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American Morning

Severe Storms, Heavy Damage; Car Bomb Rocks Baghdad; Ahmad Chalabi: Master Manipulator

Aired May 31, 2004 - 9:00   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. Nine o'clock here in New York on this Memorial Day. Soledad is out. Heidi Collins with me today here in New York.
How you doing on this holiday?

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Doing great.

HEMMER: Did you get some sleep over the weekend.

COLLINS: No, not like you.

HEMMER: No? Not much? I did.

In a moment here, the president plans to pay tribute to America's war dead today. About two hours from now, a time honor presidential event. We'll get a live update from D.C. on the president's day today on this holiday.

COLLINS: Also, just how bad was the betrayal of the U.S. trust by Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi? We'll talk to a reporter who has looked extensively into this. She has some new information about the information itself that Chalabi was offering the U.S.

HEMMER: Also, medical news today. Skin cancer not just for adults. A medical report today on just how important it is for parents to take sunscreen seriously when they say the kids out to play. We'll get to that this hour as well.

COLLINS: And Jack Cafferty is off today, but filling in for him, Andy Borowitz. We're going to have your e-mail answers coming up in just a few minutes and talk about Martha Stewart this morning.

HEMMER: Got it. All right.

Our top story again this morning, the weather. More than 80 tornadoes causing extensive damage from Texas up to the Great Lakes over the weekend. Heavy storms and harsh winds battering parts of eight different states. Some of the heaviest damage came in southern Indiana. Storms there killed one in the town of Marengo, near the Kentucky border. And that is where Keith Oppenheim is live this morning, Marengo, Indiana, where it is sun up yet again.

Keith, good morning there.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of activity going on this morning here in Marengo, Bill. Let's take a look over to my side. As you can see, some residents are pulling some of the debris, and they are removing some of the items that were torn off their homes.

I'm going to walk a little bit here and just give you a quick tour of what you can see here in Marengo. There are a lot of power lines down. In this direction, you really can see how they are all dangling on this street. It's just incredible how much damage we are coming across. You really have to watch your step as you go.

We have another live camera perspective which shows a lot of the damage. Approximately 60 homes at this point have been knocked down by this tornado at this point, or severely damaged. There are cadaver dog teams that are out here right now, and they are searching for more bodies.

At this point, only one person has been confirmed dead, as you indicated. An elderly gentleman who was knocked over, according to neighbors, in his trailer and died when the mobile home turned over. Back to where we are at, you can get sort of a view of the hillside down where that trailer turnover took place.

The description we're getting from neighbors, Bill, is pretty intense in terms of the arrival of the storm. They say it happened in the middle of the afternoon. It lasted only seconds without warning, they said, and then within moments after those seconds, they came outside and saw all this. One gentleman went from home to home trying to find out if his neighbors were alive.

Back to you.

HEMMER: All right. Just watching these pictures, Keith, just absolute scene of devastation. How much help will they get from the state today? Do you know that yet?

OPPENHEIM: Yes. They have emergency managers from the state. We are also expecting the governor of Indiana, Joe Kernan, to be making a tour of the region. I think it's a fair expectation to say that this will be called a state disaster area, that there will be a declaration at some point and a possibility of a declaration of a federal disaster area, too, so that this area can rebuild.

HEMMER: Also, Keith, just trying to clear up one thing here, if we could here. Have they said about the strength of the winds for that storm? Has anyone made any estimates at this point?

OPPENHEIM: No, we don't have anything on the Fujita scale of whether it was an F-1 or F-2. Generally, what you would have is weather experts who come to the area afterwards and make an assessment based upon what they see to determine the level of the wind strength that this tornado had. Obviously, it looks extremely powerful from what we are noticing on the ground right here.

HEMMER: Do most of those homes have basements, do you know?

OPPENHEIM: Some of them have basements. Some of them are slabs. I'll just point out this one right behind me.

We were talking to this gentleman just a while ago who lived in this home, and that is a concrete home that's in pretty good shape. But if you walk over here, you can see this house behind me. And it also has a basement. It's made of different materials and the roof is completely taken off. So, you know, again, it's sort of the random act of a tornado as to where it hits, but also the strength of the structure of the homes.

HEMMER: Concrete and brick does so well against those storms so many times. Keith, thanks. Keith Oppenheim in southern Indiana.

Heidi?

COLLINS: Earlier, I spoke with Alden Taylor of the Indiana State Emergency Management Agency. I asked him to update us on the extent of the damage these tornadoes have caused across Indiana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALDEN TAYLOR, INDIANA STATE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: We've had damage reports throughout the state. Most of them are scattered. A lot of trees down, power lines down.

The area in southern Indiana and Crawford County, Marengo, which is in the center part of the state, just north of the Ohio River, was the hardest hit. There were probably 100 to 200 homes somehow effected. Last night, after securing the area and making sure that nobody was in need of help, the area was sealed off and rescue workers were pulled out because it was too dangerous to be there after dark. They'll be out there this morning to start counting and figuring out exactly what kind of damage there was.

COLLINS: Let's talk about Indianapolis now for just a moment. I know at least seven tornadoes touched down there alone. Tell us a little bit about what kind of destruction it left behind in that city.

TAYLOR: The south side of Indianapolis was hit by the storms. There was one nursing home that had part of its roof peeled back. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries.

A lot of power outages. There were, at one point, about 13,000 people on the south side of Indianapolis without power. Indianapolis Power and Light has been working throughout the night to restore power. At this point, there are about 7,000 left without power.

COLLINS: Obviously, Mr. Taylor, you and the people of Indiana are no stranger to these type of storms. Tell us, though, a little bit about how you would compare these to other storms that you've seen.

TAYLOR: Indiana gets about 19 tornadoes a year. We normally have some kind of an outbreak. Most of the time, they touch down in rural areas and farm fields, without causing damage to homes. The last major outbreak was in September of 2002, where there was a path that was cut from the southeast part of the state to the northeast part. This is more of the usual type of tornado we get, where you have isolated pockets of damage.

COLLINS: Are you ever really ready, though, for something like this?

TAYLOR: We work at it every year, every spring. There is a severe storms awareness week. When you live in Indiana, you get used to the fact that there will be tornadoes. And the fact that only one person was killed with the amount of damage that was inflicted, especially in the Marengo area, shows that people knew what to do and where to go when the storms hit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Alden Taylor of the Indiana State Emergency Management Agency talking about the devastation there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: A car bomb blast rocked the Iraqi capital area today, happening along the same road where just earlier the head of the Iraqi Governing Council was killed. There was that story. There's also been fighting between U.S. troops and the militia of radical Shiite Muslim Muqtada al-Sadr. For all the news out of Baghdad today, here is Harris Whitbeck there live in the Iraqi capital -- Harris.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.

That car bomb went off at about 1:30 in the afternoon here in Baghdad. It happened not too far from the Green Zone's perimeter. And U.S. military officials who were on the ground at the site of that attack said that, while there was no specific strategic significance to the location of the bomb, they did say that the road on which it exploded is a road commonly used by officials from the Coalition Provisional Authority and by members of Iraq's Governing Council as they go into work inside the Green Zone.

The bomb, as you said, went off very near the same military checkpoint where just two weeks ago Izzedine Salim, the Iraqi Governing Council president, was killed in a similar suicide bombing. The powerful explosion was heard throughout central Baghdad. It left two people dead and at least 13, possibly 17 people injured. Most of them passers-by who were in this normally very quiet part of the Iraqi capital.

An area in Iraq that is not quiet at all is that area surrounding Najaf, the holy city of Najaf, particularly Kufa, where more combat has been reported between U.S. military troops and militiamen belonging to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia. Apparently the U.S. military patrol was on a reconnaissance mission in Kufa when it came under fire. They responded, and that led to two U.S. soldiers being killed and at least 45 militiamen being killed as well -- Bill.

HEMMER: Harris Whitbeck, thanks, following that from Baghdad today.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Chalabi once touted by Washington as a possible president of Iraq has now become Iraqi non grata with the White House. An article in this week's New Yorker magazine suggests Chalabi was a master manipulator when it came to selling the U.S. on the need to force Saddam Hussein out of power.

Jane Mayer wrote The New Yorker piece. She is with us now to talk about it live in D.C.

Jane, good morning to you. An excellent article here, too, as well. And thank you for your time on this holiday. Why do you allege -- or why do you report that he scammed the White House? In what way?

JANE MAYER, THE NEW YORKER: Well, he really waged a 13-year marketing campaign, a very sophisticated smart and wily operator. And his aim was always to get the U.S. into a military conflict with Iraq and to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

HEMMER: You write that he studied history and he studied the way Roosevelt did it, FDR did it in the late 1930s, to draw the U.S. behind Britain, getting into World War II. But the other thing you talked about is why he was so convincing. Why was he able to sell the argument the way he did?

MAYER: He's a fantastic salesman, and he had a lot of backing from the U.S. covertly. I think the U.S. has spent now over $100 million in helping his campaign. And he's just a terrific operator.

He told people what they wanted to hear, which was that it would be easy and it wouldn't take a lot of U.S. troops. And one of the people that I interviewed, Scott Ritter, who was at the U.N. at the time, said that Chalabi actually confessed to him that he knew at the time it was a ploy. And, of course, a lot of U.S. troops would have to be involved.

HEMMER: In the past, Jane, many people have said Ahmad Chalabi is corrupt. That argument to the side, in your piece you talk about bottomless corruption. Where is the evidence that supports that?

MAYER: Well, there are many, many allegations against him in Baghdad right now. And among the things that his troops are supposed to have done -- he has some 700 troops -- are looted, robbed, kidnapped and expropriated people's property, their houses, things like that.

There is literally no evidence that Chalabi has, himself, made any money off of this or been in business himself. It's mostly just the people he brought in. And one of the things that he also told Scott Ritter, though, was that he imagined a day when he would run Iraq and he would have control over the oil concessions and he would take care people...

HEMMER: One word you use, the word "allegations." Going down the road here, some of the stuff may be proved, it may not be proved.

MAYER: That's absolutely true.

HEMMER: What also do you report, though, more than just allegations, that may connect him to doctoring the evidence of weapons of mass destruction? Which is really the linchpin in this entire argument.

MAYER: Yes. One of the things that really surprised me and I thought was kind of amazing was he operated a forgery shop. It was out of a little factory where they were scanning intelligence documents onto computers and making fake documents. And a CIA agent named Bob Bair (ph) came across it in northern Iraq, and Chalabi's people actually have confirmed this, that they did run this operation.

HEMMER: We're getting word today that one of his offices in Ramadi was essentially cleaned out. Everybody was told to get out and leave. What do you make of those developments with the Iraqi forces themselves taking action today, clearly backed by the U.S. and any movement they make? But your reaction to that?

MAYER: I think he's become baggage for the U.S. And he was a partner in selling this war, but now that it's not going well, they're looking for someone to blame. And he's an obvious choice.

HEMMER: How do you cast him aside? How do you just get rid of him, if that's the intent?

MAYER: Well, I don't think they will succeed in just getting rid of him. If they plan to sideline him, they may be able to do so temporarily. But Ahmad Chalabi is a fantastically resourceful and bright operator. And I wouldn't write him off.

HEMMER: Jane Mayer wrote the piece in The New Yorker. Good piece, again, Jane. Thanks for your time today on the holiday.

MAYER: Thank you.

HEMMER: Heidi?

COLLINS: Fourteen minutes passed the hour now, and here is what is happening in other news this morning. The top U.S. general in Iraq remembering those lost in combat this Memorial Day. General Ricardo Sanchez spoke to U.S. troops at Camp Victory in Baghdad earlier today about the call to arms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. RICARDO SANCHEZ, U.S. ARMY: We've done it not just to protect America, but we've done it to protect other people. To free other people and to let them enjoy the freedoms that we have become accustomed to since the founding of our nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Hundreds of American soldiers are commemorating Memorial Day in Iraq.

Saudi Arabia says its security forces are searching for suspects after a series of weekend attacks in the oil city of Khobar. The Saudi government says 22 people were killed, including one American. A group believed linked to al Qaeda has taken responsibility for the attacks. The Saudi ministry says the leader of the operation is in custody.

The office of Vice President Dick Cheney denying a report that connects him to a multi-billion-dollar Iraq oil deal. A Pentagon email reportedly suggests the vice president coordinated the contract on behalf his former company, Halliburton. But an official tells CNN the electronic memo is just part of standard practice. The email report appears in this week's issue of TIME Magazine.

And researchers say the amount of time people spend driving may actually contribute to whether they'll gain extra pounds. The study was done in Atlanta and finds that people who live in sprawling suburbs and spend a lot of time driving have bigger waistlines. The drivers are more likely to be obese than people who live in cities where homes and businesses are closer together and where people do more walking. So it seems a little bit odd. Just don't eat while you drive and maybe that would work out a little better, right?

HEMMER: Good advice.

COLLINS: Yes, thank you.

HEMMER: Sixteen minutes past the hour. Jack Cafferty is off for the holiday. Andy Borowitz picking up the slack here and the question of the day. That writer from Japan called you the new guy, right?

ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: I'm the new guy.

HEMMER: The new guy. Good morning.

BOROWITZ: So Newsweek says that Martha Stewart would like to avoid prison time by doing some community service. And we asked you, what community service should Martha Stewart do? So here is what you guys say...

Ellen from Naples, Florida, says, "Teach poor mothers how to cook from scratch, sew, clean, and those things that my mother and I did and still do. In other words, learn to stretch the dollar and save money by not buying expensive prepared foods and ready-made clothes." That's from Ellen.

Buck from Vassar, Michigan, says, "Obviously, Martha should serve her community service in a kitchen somewhere. I suggest a soup kitchen or prison kitchen, or, better yet, on the serving line. Alternatively, she could work in the prison laundry."

OK. Jay from Des Moine, Iowa, writes: "Have Martha drive the Meals on Wheels van, deliver meals to the shut-in elderly for a while, although she shouldn't drive it too much because that could affect her girlish figure."

And finally, Sherrye says, "If Martha were to do community service I think it would be fitting if she were to clean the toilets at The New York Stock Exchange for a few months. That would be a good thing." And we've got tremendous support for this whole toilet option. Let's hear your ideas. Just write to us at am@cnn.com.

HEMMER: So she's essentially, according to the report in Newsweek, bargaining right now to get less jail time in exchange for community service?

BOROWITZ: Yes, absolutely. So we may really be helping Martha here. These ideas have gone right into the hopper.

COLLINS: She may be listening.

BOROWITZ: I think so.

COLLINS: All right. Andy, thanks so much.

Well, more than a million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year. Twenty years ago, melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, was found only in adults. But as Elizabeth Cohen tells us, doctors are alarmed now to find more and more of it in younger patients.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the story of a 15-year-old boy and the sunburns that nearly killed him.

ALEX LEVIN, HAD SKIN CANCER: I really spent just as much time as any other kid would spend. I went to the beach every summer; I was always in the pool. I just wasn't very careful. I mean, my mom would always ask me to put the sunscreen on, but I really never knew why. I didn't care if I got a sunburn every once in a while back then.

COHEN: Two years ago, when he was 13, doctors found a mole on Alex Levin's back. It turned out to be melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, and the cancer had already spread to one of his lymph nodes.

LEVIN: I never would have thought a kid would have it. I thought maybe when I was an old man I'd get it, that type of thing. But it never even phased my mind that it could happen to me.

COHEN: Apparently, most teens feel the same way. According to a new report from the American Cancer Society, only one third of teenagers use any sun protection at all. And when they do use sunscreen, most use it only when they go to the beach or the pool. Doctors say kids almost never used to get melanoma, but now they are, and doctors aren't sure why.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm really alarmed that today we are regularly seeing young people with melanoma, including children and teenagers.

COHEN: And he's frustrated, because skin cancer is often so preventable. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, it makes no more sense to have a sunburn, which is an injury to your skin, than it is to put your hand in scalding water.

COHEN: Alex's surgical scars are now barely visible. He's cancer-free, but has to get checked regularly. His doctors told him he doesn't have to avoid the sun entirely, so he still spends time outside playing with his friends, walking his dog. But now he's a lot smarter about it.

LEVIN: The only thing you can tell people is to just give them the advice that they've just got to put sunscreen on. If you can protect yourself from one sunburn, you can protect yourself from so much later in life.

COHEN: Great advice from a young cancer survivor.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And Dr. Balsh (ph) recommends any changes in a mole or your skin should definitely be seen by a doctor. Some good advice there.

HEMMER: That's right.

In a moment here, what the president is doing today, honoring America's fallen heroes on this Memorial Day. We'll get to that topic in a moment.

COLLINS: Plus, "Shrek" is a mean, green money machine at the box office. But could he fight off a new ice age? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: The president will lead the nation, honoring those who paid the ultimate price in service to America on this holiday. There has already been a number of public ceremonies over the past few days in the nation's capital. What a weekend it's been.

Sean Callebs live in D.C. with more this morning. Sean, good morning there.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.

Indeed, it has been quite a weekend here in the nation's capital. We can tell you, even though it's a very dark, dreary day here, drizzling, a lot of tourists out this morning. A lot of young tourists, a lot of World War II veterans. Certainly a very important weekend for them.

It began with a parade winding its way through the nation's capital about an hour and a half ago, featuring vintage World War II cars, really taking those World War II vets back in time just a bit. And, of course, the World War II veterans really the focal point of this holiday this weekend.

The World War II Memorial dedicated on Saturday underneath wonderful skies. In attendance, of course, current President George W. Bush, his father, George Bush, as well as former President Bill Clinton. So it was a wonderful day up here today, close to 150,000 people in attendance for that.

And marking a very somber moment in the Memorial Day holiday. Coming up in about an hour and a half, President Bush is scheduled to be at the Tomb of the Unknowns, where he will place a wreath. And, of course, that ceremony will culminate with the playing of "Taps." Always a very somber, patriotic moment for veterans.

And then about 1:00 Eastern Time this afternoon, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, a Vietnam veteran himself, will be at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, not terribly far from where we're standing. They expect as many as 10,000 people for that event -- Bill.

HEMMER: Sean, thanks. Sean Callebs there on the Mall.

A bit later today, 10:55 a.m. Eastern Time, is the projected starting point today for the president at Arlington's National Cemetery. And certainly we will be there live on this Memorial Day. Arlington National Cemetery today -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Still to come, the latest on those devastating twisters in the Midwest. We'll tell you whether the people there can expect a break today.

Also ahead, an update on today's deadly violence in Baghdad. We'll go there in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Memorial Day is time off for most. But our pop culture gurus are up and Adam this morning for yet another episode of the critically acclaimed "90-Second Pop." And here they are, ladies and gentlemen.

Toure, contributing editor for Rolling Stone. Toure, thanks for getting up.

Jessica Shaw with Entertainment Weekly. Same to you, Jessica.

And B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for US Weekly.

So glad you guys are here.

JESSICA SHAW, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Well, you guys never stop working.

COLLINS: Yes, that's right. On call 24/7, right?

Hey, Toure, let's talk about Kobe Bryant a little bit. A lot of people, I think, are talking about this now with the way that the Lakers are playing. Do you think that some of this star power or heroism has worn off a little bit? I mean, he's been going to and from Eagle, Colorado, during these games, and some people may be wondering about that. Or are they just going with the flow?

TOURE, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, ROLLING STONE: Well, I mean, from the beginning of the season, I said there's no way he'll be able to deal with the real pressure of being on the court when he has very real pressure off the court to deal with. And he's played extraordinary despite extraordinary personal circumstances.

SHAW: Doesn't he play better?

TOURE: Well, he seems to play better after he goes...

SHAW: He's scoring more points after he spends the day in Colorado.

TOURE: Yes. But I can't see him as a heroic figure yet. I mean, he seems more of a tragic figure stuck in his own web that he's created.

B.J. SIGESMUND, US WEEKLY: But he's not tragic. I mean, his focus is undeniable.

TOURE: Right.

SIGESMUND: You know, both of these things -- you know, he's possibly going to go to prison for years. So he's fighting for that during the day. And then he flies by private jet to LA and scores 30 or 40 points a game. I mean, on a national stage. It's not like he's performing really well at home and no one is watching.

COLLINS: All right. Let's move on, guys. Obviously, a lot more to talk about there.

Jessica, we have some issues possibly with dear "Harry Potter." What are we going to do? Daniel Radcliffe kind of hinting that maybe in the sixth book, movie, however that comes out first...

SHAW: Harry is out of there.

COLLINS: ... he might not be with us any longer.

SHAW: You know what? I don't think we can take it that seriously, because this is a young actor talking -- the book hasn't been written. It's not like JK Rowling was like, hmm, what should I do with Harry at the end? Let me call the little actor.

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: With all due respect to Daniel Radcliffe, why are we listening to this kid? He is 14 years old. He doesn't have JK Rowling here.

SHAW: He's not even signed on for the fifth movie yet. I think this might be a contract negotiation. TOURE: Rowling has all of the scripts written out.

SHAW: She's not sharing them with him.

TOURE: No. But they probably know what's going on. And she typically challenges her young readers quite a bit. And this would be a challenge. But it's not unusual in kid lit for somebody to die like that. So it could happen.

SIGESMUND: No, there is no way you would kill Harry Potter off at the very end of the series.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: I just want to know what on earth we would do if Harry was gone? What would we do? What would we talk about?

SHAW: Kobe Bryant.

COLLINS: Right, yes.

All right. B.J., let's talk a little bit about this killer movie, "Shrek 2," which I saw with a 3-year-old who is afraid of the dark in these movies. But that is another story. This might clobber "The Day After Tomorrow."

SIGESMUND: It's a monster.

COLLINS: Yes.

SIGESMUND: I mean, it has reached $200 million faster than an almost any movie since "Spiderman." It even beat "The Day After Tomorrow" with all that hype. It still was number one, just by a few million dollars, but number one movie. This is -- you know, it looks like it's going to be the biggest movie of the summer and possibly the biggest movie of the year.

COLLINS: You know, one thing I noticed...

SHAW: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), though. I mean, it did make $70 million, which is still huge.

COLLINS: Right. That is quite a lot of money. One thing I noticed with this movie, though, is there are probably some people wondering if you can still see "Shrek 2" if you haven't seen "Shrek."

SIGESMUND: Absolutely.

COLLINS: Definitely? But there are a lot of references in there that certainly my little boy didn't get. But...

SIGESMUND: Yes, it's a little bit more adult than the first one. I actually went with a couple of kids, one of whom was almost four, and he said that he was scared by it. He was scared by the godmother character, the fairy godmother. So it is a little -- I did OK. Yes, it's a little bit more grown up, much like the "Harry Potter," the coming "Harry Potter" movie this Friday is more grown up.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: Oh my goodness. We got that straight from Shrek, too.

All right, guys. Thanks so much for coming in today. We do appreciate your time, B.J., Jessica and Toure. Thanks, guys.

Bill?

HEMMER: Heidi, thanks for that.

Seventeen before the hour. If you're a parent, you know how important it is to keep an eye on the kids at the pool this summer. In a moment, what you can do to make sure your kids stay safe while having fun in the sun.

Back in a moment after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: At 45 minutes past the hour now, here is what is happening in other news today. A car bombing in Iraq leaves at least two people dead. The blast taking place on a Baghdad road commonly used by coalition forces and Iraqi officials. At least 17 others were injured.

And in the Iraqi city of kufa, U.S. troops fighting with forces loyal to wanted Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, two American soldiers were killed in an overnight clash there. The violence in Kufa further eroding a shaky truce to end fighting in that region.

Meanwhile, a decision to select a new Iraqi president is put on hold. Iraq's Governing Council announcing a 24-hour delay in the decision to name a new leader. The move breaks a self-imposed United Nations deadline. A spokesman for a U.N. envoy says the delay does not mean the process is in jeopardy.

Deadly storms being blamed for at least three deaths in the nation's mid section. In Indiana, a tornado smashed homes and snapped trees. One person was killed in Marengo in the southern part of the state; the other two victims were in Missouri and Tennessee. In Kentucky, officials reported downed power lines and flooding, but no injuries there. More than 80 tornadoes were reportedly sighted this weekend.

President Bush heads to Arlington National Cemetery this Memorial Day. The president and Mrs. Bush will participate in the traditional wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The president is expected to speak at the ceremony, which is scheduled to start at 10:55 a.m. Eastern Time. CNN, of course, will have live coverage of that.

And Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry also in Virginia. He is scheduled to march in the 120th annual Memorial Day Parade in Portsmouth. HEMMER: Memorial Day Weekend officially kicking off the unofficial start of the summer. With so much activity taking place around the water, just playing can be dangerous. John Zarrella looks at one effort that aims to keep kids safe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not long ago, four-and-a-half-year-old Avi Stein (ph) climbed the backyard pool fence for a ball and fell in the water. His mother had left him alone for just a minute.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Luckily, he learned the skills here. And when I found him he was at the pool's edge already.

ZARRELLA: Avi (ph) had taken a children's swim program called Aqua Child. It teaches kids to get on their back, float, catch their breath, and swim to the edge when they fall into the water.

With summer upon us, the National Safe Kids Campaign is urging parents to actively supervise their young children. A Safe Kids study analyzed 490 cases of children who drowned during a two-year period. Shockingly, nine of 10 were being supervised at the time. Safe Kids found parents are not always focused.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They talked about some alarmingly distracting behaviors, including talking on the cell phone, talking to friends, eating, reading. And some even admitted to closing their eyes and relaxing while they were watching the kids around the pool or the lake.

ZARRELLA: Safe Kids recommends layers of protection, fencing around the pool, active supervision, wearing personal flotation devices and swimming lessons.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to do it again.

ZARRELLA: Savannah Ruby (ph) was not a happy camper at her first Aqua Child swim lesson. But halfway through the six-week program, she's coming along swimmingly. Instructor Scott Lawner (ph) says the course is tough love. Kids cry a lot, but he says the parents understand it's worth it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said to her, I go, "Man, I'm really sorry that he hasn't stopped crying." And she said, "Well, I'd rather him cry here six weeks than me cry the rest of his life if he drowns."

ZARRELLA: Safe Kids cautions a parent's responsibility doesn't change just because a child had swim lessons. Active supervision is still the best protection.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Also, for more information from the National Safe Kids Campaign, check out their Web site at www.safekids.org online now.

In a moment here, how exactly do you brighten up a jail cell? Martha Stewart might not have to answer that question after all. There is a report out there that says she's looking to cut a deal to do community service. So we asked you today what you thought would be appropriate. Some of the answers in a moment when we continue after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We want to go ahead and check in again with Andy Borowitz and the Question of the Day.

Andy, you've been doing a fabulous job for Jack here.

BOROWITZ: Oh. The new guy. Bless you.

Well, our question today was, what community service should Martha Stewart do? And boy, do you have a lot of awesome ideas.

Carol from Florida says, "Martha Stewart should be assigned to revamp the cafeteria programs for public schools, including menu planning, food purchasing, and recipes. This community service project would take her the rest of her life." Ouch.

Shelby writes: "Martha Stewart should be required to teach some form of home economics in inner city schools. The first and the last period daily. The first period so she can't sleep in, and the last period because they are so unruly. During other periods she should ab classroom aide. Then she'll appreciate real teachers and students."

Do you get the feeling that teachers have Memorial Day off and they're all writing to us? I do.

And finally, Andrew from Vancouver: "Martha is a smart lady who could easily learn to diffuse landmines in Afghanistan or empty bed pans in Iraq. I'd be OK with that kind of community service."

You know, I think Martha may choose the prison option after all.

COLLINS: After that, maybe.

BOROWITZ: After that. I think so.

HEMMER: Now, you're no lawyer. Do you think she's got a shot at getting this reduced?

BOROWITZ: I don't know. I don't know. I mean, I never want to put anything past Martha. She's pretty shrewd.

HEMMER: She's a survivor.

BOROWITZ: She is a survivor.

HEMMER: Thank you, Andy. Did you see the Indy 500 over the weekend by chance? BOROWITZ: I just watched Jessica Simpson's performance and then I switched.

HEMMER: How did she do?

BOROWITZ: She was gradually saying (ph), take my breath away.

HEMMER: All right. I missed that.

BOROWITZ: But I'm so happy for Dave. I'm very happy for Dave.

HEMMER: That's exactly right.

BOROWITZ: That is correct.

HEMMER: Mother Nature stepped in yesterday many, many times, shortening the Indy 500. Off and on race yesterday. Rains soaked the speedway, cut short the 88th annual competition.

Hey, the Indy 500 was looking for some good publicity. NASCAR has really eclipsed that in terms of the Daytona 500 going up against the Indy 500. That might have done a little bit of the trick yesterday, with David Letterman bringing attention to that victory.

COLLINS: Yes. He was a happy camper, wasn't he?

HEMMER: That he was. America's biggest prize, too, the Indy 500, the brickyard in Indianapolis.

COLLINS: All right. We want to let you know what is coming up on CNN, though.

A lot of cleaning up to be done across the center of the nation after dozens of tornadoes roared through. The latest coming up in a live report in the next hour with Daryn Kagan on "CNN LIVE TODAY." And AMERICAN MORNING will be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: With that, we've got to run. Thanks to your friend, Andy Borowitz, for helping us with Jack Cafferty out today. Well done.

BOROWITZ: I just kept on saying to myself, "What would Jack do?"

HEMMER: I know Jack Cafferty, and you are no Jack Cafferty. Thank you, Andy.

BOROWITZ: Thanks.

HEMMER: To Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Have a great Memorial Day, everybody.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired May 31, 2004 - 9:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. Nine o'clock here in New York on this Memorial Day. Soledad is out. Heidi Collins with me today here in New York.
How you doing on this holiday?

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Doing great.

HEMMER: Did you get some sleep over the weekend.

COLLINS: No, not like you.

HEMMER: No? Not much? I did.

In a moment here, the president plans to pay tribute to America's war dead today. About two hours from now, a time honor presidential event. We'll get a live update from D.C. on the president's day today on this holiday.

COLLINS: Also, just how bad was the betrayal of the U.S. trust by Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi? We'll talk to a reporter who has looked extensively into this. She has some new information about the information itself that Chalabi was offering the U.S.

HEMMER: Also, medical news today. Skin cancer not just for adults. A medical report today on just how important it is for parents to take sunscreen seriously when they say the kids out to play. We'll get to that this hour as well.

COLLINS: And Jack Cafferty is off today, but filling in for him, Andy Borowitz. We're going to have your e-mail answers coming up in just a few minutes and talk about Martha Stewart this morning.

HEMMER: Got it. All right.

Our top story again this morning, the weather. More than 80 tornadoes causing extensive damage from Texas up to the Great Lakes over the weekend. Heavy storms and harsh winds battering parts of eight different states. Some of the heaviest damage came in southern Indiana. Storms there killed one in the town of Marengo, near the Kentucky border. And that is where Keith Oppenheim is live this morning, Marengo, Indiana, where it is sun up yet again.

Keith, good morning there.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of activity going on this morning here in Marengo, Bill. Let's take a look over to my side. As you can see, some residents are pulling some of the debris, and they are removing some of the items that were torn off their homes.

I'm going to walk a little bit here and just give you a quick tour of what you can see here in Marengo. There are a lot of power lines down. In this direction, you really can see how they are all dangling on this street. It's just incredible how much damage we are coming across. You really have to watch your step as you go.

We have another live camera perspective which shows a lot of the damage. Approximately 60 homes at this point have been knocked down by this tornado at this point, or severely damaged. There are cadaver dog teams that are out here right now, and they are searching for more bodies.

At this point, only one person has been confirmed dead, as you indicated. An elderly gentleman who was knocked over, according to neighbors, in his trailer and died when the mobile home turned over. Back to where we are at, you can get sort of a view of the hillside down where that trailer turnover took place.

The description we're getting from neighbors, Bill, is pretty intense in terms of the arrival of the storm. They say it happened in the middle of the afternoon. It lasted only seconds without warning, they said, and then within moments after those seconds, they came outside and saw all this. One gentleman went from home to home trying to find out if his neighbors were alive.

Back to you.

HEMMER: All right. Just watching these pictures, Keith, just absolute scene of devastation. How much help will they get from the state today? Do you know that yet?

OPPENHEIM: Yes. They have emergency managers from the state. We are also expecting the governor of Indiana, Joe Kernan, to be making a tour of the region. I think it's a fair expectation to say that this will be called a state disaster area, that there will be a declaration at some point and a possibility of a declaration of a federal disaster area, too, so that this area can rebuild.

HEMMER: Also, Keith, just trying to clear up one thing here, if we could here. Have they said about the strength of the winds for that storm? Has anyone made any estimates at this point?

OPPENHEIM: No, we don't have anything on the Fujita scale of whether it was an F-1 or F-2. Generally, what you would have is weather experts who come to the area afterwards and make an assessment based upon what they see to determine the level of the wind strength that this tornado had. Obviously, it looks extremely powerful from what we are noticing on the ground right here.

HEMMER: Do most of those homes have basements, do you know?

OPPENHEIM: Some of them have basements. Some of them are slabs. I'll just point out this one right behind me.

We were talking to this gentleman just a while ago who lived in this home, and that is a concrete home that's in pretty good shape. But if you walk over here, you can see this house behind me. And it also has a basement. It's made of different materials and the roof is completely taken off. So, you know, again, it's sort of the random act of a tornado as to where it hits, but also the strength of the structure of the homes.

HEMMER: Concrete and brick does so well against those storms so many times. Keith, thanks. Keith Oppenheim in southern Indiana.

Heidi?

COLLINS: Earlier, I spoke with Alden Taylor of the Indiana State Emergency Management Agency. I asked him to update us on the extent of the damage these tornadoes have caused across Indiana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALDEN TAYLOR, INDIANA STATE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: We've had damage reports throughout the state. Most of them are scattered. A lot of trees down, power lines down.

The area in southern Indiana and Crawford County, Marengo, which is in the center part of the state, just north of the Ohio River, was the hardest hit. There were probably 100 to 200 homes somehow effected. Last night, after securing the area and making sure that nobody was in need of help, the area was sealed off and rescue workers were pulled out because it was too dangerous to be there after dark. They'll be out there this morning to start counting and figuring out exactly what kind of damage there was.

COLLINS: Let's talk about Indianapolis now for just a moment. I know at least seven tornadoes touched down there alone. Tell us a little bit about what kind of destruction it left behind in that city.

TAYLOR: The south side of Indianapolis was hit by the storms. There was one nursing home that had part of its roof peeled back. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries.

A lot of power outages. There were, at one point, about 13,000 people on the south side of Indianapolis without power. Indianapolis Power and Light has been working throughout the night to restore power. At this point, there are about 7,000 left without power.

COLLINS: Obviously, Mr. Taylor, you and the people of Indiana are no stranger to these type of storms. Tell us, though, a little bit about how you would compare these to other storms that you've seen.

TAYLOR: Indiana gets about 19 tornadoes a year. We normally have some kind of an outbreak. Most of the time, they touch down in rural areas and farm fields, without causing damage to homes. The last major outbreak was in September of 2002, where there was a path that was cut from the southeast part of the state to the northeast part. This is more of the usual type of tornado we get, where you have isolated pockets of damage.

COLLINS: Are you ever really ready, though, for something like this?

TAYLOR: We work at it every year, every spring. There is a severe storms awareness week. When you live in Indiana, you get used to the fact that there will be tornadoes. And the fact that only one person was killed with the amount of damage that was inflicted, especially in the Marengo area, shows that people knew what to do and where to go when the storms hit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Alden Taylor of the Indiana State Emergency Management Agency talking about the devastation there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: A car bomb blast rocked the Iraqi capital area today, happening along the same road where just earlier the head of the Iraqi Governing Council was killed. There was that story. There's also been fighting between U.S. troops and the militia of radical Shiite Muslim Muqtada al-Sadr. For all the news out of Baghdad today, here is Harris Whitbeck there live in the Iraqi capital -- Harris.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.

That car bomb went off at about 1:30 in the afternoon here in Baghdad. It happened not too far from the Green Zone's perimeter. And U.S. military officials who were on the ground at the site of that attack said that, while there was no specific strategic significance to the location of the bomb, they did say that the road on which it exploded is a road commonly used by officials from the Coalition Provisional Authority and by members of Iraq's Governing Council as they go into work inside the Green Zone.

The bomb, as you said, went off very near the same military checkpoint where just two weeks ago Izzedine Salim, the Iraqi Governing Council president, was killed in a similar suicide bombing. The powerful explosion was heard throughout central Baghdad. It left two people dead and at least 13, possibly 17 people injured. Most of them passers-by who were in this normally very quiet part of the Iraqi capital.

An area in Iraq that is not quiet at all is that area surrounding Najaf, the holy city of Najaf, particularly Kufa, where more combat has been reported between U.S. military troops and militiamen belonging to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia. Apparently the U.S. military patrol was on a reconnaissance mission in Kufa when it came under fire. They responded, and that led to two U.S. soldiers being killed and at least 45 militiamen being killed as well -- Bill.

HEMMER: Harris Whitbeck, thanks, following that from Baghdad today.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Chalabi once touted by Washington as a possible president of Iraq has now become Iraqi non grata with the White House. An article in this week's New Yorker magazine suggests Chalabi was a master manipulator when it came to selling the U.S. on the need to force Saddam Hussein out of power.

Jane Mayer wrote The New Yorker piece. She is with us now to talk about it live in D.C.

Jane, good morning to you. An excellent article here, too, as well. And thank you for your time on this holiday. Why do you allege -- or why do you report that he scammed the White House? In what way?

JANE MAYER, THE NEW YORKER: Well, he really waged a 13-year marketing campaign, a very sophisticated smart and wily operator. And his aim was always to get the U.S. into a military conflict with Iraq and to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

HEMMER: You write that he studied history and he studied the way Roosevelt did it, FDR did it in the late 1930s, to draw the U.S. behind Britain, getting into World War II. But the other thing you talked about is why he was so convincing. Why was he able to sell the argument the way he did?

MAYER: He's a fantastic salesman, and he had a lot of backing from the U.S. covertly. I think the U.S. has spent now over $100 million in helping his campaign. And he's just a terrific operator.

He told people what they wanted to hear, which was that it would be easy and it wouldn't take a lot of U.S. troops. And one of the people that I interviewed, Scott Ritter, who was at the U.N. at the time, said that Chalabi actually confessed to him that he knew at the time it was a ploy. And, of course, a lot of U.S. troops would have to be involved.

HEMMER: In the past, Jane, many people have said Ahmad Chalabi is corrupt. That argument to the side, in your piece you talk about bottomless corruption. Where is the evidence that supports that?

MAYER: Well, there are many, many allegations against him in Baghdad right now. And among the things that his troops are supposed to have done -- he has some 700 troops -- are looted, robbed, kidnapped and expropriated people's property, their houses, things like that.

There is literally no evidence that Chalabi has, himself, made any money off of this or been in business himself. It's mostly just the people he brought in. And one of the things that he also told Scott Ritter, though, was that he imagined a day when he would run Iraq and he would have control over the oil concessions and he would take care people...

HEMMER: One word you use, the word "allegations." Going down the road here, some of the stuff may be proved, it may not be proved.

MAYER: That's absolutely true.

HEMMER: What also do you report, though, more than just allegations, that may connect him to doctoring the evidence of weapons of mass destruction? Which is really the linchpin in this entire argument.

MAYER: Yes. One of the things that really surprised me and I thought was kind of amazing was he operated a forgery shop. It was out of a little factory where they were scanning intelligence documents onto computers and making fake documents. And a CIA agent named Bob Bair (ph) came across it in northern Iraq, and Chalabi's people actually have confirmed this, that they did run this operation.

HEMMER: We're getting word today that one of his offices in Ramadi was essentially cleaned out. Everybody was told to get out and leave. What do you make of those developments with the Iraqi forces themselves taking action today, clearly backed by the U.S. and any movement they make? But your reaction to that?

MAYER: I think he's become baggage for the U.S. And he was a partner in selling this war, but now that it's not going well, they're looking for someone to blame. And he's an obvious choice.

HEMMER: How do you cast him aside? How do you just get rid of him, if that's the intent?

MAYER: Well, I don't think they will succeed in just getting rid of him. If they plan to sideline him, they may be able to do so temporarily. But Ahmad Chalabi is a fantastically resourceful and bright operator. And I wouldn't write him off.

HEMMER: Jane Mayer wrote the piece in The New Yorker. Good piece, again, Jane. Thanks for your time today on the holiday.

MAYER: Thank you.

HEMMER: Heidi?

COLLINS: Fourteen minutes passed the hour now, and here is what is happening in other news this morning. The top U.S. general in Iraq remembering those lost in combat this Memorial Day. General Ricardo Sanchez spoke to U.S. troops at Camp Victory in Baghdad earlier today about the call to arms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. RICARDO SANCHEZ, U.S. ARMY: We've done it not just to protect America, but we've done it to protect other people. To free other people and to let them enjoy the freedoms that we have become accustomed to since the founding of our nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Hundreds of American soldiers are commemorating Memorial Day in Iraq.

Saudi Arabia says its security forces are searching for suspects after a series of weekend attacks in the oil city of Khobar. The Saudi government says 22 people were killed, including one American. A group believed linked to al Qaeda has taken responsibility for the attacks. The Saudi ministry says the leader of the operation is in custody.

The office of Vice President Dick Cheney denying a report that connects him to a multi-billion-dollar Iraq oil deal. A Pentagon email reportedly suggests the vice president coordinated the contract on behalf his former company, Halliburton. But an official tells CNN the electronic memo is just part of standard practice. The email report appears in this week's issue of TIME Magazine.

And researchers say the amount of time people spend driving may actually contribute to whether they'll gain extra pounds. The study was done in Atlanta and finds that people who live in sprawling suburbs and spend a lot of time driving have bigger waistlines. The drivers are more likely to be obese than people who live in cities where homes and businesses are closer together and where people do more walking. So it seems a little bit odd. Just don't eat while you drive and maybe that would work out a little better, right?

HEMMER: Good advice.

COLLINS: Yes, thank you.

HEMMER: Sixteen minutes past the hour. Jack Cafferty is off for the holiday. Andy Borowitz picking up the slack here and the question of the day. That writer from Japan called you the new guy, right?

ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: I'm the new guy.

HEMMER: The new guy. Good morning.

BOROWITZ: So Newsweek says that Martha Stewart would like to avoid prison time by doing some community service. And we asked you, what community service should Martha Stewart do? So here is what you guys say...

Ellen from Naples, Florida, says, "Teach poor mothers how to cook from scratch, sew, clean, and those things that my mother and I did and still do. In other words, learn to stretch the dollar and save money by not buying expensive prepared foods and ready-made clothes." That's from Ellen.

Buck from Vassar, Michigan, says, "Obviously, Martha should serve her community service in a kitchen somewhere. I suggest a soup kitchen or prison kitchen, or, better yet, on the serving line. Alternatively, she could work in the prison laundry."

OK. Jay from Des Moine, Iowa, writes: "Have Martha drive the Meals on Wheels van, deliver meals to the shut-in elderly for a while, although she shouldn't drive it too much because that could affect her girlish figure."

And finally, Sherrye says, "If Martha were to do community service I think it would be fitting if she were to clean the toilets at The New York Stock Exchange for a few months. That would be a good thing." And we've got tremendous support for this whole toilet option. Let's hear your ideas. Just write to us at am@cnn.com.

HEMMER: So she's essentially, according to the report in Newsweek, bargaining right now to get less jail time in exchange for community service?

BOROWITZ: Yes, absolutely. So we may really be helping Martha here. These ideas have gone right into the hopper.

COLLINS: She may be listening.

BOROWITZ: I think so.

COLLINS: All right. Andy, thanks so much.

Well, more than a million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year. Twenty years ago, melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, was found only in adults. But as Elizabeth Cohen tells us, doctors are alarmed now to find more and more of it in younger patients.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the story of a 15-year-old boy and the sunburns that nearly killed him.

ALEX LEVIN, HAD SKIN CANCER: I really spent just as much time as any other kid would spend. I went to the beach every summer; I was always in the pool. I just wasn't very careful. I mean, my mom would always ask me to put the sunscreen on, but I really never knew why. I didn't care if I got a sunburn every once in a while back then.

COHEN: Two years ago, when he was 13, doctors found a mole on Alex Levin's back. It turned out to be melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, and the cancer had already spread to one of his lymph nodes.

LEVIN: I never would have thought a kid would have it. I thought maybe when I was an old man I'd get it, that type of thing. But it never even phased my mind that it could happen to me.

COHEN: Apparently, most teens feel the same way. According to a new report from the American Cancer Society, only one third of teenagers use any sun protection at all. And when they do use sunscreen, most use it only when they go to the beach or the pool. Doctors say kids almost never used to get melanoma, but now they are, and doctors aren't sure why.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm really alarmed that today we are regularly seeing young people with melanoma, including children and teenagers.

COHEN: And he's frustrated, because skin cancer is often so preventable. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, it makes no more sense to have a sunburn, which is an injury to your skin, than it is to put your hand in scalding water.

COHEN: Alex's surgical scars are now barely visible. He's cancer-free, but has to get checked regularly. His doctors told him he doesn't have to avoid the sun entirely, so he still spends time outside playing with his friends, walking his dog. But now he's a lot smarter about it.

LEVIN: The only thing you can tell people is to just give them the advice that they've just got to put sunscreen on. If you can protect yourself from one sunburn, you can protect yourself from so much later in life.

COHEN: Great advice from a young cancer survivor.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And Dr. Balsh (ph) recommends any changes in a mole or your skin should definitely be seen by a doctor. Some good advice there.

HEMMER: That's right.

In a moment here, what the president is doing today, honoring America's fallen heroes on this Memorial Day. We'll get to that topic in a moment.

COLLINS: Plus, "Shrek" is a mean, green money machine at the box office. But could he fight off a new ice age? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: The president will lead the nation, honoring those who paid the ultimate price in service to America on this holiday. There has already been a number of public ceremonies over the past few days in the nation's capital. What a weekend it's been.

Sean Callebs live in D.C. with more this morning. Sean, good morning there.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.

Indeed, it has been quite a weekend here in the nation's capital. We can tell you, even though it's a very dark, dreary day here, drizzling, a lot of tourists out this morning. A lot of young tourists, a lot of World War II veterans. Certainly a very important weekend for them.

It began with a parade winding its way through the nation's capital about an hour and a half ago, featuring vintage World War II cars, really taking those World War II vets back in time just a bit. And, of course, the World War II veterans really the focal point of this holiday this weekend.

The World War II Memorial dedicated on Saturday underneath wonderful skies. In attendance, of course, current President George W. Bush, his father, George Bush, as well as former President Bill Clinton. So it was a wonderful day up here today, close to 150,000 people in attendance for that.

And marking a very somber moment in the Memorial Day holiday. Coming up in about an hour and a half, President Bush is scheduled to be at the Tomb of the Unknowns, where he will place a wreath. And, of course, that ceremony will culminate with the playing of "Taps." Always a very somber, patriotic moment for veterans.

And then about 1:00 Eastern Time this afternoon, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, a Vietnam veteran himself, will be at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, not terribly far from where we're standing. They expect as many as 10,000 people for that event -- Bill.

HEMMER: Sean, thanks. Sean Callebs there on the Mall.

A bit later today, 10:55 a.m. Eastern Time, is the projected starting point today for the president at Arlington's National Cemetery. And certainly we will be there live on this Memorial Day. Arlington National Cemetery today -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Still to come, the latest on those devastating twisters in the Midwest. We'll tell you whether the people there can expect a break today.

Also ahead, an update on today's deadly violence in Baghdad. We'll go there in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Memorial Day is time off for most. But our pop culture gurus are up and Adam this morning for yet another episode of the critically acclaimed "90-Second Pop." And here they are, ladies and gentlemen.

Toure, contributing editor for Rolling Stone. Toure, thanks for getting up.

Jessica Shaw with Entertainment Weekly. Same to you, Jessica.

And B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for US Weekly.

So glad you guys are here.

JESSICA SHAW, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Well, you guys never stop working.

COLLINS: Yes, that's right. On call 24/7, right?

Hey, Toure, let's talk about Kobe Bryant a little bit. A lot of people, I think, are talking about this now with the way that the Lakers are playing. Do you think that some of this star power or heroism has worn off a little bit? I mean, he's been going to and from Eagle, Colorado, during these games, and some people may be wondering about that. Or are they just going with the flow?

TOURE, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, ROLLING STONE: Well, I mean, from the beginning of the season, I said there's no way he'll be able to deal with the real pressure of being on the court when he has very real pressure off the court to deal with. And he's played extraordinary despite extraordinary personal circumstances.

SHAW: Doesn't he play better?

TOURE: Well, he seems to play better after he goes...

SHAW: He's scoring more points after he spends the day in Colorado.

TOURE: Yes. But I can't see him as a heroic figure yet. I mean, he seems more of a tragic figure stuck in his own web that he's created.

B.J. SIGESMUND, US WEEKLY: But he's not tragic. I mean, his focus is undeniable.

TOURE: Right.

SIGESMUND: You know, both of these things -- you know, he's possibly going to go to prison for years. So he's fighting for that during the day. And then he flies by private jet to LA and scores 30 or 40 points a game. I mean, on a national stage. It's not like he's performing really well at home and no one is watching.

COLLINS: All right. Let's move on, guys. Obviously, a lot more to talk about there.

Jessica, we have some issues possibly with dear "Harry Potter." What are we going to do? Daniel Radcliffe kind of hinting that maybe in the sixth book, movie, however that comes out first...

SHAW: Harry is out of there.

COLLINS: ... he might not be with us any longer.

SHAW: You know what? I don't think we can take it that seriously, because this is a young actor talking -- the book hasn't been written. It's not like JK Rowling was like, hmm, what should I do with Harry at the end? Let me call the little actor.

(CROSSTALK)

SIGESMUND: With all due respect to Daniel Radcliffe, why are we listening to this kid? He is 14 years old. He doesn't have JK Rowling here.

SHAW: He's not even signed on for the fifth movie yet. I think this might be a contract negotiation. TOURE: Rowling has all of the scripts written out.

SHAW: She's not sharing them with him.

TOURE: No. But they probably know what's going on. And she typically challenges her young readers quite a bit. And this would be a challenge. But it's not unusual in kid lit for somebody to die like that. So it could happen.

SIGESMUND: No, there is no way you would kill Harry Potter off at the very end of the series.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: I just want to know what on earth we would do if Harry was gone? What would we do? What would we talk about?

SHAW: Kobe Bryant.

COLLINS: Right, yes.

All right. B.J., let's talk a little bit about this killer movie, "Shrek 2," which I saw with a 3-year-old who is afraid of the dark in these movies. But that is another story. This might clobber "The Day After Tomorrow."

SIGESMUND: It's a monster.

COLLINS: Yes.

SIGESMUND: I mean, it has reached $200 million faster than an almost any movie since "Spiderman." It even beat "The Day After Tomorrow" with all that hype. It still was number one, just by a few million dollars, but number one movie. This is -- you know, it looks like it's going to be the biggest movie of the summer and possibly the biggest movie of the year.

COLLINS: You know, one thing I noticed...

SHAW: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), though. I mean, it did make $70 million, which is still huge.

COLLINS: Right. That is quite a lot of money. One thing I noticed with this movie, though, is there are probably some people wondering if you can still see "Shrek 2" if you haven't seen "Shrek."

SIGESMUND: Absolutely.

COLLINS: Definitely? But there are a lot of references in there that certainly my little boy didn't get. But...

SIGESMUND: Yes, it's a little bit more adult than the first one. I actually went with a couple of kids, one of whom was almost four, and he said that he was scared by it. He was scared by the godmother character, the fairy godmother. So it is a little -- I did OK. Yes, it's a little bit more grown up, much like the "Harry Potter," the coming "Harry Potter" movie this Friday is more grown up.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: Oh my goodness. We got that straight from Shrek, too.

All right, guys. Thanks so much for coming in today. We do appreciate your time, B.J., Jessica and Toure. Thanks, guys.

Bill?

HEMMER: Heidi, thanks for that.

Seventeen before the hour. If you're a parent, you know how important it is to keep an eye on the kids at the pool this summer. In a moment, what you can do to make sure your kids stay safe while having fun in the sun.

Back in a moment after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: At 45 minutes past the hour now, here is what is happening in other news today. A car bombing in Iraq leaves at least two people dead. The blast taking place on a Baghdad road commonly used by coalition forces and Iraqi officials. At least 17 others were injured.

And in the Iraqi city of kufa, U.S. troops fighting with forces loyal to wanted Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, two American soldiers were killed in an overnight clash there. The violence in Kufa further eroding a shaky truce to end fighting in that region.

Meanwhile, a decision to select a new Iraqi president is put on hold. Iraq's Governing Council announcing a 24-hour delay in the decision to name a new leader. The move breaks a self-imposed United Nations deadline. A spokesman for a U.N. envoy says the delay does not mean the process is in jeopardy.

Deadly storms being blamed for at least three deaths in the nation's mid section. In Indiana, a tornado smashed homes and snapped trees. One person was killed in Marengo in the southern part of the state; the other two victims were in Missouri and Tennessee. In Kentucky, officials reported downed power lines and flooding, but no injuries there. More than 80 tornadoes were reportedly sighted this weekend.

President Bush heads to Arlington National Cemetery this Memorial Day. The president and Mrs. Bush will participate in the traditional wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The president is expected to speak at the ceremony, which is scheduled to start at 10:55 a.m. Eastern Time. CNN, of course, will have live coverage of that.

And Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry also in Virginia. He is scheduled to march in the 120th annual Memorial Day Parade in Portsmouth. HEMMER: Memorial Day Weekend officially kicking off the unofficial start of the summer. With so much activity taking place around the water, just playing can be dangerous. John Zarrella looks at one effort that aims to keep kids safe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not long ago, four-and-a-half-year-old Avi Stein (ph) climbed the backyard pool fence for a ball and fell in the water. His mother had left him alone for just a minute.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Luckily, he learned the skills here. And when I found him he was at the pool's edge already.

ZARRELLA: Avi (ph) had taken a children's swim program called Aqua Child. It teaches kids to get on their back, float, catch their breath, and swim to the edge when they fall into the water.

With summer upon us, the National Safe Kids Campaign is urging parents to actively supervise their young children. A Safe Kids study analyzed 490 cases of children who drowned during a two-year period. Shockingly, nine of 10 were being supervised at the time. Safe Kids found parents are not always focused.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They talked about some alarmingly distracting behaviors, including talking on the cell phone, talking to friends, eating, reading. And some even admitted to closing their eyes and relaxing while they were watching the kids around the pool or the lake.

ZARRELLA: Safe Kids recommends layers of protection, fencing around the pool, active supervision, wearing personal flotation devices and swimming lessons.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to do it again.

ZARRELLA: Savannah Ruby (ph) was not a happy camper at her first Aqua Child swim lesson. But halfway through the six-week program, she's coming along swimmingly. Instructor Scott Lawner (ph) says the course is tough love. Kids cry a lot, but he says the parents understand it's worth it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said to her, I go, "Man, I'm really sorry that he hasn't stopped crying." And she said, "Well, I'd rather him cry here six weeks than me cry the rest of his life if he drowns."

ZARRELLA: Safe Kids cautions a parent's responsibility doesn't change just because a child had swim lessons. Active supervision is still the best protection.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: Also, for more information from the National Safe Kids Campaign, check out their Web site at www.safekids.org online now.

In a moment here, how exactly do you brighten up a jail cell? Martha Stewart might not have to answer that question after all. There is a report out there that says she's looking to cut a deal to do community service. So we asked you today what you thought would be appropriate. Some of the answers in a moment when we continue after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We want to go ahead and check in again with Andy Borowitz and the Question of the Day.

Andy, you've been doing a fabulous job for Jack here.

BOROWITZ: Oh. The new guy. Bless you.

Well, our question today was, what community service should Martha Stewart do? And boy, do you have a lot of awesome ideas.

Carol from Florida says, "Martha Stewart should be assigned to revamp the cafeteria programs for public schools, including menu planning, food purchasing, and recipes. This community service project would take her the rest of her life." Ouch.

Shelby writes: "Martha Stewart should be required to teach some form of home economics in inner city schools. The first and the last period daily. The first period so she can't sleep in, and the last period because they are so unruly. During other periods she should ab classroom aide. Then she'll appreciate real teachers and students."

Do you get the feeling that teachers have Memorial Day off and they're all writing to us? I do.

And finally, Andrew from Vancouver: "Martha is a smart lady who could easily learn to diffuse landmines in Afghanistan or empty bed pans in Iraq. I'd be OK with that kind of community service."

You know, I think Martha may choose the prison option after all.

COLLINS: After that, maybe.

BOROWITZ: After that. I think so.

HEMMER: Now, you're no lawyer. Do you think she's got a shot at getting this reduced?

BOROWITZ: I don't know. I don't know. I mean, I never want to put anything past Martha. She's pretty shrewd.

HEMMER: She's a survivor.

BOROWITZ: She is a survivor.

HEMMER: Thank you, Andy. Did you see the Indy 500 over the weekend by chance? BOROWITZ: I just watched Jessica Simpson's performance and then I switched.

HEMMER: How did she do?

BOROWITZ: She was gradually saying (ph), take my breath away.

HEMMER: All right. I missed that.

BOROWITZ: But I'm so happy for Dave. I'm very happy for Dave.

HEMMER: That's exactly right.

BOROWITZ: That is correct.

HEMMER: Mother Nature stepped in yesterday many, many times, shortening the Indy 500. Off and on race yesterday. Rains soaked the speedway, cut short the 88th annual competition.

Hey, the Indy 500 was looking for some good publicity. NASCAR has really eclipsed that in terms of the Daytona 500 going up against the Indy 500. That might have done a little bit of the trick yesterday, with David Letterman bringing attention to that victory.

COLLINS: Yes. He was a happy camper, wasn't he?

HEMMER: That he was. America's biggest prize, too, the Indy 500, the brickyard in Indianapolis.

COLLINS: All right. We want to let you know what is coming up on CNN, though.

A lot of cleaning up to be done across the center of the nation after dozens of tornadoes roared through. The latest coming up in a live report in the next hour with Daryn Kagan on "CNN LIVE TODAY." And AMERICAN MORNING will be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: With that, we've got to run. Thanks to your friend, Andy Borowitz, for helping us with Jack Cafferty out today. Well done.

BOROWITZ: I just kept on saying to myself, "What would Jack do?"

HEMMER: I know Jack Cafferty, and you are no Jack Cafferty. Thank you, Andy.

BOROWITZ: Thanks.

HEMMER: To Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Have a great Memorial Day, everybody.

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