK: Yes, I did. That came much later. Because first, I decided once I knew that I wasn't going to be doing any more diving that day, I decided to drop my weight belt to maximize my buoyancy. And taking the pictures didn't come later.

And I think what I first started doing before taking the pictures was I had a waterproof slate with me on a retractable lanyard attached to my buoyancy control device, that's called a BCD. Why don't I just write the time down. And I think someone referred to my practice as marking the hours. But I found it to be like a short term thing I could do that focused my mind. And I thought well if I made it to 11:00, let's see if I can make it to noon.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And so all this time elapsed. You're thinking of these kind of strategies to keep yourself alert. And then lo and behold here comes a boat. Could you believe your eyes?

CARLOCK: You know, if you have ever heard the legend of the Flying Dutchman, and keeping in mind that the fog was just clearing, it was startinging to clear about 15 minutes before I was -- I contacted that boat.

WHITFIELD: But you're really lucky that it was Zach, one of the Scouts who actually spotted you when nobody else did.

CARLOCK: Well, I thanked his mom for feeding him carrots when he was growing up.

WHITFIELD: So, are you going to go diving again?

CARLOCK: I get asked that question a lot. And I have to say the answer is an unequivocal yes. Yes, I will dive. Will dive right away, right here? No. I'm going to want to see some changes made.

WHITFIELD: It looks like given Zach's vision, maybe he ought to be your new dive buddy.

CARLOCK: He's a good guy. I sat next to him and he's just a humble kid. He's of the age he could have been my son if I had children, which I don't. But I just took immediate liking to him because he's low key, matter of fact. He just looks like a good kid.

WHITFIELD: Dan Carlock, thanks for sharing your story. I'm glad you were able to tell us the story.

CARLOCK: Thank you very much, Fredericka. WHITFIELD: Thanks a lot.

Well, he is free from his Iraqi captors and his hometown is now rejoicing. Still to come, the mayor of contractor Thomas Hamill's hometown joins me live.

Plus, the saying goes two heads are better than one. The latest collaboration of President Bush and Cheney is fodder for serious comic relief.

And later, we'll tell you what you need to know before you spend your mon own a new set of wheels.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired May 2, 2004 - 18:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: CNN SUNDAY is straight ahead but first these headlines. Macon, Mississippi is giving a lot of thanks this Sunday. Its native Thomas Hamill is now a free man after being held captive in Iraq for nearly month. His wife says she spoke to her husband and he's doing fine. Hamill was a truck driver for a Halliburton subsidiary.
In Western Iraq in the town of Ramadi, the U.S. military says a mortar attack killed six American troops and wounded 30 others. Three U.S. troops were also killed in two other attacks in Iraq today.

In Nablus on the West Bank, the Israeli Air Force attacked a car carrying four Palestinian militants from the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. All four were killed. Palestinian medical officials say three Palestinian bystanders were also injured.

Good evening, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Coming up the human toll of the crisis in the Middle East. One family caught in the crossfire. Their lives lost. The tragic story straight ahead.

Also a much more uplifting story. A SCUBA diver stranded off the California found by a troop of Scouts. The diver joins us tonight to tell us about his story of survival.

We begin with a survivor's tale of another sort. One that the White House is calling great news for all Americans. Thomas Hamill, the U.S. contractor taken hostage in Iraq last month, is now safe and free. The military says he managed to escape from his captors and then ran to a U.S. patrol passing by. The news brought joy and relief to his hometown of Macon, Mississippi. That's where we find our Mike Brooks -- Mike.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Fredricka. The town of Macon, Mississippi, is extremely happy tonight. I spoke earlier with the fire chief of Macon and he said the town had been on pins and needles. A short time ago we were at the Hamill home draped in an American flag and adorned with yellow balloons when we heard from Kellie Hamill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLIE HAMILL, WIFE OF THOMAS HAMILL: First off, I want to thank y'all for all coming. The family appreciates everything. I want to let you know i've spoke with my husband, he's fine he's doing well. We have no more information on when he'll be coming home. He said he is doing great, he misses his family. We also want to thank everybody for their prayers, their support.

We're still praying for the families that we have no information on, the soldier that's in captivity. We're going to pray and hope that they get the same good news that we have received.

Oh. I want to thank everybody for the support that they have given us at this time. But he is fine. He's doing real well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKS: Kellie Hamill said she was notified this morning at about 5:30 a.m. that her husband was safe. She also said that when she spoke to him, he said that he had run out of the building, he heard a convoy going by, ran out of the building, ran about a half mile down the road, caught up with the convoy and told them he was the American missing contractor -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Incredible story, Mike. Well, we know that the entire town has been holding vigils for almost a month now. I see the yellow ribbons behind you. What's it like in that town now today given this great news is spreading across the city?

BROOKS: Well, everyone we have spoken to is extremely happy. They either know Tommy or they know his wife Kellie, because Kellie was actually a 911 dispatcher for the county. So all the policemen, all the firemen know both of them either directly or through Kellie.

I just spoke with the mayor a few seconds ago. And she said that when Tommy does come home, they're going to have a Tommy Hamill Day and have a parade here in Macon.

WHITFIELD: Mike Brooks, thanks very much. In about 30 minutes we'll be talking with the mayor of that town a little bit more about how the town is indeed preparing for his homecoming.

Few details have been released about the ambush that led to Thomas Hamill's hostage ordeal. CNN's Betty Nguyen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN (voice-over): Thomas Hamill was driving a fuel truck for Halliburton's subsidiary KBR on April 9 when gunmen ambushed his convoy near Baghdad.

The father of two had taken the job in Iraq in part to pay for heart surgery for his wife. Arab TV network al Jazeera aired pictures of Hamill in front of the old Iraqi flag.

On the tape, an apparent captor could be heard threatening to kill him unless U.S. troops pulled out of the Fallujah by April 10. That deadline came and went without word of Hamill's fate.

In his hometown of Macon, Mississippi, a prayer vigil began. The community put up yellow ribbons and flew flags in a show of support for Hamill and his worried family. The next week, his wife Kellie mounted a media campaign for his release. KELLIE HAMILL, THOMAS HAMILL'S WIFE: Hello, my name is Kellie Hamill. I would first like to say to my husband Tommy, we love and miss you very much. We would also like to say to the persons who are holding him captive, our hopes that you will release him unharmed and as soon as possible.

NGUYEN: On April 14, the Hamill family was shaken by news insurgents had killed one of four Italian hostages, four other Halliburton contractors had been found dead. Hope appeared to be fading for Hamill's safe return, but 23 days after his capture, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt announced Hamill is free and in good health.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: Today, at 10:20 hours, Mr. Tommy Hamill an employee of Kellogg, Brown and Root was recovered by U.S. forces south of Tikrit. He is in good health. He was reported missing after his convoy was ambushed on 9 April.

NGUYEN: Hostages still in Iraq include U.S. Private 1st Class Keith Maupin and American civilians Tim Bell and William Bradley, two Canadian businessmen and three Italian security personnel. Also being held, a French reporter, a German embassy security official and a Geordanian businessman. Betty Nguyen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Meanwhile, the violence continued in Iraq today. Nine U.S. troops lost their lives in three separate attacks. The deadliest incident happened near Ramadi. Six U.S. soldiers were killed and 30 wounded. One was killed and ten wounded near Kirkuk. It hapened when insurgents attacked a coalition base. And 2 U.S. soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb attack northwest of Baghdad.

The deaths come a day after coalition forces raided the offices of radical Cleric Muqtada al Sadr. His spokesman says one of his deputies was killed along with four other people.

In the Middle East today, Gaza has been both a focal point politically and a flashpoint for more violence. On the political front, members of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud Party rejected his proposal for a pullout in the region and parts of the West Bank. That's according to the exit polls cited by Israeli media.

As for the violence, it began when a pregnant mother and her 4 children were attacked while traveling in their car. CNN's Paula Hancocks has her story.

We'll try to bring that story a little bit later.

The prisoner abuse scandal gets thicker. More reports of widespread abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

Plus...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I started waving that tube, and waving the other arm, and blowing the hell out of the whistle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Stranded at sea. How that man's life depended on the Boy Scouts' honor.

And they're not making them like they used to. Coming up later, find out which late model SUVs get high marks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: More news now around the world. Madrid Spain's prime minister says there's a lesson to be learned from Iraq. Preemptive wars don't work. Jose Luis Rodriguez calls the mission in Iraq a failure. He says Spanish troops should never have been sent there in the first place.

Poland has a new prime minister. Leszek Miller resigned today after his government was weakened by economic problems, corruption scandals and a split in the governing party. The former finance minister takes over promising to push through tough reforms and continue supporting the United States.

And in western Afghanistan, more than two dozen people were killed in an accidental fuel tanker explosion at a bustling bazaar. Nearby shops and cars were destroyed and 35 people were hurt.

More now on the tragic ending of a family. A pregnant woman and her 4 children killed in Israel. Here's Paula Hancocks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The pregnant Israeli woman and her 4 children were on their way to Israel to campaign against Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw their settlements from Gaza, but they didn't make it. Israeli forces say they were killed by two Palestinian gunmen on this main road between the Gush Gate (ph) settlement bloc and Israel.

Four CNN staff came under fire on the same stretch of road just minutes earlier. Two gunmen fired a number of rounds while running towards our cars. No CNN staff were hurt.

Israeli soldiers and ambulances rushed to the scene of the settler shooting. The two Palestinian gunmen were shot dead by Israeli forces.

This road is used solely by settlers to get from their homes in Gaza's biggest settlement to Israel. On many stretches, there are Palestinian houses on both sides of the road. Attacks on cars travelling along this road are not unusual, but the last time someone was killed was a year and a half ago.

After the latest shooting, the road was immediately closed, preventing hundreds of other settlers from traveling to Israel where they too were planning to lobby Likud party members against the Sharon disengagement plan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: That was paula hancocks reporting.

Well, you've likely seen the photographs first airing last week that prompted international outrage over the treatment of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison. Now more extensive details are being revealed in a "New Yorker" magazine article.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Top Pentagon and coalition officials promised swift reaction to the alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners as seen in graphic photos first aired by CBS.

DAN SENOR, COALITION SPOKESMAN: Whole careers will be ended. There will be criminal repercussions for those involved.

KOCH: But debate is growing over just who is responsible.

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Well, those individuals for starters. Then we'll find out if there's a systemic problem and other issues.

KOCH: Army reserve Brig. General, Janice Karpinski, in charge of the prison told newspapers she new nothing about the incidents until long afterwards. A March internal army investigation of the Abu Ghraib prison obtained by the "New Yorker" magazine finds a pattern of abuse at the prison. The journalist who wrote it said that the investigating officer did not find those acted alone.

SEYMOUR HERSH, NEW YORKER: He said he believes that the private contractors and the civilians, the CIA, paramilitary people and the military drove the actions of that prison.

KOCH: The family of one of the 6 U.S. soldiers facing charges related to the abuse cases released photo os of Staff Sergeant Chip Frederick and a journal he kept in Iraq. It catalogs the alleged abuse and his concerns about it, quote, "leaving inmates in their cell with clothes or in female underpants, handcuffing them to the door of their cell. I questioned this and the answer got was, this is how military intelligence wants it done." Another section says, "a prisoner died during interrogation, quote, "they stressed him out so bad that the man passed away. They put his body in a body bag and packed him on ice for approximately for 24 hours. The next day the medics came in an put his body on a stretcher, placed a fake IV in his arm and took him away."

The CIA inspector general and Pentagon are investigating one Abu Ghraib prison death. But a CIA spokesman said he did not know if this was the same incident.

Frederick's family says the fault lies higher than the GIs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the time he got there, he was worried about what was going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The United States government is now trying to sacrifice and use these six soldiers as scapegoats.

KOCH: One lawmaker warns no matter who is to blame, it's a costly scandal for the U.S.

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D) DELAWARE: This is the single most significant undermining act that's occurred in a decade in that region of the world in terms of our standing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: A CIA official insists that the prison was, indeed, being run by the military. A senior defense official says no matter who was in charge, it is quote, "preposterous for any soldier to believe that in order to commit such acts was legal" -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: And Kathleen, any comment from the Pentagon on what kind of military strategy that might be soon put into place in Iraq to try to kind of clean up this act?

KOCH: Well, Fredricka, clearly these very graphic pictures do make the Pentagon's job much tougher. As it was, we all know over the last month, the U.S. military, the coalition has forced -- has faced increasing resistance in Iraq. So they know that this does not make things any easier, but at this point, we haven't heard any strategic plan revealed to really deal with the repercussions.

WHITFIELD: Kathleen Koch at the Pentagon. Thanks very much.

Well, it's a happy ending for 1 American contractor held captive in Iraq. Still to come, the mayor of his Mississippi hometown joins us live to talk about it.

Plus, we'll tell you how a Scout's honor helped save one man's life.

And later, SUV sales are up this year. Find out which ones are topping the list for best performance.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. Coast Guard in California doesn't think SCUBA divers should have to depend on Scout gruoops for their survival, but they are glad in this one case that it brought about a happy ending. Scouts rescued a diver off Newport Beach last Sunday five hours after his dive buddies and master sailed away without him. Details from reporter Nin Jimenez from affiliate KGTV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NINA JIMENEZ, KGTV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Somehow on Sunday morning, diver Dan Carlok was left behind in the ocean by his Newport Beach based dive boat.

DAVE CARLOCK, DIVER LEFT AT SEA: I thought about all the things I left unfinished in my life.

JIMENEZ: Miles from shore, Carlock drifted at sea for more than 4 hours. A heavy fog blanketed that water. Slowed down by that fog, the century old sail ship the Argos (ph). On board Grand St. Bernardo (ph) scout troop 681. And 15 sea scout trainee Zach Mayberry.

CARLOCK: I started waving that tube and waving the other arm and blowing the hell out of the whistle.

ZACK MAYBERRY, BOY SCOUT: I had to look through a pair of binoculars to see him because he was that far out.

JIMENEZ: Zach, seen in this shap shot in blue, was on watch at the stern of the boat. He was the first to spot Carlock.

MAYBERRY: I had my friend look at it, because I just wanted to make sure my mind wasn't playing tricks on me.

JIMENEZ: Following procedure Zach and his friend made the call.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A man overboard call. And instantly the entire crew reacts. We jump up from our positions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of a sudden I'm below decks and I hear man overboard. I just rushed out and did what procedures we performed yesterday.

JIMENEZ: Just the day before the troop practiced the man overboard drill.

CARLOCK: I just kind of projected, you know, ahoy.

JIMENEZ: Carlock says his prayers were answered.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; When he came on deck and they had taken his SCUBA gear off, he was completely white from head down to the toes.

JIMENEZ: The scouts gave him hot chocolate and he posed for this picture with Zach.

MAYBERRY: Everybody's saying I'm a hero. To tell you the truth, I don't really care. All I really care about is that this guy's safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ordinarily we have situations in our everyday lives where helping somebody could be a little thing, but sometimes helping somebody is a big, big thing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thanks to Nina Jimenez of affiliate KGTV for that report. Dan Carlock, the diver left stranded at sea seven days ago, is in our Los Angeles bureau. Good to see you.

CARLOCK: Good afternoon, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Well, those Scouts were really on the job. Boy, are you lucky?

CARLOCK: I'm extremely lucky and extremely blessed. I was -- it was a fantasy to see that ship. I couldn't believe it at first for a few minutes.

WHITFIELD: I'm going to ask you to relive this yet one more time. The separation takes place, you're with a big dive group. What in the world happened that you got separated from them?

CARLOCK: So, we jump off the boat. Instantly there's a minor correction to the report. The Sun Diver, which was the boat I dived off of was based -- its home port is Long Beach. But at any rate, we went out, it took about 45 minutes to get to the oil rig. It was foggy. And we had a good swim jumping off the boat. I was part of the first group. We made it to the middle underneath the oil derrick and dropped down from there. But in addition to the swell, I had problems equalizing my ear pressure. And that was the primary reason that...

WHITFIELD: Then you suddenly ascended or something?

CARLOCK: No. I saw the bubbles below me. So I said, well, it's them. So, I'm going to follow the bubbles and catch up with them down below. But the visibility got worse. I got down about 100 feet and there was no sign of them. And there was nothing to see, because it was so dark due to limited visibility. So, I decided to make a normal safety ascent.

Yes, I aborted the dive. Made it up, stopped for three minutes at 15 feet, per the standard practice. When I surfaced, I found myself down down current of the platform.

As a matter of fact it was foggy enough I couldn't even see the structure anymore. All I saw was a white tender buoy.

WHITFIELD: So, at this point, were you thinking wait a minute, I thought all of us dive buddies and a master, we're all supposed to stick together. If one seems to drift off, isn't everybody supposed to surface, what happened to the rest of the group?

CARLOCK: They were presumably below me still. Because the plan was to go down to 130 feet and stop there before ascending. At that time, no, separations do happen and of and by themselves they're not a problem because we're trained if we lose contact, to ascend.

WHITFIELD: So now the problem is, though you are at surface, there's no, you know, boat or anything, no other sign of familiarity. But then, you know, some time elapsed. At what point did you start thinking hopefully somebody will come by or will anybody ever find me?

CARLOCK: Yes, well, it was kind of the inverse, actually. I was pretty confident I was going to be picked up up to about an hour, an hour and 15 minutes after that happened. Because I was watching the time on my watch and I knew how long tanks of air last. I knew that there were two groups of divers dropping in. So even after just being logical about it. Think through, it was a tough dive, maybe somebody else got in trouble. And in the fog, one just doesn't know. I had to kind of go by the training and what might be most plausible. But when all those likely scenarios didn't seem seem to pan out, then I started to worry.

WHITFIELD: Yes, but you didn't panic. I understood you actually, you know, took some pictures of yourself, didn't you. Why did you do that?

CARLOCK: Yes, I did. That came much later. Because first, I decided once I knew that I wasn't going to be doing any more diving that day, I decided to drop my weight belt to maximize my buoyancy. And taking the pictures didn't come later.

And I think what I first started doing before taking the pictures was I had a waterproof slate with me on a retractable lanyard attached to my buoyancy control device, that's called a BCD. Why don't I just write the time down. And I think someone referred to my practice as marking the hours. But I found it to be like a short term thing I could do that focused my mind. And I thought well if I made it to 11:00, let's see if I can make it to noon.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And so all this time elapsed. You're thinking of these kind of strategies to keep yourself alert. And then lo and behold here comes a boat. Could you believe your eyes?

CARLOCK: You know, if you have ever heard the legend of the Flying Dutchman, and keeping in mind that the fog was just clearing, it was startinging to clear about 15 minutes before I was -- I contacted that boat.

WHITFIELD: But you're really lucky that it was Zach, one of the Scouts who actually spotted you when nobody else did.

CARLOCK: Well, I thanked his mom for feeding him carrots when he was growing up.

WHITFIELD: So, are you going to go diving again?

CARLOCK: I get asked that question a lot. And I have to say the answer is an unequivocal yes. Yes, I will dive. Will dive right away, right here? No. I'm going to want to see some changes made.

WHITFIELD: It looks like given Zach's vision, maybe he ought to be your new dive buddy.

CARLOCK: He's a good guy. I sat next to him and he's just a humble kid. He's of the age he could have been my son if I had children, which I don't. But I just took immediate liking to him because he's low key, matter of fact. He just looks like a good kid.

WHITFIELD: Dan Carlock, thanks for sharing your story. I'm glad you were able to tell us the story.

CARLOCK: Thank you very much, Fredericka. WHITFIELD: Thanks a lot.

Well, he is free from his Iraqi captors and his hometown is now rejoicing. Still to come, the mayor of contractor Thomas Hamill's hometown joins me live.

Plus, the saying goes two heads are better than one. The latest collaboration of President Bush and Cheney is fodder for serious comic relief.

And later, we'll tell you what you need to know before you spend your mon own a new set of wheels.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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