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CNN Live Sunday
Pope Makes Public Appearance; Super Bowl Security Tightened
Aired February 06, 2005 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: It's 11:00 a.m. on the east coast, 8:00 a.m. in the west. Good morning. I'm Christine Romans at CNN's global headquarters. Ahead this hour, with a wave and a blessing from his hospital window, the pope signals to the world that he'll continue his mission. We'll go live to Rome for the reaction.
Also security is tightening. Fans are lining up and players are putting on their game faces. We'll take you live to Jacksonville for a Super Bowl preview. And later on, in this week's heroes story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It took me two minutes to make my decision and in the end, I decided I'd be better off having my leg amputated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: A Marine, injured in Iraq, defends his decision to take the tougher route to recovery. But first, a look at the top stories in the news now.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is now in Jerusalem, where she's meeting this hour with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Tomorrow, she'll hold talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Earlier today in a news interview, she described Abbas as a real quest (ph) for the peace process. We'll have a live report coming up in one minute.
Iran's foreign ministry says President Bush has no business criticizing Iran for sponsoring terrorism, as long as the U.S. supports Israel and what Iran calls Zionist terrorists. It also accused the U.S. of using torture in its military prisons. Mr. Bush singled out Iran as the world's primary state-sponsored terror during Wednesday's state of the union message.
Four Egyptian technicians have been kidnapped in western Baghdad. An Iraqi official says the four are employed by an Egyptian telecommunications company. They have been living in Iraq for a year.
And a key Sunni Muslim group tells CNN it won't participate in Iraq's political process until the occupation ends. Also today, an association of Muslim scholars says it has asked the United Nations not to recognize Iraq's newly elected government. A final tally of Iraq's election results is expected by Thursday.
We begin in the Mideast. Condoleezza Rice is in Israel in an effort to set the stage for the peace process in her first visit as secretary of state. Rice will meet with leaders on both sides of the conflict ahead of a peace summit this week. CNN's Andrea Koppel is live from Jerusalem with more. Andrea?
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, the operative word during Secretary Rice's visit here to the Middle East is momentum, building on the momentum that the U.S. believes has been presented since the death of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat late last year. Secretary Rice, of course, pointing to what the U.S. sees is a very hopeful sign on the Palestinian side, the recent democratic election of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who she'll be meeting tomorrow along with other Palestinian leaders.
But tonight, she's meeting with the Israel side. She arrived here in Israel a few hours ago and in addition to meeting with Israel's foreign ministers, also meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. This is not an arm-twisting visit by any stretch of the imagine administration. The U.S. secretary of state is here on the eve of the highest level meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in four years since the beginning of the Palestinian intifada in 2000. Secretary Rice is really looking to listen to both sides to hear from them what -- how the U.S. can be helpful, how the U.S. can help the Israelis and Palestinians get back to the peace table. But in particular, in an interview with CNN earlier today, I asked Secretary Rice what the U.S. would be prepared to do to help establish and really stabilize a cease-fire that's expected to be announced on Tuesday in Egypt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: If there can be a period of calm in which there is not fighting, the most important elements will be to have some monitoring of that situation, but also to take the more difficult steps that would really ensure its permanence. There will have to be efforts to fight terrorism. There will have to be efforts to unify the Palestinian security forces and train them so that they are part of the solution, not part of the problem. And the United States will be very actively involved, both in bilaterally and probably trilaterally to try and stabilize the situation on the ground, but also to help to bring about Palestinian security forces that can actually fight terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: In addition, Secretary Rice is also bringing a pledge from President Bush that, if he gets congressional approval, the United States would be giving the Palestinian authority some $350 million in U.S. aid. Now, both sides are trying to make gestures on the eve of this summit in Egypt. The Israeli cabinet last week approved the release of some 900 Palestinian prisoners who have not engaged in violence against Israelis. They would be released in two batches of 500 after Tuesday's summit and then 400 a few weeks later.
And on the Palestinian side today, in the west bank, you had Palestinian security forces for really only the second time in recent months actually close down a tunnel that's on the border with Egypt, tunnels that have been used for smuggling both arms and other weapons into the Palestinian territories that are used in violence against Israelis. So both sides trying to make gestures ahead of Tuesday's summit and also on the eve of Secretary Rice's arrival here in the Middle East. Christine?
ROMANS: All right. Indeed, Andrea Koppel in Jerusalem. Thank you Andrea.
Pope John Paul II has made his first appearance since his hospitalization, drawing cheers from a crowd outside the Gemelli hospital in Rome. CNN's Walt Rodgers is there now with the latest on the pope's condition. Walt.
WALT RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Christine. Those who prayed for the recovery of his holiness, Pope John Paul II this past week were rewarded by a personal appearance that the pope put in at his hospital window at the Gemelli hospital which you can see behind me. There had been considerable anxiety about the pope this past week. He was rushed to hospital last Tuesday night with complications from the flu. His previous public appearance had been at his window in the Vatican in St. Peter's Square Sunday a week ago and it's believed he contacted the flu at that point. Then Tuesday night, there were respiratory complications. The pope had trouble breathing. That's why this appearance at the Gemelli hospital was so important today. His holiness was clearly frail. His voice was hoarse. Nonetheless he was able to deliver a brief blessing.
The pope saying, of course in Latin, in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit. The actual angelus, which is to say the pope's message and prayer, which is delivered every Sunday, had to be read because of the pope's weakened condition by one of his aides, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, who stood behind him, read the message. It was a 10-minute message from the pope, from his holiness, the thrust of which multi-fold. One of the messages, of course, was to thank all those who had prayed for him. More importantly, however, the pope did signal that he is going to remain at the Vatican on the throne of St. Peter. There will be no relinquishment of his authority as the head of the Roman Catholic Church. We're expecting another medical bulletin on the pope's condition midday tomorrow. Christine.
ROMANS: And Walt, the Vatican essentially really putting him out here today to show that in just a week, there's been a big change in his health, but that they're trying to get things back to normal as quickly as they can.
RODGERS: Well, I'm not sure I'd make that subjective judgment. I think it was very important for the faithful, the 800 million Roman Catholics around the world to see that their prayers had indeed been answered in terms of papal recovery. It was very important for people to see that the pope was not on the verge of death. In fact he looked somewhat rested and rather alert and given his frail condition, 84 years old, soon to be 85 in May, given the fact that he seems to have the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, I think it was rather reassuring for people who were watching and praying for the pope to see him there. He was in a wheelchair, of course. But then he's confined to a wheelchair most of the time. Still his voice, as -- has been in the past is pretty much as it's been in the past, which is to say, hoarse. But nonetheless, he managed to get through his blessing. Christine.
ROMANS: Walt Rogers in Rome, thank you very much, Walt.
Now our CNN security watch. Dozens of cameras are focusing on fans and the game at Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. Thousands of security personnel are on the alert looking for any trouble. Special security cameras can analyze and catalog video shot by shot, seat by seat. In the air police will enforce a 30-mile no-fly zone. Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Inside the Super Bowl security perimeter, there's actually a game set to start several hours from now. With the Super Bowl Sunday game preview, let's go live now to Jacksonville and CNN's Larry Smith. Hi, Larry.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine. I think Mother Nature saved her best for last. It is a gorgeous, breezy morning here in Jacksonville, just seven hours before kickoff, Super Bowl XXXIX the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. Now fans from both teams out bright and early this morning ready to root on their teams. Here's a look at what they might expect tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH (voice-over): The New England Patriots have won the last eight postseason games and while there has been little confusion over how they beat opponents, their victories have left a trail of confounded quarterbacks scratching their heads.
ROMAN PHIFER, PATRIOTS LINEBACKER: They're not sure who's coming, who's blitzing, dropping back in coverage.
RODNEY HARRISON, PATRIOTS SAFETY: Disguising and confusion is so important especially nowadays when quarterbacks have been so smart.
SMITH: The Patriots constantly switched their defensive alignments using various disguises for their pass coverage. It makes every Sunday feel like Halloween for quarterbacks and the tricks the Patriots play have led to treating themselves to 14 interceptions in those eight playoff wins.
PHIFER: It's a complex defense with a lot of moving parts and I think any quarterback is going to give them some trouble without disguising and moving around and definitely it's a big part of us getting turnovers.
HARRISON: It's hard to confuse a guy like Donovan McNabb because he's seeing so many different looks, but I think it still helps.
DONOVAN McNABB, EAGLES QUARTERBACK: You have to be patient, first and foremost. When you're playing a team like that this that kind of strives off of turnovers, that strives off of mistakes, you have to be cautious and be able to execute. SMITH: The commotion caused by New England's defense is made even more effective by the calm with which their offense plays. Quarterback Tom Brady has thrown just three interceptions in his undefeated playoff career. But the Eagles will try to use their own defensive camouflage to hide a blitzing attack and accomplish the rarest of football feats fluster the unflappable Brady.
BRIAN DAWKINS, EAGLES SAFETY: I don't know about rattling. You try to shake them a little bit. But I don't think he ever gets rattled.
DAVID PATTEN, PATRIOTS WIDE RECEIVER: I can't recall a time, I'm quite sure it's happened before, but even if he gets frustrated, he does a really great job of handling it and keeping in control.
TOM BRADY, TWO-TIME SUPER BOWL MVP: You try to prepare for what they did. But also at the same time, you try to prepare for things they might do.
SMITH: If successful, Brady might be preparing for a record- tying third Super Bowl MVP award.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: While the Eagles are trying to win their first Super Bowl, the Patriots their third in four years. But win or lose for New England, it's the end of an era as both coordinators figure not to be back next year. Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis has already said that he is going to leave and going to coach Notre Dame, has been widely reported, widely speculated that Romeo Crennel will leave the defensive coordinator to become the head coach of the NFL's Cleveland Browns. So game time 6:30 Eastern tonight here in Jacksonville. Christine, let's go back to you.
ROMANS: All right. Larry Smith have a great time Larry. Thanks.
It's America's fastest growing city. Ahead, we'll look at those who gambled on Las Vegas and won big.
And speaking of winning, we'll find out who picked up top honors at last night's Screen Actors Guild award. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: A mother allegedly admits to starving her children in Alabama. That story tops our look at news across America. A Huntsville mother faces charges of capital murder in the deaths of her three children. The bodies were found Friday in their apartment. A police spokesman says, Nathshay Ward admitted to deliberately starving them.
The crew involved in that deadly train crash in South Carolina last month have lost their jobs. Norfolk Southern fired all three crew members. The men are accused of failing to switch a railroad track which led to the crash and a chlorine leak that killed nine people.
In New York, chaos in the city? That what Mayor Michael Bloomberg says could happen if New York does not appeal a court ruling on same- sex marriage. A state supreme court ruled Friday against a ban on gay marriage. Bloomberg supports gay marriage, but says he wants the issue settled in the state's highest court or in the legislature.
And on the road to Oscar, Jamie Foxx picks up another award. Foxx won best actor for the movie "Ray." Nearly 100,000 SAG members were eligible to cast ballots for their fellow actors.
And now on to the weather. Jacqui Jeras here at the weather center for us with a look at some really nice weather out east but wet weather in the Midwest. Hi Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey Christine. If we're casting ballots today, my vote would be for the east coast, really beautiful weather conditions from Caribou all the way down to the Florida keys. We have nothing but sunshine here and those of you that have been complaining with the winter doldrums, well things are looking very nice for yet another day.
However, things will be changing. We have a storm system in the nation's midsection. There you can see kind of the curly Q around our area of low pressure. Lots of moisture is coming in from the Gulf of Mexico so it's really spilling, spelling a very wet day. There's cold air moving in from the north at the same time and where those two meet each other, that's where we're starting to see some of the snow picking up along I-80 across much of Nebraska, still doing OK right now in Omaha, but you're likely to see that change over to wintry mix and then eventually the snowfall later on this afternoon and this evening.
Snow trying to get started around the Twin City, not going to see much more than a few flurries, accumulations staying light there. But into northwestern parts of Iowa, three to five inches will be possible. So today's forecast, show you the big cold front across the nation's midsection, our other weather feature is across the Pacific northwest where we have a storm system moving on shore here. This is bringing some rain from Seattle down towards Portland and some heavy snow into the higher elevations.
Super Bowl, of course, taking place for tonight, 6:30 is the kickoff Eastern time, forecast looking great. We'll see a few clouds on the increase. 58 degrees will be the temperature at kickoff time. But high temperatures this afternoon will be well into the 60s, so some beautiful weather. Tomorrow, back to reality, back to work. The nation's midsection still getting hit by the storm system. It will be moving slowly on off to the east affecting the Ohio Valley for tomorrow eventually hitting the east coast by the middle of the week. Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Jacqui Jeras, thank you very much Jacqui.
Sin city is not just a place to visit anymore. Ahead, we'll show you thousands of people who are moving to Las Vegas each month and what the skyrocketing demand is doing to the housing market there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Sin city has a housing crunch. Las Vegas is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the country and due to all that growth, housing is in short supply. CNN's Gerri Willis has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you think of Las Vegas, this is what probably comes to mind. Times have changed. This is Las Vegas today, considered the nation's fastest growing metropolitan area. Construct never stops. Some 6,000 people migrate here each month in search of a new start.
MARTY BURGER, RELATED COMPANIES: The redevelopment of the strip. You have a lot of the older casinos, like the Stardust and the Riviera and the Frontier that are going to get redeveloped. There's some new projects planned, like MGM Mirage's new city center project, which is an 18 million square foot development between the Bellagio and the Monte Carlo.
WILLIS: Mayor Oscar Goodman has been in Las Vegas since 1964. He's never seen growth like this before.
MAYOR OSCAR GOODMAN, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: For every hotel that's booked here, you need five families to support it. So when you have a room, let's say a new hotel goes up that has 1,000 rooms, you need 5,000 people, 5,000 families to come into the community. That doesn't mean they're working the hotel, but they're your bakers, your candle stick makers, people who service a community and that's the reason that our growth is so phenomenal.
WILLIS: That growth is turning sin city into the hottest housing market in the country.
DIANN TONNESEN, REAL ESTATE AGENT: We have thousands of people on waiting lists in the new home product. The prices would change before we went to contract, so it might be $20,000 or $30,000 above what it was when you registered them. Half of the time you'd get them there, they couldn't afford the house anymore.
WILLIS: Lean inventories, long waiting lists. For Joe Massanova, it means frustration. The 35-year-old marketing manager is well-paid but locked out of the housing market.
JOE MASSANOVA, MARKETING MANAGER: It just doesn't seem like a feasible alternative up here in Las Vegas at the time. It just isn't working the way that I'd like it to. Home prices are just going up at an alarming rate and I can't afford them to be honest with you.
WILLIS: Lower prices, the one thing that could help Joe, may be on the way. Economy.com forecast prices could fall next year as much as 6 percent. But not everyone is betting on it.
TONNESEN: Las Vegas has always gone up. I've been in real estate pretty much since I moved here 26 years ago. It might level off for a while, but it's always been an increasing market because our growth isn't fueled by just any one thing at any one time.
WILLIS: Feeling lucky? Real estate has been the sure bet in Las Vegas for years now. What are the odds that luck will hold out? Only time will tell. Gerri Willis, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: And to Howard Kurtz now with a look at today's edition of RELIABLE SOURCES where he's got a very special guest today. Hi, Howard.
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN ANCHOR, RELIABLE SOURCES: Hi. Thanks very much. Ahead, a special sit-down with "New York Times" foreign affairs columnist Tom Friedman. We'll ask him whether the media painted a distorted portrait of Iraq before last week's election. Talk about the Bush administration versus the press, about whether there is media bias in coverage of the Middle East and whether Afghanistan is now getting ignored. Also, CBS's new interim anchor and Geraldo Rivera on Michael Jackson's guilt or innocence. Whatever happened to not taking sides? It's all ahead on RELIABLE SOURCES.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Howard Kurtz.
Up next a Marine comes back from Iraq with less of a body but as more of a man. We'll share this hero's story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Severely wounded in Iraq, a Marine staff sergeant's courage helps him pull his life back together. CNN's Casey Wian has this hero's story but we'd like you to note, this segment contains some graphic images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mark and Lynn Graunke are building a new life after two years of marriage. When they met, Mark hoped to be a career Marine but July 3, 2003, in an Iraqi farmer's field, all that changed. Staff Sergeant Graunke was an explosives expert called in to disarm small bombs, a job he had done successfully 40,000 times before.
STAFF SGT. MARK GRAUNKE, FMR US MARINE: The day that all of this happened to me I'd worked on about 200 of them and the last one that I picked up blew up in my hand. I stayed awake for about 45 minutes after the explosion. I knew exactly what had happened to me. I didn't know about my eye. But I knew that my hand was gone on this side. I knew that, you know, something traumatic had happened to this hand. I knew both of my legs were bloody but I didn't know the extent of my injuries to my legs.
WIAN: Graunke lost consciousness and woke up two weeks later at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center. Doctors worked to heal his arms and what was left of one hand and desperately tried to save his shattered leg. But Graunke He wasn't convinced it was possible.
GRAUNKE: It took me two months to make my decision. In the end I decided I would be better off having my leg amputated. And I thought that the amputation was in my best interest for, you know, my future, my family, mental, emotional reasons.
WIAN: The Navy doctors refused to amputate. So Graunke transferred to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center where doctors performed the surgery.
GRAUNKE: I woke up and felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest.
WIAN: Graunke began a courageous struggle to rebuild his body.
GRAUNKE: I was wondering if I was going to be able to get back on my motorcycle, if I was going to be able to rock climb again, how it was going to affect my family life in the future, if I was going to have kids.
WIAN: Seventeen months after the amputation at home in Flower Mountain (ph), Texas, Mark has one answer. He is wife are expecting a baby in May. Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: There's much more ahead on CNN SUNDAY. RELIABLE SOURCES with special guest Thomas Freedman begins in just a few minutes. Then at noon Eastern, Wolf Blitzer speaks with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on LATE EDITION and at 2:00 p.m., a look at two big celebrities on trial as PEOPLE IN THE NEWS profiles Michael Jackson and Robert Blake. All of that is ahead after a check of the headlines.
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Aired February 6, 2005 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: It's 11:00 a.m. on the east coast, 8:00 a.m. in the west. Good morning. I'm Christine Romans at CNN's global headquarters. Ahead this hour, with a wave and a blessing from his hospital window, the pope signals to the world that he'll continue his mission. We'll go live to Rome for the reaction.
Also security is tightening. Fans are lining up and players are putting on their game faces. We'll take you live to Jacksonville for a Super Bowl preview. And later on, in this week's heroes story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It took me two minutes to make my decision and in the end, I decided I'd be better off having my leg amputated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: A Marine, injured in Iraq, defends his decision to take the tougher route to recovery. But first, a look at the top stories in the news now.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is now in Jerusalem, where she's meeting this hour with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Tomorrow, she'll hold talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Earlier today in a news interview, she described Abbas as a real quest (ph) for the peace process. We'll have a live report coming up in one minute.
Iran's foreign ministry says President Bush has no business criticizing Iran for sponsoring terrorism, as long as the U.S. supports Israel and what Iran calls Zionist terrorists. It also accused the U.S. of using torture in its military prisons. Mr. Bush singled out Iran as the world's primary state-sponsored terror during Wednesday's state of the union message.
Four Egyptian technicians have been kidnapped in western Baghdad. An Iraqi official says the four are employed by an Egyptian telecommunications company. They have been living in Iraq for a year.
And a key Sunni Muslim group tells CNN it won't participate in Iraq's political process until the occupation ends. Also today, an association of Muslim scholars says it has asked the United Nations not to recognize Iraq's newly elected government. A final tally of Iraq's election results is expected by Thursday.
We begin in the Mideast. Condoleezza Rice is in Israel in an effort to set the stage for the peace process in her first visit as secretary of state. Rice will meet with leaders on both sides of the conflict ahead of a peace summit this week. CNN's Andrea Koppel is live from Jerusalem with more. Andrea?
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, the operative word during Secretary Rice's visit here to the Middle East is momentum, building on the momentum that the U.S. believes has been presented since the death of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat late last year. Secretary Rice, of course, pointing to what the U.S. sees is a very hopeful sign on the Palestinian side, the recent democratic election of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who she'll be meeting tomorrow along with other Palestinian leaders.
But tonight, she's meeting with the Israel side. She arrived here in Israel a few hours ago and in addition to meeting with Israel's foreign ministers, also meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. This is not an arm-twisting visit by any stretch of the imagine administration. The U.S. secretary of state is here on the eve of the highest level meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in four years since the beginning of the Palestinian intifada in 2000. Secretary Rice is really looking to listen to both sides to hear from them what -- how the U.S. can be helpful, how the U.S. can help the Israelis and Palestinians get back to the peace table. But in particular, in an interview with CNN earlier today, I asked Secretary Rice what the U.S. would be prepared to do to help establish and really stabilize a cease-fire that's expected to be announced on Tuesday in Egypt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: If there can be a period of calm in which there is not fighting, the most important elements will be to have some monitoring of that situation, but also to take the more difficult steps that would really ensure its permanence. There will have to be efforts to fight terrorism. There will have to be efforts to unify the Palestinian security forces and train them so that they are part of the solution, not part of the problem. And the United States will be very actively involved, both in bilaterally and probably trilaterally to try and stabilize the situation on the ground, but also to help to bring about Palestinian security forces that can actually fight terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: In addition, Secretary Rice is also bringing a pledge from President Bush that, if he gets congressional approval, the United States would be giving the Palestinian authority some $350 million in U.S. aid. Now, both sides are trying to make gestures on the eve of this summit in Egypt. The Israeli cabinet last week approved the release of some 900 Palestinian prisoners who have not engaged in violence against Israelis. They would be released in two batches of 500 after Tuesday's summit and then 400 a few weeks later.
And on the Palestinian side today, in the west bank, you had Palestinian security forces for really only the second time in recent months actually close down a tunnel that's on the border with Egypt, tunnels that have been used for smuggling both arms and other weapons into the Palestinian territories that are used in violence against Israelis. So both sides trying to make gestures ahead of Tuesday's summit and also on the eve of Secretary Rice's arrival here in the Middle East. Christine?
ROMANS: All right. Indeed, Andrea Koppel in Jerusalem. Thank you Andrea.
Pope John Paul II has made his first appearance since his hospitalization, drawing cheers from a crowd outside the Gemelli hospital in Rome. CNN's Walt Rodgers is there now with the latest on the pope's condition. Walt.
WALT RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Christine. Those who prayed for the recovery of his holiness, Pope John Paul II this past week were rewarded by a personal appearance that the pope put in at his hospital window at the Gemelli hospital which you can see behind me. There had been considerable anxiety about the pope this past week. He was rushed to hospital last Tuesday night with complications from the flu. His previous public appearance had been at his window in the Vatican in St. Peter's Square Sunday a week ago and it's believed he contacted the flu at that point. Then Tuesday night, there were respiratory complications. The pope had trouble breathing. That's why this appearance at the Gemelli hospital was so important today. His holiness was clearly frail. His voice was hoarse. Nonetheless he was able to deliver a brief blessing.
The pope saying, of course in Latin, in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit. The actual angelus, which is to say the pope's message and prayer, which is delivered every Sunday, had to be read because of the pope's weakened condition by one of his aides, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, who stood behind him, read the message. It was a 10-minute message from the pope, from his holiness, the thrust of which multi-fold. One of the messages, of course, was to thank all those who had prayed for him. More importantly, however, the pope did signal that he is going to remain at the Vatican on the throne of St. Peter. There will be no relinquishment of his authority as the head of the Roman Catholic Church. We're expecting another medical bulletin on the pope's condition midday tomorrow. Christine.
ROMANS: And Walt, the Vatican essentially really putting him out here today to show that in just a week, there's been a big change in his health, but that they're trying to get things back to normal as quickly as they can.
RODGERS: Well, I'm not sure I'd make that subjective judgment. I think it was very important for the faithful, the 800 million Roman Catholics around the world to see that their prayers had indeed been answered in terms of papal recovery. It was very important for people to see that the pope was not on the verge of death. In fact he looked somewhat rested and rather alert and given his frail condition, 84 years old, soon to be 85 in May, given the fact that he seems to have the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, I think it was rather reassuring for people who were watching and praying for the pope to see him there. He was in a wheelchair, of course. But then he's confined to a wheelchair most of the time. Still his voice, as -- has been in the past is pretty much as it's been in the past, which is to say, hoarse. But nonetheless, he managed to get through his blessing. Christine.
ROMANS: Walt Rogers in Rome, thank you very much, Walt.
Now our CNN security watch. Dozens of cameras are focusing on fans and the game at Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. Thousands of security personnel are on the alert looking for any trouble. Special security cameras can analyze and catalog video shot by shot, seat by seat. In the air police will enforce a 30-mile no-fly zone. Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Inside the Super Bowl security perimeter, there's actually a game set to start several hours from now. With the Super Bowl Sunday game preview, let's go live now to Jacksonville and CNN's Larry Smith. Hi, Larry.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine. I think Mother Nature saved her best for last. It is a gorgeous, breezy morning here in Jacksonville, just seven hours before kickoff, Super Bowl XXXIX the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. Now fans from both teams out bright and early this morning ready to root on their teams. Here's a look at what they might expect tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH (voice-over): The New England Patriots have won the last eight postseason games and while there has been little confusion over how they beat opponents, their victories have left a trail of confounded quarterbacks scratching their heads.
ROMAN PHIFER, PATRIOTS LINEBACKER: They're not sure who's coming, who's blitzing, dropping back in coverage.
RODNEY HARRISON, PATRIOTS SAFETY: Disguising and confusion is so important especially nowadays when quarterbacks have been so smart.
SMITH: The Patriots constantly switched their defensive alignments using various disguises for their pass coverage. It makes every Sunday feel like Halloween for quarterbacks and the tricks the Patriots play have led to treating themselves to 14 interceptions in those eight playoff wins.
PHIFER: It's a complex defense with a lot of moving parts and I think any quarterback is going to give them some trouble without disguising and moving around and definitely it's a big part of us getting turnovers.
HARRISON: It's hard to confuse a guy like Donovan McNabb because he's seeing so many different looks, but I think it still helps.
DONOVAN McNABB, EAGLES QUARTERBACK: You have to be patient, first and foremost. When you're playing a team like that this that kind of strives off of turnovers, that strives off of mistakes, you have to be cautious and be able to execute. SMITH: The commotion caused by New England's defense is made even more effective by the calm with which their offense plays. Quarterback Tom Brady has thrown just three interceptions in his undefeated playoff career. But the Eagles will try to use their own defensive camouflage to hide a blitzing attack and accomplish the rarest of football feats fluster the unflappable Brady.
BRIAN DAWKINS, EAGLES SAFETY: I don't know about rattling. You try to shake them a little bit. But I don't think he ever gets rattled.
DAVID PATTEN, PATRIOTS WIDE RECEIVER: I can't recall a time, I'm quite sure it's happened before, but even if he gets frustrated, he does a really great job of handling it and keeping in control.
TOM BRADY, TWO-TIME SUPER BOWL MVP: You try to prepare for what they did. But also at the same time, you try to prepare for things they might do.
SMITH: If successful, Brady might be preparing for a record- tying third Super Bowl MVP award.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: While the Eagles are trying to win their first Super Bowl, the Patriots their third in four years. But win or lose for New England, it's the end of an era as both coordinators figure not to be back next year. Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis has already said that he is going to leave and going to coach Notre Dame, has been widely reported, widely speculated that Romeo Crennel will leave the defensive coordinator to become the head coach of the NFL's Cleveland Browns. So game time 6:30 Eastern tonight here in Jacksonville. Christine, let's go back to you.
ROMANS: All right. Larry Smith have a great time Larry. Thanks.
It's America's fastest growing city. Ahead, we'll look at those who gambled on Las Vegas and won big.
And speaking of winning, we'll find out who picked up top honors at last night's Screen Actors Guild award. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: A mother allegedly admits to starving her children in Alabama. That story tops our look at news across America. A Huntsville mother faces charges of capital murder in the deaths of her three children. The bodies were found Friday in their apartment. A police spokesman says, Nathshay Ward admitted to deliberately starving them.
The crew involved in that deadly train crash in South Carolina last month have lost their jobs. Norfolk Southern fired all three crew members. The men are accused of failing to switch a railroad track which led to the crash and a chlorine leak that killed nine people.
In New York, chaos in the city? That what Mayor Michael Bloomberg says could happen if New York does not appeal a court ruling on same- sex marriage. A state supreme court ruled Friday against a ban on gay marriage. Bloomberg supports gay marriage, but says he wants the issue settled in the state's highest court or in the legislature.
And on the road to Oscar, Jamie Foxx picks up another award. Foxx won best actor for the movie "Ray." Nearly 100,000 SAG members were eligible to cast ballots for their fellow actors.
And now on to the weather. Jacqui Jeras here at the weather center for us with a look at some really nice weather out east but wet weather in the Midwest. Hi Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey Christine. If we're casting ballots today, my vote would be for the east coast, really beautiful weather conditions from Caribou all the way down to the Florida keys. We have nothing but sunshine here and those of you that have been complaining with the winter doldrums, well things are looking very nice for yet another day.
However, things will be changing. We have a storm system in the nation's midsection. There you can see kind of the curly Q around our area of low pressure. Lots of moisture is coming in from the Gulf of Mexico so it's really spilling, spelling a very wet day. There's cold air moving in from the north at the same time and where those two meet each other, that's where we're starting to see some of the snow picking up along I-80 across much of Nebraska, still doing OK right now in Omaha, but you're likely to see that change over to wintry mix and then eventually the snowfall later on this afternoon and this evening.
Snow trying to get started around the Twin City, not going to see much more than a few flurries, accumulations staying light there. But into northwestern parts of Iowa, three to five inches will be possible. So today's forecast, show you the big cold front across the nation's midsection, our other weather feature is across the Pacific northwest where we have a storm system moving on shore here. This is bringing some rain from Seattle down towards Portland and some heavy snow into the higher elevations.
Super Bowl, of course, taking place for tonight, 6:30 is the kickoff Eastern time, forecast looking great. We'll see a few clouds on the increase. 58 degrees will be the temperature at kickoff time. But high temperatures this afternoon will be well into the 60s, so some beautiful weather. Tomorrow, back to reality, back to work. The nation's midsection still getting hit by the storm system. It will be moving slowly on off to the east affecting the Ohio Valley for tomorrow eventually hitting the east coast by the middle of the week. Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Jacqui Jeras, thank you very much Jacqui.
Sin city is not just a place to visit anymore. Ahead, we'll show you thousands of people who are moving to Las Vegas each month and what the skyrocketing demand is doing to the housing market there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Sin city has a housing crunch. Las Vegas is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the country and due to all that growth, housing is in short supply. CNN's Gerri Willis has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you think of Las Vegas, this is what probably comes to mind. Times have changed. This is Las Vegas today, considered the nation's fastest growing metropolitan area. Construct never stops. Some 6,000 people migrate here each month in search of a new start.
MARTY BURGER, RELATED COMPANIES: The redevelopment of the strip. You have a lot of the older casinos, like the Stardust and the Riviera and the Frontier that are going to get redeveloped. There's some new projects planned, like MGM Mirage's new city center project, which is an 18 million square foot development between the Bellagio and the Monte Carlo.
WILLIS: Mayor Oscar Goodman has been in Las Vegas since 1964. He's never seen growth like this before.
MAYOR OSCAR GOODMAN, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: For every hotel that's booked here, you need five families to support it. So when you have a room, let's say a new hotel goes up that has 1,000 rooms, you need 5,000 people, 5,000 families to come into the community. That doesn't mean they're working the hotel, but they're your bakers, your candle stick makers, people who service a community and that's the reason that our growth is so phenomenal.
WILLIS: That growth is turning sin city into the hottest housing market in the country.
DIANN TONNESEN, REAL ESTATE AGENT: We have thousands of people on waiting lists in the new home product. The prices would change before we went to contract, so it might be $20,000 or $30,000 above what it was when you registered them. Half of the time you'd get them there, they couldn't afford the house anymore.
WILLIS: Lean inventories, long waiting lists. For Joe Massanova, it means frustration. The 35-year-old marketing manager is well-paid but locked out of the housing market.
JOE MASSANOVA, MARKETING MANAGER: It just doesn't seem like a feasible alternative up here in Las Vegas at the time. It just isn't working the way that I'd like it to. Home prices are just going up at an alarming rate and I can't afford them to be honest with you.
WILLIS: Lower prices, the one thing that could help Joe, may be on the way. Economy.com forecast prices could fall next year as much as 6 percent. But not everyone is betting on it.
TONNESEN: Las Vegas has always gone up. I've been in real estate pretty much since I moved here 26 years ago. It might level off for a while, but it's always been an increasing market because our growth isn't fueled by just any one thing at any one time.
WILLIS: Feeling lucky? Real estate has been the sure bet in Las Vegas for years now. What are the odds that luck will hold out? Only time will tell. Gerri Willis, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: And to Howard Kurtz now with a look at today's edition of RELIABLE SOURCES where he's got a very special guest today. Hi, Howard.
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN ANCHOR, RELIABLE SOURCES: Hi. Thanks very much. Ahead, a special sit-down with "New York Times" foreign affairs columnist Tom Friedman. We'll ask him whether the media painted a distorted portrait of Iraq before last week's election. Talk about the Bush administration versus the press, about whether there is media bias in coverage of the Middle East and whether Afghanistan is now getting ignored. Also, CBS's new interim anchor and Geraldo Rivera on Michael Jackson's guilt or innocence. Whatever happened to not taking sides? It's all ahead on RELIABLE SOURCES.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Howard Kurtz.
Up next a Marine comes back from Iraq with less of a body but as more of a man. We'll share this hero's story.
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ROMANS: Severely wounded in Iraq, a Marine staff sergeant's courage helps him pull his life back together. CNN's Casey Wian has this hero's story but we'd like you to note, this segment contains some graphic images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mark and Lynn Graunke are building a new life after two years of marriage. When they met, Mark hoped to be a career Marine but July 3, 2003, in an Iraqi farmer's field, all that changed. Staff Sergeant Graunke was an explosives expert called in to disarm small bombs, a job he had done successfully 40,000 times before.
STAFF SGT. MARK GRAUNKE, FMR US MARINE: The day that all of this happened to me I'd worked on about 200 of them and the last one that I picked up blew up in my hand. I stayed awake for about 45 minutes after the explosion. I knew exactly what had happened to me. I didn't know about my eye. But I knew that my hand was gone on this side. I knew that, you know, something traumatic had happened to this hand. I knew both of my legs were bloody but I didn't know the extent of my injuries to my legs.
WIAN: Graunke lost consciousness and woke up two weeks later at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center. Doctors worked to heal his arms and what was left of one hand and desperately tried to save his shattered leg. But Graunke He wasn't convinced it was possible.
GRAUNKE: It took me two months to make my decision. In the end I decided I would be better off having my leg amputated. And I thought that the amputation was in my best interest for, you know, my future, my family, mental, emotional reasons.
WIAN: The Navy doctors refused to amputate. So Graunke transferred to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center where doctors performed the surgery.
GRAUNKE: I woke up and felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest.
WIAN: Graunke began a courageous struggle to rebuild his body.
GRAUNKE: I was wondering if I was going to be able to get back on my motorcycle, if I was going to be able to rock climb again, how it was going to affect my family life in the future, if I was going to have kids.
WIAN: Seventeen months after the amputation at home in Flower Mountain (ph), Texas, Mark has one answer. He is wife are expecting a baby in May. Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: There's much more ahead on CNN SUNDAY. RELIABLE SOURCES with special guest Thomas Freedman begins in just a few minutes. Then at noon Eastern, Wolf Blitzer speaks with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on LATE EDITION and at 2:00 p.m., a look at two big celebrities on trial as PEOPLE IN THE NEWS profiles Michael Jackson and Robert Blake. All of that is ahead after a check of the headlines.
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