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CNN Live Today
Accused Soldier Gives Chilling Account of Abuse; Insurgents Hold out in Najaf; Memorial Held for Nick Berg; Radio Host Fights Terrorists on the Internet; Hot Web Topics Include LaToya London, Camera Phones, Baby Names; The Power of "Huah"
Aired May 14, 2004 - 11:00 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.
BETTY NGUYEN, ANCHOR: It is 11 a.m. on the East Coast, 8 a.m. in the west. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Daryn Kagan.
Up first on CNN, prisoner abuse in Iraq.
One of the soldiers implicated in the scandal is describing what went on behind the walls of Abu Ghraib in quite rapid detail. His account appears today in several newspapers.
Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us this morning with the latest.
Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Betty.
Well, this is the account of Specialist Jeremy Sivits. Now, we should keep in mind, of course this is his version of what happened. His court-martial begins in Baghdad next Wednesday.
Other attorneys for other people who have been charged in this case say that Specialist Sivits is just shifting the blame others. Be that as it may, a very chilling account by Jeremy Sivits of what went on.
He specifically talks about Corporal Charles Graner. First he says Graner put a detainee's head into a cradle position with Graner's arm, and Graner purchased the detainee with a lot of force in the temple.
In another part of this statement, Specialist Sivits says Graner punched the detainee with a closed fist so hard in the temple that it knocked the detainee unconscious. Again, he was joking, laughing like he was enjoying it.
Now you might ask where were the commanders while all of this was going to? Well, Specialist Sivits actually makes a point about that in this statement to his investigators.
He says that if the command had known, he says, quote, "our command would have slammed us. They believe in doing the right thing. If they saw what was going on, there would be hell to pay." He talks further about detainees being struck, being put in a pile and being jumped on, detainees begging for the abuse to stop. But the investigation goes on and the military justice system is proceeding.
Earlier today in Baghdad, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt talked about the latest legal developments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: The seven charges against Specialist Graner are conspiracy to maltreat detainees, dereliction of duty for willfully failing to protect detainees from abuse, cruelty and maltreatment, maltreatment of detainees, assaulting detainees, committing indecent acts, adultery and obstruction of justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: These charges now filed against Corporal Graner. These gentlemen, as well, Sergeant Davis, Sergeant Frederick, all of them also facing charges. More court-martial proceedings, clearly, in the works, Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thank you.
Well, according to Sivits' account Sergeant Javal Davis threw himself on a pile of naked prisoners sort of like a kid jumping on a pile of leaves. Quoting Sivits, "A couple of the detainees kind of made an 'ah' sound as if this hurt them or caused them some type of pain when Davis would land on them. After Davis had done this, Davis then stomped on either the fingers or toes of the detainees." He continues by saying, "When he stomped the detainees, they were in pain, because the detainees would scream loudly."
Davis' father appeared on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" to defend his son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN DAVIS, JAVAL DAVIS' FATHER: My son, he's a good soldier. They were directed to do a job, and that's exactly what he did. And this is a -- I think it's just a ploy or what have you to put it all on the smaller guys. I play chess, you know, they're just pawns, you know? There are bigger -- bigger people behind this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Sergeant Javal Davis faces arraignment at his court- martial next Thursday. His attorney today denied the accusations laid out by Specialist Sivits.
The sounds of gunfire and rocket propelled grenades echoed through the Iraqi city of Najaf today. U.S. forces there are battling a militia loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
CNN's Jane Arraf joins us by videophone from Najaf. JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, it was supposed to be a day when hundreds of thousands of people in Najaf came out to demonstrate for peace. Instead, that demonstration was called off and mostly what there was was more violence. Attacks and ambushes by suspected members of the Mehdi militia, loyal to radical Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr.
In the mosque on Friday in Tufa (ph), al-Sadr said that the Americans had abused Iraqi prisoners and that we're making a big deal, a mountain out of a molehill out of things and that people should not cooperate with the Americans.
Meanwhile, suspected members of the militia launched attacks on U.S. forces. On the police station where a new police chief had been installed just yesterday. On other roads near the holy city and in other places where there have been three foot (ph) clashes. Despite the talk of a political solution, the violence here continues -- Betty.
NGUYEN: In Najaf, thank you.
Well, the family of Nicholas Berg holds a private memorial service for him today, and Berg's relatives are demanding answers about his detention before he was captured and beheaded in Iraq.
CNN's Maria Hinojosa is in West Chester, Pennsylvania with the latest -- Maria.
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a difficult day for the Berg family. They started their day, basically asking for a little bit of privacy.
What's behind us is the Kesher Israel Temple, where they will be holding a memorial for friends later in the afternoon, not open to the public. And we have a little bit of a press area around here just so that they -- there is so much attention that is focused on them at this point.
As the days go by, though, the attention on Nick Berg doesn't cease to -- to exist. In fact, it's growing. Not only in the country, but across the world.
The Berg family has heard from people as far away as Finland and New Zealand. There are now web sites up. There is one website established for people that want to say remembrances of Nick Berg. That is NickBerg.org.
Also on another memorial web site called Legacy.com, they are saying that they have received more hits on Nick Berg, basically a stranger up until his death than perhaps any other person on this Legacy.com website.
Of course, Nick Berg's brutally murdered and his family is hoping that they might be able to lay him quietly to rest.
But the fact is that Nick Berg has become part of a national conversation about the war in Iraq. Do we stay in or do we pull out? Do troops increase or not?
Even within the own -- the Berg family, a conversation about war happened before his death: the father very much against the war, the son very much in support of this war.
Today local police are saying that their main goal is to try to give this family a little bit of peace, a little bit of privacy from what they are saying could be gawkers. But essentially at this point, Nick Berg, who wanted to be an international citizen has become that, though perhaps not so much for his life as is for his death -- Betty.
NGUYEN: A difficult day there in Pennsylvania. Thank you. That's CNN's Maria Hinojosa.
Terrorists are using the Internet to get their message out. Case in point from CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360" (voice-over): When he's not running his homeless shelter in Albuquerque, New Mexico, or his radio talk show...
JEREMY REYNOLDS, RADIO HOST: OK, I understand what Craig is saying.
COOPER: ... Jeremy Reynolds is on the Internet hunting al Qaeda.
REYNOLDS: There is a war actually pro-terror being waged on the Internet by radical Islamics.
COOPER: He says he started trying to take down al Qaeda web sites after 9/11. Complaining to the ISPs, the Internet service providers that hosted them.
REYNOLDS: I've spoken over the past two and a half years to scores of ISPs. And most of them, once they understand that they host a terrorist-related site, it comes right down.
COOPER: Reynolds recently found a message board called Global Islamic Media, which experts say is the real deal, where al Qaeda supporters and their sympathizers posted propaganda and information.
PAUL FEDLE, AL QAEDA EXPERT: The Global Islamic Media e-mails, this, it is our most credible source for al Qaeda strategy and thinking.
COOPER: Reynolds also found out that Global Islamic Media was being hosted by Internet giant Yahoo! He says he complained to the company, sending them a message headlined "Do you Yahoo? Al Qaeda does" and asking them to take the site down.
He said that it violated the company's terms of service which prohibit, among other things, content that's threatening, hateful or otherwise objectionable. REYNOLDS: I'm saying that Yahoo! is being irresponsible by allowing these groups and such people to pass out these thoughts on a mass basis on the Internet.
COOPER: He says he didn't get a response at first, and Yahoo! declined CNN's request for an interview. But several weeks after Reynolds' first complaint and after we called, the site was taken down.
Reynolds' victory was short lived. Not only did al Qaeda sympathizers find other message boards to use, but Global Islamic Media slightly changed its name and managed to reappear days later again on Yahoo!
After Nicholas Berg was beheaded you could find links to the video posted there. Once again, Jeremy Reynolds complained to Yahoo!, asking the company to take the site down. And once again, we called Yahoo! for a response. They didn't respond.
Anderson Cooper, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: In the war on terrorism, timely information is the name of the game. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft says the government wants to make it easier for U.S. intelligence to filter down to state and local officials. That would include information on terrorist activities, as well as other crimes.
One important aspect of the new policy is to reduce the amount of information that is classified as top secret.
It's the sporting event that millions will watch and a handful of countries will take part in, but three countries are competing to win the 2010 World Cup before it even begins. We'll show you what they're doing next.
Greek mythology meets the mythology of the French Riviera. Troy comes to Cannes. That's coming up.
And later, is your neighborhood segregated? We're not talking race here, but politics. A fascinating look at the new great divide is ahead when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Oh, yes, Troy has laid siege to Cannes. The epic retelling of the Trojan War is among big Hollywood productions being showcased at the famed film festival. The film stars Brad Pitt as the Greek warrior Achilles and opens nationwide this weekend in the U.S.
In soccer news, the World Cup will definitely be in Africa in 2010. Exactly where? Well, that hasn't been decided yet. That decision comes today from Zurich.
Morocco is among the three finalists putting forth an aggressive bid to host the event, which is one of the biggest championship games in the world. Choosing Morocco would make it the first Arab country to hold the World Cup finals.
Egypt is another candidate in the running. The other candidate is at the far end to the continent. Nelson Mandela has lent his support to South Africa's bid.
First name, the first camera phone law and the fury over the race for first on "American Idol." Those are some of the headlines in the latest buzz on the web.
AOL's Regina Lewis is in Dulles (ph), Virginia.
Regina, a let of "Idol" fans are upset that LaToya was eliminated. A lot of people were surprised by that.
REGINA LEWIS, AOL: Shocked is the word. But it's actually a fairly predictable pattern, tracing it back to the first season, Tamyra Gray was heavily favored. She was eliminated in exactly this stage in the game. And of course, last year, heavily favored runner- up Clay Aiken.
This is not a show where being the frontrunner necessarily works to your advantage. Perhaps Simon said it best when he said he hoped that everyone in Hawaii had five phone lines to vote for Jasmine.
Here you see LaToya.
One thing's for sure. Immediately following the vote, 2,500 people posted messages. It's a 40-to-1 ratio, people who read those. So big numbers. Sixteen thousand people filled chat rooms on AOL. It was AOL TV's top five moment.
Everybody agreed -- here you see here -- she's sure talented. We probably have not seen the last of her. Runners up tend to fare very well.
NGUYEN: Yes. A lot of people are saying she's going to make it anyway, despite not being in the finals.
Well, you know, speaking of the spotlight let's move from that to camera phones. Lawmakers are taking aim, huh?
LEWIS: Yes, they really are. The House Judiciary Committee voted this week to ban something called "up skirt photos," which is photos you don't know are being taken in public locations.
To put this in perspective -- Here you see the cell phones -- $150 million business, expected to double this year and triple in 2005. Nokia is currently the biggest camera seller in the U.S.
Now, in Japan, where this trend started, they've actually added some of the technologies so that when you take a photo there's a loud clicking noise. So it will be interesting to see what happens on the technology site here. But certainly some movement on the legal side this week.
NGUYEN: Of course, parents are big on photos and on baby names. What are the hot names? I don't guess Betty's in there, anywhere?
LEWIS: You know what? We did a little search, because the Social Security Department actually posts a list of the top 1,000 names dating back to 1990. You were in there.
NGUYEN: Really?
LEWIS: Yes. Betty was -- yes, in the 600s, 700s.
NGUYEN: OK.
LEWIS: It fell off a bit.
NGUYEN: Down on the list.
LEWIS: The top names this year are Emily and Jacob. And the only two names -- It's interesting. It's fairly consistent year over year -- to be added were Elizabeth and Anthony.
Here's the other thing they've got. The Census Bureau has a population clock. It's a ticker. Two hundred and ninety million Americans, one birth every eight seconds, a death every 12 seconds, a new international migrant, every 24 seconds for a net total -- this is startling -- of one new person in this country every 12 seconds. Truly amazing.
NGUYEN: And with that, we are out of time. AOL's Regina Lewis, thank you.
LEWIS: Sure.
NGUYEN: They're mopping up in Minnesota, but could it be a weekend of water ahead? The latest pictures are next.
And it's a military salute you've heard a lot lately, but just what does it mean? Coming up, Jeanne Moos looks at the hoopla over "Huah."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: The Roseau River is cresting today at 4 1/2 feet above flood stage. But the northern Minnesota town with the same name is managing to keep the high waters at bay.
Residents used 300,000 sandbags to build up levies after heavy rain.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: What's in a word? Plenty if you're in the military. Here's our Jeanne Moos. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Interrupted by applause. Whoop!
He was interrupted by "huah."
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We're glad you're up there as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
MOOS: The secretary and the general...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
MOOS: ... were showered with more than 30 "huahs"!
GEN. RICHARD MYERS, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: How many reservists in here or guardsmen?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
MOOS: A military exclamation, they say, means everything and anything except no.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And my first chance as president to say "huah"!
MOOS: A writer who spent four years at West Point studying modern military culture calls "huah" an all-purpose word.
DAVID LIPSKY, AUTHOR, "ABSOLUTELY AMERICAN": Every language has one word you can't do without. Like on "The Sopranos" you couldn't deal -- you couldn't go without fuhgeddaboudit.
MOOS: You can forget about the origin of "huah." No one seems sure.
(on camera) They can't decide how to spell the word.
(voice-over) Let alone pronounce it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah! Huah! Huah! UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah! Huah! Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah! Huah! Huah!
MOOS: The New York Fire Department seems to have borrowed the Marine pronunciation.
The Army says it differently.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me a "huah" to shake the marble.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
MOOS: There's even a "Hooah!" energy bar in flavors ranging from raspberry to peanut butter.
LIPSKY: If you say something is "huah," it's the best compliment you can give them in the Army.
MOOS: Once in a while you hear a lonely "huah."
RUMSFELD: He's from Kansas, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
RUMSFELD: How many from Illinois here!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
RUMSFELD: Yes! Now you're talking!
MOOS: And then there's Al Pacino's scent of a "huah."
AL PACINO, ACTOR: Huah!
LIPSKY: I think it reflects the magical power of that word, that you can say -- that it eventually won an Academy Award. That's the power of "huah."
MOOS (on camera): It sounds like a lot of hooey to me.
Jeanne Moos, CNN...
PACINO: Huah!
MOOS: ... New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) NGUYEN: Huah.
Well, think America is less segregated than in years past? You may want to think again. These days it's not race and ethnicity that divides us but politics. Bill Schneider takes a fascinating look at the new great divide. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired May 14, 2004 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, ANCHOR: It is 11 a.m. on the East Coast, 8 a.m. in the west. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Daryn Kagan.
Up first on CNN, prisoner abuse in Iraq.
One of the soldiers implicated in the scandal is describing what went on behind the walls of Abu Ghraib in quite rapid detail. His account appears today in several newspapers.
Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us this morning with the latest.
Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Betty.
Well, this is the account of Specialist Jeremy Sivits. Now, we should keep in mind, of course this is his version of what happened. His court-martial begins in Baghdad next Wednesday.
Other attorneys for other people who have been charged in this case say that Specialist Sivits is just shifting the blame others. Be that as it may, a very chilling account by Jeremy Sivits of what went on.
He specifically talks about Corporal Charles Graner. First he says Graner put a detainee's head into a cradle position with Graner's arm, and Graner purchased the detainee with a lot of force in the temple.
In another part of this statement, Specialist Sivits says Graner punched the detainee with a closed fist so hard in the temple that it knocked the detainee unconscious. Again, he was joking, laughing like he was enjoying it.
Now you might ask where were the commanders while all of this was going to? Well, Specialist Sivits actually makes a point about that in this statement to his investigators.
He says that if the command had known, he says, quote, "our command would have slammed us. They believe in doing the right thing. If they saw what was going on, there would be hell to pay." He talks further about detainees being struck, being put in a pile and being jumped on, detainees begging for the abuse to stop. But the investigation goes on and the military justice system is proceeding.
Earlier today in Baghdad, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt talked about the latest legal developments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY: The seven charges against Specialist Graner are conspiracy to maltreat detainees, dereliction of duty for willfully failing to protect detainees from abuse, cruelty and maltreatment, maltreatment of detainees, assaulting detainees, committing indecent acts, adultery and obstruction of justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: These charges now filed against Corporal Graner. These gentlemen, as well, Sergeant Davis, Sergeant Frederick, all of them also facing charges. More court-martial proceedings, clearly, in the works, Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thank you.
Well, according to Sivits' account Sergeant Javal Davis threw himself on a pile of naked prisoners sort of like a kid jumping on a pile of leaves. Quoting Sivits, "A couple of the detainees kind of made an 'ah' sound as if this hurt them or caused them some type of pain when Davis would land on them. After Davis had done this, Davis then stomped on either the fingers or toes of the detainees." He continues by saying, "When he stomped the detainees, they were in pain, because the detainees would scream loudly."
Davis' father appeared on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" to defend his son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN DAVIS, JAVAL DAVIS' FATHER: My son, he's a good soldier. They were directed to do a job, and that's exactly what he did. And this is a -- I think it's just a ploy or what have you to put it all on the smaller guys. I play chess, you know, they're just pawns, you know? There are bigger -- bigger people behind this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Sergeant Javal Davis faces arraignment at his court- martial next Thursday. His attorney today denied the accusations laid out by Specialist Sivits.
The sounds of gunfire and rocket propelled grenades echoed through the Iraqi city of Najaf today. U.S. forces there are battling a militia loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
CNN's Jane Arraf joins us by videophone from Najaf. JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, it was supposed to be a day when hundreds of thousands of people in Najaf came out to demonstrate for peace. Instead, that demonstration was called off and mostly what there was was more violence. Attacks and ambushes by suspected members of the Mehdi militia, loyal to radical Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr.
In the mosque on Friday in Tufa (ph), al-Sadr said that the Americans had abused Iraqi prisoners and that we're making a big deal, a mountain out of a molehill out of things and that people should not cooperate with the Americans.
Meanwhile, suspected members of the militia launched attacks on U.S. forces. On the police station where a new police chief had been installed just yesterday. On other roads near the holy city and in other places where there have been three foot (ph) clashes. Despite the talk of a political solution, the violence here continues -- Betty.
NGUYEN: In Najaf, thank you.
Well, the family of Nicholas Berg holds a private memorial service for him today, and Berg's relatives are demanding answers about his detention before he was captured and beheaded in Iraq.
CNN's Maria Hinojosa is in West Chester, Pennsylvania with the latest -- Maria.
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a difficult day for the Berg family. They started their day, basically asking for a little bit of privacy.
What's behind us is the Kesher Israel Temple, where they will be holding a memorial for friends later in the afternoon, not open to the public. And we have a little bit of a press area around here just so that they -- there is so much attention that is focused on them at this point.
As the days go by, though, the attention on Nick Berg doesn't cease to -- to exist. In fact, it's growing. Not only in the country, but across the world.
The Berg family has heard from people as far away as Finland and New Zealand. There are now web sites up. There is one website established for people that want to say remembrances of Nick Berg. That is NickBerg.org.
Also on another memorial web site called Legacy.com, they are saying that they have received more hits on Nick Berg, basically a stranger up until his death than perhaps any other person on this Legacy.com website.
Of course, Nick Berg's brutally murdered and his family is hoping that they might be able to lay him quietly to rest.
But the fact is that Nick Berg has become part of a national conversation about the war in Iraq. Do we stay in or do we pull out? Do troops increase or not?
Even within the own -- the Berg family, a conversation about war happened before his death: the father very much against the war, the son very much in support of this war.
Today local police are saying that their main goal is to try to give this family a little bit of peace, a little bit of privacy from what they are saying could be gawkers. But essentially at this point, Nick Berg, who wanted to be an international citizen has become that, though perhaps not so much for his life as is for his death -- Betty.
NGUYEN: A difficult day there in Pennsylvania. Thank you. That's CNN's Maria Hinojosa.
Terrorists are using the Internet to get their message out. Case in point from CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360" (voice-over): When he's not running his homeless shelter in Albuquerque, New Mexico, or his radio talk show...
JEREMY REYNOLDS, RADIO HOST: OK, I understand what Craig is saying.
COOPER: ... Jeremy Reynolds is on the Internet hunting al Qaeda.
REYNOLDS: There is a war actually pro-terror being waged on the Internet by radical Islamics.
COOPER: He says he started trying to take down al Qaeda web sites after 9/11. Complaining to the ISPs, the Internet service providers that hosted them.
REYNOLDS: I've spoken over the past two and a half years to scores of ISPs. And most of them, once they understand that they host a terrorist-related site, it comes right down.
COOPER: Reynolds recently found a message board called Global Islamic Media, which experts say is the real deal, where al Qaeda supporters and their sympathizers posted propaganda and information.
PAUL FEDLE, AL QAEDA EXPERT: The Global Islamic Media e-mails, this, it is our most credible source for al Qaeda strategy and thinking.
COOPER: Reynolds also found out that Global Islamic Media was being hosted by Internet giant Yahoo! He says he complained to the company, sending them a message headlined "Do you Yahoo? Al Qaeda does" and asking them to take the site down.
He said that it violated the company's terms of service which prohibit, among other things, content that's threatening, hateful or otherwise objectionable. REYNOLDS: I'm saying that Yahoo! is being irresponsible by allowing these groups and such people to pass out these thoughts on a mass basis on the Internet.
COOPER: He says he didn't get a response at first, and Yahoo! declined CNN's request for an interview. But several weeks after Reynolds' first complaint and after we called, the site was taken down.
Reynolds' victory was short lived. Not only did al Qaeda sympathizers find other message boards to use, but Global Islamic Media slightly changed its name and managed to reappear days later again on Yahoo!
After Nicholas Berg was beheaded you could find links to the video posted there. Once again, Jeremy Reynolds complained to Yahoo!, asking the company to take the site down. And once again, we called Yahoo! for a response. They didn't respond.
Anderson Cooper, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: In the war on terrorism, timely information is the name of the game. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft says the government wants to make it easier for U.S. intelligence to filter down to state and local officials. That would include information on terrorist activities, as well as other crimes.
One important aspect of the new policy is to reduce the amount of information that is classified as top secret.
It's the sporting event that millions will watch and a handful of countries will take part in, but three countries are competing to win the 2010 World Cup before it even begins. We'll show you what they're doing next.
Greek mythology meets the mythology of the French Riviera. Troy comes to Cannes. That's coming up.
And later, is your neighborhood segregated? We're not talking race here, but politics. A fascinating look at the new great divide is ahead when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Oh, yes, Troy has laid siege to Cannes. The epic retelling of the Trojan War is among big Hollywood productions being showcased at the famed film festival. The film stars Brad Pitt as the Greek warrior Achilles and opens nationwide this weekend in the U.S.
In soccer news, the World Cup will definitely be in Africa in 2010. Exactly where? Well, that hasn't been decided yet. That decision comes today from Zurich.
Morocco is among the three finalists putting forth an aggressive bid to host the event, which is one of the biggest championship games in the world. Choosing Morocco would make it the first Arab country to hold the World Cup finals.
Egypt is another candidate in the running. The other candidate is at the far end to the continent. Nelson Mandela has lent his support to South Africa's bid.
First name, the first camera phone law and the fury over the race for first on "American Idol." Those are some of the headlines in the latest buzz on the web.
AOL's Regina Lewis is in Dulles (ph), Virginia.
Regina, a let of "Idol" fans are upset that LaToya was eliminated. A lot of people were surprised by that.
REGINA LEWIS, AOL: Shocked is the word. But it's actually a fairly predictable pattern, tracing it back to the first season, Tamyra Gray was heavily favored. She was eliminated in exactly this stage in the game. And of course, last year, heavily favored runner- up Clay Aiken.
This is not a show where being the frontrunner necessarily works to your advantage. Perhaps Simon said it best when he said he hoped that everyone in Hawaii had five phone lines to vote for Jasmine.
Here you see LaToya.
One thing's for sure. Immediately following the vote, 2,500 people posted messages. It's a 40-to-1 ratio, people who read those. So big numbers. Sixteen thousand people filled chat rooms on AOL. It was AOL TV's top five moment.
Everybody agreed -- here you see here -- she's sure talented. We probably have not seen the last of her. Runners up tend to fare very well.
NGUYEN: Yes. A lot of people are saying she's going to make it anyway, despite not being in the finals.
Well, you know, speaking of the spotlight let's move from that to camera phones. Lawmakers are taking aim, huh?
LEWIS: Yes, they really are. The House Judiciary Committee voted this week to ban something called "up skirt photos," which is photos you don't know are being taken in public locations.
To put this in perspective -- Here you see the cell phones -- $150 million business, expected to double this year and triple in 2005. Nokia is currently the biggest camera seller in the U.S.
Now, in Japan, where this trend started, they've actually added some of the technologies so that when you take a photo there's a loud clicking noise. So it will be interesting to see what happens on the technology site here. But certainly some movement on the legal side this week.
NGUYEN: Of course, parents are big on photos and on baby names. What are the hot names? I don't guess Betty's in there, anywhere?
LEWIS: You know what? We did a little search, because the Social Security Department actually posts a list of the top 1,000 names dating back to 1990. You were in there.
NGUYEN: Really?
LEWIS: Yes. Betty was -- yes, in the 600s, 700s.
NGUYEN: OK.
LEWIS: It fell off a bit.
NGUYEN: Down on the list.
LEWIS: The top names this year are Emily and Jacob. And the only two names -- It's interesting. It's fairly consistent year over year -- to be added were Elizabeth and Anthony.
Here's the other thing they've got. The Census Bureau has a population clock. It's a ticker. Two hundred and ninety million Americans, one birth every eight seconds, a death every 12 seconds, a new international migrant, every 24 seconds for a net total -- this is startling -- of one new person in this country every 12 seconds. Truly amazing.
NGUYEN: And with that, we are out of time. AOL's Regina Lewis, thank you.
LEWIS: Sure.
NGUYEN: They're mopping up in Minnesota, but could it be a weekend of water ahead? The latest pictures are next.
And it's a military salute you've heard a lot lately, but just what does it mean? Coming up, Jeanne Moos looks at the hoopla over "Huah."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: The Roseau River is cresting today at 4 1/2 feet above flood stage. But the northern Minnesota town with the same name is managing to keep the high waters at bay.
Residents used 300,000 sandbags to build up levies after heavy rain.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: What's in a word? Plenty if you're in the military. Here's our Jeanne Moos. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Interrupted by applause. Whoop!
He was interrupted by "huah."
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We're glad you're up there as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
MOOS: The secretary and the general...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
MOOS: ... were showered with more than 30 "huahs"!
GEN. RICHARD MYERS, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: How many reservists in here or guardsmen?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
MOOS: A military exclamation, they say, means everything and anything except no.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And my first chance as president to say "huah"!
MOOS: A writer who spent four years at West Point studying modern military culture calls "huah" an all-purpose word.
DAVID LIPSKY, AUTHOR, "ABSOLUTELY AMERICAN": Every language has one word you can't do without. Like on "The Sopranos" you couldn't deal -- you couldn't go without fuhgeddaboudit.
MOOS: You can forget about the origin of "huah." No one seems sure.
(on camera) They can't decide how to spell the word.
(voice-over) Let alone pronounce it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah! Huah! Huah! UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah! Huah! Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah! Huah! Huah!
MOOS: The New York Fire Department seems to have borrowed the Marine pronunciation.
The Army says it differently.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me a "huah" to shake the marble.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
MOOS: There's even a "Hooah!" energy bar in flavors ranging from raspberry to peanut butter.
LIPSKY: If you say something is "huah," it's the best compliment you can give them in the Army.
MOOS: Once in a while you hear a lonely "huah."
RUMSFELD: He's from Kansas, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
RUMSFELD: How many from Illinois here!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huah!
RUMSFELD: Yes! Now you're talking!
MOOS: And then there's Al Pacino's scent of a "huah."
AL PACINO, ACTOR: Huah!
LIPSKY: I think it reflects the magical power of that word, that you can say -- that it eventually won an Academy Award. That's the power of "huah."
MOOS (on camera): It sounds like a lot of hooey to me.
Jeanne Moos, CNN...
PACINO: Huah!
MOOS: ... New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) NGUYEN: Huah.
Well, think America is less segregated than in years past? You may want to think again. These days it's not race and ethnicity that divides us but politics. Bill Schneider takes a fascinating look at the new great divide. That's next.
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