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CNN Live Sunday
U.S. Military Begins Talk With Some Insurgent Groups; Interview with John Aravosis
Aired February 20, 2005 - 18:00 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN LIVE SUNDAY: Could the U.S. be negotiating with insurgents in Iraq and who has infiltrated the ranks? The investigation ahead. Also --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's been done to me is -- is far in excess of what's ever been done to any other journalist that I could remember.
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LIN: He was front and center at presidential briefings and now he's front and center in a new scandal. Washington's abuzz. Who is Jeff Gannon and why was he allowed inside the White House? It's Sunday February 20th, and you're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
From CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin, and here's what's happening right now in the news.
Surprising admissions from George W. Bush when he was governor of Texas caught on tape. According to today's "New York Times" and ABC News, the audio tapes were made secretly by an old friend of the presidents and on them, it appears Mr. Bush admitted trying marijuana. We are going to have a live report in just a moment.
Israel's cabinet voted today to authorize the evacuation of Jewish settlements in parts of the west bank and Gaza beginning in July. It also gave a green light to rerouting Israel's security fence in the West Bank. The move would still leave about 10,000 Palestinians on the Israeli side.
The U.N.'s top refugee official Lug (ph) Lubbers has resigned. Lubbers has been under fire since allegations surfaced last year that he sexually harassed a coworker. An independent report found what investors called a pattern of conduct. Lubbers has denied the allegations and says the investigation was not neither impartial nor objective.
But up first this hour, friendly visit. President Bush has arrived in Europe for a five-day trip and the first top, Brussels, Belgium where he is going to attend NATO and EU meetings and then it's on to Germany for talks with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. The trip ends Thursday in the Slovak Republic. The president is hoping to mend U.S. European relations frayed by the Iraq war, but, it may not be an easy job. Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in Brussels even before he arrived. More protests are planned in the coming days. We are going to have a report about the president's trip in just a moment.
But, we want to share with you the tale of the tapes. Now, the president may be in Europe, but the president is also making news right here at home. It appears secretly recorded conversations offer a new look at Mr. Bush off the record. The contents are detailed in today's "New York Times." CNN has not independently authenticated the tapes, but the "New York Times" and ABC, which received some of the recordings say an independent analyst has verified they contain the voice of President Bush. CNN's Elaine Quijano joins us now. Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, the man who recorded those tapes, Doug Wead is a former aide to President Bush's father. Now he's also an author, with a new book out but he insists he made these recordings for posterity.
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QUIJANO (voice-over): In the secretly taped conversations first reported in the "New York Times," then Texas Governor George W. Bush candidly discusses his reasons for not answering a question. Did he ever use drugs?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, Doug, but it's not, it doesn't matter cocaine. It'd be the same with marijuana. I wouldn't answer the marijuana question. You know why? 'Cause I don't want some little kid doing what I'd tried.
DOUG WEAD: Yeah and it never stops.
BUSH: But you gotta understand, I want to be president. I want to lead. I want to set ... do you want your little kid to say, "hey daddy, President Bush tried marijuana. I think I will."
QUIJANO: Mr. Bush also discusses his religious faith and his dealings with Christian conservatives. At one point he bluntly states he will not give into pressure to criticize gay people.
WEAD: You promised you would not appoint gays to office.
BUSH: No, what I said was I wouldn't fire gays. I'm not going to discriminate against people.
QUIJANO: CNN did not independently authenticate the tapes, a process that can take days. But Tom Owen, the expert who authenticated the tapes for the "New York Times," says he spent eight days analyzing excerpts before reaching his conclusion.
TOM OWEN, OWL INVESTIGATIONS: In listening to the tapes over and over, and in listening to various samples of George W. Bush's voice, at that time and later, I've concluded that it is the president's voice.
QUIJANO: The man who recorded the tapes Doug Wead, has a book coming out. We could not reach Wead on Sunday, but he told the "New York Times" the recordings were carried out in states where it was legal. CNN could not independently verify his claim. Wead told ABC's Good Morning America weekend edition, he made the recordings for their historical value.
DOUG WEAD, FMR. GEORGE H.W. BUSH ADVISER: If I'd had a chance to tape record Gandhi or had conversations with Churchill, I probably would have recorded them, too.
QUIJANO: But some say history will record the secret tapes as a betrayal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And a continuum of violations of personal relationship, a personal confidence. This is probably the Super Bowl of them all.
QUIJANO: The White House issued a one sentence response, saying these were casual conversations with somebody he considered a friend. Historians say there is value in the recordings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When presidents write their memoirs, they are carefully doctored and carefully tailored. So, candid talk by presidents even before they enter office, is like gold for historians.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Now the tapes were reportedly made in 1998 through part of 2000 and experts say that based on the portions released so far, they are far from scandalous. Instead revealing a consistency they say, a man deeply religious, who's private conversations reflect his public position. Carol?
LIN: Very interesting. Elaine Quijano, thank you very much.
Now, Doug Wead was unavailable today but, he is going to be a guest on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING tomorrow. He is going to talk about the taped conversations with Mr. Bush, so please tune in, tomorrow. 7:00 a.m. Eastern.
Now, we want to get back to the president's trip, his fence mending trip today in Europe. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president.
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SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Bush and the first lady arrived here in Brussels, Belgium to kick off their Europe trip. Of course it is the first trip of his second term, considered significant by Americans and Europeans that it is here, it is the headquarters of both EU and NATO. Mr. Bush will meet with officials to try to get greater commitments to support Iraq reconstruction. But it's also aimed at setting a new tone for the second administration. One of the challenges the president will have in his meeting with French president Jacque Chirac. The U.S. and the EU's approach to try to get Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program. EU is offering diplomatic and economic incentives. The U.S. says they believe that is the wrong approach. Another big challenge of course, a significant moment will be Mr. Bush's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday in the Slovak Republic. Now the U.S. has expressed frustration with Russia privately that it's been backsliding in democratic reforms. Today and over the last several days, top U.S. law makers have been putting pressure on Mr. Bush to hold Putin to account.
SEN. JOSEPH LEIBERMAN (D) CONN: Senator McCain and I earlier this week introduced a resolution in the Senate which calls on our government to work to suspend Russia's participation in the G-8, the big eight industrialized countries unless they return to the path of democracy because they were brought into the G-8 based on their commitment to democratize Russia and they're not keeping that promise.
MALVEAUX: The White House also says it is frustrated with Russia and what it sees as its cooperation with Iran's nuclear weapons program and also its sales of missiles to Syria. Monday, President Bush will deliver a major speech to the European people, calling for a fresh start. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Brussels, Belgium.
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LIN: So, while President Bush embarks on this fresh start, there is an unusual presidential partnership afloat. Former presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush Senior are still touring tsunami stricken regions. The two leaders got a first hand look at the destruction in Banda Aceh, Indonesia and they also spoke to survivors about their needs. Bush and Clinton and encouraging private U.S. donations for tsunami relief. Both leaders are assuring donors their money is beingt well spent.
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GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We want to be able to assure the donors that the money is being spent wisely, that there's not a lot of overhead between what they give and how it gets to the recipient and that there's no corruption out there.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we'll have to monitor. We have to have good auditing systems as we go along. But I do believe the donors can be assured that these organizations to which they give their donations are not wasting money and if you pick one off the reputable list, you know they are all honest and that they are going to be out here trying to help people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: The former presidents talked to CNN's Wolf Blitzer from Sri Lanka today. Now, from there, it's on to the Maldives.
The rhetoric in the stand off with North Korea is heating up. The country today lashed out at Japan saying Tokyo has joined quote, the U.S. vicious hostile policy towards Pyongyang. Now the statement comes a day after U.S. and Japanese officials urged North Korea to resume six-party talks about its nuclear weapons program. Japan also recently changed its policy to allow it to pursue a missile defense program with the U.S.
And, al Qaeda's number two man has some new warnings for America. In a videotaped aired today on al Jazeera Ayman al Zawahiri said U.S. efforts to spread democracy will quote, end with your defeat. He also announced the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo (ph) Bay saying it really exposes the reality of the reforms America is trying to impose. That's the denunciation. It is unknown when or where the tape was actually recorded. The CIA right now is examining it to find out whether it is in fact authentic.
It is a day of firsts in the middle east. Israel is saying good- bye to Gaza and the blueprint for the final border between Israel and a future Palestinian state seems to be taking shape. But concern and distrust linger on both sides. CNN's John Vause reports from Jerusalem.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At this Israel cabinet meeting, overwhelming support for an end to almost 38 years of Israeli occupation of the Gaza strip.
TRANSLATOR: It's not an easy day. It's not a happy day.
VAUSE: Seventeen ministers in favor, five opposed, giving Prime Minister Ariel Sharon authority to issue evacuation notices to almost 8,000 Jewish settlers in Gaza and 1,000 more in four West Bank settlements.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a painful resolution but it will change the course of the region.
VAUSE: The pullout will begin in July, take about eight weeks, and faces nationwide protests by settlers and their supporters.
ARI SHAVIT, POLITICAL ANALYST: Today marks the end of the political battle but it marks the beginning of the battle over implementation.
VAUSE: At the same time, the Israeli cabinet approved the southern and final section of the separation barrier from Jerusalem to the south. Two major settlement blocs will be included on the Israeli side with the new route confiscating about 6 percent of the West Bank. The old route took more than 15 percent. Palestinians, though, want an end to construction, especially after both sides declared a truce. The barrier they say, preempts a final peace deal.
SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: This is dictation and not negotiation. We call upon the Israeli government to rejoin us in the negotiating table to deal with issues of permanent status, Jerusalem settlement borders and (INAUDIBLE).
VAUSE: The Israeli government has said all along the barrier is for security only, insisting it can be easily torn down once there's a lasting peace. But to many here, both Palestinian and Israeli, this is part of a bigger strategy, a retreat from Gaza while holding on to the major settlements in the West Bank. John Vause, CNN, Jerusalem.
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LIN: Elsewhere around the world this Sunday, political activists in Syria are calling on their country to withdraw troops from Lebanon. International pressure for a pull out has increased since former Lebanese Premier Rafik (ph) Harari's assassination. Syria and Lebanon's pro-Syria government both deny having a hand in the killing.
Rescuers near Daka (ph), Bangladesh are looking for dozens of people missing after a ferry accident that killed more than 80. A tornado capsized the boat last night on a river about 10 miles from the capital city. The ferry was carrying about 260 people, 100 more than it was designed for.
For the first time, the government of Ireland is saying Sinn Fein President Jerry Adams and two other top party leaders are members of the illegal Irish Republican Army's command. Sinn Fein rejects the charge. Despite its links with the IRA, the party denies responsibility for the organization's alleged terrorist activities.
Another blast of miserable weather is dousing southern California with more rain today. Flash flooding knocked out power to thousands of people. Mudslides damaged homes in beach cities like Laguna Beach and desert communities like Diamond Bar (ph). People fled for higher ground. The storm touched off water spouts and tornados. Take a look at these pictures. This water spout was caught on tape by a lifeguard about 100 yards off the coastline of Huntington Beach which caused some minor damage. Now farther inland, two twisters touched down, breaking windows and downing trees and knocking down more power lines. No major injuries were reported of any kind from the whirlwinds, but fantastic pictures of mother nature at work.
So, you heard about this case of this conviction of this teenager. Did a popular antidepressant cause that child to kill? Well, a jury in South Carolina says no, but the concern for some parents is still there. So straight ahead, I'm going to talk to a child psychiatrist about which antidepressant drugs, if any, are safe for your children and how can you tell?
Plus, he claimed to be a credible journalists, but new revelations about this reporter prompt more doubts than answers. So, how did he get into the White House? And, later.
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CAPT. SCOTT SOUTHWORTH, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: Look at this face. Who couldn't (INAUDIBLE) this kid?
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LIN: Well, he went off to fight in battle, but he came home with a little boy. An unlikely bond between new best friends. That's coming up.
And, checking the most popular story this hour on cnn.com. A man rides avalanche feet first. A Utah hiker falls 1,000 feet down a mountainside, riding an avalanche feet first, suffering only minor injuries. Lucky day. Click on to cnn.com for more details.
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LIN: You know this trial in South Carolina, this kid who killed his grandparents and claimed he did it because he was on an antidepressant, got us to thinking about, you know, kids and drugs and whether just say no actually applies to prescription drugs and anti- depressants because how are you supposed to know? In this case, a South Carolina teen got nowhere last week claiming that Zoloft made him kill his grandparents.
But the government has linked some anti-depressants with suicidal thoughts among children. So my next guest says, let's not get carried away. He is the author of "Straight Talk About Psychiatric Medications for Kids." Doctor Timothy Wilens, a child psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital joins me now from Boston. Dr. Wilens, you followed some details of the case and I'm not asking you to be a legal expert. But I do want to get an opinion from you. This 12- year-old claims he shot his grandparents to death under the influence of Zoloft. The jury didn't buy it and he was convicted. What kind of a message does this send to parents out there if they feel they've got a depressed teenager, just keep them off this drug?
DR. TIMOTHY WILENS, CHILD PSYCHIATRIST: That's exactly what the concern is, is that here you're talking about a group of very effective medications, the what we call serotonin reuptake inhibitors are often called SSRIs and these medications are - have been shone in a number of different trials to be helpful for kinds with depression and anxiety, and yet there is rare occurrences of what we call psychiatric adverse events that people have to monitor that become confusing to parents. In this case, I think, the jury, you know, saw threw the evidence and saw that there was more predatory type of behaviors and that's not typically what you would get as a side effect of these medicines. But, I think at the end of the day, parents need to be reassured that these medicines are very safe and very effective and one of the treatments we use for kids who are depressed.
LIN: Is there a short answer to how these drugs work, like, Zoloft and Paxil and maybe they're different, but in general, how do they treat a teenager's depression?
WILENS: What they're doing is they're making more serotonin available in the brain. Some of the other antidepressants make more (INAUDIBLE) dopamine, but they're doing it by working with the natural machinery, the neurons in the brain to make more of these chemical messengers available. That then leads to less depression.
LIN: Does it work differently in teenagers than it does say in children, those under 12 or 12 and under?
WILENS: We think that they work relatively similar from preschoolers all the way up to adults. They probably work a little bit better in adults relative to teenagers, relative to younger kids.
LIN: Preschoolers? How do you know if your child is just moody, having a bad day or actually needs to be on antidepressants?
WILENS: Well, you are certainly entitled to have a bad hair day here or there. What we're talking about is persistent or pervasive patterns of mood, seeming anger, sadness, withdrawal, isolation. Kids who are just, have no energy, no interest. They're not engaged with what is going on. They're just not happy and this lasts for two, three, four weeks. Oftentimes kids will come in and they'll tell me they're been this way for six months, eight months, a year and often, suicidality is part of their clinical picture and their parents may not have even known that.
LIN: So what might actually trigger a violent reaction, then?
WILENS: That's something we are trying to figure out. It's clear that there are some kids who may have underlying bipolar disorder and when you give them these meds, they get agitated. But you know and there's a whole lot of these kids who just will have some reaction to the medication and you don't know why it occurred. The most important thing is that you're in close contact if you're putting your child on these meds with their doctor and if there's any type of a personality change, if the child gets more irritable, more sad, develops any kind of suicidal ideation, if the child all of a sudden looks punch drunk or looks drunk, those types of things would indicate that geez, we're going the wrong direction. Give the doctor a call and decide what you're going to do with the medication.
LIN: All right. Doctor Wilens, thank you very much.
WILENS: Thank you.
LIN: I think what so many people found disturbing in the Christopher Pittman case is that he was apparently suicidal a month before the murders and then he was put on this drug therapy and then the murders happened. So I don't know. At any rate, there was a conviction in this case and we will be talking more about it tonight. Thanks very much.
WILENS: Sure, thank you.
LIN: In fact, please join me tonight when I'm going to be joined by Christopher Pittman's maternal grandmother because we're going to be talking about the family's next steps and how he's doing so far. That's tonight in our new primetime hour, 11:00 p.m. Eastern. Please join us then.
In the meantime, back at home, from battle and adjusting to civilian life. Still ahead tonight, one member of the National Guard tells what life was like on the frontlines, his struggle to leave it there.
And, later, opening lines of communication. Is. the U.S. government now entering into a dialogue with Iraqi insurgents? Are they negotiating with them? A new report, later this hour.
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LIN: Every week we bring you the more personal stories from the frontlines and today we're going to bring you the story of a New York City fireman. He was at ground zero on 9/11 and then went off to fight insurgents in the Sunni triangle of Iraq. Now, Alina Cho brings us the story of a National Guardsman's homecoming.
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ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Shawn (ph) Goodridge is getting up close and personal with his fellow New York City firefighters for the first time in 15 months. At a Valentine's Day banquet, he's doing double duty, reconnecting with old coworkers and taking his wife Millie out on a date. She hasn't seen him much lately either because Goodridge has spent the last year in Iraq. As a member of the 108th infantry division, a unit of the New York National Guard, Sergeant Goodridge was stationed in the Sunni triangle and saw some of the worst of the worst while he was there.
SHAWN GOODRIDGE: We saw our fair share. I'd say we saw our fair share.
CHO: Goodridge and his unit returned home last month. Today, the 36-year-old father of four is still getting used to being out of a war zone.
GOODRIDGE: It's great seeing the block. (INAUDIBLE) kind of dusk when I got here and the lights were on (INAUDIBLE). It looked different. It looked very much different.
CHO: So is he. Everything from his phone conversations, to the way he carries himself are extensions of his tour of duty.
GOODRIDGE: You don't know who is who and you have to keep an eye out so you're constantly, your head is constantly moving around and looking, checking roof tops, checking everything.
CHO: So, now that you are back, you find yourself doing that?
GOODRIDGE: I still find myself doing it.
CHO Goodridge will take time off before going back to firefighting. He worked at ground zero on September 11th and says being a soldier in Iraq has been an honor.
GOODRIDGE: In a way, it was sort of, brought me like full circle. That was an event that actually started this entire war on terrorism and everything, so, I thought that me going over there, it's kind of given me a little bit of peace inside.
CHO: Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: It all began with a controversial question at the president's last news conference. Is it a scandal in the making? Straight ahead tonight, the story behind a former White House reporter. Who is he and how did he get access? And is the hunt to find all the answers fair? I'm going to talk to the blogger who uncovered the past Jeff Gannon would like to forget.
Plus, they're charged with torturing their own children. Now, these parents make their first appearance in court. Find out what happened.
And winning hearts and one mind. The incredible story of a soldier and a little boy. You're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
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LIN: Welcome back. And here's a quick look at what's happening right now in the news.
We're talking about mending fences. President Bush has arrived in Belgium on the first stop of a 5 day tour designed to improve relations in Europe. Relations that were strained in the wake of the U.S. decision to go to war in Iraq.
And Jeff Gordon has won the Daytona 500. It was a wild finish to the great American race in Florida. As the race saw 4 lead changes in the last 9 laps. But Gordon held off Dale Earnhart Jr. and Kurt Bush to win the 47th annual Daytona race.
The woman who brought Gidget to life on the big scene, actress Sandra Dee, has died. Movies like "A Summer Place" and "That Funny Feeling" made Sandra Dee a popular film star back in the 50s and 60s. She died of complications from kidney disease and pneumonia. She was only 63-years-old.
All right, here we go. A man with an unclear pass, using a fake name, got daily access to the White House and managed to even question the president. The story of this Jeff Gannon has some members of Congress calling for an investigation. And the question the White House won't exactly answer just yet, who in the Bush administration gave him access and why? Here's our Anderson Cooper.
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COOPER (voice-over): Here's what's known about the man who called himself Jeff Gannon. His real name isn't Gannon. In fact, it's not even Jeff. It's James Guckert. The news organization he works for is an online conservative Web site called Talon News, owned by a Republican activist. It claims to be, well, fair and balanced, but as you can tell by the question Gannon -- we mean, Guckert -- asked the president, their point of view is pretty clear.
JEFF GANNON: Hillary Clinton was talking about the economy being on the verge of collapse. Yet in the same breath, they say that Social Security is rock-solid and there's no crisis there. How are you going to work -- you've said you're going to reach out to these people. How are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality? COOPER: After he got the rare chance to ask the president that question, liberal bloggers began to ask, Who is this guy? They discovered that he's been active online in some surprising ways.
Several gay-porn Web sites were registered to him to what he calls a private client, and a man who looks an awful lot like him seems to have advertised online as an escort, $200 an hour.
So how did a guy with a phony name, who wasn't a real reporter, repeatedly get into the White House and talk with the president?
The White House hasn't really explained. White House spokesman Scott McClellan's response was, quote, "When you have changing media, it's not an easy issue to decide or try to pick and choose who is a journalist. It gets into the issue of advocacy journalism. Where do you draw the line?"
Gannon quit Talon News and denies he's done anything wrong.
GANNON: Talon News is a legitimate conservative online news service. And my questions are things that my readers, 700,000 daily subscribed readers, want the answer to.
COOPER: Democrats on Capitol Hill have some questions they want answered as well. Was Gannon a plant, a reliable source of softball questions at briefings and press conferences?
And perhaps even more seriously, was he fed inside information in the case of a CIA officer whose identity was revealed? An angle the blogosphere has only just begun to dig into.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: And speaking of the blogosphere, a number of bloggers share credit for the unmasking of Gannon. But, it was a writer for Americablog.org, John Aravosis who pushed the envelope. He uncovered Gannon's secret life and ties to sexually explicit Web sites catering to male escorts.
John Aravosis is joining me now from Washington. John, congratulations on the story. That's a big scoop. And it leads to the big question, who gave him access, who gave the so-called Jeff Gannon access to the White House? Do you have any theories?
JOHN ARAVOSIS, AMERICABLOG WRITER: You know, we're still trying to figure it out, Carol. I think a number of the news folks have really been weighing in in the last couple days saying, the more we find out about the guy, the shiftier he seems. In the sense that there's this, these allegations of him being an escort.
We know that his journalism background is basically a two day $50 course he attended. He decides to leave his previous career behind, take a two day course, and the next thing you know he's in the White House as a journalist. I mean, I think anybody out there in journalism knows, and probably the rest of America, you don't just walk into the White House, say I'm a journalist and the next day you're asking the president a question, particularly after 9/11. Somebody had to help him. And we want to know who.
LIN: No. Because the president knows exactly, traditionally knows exactly he's calling on. And to get a White House credential takes months of background checks by the Secret Service.
All right. But this is what Jeff Gannon had to say to CNN about how this has affected him personally. Let's take a look.
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JAMES GUCKERT, "JEFF GANNON" TALON NEWS: What's been done to me is far in excess of what's ever been done to any other journalist that I could remember. My life has been turned inside out and upside down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: All right. In fairness, Joh, we could say, so what, he ran a porn site, so what he doesn't have the traditional journalistic credentials,It's Not his fault he got let into the White House. Someone let him in.
If he wanted to get in and he got in to do a job he was going to get paid for so be it. Do you think that there is a question of fairness, especially when it comes to the blogosphere, the blog world, where people can go ahead and attack the personal background and credentials of a individual, when really these questions should be directed to the White House?
ARAVOSIS: Well actually, the questions have been directed at both. I mean, Mr. Gannon for the last 2 weeks, or Guckert or, whatever his name is, hasn't ever really answered questions directly. He went on CNN, I believe, a week ago with Wolf Blitzer said, he had no connection with these Web sites, he had simply bought them for a client and never touched them. Then, 4 days later, we find 8 different escort profiles that witnesses say belong to him.
Every time he's gone on the news we get a different story out of him. So, I think frankly, he's made himself the story.
But he is right to one degree. This is a story about the White House. You know, put this guy aside. What he shows us is that someone with a very scotchy background was able to get access to the president of the United States only a few weeks ago and even claims that he got access to classified information in regarding the Valerie Plaime affair, which was the CIA agent who was outed several years ago. And people are saying, how did this guy get all this access? Even if you put all his baggage behind him, he's just some Joe Schmoe walking into the White House and he gets to talk to the president, and gets CIA information. After September 11, that raises a lot of questions.
LIN: A lot of questions that are not being answered right now by the White House.
ARAVOSIS: They're stonewalling, yes. LIN: Well, but look at the dynamic here. OK, mainstream media right now is following the blog lead, right. Bloggers, frankly John, come on, I mean, come on, I know that you have worked for mainstream media, but bloggers kind of have the reputation for, and I'll borrow this, they are the guy in the pajamas in Peoria, logging on and sharing his thoughts.
ARAVOSIS: Hey, I'm from Illinois. Watch that.
LIN: So, you know, you've got this blogosphere of people who are not necessarily professional journalists now criticizing who is not a professional journalist. And the mere fact that the blog world is leading the charge on this, how do you keep that story alive when, frankly, the blog credentials are in question, as well?
ARAVOSIS: Well, I mean, you know, you look at the facts and you look at the history. I mean, again, put me aside, because I have worked as a professional journalist. I've written for the "Economist" and others. But even looking at the other bloggers, we got the story right. I mean, Mr. Gannon can complain all he wants, but, we got the story right.
LIN: All right. So, you're not in the White House. So, the bloggers -- they're not in the White House, they're not in the briefing room. What do you do to get to the truth? How is somebody -- what's that chain going to be like, if you were to predict that you were going to bust this wide open and find that person in the White House? How does that happen when you're not part of the press corps?
ARAVOSIS: Sure. I mean, think what happening -- I think the process is already gotten rolling. The blogs have discovered lots of issues about Mr. Gannon. It's forced him to come public and talk. It's also forced him to keep changing his story, which I think has shown us his credibility. That has now gotten the mainstream media interested, because, the mainstream media has said, OK, this guy is kind of shifty, how did he get into the White House.
Now, that you guys are involved -- and frankly, you've been involved for over a week. I mean, CNN's been good about this. But you got the Washington Post, you got the New York Times. Newsweek has something about it this week. I think all the pressure from the media, with the bloggers, is what finally gets the White House to start talking. Because now it is a big story, and the longer the White House stonewalls, the worse they look. So, I think it's a matter of just all the pressure together that gets them to talk.
LIN: Why do you think -- why do you think you beat the mainstream media?
ARAVOSIS: Well, there are a number of reasons. One, I think the media worries to some degree about criticizing the White House. Because the White House, this White House especially, has shown not very much reluctance to punishing the media when it thinks it does bad. You know, they move you to the back of the press room. They won't give you interviews with the president anymore. So, there might be a little bit of reluctance of losing access. I think also, this story certainly has a bit of a selacious side on this gay escort angle. And there's a legitimate interest in the media, at least on this story, where they may not want to cross the line. And I appreciate that.
LIN: John Aravosis. Yep. You could say.
I could say, you know what, you're willing to go for it.
All right. thanks very much. John Avarosis, Americanblog.
All right, in the meantime, shocking allegations of child abuse, torture and starvation at the hands of adoptive parents. Within just the last hour, John and Linda Dollar appeared in front of a Florida judge to face the charges against them. Sara Dorsey joins us with more -- Sara.
SARA DORSEY: Well, hello to you, Carol. The couple did appear in court just over an hour ago where the judge denied their request for bail. Each one is charged with one count of child abuse. Both appeared in front of the judge handcuffed and in jail uniforms.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DORSEY (voice-over): Out of a prison van, the accused emerged. First, 51-year-old Linda Dollar, and then her husband, 58-year-old John.
The adoptive parents were arrested in Utah, after missing a court hearing in Florida on charges of abusing at least 5 of the 7 children in their care.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They each have 1 count of aggrevated child abuse and they are being held with no bond. There will be additional charges forthcoming.
DORSEY: The allegations of abuse include mallnourishment, electric shock, pulling toenails out with pliers, binding the kids with chains and using a hammer to smash their feet. The investigation began in January after one of the kids, a 16-year-old boy, was treated for a head wound at a local hospital. Police say he was battered and extremely thin, weighing in at only 59 pounds.
GAIL TIERNEY, CITRIS COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT: I've seen pictures of the children that have taken in connection with this case. And, you know, they have very sweet faces, but, when you look at their bodies, I mean, it looks like Aushwitz.
DORSEY: The children are now in state custody. Neighbors in Beverly Hills, the Dollars upscale community, located about 60 miles north of Tampa, said they were shocked to find out about the charges.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope they have a better life from now on.
(END VIDEOTAPE) DORSEY: CNN tried to reach the Dollar's attorney for comment on the case, but our calls were not returned. He did tell the judge, though, that his clients were unaware of the charges against them when they went to Utah. A sheriff's office spokesman says those addition charge will come out in the next few weeks -- Carol.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Sara. Keepign us posted on that story.
Still ahead on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, engaging the enemy. "Time" magazine reports the U.S. military is now in active talks with insurgents in Iraq. So who benefits most from this? And, is it the right thing to do? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Amidst all the gun fire and bombings, you may not know there's a quiet dialogue underway in Iraq. "Time" magazine reports that for the first time in 2 years of fighting, some insurgents may be ready to move toward putting down their weapons. The key, though, secret talks between the U.S. and the rebels.
"Time" magazine's Elaine Shannon joins me now from Washington with more on this. Elaine, good to have you.
ELAINE SHANNON, TIME MAGAZINE: Hi.
LIN: Expand on this a little bit more. Who are these insurgents? And where are these discussions being held? Who is making the contact between whom?
SHANNON: Well, it's still very quiet and it's pretty scattered. We understand, Mik Ware, our Baghdad bureau chief, has reported all this. He's done a fascinating story. He's talking about military intelligence officials and some U.S. diplomats very quietly meeting with some nationalists, some ex-Baathists. Not the worst killers, not Zarqawi or the Jihadists but, people who might be willing to go for a political settlement of some kind.
LIN: All right. So, how do those dialogues unfold? And to what end? I mean, how influential are these people if they're not Aymin al Zarqawi's people?
SHANNON: Well, Zarqawi and his people are pledged to an Islamist state and their pledged to kill every American they call as well as a;; tje Shiites they can. So, that's not ever going to work.
And then there are some top insurgents who are -- it wouldn't be right to be talking to. But there are others that military intelligence and some civil affairs officers in Baghdad have identified as people who might want to build and not tear down, people who don't want to spend their lives under arms. And so, if the U.S. meets with them, and some gets information about their groups and what's going on, that's better than nothing.
LIN: It's better than nothing. Is is going to cost money? Is there money being exclanged hands?
SHANNON: Not that we are aware of. And this is very early. Ultimately, if there are formal negotiations that will have to include the Iraqi government. It is not clear they will go for this whole thing.
LIN: So this is just in the nascient stage. May go nowhere.
SHANNON: Very much so. One interesting idea that's come out, though, is that there are some insurgents, some nationalists who are talking about a parallel between the IRA and creating a legitimate party, like Shin Fein has been to the IRA, so that there can be formal peace talks.
LIN: Ironic, since there are now allegations that the leadership of Shin Fein may have been directly involved in the leadership of the IRA, but that's another story.
SHANNON: It's always messy.
LIN: So, what is Time looking for the next step here?
SHANNON: Well, we'll see if the talks continue. As we understand it, both sides are exchanging grievances right now. There have been a couple of meetings in the Green Zone at U.S. military premises. There may be others.
LIN: So, does the word reparations mean anything in a situation like this?
SHANNON: Again, I don't think it's money. I think it has to do with power. And of course, power leads to money and it leads to a lot of other things. Some of the insurgents have told Mik Ware that they don't want to see a Shia theocracy, they want a secular government so that they as Sunnis can participate in some way and their families can live in peace. They are also not hot on the idea of having rich exiles come in and take over, they want to have power for their community.
LIN: Well, the Iraqi government offered amnesty to some insurgents who fit this profile, maybe, they weren't directly involved in some of the more heinous crime, but they were disgruntled people who wanted to take -- who didn't feel represented in the future of the Iraqi government. That didn't really get the Iraqi government very far. So, how optimistic is anybody that the talks are going to work?
SHANNON: Well, as we say in the story, it's too soon for optimism. But, look, here in the United States, police officers and FBI agents everyday talk to people in gangs and people in hate groups. They don't -- they don't get winners everyday, but sometimes they get information and sometimes they get a phone call sooner or later, hey, this is going to happen, or, that's going to happen, or, you know, man, I'd like to come in from the cold.
LIN: Right. Elaine Shannon, great reporting. Thank you very much. SHANNON: Thank you.
LIN: Well, it's rare for any good to come from war. Rare, but, not impossible. So, straight ahead, tonight, we're going to show you a story that defies all odds: a soldier and one little boy, bound together in battle and in love.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Baba is what some Iraqi children call their fathers. And it is what a 10-year-old Iraqi orphan now calls a National Guardsman who refused to leave him behind. CNN's Chris Lawrence brings us this story of love and devotion from America's heartland.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAPT. SCOTT SOUTHWORTH, NATIONAL GUARD: Hey, buddy.
ALA'ADEEN: Hi, baba.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Why would a man...
SOUTHWORTH: Ready to go home?
ALA'ADEEN: Yes.
LAWRENCE: ...single guy, just back from Baghdad, basically adopt an Iraqi orphan with cerebal palsy?
SOUTHWORTH: I didn't choose him, he chose me.
LAWRENCE: Captain Scott Soouthworth met Ala'Adeen met a year and half ago at a Baghdad orphanage.
SOUTHWORTH: And within a few short weeks, he began to call me baba, or daddy.
LAWRENCE: Scott kept visiting every few days, even with his unit under constant attack.
SOUTHWORTH: I didn't know I was going to make it out alive. And I was afraid to promise him something and then get killed and then him not understand that.
LAWRENCE: After about a year, Scott's tour was up and the Army ordered him home. But he discovered Ala was getting too old for the orphanage.
SOUTHWORTH: This is one of our favorite events.
LAWRENCE: He'd be transferred to an adult facility, where, with his cerebral palsy, he might not surprise the lack of attention and medical care.
SOUTHWORTH: It was a devastating and frustrating moment for me. LAWRENCE: Now, foreign adoption is illegal in Iraq right now. But, after 6 months of work and mounds of red tape, he convinced Iraqi and American officials to grant Ala something called humanitarian parole.
SOUTHWORTH: You do it. You do it? Outstanding!
LAWRENCE: It's a special designation that allows him to get medical help here in America with Scott acting as guardian.
(on camera): Do you think about what his life would be like if he was still in Iraq today?
ALA'DEEN: Yes.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): It's a hard thing for Scott to explain. But, the emotion makes it clear why he took this on.
SOUTHWORTH: People will say to me, oh, what a great thing it is that you're doing. And I always tell them, you know, honestly, he teaches me and gives back to me far more than I will ever give to him.
LAWRENCE: Scott admits he went to Baghdad hoping to win Iraqi's hearts and minds. He just never expected a 10-year-old to win his.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Wisconsin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: And that's all the time we have for this hour.
Coming up next, a live sneak preview of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." CNN Headline News has a new primetime entertainment show featuring AJ Hammer and Karyn Bryant.
And then, at 8:00 Eastern, she's doing justice to legal news, it's the premier of "NANCY GRACE." And then at 9:00 Eastern, "LARRY KING WEEKEND." And Larry's guest tonight, Nancy Grace.
And I'm going to be back in our new hour at 11:00 Eastern tonight. How safe are you when you fly? One airline official warns of possible tragic consequences.
And now to "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT."
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 February 20, 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, CNN LIVE SUNDAY: Could the U.S. be negotiating with insurgents in Iraq and who has infiltrated the ranks? The investigation ahead. Also --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's been done to me is -- is far in excess of what's ever been done to any other journalist that I could remember.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: He was front and center at presidential briefings and now he's front and center in a new scandal. Washington's abuzz. Who is Jeff Gannon and why was he allowed inside the White House? It's Sunday February 20th, and you're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
From CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin, and here's what's happening right now in the news.
Surprising admissions from George W. Bush when he was governor of Texas caught on tape. According to today's "New York Times" and ABC News, the audio tapes were made secretly by an old friend of the presidents and on them, it appears Mr. Bush admitted trying marijuana. We are going to have a live report in just a moment.
Israel's cabinet voted today to authorize the evacuation of Jewish settlements in parts of the west bank and Gaza beginning in July. It also gave a green light to rerouting Israel's security fence in the West Bank. The move would still leave about 10,000 Palestinians on the Israeli side.
The U.N.'s top refugee official Lug (ph) Lubbers has resigned. Lubbers has been under fire since allegations surfaced last year that he sexually harassed a coworker. An independent report found what investors called a pattern of conduct. Lubbers has denied the allegations and says the investigation was not neither impartial nor objective.
But up first this hour, friendly visit. President Bush has arrived in Europe for a five-day trip and the first top, Brussels, Belgium where he is going to attend NATO and EU meetings and then it's on to Germany for talks with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. The trip ends Thursday in the Slovak Republic. The president is hoping to mend U.S. European relations frayed by the Iraq war, but, it may not be an easy job. Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in Brussels even before he arrived. More protests are planned in the coming days. We are going to have a report about the president's trip in just a moment.
But, we want to share with you the tale of the tapes. Now, the president may be in Europe, but the president is also making news right here at home. It appears secretly recorded conversations offer a new look at Mr. Bush off the record. The contents are detailed in today's "New York Times." CNN has not independently authenticated the tapes, but the "New York Times" and ABC, which received some of the recordings say an independent analyst has verified they contain the voice of President Bush. CNN's Elaine Quijano joins us now. Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, the man who recorded those tapes, Doug Wead is a former aide to President Bush's father. Now he's also an author, with a new book out but he insists he made these recordings for posterity.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO (voice-over): In the secretly taped conversations first reported in the "New York Times," then Texas Governor George W. Bush candidly discusses his reasons for not answering a question. Did he ever use drugs?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, Doug, but it's not, it doesn't matter cocaine. It'd be the same with marijuana. I wouldn't answer the marijuana question. You know why? 'Cause I don't want some little kid doing what I'd tried.
DOUG WEAD: Yeah and it never stops.
BUSH: But you gotta understand, I want to be president. I want to lead. I want to set ... do you want your little kid to say, "hey daddy, President Bush tried marijuana. I think I will."
QUIJANO: Mr. Bush also discusses his religious faith and his dealings with Christian conservatives. At one point he bluntly states he will not give into pressure to criticize gay people.
WEAD: You promised you would not appoint gays to office.
BUSH: No, what I said was I wouldn't fire gays. I'm not going to discriminate against people.
QUIJANO: CNN did not independently authenticate the tapes, a process that can take days. But Tom Owen, the expert who authenticated the tapes for the "New York Times," says he spent eight days analyzing excerpts before reaching his conclusion.
TOM OWEN, OWL INVESTIGATIONS: In listening to the tapes over and over, and in listening to various samples of George W. Bush's voice, at that time and later, I've concluded that it is the president's voice.
QUIJANO: The man who recorded the tapes Doug Wead, has a book coming out. We could not reach Wead on Sunday, but he told the "New York Times" the recordings were carried out in states where it was legal. CNN could not independently verify his claim. Wead told ABC's Good Morning America weekend edition, he made the recordings for their historical value.
DOUG WEAD, FMR. GEORGE H.W. BUSH ADVISER: If I'd had a chance to tape record Gandhi or had conversations with Churchill, I probably would have recorded them, too.
QUIJANO: But some say history will record the secret tapes as a betrayal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And a continuum of violations of personal relationship, a personal confidence. This is probably the Super Bowl of them all.
QUIJANO: The White House issued a one sentence response, saying these were casual conversations with somebody he considered a friend. Historians say there is value in the recordings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When presidents write their memoirs, they are carefully doctored and carefully tailored. So, candid talk by presidents even before they enter office, is like gold for historians.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Now the tapes were reportedly made in 1998 through part of 2000 and experts say that based on the portions released so far, they are far from scandalous. Instead revealing a consistency they say, a man deeply religious, who's private conversations reflect his public position. Carol?
LIN: Very interesting. Elaine Quijano, thank you very much.
Now, Doug Wead was unavailable today but, he is going to be a guest on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING tomorrow. He is going to talk about the taped conversations with Mr. Bush, so please tune in, tomorrow. 7:00 a.m. Eastern.
Now, we want to get back to the president's trip, his fence mending trip today in Europe. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Bush and the first lady arrived here in Brussels, Belgium to kick off their Europe trip. Of course it is the first trip of his second term, considered significant by Americans and Europeans that it is here, it is the headquarters of both EU and NATO. Mr. Bush will meet with officials to try to get greater commitments to support Iraq reconstruction. But it's also aimed at setting a new tone for the second administration. One of the challenges the president will have in his meeting with French president Jacque Chirac. The U.S. and the EU's approach to try to get Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program. EU is offering diplomatic and economic incentives. The U.S. says they believe that is the wrong approach. Another big challenge of course, a significant moment will be Mr. Bush's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday in the Slovak Republic. Now the U.S. has expressed frustration with Russia privately that it's been backsliding in democratic reforms. Today and over the last several days, top U.S. law makers have been putting pressure on Mr. Bush to hold Putin to account.
SEN. JOSEPH LEIBERMAN (D) CONN: Senator McCain and I earlier this week introduced a resolution in the Senate which calls on our government to work to suspend Russia's participation in the G-8, the big eight industrialized countries unless they return to the path of democracy because they were brought into the G-8 based on their commitment to democratize Russia and they're not keeping that promise.
MALVEAUX: The White House also says it is frustrated with Russia and what it sees as its cooperation with Iran's nuclear weapons program and also its sales of missiles to Syria. Monday, President Bush will deliver a major speech to the European people, calling for a fresh start. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Brussels, Belgium.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: So, while President Bush embarks on this fresh start, there is an unusual presidential partnership afloat. Former presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush Senior are still touring tsunami stricken regions. The two leaders got a first hand look at the destruction in Banda Aceh, Indonesia and they also spoke to survivors about their needs. Bush and Clinton and encouraging private U.S. donations for tsunami relief. Both leaders are assuring donors their money is beingt well spent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We want to be able to assure the donors that the money is being spent wisely, that there's not a lot of overhead between what they give and how it gets to the recipient and that there's no corruption out there.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we'll have to monitor. We have to have good auditing systems as we go along. But I do believe the donors can be assured that these organizations to which they give their donations are not wasting money and if you pick one off the reputable list, you know they are all honest and that they are going to be out here trying to help people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: The former presidents talked to CNN's Wolf Blitzer from Sri Lanka today. Now, from there, it's on to the Maldives.
The rhetoric in the stand off with North Korea is heating up. The country today lashed out at Japan saying Tokyo has joined quote, the U.S. vicious hostile policy towards Pyongyang. Now the statement comes a day after U.S. and Japanese officials urged North Korea to resume six-party talks about its nuclear weapons program. Japan also recently changed its policy to allow it to pursue a missile defense program with the U.S.
And, al Qaeda's number two man has some new warnings for America. In a videotaped aired today on al Jazeera Ayman al Zawahiri said U.S. efforts to spread democracy will quote, end with your defeat. He also announced the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo (ph) Bay saying it really exposes the reality of the reforms America is trying to impose. That's the denunciation. It is unknown when or where the tape was actually recorded. The CIA right now is examining it to find out whether it is in fact authentic.
It is a day of firsts in the middle east. Israel is saying good- bye to Gaza and the blueprint for the final border between Israel and a future Palestinian state seems to be taking shape. But concern and distrust linger on both sides. CNN's John Vause reports from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At this Israel cabinet meeting, overwhelming support for an end to almost 38 years of Israeli occupation of the Gaza strip.
TRANSLATOR: It's not an easy day. It's not a happy day.
VAUSE: Seventeen ministers in favor, five opposed, giving Prime Minister Ariel Sharon authority to issue evacuation notices to almost 8,000 Jewish settlers in Gaza and 1,000 more in four West Bank settlements.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a painful resolution but it will change the course of the region.
VAUSE: The pullout will begin in July, take about eight weeks, and faces nationwide protests by settlers and their supporters.
ARI SHAVIT, POLITICAL ANALYST: Today marks the end of the political battle but it marks the beginning of the battle over implementation.
VAUSE: At the same time, the Israeli cabinet approved the southern and final section of the separation barrier from Jerusalem to the south. Two major settlement blocs will be included on the Israeli side with the new route confiscating about 6 percent of the West Bank. The old route took more than 15 percent. Palestinians, though, want an end to construction, especially after both sides declared a truce. The barrier they say, preempts a final peace deal.
SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: This is dictation and not negotiation. We call upon the Israeli government to rejoin us in the negotiating table to deal with issues of permanent status, Jerusalem settlement borders and (INAUDIBLE).
VAUSE: The Israeli government has said all along the barrier is for security only, insisting it can be easily torn down once there's a lasting peace. But to many here, both Palestinian and Israeli, this is part of a bigger strategy, a retreat from Gaza while holding on to the major settlements in the West Bank. John Vause, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Elsewhere around the world this Sunday, political activists in Syria are calling on their country to withdraw troops from Lebanon. International pressure for a pull out has increased since former Lebanese Premier Rafik (ph) Harari's assassination. Syria and Lebanon's pro-Syria government both deny having a hand in the killing.
Rescuers near Daka (ph), Bangladesh are looking for dozens of people missing after a ferry accident that killed more than 80. A tornado capsized the boat last night on a river about 10 miles from the capital city. The ferry was carrying about 260 people, 100 more than it was designed for.
For the first time, the government of Ireland is saying Sinn Fein President Jerry Adams and two other top party leaders are members of the illegal Irish Republican Army's command. Sinn Fein rejects the charge. Despite its links with the IRA, the party denies responsibility for the organization's alleged terrorist activities.
Another blast of miserable weather is dousing southern California with more rain today. Flash flooding knocked out power to thousands of people. Mudslides damaged homes in beach cities like Laguna Beach and desert communities like Diamond Bar (ph). People fled for higher ground. The storm touched off water spouts and tornados. Take a look at these pictures. This water spout was caught on tape by a lifeguard about 100 yards off the coastline of Huntington Beach which caused some minor damage. Now farther inland, two twisters touched down, breaking windows and downing trees and knocking down more power lines. No major injuries were reported of any kind from the whirlwinds, but fantastic pictures of mother nature at work.
So, you heard about this case of this conviction of this teenager. Did a popular antidepressant cause that child to kill? Well, a jury in South Carolina says no, but the concern for some parents is still there. So straight ahead, I'm going to talk to a child psychiatrist about which antidepressant drugs, if any, are safe for your children and how can you tell?
Plus, he claimed to be a credible journalists, but new revelations about this reporter prompt more doubts than answers. So, how did he get into the White House? And, later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. SCOTT SOUTHWORTH, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: Look at this face. Who couldn't (INAUDIBLE) this kid?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Well, he went off to fight in battle, but he came home with a little boy. An unlikely bond between new best friends. That's coming up.
And, checking the most popular story this hour on cnn.com. A man rides avalanche feet first. A Utah hiker falls 1,000 feet down a mountainside, riding an avalanche feet first, suffering only minor injuries. Lucky day. Click on to cnn.com for more details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: You know this trial in South Carolina, this kid who killed his grandparents and claimed he did it because he was on an antidepressant, got us to thinking about, you know, kids and drugs and whether just say no actually applies to prescription drugs and anti- depressants because how are you supposed to know? In this case, a South Carolina teen got nowhere last week claiming that Zoloft made him kill his grandparents.
But the government has linked some anti-depressants with suicidal thoughts among children. So my next guest says, let's not get carried away. He is the author of "Straight Talk About Psychiatric Medications for Kids." Doctor Timothy Wilens, a child psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital joins me now from Boston. Dr. Wilens, you followed some details of the case and I'm not asking you to be a legal expert. But I do want to get an opinion from you. This 12- year-old claims he shot his grandparents to death under the influence of Zoloft. The jury didn't buy it and he was convicted. What kind of a message does this send to parents out there if they feel they've got a depressed teenager, just keep them off this drug?
DR. TIMOTHY WILENS, CHILD PSYCHIATRIST: That's exactly what the concern is, is that here you're talking about a group of very effective medications, the what we call serotonin reuptake inhibitors are often called SSRIs and these medications are - have been shone in a number of different trials to be helpful for kinds with depression and anxiety, and yet there is rare occurrences of what we call psychiatric adverse events that people have to monitor that become confusing to parents. In this case, I think, the jury, you know, saw threw the evidence and saw that there was more predatory type of behaviors and that's not typically what you would get as a side effect of these medicines. But, I think at the end of the day, parents need to be reassured that these medicines are very safe and very effective and one of the treatments we use for kids who are depressed.
LIN: Is there a short answer to how these drugs work, like, Zoloft and Paxil and maybe they're different, but in general, how do they treat a teenager's depression?
WILENS: What they're doing is they're making more serotonin available in the brain. Some of the other antidepressants make more (INAUDIBLE) dopamine, but they're doing it by working with the natural machinery, the neurons in the brain to make more of these chemical messengers available. That then leads to less depression.
LIN: Does it work differently in teenagers than it does say in children, those under 12 or 12 and under?
WILENS: We think that they work relatively similar from preschoolers all the way up to adults. They probably work a little bit better in adults relative to teenagers, relative to younger kids.
LIN: Preschoolers? How do you know if your child is just moody, having a bad day or actually needs to be on antidepressants?
WILENS: Well, you are certainly entitled to have a bad hair day here or there. What we're talking about is persistent or pervasive patterns of mood, seeming anger, sadness, withdrawal, isolation. Kids who are just, have no energy, no interest. They're not engaged with what is going on. They're just not happy and this lasts for two, three, four weeks. Oftentimes kids will come in and they'll tell me they're been this way for six months, eight months, a year and often, suicidality is part of their clinical picture and their parents may not have even known that.
LIN: So what might actually trigger a violent reaction, then?
WILENS: That's something we are trying to figure out. It's clear that there are some kids who may have underlying bipolar disorder and when you give them these meds, they get agitated. But you know and there's a whole lot of these kids who just will have some reaction to the medication and you don't know why it occurred. The most important thing is that you're in close contact if you're putting your child on these meds with their doctor and if there's any type of a personality change, if the child gets more irritable, more sad, develops any kind of suicidal ideation, if the child all of a sudden looks punch drunk or looks drunk, those types of things would indicate that geez, we're going the wrong direction. Give the doctor a call and decide what you're going to do with the medication.
LIN: All right. Doctor Wilens, thank you very much.
WILENS: Thank you.
LIN: I think what so many people found disturbing in the Christopher Pittman case is that he was apparently suicidal a month before the murders and then he was put on this drug therapy and then the murders happened. So I don't know. At any rate, there was a conviction in this case and we will be talking more about it tonight. Thanks very much.
WILENS: Sure, thank you.
LIN: In fact, please join me tonight when I'm going to be joined by Christopher Pittman's maternal grandmother because we're going to be talking about the family's next steps and how he's doing so far. That's tonight in our new primetime hour, 11:00 p.m. Eastern. Please join us then.
In the meantime, back at home, from battle and adjusting to civilian life. Still ahead tonight, one member of the National Guard tells what life was like on the frontlines, his struggle to leave it there.
And, later, opening lines of communication. Is. the U.S. government now entering into a dialogue with Iraqi insurgents? Are they negotiating with them? A new report, later this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Every week we bring you the more personal stories from the frontlines and today we're going to bring you the story of a New York City fireman. He was at ground zero on 9/11 and then went off to fight insurgents in the Sunni triangle of Iraq. Now, Alina Cho brings us the story of a National Guardsman's homecoming.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Shawn (ph) Goodridge is getting up close and personal with his fellow New York City firefighters for the first time in 15 months. At a Valentine's Day banquet, he's doing double duty, reconnecting with old coworkers and taking his wife Millie out on a date. She hasn't seen him much lately either because Goodridge has spent the last year in Iraq. As a member of the 108th infantry division, a unit of the New York National Guard, Sergeant Goodridge was stationed in the Sunni triangle and saw some of the worst of the worst while he was there.
SHAWN GOODRIDGE: We saw our fair share. I'd say we saw our fair share.
CHO: Goodridge and his unit returned home last month. Today, the 36-year-old father of four is still getting used to being out of a war zone.
GOODRIDGE: It's great seeing the block. (INAUDIBLE) kind of dusk when I got here and the lights were on (INAUDIBLE). It looked different. It looked very much different.
CHO: So is he. Everything from his phone conversations, to the way he carries himself are extensions of his tour of duty.
GOODRIDGE: You don't know who is who and you have to keep an eye out so you're constantly, your head is constantly moving around and looking, checking roof tops, checking everything.
CHO: So, now that you are back, you find yourself doing that?
GOODRIDGE: I still find myself doing it.
CHO Goodridge will take time off before going back to firefighting. He worked at ground zero on September 11th and says being a soldier in Iraq has been an honor.
GOODRIDGE: In a way, it was sort of, brought me like full circle. That was an event that actually started this entire war on terrorism and everything, so, I thought that me going over there, it's kind of given me a little bit of peace inside.
CHO: Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: It all began with a controversial question at the president's last news conference. Is it a scandal in the making? Straight ahead tonight, the story behind a former White House reporter. Who is he and how did he get access? And is the hunt to find all the answers fair? I'm going to talk to the blogger who uncovered the past Jeff Gannon would like to forget.
Plus, they're charged with torturing their own children. Now, these parents make their first appearance in court. Find out what happened.
And winning hearts and one mind. The incredible story of a soldier and a little boy. You're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Welcome back. And here's a quick look at what's happening right now in the news.
We're talking about mending fences. President Bush has arrived in Belgium on the first stop of a 5 day tour designed to improve relations in Europe. Relations that were strained in the wake of the U.S. decision to go to war in Iraq.
And Jeff Gordon has won the Daytona 500. It was a wild finish to the great American race in Florida. As the race saw 4 lead changes in the last 9 laps. But Gordon held off Dale Earnhart Jr. and Kurt Bush to win the 47th annual Daytona race.
The woman who brought Gidget to life on the big scene, actress Sandra Dee, has died. Movies like "A Summer Place" and "That Funny Feeling" made Sandra Dee a popular film star back in the 50s and 60s. She died of complications from kidney disease and pneumonia. She was only 63-years-old.
All right, here we go. A man with an unclear pass, using a fake name, got daily access to the White House and managed to even question the president. The story of this Jeff Gannon has some members of Congress calling for an investigation. And the question the White House won't exactly answer just yet, who in the Bush administration gave him access and why? Here's our Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): Here's what's known about the man who called himself Jeff Gannon. His real name isn't Gannon. In fact, it's not even Jeff. It's James Guckert. The news organization he works for is an online conservative Web site called Talon News, owned by a Republican activist. It claims to be, well, fair and balanced, but as you can tell by the question Gannon -- we mean, Guckert -- asked the president, their point of view is pretty clear.
JEFF GANNON: Hillary Clinton was talking about the economy being on the verge of collapse. Yet in the same breath, they say that Social Security is rock-solid and there's no crisis there. How are you going to work -- you've said you're going to reach out to these people. How are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality? COOPER: After he got the rare chance to ask the president that question, liberal bloggers began to ask, Who is this guy? They discovered that he's been active online in some surprising ways.
Several gay-porn Web sites were registered to him to what he calls a private client, and a man who looks an awful lot like him seems to have advertised online as an escort, $200 an hour.
So how did a guy with a phony name, who wasn't a real reporter, repeatedly get into the White House and talk with the president?
The White House hasn't really explained. White House spokesman Scott McClellan's response was, quote, "When you have changing media, it's not an easy issue to decide or try to pick and choose who is a journalist. It gets into the issue of advocacy journalism. Where do you draw the line?"
Gannon quit Talon News and denies he's done anything wrong.
GANNON: Talon News is a legitimate conservative online news service. And my questions are things that my readers, 700,000 daily subscribed readers, want the answer to.
COOPER: Democrats on Capitol Hill have some questions they want answered as well. Was Gannon a plant, a reliable source of softball questions at briefings and press conferences?
And perhaps even more seriously, was he fed inside information in the case of a CIA officer whose identity was revealed? An angle the blogosphere has only just begun to dig into.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: And speaking of the blogosphere, a number of bloggers share credit for the unmasking of Gannon. But, it was a writer for Americablog.org, John Aravosis who pushed the envelope. He uncovered Gannon's secret life and ties to sexually explicit Web sites catering to male escorts.
John Aravosis is joining me now from Washington. John, congratulations on the story. That's a big scoop. And it leads to the big question, who gave him access, who gave the so-called Jeff Gannon access to the White House? Do you have any theories?
JOHN ARAVOSIS, AMERICABLOG WRITER: You know, we're still trying to figure it out, Carol. I think a number of the news folks have really been weighing in in the last couple days saying, the more we find out about the guy, the shiftier he seems. In the sense that there's this, these allegations of him being an escort.
We know that his journalism background is basically a two day $50 course he attended. He decides to leave his previous career behind, take a two day course, and the next thing you know he's in the White House as a journalist. I mean, I think anybody out there in journalism knows, and probably the rest of America, you don't just walk into the White House, say I'm a journalist and the next day you're asking the president a question, particularly after 9/11. Somebody had to help him. And we want to know who.
LIN: No. Because the president knows exactly, traditionally knows exactly he's calling on. And to get a White House credential takes months of background checks by the Secret Service.
All right. But this is what Jeff Gannon had to say to CNN about how this has affected him personally. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES GUCKERT, "JEFF GANNON" TALON NEWS: What's been done to me is far in excess of what's ever been done to any other journalist that I could remember. My life has been turned inside out and upside down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: All right. In fairness, Joh, we could say, so what, he ran a porn site, so what he doesn't have the traditional journalistic credentials,It's Not his fault he got let into the White House. Someone let him in.
If he wanted to get in and he got in to do a job he was going to get paid for so be it. Do you think that there is a question of fairness, especially when it comes to the blogosphere, the blog world, where people can go ahead and attack the personal background and credentials of a individual, when really these questions should be directed to the White House?
ARAVOSIS: Well actually, the questions have been directed at both. I mean, Mr. Gannon for the last 2 weeks, or Guckert or, whatever his name is, hasn't ever really answered questions directly. He went on CNN, I believe, a week ago with Wolf Blitzer said, he had no connection with these Web sites, he had simply bought them for a client and never touched them. Then, 4 days later, we find 8 different escort profiles that witnesses say belong to him.
Every time he's gone on the news we get a different story out of him. So, I think frankly, he's made himself the story.
But he is right to one degree. This is a story about the White House. You know, put this guy aside. What he shows us is that someone with a very scotchy background was able to get access to the president of the United States only a few weeks ago and even claims that he got access to classified information in regarding the Valerie Plaime affair, which was the CIA agent who was outed several years ago. And people are saying, how did this guy get all this access? Even if you put all his baggage behind him, he's just some Joe Schmoe walking into the White House and he gets to talk to the president, and gets CIA information. After September 11, that raises a lot of questions.
LIN: A lot of questions that are not being answered right now by the White House.
ARAVOSIS: They're stonewalling, yes. LIN: Well, but look at the dynamic here. OK, mainstream media right now is following the blog lead, right. Bloggers, frankly John, come on, I mean, come on, I know that you have worked for mainstream media, but bloggers kind of have the reputation for, and I'll borrow this, they are the guy in the pajamas in Peoria, logging on and sharing his thoughts.
ARAVOSIS: Hey, I'm from Illinois. Watch that.
LIN: So, you know, you've got this blogosphere of people who are not necessarily professional journalists now criticizing who is not a professional journalist. And the mere fact that the blog world is leading the charge on this, how do you keep that story alive when, frankly, the blog credentials are in question, as well?
ARAVOSIS: Well, I mean, you know, you look at the facts and you look at the history. I mean, again, put me aside, because I have worked as a professional journalist. I've written for the "Economist" and others. But even looking at the other bloggers, we got the story right. I mean, Mr. Gannon can complain all he wants, but, we got the story right.
LIN: All right. So, you're not in the White House. So, the bloggers -- they're not in the White House, they're not in the briefing room. What do you do to get to the truth? How is somebody -- what's that chain going to be like, if you were to predict that you were going to bust this wide open and find that person in the White House? How does that happen when you're not part of the press corps?
ARAVOSIS: Sure. I mean, think what happening -- I think the process is already gotten rolling. The blogs have discovered lots of issues about Mr. Gannon. It's forced him to come public and talk. It's also forced him to keep changing his story, which I think has shown us his credibility. That has now gotten the mainstream media interested, because, the mainstream media has said, OK, this guy is kind of shifty, how did he get into the White House.
Now, that you guys are involved -- and frankly, you've been involved for over a week. I mean, CNN's been good about this. But you got the Washington Post, you got the New York Times. Newsweek has something about it this week. I think all the pressure from the media, with the bloggers, is what finally gets the White House to start talking. Because now it is a big story, and the longer the White House stonewalls, the worse they look. So, I think it's a matter of just all the pressure together that gets them to talk.
LIN: Why do you think -- why do you think you beat the mainstream media?
ARAVOSIS: Well, there are a number of reasons. One, I think the media worries to some degree about criticizing the White House. Because the White House, this White House especially, has shown not very much reluctance to punishing the media when it thinks it does bad. You know, they move you to the back of the press room. They won't give you interviews with the president anymore. So, there might be a little bit of reluctance of losing access. I think also, this story certainly has a bit of a selacious side on this gay escort angle. And there's a legitimate interest in the media, at least on this story, where they may not want to cross the line. And I appreciate that.
LIN: John Aravosis. Yep. You could say.
I could say, you know what, you're willing to go for it.
All right. thanks very much. John Avarosis, Americanblog.
All right, in the meantime, shocking allegations of child abuse, torture and starvation at the hands of adoptive parents. Within just the last hour, John and Linda Dollar appeared in front of a Florida judge to face the charges against them. Sara Dorsey joins us with more -- Sara.
SARA DORSEY: Well, hello to you, Carol. The couple did appear in court just over an hour ago where the judge denied their request for bail. Each one is charged with one count of child abuse. Both appeared in front of the judge handcuffed and in jail uniforms.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DORSEY (voice-over): Out of a prison van, the accused emerged. First, 51-year-old Linda Dollar, and then her husband, 58-year-old John.
The adoptive parents were arrested in Utah, after missing a court hearing in Florida on charges of abusing at least 5 of the 7 children in their care.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They each have 1 count of aggrevated child abuse and they are being held with no bond. There will be additional charges forthcoming.
DORSEY: The allegations of abuse include mallnourishment, electric shock, pulling toenails out with pliers, binding the kids with chains and using a hammer to smash their feet. The investigation began in January after one of the kids, a 16-year-old boy, was treated for a head wound at a local hospital. Police say he was battered and extremely thin, weighing in at only 59 pounds.
GAIL TIERNEY, CITRIS COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT: I've seen pictures of the children that have taken in connection with this case. And, you know, they have very sweet faces, but, when you look at their bodies, I mean, it looks like Aushwitz.
DORSEY: The children are now in state custody. Neighbors in Beverly Hills, the Dollars upscale community, located about 60 miles north of Tampa, said they were shocked to find out about the charges.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope they have a better life from now on.
(END VIDEOTAPE) DORSEY: CNN tried to reach the Dollar's attorney for comment on the case, but our calls were not returned. He did tell the judge, though, that his clients were unaware of the charges against them when they went to Utah. A sheriff's office spokesman says those addition charge will come out in the next few weeks -- Carol.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Sara. Keepign us posted on that story.
Still ahead on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, engaging the enemy. "Time" magazine reports the U.S. military is now in active talks with insurgents in Iraq. So who benefits most from this? And, is it the right thing to do? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Amidst all the gun fire and bombings, you may not know there's a quiet dialogue underway in Iraq. "Time" magazine reports that for the first time in 2 years of fighting, some insurgents may be ready to move toward putting down their weapons. The key, though, secret talks between the U.S. and the rebels.
"Time" magazine's Elaine Shannon joins me now from Washington with more on this. Elaine, good to have you.
ELAINE SHANNON, TIME MAGAZINE: Hi.
LIN: Expand on this a little bit more. Who are these insurgents? And where are these discussions being held? Who is making the contact between whom?
SHANNON: Well, it's still very quiet and it's pretty scattered. We understand, Mik Ware, our Baghdad bureau chief, has reported all this. He's done a fascinating story. He's talking about military intelligence officials and some U.S. diplomats very quietly meeting with some nationalists, some ex-Baathists. Not the worst killers, not Zarqawi or the Jihadists but, people who might be willing to go for a political settlement of some kind.
LIN: All right. So, how do those dialogues unfold? And to what end? I mean, how influential are these people if they're not Aymin al Zarqawi's people?
SHANNON: Well, Zarqawi and his people are pledged to an Islamist state and their pledged to kill every American they call as well as a;; tje Shiites they can. So, that's not ever going to work.
And then there are some top insurgents who are -- it wouldn't be right to be talking to. But there are others that military intelligence and some civil affairs officers in Baghdad have identified as people who might want to build and not tear down, people who don't want to spend their lives under arms. And so, if the U.S. meets with them, and some gets information about their groups and what's going on, that's better than nothing.
LIN: It's better than nothing. Is is going to cost money? Is there money being exclanged hands?
SHANNON: Not that we are aware of. And this is very early. Ultimately, if there are formal negotiations that will have to include the Iraqi government. It is not clear they will go for this whole thing.
LIN: So this is just in the nascient stage. May go nowhere.
SHANNON: Very much so. One interesting idea that's come out, though, is that there are some insurgents, some nationalists who are talking about a parallel between the IRA and creating a legitimate party, like Shin Fein has been to the IRA, so that there can be formal peace talks.
LIN: Ironic, since there are now allegations that the leadership of Shin Fein may have been directly involved in the leadership of the IRA, but that's another story.
SHANNON: It's always messy.
LIN: So, what is Time looking for the next step here?
SHANNON: Well, we'll see if the talks continue. As we understand it, both sides are exchanging grievances right now. There have been a couple of meetings in the Green Zone at U.S. military premises. There may be others.
LIN: So, does the word reparations mean anything in a situation like this?
SHANNON: Again, I don't think it's money. I think it has to do with power. And of course, power leads to money and it leads to a lot of other things. Some of the insurgents have told Mik Ware that they don't want to see a Shia theocracy, they want a secular government so that they as Sunnis can participate in some way and their families can live in peace. They are also not hot on the idea of having rich exiles come in and take over, they want to have power for their community.
LIN: Well, the Iraqi government offered amnesty to some insurgents who fit this profile, maybe, they weren't directly involved in some of the more heinous crime, but they were disgruntled people who wanted to take -- who didn't feel represented in the future of the Iraqi government. That didn't really get the Iraqi government very far. So, how optimistic is anybody that the talks are going to work?
SHANNON: Well, as we say in the story, it's too soon for optimism. But, look, here in the United States, police officers and FBI agents everyday talk to people in gangs and people in hate groups. They don't -- they don't get winners everyday, but sometimes they get information and sometimes they get a phone call sooner or later, hey, this is going to happen, or, that's going to happen, or, you know, man, I'd like to come in from the cold.
LIN: Right. Elaine Shannon, great reporting. Thank you very much. SHANNON: Thank you.
LIN: Well, it's rare for any good to come from war. Rare, but, not impossible. So, straight ahead, tonight, we're going to show you a story that defies all odds: a soldier and one little boy, bound together in battle and in love.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Baba is what some Iraqi children call their fathers. And it is what a 10-year-old Iraqi orphan now calls a National Guardsman who refused to leave him behind. CNN's Chris Lawrence brings us this story of love and devotion from America's heartland.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAPT. SCOTT SOUTHWORTH, NATIONAL GUARD: Hey, buddy.
ALA'ADEEN: Hi, baba.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Why would a man...
SOUTHWORTH: Ready to go home?
ALA'ADEEN: Yes.
LAWRENCE: ...single guy, just back from Baghdad, basically adopt an Iraqi orphan with cerebal palsy?
SOUTHWORTH: I didn't choose him, he chose me.
LAWRENCE: Captain Scott Soouthworth met Ala'Adeen met a year and half ago at a Baghdad orphanage.
SOUTHWORTH: And within a few short weeks, he began to call me baba, or daddy.
LAWRENCE: Scott kept visiting every few days, even with his unit under constant attack.
SOUTHWORTH: I didn't know I was going to make it out alive. And I was afraid to promise him something and then get killed and then him not understand that.
LAWRENCE: After about a year, Scott's tour was up and the Army ordered him home. But he discovered Ala was getting too old for the orphanage.
SOUTHWORTH: This is one of our favorite events.
LAWRENCE: He'd be transferred to an adult facility, where, with his cerebral palsy, he might not surprise the lack of attention and medical care.
SOUTHWORTH: It was a devastating and frustrating moment for me. LAWRENCE: Now, foreign adoption is illegal in Iraq right now. But, after 6 months of work and mounds of red tape, he convinced Iraqi and American officials to grant Ala something called humanitarian parole.
SOUTHWORTH: You do it. You do it? Outstanding!
LAWRENCE: It's a special designation that allows him to get medical help here in America with Scott acting as guardian.
(on camera): Do you think about what his life would be like if he was still in Iraq today?
ALA'DEEN: Yes.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): It's a hard thing for Scott to explain. But, the emotion makes it clear why he took this on.
SOUTHWORTH: People will say to me, oh, what a great thing it is that you're doing. And I always tell them, you know, honestly, he teaches me and gives back to me far more than I will ever give to him.
LAWRENCE: Scott admits he went to Baghdad hoping to win Iraqi's hearts and minds. He just never expected a 10-year-old to win his.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Wisconsin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: And that's all the time we have for this hour.
Coming up next, a live sneak preview of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." CNN Headline News has a new primetime entertainment show featuring AJ Hammer and Karyn Bryant.
And then, at 8:00 Eastern, she's doing justice to legal news, it's the premier of "NANCY GRACE." And then at 9:00 Eastern, "LARRY KING WEEKEND." And Larry's guest tonight, Nancy Grace.
And I'm going to be back in our new hour at 11:00 Eastern tonight. How safe are you when you fly? One airline official warns of possible tragic consequences.
And now to "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT."
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