Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
American Arrested; Back From Iraq; A Helping Hand
Aired February 23, 2005 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
"Now in the News."
Waterlogged California bracing for more rain today. Dozens of homes have been declared lost, like this one that simply slid down the hill. The bad weather blamed for at least nine deaths now.
Pope John Paul II has a new book out today, it's called "Memory and Identity." In it he condemns homosexuality and abortion.
Negotiators from the U.S., Japan and South Korea will meet over the weekend to discuss resuming nuclear talks with North Korea. This comes after North Korea said it's willing to take part in talks again if the U.S. is sincere.
President Bush right now is in talks with one of his fiercest critics over the Iraq war, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. The president is hoping to mend strained relations during his European trip.
To the Forecast Center.
Good morning -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: The prosecution says it can make the case of an American charged with involvement in a possible plot to assassinate President Bush, but the man's family is saying officials have it all wrong.
John Lyle (ph) from our affiliate WJLA has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN LYLE, WJLA-TV REPORTER (voice-over): It was an emotional moment for Ahmed Abu Ali's supporters and family finally seeing the 23-year-old from Falls Church back on U.S. soil. FATEN ABU ALI, MOTHER: For me it's a victory, because as long as Ahmed will be having his day in court, I do believe in the fairness of this justice system. And I do know that Ahmed will declare his innocence in the front of everyone.
LYLE: Abu Ali was arrested while studying in Saudi Arabia on June 11, 2003. He was held in a Saudi prison for 20 months without being charged, until he was flown back to the United States on Monday and prosecutors unsealed a six-count indictment. The government claims Abu Ali plotted with al Qaeda terrorists to assassinate President Bush, either by shooting him on the street or by detonating a car bomb.
OMAR ABU ALI, FATHER: All of what the government said is lies, upon lies, upon lies.
LYLE: Abu Ali's parents say if their son has confessed to a crime, the confession was coerced. And through his attorney in court, Abu Ali said he was tortured in prison and offered to show the judge the scars on his back.
EDWARD MACMAHON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I saw the evidence of that with my own eyes back in the lockup. And I really want you to think about the evidence in this case and what you read in this indictment when you know that this American citizen was tortured in Saudi Arabia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: That was John Lyle reporting from Washington from WJLA.
Flags, cheers and tears, people in several states have welcomed soldiers home from a tour of duty in Iraq. In Lancaster, South Carolina, nearly 100 soldiers returned to welcome home signs, along with hugs and kisses from their loved ones.
Another happy homecoming, this one in North Riverside, Illinois, nearly 200 Army National Guard troops from the town spent a year in Iraq. The soldiers say there were some close calls in the war zone, but they all managed to make it home safely.
And another Illinois National Guard unit wasn't as lucky, for those troops it was a bittersweet homecoming. They got a heroes welcome in the town of Paris after losing five comrades in Iraq.
CNN's Aaron Brown has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AARON BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They came home, marching, literally, up Main Street to the applause, and to the sirens, and especially to the tears of loved ones.
But these soldiers know that war changes everyone, those who fight, even those who stay behind. JIM COOPER, FAMILY READINESS GROUP: It was very nerve-wracking, very nerve-wracking, because you're feeling good about everything, and all of a sudden you get a call from somebody and they're worried, and then the next thing you know, you're just worried, too.
BROWN: For the past year while his son, Matthew, and the rest of the unit was in Iraq, Jim Cooper, an electrician by trade, has had one of the most difficult jobs a civilian can have, he's been the one who had to tell the families about the injuries or the deaths.
It changes you. It changes even the way you hear the phone ring.
COOPER: And you didn't know whether it was your own son, you didn't know whether it was one of the kids that you knew like a son around you. It was just -- and when I got to the armory and they told me what happened, I just broke down. I mean that was our first one. And not that it got any easier over the time, but it just -- all of a sudden, everything come to reality.
BROWN: Reality for the family of Specialist Charles Lamb of nearby Martinsville, the first member of the company to die in Iraq.
And later, for the family of Sergeant Shauna Morrison (ph) of Paris, the first woman ever to die in combat from Edgar County, Illinois.
Three others from the 1544 were also killed in combat. Fifteen were injured. A hundred and sixty went to war a year ago, 140 came back unharmed, though not unchanged.
COOPER: As far as the war ending, you can talk to about any of these families, as far as we're concerned, the war is not over yet, and it won't be over until all the terrorist people are stopped.
BROWN: The parade was about emotions unleashed, a time for mothers to exhale, like Tammy Johns, whose daughter, Shelly, enlisted in the Guard while a high school student of 17 and turned 20 in Baghdad.
TAMMY JOHNS, MOTHER OF NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIER: We'll have her birthday party when she gets here. We're going to have Christmas when she gets here. Got our Christmas tree still up, Christmas decorations, the whole bit, so. I told her we'll have a party for every single holiday she missed, even St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, the whole thing.
BROWN: Paris is a town that mostly backed the war. Ned Jenison publishes the local paper, "The Paris Beacon-News," has lived here all his life.
NED JENISON, PUBLISHER, "PARIS BEACON-NEWS": We've had a few letters saying that, you know, we shouldn't be there, that we should bring them home and everything. But for our people that were there, there was never any question but what, you know, the community was behind them.
BROWN: Never any question either that the town would empty out its schools and its businesses to welcome their soldiers back home.
The speeches were short. The homecomings and hugs lingered. Shelly Johns got roses and hugs. Matt Cooper got a huge embrace from his mom. And Jim Cooper, well, Jim Cooper finally had something good to preside over, something very good.
COOPER: As a parent, it just brings a tear to your eye, I'll tell you. It's just unbelievable. I knew there'd be a big crowd. This town won't let something like this go on without just everybody showing up. I just expected it. They've always been this way. They love these guys, and they're here to show it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Aaron Brown reporting this morning.
Let's head into "The War Room" now. We focus so much of our attention on the troops in Iraq, but we cannot forget that U.S. forces are also in Afghanistan.
And as our senior international editor David Clinch tells us, the mission for soldiers there has changed.
Good morning -- David.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Good morning, Carol.
And interesting listening to Aaron's piece there about National Guard component in Iraq. And that's something in Afghanistan as well we've been seeing. With so many troops rotating, we're now seeing a lot more National Guard there.
We've been following this story the last week or so in Afghanistan of National Guard units in Afghanistan flying up to the highest mountains in that country during some of the worst weather Afghanistan has seen in decades. Flying in at great risk to themselves, bringing aid to the families and villages there.
Afghan officials saying hundreds of people have died in the mountains in the last few months. At least 200 children under the age of 5 have already died. The American National Guard there not waiting to be told what to do, flew up there, bringing in aid, saving lives.
And we're also seeing a very specific story there. We've seen a number of instances in the last few weeks in Afghanistan and Iraq, National Guard from Indiana there bringing back, identifying one child who has a heart condition, a very rare heart condition, that cannot be treated in the region. And they are flying him to Indianapolis today, arriving in the next couple of days, to receive that treatment in a hospital in Indianapolis. They're going to pay for all the treatment, look after him while he's there, and then bring him back to his parents in Afghanistan. So a picture of the young 14-month-old child right there.
And that's something you know we talked a lot about hearts and minds. I mean this literally hearts and minds right here. But a lot of what's happening now isn't on orders from the Pentagon, it's these National Guard people, parents, a lot of them, family members, doing it themselves. Not because they've been ordered to, but just because they see it and they want to do it.
COSTELLO: Exactly. Thank you, David.
David Clinch reporting from Atlanta this morning.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, Barry Bonds takes a swing at Jose Canseco and the media, too, figuratively speaking that is. We'll have his fighting words for you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:42 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
President Bush is meeting this hour with German leader Gerhard Schroeder, a difficult (ph) of the Iraq war. This is the second leg of the president's fence-mending trip to Europe.
When Prince Charles gets married in April, his mom will not be there. Queen Elizabeth has decided not to attend the civil marriage ceremony. A Royal spokesman says Charles and his bride-to-be, Camilla Parker Bowles, want to keep things low key.
In money news, real estate prices are on the rise in uptown Manhattan. A recent survey found that the median price for a condo or apartment is a little more than $300,000. That's a whopping 349 percent increase since 1995.
In culture, you may not know them, but your kids do. Now the punk trio, Blink 182, is going on hiatus after more than a decade of hits. The group's members say they want to spend more time with loved ones.
In sports, Shaquille O'Neal could miss a few games for the Miami Heat after spraining his right knee in a loss to the Chicago Bulls. He left the game after just two minutes. He'll be reevaluated before tonight's game against the Indiana Pacers.
To the Forecast Center now and -- Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Carol, back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you.
Now for some news from spring training, the Boston Red Sox getting back to business with their first full team workout. Position players, such as World Series MVP Manny Ramirez, were not required to arrive until Tuesday. But the defending champs are already in midseason form with their criticisms of the rival Yankees. That's heated, too.
The Atlanta Braves start their first full workout today, too, but they already have some star power in camp. Actor Matthew McConaughey joined the players to take a few cuts in the batting cage. McConaughey, who was also the grand marshal for the Daytona 500, is promoting his new movie "Sahara," that's why you're seeing so much of him.
And the actor will join us -- will join me, actually, to talk about baseball, NASCAR, acting and his possible marriage to Penelope Cruz. That will air this Friday. I'm sure you will not want to miss this.
MYERS: See, I'm way behind, because I thought Tom Cruise was still dating Penelope Cruz, but maybe that was a couple of years ago.
COSTELLO: That's long over -- Chad.
MYERS: OK.
COSTELLO: Just who do you think was one of the most anticipated spring arrivals?
MYERS: Barry Bonds.
COSTELLO: Exactly, no question about it.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: It was Barry Bonds. The Giants' slugger reported to camp with many questions hanging over his head and most of them involved steroids. But while he had very little to say about steroids themselves, he had plenty to say about Jose Canseco and Canseco's tell-all book.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARRY BONDS, GIANTS' OUTFIELDER: You know I'm not one to talk about other athletes, because that's just not my style. You know I'm disappointed a lot of athletes just do. The fact that you know there's a code in baseball, you know, respect your peers regardless of whatever. But this whole thing in sports now has turned into a big circus.
I don't know Canseco, I mean besides hello and goodbye. I mean it's sad, but I don't bear any weight into anything he says. Mark McGwire was a big boy in college, hit a lot of home runs then, hit 49 home runs, I believe, his rookie season, won rookie of the year, you know.
To me, Canseco, you got to come with a whole lot more. Fiction is fiction, man. I mean there's a whole bunch of those books and stories out there of basically, you know, it's to make a buck. That's all it is it's about making money. But I don't know Jose. You know I was better than Jose then, and I've been better than Jose his whole career. So I don't have anything to talk about Jose.
There's no facts on Barry Bonds, but I mean should I blame you, who should I blame? Who should I blame for the things that go on, that my kids have to listen to? Who should I blame? You know that I don't. I tell my kids you know what, just don't be famous. You don't want it, don't be famous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So he came out swinging.
MYERS: He did.
COSTELLO: He did. You know his body looked exactly the same as it did last year. He certainly isn't any smaller.
MYERS: Didn't seem it, you know. And he's also saying about how McGwire was big in college, you know, but so we don't know when he actually, or if he ever did, take steroids. Could have been in college.
COSTELLO: Well we know he took -- we know he did take a type of steroid, I forget, it starts with an A, but it was legal to take that.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: But we don't know about the rest.
One of my favorite quotes from Barry Bonds, you know because he really dislikes the media, he says you guys are like rerun stories. This is just old stuff. I mean it's like watching "Sanford & Son," you know, rerun, after rerun, after rerun. And that's because the reporters kept asking him about steroid use.
MYERS: Well baseball needs to clean up its act, like all the other sports out there, too, so.
COSTELLO: Well we don't know that he did anything at all.
MYERS: No.
COSTELLO: He isn't expected to have much to say for the rest of the spring. I don't think he'll be holding any more news conferences. He had knee surgery last month, which could keep him from taking the field for the entire spring. In fact, he limped into that news conference, so.
MYERS: This is not over, even if he wants it to be over.
COSTELLO: No, it's not.
MYERS: That's right.
COSTELLO: Don't go anywhere because DAYBREAK is not over either. Why the sex, drugs and rock and roll generation is coming up short when it comes to teaching their own kids about drugs.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: In "Health Headlines" for you this morning, you know how you hold your breath when you're driving behind one of those big rigs. Well, now an environmental group says emissions from old diesel engines are leading to early deaths for more than 20,000 Americans every year. The worst cities, New York, L.A. and Chicago, and an industry group calls the findings outdated and misleading.
Are you talking to your teenagers about drugs? A new study shows the number of American parents having that discussion with their kids has dropped. Researchers say it may reflect the more relaxed attitudes of a generation that came of age in the '70s when teen drug use peaked in the United States.
Hope today for women at risk for breast cancer. A new study about the genetics of the disease is promising. It may help doctors decide how aggressively to treat a form of the disease that can sometimes take years to spread and turn deadly.
And breast cancer is a disease that strikes one in every seven women. Today some of the country's top doctors and scientists are meeting in Miami to discuss the disease that kills 40,000 people every year. Among them, Oscar nominated actress Lynn Redgrave.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LYNN REDGRAVE, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: Tuesday, the 18th of February, 2003, woke 5:15ish, feeling terrific, that flight heady feeling gone. Excited about starting work, having a schedule. I'm feeling very positive this morning. Tea, candles and Nigel Kennedy playing. I feel that my treatment will work. I have faith. I am so lucky to know what all this side of life is.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The other amazing thing about your journey is how hard you pushed yourself. After the surgery, you had committed to doing a play. Even during chemotherapy, you did not miss one performance.
REDGRAVE: No, I didn't. And there were days when I would wake up from my big nap. You know take massive nap in the afternoon and wake up feeling very drugged. And if I hadn't had a show to go to, I would have just got back into bed. It took an alarm to wake me up.
And just but I love the theater. All of us who are actors in the theater look on it as Dr. Theater, you know. You get down there, you're with your colleagues, the energy starts to come back. And by the time you've got your makeup and your hair and your wig on and your costume, you walk out there and for a period of time you no longer have cancer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Join Paula for touching personal stories about private battles with a killer, "Breast Cancer Survivor Stories." That airs at 8:00 Eastern. That's tonight only on CNN.
Here's what's ahead in the next hour of DAYBREAK.
Are they a modern day set of minutemen, a threat to authority? We will speak with one of the 500 volunteers in Arizona who have taken to patrolling the U.S.-Mexican border. They're patrolling it as sort of a vigilante group, according to some. We'll talk to them.
Plus, it's your chance to own a piece of baseball history. We'll look at the hats, bats and balls up for sale in one of the biggest sports memorabilia auctions ever.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Chad, the e-mails are flying in. The "Question of the Day," should it be illegal for private citizens to patrol the U.S. border? We're asking this question this morning, because a group of citizens, 500 so far, have gotten together to patrol the border, you know, in Arizona, between Arizona and Mexico.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: And they're going to do this. Some of them will be armed, some of them won't be. They say that they're taking up the slack because the Feds can't handle it.
MYERS: Right. And one of those members is actually going to be on our show in a little bit. And I'm really curious to see some of the things that he has to say. But our viewers have a lot of things to say, Carol.
From John (ph) in Elmira (ph), I say let them ride. Give them a red Stetson and call them the border guardian angels.
COSTELLO: This is from Dawn (ph) in Georgia. It says the country was founded on immigrants, now they want to keep them out. Hope the folks patrolling the borders are true American Indians.
MYERS: There you go.
Guys patrolling the Arizona border are right on. If the government won't enforce laws, we will. That's from Joe (ph) in Peekskill.
COSTELLO: This is from Jenny (ph) from Fort Wayne, Indiana. We have neighborhood watch groups protect our children. Citizens do need to help protect themselves. If any of the minutemen are themselves performing illegal acts, arrest them, too.
MYERS: I like this one that came in from Minneapolis. It says it's OK for the civilian to patrol as long as they know the difference between vigilant and vigilante. There's only a difference of an E, but the difference is all it makes.
COSTELLO: Yes, because you got to keep in mind that I mean we don't know that any of these people volunteering have any training at all. I mean what happens when they come upon an illegal immigrant, what are they going to do, are they going to arrest them at gunpoint or are they going to detain them in some other way? We just don't know.
MYERS: Well clearly they need to be in contact with the Border Patrol and let the Border Patrol do their job.
COSTELLO: I don't know that they're going to be, though.
This is from Dave (ph) in South Dakota. He says these rambos must believe illegal immigration is worth killing or getting killed over because the illegal immigrants will arm themselves, too. This is a real slippery slope.
MYERS: This is from Sunny (ph) in Arizona, actually Arizona resident, hope he's still awake. Arizona firearms are very unrestricted. A permit is only required to carry a concealed weapon. If they are simply patrolling state and federally owned land and abiding by the Arizona gun law, there is no violation of the law.
That's from Sunny.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
Well we're going to ask our guest about that, too.
The next hour of DAYBREAK starts right now.
Straight-ahead on DAYBREAK, when will it end. Californians have been hit with just about everything weather wise, and now they're bracing for more.
Also, some Americans are taking border security into their own hands, but the government fears they may be crossing the line.
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 23, 2005 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
"Now in the News."
Waterlogged California bracing for more rain today. Dozens of homes have been declared lost, like this one that simply slid down the hill. The bad weather blamed for at least nine deaths now.
Pope John Paul II has a new book out today, it's called "Memory and Identity." In it he condemns homosexuality and abortion.
Negotiators from the U.S., Japan and South Korea will meet over the weekend to discuss resuming nuclear talks with North Korea. This comes after North Korea said it's willing to take part in talks again if the U.S. is sincere.
President Bush right now is in talks with one of his fiercest critics over the Iraq war, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. The president is hoping to mend strained relations during his European trip.
To the Forecast Center.
Good morning -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: The prosecution says it can make the case of an American charged with involvement in a possible plot to assassinate President Bush, but the man's family is saying officials have it all wrong.
John Lyle (ph) from our affiliate WJLA has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN LYLE, WJLA-TV REPORTER (voice-over): It was an emotional moment for Ahmed Abu Ali's supporters and family finally seeing the 23-year-old from Falls Church back on U.S. soil. FATEN ABU ALI, MOTHER: For me it's a victory, because as long as Ahmed will be having his day in court, I do believe in the fairness of this justice system. And I do know that Ahmed will declare his innocence in the front of everyone.
LYLE: Abu Ali was arrested while studying in Saudi Arabia on June 11, 2003. He was held in a Saudi prison for 20 months without being charged, until he was flown back to the United States on Monday and prosecutors unsealed a six-count indictment. The government claims Abu Ali plotted with al Qaeda terrorists to assassinate President Bush, either by shooting him on the street or by detonating a car bomb.
OMAR ABU ALI, FATHER: All of what the government said is lies, upon lies, upon lies.
LYLE: Abu Ali's parents say if their son has confessed to a crime, the confession was coerced. And through his attorney in court, Abu Ali said he was tortured in prison and offered to show the judge the scars on his back.
EDWARD MACMAHON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I saw the evidence of that with my own eyes back in the lockup. And I really want you to think about the evidence in this case and what you read in this indictment when you know that this American citizen was tortured in Saudi Arabia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: That was John Lyle reporting from Washington from WJLA.
Flags, cheers and tears, people in several states have welcomed soldiers home from a tour of duty in Iraq. In Lancaster, South Carolina, nearly 100 soldiers returned to welcome home signs, along with hugs and kisses from their loved ones.
Another happy homecoming, this one in North Riverside, Illinois, nearly 200 Army National Guard troops from the town spent a year in Iraq. The soldiers say there were some close calls in the war zone, but they all managed to make it home safely.
And another Illinois National Guard unit wasn't as lucky, for those troops it was a bittersweet homecoming. They got a heroes welcome in the town of Paris after losing five comrades in Iraq.
CNN's Aaron Brown has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AARON BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They came home, marching, literally, up Main Street to the applause, and to the sirens, and especially to the tears of loved ones.
But these soldiers know that war changes everyone, those who fight, even those who stay behind. JIM COOPER, FAMILY READINESS GROUP: It was very nerve-wracking, very nerve-wracking, because you're feeling good about everything, and all of a sudden you get a call from somebody and they're worried, and then the next thing you know, you're just worried, too.
BROWN: For the past year while his son, Matthew, and the rest of the unit was in Iraq, Jim Cooper, an electrician by trade, has had one of the most difficult jobs a civilian can have, he's been the one who had to tell the families about the injuries or the deaths.
It changes you. It changes even the way you hear the phone ring.
COOPER: And you didn't know whether it was your own son, you didn't know whether it was one of the kids that you knew like a son around you. It was just -- and when I got to the armory and they told me what happened, I just broke down. I mean that was our first one. And not that it got any easier over the time, but it just -- all of a sudden, everything come to reality.
BROWN: Reality for the family of Specialist Charles Lamb of nearby Martinsville, the first member of the company to die in Iraq.
And later, for the family of Sergeant Shauna Morrison (ph) of Paris, the first woman ever to die in combat from Edgar County, Illinois.
Three others from the 1544 were also killed in combat. Fifteen were injured. A hundred and sixty went to war a year ago, 140 came back unharmed, though not unchanged.
COOPER: As far as the war ending, you can talk to about any of these families, as far as we're concerned, the war is not over yet, and it won't be over until all the terrorist people are stopped.
BROWN: The parade was about emotions unleashed, a time for mothers to exhale, like Tammy Johns, whose daughter, Shelly, enlisted in the Guard while a high school student of 17 and turned 20 in Baghdad.
TAMMY JOHNS, MOTHER OF NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIER: We'll have her birthday party when she gets here. We're going to have Christmas when she gets here. Got our Christmas tree still up, Christmas decorations, the whole bit, so. I told her we'll have a party for every single holiday she missed, even St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, the whole thing.
BROWN: Paris is a town that mostly backed the war. Ned Jenison publishes the local paper, "The Paris Beacon-News," has lived here all his life.
NED JENISON, PUBLISHER, "PARIS BEACON-NEWS": We've had a few letters saying that, you know, we shouldn't be there, that we should bring them home and everything. But for our people that were there, there was never any question but what, you know, the community was behind them.
BROWN: Never any question either that the town would empty out its schools and its businesses to welcome their soldiers back home.
The speeches were short. The homecomings and hugs lingered. Shelly Johns got roses and hugs. Matt Cooper got a huge embrace from his mom. And Jim Cooper, well, Jim Cooper finally had something good to preside over, something very good.
COOPER: As a parent, it just brings a tear to your eye, I'll tell you. It's just unbelievable. I knew there'd be a big crowd. This town won't let something like this go on without just everybody showing up. I just expected it. They've always been this way. They love these guys, and they're here to show it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Aaron Brown reporting this morning.
Let's head into "The War Room" now. We focus so much of our attention on the troops in Iraq, but we cannot forget that U.S. forces are also in Afghanistan.
And as our senior international editor David Clinch tells us, the mission for soldiers there has changed.
Good morning -- David.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Good morning, Carol.
And interesting listening to Aaron's piece there about National Guard component in Iraq. And that's something in Afghanistan as well we've been seeing. With so many troops rotating, we're now seeing a lot more National Guard there.
We've been following this story the last week or so in Afghanistan of National Guard units in Afghanistan flying up to the highest mountains in that country during some of the worst weather Afghanistan has seen in decades. Flying in at great risk to themselves, bringing aid to the families and villages there.
Afghan officials saying hundreds of people have died in the mountains in the last few months. At least 200 children under the age of 5 have already died. The American National Guard there not waiting to be told what to do, flew up there, bringing in aid, saving lives.
And we're also seeing a very specific story there. We've seen a number of instances in the last few weeks in Afghanistan and Iraq, National Guard from Indiana there bringing back, identifying one child who has a heart condition, a very rare heart condition, that cannot be treated in the region. And they are flying him to Indianapolis today, arriving in the next couple of days, to receive that treatment in a hospital in Indianapolis. They're going to pay for all the treatment, look after him while he's there, and then bring him back to his parents in Afghanistan. So a picture of the young 14-month-old child right there.
And that's something you know we talked a lot about hearts and minds. I mean this literally hearts and minds right here. But a lot of what's happening now isn't on orders from the Pentagon, it's these National Guard people, parents, a lot of them, family members, doing it themselves. Not because they've been ordered to, but just because they see it and they want to do it.
COSTELLO: Exactly. Thank you, David.
David Clinch reporting from Atlanta this morning.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, Barry Bonds takes a swing at Jose Canseco and the media, too, figuratively speaking that is. We'll have his fighting words for you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:42 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
President Bush is meeting this hour with German leader Gerhard Schroeder, a difficult (ph) of the Iraq war. This is the second leg of the president's fence-mending trip to Europe.
When Prince Charles gets married in April, his mom will not be there. Queen Elizabeth has decided not to attend the civil marriage ceremony. A Royal spokesman says Charles and his bride-to-be, Camilla Parker Bowles, want to keep things low key.
In money news, real estate prices are on the rise in uptown Manhattan. A recent survey found that the median price for a condo or apartment is a little more than $300,000. That's a whopping 349 percent increase since 1995.
In culture, you may not know them, but your kids do. Now the punk trio, Blink 182, is going on hiatus after more than a decade of hits. The group's members say they want to spend more time with loved ones.
In sports, Shaquille O'Neal could miss a few games for the Miami Heat after spraining his right knee in a loss to the Chicago Bulls. He left the game after just two minutes. He'll be reevaluated before tonight's game against the Indiana Pacers.
To the Forecast Center now and -- Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Carol, back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you.
Now for some news from spring training, the Boston Red Sox getting back to business with their first full team workout. Position players, such as World Series MVP Manny Ramirez, were not required to arrive until Tuesday. But the defending champs are already in midseason form with their criticisms of the rival Yankees. That's heated, too.
The Atlanta Braves start their first full workout today, too, but they already have some star power in camp. Actor Matthew McConaughey joined the players to take a few cuts in the batting cage. McConaughey, who was also the grand marshal for the Daytona 500, is promoting his new movie "Sahara," that's why you're seeing so much of him.
And the actor will join us -- will join me, actually, to talk about baseball, NASCAR, acting and his possible marriage to Penelope Cruz. That will air this Friday. I'm sure you will not want to miss this.
MYERS: See, I'm way behind, because I thought Tom Cruise was still dating Penelope Cruz, but maybe that was a couple of years ago.
COSTELLO: That's long over -- Chad.
MYERS: OK.
COSTELLO: Just who do you think was one of the most anticipated spring arrivals?
MYERS: Barry Bonds.
COSTELLO: Exactly, no question about it.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: It was Barry Bonds. The Giants' slugger reported to camp with many questions hanging over his head and most of them involved steroids. But while he had very little to say about steroids themselves, he had plenty to say about Jose Canseco and Canseco's tell-all book.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARRY BONDS, GIANTS' OUTFIELDER: You know I'm not one to talk about other athletes, because that's just not my style. You know I'm disappointed a lot of athletes just do. The fact that you know there's a code in baseball, you know, respect your peers regardless of whatever. But this whole thing in sports now has turned into a big circus.
I don't know Canseco, I mean besides hello and goodbye. I mean it's sad, but I don't bear any weight into anything he says. Mark McGwire was a big boy in college, hit a lot of home runs then, hit 49 home runs, I believe, his rookie season, won rookie of the year, you know.
To me, Canseco, you got to come with a whole lot more. Fiction is fiction, man. I mean there's a whole bunch of those books and stories out there of basically, you know, it's to make a buck. That's all it is it's about making money. But I don't know Jose. You know I was better than Jose then, and I've been better than Jose his whole career. So I don't have anything to talk about Jose.
There's no facts on Barry Bonds, but I mean should I blame you, who should I blame? Who should I blame for the things that go on, that my kids have to listen to? Who should I blame? You know that I don't. I tell my kids you know what, just don't be famous. You don't want it, don't be famous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So he came out swinging.
MYERS: He did.
COSTELLO: He did. You know his body looked exactly the same as it did last year. He certainly isn't any smaller.
MYERS: Didn't seem it, you know. And he's also saying about how McGwire was big in college, you know, but so we don't know when he actually, or if he ever did, take steroids. Could have been in college.
COSTELLO: Well we know he took -- we know he did take a type of steroid, I forget, it starts with an A, but it was legal to take that.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: But we don't know about the rest.
One of my favorite quotes from Barry Bonds, you know because he really dislikes the media, he says you guys are like rerun stories. This is just old stuff. I mean it's like watching "Sanford & Son," you know, rerun, after rerun, after rerun. And that's because the reporters kept asking him about steroid use.
MYERS: Well baseball needs to clean up its act, like all the other sports out there, too, so.
COSTELLO: Well we don't know that he did anything at all.
MYERS: No.
COSTELLO: He isn't expected to have much to say for the rest of the spring. I don't think he'll be holding any more news conferences. He had knee surgery last month, which could keep him from taking the field for the entire spring. In fact, he limped into that news conference, so.
MYERS: This is not over, even if he wants it to be over.
COSTELLO: No, it's not.
MYERS: That's right.
COSTELLO: Don't go anywhere because DAYBREAK is not over either. Why the sex, drugs and rock and roll generation is coming up short when it comes to teaching their own kids about drugs.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: In "Health Headlines" for you this morning, you know how you hold your breath when you're driving behind one of those big rigs. Well, now an environmental group says emissions from old diesel engines are leading to early deaths for more than 20,000 Americans every year. The worst cities, New York, L.A. and Chicago, and an industry group calls the findings outdated and misleading.
Are you talking to your teenagers about drugs? A new study shows the number of American parents having that discussion with their kids has dropped. Researchers say it may reflect the more relaxed attitudes of a generation that came of age in the '70s when teen drug use peaked in the United States.
Hope today for women at risk for breast cancer. A new study about the genetics of the disease is promising. It may help doctors decide how aggressively to treat a form of the disease that can sometimes take years to spread and turn deadly.
And breast cancer is a disease that strikes one in every seven women. Today some of the country's top doctors and scientists are meeting in Miami to discuss the disease that kills 40,000 people every year. Among them, Oscar nominated actress Lynn Redgrave.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LYNN REDGRAVE, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: Tuesday, the 18th of February, 2003, woke 5:15ish, feeling terrific, that flight heady feeling gone. Excited about starting work, having a schedule. I'm feeling very positive this morning. Tea, candles and Nigel Kennedy playing. I feel that my treatment will work. I have faith. I am so lucky to know what all this side of life is.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The other amazing thing about your journey is how hard you pushed yourself. After the surgery, you had committed to doing a play. Even during chemotherapy, you did not miss one performance.
REDGRAVE: No, I didn't. And there were days when I would wake up from my big nap. You know take massive nap in the afternoon and wake up feeling very drugged. And if I hadn't had a show to go to, I would have just got back into bed. It took an alarm to wake me up.
And just but I love the theater. All of us who are actors in the theater look on it as Dr. Theater, you know. You get down there, you're with your colleagues, the energy starts to come back. And by the time you've got your makeup and your hair and your wig on and your costume, you walk out there and for a period of time you no longer have cancer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Join Paula for touching personal stories about private battles with a killer, "Breast Cancer Survivor Stories." That airs at 8:00 Eastern. That's tonight only on CNN.
Here's what's ahead in the next hour of DAYBREAK.
Are they a modern day set of minutemen, a threat to authority? We will speak with one of the 500 volunteers in Arizona who have taken to patrolling the U.S.-Mexican border. They're patrolling it as sort of a vigilante group, according to some. We'll talk to them.
Plus, it's your chance to own a piece of baseball history. We'll look at the hats, bats and balls up for sale in one of the biggest sports memorabilia auctions ever.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Chad, the e-mails are flying in. The "Question of the Day," should it be illegal for private citizens to patrol the U.S. border? We're asking this question this morning, because a group of citizens, 500 so far, have gotten together to patrol the border, you know, in Arizona, between Arizona and Mexico.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: And they're going to do this. Some of them will be armed, some of them won't be. They say that they're taking up the slack because the Feds can't handle it.
MYERS: Right. And one of those members is actually going to be on our show in a little bit. And I'm really curious to see some of the things that he has to say. But our viewers have a lot of things to say, Carol.
From John (ph) in Elmira (ph), I say let them ride. Give them a red Stetson and call them the border guardian angels.
COSTELLO: This is from Dawn (ph) in Georgia. It says the country was founded on immigrants, now they want to keep them out. Hope the folks patrolling the borders are true American Indians.
MYERS: There you go.
Guys patrolling the Arizona border are right on. If the government won't enforce laws, we will. That's from Joe (ph) in Peekskill.
COSTELLO: This is from Jenny (ph) from Fort Wayne, Indiana. We have neighborhood watch groups protect our children. Citizens do need to help protect themselves. If any of the minutemen are themselves performing illegal acts, arrest them, too.
MYERS: I like this one that came in from Minneapolis. It says it's OK for the civilian to patrol as long as they know the difference between vigilant and vigilante. There's only a difference of an E, but the difference is all it makes.
COSTELLO: Yes, because you got to keep in mind that I mean we don't know that any of these people volunteering have any training at all. I mean what happens when they come upon an illegal immigrant, what are they going to do, are they going to arrest them at gunpoint or are they going to detain them in some other way? We just don't know.
MYERS: Well clearly they need to be in contact with the Border Patrol and let the Border Patrol do their job.
COSTELLO: I don't know that they're going to be, though.
This is from Dave (ph) in South Dakota. He says these rambos must believe illegal immigration is worth killing or getting killed over because the illegal immigrants will arm themselves, too. This is a real slippery slope.
MYERS: This is from Sunny (ph) in Arizona, actually Arizona resident, hope he's still awake. Arizona firearms are very unrestricted. A permit is only required to carry a concealed weapon. If they are simply patrolling state and federally owned land and abiding by the Arizona gun law, there is no violation of the law.
That's from Sunny.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
Well we're going to ask our guest about that, too.
The next hour of DAYBREAK starts right now.
Straight-ahead on DAYBREAK, when will it end. Californians have been hit with just about everything weather wise, and now they're bracing for more.
Also, some Americans are taking border security into their own hands, but the government fears they may be crossing the line.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
