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CNN LIVE SUNDAY
Security Tight for Inauguration; Interview with Civil Rights Photographer Bob Adelman
Aired January 16, 2005 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR, LIVE SUNDAY: Taking the mystery out of your medical bills. I'm going to talk to an expert who can possibly help save hundreds of dollars, maybe even more by dissecting all those mystery codes.
And we're going to star gaze this hour. They're stepping out tonight in Hollywood and CNN's And Sibila Vargas is there on the red carpet as the stars arrive. It is January 16th and you're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
Good evening, from the CNN center in Atlanta. I'm Carol Lin and here's what's happening right now in the news. A body's been recovered from that avalanche near Park City, Utah and searchers believe it's a 20-year-old snowboarder. He was one of five people missing after Friday's massive slide, but crews are continuing to comb the snow searchingly for more victims.
And Palestinian medical officials say a Palestinian woman and her 19-year-old son were killed tonight when Israeli shells hit a building in southern Gaza. Now Israeli officials can't confirm that their shells hit that building, but they do report clashes with militants in that area.
And security was tight today as Iraq's Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi campaigned at Baghdad University. To keep his job, he must get a majority support in parliament in the national election two weeks from today.
And right here at home, our CNN security watch. When President Bush is sworn into a second term in office on Thursday, it will be the first presidential inauguration since the plane struck the World Trade towers and the Pentagon on 9/11. Today, there was a show of force on the national small. National security will be on high alert. We begin tonight with tonight's security watch with our Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the streets, in the air, on the water. Many who travel in and around the nation's capital this week will be watched.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our goal is that any attempt on the part of anyone or any group to disrupt the inaugural will be repelled by multiple layers of security.
TODD: Layers including some 6,000 officers from dozens of law enforcement agencies. Huge sections of the city will be shut down to traffic, airspace severely restricted for private aircraft, but commercial planes will be able to take off and land normally even during the swearing in. Limousines will be watched closely. Since a recent Federal threat assessment said al Qaeda has previously looked at using them as mobile bombs. From bomb-sniffing dogs to heavily armed Coast Guard boats speeding along the Potomac and mobile stations with tracking capability, nothing is left to chance for this first post 9/11 inauguration. But officials say they still need the public's help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think I'm saying we're going to do it all ourselves. It's our responsibility and you just go ahead and read a book and fall asleep. You've got to be engaged with us. You've got to be paying attention because that's the only way we're going to work together to try to prevent or mitigate.
TODD: To end that, Secret Service officials tell CNN they went to every hotel and business along the parade route, laid out security parameters with managers and made sure they briefed customers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the most extensive ticket redesign in inaugural history.
TODD: Sunday's rehearsals for the inaugural parade every bit as meticulous. Why do thousands of military personnel wake up at 3:00 a.m. and deploy at 4:00 a.m. to come down here and practice for much of the day? Because precision is key. Officials in charge of the parade tell us that along with the military, thousands of civilians will be taking part. Their movements have to be coordinated down to the minute and the step.
Officials say they time the steps of military and civilian marchers to calculate how long it takes them to travel a certain distance. Protesters are also micromanaged. This year, for the first time, a group of anti-war demonstrators will have their own officially sanctioned bleacher section along the parade route.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: And today was indeed a very elaborate affair. They had about 4,500 members of the military out there on the mall for the run- through for the mock swearing in. They even set off a couple of blank artillery barrages. It is all to set stage for Thursday where they expect 250,000 people to be right at the section where President Bush is going to be sworn in, many more hundreds of thousands along the parade route. Carol?
LIN: A big challenge for national security. Thank you very much, Brian Todd.
Of course, you know that CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. So please stay tuned to CNN for the latest information day and night. And with so many potential threats all around us, find out what's being done to keep America safe. CNN's special series of reports on defending America begins tomorrow night at 7:00 Eastern. In the meantime, the Iraq elections will surely define President Bush's legacy, so when he makes his inaugural speech, we will get an idea of his vision and his hopes for his second term. CNN's Elaine Quijano is live at the White House with more on that. Elaine, you think he would be making a big deal about the elections coming up in Iraq.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, but at this particular point, there is a feeling anyway, the appearance that the administration is trying to lower expectations. Good evening to you. President Bush spent time this weekend reviewing his inaugural address, one that aides say will emphasize freedom, but also the president's vision of spreading democracy around the world. Now a big part of that, of course, the focus on Iraq, but as aides continue the move to lower expectations as it seems, they're painting a picture of uncertainty for that country's January 30th elections.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't know exactly how that's going to come out when it comes to a security environment in two weeks from now. But what we do know, the fact there is going to be an election two weeks from today is an incredible achievement for the Iraqi people.
QUIJANO: But 1300 U.S. troops have died and the White House has faced a host of criticisms about Iraq. Among them that the U.S. was wrong about weapons of mass destruction, and that the Iraqi army should not have been disbanded. In an interview with the "Washington Post," the president was asked why no one in the administration has been held accountable for perceived missteps on Iraq policy and there you see the president's answer. Quote, we had an accountability moment and that's called the 2004 election and the American people listened to different assessments made about what was taking place in Iraq and they looked at the two candidates and choice me for which I'm grateful. But some Democrats flatly dismiss that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the American people obviously re- elected him. That doesn't mean that they agree with all of his policies relative to Iraq or all of the ways in which the Iraq war has been fought.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: And while a new poll shows the president's approval rating up four points from about a month ago, now at 53 percent, another poll shows that when it comes to Iraq, the majority of people, 56 percent disapprove of the way President Bush has handled that situation. Nevertheless, Carol, President Bush is standing by his actions, expressing no regrets about removing Saddam Hussein from power. Carol?
LIN: Elaine, thank you. Those elections in Iraq just two weeks away.
We want to bring you to the latest on an Abu Ghraib prison scandal that happened in Iraq. Yesterday, on CNN, you saw the verdict, the sentencing of Charles Graner, the first conviction of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. And we wonder now, how is his conviction going to affect the other cases, because following orders just didn't cut it with this jury. CNN's Susan Candiotti has been following the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now a convicted criminal, former MP Charles Graner was the one being treated as a prisoner. He was led away in handcuffs and leg irons but still unwilling to say he was sorry, inside the courtroom or outside.
CHARLES GRANER: I was a soldier and if I did wrong, here I am.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Any regrets?
GRANER: No ma'am.
CANDIOTTI: In his sentencing hearing, Graner finally took the witness stand for almost three hours, but not under oath to avoid any cross-examination. He said military intelligence, MI, set the tone for what to do inside Abu Ghraib prison, adding a superior told him if MI asked to you do this, they're in charge, do it. Graner gave no explanation for these photos, the naked human pyramid, the detainee on a dog leash, this act of sexual humiliation.
When his lawyer asked why he was smiling in so many photos, Graner told jurors, there were a lot of things that we did that were so screwed up. If you didn't look at it as funny, you couldn't deal with it. At the end, he said, I didn't enjoy it. A lot of it was wrong. A lot of it was criminal. Graner stood at attention as the sentence was read, 10 years. After the jury left, Graner chuckled nervously and said, that's what makes the world go round. When it was over, Graner's parents angrily said their son was made a scapegoat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were not interested in the truth. My son was convicted the day that President Bush went on television and said the seven bad apples disgraced the country.
CANDIOTTI: Graner was taken to a county jail until he is assigned to a military prison. As he disappeared into a van filled with MPs, he tried to appear upbeat saying I'm still smiling. Susan Candiotti, CNN, Fort Hood, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Charles Graner's mother maintains that he is an American hero. Tonight, I have an exclusive interview with Graner's parents. More on their thoughts about their son, the verdict, the sentencing. So please tune in at 10:00 p.m. Eastern tonight on CNN SUNDAY NIGHT.
Right here in this hour, straight ahead, the vacationers who came to the rescue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were a family of three doctors, so we rented a van, and we all went to one of the worst affected areas, a town called Galle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Our personal stories from the front lines, what they did in the face of danger to help the victims of the tsunami.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had that experience of a $30,000 bill versus a $15,000 and went uh-oh, something is wrong here. We probably would have been like every other Joe Consumer out there and paid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: You heard it right, two hospital bills totaling more than $45,000 for a nose bleed! How you can learn what each of the charges mean on your bill.
And CNN's Sibila Vargas is live on the red carpet at the Golden Globes. Sibila, you look beautiful. Who have you seen tonight?
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Carol. Thank you so much. You know what, the excitement is starting to build on this red carpet as the stars start making their way down. We'll have some highlights when CNN LIVE SUNDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Every week, we like to take you to the personal stories happening on the front lines of the biggest stories. Tonight, Dr. Rashini Rajapaxaj (ph), she was vacationing with her family in Sri Lanka when the tsunami hit and they all went straight to work. She shared her story and some of her pictures with us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. RASHINI RAJAPAXAJ: Once we realized what a huge disaster this was, we all just really wanted to help in any way we could, and we were a family of three doctors, so we rented a van, and we all went to one of the worst affected areas, a town called Galle. It just really looked like a nuclear bomb or something had hit. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Cars and buses overturned. Railroad tracks completely destroyed, and I realized how many lives that meant were destroyed. I'm sure there were people in the buses, people in the cars, people in the homes.
We went to a few makeshift temporary medical sort of facilities. Most of the people we talked to had lost some -- at least one person in their family. The most remarkable thing about the people that we saw were that they really were surviving still. They hadn't given up and they were talking, they were showing us their injuries.
The hardest part was knowing that I couldn't provide the kind of care they really wanted to, and it just wasn't the kind of care that I really wanted to and it just wasn't the kind of care I would want to give to my own patients back in New York, so I just felt really bad about that. No matter where you are, as much as we try to keep a professional distance, you always get affected. But basically in that situation, you realize that the only little thing you can do is actually to deliver care, so we really just tried to focus on doing what we could do, rather than get sort of emotionally bogged down into the real scope of what was happening.
It is hitting me even more now that I'm back. Life definitely has not gotten back to normal yet. My boyfriend actually surprised my family and I by showing up in Sri Lanka and he actually proposed. It was right before the tsunami happened. I think the fact that I got engaged at the same time that this horrible thing happened, and I think the whole experience of the tsunami just made me so much more appreciative of that relationship and every relationship I have, really. One thing the experience taught me was, you know, often you see these tragedies on TV, and you feel like it's so far away, and also feel like there is really nothing you can do. It seems so hopeless, but just see how very basic things could really help these survivors. I realize any little thing you do even from so far away can really make a huge impact on one person or even a family's life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: An extraordinary young woman. Now, we are still getting new still photos of the tsunami's fury and some of the only pictures as the wall of water came across one of the hardest hit areas, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Take a look at this. A newspaper photographer captured these just moments after the tsunami hit, but he had more pressing matters, finding his own family. He lost his 6-year-old daughter, 4-month-old son and his mother. His wife and four-year-old daughter survived.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Let's start with a premise. You get sick, really sick, and you end up in the hospital. How much do you think that blood test is going to cost you? Or could you even imagine that you would be charged for the draperies in your room? Look, a lot of hospital invoices are accurate, but when they are not, the patient is left with astronomical overcharges even without even realizing it. CNN's Sharon Collins investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHARON COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On September 15th, Jim Carpenter was rushed to the hospital with a nose bleed.
TRACY CARPENTER, WIFE: When we walked in that emergency room that first morning at 6:00 a.m. with his nose hemorrhaging. I mean filling up a cup, hemorrhaging bleeding, when we walked in the emergency room and said help us, I would have paid $80,000.
COLLINS: But the bleeding did not stop and the next day Jim was rushed to another hospital. So you're scared? JIM CARPENTER, PATIENT: Yeah.
T. CARPENTER: We were terrified.
COLLINS: And you're not thinking about like insurance and the bills and all that?
J. CARPENTER: No. You're thinking about what do we got to do to get this stopped.
COLLINS: That changed when they got the hospital bills. The bill from North Fulton, the Atlanta area hospital where Jim was first taken was $30,300.01. The bill from the second hospital, Northside, was $14,558.40.
T. CARPENTER: We had that experience of a $30,000 bill versus a $15,000 bill and went uh-oh, something is wrong here. We probably would have been like every other Joe Consumer out there and paid, let our insurance companies pay what they would pay...
J. CARPENTER: Paid our 20 percent.
T. CARPENTER: And we would have paid the balance.
COLLINS: Instead, frustrated and suspicious, they looked for help and hired a medical billing advocate to determine if they were being overcharged. Cindy Holtzman says common billing problems include typos, double billing and something called unbundling.
CINDY HOLTZMAN, MEDICAL BILLING ADVOCATE: It could also be something included in the cost of your room like gauze, gloves, drapes, band-aids, even light bulbs for your light. They will charge you for that, and those are usually bundled in the cost of a room charge and operating room charge.
COLLINS: For example, North Fulton charged $5,852 for recovery room fees. but didn't break it down any further. In a statement North Fulton tells CNN, cooperation among hospital staff, the patient and insurance companies is helping to resolve the issue. Although this claim has not been closed, all parties are continuing to work together. But does everyone's bill get a second look? The answer is no. And hospitals often charge to cover losses, including those caused by uninsured patients and the uninsured can often face the highest charges because insurance companies can negotiate lower rates.
CARMELA COYLE, AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSN: As an example, for hospitals that do treat large numbers of low-income patients, large numbers of senior citizens, they may have to charge insured patients higher prices to be able to keep their doors open.
COLLINS (on-camera): But $33.70 for a disposable plastic spit basin? We found one for about $3, retail. We've grown accustomed to paying more for things than they actually cost, be it a hot dog at the ballpark or a pair of jeans at the mall. But let's face it, going to the hospital is no trip to the ballpark and unlike those jeans at the mall, there aren't any price tags. Even if those price tags existed at the hospital, when you're in pain and need help, it's the last thing you're thinking about.
(voice-over): The experts we talked with agreed. America's health care system is at times costly, complicated and cumbersome. At issue is how to fix it. The Carpenters say taking a closer looked at the hospital bill might be a good start.
T. CARPENTER: How many people pay that kind of bill and never, never, you know, their insurance company never questions it and they never question it. Everybody just pays it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: So how do you know if you're being charged too much? Pat Palmer is the founder of the Medical Billing Advocates of America, which helps people figure out their bills and Pat joins me now from Roanoke, Virginia. Pat, good to have you on this story, because I think this touched a nerve in a lot of us. Let me make clear to people. I mean a lot of people say well, what difference does it make? Your insurance company pays. But in many cases, you're either paying a percentage and there's a cap on the total amount that a policy might pay?
PAT PALMER, MEDICAL BILLING ADVOCATE: That's correct. And that's one of the reasons why your premiums keep increasing because we're paying these charges that are unwarranted.
LIN: So when you get the bill in the mail, what specifically should you be looking for?
PALMER: Well, what you should do is most likely you're going to receive a summary bill that's just going to tell you OR, $30,000 or lab work $20,000 and that's not going to give you any answers at all. What a consumer needs to do is ask for a detailed statement of those charges to find out exactly what they're being charged for, and that's not automatically given to patients.
LIN: Pat, one thing I've noticed when I've gotten medical bills that oftentimes it will come and there won't even be a description. I mean I won't even know sometimes what it is. There will be a number. There might even be the name of a doctor or a lab technician whom I've never met. How likely is the consumer going to get any kind of clear response if they call the customer service line?
PALMER: You're most likely not going to get the breakdown piece by piece by calling the customer service. You need that in writing broke down as a detailed itemized statement and they are required to supply you one, if you request it.
LIN: OK. So what are the most common overcharges that you have seen?
PALMER: Well, most -- and the majority of the bills that we look at as advocates around the country is charging for a lot of these things as sheets and drapes and gloves and just numerous items.
LIN: Why would they charge you for drapes? The drapes are there, right? The drapes are hanging there. The next patient is going to get the benefit of those drapes?
PALMER: We're talking about the drapes that they may drape over you in the OR at the bottom portion. Those types of things, those sheets, in other words. They're charging you for those items and in reality, they're already factoring in the cost of operating that room or that area that you're in on a daily basis which includes the cost of those items that you're being billed for separately.
LIN: And what should you look for in these codes, the numbers or however they fashion these codes on the bill, what should you try to decipher from those? Are there common codes that you can look at?
PALMER: No, if they send you the bills with codes on them, that's not going to mean much to a consumer. They would need to call and tell them that they want the written description of what that code means and then you'll find out that maybe you're being charged for a teddy bear or an insert replacement, for example, that could be a pacemaker.
LIN: Oh, so that teddy bear that they give you on the way out the door, saying thank you very much for staying at X hospital wasn't a gift after all, you might find when you look at the bill.
PALMER: Exactly.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Pat Palmer. Good advice for everybody because sooner or later I think we're all going to have to come in contact with the health care system. Thank you.
Well Iraqi Americans have a chance to determine the future of their homeland. And you are going to hear from one man who plans to cast his vote right here in the United States.
Also, Wal-Mart is coming to your neighborhood. Should you be excited? Maybe as a consumer, but what if you own a business?
And also, images from the civil rights movement. I'm going to talk to a man behind the lens about a new book that profiles Dr. Martin Luther King's life in pictures.
And the space shuttle, it's a technological marvel, but where does it rank among the best innovations in the last quarter century? We're going to take a look. Miles O'Brien is going to join me.
And we are live from the Golden Globes where the stars are making the walk down the red carpet. CNN LIVE SUNDAY continues right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Thousands of Iraqi-Americans fled the oppression of Saddam Hussen, yet right here in America they will cast their votes in Iraq's election. Polling places have been set up in five American cities, including Detroit, and that is where Iraqi-American Nick Najar will cast his ballot. He and his family are registering to vote tomorrow.
Nick, you must be pretty excited.
NICK NAJAR, IRAQI AMERICAN: Yes, Carol, I'm very, very excited.
LIN: What does this mean to you and your family?
NAJAR: It means a lot. In America we got used to vote. In Iraq that's a historic day, a historic event taking place. First time in the history of Iraq, we have the Iraqi people inside and outside the Iraq, they have the right to go vote and experience their votes or express their voice.
LIN: Now Here in the United States, there are only five polling places across the country. Some Iraqi Americans are going to have to travel hundreds of miles to get to a polling place. Have you talked to some of those people? And how much of a hardship is that going to be to register and then return to vote?
NAJAR: You know, that's exactly true. And I have a lot of family members in different states. I have my cousin live in Houston, Texas, they're coming tomorrow to Detroit just to vote, to register to vote, and they're coming back on the 28th or 29th to cast their ballot.
LIN: So they're going to fly into register. Fly back home to Houston and then fly back to cast their ballot. That's how much it means to them?
NAJAR: Exactly. I ask the question is it worth? He said yes, it's worth. If they are coming from there to spend time and money everything and, for us, as Iraqis in Detroit, it's very easy.
LIN: Now in Iraq, do you still have friends and family?
NAJAR: That's true. I have a sister and cousins and uncles.
LIN: What's the situation there? Are they going to risk their lives to cast these ballots? You have seen these attacks. Anybody who is participating, anybody who admits they are willing to cast in this election will be targeted by the militants?
NAJAR: That's true there's a lot of intimidation. Today, this morning, I spoke to my sister, she live in Iraq in the Mosul area, and I ask her that question -- because last week I ask her this question, same question, and she said she's in between yes, and no, depending the situation. Today when I spoke to her she was insisting they are willing to go and cast their ballot and vote.
I ask her why, it's worth?
She said the American and other coalition, they send their sons and daughter, 7,000 miles away to liberate Iraq and make us a free country. As an Iraqi citizen we're willing to make that risk. It's worth.
LIN: And think about it, more than 7,400 candidates running in this election, and yet most of these people cannot publicly campaign. They can't even admit that they're running, because their lives are at stake. Isn't it difficult to discern who you want to vote for?
NAJAR: There's a list of the names. You can use the list, I know not all of them is publishd. The front-runners, the ones they are publish their names. You know, it's not going to be perfect election, but it's an excellent experience, that's all I can say.
LIN: Nick Najar, not perfect, and unusual in some ways. Thank you very much.
NAJAR: That's true.
LIN: Iraqi American, casting his ballot for the future of his former homeland.
NAJAR: Thank you.
LIN: I want to welcome you to the second half hour of our program.
Want to catch you up also on what's happening in the news. In California, Governor Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for 8 counties that suffered heavy damage from the recent storms. Now they include Ventura County where the big mud slide killed 10 people.
And former Pro Bowl center Barett Robbins is in critical condition after being shot by Miami Police. Now, the police say Robbins was shot while struggling with a police officer who was investigating a burglary. The 31-year-old Robbins played for the Oakland Raiders.
Indonesia's defense minister says he is not expelling foreign troops helping with the tsunami relief effort, but hopes most of the work will be taken over by Indonesia by the end of March. He spoke at a news conference with deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz who was touring the area.
And the USS Bonhomme Richard amphibious strike group will end its tsunami relief operation this week and head to Iraq. Its 2,200 Marines will be stationed offshore in case they're needed for the January 30 election. Another group of marines will move from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean to help with relief efforts near Sri Lanka.
Wal-Mart is trying to shine up its tarnished corporate image. Its CEO is on an aggressive campaign to convince communities across the country why they should want a Wal-Mart nearby. But will the sales pitch work on jaded New Yorkers? Our Kathleen Hays reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This empty parking lot lies just one block off New York City's Queens boulevard. A street densely lined with stores offering up everything from running shoes to cut rate kitchen tables. Just the kind of merchandise retail giant Wal-Mart will be offering up if its reported plans to build a superstore in this location become reality. Some shoppers in Rego Park can hardly wait.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wal-Mart will definitely lower the prices, they have good quality merchandise, they definitely will be able to get the prices lower and more competitive.
HAYS: Others fear if Wal-Mart comes in, shop owners will be pushed out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been living in the community for 40 some odd years, so I like the little stores.
HAYS: Nationally, many cities have opposed new Wal-Marts saying it would bring traffic snarls and low wage dead end jobs.
It's that image that has prompted an aggressive campaign to give the public what Wal-Mart calls the unfiltered truth.
LEE SCOTT, CEO, WALMART: And there are things we have to do to reach out to them to understand what is it about us, and what should we change so we that don't use our size to think that we can simply ram our model down somebody's throat because we're a large company.
HAYS: Wal-mart insists it treats workers well. And says it brings something to the neighborhoods they didn't have before.
SCOTT: You can't forget about this huge number of people in the U.S. who depend on -- their quality of life, depends on buying affordable products. And it makes a difference to them.
HAYS: Back along the boulevard in New York, some shop owners are scared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to screw up my business for sure. A lot of people are giong to go there.
HAYS: Some are ready to stand and fight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because we have to stand by, so competition don't have to scare you.
HAYS: And some like restaurant owner Marie Walsh (ph) say the neighborhood is changing. And Wal-Mart is just the latest chapter in its evolution.
(on camera): How do you see the neighborhood looking 10, 15 years from now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stores upon stores upon big, big stores, and all the little stores to be gone out. That's what I think. It's sad to see. But that's what Wal-Mart does. Everybody just goes Wal- Mart.
HAYS: Kathleen Hayes, CNN Rego Park, Queens, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LIN: 2005 is a very special year here at CNN. It is our Silver Anniversary. And as we celebrate 25 years of all news all the time. We are taking time to recall the remarkable events we have witnessed together. Tonight, in less than 2 hours, we begin with a look back at the top 25 technological inovations of the CNN years.
And Miles O'Brien hosts the hour. He joins me now with a preview. And a perfect person to host the special, our space correspondent.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's quite an honor to kick this off as a matter of fact. Coming up with a top 25 list of innovations since 1980, no easy task. As a matter of fact, we were certain if we tried we'd probably botch it. So, we turned to experts, the Lemelson M.I.T. program, which celebrates inventors and their accomplishments.
Their list is interesting and sometimes surprising. Some of the innovations are obvious, others less well known, and at least one of them, number 20, to be exact, is out of this world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): When John Young straps into a space shuttle simulator, it's clear he's at home.
JOHN YOUNG, ASTRONAUT: There are 2,000 switches and circuit breakers and event indicators in this machine.
O'BRIEN: The first astronaut to command a space shuttle mission was on the moon the day NASA got the word from Congress the space transportation system would be funded. The idea at the time, to build a fleet of space trucks that would fly 50 or 60 times a year, and make access to space cheap.
YOUNG: That would be great. Just couldn't do it.
O'BRIEN: Why not?
YOUNG: Well, hBecause it turned out to cost a lot more than they thought.
O'BRIEN: NASA wanted to build a fully reusable system that might have been cheaper to fly. But the up-front price tag of $14 billion did not soothe the Nixon White House.
CHRIS KRAFT, RETIRED NASA MANAGER: They said you could have half of that. And we went back to the drawing board and came up with a partially reuseable machine, which you see today. It wasn't, by the way, what the Johnson Space Center wanted to build, but it was acceptable.
O'BRIEN: So, the shuttle system as we know it was borne of tight budget, hard choices and borrowed technology from the Apollo era. Five orbiters were built, 113 flights flown so far. And two vehicles and their crews lost. Not what was hoped, but not matched either. (on camera): So, there is no better mousetrap?
MARTIN WILSON, UNITED SPACE ALLIANCE: No, not in my opinion. We've been looking for many, many years for how to do it better. And to be honest, you have to give credit to the people in the '60s and '70s who actually invented this stuff that nobody up to this point has really come up with anything better.
ANNUONCER: Space Shuttle Orbiter 101 marked the very visible beginnings of this country's future space transportation system.
O'BRIEN: Ironically, tragically, the loss of Columbia and her crew of 7 in February of 2003 has spurned on the search for a better mission if not a better craft. NASA is now designing a new vehicle to go back to the moon and onto Mars.
And the shuttle, with its aging systems and hard to replace parts, will return to flight just long enough to finish building the International Space Station.
(on camera): So is the shuttle in a sense, is it disappointing?
YOUNG: I think it's a remarkable piece of machinery right today. I mean, it's the only thing that will haul stuff into orbit right now. It's a great machine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The shuttle just one of 25 machines, devices and inventions that we have told you about on CNN over the past 25 years.
The program is sort of a combination of Mr. Wizard and Casey Kasem. We actually count down to the No. 1 innovation of the past 25 years. And can you guess if you like. But I can't tell.
LIN: You No. 1 innovation? I can't think. The microwave?
O'BRIEN: I was going to say...
LIN: In my life? I'm telling you, that's a lifesaver.
O'BRIEN: No, it's not quite that. But you could put that in the category among the more useful things.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Miles. We'll have to stay tuned, then.
O'BRIEN: Coming up tonight.
LIN: Miles O'Brien.
In the meantime, please remember, the CNN 25 innovations special begins less than 90 minutes from now at 8:00 Eastern.
In the meantime, this weekend, the nation is remembering the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Next on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, I'm going to talk to the man whose camera captured these and other countless unforgettable moments of the civil rights movement.
And counting down to the Golden Globes, a live report from the red carpet minutes away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Reverend Jesse Jackson joined hundreds of protestors in greenville, South Carolina, Saturday calling for a county holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Now, Greenville as you might know, is the only county the Palmetto State without a holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader. Yesterday would have been King's 76th birthday.
Jackson is urging Greenville County, the council members there, to pass a holiday for King. Those council members are scheduled to meet again on Tuesday.
All right, now you than we celebrate Martin Luther King Day usually in the month of February. But his birthday is coming up, and so -- actually this past weekend. So we thought it was a perfect opportunity for us to take a look at his legacy through the eyes of a photographer, someone whose career started during the civil rights era.
Martin Luther King's story is told through his pictures in a new book there. Bob Adelman co-authored the book. And he is with me from Miami tonight.
Bob, some really compelling pictures. And you actually e-mailed a handful of them. I'm wondering as we show the audience and share these moments why these 5 or 6 pictures were compelling and personal to you?
BOB ADELMAN, PHOTOGRAPHER: Well, this was a great moment in our national history. And it was also the moment at which I entered the stage as a photographer. This is a very angry woman in Birmingham who's just been hosed and whose body skidded along the ground, and she's furious.
The demonstrators were being knocked down and, and instead of running, they held onto one another, and eventually, the firemen stopped hosing them, because there was no point to. But it was a symbolic moment that the black community came together and was not to be intimidated. And Birmingham represented the first time that, you know, that protesters were not to be intimidated.
They ran out of protesters and the high school students began protests. And it was a great moment in the history of our nation, because the jails were filled and the social transformation of nonviolence succeeded and eventually the demonstrators were able -- they've been penned in the black community around the 16th Street Baptist Church, and they were able to go downtown and be very effective in going into the stores. And the store owners had to negotiate.
Of course, President Kennedy was the first president to come out saying that segregation was no longer permissible. LIN: It must have been remarkable for you to be an eyewitness to this, and also to be so close to a man who made history. Martin Luther King, Jr., the man in public, we know him. But the man in private, how different are the two personas?
ADELMAN: Well, of course, he was a charismatic speaker, and exhorting the nation to live up to its promise. But in private, he was a very modest -- he was a very eloquent, but very modest and very, very accessible to anyone who came up and spoke to him. And of course, he could -- even in private conversation, he could speak very eloquently.
I gave him a copy of the Birmingham waterhousing, which was -- the movement coming together. And he looked at it and said out of -- he was startled that out of such pain, some beauty came. And that's how eloquent and expressive he could be.
LIN: Well, we appreciate the pictures and your time. And so timely because this year, Martin Luther King Day is going to be celebrated on Monday.
Bob Adelman, thank you very much for sharing your stories and your photos.
ADELMAN: Yes.
LIN: Well, out in Hollywood there are plenty of pictures being taken, plenty of flash bulbs popping tonight. It's the Golden Globe Awards. And our Sibila Vargas is out on red carpet -- Sibila.
SIBILA VARGAS: Hey, Carol. The excitement is palpable. Here we've got the members of Entourage, HBO's breakout hit. And we are coming to you back live with CNN LIVE SUNDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: The stars out in Beverly Hills tonight. An A-list of celebrities will be on hand for tonight's Golden Globe Awards.
The Hollywood Foreign Press hands out the honors which are considered to be a bellwether for the Oscars. The ceremony begins in just over an hour. And CNN's Sibila Vargas is on the red carpet with the latest on the nominees. Who you got, Sibila?
VARGAS: Oh, Carol, I've got somebody spectacular. If you think about, a $16 million independent film being the belle of the ball. That's Sideways. Sideways got 7 nominations.
And joining me now is one of the nominees, Virginia Madsen.
Thank you so much for joining us.
VIRGINIA MADSEN, ACTRESS: Thank you.
VARGAS: How do you feel? MADSEN: I feel like I'm floating on air, or flying. It's just the most incredible feeling. It's crazy, but I'm having such a good time.
I got pretty nervous today, though. But I took mom with me, so I feel better now.
VARGAS: So, working with Paul Giamadi and working with Thomas Hayden Church, what was it like? These guys are brilliant.
MADSEN: They're brilliant. And I was surrounded by creativity and support and they made me a better actress.
VARGAS: I read in that article, you said that Alexander Payne has a way of just bringing out just the best in you?
MADSEN: Yes, he really does. He brings out the best in all of us, and the crew as well. He has such a great respect for every single job that everyone does on the film. He's very polite and a good listener, and yet, he's -- he has a lot of inner power.
VARGAS: Why do you think the film has resonated so much with critics and audiences. I mean it's about wine tasting?
MADSEN: Wel, because, one, I think it's a lot of fun, the movie. It goes so far beyond that, and everyone recognizes themselves somewhere in this film. And so it becomes a very personal experience for an audience member.
VARGAS: Yes. It celebrates, that, hey, we're not perfect. We've got so many things going on in our lives, it deals with love, and friendship and all of those things. How did you prepare for the role? When you read the script actually, did you know it was magical and special?
MADSEN: Well first, I drank a lot of wine...
VARGAS: You became very well-versed.
By the way, are you that well-versed with wine? Because your character seems to know everything?
MADSEN: Well, I think I became an expert on the wines of that area of the Santa Barbara area. But by no means am I an expert, no.
VARGAS: I have to ask you, what are you wearing?
MADSEN: I'm waering Calvin Klein. My jewels are Lori Radken. I have Manolos. And then Katherine Vauman (ph) made me this wonderful little bag with a matching phone!
VARGAS: That is amazing! That's beautiful.
MADSEN: It is. It's so cool!
VARGAS: What are you looking forward to tonight? MADSEN: I'm looking forward to hanging with -- oh, my god! I'm so happy!
WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR: Your phone matches.
VARGAS: Virginia.
SHATNER: Virginia, how are you?
VARGAS: You know what, Carol? This is the way it all goes down at the Golden Globe Awards. I mean, stars see their other friends. And it's just so wonder to just look at them celebrating and what they really do. They're just like us.
LIN: You bet. William Shatner sharing a fashion moment there with Virginia Madsen and our Sibila Vargas.
Thanks so much Sibila. Looking forward to your coverage throughout tonight.
That's all the time we have for this hour.
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