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CNN Live At Daybreak
How Hip-Hop is Breaking Down Barriers at a Harlem Church; A Fiery Controversy in Texas
Aired March 07, 2005 - 05:00 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 COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, a fiery controversy in Texas. An African-American nightclub burns to the ground, sparking questionable jokes from the cops.
Plus, they are jamming for Jesus. How hip-hop is breaking down barriers at a Harlem church.
And creative coffins -- they look like giant toys, but these specially designed carvings are made for a stylish send-off.
It is Monday, March 7.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
Now in the news, a state funeral begins this hour for an Italian intelligence officer gunned down by U.S. troops in Iraq. The journalist whose life he saved says it's possible they were targeted deliberately. The U.S. calls this shooting a horrific accident. We'll have a live report for you in two minutes. You're looking at live pictures now as you see the coffin being carried in of that intelligence officer.
The presidents of Syria and Lebanon will meet in one hour to discuss details of a pullback of Syrian troops in Lebanon. We'll have a live report for you from Damascus about five minutes from now.
And photographs obtained by CNN are believed to be Osama bin Laden's deputy in Iraq. Sources confirm the images as those of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He's believed to be carrying out al Qaeda's work inside Iraq. The U.S. government has a $25 million price tag on his head.
And in Utah, a rail car leaking toxic chemicals has forced the evacuation of more than 4,000 people. It also prompted the closure of a five mile stretch of interstate near downtown Salt Lake City. No injuries reported.
And they're off. Nearly 80 mushers and their dogs are running in the 33rd Iditarod trail sled dog race in Alaska, or just the Iditarod. A ceremonial start was held in Anchorage. The starting line had to be moved about 30 miles because, Chad, there wasn't enough snow. CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, there was a little lack of snow around Anchorage itself, so they ran 11 miles to a stopping point, got all the dogs and the mushers onto some vehicles and then moved them over to where the snow was. And now they're on their way so.
COSTELLO: They should have moved them to Connecticut. There's still plenty of snow there.
MYERS: They just -- there was snow there, don't get me wrong. They just didn't think there was enough for all of those sleds to go over the same trail. You know, you've got all these dogs and all these people all on the same batch of snow. You want it to be thick enough so that when one dog kicks snow away that the last dog doesn't have nothing to run on.
So that was all.
Hey, good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Italians mourning this morning. That's our top story.
A state funeral for Nicola Calipari is scheduled this hour in Rome. In fact, it's going on right now. He's the intelligence officer who was shot and killed by American troops in Iraq after he helped win the release of a kidnapped journalist.
You're looking at live pictures of the funeral right now.
Let's head to Rome and our bureau chief there, Alessio Vinci -- good morning, Alessio.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, Nicola Calipari is considered nothing else but a hero this morning in Rome. And the state funeral has just started at the Santa Maria degli Angeli Basilica in Rome, a packed basilica with authorities, the Italian president, the Italian prime minister, the president of the parliament, all top Italian government officials, as well, of course, as the U.S. ambassador to Rome, Mel Sembler, who called Calipari a friend and an ally of the United States.
Thousands have also gathered outside the basilica to pay their last respects and to show their support to Nicola Calipari. Not present in the basilica this morning is Giuliana Sgrena, the freed reporter who is still recovering from wounds -- from a wound to her left shoulder. However, Sgrena met Calipari's widow in the last few days and she did promise her that she would do everything to find out the truth about what happened in Baghdad on Friday and why her husband and how her husband died.
The incident, of course, is still under investigation. The U.S. has promised a full investigation, but Sgrena, in several interviews and in her own account, is disputing a few facts based on what the Americans are saying, a few facts that the Americans have been putting forward. And that is that the car was speeding toward the checkpoint. She said that the car was driving perhaps at 30 miles an hour, not more.
She also disputes the fact that warnings were given for them to stop. She says that the only thing she remembers was a white flash of light and then a hail of bullets hitting the car. And also Giuliana Sgrena has not ruled out the possibility that she may have been targeted on purpose by the American troops because she says the Americans are known to oppose Italy's policy to negotiate the release of hostages.
In an interview, and I'll read you a quote here, Nicola -- Sgrena said: "Everybody knows the Americans are doing everything to prevent the adoption of this practice to save the lives of people held hostage. So I don't see why I should not rule out that I could have been a target."
Now, there is no word here whether a ransom was paid or not. Nicola Calipari was an experienced negotiator. Italian media here speculate that several million dollars -- millions of dollars have been paid for her release. The Italian government is not commenting, but they're not ruling out that possibility either.
Let's pause for a second here to listen to the services.
COSTELLO: All right, we're going to step away from this now.
You're watching the funeral service for the intelligence officer killed in Baghdad by American troops as he and an Italian journalist that was just freed from her captors were driving to the Baghdad airport.
We're going to have much more on her allegations later on DAYBREAK and much more on this in the hours to come.
Society's pullback of its troops in Lebanon could get underway today, right after a summit meeting that begins an hour from now in Damascus.
CNN's Beirut bureau chief, Brent Sadler, is in the Syrian capital to cover that meeting -- hello, Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello.
Good morning, Carol.
All eyes on Syria's troop deployment in Lebanon to find out whether or not we can verify this day troop movements of Syrians in military positions, taking away their equipment and vans and trucks and heading toward the Lebanese-Syrian border.
Right now I'm at the People's Palace, which is the presidential seat of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, where he's just, in the past few minutes, met up with his Lebanese counterpart Emile Lahoud for a top level security meeting, where it's expected we'll hear more details, more clarification about this two stage withdrawal that the Syrians published just a couple of days ago, beginning as early as this day, in fact, after this meeting, it is expected.
But how many troops, where will they be moving to and precisely when are still crucially unanswered questions. Pressure on the Syrian leadership by President George W. Bush to withdraw all troops and Syrian security and intelligence services immediately, well ahead of planned parliamentary elections in May.
So the Syrians hoping to defuse that pressure and pressure from the international community by expecting to announce today further clarifications on this expected movement, redeployment. The Syrians call it the start of withdrawal of their forces from Lebanon -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Brent, in the "Washington Post" this morning, Hezbollah, the leader of Hezbollah is quoted as saying that he's organizing a large demonstration for tomorrow. And they're protesting against foreign involvement of what's happening in Lebanon right now.
How might this affect things?
SADLER: Yes, this is a crucially important development on the Lebanese scene. Until now, the Hezbollah Islamic resistance organization has pretty much stayed on the sidelines. Hezbollah can command a lot of popular support among Lebanon's Shia Muslim community. But yesterday the head of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, called for mass pro-Syrian protests, in effect, in the central district of Beirut, not so far from where anti-Syrian opposition rallies have been taking place more or less daily. The Hezbollah leadership wanting to defy what it says is international pressure basically led by the United States to interfere in Lebanese affairs, to weaken Syria at the time of this withdrawal and strengthen the hand of Israel.
Hezbollah saying they will reject attempts by the U.S. and its allies to interfere and pressure Syria at this crucial time, when Syria is about to make a much expected, much anticipated troop movement.
COSTELLO: Brent Sadler reporting live from Beirut this morning.
Thank you.
In "News Across America" this morning, thousands of people walked together across a bridge in Selma, Alabama to commemorate the 40th anniversary of a landmark civil rights march. That march became known as Bloody Sunday after police swarmed in to break up the crowd. The 1965 event, plus a second march led by Martin Luther King, helped set the stage for passage of the Voting Rights Act.
Two people remain in critical condition following an explosion at a New Jersey pet store on Friday. The explosion was caused by a ruptured gas line. Investigators are looking into the actions of the work crew that hit the line. Dozens of small pets were killed in the blast. A Chicago woman has pulled her child out of school after administrators demanded that she spank the 6-year-old. The mother admits her child isn't perfect, but after several problems at the private school, she was told to discipline the boy. An administrator at the Schomburg Christian School said if the boy was not spanked, he would be suspended.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to clean up the sport that made him famous. He called for a summit on steroids while appearing at a body building competition named after him in Columbus, Ohio. Sgrena has admitted to using steroids while he was a bodybuilder. Steroids were legal then, but now he says the sport should be drug-free.
Rapper Kanye West recently won a Grammy for his song "Jesus Walks." Now hip-hop is breaking barriers again, as another rapping legend brings the music genre to church.
CNN's Claire Leka spoke to Kurtis Blow about the Hip-Hop Church and the message behind the music.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CLAIRE LEKA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's standing room only every Thursday night at the Greater Hood AME Zion Church in Harlem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yo!, we do things just a little bit different at the Hip-Hop Church.
LEKA: Because hip-hop is in the house. Hip-hop was born in the inner city and is now the hottest music in the country. But it can be raw and sometimes vulgar. Now it's proclaiming the name of Jesus in an effort to bring young people to church, like 16-year-old Donovan Bratton.
DONOVAN BRATTON, HIP-HOP CHOIR: The music is a good part about it, but I think like my reverend, he preaches a good message and this is very positive for kids.
Yes, we know the devil is trying to break us down.
LEKA: Rap legend Kurtis Blow is one of the founders of the Hip- Hop Church in New York City.
KURTIS BLOW, FORMER RAPPER: We come to rhyme.
We're just coming back to the roots, you know? And it's basically like nowadays hip-hop is being blamed for a lot of violent things in our society like the brawls in basketball.
Yes, I'm Kurtis Blow and I want you to know that these are the boys.
LEKA: Kurtis Blow is widely considered in the music industry to be one of the founding fathers of hip-hop music, with his hit song, "The Breaks," two decades ago. But it's been a long journey from that life to this one.
BLOW: I left the music industry about 10, 15 years ago. And it was basically because my style of music became unorthodox. And I was really depressed about it.
LEKA: That's when he says he found god. And he's now studying to be a minister. Blow, along with his partners, Reverends Darren Ferguson and Steven Pogue (ph), say most conventional churches just don't get it.
REV. DARREN FERGUSON, HIP-HOP CHURCH: In order to reach people, you have to speak their language. And the language of young people is hip-hop.
LEKA: It's also closing the generation gap. This mother and daughter have even joined the hip-hop choir together.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the music. It's the people. It's the spiritual feeling that you get.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Praise him, praise him, praise him like you just don't care.
LEKA: Claire Leka, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: OK, that's a good story about hip-hop. But now the bad story, or what some call the bad story about hip-hop.
Take a look at this video. And we're warning you, well, it could be pretty graphic for this early in the morning or any time. That would be Nelly. Nelly has some ministers in Arkansas urging residents not to attend an upcoming performance at Arkansas State University. The ministers, 20 of them, say they're concerned because the rappers' songs have crude lyrics about sex, drugs and violence, and they say his music and his videos demean women.
Here's what Arkansas State has to say about it. They say: "It would appear that with ticket sales over 5,000, many others have expressed their right and find Nelly's music entertaining and worth spending their time and money on." But the ministers say if your kids have tickets to that show, tear them up because, as I said, according to the ministers, Nelly demeans women and the videos demean women and it kind of glorifies drug use.
That brings us to our DAYBREAK E-Mail Question of the Day. Is hip-hop, is the hip-hop culture getting a bad rap? E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
Coming up in the next hour, we'll talk with one of the ministers who's taking a stand against Nelly. Reverend Adrian Rogers of the Fullness of Joy Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas will join us about 6:20 a.m. Eastern time to talk more about Nelly.
And they're not laughing now, although some police officers in Austin say their computer messages were just jokes. A rather shocking report from Austin in six minutes.
And want to go out in style? A custom coffin maker can fulfill your every whim. Jeff Koinange has that in 12 minutes.
And black box warnings on medications -- Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us in 40 minutes why they should not be ignored.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:19 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Newly released photos believed to be that of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were found in a video camera that was seized several weeks ago. That's according to the U.S. military. But it's unknown how recently the pictures of the suspected terror leader were taken.
Bolivia's president is offering to resign amid growing unrest in that country. President Carlos Mesa blames a wave of protests over regional autonomy for his decision. Bolivia's congress still has to decide whether to accept his resignation.
In money news, former CBS President Howard Stringer is the new chairman of Sony. Stringer has overseen the company's entertainment interests since 1997. He becomes the first foreigner to head a major Japanese electronics company.
In culture, like it or not, The Backstreet Boys are coming back. They're planning a 13-city tour beginning later this month. The boys are also finishing up work on their first new cede in five years. Yee-haw!
In sports, Tiger Woods is number one again. Woods overtook Phil Mickelson in the final round of the championship at Doral, to win by one stroke. The victory returns Woods to the top ranking in the world for the first time in six months.
He's back. The Backstreet Boys are back.
Chad -- what could be better on a Monday?
MYERS: You know, I can't believe it, because V.J. Singh was so far ahead of him and then V.J. only lost by five strokes. V.J. tied for third. So that -- he is -- if he's number one, he's like by such a razor thin margin. But, hey, that's OK.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
Offhand comments have landed some Texas police officers in hot water. Their computer messages came during a fire at a nightclub that's popular among African-Americans.
We get more from Shelton Green of CNN affiliate KVUE in Austin, Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
REV. STERLING LANDS, AUSTIN COMMUNITY LEADER: "Please tell me if Midtown is burning."
"No, but I wish."
What's that?
SHELTON GREEN, KVUE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Reverend Sterling Lands sat down with the night beat and combed over a list of transmissions made between APD officers at a fire two weeks ago. The blaze completely engulfed Midtown Live in less than 10 minutes. But it was this comment which opened up a can of worms.
LANDS: It's sad to think that we have people that we're paying to protect, to serve and protect, and then their response to a tragedy such as this is, you know, "We can smell them from the highway" or "burn baby, burn."
GREEN: After the "burn baby, burn" comment, one officer wrote: "The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire."
Another officer said, "Yes, but no one seems upset up here about it."
One officer says: "My night is made. I've just had a lady ask me if it was burning. I said, yes. She was upset. I was enthralled."
Another officer said: "I've got some gasoline if they need it."
LANDS: This implies that there is a police officer who's willing to commit arson. What -- I mean what, what? How can we even sit back and allow this kind of thinking to exist on a police department?
GREEN: APD says the messages were sent out of frustration on the part of officers who responded to the area 129 times last year.
CHIEF STAN KNEE, AUSTIN, TEXAS POLICE: I think we went to great lengths to show that none of these responses were, in fact, racially motivated.
LANDS: The question is what percentage of it is racially motivated. And I would say that these comments, over 80 to 90 percent of them are.
GREEN: The owner of Midtown Live is refusing to comment right now. But some in the area believe the incident has caused irreparable harm to communities of color.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to feel that if you call the police, something is going to be done. You don't want somebody coming up to you saying, "burn baby, burn" because you're a racist or that's your business. You shouldn't bring it to your job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He pretty much spoke his true feeling. And if that's his true feeling, I wouldn't want someone like that protecting me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I could have been in that club. And they could have had people in that club.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: That report from Shelton Green of CNN affiliate KVUE in Austin, Texas.
Written statements from the officers and dispatchers say their comments were meant as jokes.
Still a lot more to come on DAYBREAK.
Coming up, thinking about buying a smaller car that sips gas instead of guzzles? Better think about one that offers side airbags.
You are watching DAYBREAK for Monday, March 7.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time for some heartwarming stories.
Are you ready -- Chad.
MYERS: I hear dog rescues boy.
COSTELLO: Not just any dog, but a three-legged dog.
Yes. It is time for our DAYBREAK "Eye-Openers."
A 2-year-old Alabama boy, you see him there, he's happy to be home after being rescued by that three-legged dog. The toddler had wandered away from his home, but firefighters and police couldn't find him. And they searched for him for four hours. But, Sasha the dog...
MYERS: Seen here.
COSTELLO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: She took her owner right to the boy, who was more than a mile from home. And Sasha is a hero this morning.
MYERS: They can smell better than we can. COSTELLO: Volunteers are nursing a number of dolphins back to health after a mass stranding near Key West. Sixty rough toothed dolphins stranded themselves on flats and sand bars. Nearly half died or had to be euthanized. Some swam back to deeper water, while others were sent to rescue centers in Miami and in the Keys. But at least they managed to rescue some of those dolphins.
MYERS: Yes. There's a reef outside of Key West. And if you get inside that reef like, obviously, dolphins do, sometimes the water can get really shallow at a really low tide. And so maybe that's what happened, Carol. But a lot of them are back out in deeper water this morning.
COSTELLO: And that's the good news.
A Brazilian woman may get her name in the record books after celebrating her 125th birthday.
MYERS: Ooh.
COSTELLO: Can you believe that? A hundred and twenty-five years old.
MYERS: 1880 she says she was born. They're looking for the records now.
COSTELLO: That's just insane. She was born on February 28, in case you're wondering when exactly her birthday was. But you're right, Chad, 1880. The current oldest living woman is only 113 years old.
MYERS: But if she was born on February 29, Carol, she'd only be one fourth that old.
COSTELLO: Really?
MYERS: Well, because of leap year. You only get birthdays every four years.
COSTELLO: We'll have to do further investigation on that.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
The White House calls it a horrific accident. An Italian journalist says it was something very different. We'll hear both sides of the story just ahead.
Plus, black box warnings on medications -- do people really know what they mean? And do you actually pay attention to these things?
And a reminder, our E-mail Question of the Day -- is hip-hop culture getting a bad rap? Log in. Send us your thoughts. The address, daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired March 7, 2005 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, a fiery controversy in Texas. An African-American nightclub burns to the ground, sparking questionable jokes from the cops.
Plus, they are jamming for Jesus. How hip-hop is breaking down barriers at a Harlem church.
And creative coffins -- they look like giant toys, but these specially designed carvings are made for a stylish send-off.
It is Monday, March 7.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
Now in the news, a state funeral begins this hour for an Italian intelligence officer gunned down by U.S. troops in Iraq. The journalist whose life he saved says it's possible they were targeted deliberately. The U.S. calls this shooting a horrific accident. We'll have a live report for you in two minutes. You're looking at live pictures now as you see the coffin being carried in of that intelligence officer.
The presidents of Syria and Lebanon will meet in one hour to discuss details of a pullback of Syrian troops in Lebanon. We'll have a live report for you from Damascus about five minutes from now.
And photographs obtained by CNN are believed to be Osama bin Laden's deputy in Iraq. Sources confirm the images as those of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He's believed to be carrying out al Qaeda's work inside Iraq. The U.S. government has a $25 million price tag on his head.
And in Utah, a rail car leaking toxic chemicals has forced the evacuation of more than 4,000 people. It also prompted the closure of a five mile stretch of interstate near downtown Salt Lake City. No injuries reported.
And they're off. Nearly 80 mushers and their dogs are running in the 33rd Iditarod trail sled dog race in Alaska, or just the Iditarod. A ceremonial start was held in Anchorage. The starting line had to be moved about 30 miles because, Chad, there wasn't enough snow. CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, there was a little lack of snow around Anchorage itself, so they ran 11 miles to a stopping point, got all the dogs and the mushers onto some vehicles and then moved them over to where the snow was. And now they're on their way so.
COSTELLO: They should have moved them to Connecticut. There's still plenty of snow there.
MYERS: They just -- there was snow there, don't get me wrong. They just didn't think there was enough for all of those sleds to go over the same trail. You know, you've got all these dogs and all these people all on the same batch of snow. You want it to be thick enough so that when one dog kicks snow away that the last dog doesn't have nothing to run on.
So that was all.
Hey, good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Italians mourning this morning. That's our top story.
A state funeral for Nicola Calipari is scheduled this hour in Rome. In fact, it's going on right now. He's the intelligence officer who was shot and killed by American troops in Iraq after he helped win the release of a kidnapped journalist.
You're looking at live pictures of the funeral right now.
Let's head to Rome and our bureau chief there, Alessio Vinci -- good morning, Alessio.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, Nicola Calipari is considered nothing else but a hero this morning in Rome. And the state funeral has just started at the Santa Maria degli Angeli Basilica in Rome, a packed basilica with authorities, the Italian president, the Italian prime minister, the president of the parliament, all top Italian government officials, as well, of course, as the U.S. ambassador to Rome, Mel Sembler, who called Calipari a friend and an ally of the United States.
Thousands have also gathered outside the basilica to pay their last respects and to show their support to Nicola Calipari. Not present in the basilica this morning is Giuliana Sgrena, the freed reporter who is still recovering from wounds -- from a wound to her left shoulder. However, Sgrena met Calipari's widow in the last few days and she did promise her that she would do everything to find out the truth about what happened in Baghdad on Friday and why her husband and how her husband died.
The incident, of course, is still under investigation. The U.S. has promised a full investigation, but Sgrena, in several interviews and in her own account, is disputing a few facts based on what the Americans are saying, a few facts that the Americans have been putting forward. And that is that the car was speeding toward the checkpoint. She said that the car was driving perhaps at 30 miles an hour, not more.
She also disputes the fact that warnings were given for them to stop. She says that the only thing she remembers was a white flash of light and then a hail of bullets hitting the car. And also Giuliana Sgrena has not ruled out the possibility that she may have been targeted on purpose by the American troops because she says the Americans are known to oppose Italy's policy to negotiate the release of hostages.
In an interview, and I'll read you a quote here, Nicola -- Sgrena said: "Everybody knows the Americans are doing everything to prevent the adoption of this practice to save the lives of people held hostage. So I don't see why I should not rule out that I could have been a target."
Now, there is no word here whether a ransom was paid or not. Nicola Calipari was an experienced negotiator. Italian media here speculate that several million dollars -- millions of dollars have been paid for her release. The Italian government is not commenting, but they're not ruling out that possibility either.
Let's pause for a second here to listen to the services.
COSTELLO: All right, we're going to step away from this now.
You're watching the funeral service for the intelligence officer killed in Baghdad by American troops as he and an Italian journalist that was just freed from her captors were driving to the Baghdad airport.
We're going to have much more on her allegations later on DAYBREAK and much more on this in the hours to come.
Society's pullback of its troops in Lebanon could get underway today, right after a summit meeting that begins an hour from now in Damascus.
CNN's Beirut bureau chief, Brent Sadler, is in the Syrian capital to cover that meeting -- hello, Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello.
Good morning, Carol.
All eyes on Syria's troop deployment in Lebanon to find out whether or not we can verify this day troop movements of Syrians in military positions, taking away their equipment and vans and trucks and heading toward the Lebanese-Syrian border.
Right now I'm at the People's Palace, which is the presidential seat of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, where he's just, in the past few minutes, met up with his Lebanese counterpart Emile Lahoud for a top level security meeting, where it's expected we'll hear more details, more clarification about this two stage withdrawal that the Syrians published just a couple of days ago, beginning as early as this day, in fact, after this meeting, it is expected.
But how many troops, where will they be moving to and precisely when are still crucially unanswered questions. Pressure on the Syrian leadership by President George W. Bush to withdraw all troops and Syrian security and intelligence services immediately, well ahead of planned parliamentary elections in May.
So the Syrians hoping to defuse that pressure and pressure from the international community by expecting to announce today further clarifications on this expected movement, redeployment. The Syrians call it the start of withdrawal of their forces from Lebanon -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Brent, in the "Washington Post" this morning, Hezbollah, the leader of Hezbollah is quoted as saying that he's organizing a large demonstration for tomorrow. And they're protesting against foreign involvement of what's happening in Lebanon right now.
How might this affect things?
SADLER: Yes, this is a crucially important development on the Lebanese scene. Until now, the Hezbollah Islamic resistance organization has pretty much stayed on the sidelines. Hezbollah can command a lot of popular support among Lebanon's Shia Muslim community. But yesterday the head of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, called for mass pro-Syrian protests, in effect, in the central district of Beirut, not so far from where anti-Syrian opposition rallies have been taking place more or less daily. The Hezbollah leadership wanting to defy what it says is international pressure basically led by the United States to interfere in Lebanese affairs, to weaken Syria at the time of this withdrawal and strengthen the hand of Israel.
Hezbollah saying they will reject attempts by the U.S. and its allies to interfere and pressure Syria at this crucial time, when Syria is about to make a much expected, much anticipated troop movement.
COSTELLO: Brent Sadler reporting live from Beirut this morning.
Thank you.
In "News Across America" this morning, thousands of people walked together across a bridge in Selma, Alabama to commemorate the 40th anniversary of a landmark civil rights march. That march became known as Bloody Sunday after police swarmed in to break up the crowd. The 1965 event, plus a second march led by Martin Luther King, helped set the stage for passage of the Voting Rights Act.
Two people remain in critical condition following an explosion at a New Jersey pet store on Friday. The explosion was caused by a ruptured gas line. Investigators are looking into the actions of the work crew that hit the line. Dozens of small pets were killed in the blast. A Chicago woman has pulled her child out of school after administrators demanded that she spank the 6-year-old. The mother admits her child isn't perfect, but after several problems at the private school, she was told to discipline the boy. An administrator at the Schomburg Christian School said if the boy was not spanked, he would be suspended.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to clean up the sport that made him famous. He called for a summit on steroids while appearing at a body building competition named after him in Columbus, Ohio. Sgrena has admitted to using steroids while he was a bodybuilder. Steroids were legal then, but now he says the sport should be drug-free.
Rapper Kanye West recently won a Grammy for his song "Jesus Walks." Now hip-hop is breaking barriers again, as another rapping legend brings the music genre to church.
CNN's Claire Leka spoke to Kurtis Blow about the Hip-Hop Church and the message behind the music.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CLAIRE LEKA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's standing room only every Thursday night at the Greater Hood AME Zion Church in Harlem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yo!, we do things just a little bit different at the Hip-Hop Church.
LEKA: Because hip-hop is in the house. Hip-hop was born in the inner city and is now the hottest music in the country. But it can be raw and sometimes vulgar. Now it's proclaiming the name of Jesus in an effort to bring young people to church, like 16-year-old Donovan Bratton.
DONOVAN BRATTON, HIP-HOP CHOIR: The music is a good part about it, but I think like my reverend, he preaches a good message and this is very positive for kids.
Yes, we know the devil is trying to break us down.
LEKA: Rap legend Kurtis Blow is one of the founders of the Hip- Hop Church in New York City.
KURTIS BLOW, FORMER RAPPER: We come to rhyme.
We're just coming back to the roots, you know? And it's basically like nowadays hip-hop is being blamed for a lot of violent things in our society like the brawls in basketball.
Yes, I'm Kurtis Blow and I want you to know that these are the boys.
LEKA: Kurtis Blow is widely considered in the music industry to be one of the founding fathers of hip-hop music, with his hit song, "The Breaks," two decades ago. But it's been a long journey from that life to this one.
BLOW: I left the music industry about 10, 15 years ago. And it was basically because my style of music became unorthodox. And I was really depressed about it.
LEKA: That's when he says he found god. And he's now studying to be a minister. Blow, along with his partners, Reverends Darren Ferguson and Steven Pogue (ph), say most conventional churches just don't get it.
REV. DARREN FERGUSON, HIP-HOP CHURCH: In order to reach people, you have to speak their language. And the language of young people is hip-hop.
LEKA: It's also closing the generation gap. This mother and daughter have even joined the hip-hop choir together.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the music. It's the people. It's the spiritual feeling that you get.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Praise him, praise him, praise him like you just don't care.
LEKA: Claire Leka, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: OK, that's a good story about hip-hop. But now the bad story, or what some call the bad story about hip-hop.
Take a look at this video. And we're warning you, well, it could be pretty graphic for this early in the morning or any time. That would be Nelly. Nelly has some ministers in Arkansas urging residents not to attend an upcoming performance at Arkansas State University. The ministers, 20 of them, say they're concerned because the rappers' songs have crude lyrics about sex, drugs and violence, and they say his music and his videos demean women.
Here's what Arkansas State has to say about it. They say: "It would appear that with ticket sales over 5,000, many others have expressed their right and find Nelly's music entertaining and worth spending their time and money on." But the ministers say if your kids have tickets to that show, tear them up because, as I said, according to the ministers, Nelly demeans women and the videos demean women and it kind of glorifies drug use.
That brings us to our DAYBREAK E-Mail Question of the Day. Is hip-hop, is the hip-hop culture getting a bad rap? E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
Coming up in the next hour, we'll talk with one of the ministers who's taking a stand against Nelly. Reverend Adrian Rogers of the Fullness of Joy Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas will join us about 6:20 a.m. Eastern time to talk more about Nelly.
And they're not laughing now, although some police officers in Austin say their computer messages were just jokes. A rather shocking report from Austin in six minutes.
And want to go out in style? A custom coffin maker can fulfill your every whim. Jeff Koinange has that in 12 minutes.
And black box warnings on medications -- Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us in 40 minutes why they should not be ignored.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:19 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Newly released photos believed to be that of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were found in a video camera that was seized several weeks ago. That's according to the U.S. military. But it's unknown how recently the pictures of the suspected terror leader were taken.
Bolivia's president is offering to resign amid growing unrest in that country. President Carlos Mesa blames a wave of protests over regional autonomy for his decision. Bolivia's congress still has to decide whether to accept his resignation.
In money news, former CBS President Howard Stringer is the new chairman of Sony. Stringer has overseen the company's entertainment interests since 1997. He becomes the first foreigner to head a major Japanese electronics company.
In culture, like it or not, The Backstreet Boys are coming back. They're planning a 13-city tour beginning later this month. The boys are also finishing up work on their first new cede in five years. Yee-haw!
In sports, Tiger Woods is number one again. Woods overtook Phil Mickelson in the final round of the championship at Doral, to win by one stroke. The victory returns Woods to the top ranking in the world for the first time in six months.
He's back. The Backstreet Boys are back.
Chad -- what could be better on a Monday?
MYERS: You know, I can't believe it, because V.J. Singh was so far ahead of him and then V.J. only lost by five strokes. V.J. tied for third. So that -- he is -- if he's number one, he's like by such a razor thin margin. But, hey, that's OK.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
Offhand comments have landed some Texas police officers in hot water. Their computer messages came during a fire at a nightclub that's popular among African-Americans.
We get more from Shelton Green of CNN affiliate KVUE in Austin, Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
REV. STERLING LANDS, AUSTIN COMMUNITY LEADER: "Please tell me if Midtown is burning."
"No, but I wish."
What's that?
SHELTON GREEN, KVUE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Reverend Sterling Lands sat down with the night beat and combed over a list of transmissions made between APD officers at a fire two weeks ago. The blaze completely engulfed Midtown Live in less than 10 minutes. But it was this comment which opened up a can of worms.
LANDS: It's sad to think that we have people that we're paying to protect, to serve and protect, and then their response to a tragedy such as this is, you know, "We can smell them from the highway" or "burn baby, burn."
GREEN: After the "burn baby, burn" comment, one officer wrote: "The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire."
Another officer said, "Yes, but no one seems upset up here about it."
One officer says: "My night is made. I've just had a lady ask me if it was burning. I said, yes. She was upset. I was enthralled."
Another officer said: "I've got some gasoline if they need it."
LANDS: This implies that there is a police officer who's willing to commit arson. What -- I mean what, what? How can we even sit back and allow this kind of thinking to exist on a police department?
GREEN: APD says the messages were sent out of frustration on the part of officers who responded to the area 129 times last year.
CHIEF STAN KNEE, AUSTIN, TEXAS POLICE: I think we went to great lengths to show that none of these responses were, in fact, racially motivated.
LANDS: The question is what percentage of it is racially motivated. And I would say that these comments, over 80 to 90 percent of them are.
GREEN: The owner of Midtown Live is refusing to comment right now. But some in the area believe the incident has caused irreparable harm to communities of color.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to feel that if you call the police, something is going to be done. You don't want somebody coming up to you saying, "burn baby, burn" because you're a racist or that's your business. You shouldn't bring it to your job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He pretty much spoke his true feeling. And if that's his true feeling, I wouldn't want someone like that protecting me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I could have been in that club. And they could have had people in that club.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: That report from Shelton Green of CNN affiliate KVUE in Austin, Texas.
Written statements from the officers and dispatchers say their comments were meant as jokes.
Still a lot more to come on DAYBREAK.
Coming up, thinking about buying a smaller car that sips gas instead of guzzles? Better think about one that offers side airbags.
You are watching DAYBREAK for Monday, March 7.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time for some heartwarming stories.
Are you ready -- Chad.
MYERS: I hear dog rescues boy.
COSTELLO: Not just any dog, but a three-legged dog.
Yes. It is time for our DAYBREAK "Eye-Openers."
A 2-year-old Alabama boy, you see him there, he's happy to be home after being rescued by that three-legged dog. The toddler had wandered away from his home, but firefighters and police couldn't find him. And they searched for him for four hours. But, Sasha the dog...
MYERS: Seen here.
COSTELLO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: She took her owner right to the boy, who was more than a mile from home. And Sasha is a hero this morning.
MYERS: They can smell better than we can. COSTELLO: Volunteers are nursing a number of dolphins back to health after a mass stranding near Key West. Sixty rough toothed dolphins stranded themselves on flats and sand bars. Nearly half died or had to be euthanized. Some swam back to deeper water, while others were sent to rescue centers in Miami and in the Keys. But at least they managed to rescue some of those dolphins.
MYERS: Yes. There's a reef outside of Key West. And if you get inside that reef like, obviously, dolphins do, sometimes the water can get really shallow at a really low tide. And so maybe that's what happened, Carol. But a lot of them are back out in deeper water this morning.
COSTELLO: And that's the good news.
A Brazilian woman may get her name in the record books after celebrating her 125th birthday.
MYERS: Ooh.
COSTELLO: Can you believe that? A hundred and twenty-five years old.
MYERS: 1880 she says she was born. They're looking for the records now.
COSTELLO: That's just insane. She was born on February 28, in case you're wondering when exactly her birthday was. But you're right, Chad, 1880. The current oldest living woman is only 113 years old.
MYERS: But if she was born on February 29, Carol, she'd only be one fourth that old.
COSTELLO: Really?
MYERS: Well, because of leap year. You only get birthdays every four years.
COSTELLO: We'll have to do further investigation on that.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
The White House calls it a horrific accident. An Italian journalist says it was something very different. We'll hear both sides of the story just ahead.
Plus, black box warnings on medications -- do people really know what they mean? And do you actually pay attention to these things?
And a reminder, our E-mail Question of the Day -- is hip-hop culture getting a bad rap? Log in. Send us your thoughts. The address, daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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