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CNN Live At Daybreak
Ridge Resignation; Battle Zone Ballerinas; Faces of AIDS
Aired December 01, 2004 - 05:30 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.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again to you. Welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK, I'm Heidi Collins in for Carol Costello.
An awful lot going on right now. Let's check the headlines.
Now in the News.
President Bush heads to Halifax this morning on day two of his fence-mending mission to Canada and he's been getting a chilly reception there so far. Today he'll give a belated thank you to Canadian cities that hosted thousands of stranded U.S. passengers after the 9/11 attacks.
Denver's NBC station reports Dick Eversol's ribs and sternum broke in the plane crash that killed his youngest son. The pilot and a flight attendant also killed in Sunday's crash in Colorado. Eversol's oldest son suffered a broken hand. The co-pilot is in critical condition now at a Denver burn unit.
Time is running out for Congress to pass the Intelligence Reform Bill. It stalled because many GOP lawmakers say that it lacks immigration security reforms and takes too much intelligence control away from the military. President Bush says he wants the bill.
And today is the 17th Annual World AIDS Day. Across the globe, activists, entertainers and health workers are gathering to warn about the spread of HIV.
Rob Marciano joining us now with the latest on all weather all across the country.
Hey -- Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And then some, Heidi. We're going to talk about this Otto thing.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: All right, Rob, thanks, we'll check back later.
President Bush will have to find a new person to protect the homeland from terrorism. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced his resignation.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was the nation's official bearer of bad news.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We are now at high risk of a terrorist attack.
DAVID WEYMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTL. STUDIES: He will probably be remembered as one of the sort of a gentle warrior in a time when an anxious nation needed a calm voice.
MESERVE: As the first Secretary of Homeland Security, Ridge had the daunting task of trying to wrestle 22 separate government agencies into one while simultaneously fending off terrorist attacks. There were none on his watch.
RIDGE: And can I tell you today there are X number of incidents that we were able to thwart or prevent, cannot. Am I fairly confident that we probably have, yes I am.
MESERVE: But Ridge gets mixed marks on managing the department and securing the country.
STEPHEN FLYNN, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Not much progress has really been made on the vast majority of our critical infrastructure; that is our energy grids, our transportation system beyond passenger aviation, water, food supply.
MESERVE: Ridge may be best remembered for boosting sales of duct tape and creating the color-coded threat warning system.
TIMOTHY CLARK, "GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE" MAGAZINE: It seems a bit like a Jackson Pollack painting, you know. It's eye-catching but it's really not very comprehensible.
MESERVE: When late night comedians laughed, Ridge joined in.
JAY LENO, COMEDIAN: I'm sitting at home in my underpants watching the game. We're yellow, what do I do now?
RIDGE: Change your shorts.
LENO: Change your shorts.
MESERVE: Change in the department depends in part on who fills Ridge's shoes. Among those mentioned Frances Townsend, the current White House Homeland Security Adviser; EPA Administrator and former Utah Governor Mike Levitt; former Virginia Governor James Gilmore; and Asa Hutchinson, currently a DHS undersecretary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: We're going to talk a little bit more about Ridge's resignation in our Hot Topic segment that's coming up next hour. And the "Hotline's" Chuck Todd will give you his short list of who President Bush may be looking at to replace Ridge.
Meanwhile, here's what's making news Across America this morning.
An openly gay minister faces the United Methodist Church today in ecclesiastical court. Pardon me. Irene Elizabeth Stroud must answer to charges that her lesbianism is incompatible with Methodist ideology. If Stroud loses the trial, she could be defrocked. It is the third time the church has held these type of proceedings.
Welcome to E-Court. Couples seeking a divorce or legal separation in Phoenix, Arizona can now log on to the superior court Web site for help. If the issues are uncontested, they are given the means to file all the necessary paperwork on their own. County officials say the program should speed up the process.
And a serial killer surfaces in Wichita, Kansas known only as BTW. The elusive murderer has apparently become pen pals with police. Authorities say the killer claims in letters to have been born in 1939 and lost his father in World War II.
Checking the latest on Iraq right now. A car bomb attack on the road from Baghdad to its airport has left five U.S. troops wounded. The road was closed for several hours while officials investigated.
An Iraqi policeman was killed, three civilians wounded today when a roadside bomb went off in southeast Baghdad today.
And in Babil Province, U.S. and Iraqi forces have detained 15 suspected militants. The forces, along with British troops, have been conducting daily raids in that province for more than a week now.
All of these attacks have taken a toll on Iraq's citizens.
Our Karl Penhaul visited a Baghdad school of folk music and ballet, once one of the city's premier schools for ballerinas run by a Russian trained dance instructor. He reports on these battle zone ballerinas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're dancing "Swan Lake" just for old time sake. There's no longer enough young ballerinas to make up the full choreography. They're too frightened to come.
This was once one of Baghdad's premier ballet schools. Now the neighborhood is a battle zone in the eye of an urban guerrilla war.
THIKRA MONEM, BALLET INSTRUCTOR: Yes, when I go out of my house each day, I pray that I'll be safe returning back safely. It's a risk. It's a risky life here. So I feel for them too.
PENHAUL: Just across from the school an Iraqi military base which insurgents regularly mortar.
Before the U.S.-led invasion, more than 60 dancers trained here, fewer than half still come. Madam Thikra studied here and won a dance scholarship to Russia. She returned to teach here in 1991 just after the first Gulf War. But she says enough is enough, now she wants to leave Iraq for good.
MONEM: I am 45 years old and I don't think that there will be much more time to lose here in this chaos.
PENHAUL: The old Steinway piano chimes out a nostalgic tune. The good times seem to be long gone.
Since Saddam Hussein fell, looters ransacked the ballet school, government stormed in threatening to kidnap teachers and a mortar round, aimed at the nearby military base, exploded just outside.
Each ballerina has a horror story to tell about survival in post invasion Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We were sitting in my home and all of a sudden a gang stormed into our house thinking we were a gang too. The government were after a gang who lived in the house opposite.
PENHAUL: Madam Thikra watches carefully as her understudies stretch and point, but the "Nutcracker Suite" seems a little out of tune to her these days and the girls seem distracted. Madam Thikra has clearly lost her passion.
MONEM: I am sorry for being pessimistic, but this is the way I feel right now.
PENHAUL: Each day the few who still dare to come get fewer. And if the violence continues, the Steinway may soon fall silent and the ballerinas may be gone forever.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Up next on DAYBREAK, the new faces of AIDS. In 12 minutes, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta breaks the stereotypes surrounding the deadly disease and shows us a compelling side that will hit close to home.
And our e-mail question of the day, should U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan resign? We'll read some of your thoughts a little bit later.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:43 now and here's what's all new this Wednesday morning.
President Bush starts the second day of his fence-mending mission in Canada with a trip to Halifax later this morning.
Southeast Airlines calling it quits. The carrier posted a statement on its Web site saying it can no longer cope with what it calls the uncontrollably high costs of fuel. Southeast flew to seven different destinations.
In money, a bittersweet case headed to trial in Pennsylvania. The company that makes Equal is suing its competitor Splenda. Equal says Splenda isn't really made from sugar like its packaging and ads claim.
In culture, "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw getting ready to say goodbye for the last time after 22 years in the anchor chair. His last newscast is tonight.
In sports, Oakland County authorities tell the "Detroit News" that some Indiana Pacers players will be charged in that brawl a couple of weeks ago. No names yet though. Also, the NBA commissioner is promising better security.
Well let's hope.
Weather now, the headlines coming up from Rob -- Rob.
MARCIANO: It's all about peace and love here, Heidi, this morning.
COLLINS: That's for sure.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: Heidi, what do you have?
COLLINS: Well, the game may have ended a month ago, but the Boston Red Sox are still celebrating their first World Series title since 1918. Pretty understandable. And they're getting some help, right -- Rob?
MARCIANO: By the Red Sox or the -- I'm sorry...
COLLINS: The Red Sox are still celebrating because of "Sports Illustrated." Listen to this.
MARCIANO: Yes.
COLLINS: They have chosen the team as its sportsmen of the year. You saw it here first.
MARCIANO: Yes. No, it's been out there for a couple of days now.
COLLINS: Come on.
The issue hits the stands today. The news stands that is. There it is. Wow! The team may be looking for a new pitcher, though, pretty soon we're hearing. MARCIANO: Yes.
COLLINS: The New York Mets, right, making a play for Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez and he wants to go. But it ain't over until it's over.
MARCIANO: Of course he wants to go, he's all about the money. He's a punk thug.
COLLINS: But you know the deal has not been inked yet. Of course, I don't know, I was thinking maybe he'd go to the -- what's that other team in New York? Yes, the Yankees.
MARCIANO: Well, I...
COLLINS: You think they'd have him?
MARCIANO: I don't know. I don't think -- I think you know we've got a lot of other players that I never thought would come to the Yankees, like Roger Clemens, which did OK.
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: But this guy and the rivalry is so venomous right now.
COLLINS: Exactly. Who's your daddy or something like that.
MARCIANO: It's just there's no way.
COLLINS: Right?
MARCIANO: So just the fact that he's across the street down there with the Mets is close enough.
COLLINS: Is close enough. I think you're probably right. Well listen...
MARCIANO: So it's not -- but it's not inked yet, right? It looks liked it's...
COLLINS: It is not inked, not inked. We're going to keep our eye on it.
All right, well what happens when life throws you a curve? Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHELLEY SINGER, HIV POSITIVE: All I was doing was being a normal woman, just like everyone I know and everyone around me and everyone in that bar behind me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Every day people walking tall through the challenge of a lifetime. Hear their stories. And we'll read your responses to the DAYBREAK e-mail Question of the Day. A scandal in the U.N.'s Oil-For-Food program involving Kofi Annan's son. Should the secretary-general resign?
You're watching DAYBREAK for a Wednesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Today is World AIDS Day and all week long CNN is taking a close look at the virus and its impact in a special series called "RU+." The world is marking World AIDS Day with warnings about the spread of HIV. The disease was first dismissed by many as being confined to drug users, gays and prostitutes, but not anymore.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to three very different people living with the disease.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forty- five-year-old Shelley Singer says she got HIV in her 20s, didn't know it all through her 30s and now is living with the consequences of it in her 40s.
SINGER: I guess I fell into that trap that you sort of think that this is about them. You know, those people, the bad people, you know, the people that deserve it, the people that didn't pay attention, that didn't listen. After all I'm a married woman. I'm straight. My husband is straight. All I was doing was being a normal woman, just like everyone I know and everyone around me and everyone in that bar behind me.
GUPTA: Thirty-seven-year-old David Britt of Cincinnati was married and raising daughter Gwendolyn (ph) when he learned he was HIV positive.
DAVID BRITT, HIV POSITIVE: It's an ailment like anything else, you know. It's a virus. I have it. I'm going to die with it, hopefully not from it. I plan on making sure that she gets through college, putting out the first few little boyfriends, the ones that I don't like.
I work with kids. God's got a funny sense of humor and I'm a chemical dependency counselor now. My ability to maybe impact somebody's life so that they don't go through what I go through some days is the most important thing for me.
GUPTA: Irene Begay of Phoenix, Arizona was a nurse in the AIDS ward of her Navajo Reservations hospital when she accidentally stuck herself with a patient's used needle. Five years later, the 56-year- old grandmother became ill and tested positive for the AIDS virus.
IRENE BEGAY, HIV POSITIVE: Already from the day it happened one day the doctor told me when I was positive the first time. I didn't want to die. But then as the years went by, I'm not afraid to die. My grandkids are my whole life right now. I want them to remember me as happy. I just want to be there and help them. I want to beat this thing. I want to beat this sickness and I don't want it to beat me.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Be sure to catch Sanjay's entire special on AIDS. "RU+" airs tonight at 11:00 Eastern, 8:00 Pacific. Definitely a must see there.
And for more on the changing face of AIDS in America, you can log onto CNN.com/AIDS. The Web site also has an animation explaining how HIV infects a cell.
Here's what's all new in the next hour of DAYBREAK.
Go phish. We'll show you how clever criminals are tricking you into giving away personal information.
Also, 'tis the season to be jolly, right? But if that person on your list is dieting, don't fret, it's not ho ho hopeless. Our Lisa Drayer joins us with some healthy alternatives.
And today's history question, what civil rights icon earned a spot in history on this day in 1955?
From New York and Atlanta, this is DAYBREAK for a Wednesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: OK, our history trivia question for the day is what civil rights icon earned a spot in history on this day in 1955? The answer is Rosa Parks, of course. On this day in 1955 the seamstress refused to give her seat up on the bus to a white man. She was arrested. That resulted in a boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama bus system marked the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States -- Rosa Parks.
Also, want to get to this news coming to us just in now from the Ukraine. We've been talking about it for days in the elections that were going on there for prime minister. Words of voter fraud is the headline.
This morning a very important step for the opposition. Ukraine's Parliament decided earlier this morning that they will get rid of the government. They're going to kick them out. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was voted in. Now (ph) is not going to be there anymore.
The opposition claimed no confidence in this vote. They are now going to put in place Viktor Yushchenko, their leader who they say actually really won that election.
So we'll have more on this for you. It's about seven hours ahead there, so 12:57 in the Ukraine. We're going to keep our eye on it for you and check out what will happen next if in fact there will be new elections.
Meanwhile, time to check our Web Clicks this morning, what stories are getting your attention on the Web site.
Rob, let's go ahead and go to CNN.com right now. First up...
MARCIANO: OK, what do you got?
COLLINS: ... Merriam Webster's word of the list or word list of the year that is. A four-letter term that came to symbolize the difference between old and new media during this year's presidential campaign tops the list of 10.
MARCIANO: Blog.
COLLINS: What is it? Blog, you got it. Been hearing a lot about that in fact. Others are incumbent, electoral, insurgent, hurricane, cicada, peloton, partisan...
MARCIANO: Hey, hurricane is at the bottom of the list.
COLLINS: ... sovereignty. I knew you were going to say that. And defenestration. Hope I said all those right. Don't have the dictionary in front of me.
Meanwhile, the next one, a princess and former Marine file for divorce. Now you may have seen this, there was a TV movie made about it in fact. Five-year marriage is over now between a former Marine and a young Bahraini royal whose story provided, as we said, the basis for a made-for-television movie. Things not working out. I guess she's spending some time in Las Vegas, according to sources that we know.
MARCIANO: OK. And which we won't reveal.
COLLINS: We will not reveal them, no.
MARCIANO: OK.
COLLINS: Hey, want to get to the e-mails that we're getting this morning.
MARCIANO: OK, what's the question?
COLLINS: Remind everybody the question is should Kofi Annan resign? Talking about the Oil-For-Food scandal and the fact that his son has been linked to it.
The first one that I have is from Honolulu, Hawaii. It's Thomas Stocks (ph). He says it's a very sad state of affairs when a present Nobel Prize winner finds himself in the situation he is in. My heart goes out to those who have suffered the most in this, the very people who were never fed while another's bank account apparently was.
What have you got -- Rob?
MARCIANO: I have one on the other side of the spectrum. Kofi Annan should be discharged, not resign, from the U.N. Resignation is too good for him. Why do officials have to resign? I mean why can't they get fired like everybody else? Why do they going to need -- you know?
COLLINS: We're going to check into that.
Also, one coming from Jeff Jacobson (ph). Representative Flay brings up an excellent point as to why Kofi Annan should resign. A scandal of this magnitude, I concur, blame has to fall right at the top of the food chain.
MARCIANO: A positive one, Kofi Annan has done an impeccable job. His son's actions are independent of his own. Annan's career should be treated that way as well.
COLLINS: All right, well we're going to get more of those throughout the morning. Apparently getting a whole bunch of them coming in about this very topic. So, Rob, thank you.
MARCIANO: Thank you.
COLLINS: And the next hour of DAYBREAK begins right now.
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 December 1, 2004 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again to you. Welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK, I'm Heidi Collins in for Carol Costello.
An awful lot going on right now. Let's check the headlines.
Now in the News.
President Bush heads to Halifax this morning on day two of his fence-mending mission to Canada and he's been getting a chilly reception there so far. Today he'll give a belated thank you to Canadian cities that hosted thousands of stranded U.S. passengers after the 9/11 attacks.
Denver's NBC station reports Dick Eversol's ribs and sternum broke in the plane crash that killed his youngest son. The pilot and a flight attendant also killed in Sunday's crash in Colorado. Eversol's oldest son suffered a broken hand. The co-pilot is in critical condition now at a Denver burn unit.
Time is running out for Congress to pass the Intelligence Reform Bill. It stalled because many GOP lawmakers say that it lacks immigration security reforms and takes too much intelligence control away from the military. President Bush says he wants the bill.
And today is the 17th Annual World AIDS Day. Across the globe, activists, entertainers and health workers are gathering to warn about the spread of HIV.
Rob Marciano joining us now with the latest on all weather all across the country.
Hey -- Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And then some, Heidi. We're going to talk about this Otto thing.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: All right, Rob, thanks, we'll check back later.
President Bush will have to find a new person to protect the homeland from terrorism. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced his resignation.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was the nation's official bearer of bad news.
TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We are now at high risk of a terrorist attack.
DAVID WEYMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTL. STUDIES: He will probably be remembered as one of the sort of a gentle warrior in a time when an anxious nation needed a calm voice.
MESERVE: As the first Secretary of Homeland Security, Ridge had the daunting task of trying to wrestle 22 separate government agencies into one while simultaneously fending off terrorist attacks. There were none on his watch.
RIDGE: And can I tell you today there are X number of incidents that we were able to thwart or prevent, cannot. Am I fairly confident that we probably have, yes I am.
MESERVE: But Ridge gets mixed marks on managing the department and securing the country.
STEPHEN FLYNN, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Not much progress has really been made on the vast majority of our critical infrastructure; that is our energy grids, our transportation system beyond passenger aviation, water, food supply.
MESERVE: Ridge may be best remembered for boosting sales of duct tape and creating the color-coded threat warning system.
TIMOTHY CLARK, "GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE" MAGAZINE: It seems a bit like a Jackson Pollack painting, you know. It's eye-catching but it's really not very comprehensible.
MESERVE: When late night comedians laughed, Ridge joined in.
JAY LENO, COMEDIAN: I'm sitting at home in my underpants watching the game. We're yellow, what do I do now?
RIDGE: Change your shorts.
LENO: Change your shorts.
MESERVE: Change in the department depends in part on who fills Ridge's shoes. Among those mentioned Frances Townsend, the current White House Homeland Security Adviser; EPA Administrator and former Utah Governor Mike Levitt; former Virginia Governor James Gilmore; and Asa Hutchinson, currently a DHS undersecretary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: We're going to talk a little bit more about Ridge's resignation in our Hot Topic segment that's coming up next hour. And the "Hotline's" Chuck Todd will give you his short list of who President Bush may be looking at to replace Ridge.
Meanwhile, here's what's making news Across America this morning.
An openly gay minister faces the United Methodist Church today in ecclesiastical court. Pardon me. Irene Elizabeth Stroud must answer to charges that her lesbianism is incompatible with Methodist ideology. If Stroud loses the trial, she could be defrocked. It is the third time the church has held these type of proceedings.
Welcome to E-Court. Couples seeking a divorce or legal separation in Phoenix, Arizona can now log on to the superior court Web site for help. If the issues are uncontested, they are given the means to file all the necessary paperwork on their own. County officials say the program should speed up the process.
And a serial killer surfaces in Wichita, Kansas known only as BTW. The elusive murderer has apparently become pen pals with police. Authorities say the killer claims in letters to have been born in 1939 and lost his father in World War II.
Checking the latest on Iraq right now. A car bomb attack on the road from Baghdad to its airport has left five U.S. troops wounded. The road was closed for several hours while officials investigated.
An Iraqi policeman was killed, three civilians wounded today when a roadside bomb went off in southeast Baghdad today.
And in Babil Province, U.S. and Iraqi forces have detained 15 suspected militants. The forces, along with British troops, have been conducting daily raids in that province for more than a week now.
All of these attacks have taken a toll on Iraq's citizens.
Our Karl Penhaul visited a Baghdad school of folk music and ballet, once one of the city's premier schools for ballerinas run by a Russian trained dance instructor. He reports on these battle zone ballerinas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're dancing "Swan Lake" just for old time sake. There's no longer enough young ballerinas to make up the full choreography. They're too frightened to come.
This was once one of Baghdad's premier ballet schools. Now the neighborhood is a battle zone in the eye of an urban guerrilla war.
THIKRA MONEM, BALLET INSTRUCTOR: Yes, when I go out of my house each day, I pray that I'll be safe returning back safely. It's a risk. It's a risky life here. So I feel for them too.
PENHAUL: Just across from the school an Iraqi military base which insurgents regularly mortar.
Before the U.S.-led invasion, more than 60 dancers trained here, fewer than half still come. Madam Thikra studied here and won a dance scholarship to Russia. She returned to teach here in 1991 just after the first Gulf War. But she says enough is enough, now she wants to leave Iraq for good.
MONEM: I am 45 years old and I don't think that there will be much more time to lose here in this chaos.
PENHAUL: The old Steinway piano chimes out a nostalgic tune. The good times seem to be long gone.
Since Saddam Hussein fell, looters ransacked the ballet school, government stormed in threatening to kidnap teachers and a mortar round, aimed at the nearby military base, exploded just outside.
Each ballerina has a horror story to tell about survival in post invasion Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We were sitting in my home and all of a sudden a gang stormed into our house thinking we were a gang too. The government were after a gang who lived in the house opposite.
PENHAUL: Madam Thikra watches carefully as her understudies stretch and point, but the "Nutcracker Suite" seems a little out of tune to her these days and the girls seem distracted. Madam Thikra has clearly lost her passion.
MONEM: I am sorry for being pessimistic, but this is the way I feel right now.
PENHAUL: Each day the few who still dare to come get fewer. And if the violence continues, the Steinway may soon fall silent and the ballerinas may be gone forever.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Up next on DAYBREAK, the new faces of AIDS. In 12 minutes, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta breaks the stereotypes surrounding the deadly disease and shows us a compelling side that will hit close to home.
And our e-mail question of the day, should U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan resign? We'll read some of your thoughts a little bit later.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:43 now and here's what's all new this Wednesday morning.
President Bush starts the second day of his fence-mending mission in Canada with a trip to Halifax later this morning.
Southeast Airlines calling it quits. The carrier posted a statement on its Web site saying it can no longer cope with what it calls the uncontrollably high costs of fuel. Southeast flew to seven different destinations.
In money, a bittersweet case headed to trial in Pennsylvania. The company that makes Equal is suing its competitor Splenda. Equal says Splenda isn't really made from sugar like its packaging and ads claim.
In culture, "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw getting ready to say goodbye for the last time after 22 years in the anchor chair. His last newscast is tonight.
In sports, Oakland County authorities tell the "Detroit News" that some Indiana Pacers players will be charged in that brawl a couple of weeks ago. No names yet though. Also, the NBA commissioner is promising better security.
Well let's hope.
Weather now, the headlines coming up from Rob -- Rob.
MARCIANO: It's all about peace and love here, Heidi, this morning.
COLLINS: That's for sure.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: Heidi, what do you have?
COLLINS: Well, the game may have ended a month ago, but the Boston Red Sox are still celebrating their first World Series title since 1918. Pretty understandable. And they're getting some help, right -- Rob?
MARCIANO: By the Red Sox or the -- I'm sorry...
COLLINS: The Red Sox are still celebrating because of "Sports Illustrated." Listen to this.
MARCIANO: Yes.
COLLINS: They have chosen the team as its sportsmen of the year. You saw it here first.
MARCIANO: Yes. No, it's been out there for a couple of days now.
COLLINS: Come on.
The issue hits the stands today. The news stands that is. There it is. Wow! The team may be looking for a new pitcher, though, pretty soon we're hearing. MARCIANO: Yes.
COLLINS: The New York Mets, right, making a play for Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez and he wants to go. But it ain't over until it's over.
MARCIANO: Of course he wants to go, he's all about the money. He's a punk thug.
COLLINS: But you know the deal has not been inked yet. Of course, I don't know, I was thinking maybe he'd go to the -- what's that other team in New York? Yes, the Yankees.
MARCIANO: Well, I...
COLLINS: You think they'd have him?
MARCIANO: I don't know. I don't think -- I think you know we've got a lot of other players that I never thought would come to the Yankees, like Roger Clemens, which did OK.
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: But this guy and the rivalry is so venomous right now.
COLLINS: Exactly. Who's your daddy or something like that.
MARCIANO: It's just there's no way.
COLLINS: Right?
MARCIANO: So just the fact that he's across the street down there with the Mets is close enough.
COLLINS: Is close enough. I think you're probably right. Well listen...
MARCIANO: So it's not -- but it's not inked yet, right? It looks liked it's...
COLLINS: It is not inked, not inked. We're going to keep our eye on it.
All right, well what happens when life throws you a curve? Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHELLEY SINGER, HIV POSITIVE: All I was doing was being a normal woman, just like everyone I know and everyone around me and everyone in that bar behind me.
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COLLINS: Every day people walking tall through the challenge of a lifetime. Hear their stories. And we'll read your responses to the DAYBREAK e-mail Question of the Day. A scandal in the U.N.'s Oil-For-Food program involving Kofi Annan's son. Should the secretary-general resign?
You're watching DAYBREAK for a Wednesday.
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COLLINS: Today is World AIDS Day and all week long CNN is taking a close look at the virus and its impact in a special series called "RU+." The world is marking World AIDS Day with warnings about the spread of HIV. The disease was first dismissed by many as being confined to drug users, gays and prostitutes, but not anymore.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to three very different people living with the disease.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forty- five-year-old Shelley Singer says she got HIV in her 20s, didn't know it all through her 30s and now is living with the consequences of it in her 40s.
SINGER: I guess I fell into that trap that you sort of think that this is about them. You know, those people, the bad people, you know, the people that deserve it, the people that didn't pay attention, that didn't listen. After all I'm a married woman. I'm straight. My husband is straight. All I was doing was being a normal woman, just like everyone I know and everyone around me and everyone in that bar behind me.
GUPTA: Thirty-seven-year-old David Britt of Cincinnati was married and raising daughter Gwendolyn (ph) when he learned he was HIV positive.
DAVID BRITT, HIV POSITIVE: It's an ailment like anything else, you know. It's a virus. I have it. I'm going to die with it, hopefully not from it. I plan on making sure that she gets through college, putting out the first few little boyfriends, the ones that I don't like.
I work with kids. God's got a funny sense of humor and I'm a chemical dependency counselor now. My ability to maybe impact somebody's life so that they don't go through what I go through some days is the most important thing for me.
GUPTA: Irene Begay of Phoenix, Arizona was a nurse in the AIDS ward of her Navajo Reservations hospital when she accidentally stuck herself with a patient's used needle. Five years later, the 56-year- old grandmother became ill and tested positive for the AIDS virus.
IRENE BEGAY, HIV POSITIVE: Already from the day it happened one day the doctor told me when I was positive the first time. I didn't want to die. But then as the years went by, I'm not afraid to die. My grandkids are my whole life right now. I want them to remember me as happy. I just want to be there and help them. I want to beat this thing. I want to beat this sickness and I don't want it to beat me.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
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COLLINS: Be sure to catch Sanjay's entire special on AIDS. "RU+" airs tonight at 11:00 Eastern, 8:00 Pacific. Definitely a must see there.
And for more on the changing face of AIDS in America, you can log onto CNN.com/AIDS. The Web site also has an animation explaining how HIV infects a cell.
Here's what's all new in the next hour of DAYBREAK.
Go phish. We'll show you how clever criminals are tricking you into giving away personal information.
Also, 'tis the season to be jolly, right? But if that person on your list is dieting, don't fret, it's not ho ho hopeless. Our Lisa Drayer joins us with some healthy alternatives.
And today's history question, what civil rights icon earned a spot in history on this day in 1955?
From New York and Atlanta, this is DAYBREAK for a Wednesday.
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COLLINS: OK, our history trivia question for the day is what civil rights icon earned a spot in history on this day in 1955? The answer is Rosa Parks, of course. On this day in 1955 the seamstress refused to give her seat up on the bus to a white man. She was arrested. That resulted in a boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama bus system marked the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States -- Rosa Parks.
Also, want to get to this news coming to us just in now from the Ukraine. We've been talking about it for days in the elections that were going on there for prime minister. Words of voter fraud is the headline.
This morning a very important step for the opposition. Ukraine's Parliament decided earlier this morning that they will get rid of the government. They're going to kick them out. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was voted in. Now (ph) is not going to be there anymore.
The opposition claimed no confidence in this vote. They are now going to put in place Viktor Yushchenko, their leader who they say actually really won that election.
So we'll have more on this for you. It's about seven hours ahead there, so 12:57 in the Ukraine. We're going to keep our eye on it for you and check out what will happen next if in fact there will be new elections.
Meanwhile, time to check our Web Clicks this morning, what stories are getting your attention on the Web site.
Rob, let's go ahead and go to CNN.com right now. First up...
MARCIANO: OK, what do you got?
COLLINS: ... Merriam Webster's word of the list or word list of the year that is. A four-letter term that came to symbolize the difference between old and new media during this year's presidential campaign tops the list of 10.
MARCIANO: Blog.
COLLINS: What is it? Blog, you got it. Been hearing a lot about that in fact. Others are incumbent, electoral, insurgent, hurricane, cicada, peloton, partisan...
MARCIANO: Hey, hurricane is at the bottom of the list.
COLLINS: ... sovereignty. I knew you were going to say that. And defenestration. Hope I said all those right. Don't have the dictionary in front of me.
Meanwhile, the next one, a princess and former Marine file for divorce. Now you may have seen this, there was a TV movie made about it in fact. Five-year marriage is over now between a former Marine and a young Bahraini royal whose story provided, as we said, the basis for a made-for-television movie. Things not working out. I guess she's spending some time in Las Vegas, according to sources that we know.
MARCIANO: OK. And which we won't reveal.
COLLINS: We will not reveal them, no.
MARCIANO: OK.
COLLINS: Hey, want to get to the e-mails that we're getting this morning.
MARCIANO: OK, what's the question?
COLLINS: Remind everybody the question is should Kofi Annan resign? Talking about the Oil-For-Food scandal and the fact that his son has been linked to it.
The first one that I have is from Honolulu, Hawaii. It's Thomas Stocks (ph). He says it's a very sad state of affairs when a present Nobel Prize winner finds himself in the situation he is in. My heart goes out to those who have suffered the most in this, the very people who were never fed while another's bank account apparently was.
What have you got -- Rob?
MARCIANO: I have one on the other side of the spectrum. Kofi Annan should be discharged, not resign, from the U.N. Resignation is too good for him. Why do officials have to resign? I mean why can't they get fired like everybody else? Why do they going to need -- you know?
COLLINS: We're going to check into that.
Also, one coming from Jeff Jacobson (ph). Representative Flay brings up an excellent point as to why Kofi Annan should resign. A scandal of this magnitude, I concur, blame has to fall right at the top of the food chain.
MARCIANO: A positive one, Kofi Annan has done an impeccable job. His son's actions are independent of his own. Annan's career should be treated that way as well.
COLLINS: All right, well we're going to get more of those throughout the morning. Apparently getting a whole bunch of them coming in about this very topic. So, Rob, thank you.
MARCIANO: Thank you.
COLLINS: And the next hour of DAYBREAK begins right now.
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