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American Morning
Terri Schiavo's Parents Vow to Fight on After Major Setback; What Could Drive a 16-Year-Old Boy to Kill His Family, Schoolmates?
Aired March 23, 2005 - 08:00 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Terri Schiavo's parents vow to fight on after a major setback in the battle over their daughter.
What could drive a 16-year-old boy to kill his family and his schoolmates? Investigators in Minnesota look at a link to Nazi propaganda.
And feeling the heat of U.S. firepower in Iraq -- an insurgent attack that backfired on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone.
8:00 here.
Good to have you along with us today.
Again today at this hour, there are developments in the Terri Schiavo matter. At 2:30 this morning Atlanta time, another federal court refuses to order her feeding tube be reconnected. This time a 2-1 decision in the Court of Appeals. We'll look at what happens now and also an update on Schiavo's condition as we have it this morning.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, we're talking to Rick Warren. He is the author of "The Purpose Driven Life." He was in Africa watching CNN when he learned, in fact, that Ashley Smith had used his best- seller in order to talk to the man who was holding her hostage. This morning, we're going to chat with him about his book and also about what he thinks about that situation, a bit later.
HEMMER: And his book was on Wildfire before, right?
O'BRIEN: It was very successful before, but as you can imagine, it is even more successful now. He's got lots of interesting things to say.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He learned about that watching CNN?
O'BRIEN: CNN Africa, yes, he did.
CAFFERTY: We should get him to do one of those endorsement deals.
O'BRIEN: OK. Well...
CAFFERTY: It's Wednesday, time for "Things People Say" in the "Cafferty File," including what's really motivating Social Security reform, the perils of having a gay parent and tips on how to keep a man faithful from one of Hollywood's most beautiful women.
HEMMER: We'll take those tips.
Thank you, Jack.
Let's get to the headlines starting another hour.
Here's Carol Costello -- good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Good morning, everyone.
Now in the news, Pope John Paul II making a brief appearance this morning. The pope blessed crowds from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square. There you see him. He raised his hand during the one minute appearance, but he did not speak. There have been reports the pope is not responding well to medication and is extremely weak. But the Vatican says the situation is not alarming. The 84-year-old pope is expected to deliver a blessing at the end of Easter Mass on Sunday. But he will not appear on Good Friday.
New numbers expected to be out today on Social Security. Within three hours, the trustees of Social Security and Medicare are set to release their annual report. Included is a predicted time frame for when Social Security and Medicare are expected to go broke. Treasury Secretary John Snow will be on hand to discuss those findings.
Another day of testimony in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial. A comedian testified Tuesday the accuser's estranged father repeatedly pressed her for money. Jackson's defense has been trying to paint the boy's mother as the villain. The comedian also suggested the family was being held at the Neverland Ranch against their will. Court resumes later this morning.
And surely you've heard this by now. San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds says he might be quitting the season. Bonds has had at least three surgeries on his knees. He's been a key figure in baseball's steroids scandal and he's blaming the media for part of his troubles and said he was mentally drained.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARRY BONDS, SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: My family is tired, just tired. I'm tired. You guys wanted to hurt me bad enough, you finally got there.
QUESTION: When you say you guys, who do you mean?
BONDS: You, you, you, you, you, you, the media, everybody. You finally got there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Everybody would be you, too, you and you. And we're going to talk much more...
O'BRIEN: And you, Missy.
COSTELLO: Yes, and you. He's blaming the media.
HEMMER: Yes.
COSTELLO: Why can't he just answer the question, did you take steroids?
HEMMER: Look, every time he gets in front of a microphone with those reporters it gets more and more interesting. Remember the last time he did this?
COSTELLO: It was nasty.
HEMMER: Nasty, indeed.
O'BRIEN: Eventually he might learn to just say no comment. Who knows?
All right, Carol, thanks.
New developments overnight in the Terri Schiavo case to talk about. A federal appeals court has denied Schiavo's parents' case to have Terri's feeding tube reinserted.
On the story this morning is Tony Harris.
He's at the federal appeals court in Atlanta for us.
Bob Franken is at Terri Schiavo's hospice in Pinellas Park in Florida -- Tony, let's begin with you.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Sure.
O'BRIEN: What did the court have to say about her case?
HARRIS: Oh, a number of things, Soledad.
Good morning to you.
First of all, here is the opinion, 32 pages in length. And when you read through this, what you get are the justifications for the decision by these judges in this court right behind me to deny this temporary restraining order that would have done two things, first of all, restore the feeding tube immediately to Terri Schiavo, and secondly order a total new review of the case and the facts in the matter.
We pulled together some of the thoughts of the judges that voted in the majority on this. We'd like to share that with you now, the thoughts from Judges Ed Carnes and Frank Hull. It reads: "The plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate a substantial case on the merits of any of their claims." It goes on to read: "The district court's carefully thought out decision to deny temporary relief in these circumstances is not, not an abuse of discretion. There is no denying the absolute tragedy that has befallen Mrs. Schiavo. We all have our own family, our own loved ones and our own children. However, we are called upon to make a collective, objective decision concerning a question of law here."
Obviously, as you've mentioned throughout the morning, this is a devastating blow to the Schindler family, the second such blow in successive days.
So what are their options right now? As you've been discussing, they will likely move on to the U.S. Supreme Court with an appeal. The other option that's being talked about and considered is appealing again to the Florida state legislature for new law. This is a legislature that is steeped in this case. They passed a law just a couple of years ago, Terri's Law, that was ultimately struck down.
And here is Mary Schindler, Terri's mom, talking about that option just yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S MOTHER: I understand that we only need one vote in the state senate to save my daughter. Please, senators, for the love of god, I'm begging you, don't let my daughter die of thirst.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: But, Soledad, what we're getting is a sense from the legislature in Florida that it may be time to move on, that in the face of decisions like this from the Circuit Court, the 11th Circuit Court here in Atlanta, that it may be time to move on with other state business.
Of course, the Schindlers will continue to fight -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Tony Harris for us.
Let's get right to Bob Franken now.
He is outside of Terri Schiavo's hospice in Pinellas Park in Florida -- Bob, good morning to you.
Obviously this is a situation where time is of the essence.
What's the reaction there this morning?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that dramatic appearance by Mary Schindler followed a visit to the hospice yesterday. The family went in to see Terri Schiavo and we got a glimpse of their perception of how she is doing. In the court filings where her father and lawyers are quoted as saying she is suffering a significant decline. Her eyes were sunken and dark and her legs and face were dry, her lips and face were dry. She was increasingly lethargic.
Now, that is a bit of a contrast with the comments made to CNN by the spiritual adviser who had accompanied the family in to visit Terri Schiavo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MONSIGNOR THADDEUS MALANOWSKI, SCHINDLER FAMILY SPIRITUAL ADVISER: It looks like she's trying to smile. Her eyes are wide open, wide awake. I was with the family and we were trying to cheer her up by reminiscing about the past, about her school days, you know? And then accidentally her sister bumped the bed. My god, she alerted and her left arm went way up. I've never seen her do that before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: Whatever her condition, there's no question that time is of the essence here. The feeding tube has been removed since Friday and the family's efforts to get it reinserted are becoming more and more fanatic -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Bob Franken in Pinellas Park in Florida for us.
Bob, thank you for that update -- Bill.
HEMMER: Once again, it's been five days since Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was taken out. Doctors say she's expected to live for just a week or two without it. Some suggest it could be longer.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is live at the CNN Center -- Sanjay, good morning to you.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
HEMMER: A couple of things we need to tick through, including this story in the "Washington Post" that we'll get to in a moment, a conversation you had with Bill Frist.
But at this point, those two issues to decide, what do you understand about her condition today?
GUPTA: Well, certainly, you know, when someone is day five now, almost day five, she will be around 1:00 this afternoon, we get very concerned about significant dehydration. Now, there are objective ways to know this, Bill. Someone's heart rate will start to go up. You can do some blood tests to figure out whether or not her kidneys are starting to not work as well, whether she's starting to break down muscle mass because of the lack of nutrition. Those are all objective ways to measure this.
I don't think those things are being done. Instead, you're getting sort of visual impressions of her, what happens to somebody. Yes, their eyes do become sunken. The membranes inside their mouth, they all become very dry. Their lips become dry.
It sounds like, at least from the father's description, some of those early signs have begun. But it's hard to get a sense, especially someone who's been, you know, chronically debilitated as she has been for 15 years, how dehydration is going to affect her and how long it will take to have a significant impact on her body.
Remember, Bill, back in October of 2003, six and a half days she went without any significant hydration or nutrition before the feeding tube was put back in. So it's really just going to have to wait and see on this -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, let's reference the "Washington Post" story. I think that dovetails well out of what you were just explaining to us. The article today is titled "Little Known About Starvation Death."
How is that possible with medical technology today, Sanjay?
GUPTA: Well, you know, people, when you're in a starvation situation, it's different for -- in different individuals, depending on where you began. A lot of the data on starvation sort of comes from end of life patients who are in a chronically debilitated state because of cancer or something like that. But you also compare that, Bill, to situations where people have been trapped in rubble, trapped in buildings after a natural disaster or something like that for some time. They're very different states. So it's hard to know exactly how she -- how Terri is going do specifically compared to someone who may have been much healthier, for example.
We do know this, that the body reacts in very predictable ways. Typically, you break down fat. When there is no more fat to break down, you break down muscle. The body goes into a situation known as ketosis, where you're starting to accumulate toxins in the body. The kidneys don't work. Some people describe this as a peaceful, almost euphoric sort of way. People don't feel any pain and they actually feel good. Obviously, you've heard the other side of that, as well, where people are concerned that someone would suffer from hunger and thirst pangs -- Bill.
HEMMER: Let's talk about the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist. You had a conversation with him, Sanjay, about some sort of new review.
What's at issue there?
GUPTA: Well, you know, and it was an e-mail conversation. We've been talking. Basically, as part of this bill, you know, they're talking about what's been so difficult for people to get their arms around. You hear the different doctors that have examined Terri have almost -- by almost opposite sort of views on how she is going to do, on what her condition is now. It's really striking, actually, neurologists saying almost the exact opposite thing about Terri.
As part of this review, Senator Frist in this bill talks about actually getting a new panel of doctors, independently chosen, to come in and try and settle this in a more definitive manner, to really give her a diagnosis and to give a more objective sense is she in a persistent vegetative state or not? I mean it's amazing, we still don't know that answer for sure and, more importantly, how would she do with or without a feeding tube -- Bill.
HEMMER: No easy answers here, huh?
GUPTA: That's right.
HEMMER: Thank you, Sanjay.
We should point out, the hospice in Florida is not releasing information about Terri Schiavo's condition. They cite privacy the matter at stake there. So when we get more we'll pass that along to you -- here's Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Investigators continue to look for insight into what may have prompted that deadly shooting at a Minnesota high school. Authorities are examining postings on a neo-Nazi Web site that may have been written by Jeff Weise. He is the 16-year-old suspect in those shootings.
CNN's Keith Oppenheim live with the very latest from Red Lake in Minnesota -- Keith, good morning to you.
What's the community reaction to these developments this morning?
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, I should point out that by Native American standards, today, this Wednesday, would normally be an appropriate time for funerals for the victims of these shootings, as it is 48 hours after the time of death. But the FBI has asked tribal leaders to old off on those ceremonies for a bit. There are autopsies involved and there are -- there is a need for investigators to get a better understanding of what happened on Monday.
Still, having said that, make no mistake that this community, the Chippewa tribe of the Red Lake Nation, is very much in mourning and in shock. So in that light, let's hear from some of the students who gave us some sense of what they knew about the 16-year-old gunman, Jeff Weise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA HEGSTROM, RED LAKE STUDENT: He didn't talk very much.
CHRISTOPHER MORRISON, RED LAKE STUDENT: He kept his head straightforward. He didn't look at anybody. He walked like on the side of the hallway just trying not to be noticed.
HEGSTROM: When we heard him in a room, you could hear people crying and screaming. And you could hear one or two gunshots and no more screaming anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most people teased him for being for being just, you know, weird. He'd do all kinds of drawings. He showed me a lot of them. Just, most of them were pretty messed up.
QUESTION: What were they of? Drawings of what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just like people were dying. Just, I don't know, you know, that Nazi symbol or something.
QUESTION: Swastika?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: Last night at the state capital in St. Paul, there was a vigil, a Native American prayer ceremony to honor the dead and to show support for the people of Red Lake.
Meanwhile, the FBI has been giving us some sense of what they are going to be doing today. They are working the crime scene at the school. The school is still closed. They are also going to be going through evidence at Jeff Weise's home, and specifically trying to track what he may have written on the Internet that could give them some sense as to why all of this happened.
I should note, though, just before I came on camera, Soledad, I did speak to the tribal chairman here, Floyd Jourdain, Jr. And as far as funerals, he said that this was not going to be, in his words, another Columbine. In other words, he meant that there will not be a public viewing of the funerals here. Rather, he wants that his people here will have an opportunity to mourn in seclusion, as he feels is appropriate -- back to you.
O'BRIEN: Keith Oppenheim for us this morning.
Really, the enormity of the crime, when you consider how small that community is, only 250 students in the high school, it's really, really terrible.
Thanks, Keith -- Bill.
HEMMER: About 15 minutes now past the hour.
Shifting our attention to weather, Chad Myers picked a pretty good day to be sick today.
Rob Marciano is going to visit.
We're ready to throw darts Chad's way because it's coming our way, too -- good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Bill.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, U.S. troops capture new videotape of an insurgent ambush. What is it like to be on the receiving end of U.S. firepower, just ahead. HEMMER: Also, he is called America's most influential minister. Pastor Rick Warren on why he thinks his book connected with the Atlanta shooting suspect, Brian Nichols.
O'BRIEN: And we have day planners, we've got Palm Pilots, we've got PDAs. And yet juggling so much information is tough for most of us. Dr. Gupta is back with a new gadget which might help you do the trick.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: He has been called America's most influential minister, the next Billy Graham. That's high praise, indeed, for Rick Warren.
He's the author of "The Purpose Driven Life."
You'll recall that was the book that hostage Ashley Smith credits with helping to persuade accused Atlanta killer Brian Nichols to surrender.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHLEY SMITH, FORMER HOSTAGE: I got a bible and I got a book called "The Purpose Driven Life." I turned it to the chapter that I was on that day. It was chapter 33. And I started to read the first paragraph of it.
After I read it he said, "Stop. Will you read it again?"
And I says, "Yes, I'll read it again."
So I read it again to him. It mentioned something about what you thought your purpose in life was, what were you -- what talents were you given, what gifts were you given to use.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: "The Purpose Driven Life" has since rocketed back to the top of the best-seller lists.
Rick Warren is with us this morning from Lake Forest in California to talk about that.
Nice to see you, Pastor Warren.
Thanks for being with us.
RICK WARREN, AUTHOR, "THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE": Thank you, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: My understanding is that you were in Africa when the story of hostage Ashley Smith broke here in the United States. I'm curious to know what your reaction was when you heard specifically how she used, essentially, your book in order to relate to the person who was taking her hostage.
WARREN: Well, Soledad, my first reaction was sorrow for the people who lost family members before Ashley got to talk with Brian. And I'm sorry for those and we expressed our sympathy and grief for them. But I honestly wasn't surprised. I've seen so many lives changed by the simple idea that your life is not an accident. There is a need in every person in the world for a reason for hope. And I think when people don't have hope, they hopeless things. And Brian Nichols was clearly acting in a hopeless way.
O'BRIEN: In the book's dedication you write this: "This book is dedicated to you. Before you were born, god planned this moment in your life. It's no accident that you're holding this book. God longs for you to discover the life that he created you to live here on Earth and forever in eternity."
You say life is not an accident.
But do you think that that was a coincidental meeting of the two of them?
WARREN: Absolutely not. Life is lived at one of three levels. There is the survival level, which I saw in Africa, many people worried about are they even going to have a roof over their head. Most Americans are not at the survival level. They may be at emotional survival, but not at physical survival.
Most Americans live at the second level, which is the success level. And success means options. It means that I can go out to dinner, even if it's just McDonald's, or I can go to a movie. And most Americans, by the world's standards, are successful.
But a lot of books have come out that said if I'm so successful, why do I feel unfulfilled? Why do I feel not happy the way I expected to feel? And it's because we're made for more than just success. We're made for significance. And I think when Ashley shared that message with Brian that you were made for meeting and that your life matters to god and no matter what you've done -- it doesn't matter what direction, where you've been, but what direction your feet are headed now, he grabbed onto that hope. And it was an instantaneous change.
O'BRIEN: Ashley says it was chapter 33 in your book, which is called "Servanthood," I believe.
WARREN: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And it begins: "We serve god by serving others."
What specifically in this chapter -- and she only read him the first paragraph or so -- but what do you think connected with him, because it doesn't specifically talk about redeeming a sinner or things that you might think would be more relevant to this immediate situation, frankly?
WARREN: Right. Right. Well, you know, god can use anything to capture a person's mind set. And in this situation, I think that chapter talks about the significance comes not from success, not from salary, not from status, not even from sex. It comes from service, that self-esteem comes from service. And it's interesting that after Ashley read that to Brian that they ended up serving each other. First she cooked him breakfast, which was an act of kind service to him, and then later he served her by putting up some curtains.
And so people want to serve. There is a significance in serving. And I think that's part of life, that we're not here just to live for ourselves. We've had this generation of me-ism that says it's all about me and then when a book that comes out that starts with the first sentence, it's not about you, that there's more to life than just living for yourself, I think that's kind of refreshing and he grabbed onto it.
O'BRIEN: Rick Warren is the author of "The Purpose Driven Life."
He's also the pastor of Saddleback Church.
It's nice to have you.
Thanks for talking with us.
WARREN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Interesting stuff.
Twenty-four minutes past the hour now.
How do you handle the avalanche of information we get every single day? Now there's a computer which might help enhance your memory. Sanjay is back with more on that a bit later this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Limiting the Internet -- it's been batted around for years. It's now the Question of the Day this morning -- good morning.
CAFFERTY: Yes, well, this horrible thing that happened in Minnesota, one year before Jeff Weise began this shooting spree, he started posting on a Libertarian Nationalist Socialist Green Party Web site. I went there this morning and took a look at it. And in addition to finding swastikas, you find things like this: "National socialists are willing to engage in eugenics, racial separation and removal of elements hostile to a healthy society."
You also get links to sites like white revolution the only solution; the National Alliance, which advocates an Aryan society; and overthrow.com.
The beauty of the Internet is its openness. You can find anything there. But maybe that's also its curse.
So we're exploring this idea, should there be some effort to regulate what's on the Internet. We're getting a lot of responses.
Monica writes from Illinois: "Regulating the Internet will not get rid of hate, it'll only ignore the big social issues. Besides, who is to say what a hate group is? I'm sure the White House would like to regulate Moveon.org or the DNC."
Reg writes in Ontario: "Have you been living in a cave and missed the election, Jack? The major hate groups on the Internet are called the Republicans and the Democrats."
Paul in Connecticut writes: "You've said it so well, the Internet is a blessing and a curse. Sites like the one you mentioned, bomb making sites and pornography sites, are negatively influencing our youth and tearing apart our families. Can someone tell me how pornography is protected by free speech? Yes, the Internet should be regulated."
And on the subject of Barry Bonds, Jim writes from New Hampshire: "How convenient that Barry Bonds gets to avoid being tested for steroids and at the same time gets to make it look like it's the fault of the news media? He's leaving baseball, perhaps for a year, perhaps for good. Careful, Barry. You're starting to sound like the Oakland Raider football player that went nuts. What a phony."
That would be Lyle Alzado, who attributed his deterioration in later life to abusing steroids. Remember Lyle?
HEMMER: He got a tumor eventually, right?
CAFFERTY: Yes. I mean, you know, the after effects eventually killed him. But that, you know, was...
HEMMER: We're going to talk about that.
Gary Smith is a terrific writer for "Sports Illustrated." He's got the cover story. It's on newsstands today. I'll talk to Gary in a moment here. We'll read into what we heard from Bonds yesterday and try and figure out the direction for this player coming up this year.
Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired March 23, 2005 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Terri Schiavo's parents vow to fight on after a major setback in the battle over their daughter.
What could drive a 16-year-old boy to kill his family and his schoolmates? Investigators in Minnesota look at a link to Nazi propaganda.
And feeling the heat of U.S. firepower in Iraq -- an insurgent attack that backfired on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone.
8:00 here.
Good to have you along with us today.
Again today at this hour, there are developments in the Terri Schiavo matter. At 2:30 this morning Atlanta time, another federal court refuses to order her feeding tube be reconnected. This time a 2-1 decision in the Court of Appeals. We'll look at what happens now and also an update on Schiavo's condition as we have it this morning.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, we're talking to Rick Warren. He is the author of "The Purpose Driven Life." He was in Africa watching CNN when he learned, in fact, that Ashley Smith had used his best- seller in order to talk to the man who was holding her hostage. This morning, we're going to chat with him about his book and also about what he thinks about that situation, a bit later.
HEMMER: And his book was on Wildfire before, right?
O'BRIEN: It was very successful before, but as you can imagine, it is even more successful now. He's got lots of interesting things to say.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He learned about that watching CNN?
O'BRIEN: CNN Africa, yes, he did.
CAFFERTY: We should get him to do one of those endorsement deals.
O'BRIEN: OK. Well...
CAFFERTY: It's Wednesday, time for "Things People Say" in the "Cafferty File," including what's really motivating Social Security reform, the perils of having a gay parent and tips on how to keep a man faithful from one of Hollywood's most beautiful women.
HEMMER: We'll take those tips.
Thank you, Jack.
Let's get to the headlines starting another hour.
Here's Carol Costello -- good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Good morning, everyone.
Now in the news, Pope John Paul II making a brief appearance this morning. The pope blessed crowds from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square. There you see him. He raised his hand during the one minute appearance, but he did not speak. There have been reports the pope is not responding well to medication and is extremely weak. But the Vatican says the situation is not alarming. The 84-year-old pope is expected to deliver a blessing at the end of Easter Mass on Sunday. But he will not appear on Good Friday.
New numbers expected to be out today on Social Security. Within three hours, the trustees of Social Security and Medicare are set to release their annual report. Included is a predicted time frame for when Social Security and Medicare are expected to go broke. Treasury Secretary John Snow will be on hand to discuss those findings.
Another day of testimony in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial. A comedian testified Tuesday the accuser's estranged father repeatedly pressed her for money. Jackson's defense has been trying to paint the boy's mother as the villain. The comedian also suggested the family was being held at the Neverland Ranch against their will. Court resumes later this morning.
And surely you've heard this by now. San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds says he might be quitting the season. Bonds has had at least three surgeries on his knees. He's been a key figure in baseball's steroids scandal and he's blaming the media for part of his troubles and said he was mentally drained.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARRY BONDS, SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: My family is tired, just tired. I'm tired. You guys wanted to hurt me bad enough, you finally got there.
QUESTION: When you say you guys, who do you mean?
BONDS: You, you, you, you, you, you, the media, everybody. You finally got there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Everybody would be you, too, you and you. And we're going to talk much more...
O'BRIEN: And you, Missy.
COSTELLO: Yes, and you. He's blaming the media.
HEMMER: Yes.
COSTELLO: Why can't he just answer the question, did you take steroids?
HEMMER: Look, every time he gets in front of a microphone with those reporters it gets more and more interesting. Remember the last time he did this?
COSTELLO: It was nasty.
HEMMER: Nasty, indeed.
O'BRIEN: Eventually he might learn to just say no comment. Who knows?
All right, Carol, thanks.
New developments overnight in the Terri Schiavo case to talk about. A federal appeals court has denied Schiavo's parents' case to have Terri's feeding tube reinserted.
On the story this morning is Tony Harris.
He's at the federal appeals court in Atlanta for us.
Bob Franken is at Terri Schiavo's hospice in Pinellas Park in Florida -- Tony, let's begin with you.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Sure.
O'BRIEN: What did the court have to say about her case?
HARRIS: Oh, a number of things, Soledad.
Good morning to you.
First of all, here is the opinion, 32 pages in length. And when you read through this, what you get are the justifications for the decision by these judges in this court right behind me to deny this temporary restraining order that would have done two things, first of all, restore the feeding tube immediately to Terri Schiavo, and secondly order a total new review of the case and the facts in the matter.
We pulled together some of the thoughts of the judges that voted in the majority on this. We'd like to share that with you now, the thoughts from Judges Ed Carnes and Frank Hull. It reads: "The plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate a substantial case on the merits of any of their claims." It goes on to read: "The district court's carefully thought out decision to deny temporary relief in these circumstances is not, not an abuse of discretion. There is no denying the absolute tragedy that has befallen Mrs. Schiavo. We all have our own family, our own loved ones and our own children. However, we are called upon to make a collective, objective decision concerning a question of law here."
Obviously, as you've mentioned throughout the morning, this is a devastating blow to the Schindler family, the second such blow in successive days.
So what are their options right now? As you've been discussing, they will likely move on to the U.S. Supreme Court with an appeal. The other option that's being talked about and considered is appealing again to the Florida state legislature for new law. This is a legislature that is steeped in this case. They passed a law just a couple of years ago, Terri's Law, that was ultimately struck down.
And here is Mary Schindler, Terri's mom, talking about that option just yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S MOTHER: I understand that we only need one vote in the state senate to save my daughter. Please, senators, for the love of god, I'm begging you, don't let my daughter die of thirst.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: But, Soledad, what we're getting is a sense from the legislature in Florida that it may be time to move on, that in the face of decisions like this from the Circuit Court, the 11th Circuit Court here in Atlanta, that it may be time to move on with other state business.
Of course, the Schindlers will continue to fight -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Tony Harris for us.
Let's get right to Bob Franken now.
He is outside of Terri Schiavo's hospice in Pinellas Park in Florida -- Bob, good morning to you.
Obviously this is a situation where time is of the essence.
What's the reaction there this morning?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that dramatic appearance by Mary Schindler followed a visit to the hospice yesterday. The family went in to see Terri Schiavo and we got a glimpse of their perception of how she is doing. In the court filings where her father and lawyers are quoted as saying she is suffering a significant decline. Her eyes were sunken and dark and her legs and face were dry, her lips and face were dry. She was increasingly lethargic.
Now, that is a bit of a contrast with the comments made to CNN by the spiritual adviser who had accompanied the family in to visit Terri Schiavo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MONSIGNOR THADDEUS MALANOWSKI, SCHINDLER FAMILY SPIRITUAL ADVISER: It looks like she's trying to smile. Her eyes are wide open, wide awake. I was with the family and we were trying to cheer her up by reminiscing about the past, about her school days, you know? And then accidentally her sister bumped the bed. My god, she alerted and her left arm went way up. I've never seen her do that before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: Whatever her condition, there's no question that time is of the essence here. The feeding tube has been removed since Friday and the family's efforts to get it reinserted are becoming more and more fanatic -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Bob Franken in Pinellas Park in Florida for us.
Bob, thank you for that update -- Bill.
HEMMER: Once again, it's been five days since Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was taken out. Doctors say she's expected to live for just a week or two without it. Some suggest it could be longer.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is live at the CNN Center -- Sanjay, good morning to you.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
HEMMER: A couple of things we need to tick through, including this story in the "Washington Post" that we'll get to in a moment, a conversation you had with Bill Frist.
But at this point, those two issues to decide, what do you understand about her condition today?
GUPTA: Well, certainly, you know, when someone is day five now, almost day five, she will be around 1:00 this afternoon, we get very concerned about significant dehydration. Now, there are objective ways to know this, Bill. Someone's heart rate will start to go up. You can do some blood tests to figure out whether or not her kidneys are starting to not work as well, whether she's starting to break down muscle mass because of the lack of nutrition. Those are all objective ways to measure this.
I don't think those things are being done. Instead, you're getting sort of visual impressions of her, what happens to somebody. Yes, their eyes do become sunken. The membranes inside their mouth, they all become very dry. Their lips become dry.
It sounds like, at least from the father's description, some of those early signs have begun. But it's hard to get a sense, especially someone who's been, you know, chronically debilitated as she has been for 15 years, how dehydration is going to affect her and how long it will take to have a significant impact on her body.
Remember, Bill, back in October of 2003, six and a half days she went without any significant hydration or nutrition before the feeding tube was put back in. So it's really just going to have to wait and see on this -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, let's reference the "Washington Post" story. I think that dovetails well out of what you were just explaining to us. The article today is titled "Little Known About Starvation Death."
How is that possible with medical technology today, Sanjay?
GUPTA: Well, you know, people, when you're in a starvation situation, it's different for -- in different individuals, depending on where you began. A lot of the data on starvation sort of comes from end of life patients who are in a chronically debilitated state because of cancer or something like that. But you also compare that, Bill, to situations where people have been trapped in rubble, trapped in buildings after a natural disaster or something like that for some time. They're very different states. So it's hard to know exactly how she -- how Terri is going do specifically compared to someone who may have been much healthier, for example.
We do know this, that the body reacts in very predictable ways. Typically, you break down fat. When there is no more fat to break down, you break down muscle. The body goes into a situation known as ketosis, where you're starting to accumulate toxins in the body. The kidneys don't work. Some people describe this as a peaceful, almost euphoric sort of way. People don't feel any pain and they actually feel good. Obviously, you've heard the other side of that, as well, where people are concerned that someone would suffer from hunger and thirst pangs -- Bill.
HEMMER: Let's talk about the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist. You had a conversation with him, Sanjay, about some sort of new review.
What's at issue there?
GUPTA: Well, you know, and it was an e-mail conversation. We've been talking. Basically, as part of this bill, you know, they're talking about what's been so difficult for people to get their arms around. You hear the different doctors that have examined Terri have almost -- by almost opposite sort of views on how she is going to do, on what her condition is now. It's really striking, actually, neurologists saying almost the exact opposite thing about Terri.
As part of this review, Senator Frist in this bill talks about actually getting a new panel of doctors, independently chosen, to come in and try and settle this in a more definitive manner, to really give her a diagnosis and to give a more objective sense is she in a persistent vegetative state or not? I mean it's amazing, we still don't know that answer for sure and, more importantly, how would she do with or without a feeding tube -- Bill.
HEMMER: No easy answers here, huh?
GUPTA: That's right.
HEMMER: Thank you, Sanjay.
We should point out, the hospice in Florida is not releasing information about Terri Schiavo's condition. They cite privacy the matter at stake there. So when we get more we'll pass that along to you -- here's Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Investigators continue to look for insight into what may have prompted that deadly shooting at a Minnesota high school. Authorities are examining postings on a neo-Nazi Web site that may have been written by Jeff Weise. He is the 16-year-old suspect in those shootings.
CNN's Keith Oppenheim live with the very latest from Red Lake in Minnesota -- Keith, good morning to you.
What's the community reaction to these developments this morning?
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, I should point out that by Native American standards, today, this Wednesday, would normally be an appropriate time for funerals for the victims of these shootings, as it is 48 hours after the time of death. But the FBI has asked tribal leaders to old off on those ceremonies for a bit. There are autopsies involved and there are -- there is a need for investigators to get a better understanding of what happened on Monday.
Still, having said that, make no mistake that this community, the Chippewa tribe of the Red Lake Nation, is very much in mourning and in shock. So in that light, let's hear from some of the students who gave us some sense of what they knew about the 16-year-old gunman, Jeff Weise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA HEGSTROM, RED LAKE STUDENT: He didn't talk very much.
CHRISTOPHER MORRISON, RED LAKE STUDENT: He kept his head straightforward. He didn't look at anybody. He walked like on the side of the hallway just trying not to be noticed.
HEGSTROM: When we heard him in a room, you could hear people crying and screaming. And you could hear one or two gunshots and no more screaming anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most people teased him for being for being just, you know, weird. He'd do all kinds of drawings. He showed me a lot of them. Just, most of them were pretty messed up.
QUESTION: What were they of? Drawings of what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just like people were dying. Just, I don't know, you know, that Nazi symbol or something.
QUESTION: Swastika?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPENHEIM: Last night at the state capital in St. Paul, there was a vigil, a Native American prayer ceremony to honor the dead and to show support for the people of Red Lake.
Meanwhile, the FBI has been giving us some sense of what they are going to be doing today. They are working the crime scene at the school. The school is still closed. They are also going to be going through evidence at Jeff Weise's home, and specifically trying to track what he may have written on the Internet that could give them some sense as to why all of this happened.
I should note, though, just before I came on camera, Soledad, I did speak to the tribal chairman here, Floyd Jourdain, Jr. And as far as funerals, he said that this was not going to be, in his words, another Columbine. In other words, he meant that there will not be a public viewing of the funerals here. Rather, he wants that his people here will have an opportunity to mourn in seclusion, as he feels is appropriate -- back to you.
O'BRIEN: Keith Oppenheim for us this morning.
Really, the enormity of the crime, when you consider how small that community is, only 250 students in the high school, it's really, really terrible.
Thanks, Keith -- Bill.
HEMMER: About 15 minutes now past the hour.
Shifting our attention to weather, Chad Myers picked a pretty good day to be sick today.
Rob Marciano is going to visit.
We're ready to throw darts Chad's way because it's coming our way, too -- good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Bill.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, U.S. troops capture new videotape of an insurgent ambush. What is it like to be on the receiving end of U.S. firepower, just ahead. HEMMER: Also, he is called America's most influential minister. Pastor Rick Warren on why he thinks his book connected with the Atlanta shooting suspect, Brian Nichols.
O'BRIEN: And we have day planners, we've got Palm Pilots, we've got PDAs. And yet juggling so much information is tough for most of us. Dr. Gupta is back with a new gadget which might help you do the trick.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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O'BRIEN: He has been called America's most influential minister, the next Billy Graham. That's high praise, indeed, for Rick Warren.
He's the author of "The Purpose Driven Life."
You'll recall that was the book that hostage Ashley Smith credits with helping to persuade accused Atlanta killer Brian Nichols to surrender.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHLEY SMITH, FORMER HOSTAGE: I got a bible and I got a book called "The Purpose Driven Life." I turned it to the chapter that I was on that day. It was chapter 33. And I started to read the first paragraph of it.
After I read it he said, "Stop. Will you read it again?"
And I says, "Yes, I'll read it again."
So I read it again to him. It mentioned something about what you thought your purpose in life was, what were you -- what talents were you given, what gifts were you given to use.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: "The Purpose Driven Life" has since rocketed back to the top of the best-seller lists.
Rick Warren is with us this morning from Lake Forest in California to talk about that.
Nice to see you, Pastor Warren.
Thanks for being with us.
RICK WARREN, AUTHOR, "THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE": Thank you, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: My understanding is that you were in Africa when the story of hostage Ashley Smith broke here in the United States. I'm curious to know what your reaction was when you heard specifically how she used, essentially, your book in order to relate to the person who was taking her hostage.
WARREN: Well, Soledad, my first reaction was sorrow for the people who lost family members before Ashley got to talk with Brian. And I'm sorry for those and we expressed our sympathy and grief for them. But I honestly wasn't surprised. I've seen so many lives changed by the simple idea that your life is not an accident. There is a need in every person in the world for a reason for hope. And I think when people don't have hope, they hopeless things. And Brian Nichols was clearly acting in a hopeless way.
O'BRIEN: In the book's dedication you write this: "This book is dedicated to you. Before you were born, god planned this moment in your life. It's no accident that you're holding this book. God longs for you to discover the life that he created you to live here on Earth and forever in eternity."
You say life is not an accident.
But do you think that that was a coincidental meeting of the two of them?
WARREN: Absolutely not. Life is lived at one of three levels. There is the survival level, which I saw in Africa, many people worried about are they even going to have a roof over their head. Most Americans are not at the survival level. They may be at emotional survival, but not at physical survival.
Most Americans live at the second level, which is the success level. And success means options. It means that I can go out to dinner, even if it's just McDonald's, or I can go to a movie. And most Americans, by the world's standards, are successful.
But a lot of books have come out that said if I'm so successful, why do I feel unfulfilled? Why do I feel not happy the way I expected to feel? And it's because we're made for more than just success. We're made for significance. And I think when Ashley shared that message with Brian that you were made for meeting and that your life matters to god and no matter what you've done -- it doesn't matter what direction, where you've been, but what direction your feet are headed now, he grabbed onto that hope. And it was an instantaneous change.
O'BRIEN: Ashley says it was chapter 33 in your book, which is called "Servanthood," I believe.
WARREN: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And it begins: "We serve god by serving others."
What specifically in this chapter -- and she only read him the first paragraph or so -- but what do you think connected with him, because it doesn't specifically talk about redeeming a sinner or things that you might think would be more relevant to this immediate situation, frankly?
WARREN: Right. Right. Well, you know, god can use anything to capture a person's mind set. And in this situation, I think that chapter talks about the significance comes not from success, not from salary, not from status, not even from sex. It comes from service, that self-esteem comes from service. And it's interesting that after Ashley read that to Brian that they ended up serving each other. First she cooked him breakfast, which was an act of kind service to him, and then later he served her by putting up some curtains.
And so people want to serve. There is a significance in serving. And I think that's part of life, that we're not here just to live for ourselves. We've had this generation of me-ism that says it's all about me and then when a book that comes out that starts with the first sentence, it's not about you, that there's more to life than just living for yourself, I think that's kind of refreshing and he grabbed onto it.
O'BRIEN: Rick Warren is the author of "The Purpose Driven Life."
He's also the pastor of Saddleback Church.
It's nice to have you.
Thanks for talking with us.
WARREN: Thank you.
HEMMER: Interesting stuff.
Twenty-four minutes past the hour now.
How do you handle the avalanche of information we get every single day? Now there's a computer which might help enhance your memory. Sanjay is back with more on that a bit later this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Limiting the Internet -- it's been batted around for years. It's now the Question of the Day this morning -- good morning.
CAFFERTY: Yes, well, this horrible thing that happened in Minnesota, one year before Jeff Weise began this shooting spree, he started posting on a Libertarian Nationalist Socialist Green Party Web site. I went there this morning and took a look at it. And in addition to finding swastikas, you find things like this: "National socialists are willing to engage in eugenics, racial separation and removal of elements hostile to a healthy society."
You also get links to sites like white revolution the only solution; the National Alliance, which advocates an Aryan society; and overthrow.com.
The beauty of the Internet is its openness. You can find anything there. But maybe that's also its curse.
So we're exploring this idea, should there be some effort to regulate what's on the Internet. We're getting a lot of responses.
Monica writes from Illinois: "Regulating the Internet will not get rid of hate, it'll only ignore the big social issues. Besides, who is to say what a hate group is? I'm sure the White House would like to regulate Moveon.org or the DNC."
Reg writes in Ontario: "Have you been living in a cave and missed the election, Jack? The major hate groups on the Internet are called the Republicans and the Democrats."
Paul in Connecticut writes: "You've said it so well, the Internet is a blessing and a curse. Sites like the one you mentioned, bomb making sites and pornography sites, are negatively influencing our youth and tearing apart our families. Can someone tell me how pornography is protected by free speech? Yes, the Internet should be regulated."
And on the subject of Barry Bonds, Jim writes from New Hampshire: "How convenient that Barry Bonds gets to avoid being tested for steroids and at the same time gets to make it look like it's the fault of the news media? He's leaving baseball, perhaps for a year, perhaps for good. Careful, Barry. You're starting to sound like the Oakland Raider football player that went nuts. What a phony."
That would be Lyle Alzado, who attributed his deterioration in later life to abusing steroids. Remember Lyle?
HEMMER: He got a tumor eventually, right?
CAFFERTY: Yes. I mean, you know, the after effects eventually killed him. But that, you know, was...
HEMMER: We're going to talk about that.
Gary Smith is a terrific writer for "Sports Illustrated." He's got the cover story. It's on newsstands today. I'll talk to Gary in a moment here. We'll read into what we heard from Bonds yesterday and try and figure out the direction for this player coming up this year.
Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING, after this.
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